I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Chapter 09, Section 347: A Disgusting Meal

The food wasn't being served in a hurry. Half an hour had passed since the two ordered, and there was only one appetizer and two cups of coffee on the table. The waiter hadn't appeared again, and Yang Nai didn't urge them. He just looked at Qing Lai leisurely, as if he was waiting for something.

Kiyoshi wasn't in a hurry. He slowly ate his appetizers. The target hadn't appeared yet, so why would Haruno let the lunch start so early? Besides, the main characters who hadn't appeared yet were the real meal of the day.

"Isn't Xiao Qinglai curious?"

Kiyoshi glanced at Haruno, whose cutlery was still in its original place, and she seemed to have no intention of eating. Kiyoshi understood what she meant; by asking this question, she wanted to tell him some information.

Even if I didn't ask, you would have told me, wouldn't you?

Kiyoshi picked at the cabbage in the salad and deliberately made it look like he was biting it very hard in front of Haruno.

Yang Nai's fingers gently traced the rim of the ceramic cup, where a clear lipstick mark remained. "Little Qinglai, who do you think will sit there next?"

Following Yang Nai's gaze, Kiyoyori glanced at the still empty seat, a four-person space with a sofa on one side and a chair on the other.

This doesn't prove anything; having four seats doesn't necessarily mean there will be four people sitting there. But this makes Yang Nai's question seem superfluous.

"Senior Hayama."

"Hmm, anything else?"

Yang Nai still had the same expression, but she picked up her fork and forked away the few pieces of tuna before Kiyora could. Kiyora paused for a moment, then silently turned the fork in a different direction.

"Yukinoshita-senpai."

As Kiyoyori spoke, she glanced at Haruno's expression and noticed the excessive upturn of Haruno's lips. This time, her voice carried a hint of amusement. "Anything else?"

Unsure of what Yono meant, Kiyoyori didn't speak again, but just then, another group of people walked into the coffee shop.

There were four people, two men and two women, dressed in student uniforms, who walked in seemingly chatting and laughing.

Not entirely unexpected, but still somewhat surprising.

Yang Nai seemed to have anticipated this, and promptly beckoned a waiter to block the two of them, saying, "Please serve our table."

She instructed the waiter accordingly.

This was also a hint she gave to Kiyoshi.

Their "main course" for today has arrived.

Kiyotori didn't turn around to look at the four people who had already taken their seats, but she understood why Haruno had made that expression earlier. She was probably mocking her because Kiyotori had subconsciously said Yukino Yukinoshita's name.

Of the four people, Yukinoshita was not among them.

After Haruno gave the order, the dishes were served quickly. Kiyotaka ordered hamburger patties, but Haruno only ordered a simple omelet rice.

It has to be said that the four people at that table were talking very loudly. To be precise, it was the two girls who were talking very loudly. They were two students wearing the uniform of another school, whom Qinglai had never seen before. But their unrestrained laughter in public immediately gave Qinglai a bad impression of them.

"Kiyoshi doesn't like this type of person, does she?"

With just a slight frown, Yono knew what Kiyori was thinking.

Kiyoshi used a tablecloth to shield himself from the still-splattering hot oil, saying, "No cultured person would like someone like that."

"Kiyori probably dislikes it especially, doesn't he?"

"What, you didn't come all this way just because you're interested in them, did you?"

Faced with Kiyoyori's undisguised sarcasm, Haruno nonchalantly scooped up a spoonful of rice and said, "How could that be? One of those girls is Hikigaya-kun's former crush. Look, it's the girl sitting across from him."

After a quick glance, Kiyotaka completely lost interest and continued to dissect the hamburger patty in front of him.

She was a girl with ear-length curly hair. Although she wore her school uniform neatly, there were many decorations that did not conform to the school rules. This was common among all female high school students. Kiyolai would also habitually use light makeup to make herself look more energetic. But what was most unbearable was the way the other person phrased things, which made people uncomfortable no matter how they listened to it.

"So it turns out that Hikigaya-senpai's judgment was so bad before."

"Right! Who would have thought that Hachiman would fall into such a clichéd state?"

Yang Nai sounded like an ordinary girl gossiping with her friends, but Qing Lai paused when she heard this. She gripped the cutlery in her hand tightly and cut the hamburger patty with double the force.

Whether Yang did it intentionally or unintentionally, Kiyoyori did not want to recall his dark past because of this.

Even food can't shut you up.

Upon hearing this, Yang Nai simply smiled and fed the rice, chewing it elegantly.

People can't stand being talked about, because the person who was in the conversation between the two a second ago spotted Haruno and Kiyoyori the next second. Haruno obviously didn't try to hide it and waved to Hikigaya generously, which earned her a frozen expression in return.

"Actually, Hikigaya-kun came after you left the dessert shop that day, and happened to run into that girl, but it seems that she likes Hayato-kun now."

The sound of a man and a woman talking could be heard not far away. Of course, the one participating in the conversation was not Hachiman, but Hayama, who was traveling with him and was the girl's target.

"A perverse sense of humor."

Kiyoyori felt a moment of sympathy for Hikigaya, who was being targeted by Haruno, but now she was starting to wonder what the four people's date had to do with Yukinoshita.

Could it be—

Just thinking about that possibility made Kiyoshi feel that the hamburger patty in his mouth taste like wax.

"What's wrong, Xiao Qinglai? Is it not tasty?"

Yang asked the question knowingly.

"No."

As Kiyoshi swallowed the tasteless, chewed meat in his mouth, he felt as if he had swallowed a whole bag of embroidery needles.

She unconsciously picked up her coffee cup.

"The food at this restaurant is definitely the best!"

The girl spoke loudly to her female companion, "As expected of Hayama-san, her taste in choosing restaurants is completely different from some other people!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Hachiman, who seemed completely unconcerned, as if afraid that others wouldn't recognize who she was talking about.

Another girl chimed in.

"Compared to..."

"Hey, are you really going to tell me?"

"No, let's not talk about it."

"Should I tell you?"

Hearing such pointless conversation made me want to puncture my eardrums.

"But no matter what, no one would choose Salia!"

Saizeriya is an Italian fast-food chain with a wide variety of dishes and a long history.

"It took me a long time to understand what he was saying at first."

"I understand, I understand. Luckily, we came to this coffee shop later!"

Regardless of the reason, using such a despicable method to praise one and criticize another is so disgusting that it almost makes Qinglai vomit up the food he just ate.

The person being discussed in person, however, continued drinking coffee as if they hadn't heard a thing.

It's as if everything is irrelevant to him.

P.S.: Sorry, I overslept. Let me rest for a couple of days, I'm too tired.

Chapter 10, Section 348: Becoming an Enemy Under the Snow

"I don't really like this kind of thing."

The one who retaliated was not Hachiman, but Hayama, who was sitting next to him. From Kiyoyori's angle, he could see Hayama's expression, which was exactly the same fake smile as Haruno's, yet no one could find fault with it.

His actions surprised Hachiman and also startled the two girls sitting opposite him.

"Ah, this is true too..."

"That's not what I meant, I meant you all."

He still wore that smiling expression, but then said something cruel that didn't match his expression. The two girls seemed stunned and didn't react at all.

What left them even more bewildered were the other two people who came here. They were wearing the school uniform of the General Affairs High School and even carrying backpacks, looking as if they had just left the library.

"come yet?"

Hayama stood up and greeted Yukinoshita and Yuihama, who were clearly still unaware of what was happening, "Good afternoon."

This was clearly all arranged by Hayama, and Hachiman seemed completely unaware of it. "How did you all end up here..."

"I called him," Hayama said, seemingly having no intention of explaining. Instead, he continued to address the two girls, "Hachiman is not as lowly as you think. The girls he associates with are far more outstanding than you. Can you please stop judging him based on appearances alone?"

At that moment, no one spoke. Yukinoshita and Yuihama subconsciously remained silent, while Hachiman didn't know what to say.

Kiyoshi, sitting at another table, completely lost her appetite. From the moment she saw Yukino enter, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, wishing she could quickly distance herself from the person sitting opposite her.

Yang didn't give her that chance, and directly pulled Qinglai's hand and walked out through the side door, seemingly completely unconcerned about what was going to happen next.

Kiyoshi only caught a glimpse of the two girls from another school picking up their plates out of the corner of his eye.

What exactly do you want?

Kiyoyori was dragged around to the main entrance of the coffee shop by Haruno before he was able to regain control of his wrist.

"Now, I'll trouble you and Qinglai to walk in through the main gate together~"

Hearing the rising intonation at the end of the sentence, Kiyoshi instinctively felt something was amiss; her trust in Haruno had long since dwindled.

What do you want?

“Kiyoshi doesn’t have to do anything,” Yang Nai smiled, just like Ye Shan had said earlier. “She just needs to stand by my side and watch.”

Kiyoyori realized what the other person was thinking, "How is your approach any different from that of Hayama-senpai and Hachiman-senpai just now?"

"What's the difference?" Yang Nai chuckled disdainfully, his eyes filled with coldness. "Of course, my methods are more sophisticated. Don't you think so, Xiao Qinglai?"

"I will not be your accomplice."

Haruno's request was for Kiyori to stand by her side, which meant that Kiyori was on Haruno's side, not Yukinoshita's.

In this way, Kiyoyori became Yukinoshita's enemy, and as an "enemy," one cannot be relied upon.