I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Turning around, I saw Yukina wearing a khaki trench coat. She was already thin, and wearing such thin clothes made her look even more frail in the cold wind. Her fair neck was exposed to the air, and she was even wearing a V-neck.

Unusually, Kiyotaka didn't compliment the other person's clothes. Instead, he frowned and asked, "Senior, aren't you cold?"

Yukinoshita blinked and noticed that Kiyorai's gaze was fixed on her neck. For some reason, she felt rather uncomfortable under that undisguised gaze and adjusted the collar of her trench coat. "I put my scarf on the closet in the entryway before I left, but I forgot it when I went out."

She seemed preoccupied when she left home, and with the meeting time approaching, she forgot about her scarf.

After hearing this, Kiyoyori paused for a moment, then silently took out his scarf from his collar and handed it to Yukinoshita. "Please use mine," Kiyoyori said, turning his head away awkwardly. "My clothes are thicker, it's alright."

Seemingly to confirm the truth of his words, Kiyoshi took out his other hand, which was tucked into his pocket, and zipped his coat all the way up.

Seeing that Yukinoshita didn't seem to understand, Kiyori added:

"It's so cold, my hands."

My hands, holding the scarf and exposed to the cold wind, were very cold.

Yukinoshita instinctively took the scarf that still retained Kiyoshi's body heat and wrapped it around her neck under his burning gaze. The soft, fluffy texture rubbed against her skin, and Yukinoshita could even smell Kiyoshi's lingering scent in the air. For a moment, she felt her cheeks burning.

Kiyoshirei withdrew his hand with satisfaction and put it in his pocket. Although the cold wind had taken away a lot of warmth from him, for some reason, his fingertips involuntarily became hot after that fleeting touch with Yukina's hand.

The two were silent for a moment, the atmosphere somewhat ambiguous, unsure of how to begin, yet not awkward at all.

"stand……"

"Little Snow!"

After finishing her chat with her friends, Yui skipped over to Yukinoshita and affectionately took her hand. She then noticed that the scarf that originally belonged to Kiyoshira was now on Yukinoshita.

"Hey, Xiaoxue, what's this scarf...?"

Almost simultaneously, Kiyotomi and Yukinoshita instinctively pulled up their collars and scarves to barely cover their lips.

"Yes, Tachibana-san lent it to me just now."

Kiyoshi did not answer, but silently looked away.

Seeing the two of them making the same movements, Yui blinked thoughtfully.

Although she seemed a bit silly, she was very perceptive. Yui noticed that the two of them didn't seem to want to talk about it. "Great! We can go to the amusement park with everyone today! The Service Club hasn't been able to get together in so long..."

When Yukinoshita first heard everyone, she looked in the direction of Hayama and the others with some dissatisfaction, but then she heard Yuihama's soft murmur and felt a little guilty.

"I'm sorry, I was quite busy with student council matters before."

She was the one who said that even if they left the Service Club, their relationship would not change. However, she was also the one who unilaterally cut off contact with everyone after leaving the Service Club. If it weren't for someone as persistent as Yui Hama maintaining their connection, they would probably have become strangers long ago.

Yukino glanced at Kiyoyori subtly, but he didn't notice.

"Honestly, there's a limit to work."

Yui pouted and complained softly.

"Student council," Kiyoyori interrupted their conversation softly, "are you alright?"

Kiyoyori's gaze briefly met Yukinoshita's in the air. Kiyoyori didn't seem to deliberately hide his concern. On the contrary, Yukinoshita seemed to be burned and hastily looked away.

She paused for a moment, then said, "At least it's proceeding in an orderly manner."

It's hard to say how far things will go.

To avoid worrying them, Yukinoshita decided not to tell the truth.

Kiyori, who had recently received complaints from Kasumigaoka, was certainly more aware of this than Yuihama and the others, but she did not intend to expose it at this moment. "Is that so?"

"Xiaoxue, what happened?"

Yuihama immediately sensed something.

"It's alright, I can handle it," Yukinoshita reassured her. "Hachigaya-kun has arrived too, we can set off now."

"Xiaoxue..."

Yuihama frowned, as if she wanted to say something more.

"Good morning, Hachiman. You almost missed your chance to be late."

But Yukina didn't give her a chance.

Meanwhile, Hikigaya, who was greeted by Yukinoshita, showed a surprised expression.

Because Hikigaya's arrival interrupted the conversation, Yuihama ultimately couldn't bring herself to ask about the student council.

Just as the group was about to leave for the amusement park, Kiyoshiro, who was walking at the back, suddenly reached out and grabbed Yukinoshita's wrist, but quickly let go.

"Tachibana-san?"

Yukinoshita withdrew her hand in surprise.

“You can rely on us,” Kiyora said in a voice too low for the people in front to hear.

"Whether it's Yuihama-senpai or Hikigaya-senpai..."

Snow seemed to want to say something but hesitated, opening her mouth as if to speak.

"And me too."

Chapter 40 Outsiders

As expected, the amusement park was bustling during the holiday. Although it wasn't quite at the point where people were queuing at the park entrance, they could vaguely see the crowds flowing inside through the gate.

But this did not dampen Yuihama's spirits at all. Isshiki followed Hayama, while the other three members of the original Service Club seemed somewhat uninterested. Yuihama held one in each hand and did not forget to call Kiyori, who was walking at the back, to take a group photo at the door.

The three, who were not used to taking group photos, stood like statues as Yui Hama posed for them. Their slightly stiff movements softened under her guidance, and they asked passersby to take several photos in a row. Finally, all four of them showed satisfied smiles.

Looking at the photos sent to his phone, Kiyora was lost in thought, until someone gently patted his shoulder and brought him back to his senses.

"I'm going to the nearby shops now."

Hikigaya quickly withdrew his hand, hiding half of his face in his scarf, and didn't see Kiyoshi clearly. Following his gaze, Kiyoshi saw Yukinoshita being led by Yuihama towards a nearby shop.

"Shouldn't we go to the merchandise store last?"

Qinglai tried his best to answer in a way that sounded more normal.

"Who knows?"

Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, then looked at Kiyora, "Tachibana, you..."

Faced with Kiyoshi's questioning gaze, Hikigaya swallowed the words he was about to say, "Don't you come to the amusement park often?"

Kiyoshi didn't understand what the other person wanted to ask, and just tilted his head.

"You don't seem to be very good at these kinds of situations."

Hikigaya noticed Kiyoyori's stiffness when taking photos, as well as her aura that seemed out of place with the joy of the amusement park.

"Hachiman-senpai is more suited to this kind of occasion than I expected."

"Ah..." Hachiman replied casually, "I often come with Komachi."

“I see,” Kiyotaka smiled slightly. Although he hadn’t met that mischievous girl much, Kiyotaka had a deep influence on her. “Unlike Hikigaya-senpai, I don’t come to amusement parks often, and I have no one to accompany me. Coming to a place like this alone is a bit lonely.”

Even if there were any, they've all already left.

“Then let’s enjoy today,” Hachiman said, still looking ahead. “At least I’m not alone today.”

He added softly, then seemed a little embarrassed.

"There are special events these two days. If you haven't been here before, it's definitely worth participating. There are several classic activities—"

He's clearly a seasoned expert.

“I’ve been here before,” Kiyoyori interrupted softly. “I feel like I’ve been here before, is this the place…? In my memory, I seem to vaguely remember coming here with that person.”

These days, when I think back on the past, things feel somewhat blurry, like they're veiled in a gauze, making it hard to see clearly. Qinglai vaguely remembers being here before, but it also feels like it wasn't. She can't recall the rides or scenery at the amusement park anymore, only the other person's smile remains...

So clear.

“That person…” Hikigaya stopped in his tracks, “is it… Yukino Yukinoshita?”

Kiyoshi stopped and looked at the other person with some surprise, but the two people in front of him did not notice anything unusual about them.

"It's amazing that Hikigaya-senpai could guess it."

“I always felt that person was different to you,” Hikigaya, who was also the one being teased by Haruno, was very clear about Kiyoyori’s attitude towards Haruno. “Tachibana, you’re not a straightforward person.”

But in front of Yukinoshita, it felt exceptionally real.

Kiyoshi took a deep breath, the cold air stinging his nasal cavity like needles piercing his lungs. "Yono... we used to be engaged."

Even Hachiman hadn't expected such a relationship between the two, and he immediately showed a surprised expression, stunned for a long while as if his computer had crashed, "Yukinoshita, she..."

"She doesn't know," Kiyotori said, feeling a sense of relief for some reason as he told this not-so-secret-to-the-point ...

Hachiman was silent for a moment. "Aren't you going to tell Yukinoshita?"

Kiyoshi asked doubtfully, "What good would it do to tell her? This is a tangled mess between me and Yono; there's no need to tell outsiders."

It's just adding to your troubles.

"'An outsider'...?" Hachiman scratched his head awkwardly. "Perhaps, that girl is waiting for you to tell her?"

"Huh?"

You feel lonely because you always treat everyone else as "outsiders," right?

Hachiman didn't say these things out loud, partly because he felt that guiding juniors wasn't really his role, and partly because he had his own selfish reasons.

The phone in his pocket rang, and Hikigaya answered it without thinking, interrupting Kiyoshi's questioning gaze.

"Xiao Qi, where are you and Xiao Qinglai?!"

On the other end of the phone was Yuihama, who was a little angry. When she arrived at the nearby store, she turned around and found that the other two people were missing. When she asked Hayama and the others, they said they hadn't seen them either. After Miura said a few words to her in a cool tone, she couldn't help but make the call.

She wasn't sure if the two were together, which is why she asked that question.

"Ah, we're on our way."

Hachiman answered as usual, without intending to offer any further explanation, which caused a noticeable pause on the other end of the phone.

"Then hurry up! Xiaoxue and I are waiting for you!"

The call was immediately disconnected. Yuihama's voice was very loud, and even without speakerphone, Kiyoshi could hear her clearly. Although he couldn't make out anything from the few words, Kiyoshi knew that Yuihama was probably a little unhappy.

"Hachiman-senpai should have just said that he was on his way back and didn't notice where I was."