I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

They all sighed inwardly, as if by unspoken agreement.

Chapter 61 Eve

Of course, nothing happened after that day. After they finished the last cheesecake together, Kiyorai fled in panic.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh.

It's been almost a month since I last saw Yukinoshita. Even though we're in the same school, Yukinoshita, as the student council president, is always very busy. It seems like she has some kind of event going on recently. Moreover, as a soon-to-be third-year student, she's also facing worries about getting into a higher school.

Kiyoyori didn't specifically ask Yukinoshita whether she chose literature or science; instead, she sent a message on her own initiative. Kiyoyori wasn't surprised by the result.

Although we haven't met in person, we've been communicating online much more frequently than before.

Kiyoshi glanced at his phone, which was still showing the screen where they had said goodnight to each other the night before, and couldn't help but sigh again.

What exactly is their relationship now...?

“You’ve already sighed twice during just one break,” Reina, who was sitting in the front row, turned around and poked Kiyoyori with the tip of her pen. “What happened?”

"nothing."

The only response she received was Qinglai's weak and listless voice.

"Dumped?"

"No, that's not true!"

They were never together to begin with.

"So, you were rejected after confessing your feelings?"

Kiyoshi instinctively wanted to refute, but then he remembered that Yukinoshita hadn't given him an answer yet.

"Perhaps..."

"Eh~"

"What kind of tone is that?"

Kiyoshi looked at Reina with some dissatisfaction, but unlike her dejection, Reina seemed quite pleased.

What are your plans for clearing out debtors this year?

"What do you mean, what to do?"

"Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day?" Kiyoyori slowly straightened up. She looked around and saw that many people were indeed discussing this. "Didn't Reina never care about Valentine's Day before?"

Because she didn't want to be like everyone else, Reina never celebrated Valentine's Day in the past. She wouldn't prepare chocolates or accept chocolates from others, even if that other person was Kiyora.

But this year...

It must be because of Huang Qian, tsk.

Qinglai pouted.

"It's okay to enjoy it occasionally."

Reina pretended to be indifferent.

"So, you're implying that I'll give you chocolates this year, right?" Kiyoyori propped his chin on one hand, tilted his head to look at Reina, and gave her a teasing smile. "Are you afraid of being embarrassed if you don't receive any chocolates? Don't worry, I can guarantee that Reina will receive at least one that day, but it will be a duty chocolate."

Upon hearing this, Reina retorted without holding back, "Kiyoshi is the one who shouldn't cry just because he didn't receive the chocolate he wanted."

Kiyoshi simply chuckled twice at this.

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

As the date draws closer, the Valentine's Day atmosphere on campus grows stronger, and you can hear discussions about giving chocolates and preparing to confess your feelings wherever you go.

Outside of school, many shops have already started preparing for Valentine's Day, with all kinds of exquisite chocolates displayed in their showcases, attracting consumers eager for Valentine's Day.

At that moment, Kiyoshi was also flipping through the latest dessert magazine for research.

"Xiao Qinglai, what are your plans for Valentine's Day this year?"

As someone at the forefront of campus fashion, Yuihama had naturally started paying attention to Valentine's Day-related matters long ago. However, her cooking skills were lacking, and after almost burning the second pot in the house, she finally thought of calling for help.

"Hmm, pretty much the same as before."

Kiyoshi's attention was focused on the magazine, and he subconsciously replied, "I give chocolates to all my close friends and family..."

"Can Kiyora make chocolate?!"

Yui grabbed Kiyoyori's hand, her eyes seemingly sparkling, and stared intently at Kiyoyori with an expectant gaze.

"Uh... I'll give chocolates to all the seniors..."

Wow! Chocolate made by Qinglai! I can't wait!

"Wow~ I want some chocolate made by Kiyora too~"

Sitting on the other side, Isshiki also pretended to hold Kiyoyori's hand.

"Let go..."

"I won't give it to you unless you agree to give it to me."

"Okay, let go now..."

"Great!"

Isshiki released Kiyora's hand and made a victory gesture. "Don't worry, I'll return the favor."

"It's okay if you don't give it to me."

"What?!"

“Um…” Yuihama began hesitantly.

"What's wrong? Yuigahama-senpai?"

"Hmm... there's one more thing I wanted to ask Kiyora..." Yui twirled the end of her hair, her eyes darting around, occasionally landing on another person who hadn't spoken in the classroom. "If it were possible, could you make chocolate with Kiyora? I'm not very good at it..."

“Ah…” Kiyoyori nodded knowingly, then looked at Hachiman, who was pretending to be invisible, with a slightly complicated expression. “Of course, but if you do it with me, you won’t get the surprise of receiving the chocolate.”

"It's okay! I'm just happy to receive it!" Yuihama grabbed Kiyori's hand and shook it happily. "I feel much more at ease with Kiyori here!"

That's true...

Kiyoshi smiled helplessly.

Just as the group was having a lively discussion, there was a knock on the door of the activity room, and Yukinoshita, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, walked in.

"Little Snow!"

Yuihama's eyes lit up.

Good afternoon, Yuihama-san.

Yukinoshita greeted Yuihama gently, but her gaze fell on Yuihama's hand, which was still holding Kiyori's.

Kiyoshi instinctively broke free from Yuihama's hands.

"Xiaoxue, why are you here at this time? Haven't you been very busy lately?"

Yuihama seemed oblivious to Kiyori's subtle actions, and simply walked over to Yukinoshita, affectionately taking her arm. "We were talking about Valentine's Day! Kiyori said he'd teach me how to make chocolate."

"Is that so...?"

Yukino looked at Kiyoyori, but when their eyes met, she instinctively looked away.

“Actually, I came here for this too,” Yukinoshita said awkwardly, running her hand through her long hair. “Toyonosaki sent another invitation, saying they want to hold a dessert making class.”

"They're not very capable, but they have a lot of ideas."

Hachiman muttered a complaint under his breath.

“Yes,” Yukinoshita agreed, “but I don’t think it would be difficult to organize this event. It’s mainly for people who want to learn how to make chocolate before Valentine’s Day, like Yui-chan. All we need to do is find a place to hold it, and if we recruit members, interested people will naturally pay attention.”

"So, Yukino-senpai contacted us this time because she wants our help?"

Isshiki looked intently at Yukinoshita.

“No,” Yukinoshita shook her head, “organizing this event isn’t difficult. The student council has already completed most of the work, and the venue is still under discussion. We should have a decision soon, so—”

Yukinoshita turned her gaze to Kiyori, who remained silent.

"I'm here to invite you to participate."

Chapter 62 The Wind Rises

Yuihama naturally wouldn't refuse Yukinoshita's invitation, and Kiyoyori, with ulterior motives, also wouldn't refuse.

The event was scheduled for the day before Valentine's Day. As Yukinoshita said, those who need it will naturally pay attention to the event. The student council had only announced the event for a short time when it received a lot of applications.

"Is Kiyoyori going to participate in this event?"

When Kiyoyori was on the phone with Eriri, he inadvertently brought up this matter. As it was a joint event between the two schools, Eriri, being a student at Toyonosaki, naturally knew about it.

"Well, I guess it's the kind of thing that teaches others how to do things."

"Humph~"

Eriri gave a vague, ambiguous hum.

"It seems Kiyoyori will be making a lot of chocolates this year."

Despite being a somewhat aloof person, Lai actually makes a lot of chocolates every year, first for her closest people, such as Asuka, and then for her seniors and classmates at school.

This year, there will probably be quite a few more people, but most of them will be obligatory chocolates.

"If you want to eat it, I can make you a portion."

It was just one more serving of chocolate, so Kiyoyori didn't care.

"No need, anyway, we can eat Kiyoshi's chocolate anytime."

Eriri didn't want to burden Kiyori, even if it was just a piece of chocolate.

"I see," Kiyoyori said, flipping through the magazine and jotting down recipes for desserts that interested her. "Isn't Eriri coming? Anyway, she made up with Tomoya-senpai last year, so isn't she going to give him chocolates this year?"

Eriri, on the other end of the phone, was unusually silent. Normally, she would erupt like a firecracker whenever Aki was mentioned, but—