I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Hello, Yukino, we meet again!"

The overly intimate way the two addressed each other and the way they unabashedly tried to get closer drew ambiguous glances from many people present, which made her very uncomfortable.

"Hello, Mr. Xiangyuan."

Although Yukinoshita's voice was as cold and aloof as ever, if Kiyoyori, Yuihama, or any one of the three of them were present, they would have noticed that Yukinoshita was hiding beneath the iceberg, where magma was about to erupt.

The meeting seemed to take a turn for the worse from that moment on.

After both sides took their seats, they spent most of the time "warming up" with each other. To be precise, the Toyosaki student council members were putting on a one-man show, while the Soubu High students were awkwardly speechless. It wasn't until Yukinoshita gently reminded Sakura that they should get to the point that the other side slowly brought up the Christmas event.

Although this event was co-hosted by Toyonosaki and Soubu High, Soubu High was the one that was invited, while Toyonosaki was the real organizer. Therefore, Sakura, representing Toyonosaki, sat in the main seat, while Yukinoshita was only seated in the first seat on the side of Soubu High.

And directly opposite the snow was Xiangyuan, which was always smiling at her.

In order to ensure a smoother first collaboration between the two parties, Yukinoshita didn't say much about it, but tried to focus her attention on Sakura.

But she soon realized that it was just a waste of time.

Chapter 29 Meaningless Discussion

Yukinoshita rarely gets distracted at work, especially in situations with outsiders present, particularly when she represents the entire school. But at this moment, she couldn't suppress her thoughts drifting away from the meeting, like a kite with a broken string, drifting further and further away with the wind.

The student council president named Sakura Toyonosaki opened and closed her lips, but Yukinoshita seemed unable to hear what she was saying. Even without trying, she knew it was a waste of time.

First of all, there was the other person's use of a mix of Japanese and English. Yukinoshita couldn't understand why the other person would use such an awkward way of speaking, as if they were deliberately showing off their English. Moreover, the other members of the Toyonosaki Student Council all used this way of communicating, which was practically testing everyone's patience. What was even more annoying was that the other person's English, which was heavily accented, made Yukinoshita, an international student who had studied abroad, very uncomfortable to listen to.

But that's not the main problem. What's worse is that their seemingly democratic and sophisticated discussion style is actually just empty talk. They insist on "discussing" everything, and to make matters worse, the Toyosaki student council always fails to grasp a single aspect or point and conduct a deeper discussion. Their discussions only stay at the most superficial level and even extend into unrealistic fantasies.

“Last year’s hand-drawn film was a great success, but I want to create an even better program this year,” Sakura said, her confidence seemingly stemming from somewhere. “Last year’s experience taught us that collaborations with certain groups can yield unexpected results, and I think we can continue that idea this year.”

"Does anyone have any thoughts?"

Compared to the silence on the Soubu High side, the members of the Toyonosaki student council seemed to have a lot to say.

"How about a concert or something? It's perfect for cultivating one's character."

“I think we can do something similar to last year. Last year it was a movie, and this year we can do a stage play.”

"How about combining concerts with plays? Like a musical?"

"Let's discuss the above proposals!"

At first glance, it does seem like there's a serious atmosphere of discussion, but compared to the heated discussion at Toyosaki High School, Soubu High School's side can even be described as indifferent and perfunctory.

Putting aside whether these proposals are feasible or not, Yukino glanced at her watch subconsciously. Almost an hour had passed since the meeting started, and the only thing the two sides had agreed on was the proposal for a joint performance by the two schools, which had been agreed upon earlier. As for what exactly to do, there had been no conclusion since the meeting began, not to mention the various tedious issues such as the funding, venue, publicity, contact with the community, and guests for this event.

Even the most important general direction has not been decided yet.

Knowing that continuing like this was just a waste of time, Yukinoshita could only interrupt the heated discussion across from her with a soft cough.

"Yukinoshita-kun," Sakura seemed to only then notice the group from Soubu High, "Please join the discussion, everyone from Soubu High. This event is a joint effort between our two schools. Are you all a little slow to keep up with us? No problem, in a couple of days—"

“President Sakura,” Yukinoshita interrupted the other party’s endless chatter with a slight frown, “If we can’t handle the theme of the event for the time being, then let’s put this issue aside for now and wait for everyone to go back and think about it before making a decision. Let’s start by discussing the venue. No matter what the event is, we definitely need a venue to hold the event and to determine how many people will attend. Once we have these things in mind, we can negotiate with the community.”

Sakura pondered for a moment, then readily agreed to Yukinoshita's suggestion.

The meeting seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

Yukinoshita thought that using something as concrete as choosing a venue would make Toyonosaki's discussion less empty and allow the members of Soubu High to participate, but she seemed to have underestimated them.

Sakura seemed completely unaware of her problem and continued to use the same meeting method as before. They failed to reach a conclusion even after the whiteboard was filled with writing. After someone suggested that "we should determine the main theme of the event before we can continue to discuss other matters," the topic returned to "what exactly should be held for this event."

This turned into an endless vicious cycle.

She had considered coldly rebuking the other party for such meaningless behavior, but at this moment, Yukinoshita was the president of the Soubu High School Student Council. She represented not only Yukinoshita Yukino herself, but the entire Soubu High School Student Council, and even Soubu High School itself. The consequences of speaking without regard for words would not only be a judgment directed at Yukinoshita Yukino, but also at Soubu High School.

She suddenly began to miss the time when she was still in the Service Department.

The meeting lasted nearly two hours, but neither side came to a conclusion. However, compared to the lifeless atmosphere at Soubu High School, Toyonosaki seemed to have gained a lot.

There was no point in regretting the two hours that had already been wasted; Yukinoshita pondered her next move while taking the lead in handling some tedious paperwork.

Giving up easily is not Yukino Yukinoshita's style; facing difficulties head-on is. Since Toyonosaki can't be relied on, Soubu High School is the only option now.

Let's start with the venue; no matter what, we need to get some work done first.

Yukino quickly distributed the work to the members of Soubu High. She had originally considered delegating some of the paperwork to Toyonosaki, but then she thought that Toyonosaki's members might not listen to her, and besides—

The laughter and chatter on the other side of the meeting room, belonging to the Toyosaki Student Council, made it hard to imagine that they could maintain the quality of their paperwork.

Even so, Yukinoshita handed Sakura some logistical documents she had prepared beforehand. "These are documents about cooperating with other organizations. I've learned that several elementary schools seem to be interested in this event and want some of their students to participate to gain experience in community activities. Could you please contact Toyonosaki to discuss this with them? I've also screened the social organizations. Please take another look, President Sakura."

This is a job that is important in some ways but not in others. The main thing is that it doesn't need to be "discussed" anymore, since the more helpers the better, right?

Sakura gave a grateful look and said, "Okay, leave this to us."

Yukino nodded slightly, her drooping eyes concealing the disgust that inadvertently showed, and she turned around and returned to her seat with a brisk demeanor.

So, what should we do next?

Chapter 30 An Unexpected Job

Kiyoshita hadn't seen Yukinoshita for several days, and the false rumors about her were, just as she had expected, lingering on the verge of fading from public view.

The last time I heard Yukinoshita's voice was a few days ago when we met in the Service Club. Even the LINE chat interface hasn't been refreshed since.

The new Service Club is very busy, and so is the Brass Band. They're busy with commissions on one hand and preparing for the graduation party on the other. Yukinoshita occasionally shows up at the Service Club, but mostly at Yuihama's invitation. Kiyori is busy running between the two, but Yuihama, feeling sorry for Kiyori's increasing fatigue, simply suggests that she temporarily stop participating in Service Club activities.

As a result, Kiyori almost completely severed ties with Yukinoshita.

......................................................

"call--"

Kiyoyori stretched and loosened his stiff body, which had become a little stiff from maintaining the same position for so long. "Doesn't Megumi-senpai feel tired?"

She glanced at Kato, who was moving in sync with her movements. Kato remained expressionless as always, seemingly used to it. "You'll get used to it," she said.

She handed a bottle of water to Kiyora, saying, "Eri has high standards and used to make strange requests, but I think I've gotten used to it lately."

"Hey! Over there! Don't you dare talk bad about me behind my back!" Eriri pointed at the two of them with her paintbrush from a short distance away. "Let's take a break for now, we'll continue later!"

"Yes, yes." Kiyoyori sighed helplessly. Today was a rare day without practice, but Eriri, whom he'd run into on his way home, had dragged him to the headquarters of BLESSING SOFTWARE, which was—

Aki Tomoya's house.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

An Yi placed the snacks on the coffee table in the room. "Is there anything else you all need?"

He looked at the girls who had almost filled his room and suddenly felt like an outsider.

This is clearly his home...

Eriri entered the room and immediately occupied the main space with models Kiyoyori and Kato, while Michiru casually nestled on his bed fiddling with her guitar, and Kasumigaoka-senpai, carrying her laptop, took over his desk...

"Speaking of which!" Eriri looked at Aki with an unfriendly expression, "This time, the script for the subsequent games should be decided, right, Tomoya?"

Aki did indeed get two versions of the script from Kasumigaoka, and he is still hesitant about which one to use. It's not that there's anything wrong with either script, but rather that there's an indescribable feeling about it.

He felt the outcome could have been better.

Aki also shared his ideas with Kasumigaoka, and Kasumigaoka began working on the third version of the script.

However, the project was obviously delayed a lot, and Eriri was the first to be dissatisfied.

The uncertainty surrounding the game's direction made her work stagnate, and the sudden changes to the script significantly increased her workload. To prevent running out of time, Eriri had to start drawing several scripts simultaneously.

The surge in workload turned her into a ticking time bomb.

“This…” Aki’s eyes darted towards Kasumigaoka, as if hoping the other would rescue him, “Actually…”

“The third version of the script is finished,” Kasumigaoka said casually. “I’ve already sent the document to Aki-kun’s email. You can check it out tonight if you need it.”

"Kasumigaoka-senpai!" Aki looked at the indifferent Kasumigaoka with teary eyes, "I'm so sorry to have to make you redo the work again at the last minute..."

“Aki-kun’s idea is very interesting, and the script revision was also based on my own idea.”

Kiyoyori could feel Kasumigaoka's gaze falling on him from time to time, but when he looked at him, the other person would subtly look away.

It seemed that something had gotten between the two of them since they returned from that hot spring trip. Although it was Kiyori who caused it, he still couldn't suppress the sense of loss that was hard to ignore.

I had no choice but to restrain myself from paying attention to it anymore.

"What were you busy with just now?" Eriri squinted, trying to get closer to Kasumigaoka to see, but was blocked by the other's movement.

"Other jobs."

A few days ago, Kasumigaoka received an acceptance letter from Waseda University. It's a done deal for her to study at Waseda after graduation. Without the pressure of academics, she has already shifted her focus entirely to work. She has also announced that she will be writing a new work under the name Kasumigaoka Shiko.

Every book lover is eagerly waiting.

This also includes Kiyori, Eriri, and Aki.

So whenever other work is mentioned, even Eriri, who has always been at odds with Kasumigaoka, will stop bothering her.

"Shimizu-kun," Kasumigaoka picked up his laptop and walked to the door, "can we talk in private for a moment?"

Kiyoyori stood up in confusion, and with Eriri's instruction to "come back soon," he followed Kasumigaoka out of Aki's room.

Compared to the liveliness inside the room, the rest of the Aki residence was very quiet. Kiyoyori followed Kasumigaoka downstairs and arrived at the empty living room.

"Um, is there something you need, Shiyu-senpai?"

Kasumigaoka walked over to the sofa and sat down, patting the seat next to him. "Shimizu-kun, come sit here."

She turned on her computer and retrieved an email.

Kiyoyori sat down, not understanding why, and deliberately kept his distance from Kasumigaoka, but the other party inadvertently pulled him closer.

“This email was sent by our school’s student council president,” Kasumigaoka said, leaning close to Kiyoyori and turning his computer screen toward him. “Kiyoyori should know that Toyonosaki’s student council is currently holding a Christmas event in collaboration with Soubu High School.”

“I do know…” Kiyoyori glanced at the email, which was filled with a lot of words, a large part of which was praising and complimenting Kasumigaoka’s writing skills, but the general meaning was to invite Kasumigaoka to help.

"Does the president know that Shiwa-senpai is Kasumi Shiko?"

Kiyoyori's impression of anime otaku was that they all concealed their identities in various ways, so he subconsciously assumed that Kasumigaoka was the same.

“I have never deliberately hidden my identity, and I have participated in many drama club activities. Anyone in the school who knows a little about me will know my literary abilities,” Kasumigaoka simply moved the computer onto Kiyoyori’s lap and crossed his own legs. “Not to mention the student council.”

"Then..." Could the other job you mentioned earlier be referring to this? Kiyoyori didn't quite understand why Kasumigaoka was telling him all this. "Is Utaha-senpai planning to take on this job?"

Kasumigaoka leaned back lazily on the sofa, arms crossed. "Didn't Sawamura-kun tell you how terrible our school's student council is? Calling them idiots is an insult to idiots."