I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

“I’ve already messaged Mom,” Haruno waved her phone, then gave Yukino a hard shove from behind. “Yukino can move around freely from now on.”

Yukinoshita, caught off guard by the sudden push, stumbled forward and fell. Kiyoshiro instinctively stepped forward to support her.

"What exactly are you trying to do?!" Yukinoshita glared angrily at Hinano, who was still smiling.

"Xiaoyuu doesn't want to? Then I'll talk to Mom again and ask her to take you home today?"

Faced with Haruno's provocation, Yukinoshita pursed her lips in resentment.

"Then let's say goodbye."

Kiyoshi steadied Yuki with his hand, then walked up to her and met Haruno's gaze. "If there's nothing else, please let me know."

Yang chuckled lightly, then turned and left with a flourish.

"I'm sorry, I've made you watch a farce in the new year."

Yukino frowned, a little annoyed. She had never understood what Haruno was trying to do. First, she forcefully pulled her out in the name of her mother, and then she was pushed back as if she were being teased.

"will not."

Kiyoshi smiled helplessly. If we're talking about farces, what could be more farcical than last night?

"That……"

"Let's stick to the original plan for now."

Happy birthday, senior.

Chapter 60 One should press on with one's might, for a second attempt will be less effective, and a third attempt will be exhausting.

"The planned schedule?"

Without Haruno by her side, Yukinoshita seemed to relax a lot. With her trench coat draped over her arm, her gaze naturally fell on Kiyori's hand.

Kiyoshi was carrying the birthday presents that the three of them were preparing for Yukinoshita.

"Originally, Yuihama-senpai and Hikigaya-senpai were both going to come to celebrate your birthday today, but due to the sudden arrangement, they could only send me as their representative."

Kiyoshi explained.

The original plan was for the three of them to buy gifts together, then invite Yukino out for dinner to have a simple birthday celebration, but—

It's become a bit difficult to continue dining in the mall because of Haruno's appearance. Who knows if we'll run into her again? So we need to get Yukino's opinion on where to eat.

"Anyway, let's go get the cake first. Hachiman-senpai said it was a gift from Komachi to you."

Fortunately, they didn't run into Haruno on their way to pick up the cake. Just as Kiyoyori was thinking about whether to give her the gift and say goodbye or find a place to eat with Yukinoshita, Yukinoshita put on her coat and took the cake box from Kiyoyori's hand.

"Let's go to my apartment; I just stocked up on groceries yesterday."

Actually, as soon as she was asked if she had time today, Yukinoshita had already figured out the reason and planned to cook for the group. However, she didn't expect things to turn out so suddenly, and of the three guests who had made reservations, only one remained.

Kiyoyori didn't even have time to refuse before Yukinoshita took him back to her apartment.

She was still somewhat dazed when she stood at the apartment door.

"what happened?"

Walking ahead, I turned around and saw Kiyoshi looking up at the apartment.

“It’s nothing,” Kiyoyori’s eyes flickered, “It just feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita was also taken aback.

It seems that they haven't had a body-swapping situation in a long time.

"Let's go upstairs first."

Yukinoshita opened the door first, her back to Kiyori, but for some reason a sense of loss washed over her.

The apartment was still the same as always, with everything neatly arranged except for the plates on the dining table and the tea that had gone completely cold.

It was obvious that they left in a hurry and didn't have time to pack.

"I was a bit rushed this morning," Yukinoshita said, putting her things on the table and tidying up the dishes in the kitchen. "Tachibana-san, find a place to sit down. I'll be done soon."

After saying that, she busied herself in the kitchen. Kiyoshiro, who hadn't been here for a long time, felt inexplicably out of place. Sitting on the sofa, watching Yukinoshita's busy figure, even if she wanted to look away, she would eventually turn back to her.

After a few rounds, Kiyoshi finally couldn't sit still any longer and stood up.

"Let me help, it'll be faster with two people."

So Qinglai skillfully took over the work of washing and picking vegetables.

Yukinoshita, whose job had been taken away, paused for a moment, but she did not object, which could be considered as tacit approval of Kiyori's behavior, and then went to process other ingredients.

Even without communication, the tacit understanding between the two only increases.

Kiyoyori watched the water flow over his hands, but his mind was filled with the words that Yono had said.

Kiyoyori's feelings were exposed by the other party, and she was even "blackmailed" by Haruno because of this. Even though such an excessive condition was proposed, Kiyoyori found that she was not angry. What she was angry about was Haruno's attitude of treating everything as a plaything, not the condition itself.

Being tied to Yukinoshita doesn't seem like such a bad thing.

Kiyoshiro secretly watched Yukino's back, but was unexpectedly attacked by a seafood ingredient that was still alive in the pool.

"hiss--"

Kiyoshi took a soft breath and saw the blood seep from the back of her hand, which was then diluted in the running water.

"what happened?"

Yukinoshita has good hearing, and even in the relatively noisy kitchen, she could hear Kiyoyori's voice.

Yukinoshita immediately noticed Kiyori's injured hand and frowned. She held Kiyori's injured hand in her hands and examined it carefully. Finding that it was just a minor injury, she sighed in relief and turned to go to the room to prepare antidote and bandages.

Kiyoyori obediently followed Yukinoshita to sit down at the table, watching her carefully tend to his wounds. Although there was no verbal exchange, Kiyoyori clearly felt cared for.

The moment the alcohol entered the wound, it hurt terribly, but Yukinoshita's concerned gaze brought a touch of sweetness to Kiyori's heart.

This must be what liking someone is, and the person in front of you—

"That's good. Don't get it wet later. There are only two of us, and this amount of ingredients is fine—"

Before Yukinoshita could finish speaking, she suddenly fell silent when Kiyoshiro grabbed her hand. Although the hand holding hers was slightly cool from being rinsed in water for a long time, she felt a certain warmth spreading across their skin.

"Tachibana-san...?"

The reflection in the eyes of the person in front of her was entirely herself, and Yukinoshita subconsciously felt her heart begin to race.

"Senior, I—"

"Ding Dong"

The doorbell rang suddenly, and the ambiguous atmosphere between the two vanished abruptly.

Kiyoshi licked his lips, seemingly intending to finish speaking in one go, but the doorbell started ringing again, oblivious to his own feelings.

"It must be the takeout I just ordered."

Coming to her senses, Yukinoshita felt a little embarrassed. She immediately pulled her hand away and ran to the entrance.

The delivery was for soy sauce. It turned out that they had run out of soy sauce at home, so Yukinoshita ordered delivery.

Normally, they hope their takeout arrives as soon as possible, but at this moment, they both wished: "If only it were a little slower."

Kiyoyori was then forbidden from entering the kitchen by Yukinoshita, and he didn't step into the kitchen until the sumptuous lunch was finished.

The meal went smoothly, though both of them tacitly overlooked the slightly awkward incident earlier. Yukinoshita remained outwardly calm, while Kiyori was silently planning for the next time.

The cake I brought home did taste good, and the portion was well controlled, but I don't know if it's just psychological, but Qinglai felt that it was not quite satisfactory.

Perhaps driven by some possessiveness, Kiyoyori borrowed the kitchen to make a new cheesecake, and even gave himself a plausible reason:

I'd like to ask Yukinoshita to help me taste it.

Of course, Yukinoshita did not refuse.

While waiting for the oven to bake, Kiyoyori presented a gift on behalf of the three members of the former Service Club.

Yuihama gave a small wallet shaped like a panda, Hikigaya gave a pair of non-prescription glasses, and Kiyoyori gave a handmade scarf.

"Thank you, I didn't expect Tachibana to be so skillful."

She stroked the fabric of the scarf under the snow. Admittedly, it was completely different from the scarf she had bought, but what she held in her hands was the other person's heartfelt sentiment. Just holding it in her hand, she could already feel a continuous warmth.

Since it was just the two of them dining, they chose to huddle together under the kotatsu (heated floor mat) to keep warm, which brought them even closer together.

Perhaps the indoor heat was too intense, and my heart, which had just been extinguished, began to stir again.

"Because I saw that you weren't wearing a scarf last time, I was worried that you might be cold."

What am I even saying?!

Kiyoshi secretly bit the tip of his tongue.

Yukinoshita chuckled softly, "Hmm, it shouldn't be cold anymore after this."

"What do you think of this scarf, senior?"

"It's very exquisite, and the technique is very skillful," Yukinoshita commented objectively. "I really like it."

Kiyoshi gritted her teeth, as if to encourage herself, and reached out to grasp Yukinoshita's hands again, closing the distance between them.

"So, what do you think of me for making this scarf?"

Yukino's breath hitched. She tilted her head slightly to look at Kiyotaka, unconsciously biting her lip, only to find that the other's gaze naturally fell on her lips.

She wanted to get away, yet she didn't want to.

As the distance between them gradually closed, a glimmer of anticipation began to rise in her heart.

"Ding--"

A clear sound suddenly rang out in the quiet room, startling Qinglai, who was already feeling guilty, and he instinctively let go of her hand and retreated to a safe social distance once again.

Snowflakes blushed belatedly.

The two turned away shyly, not daring to look at each other again.

until--

The oven beeped again, urging us to hurry.

what……