I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Yuihama reached out her hand to try and stop her, but seeing Yukinoshita's stunned expression, she swallowed her words of pleading.

"Let's both calm down. We can't talk calmly in this situation."

Kiyoshi walked towards home.

This was the first time Hachiman had seen the other person with their back hunched over.

Chapter 66 Past Tense

After returning home, Kiyotaka took out the chocolates she hadn't been able to give away from her pocket and lay down on a soft pillow.

She couldn't describe her feelings at that moment—whether it was anger or resentment—but she couldn't deny the sense of relief she felt for that instant.

Even though the confession came too suddenly, and even though the timing was inappropriate, Kiyoyori breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Yuyano tell the story.

Because she didn't know if she had the courage to say it before confessing her feelings, she was afraid of being rejected and misunderstood.

But she was even more afraid of losing it after she gained it.

If you never had it, then you can't say you've lost it.

Perhaps this is the best solution.

The phone suddenly vibrated. Qinglai wasn't surprised to hear the message from the person who sent it, since she still owed them something.

Arriving alone at the agreed-upon location, Kiyoyori saw Haruno sitting at the bar as soon as he entered. Haruno had her back to the door and was swirling a glass of wine in her hand.

As soon as Kiyotaka sat down next to Haruno, a waiter handed her a menu. She put her belongings down and began to look through the menu.

Yang continued drinking, quietly watching Qinglai's movements.

"They don't ask anything."

Kiyoshi placed his order as if he hadn't heard anything. Only after the waiter left a glass of lemonade did he speak, saying, "I have a question that you might not be able to answer."

"Too."

Yang downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, then gestured for the waiter to pour more.

"It's not even dark yet, and you've already started drinking?"

“Only alcohol can relieve my sorrows,” Yang Nai raised her full glass again, “but I’m happy, let’s just consider it an early celebration.”

"Is it because you found something you lost before?"

Kiyoshi, unusually, touched Yōno's glass with his own.

Yang Nai drank her wine while a barely perceptible smile appeared on her face. "You caught me."

"Is it worth it? To exchange something you once longed for for something you've already lost, wouldn't that mean losing it again?" Kiyoyori understood what loss was and knew the pain of loss, so he preferred never to have it at all. "Because you desperately desire something, you're willing to exchange it for what you already have. If that's the case, why regret it?"

"It wasn't an exchange, it was taken away."

"So you have a scale in your heart."

To determine which is more important.

Yang Nai's eyes became a little unfocused. She reached out and gently stroked Qing Lai's face. "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry, I'm giving up on you.

This time, Kiyoyori did not resist, but simply let Haruno's hand remain on his face. "I forgive you."

Because you made a choice I would never have dared to make.

For a fleeting moment, Kiyoyori seemed to see a tear glistening in Haruno's eyes.

"Kiyoshi is definitely more perceptive when it comes to these kinds of things. Yukino seems completely unaware of it, but I hope she never finds out."

This was probably the most genuine smile Yono had ever seen. "So tonight's meal is hush money for Kiyoyori."

"Then I'll have to eat a lot more."

Yang Nai let out a hearty laugh, "Sure, you can eat whatever you want."

"However, I should say this first: Yukino is different from me; she is a bit stubborn."

Aren't you stubborn?

“Not that kind of thing. I mean, sometimes she can’t think straight, like this time she’s definitely getting stuck on something,” Haruno swirled her wine glass, mimicking Yukino’s way of thinking. “She’ll definitely think that the interests between our two families will make your relationship impure, a shackle that binds you, and a burden. What do you think about that, Kiyori?”

"For me, this couldn't be better."

If you can have both, why give up one?

“You see, this is the difference between us and Yukino. If it were me, I would think this is killing two birds with one stone, a win-win situation,” Haruno laughed self-deprecatingly. “But Yukino wouldn’t think that way. She would think that feelings mixed with interests are tainted, will change, and that the feelings themselves are a kind of hypocritical illusion that exists to cover up interests.”

"That child is just too upright."

Haruno sighed softly, "So, Kiyori, you can't lie to Yukino."

"She sounds like an older sister."

"She's the older sister, after all~"

Aren't you afraid of being misunderstood?

What's the misunderstanding?

"To so openly tell Yukinoshita-senpai that we were engaged, and even hint that I would give you a Valentine's Day gift, aren't you afraid that Yukinoshita-senpai will think that you—"

Kiyoshi hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I'm just stating the facts, is there a problem?"

"No……"

“However,” Yang put down his glass, clasped his hands together on the bar, and tilted his head to look at Lai, “there wasn’t really any misunderstanding, after all—”

I like you.

"I'm not lying."

Kiyoyori looked into Haruno's eyes and knew she was serious, but at this moment, Kiyoyori's heart no longer stirred as it had before.

Just then, the waiter brought Qinglai's order.

That feeling of liking someone has quietly faded away.

"However, I'm already used to being disliked by Yukino, so Kiyoyori is the one who should be more worried about being misunderstood by Yukino than me, right? Have you thought about how to explain yourself?"

Yang Nai gently slid his finger around the rim of the cup with great interest.

"Don't worry about it, I'll handle it."

Kiyoshi focused intently on his meal, not even glancing at Yono.

"How reliable!" Haruno clapped her hands, her eyes narrowing with pleasure. "As expected, only a passionate confession can melt the heart of someone like Yukino!"

Kiyoshi stopped eating, suddenly finding the delicious food in front of him hard to swallow.

"Yonai, you..."

Kiyoshi turned to look at Haruno. Haruno's face clearly showed pure happiness, but Kiyoshi didn't know why she was forcing a smile.

"Why? If it were you, you could have had both."

Yang Nai paused for a moment, then suddenly broke into a bright smile. "Kiyoshi, are you implying something to me?"

Kiyoyori immediately turned his head, "No!"

"Because I want to see her happy."

That was something Yang would give everything for.

"Hey, Kiyorai, you..." Haruno swallowed the word, "Do you still hate me?"

“I used to hate him,” Kiyoyori paused, “but probably because I used to like him.”

Yang Nai's eyes widened immediately.

"This is hush money."

Kiyoyori pushed the chocolate cake that was originally placed next to him in front of Haruno, saying, "Happy Valentine's Day."

Goodbye, Yang Nai.

Goodbye,

Yang Nai.

After Kiyoyori left, Haruno unwrapped the cake. She scooped out a small piece with a spoon and put it in her mouth. It was a familiar taste with a hint of bitterness, a taste she was used to, but it wasn't the taste that the chocolate cake Kiyoyori made in the classroom yesterday should have.

She still remembers.

Bitterness spreads on the tip of the tongue.

"So sweet..."

Something warm was quietly dripping down.

Chapter 67 Present Tense

"There's something I want to tell you. Is it a convenient time to take a call?"

Kiyoyori unexpectedly received a message from Hikigaya after parting ways with Haruno. Shortly after she replied, Hikigaya called her.

Good evening, Hachiman-senpai.

"Um... Good evening, Tachibana." Hachiman was still not used to talking to this junior. In fact, this was probably the first time the two of them had spoken alone.

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, Yuihama said we're going to the aquarium together tomorrow. I'm just letting you know. Yukinoshita will be going too."

Kiyoyori was silent for a moment. "I understand. Is it just because of this?"

"...No, what I really wanted to say was something else," Hachiman gripped the phone tightly. "Actually, on the day we went to the amusement park, I confessed to Yukinoshita."

"However, unsurprisingly, I was rejected."

Kiyoyori stood in the night wind, somewhat confused by Hikigaya's meaning in telling her this. "Why are you telling me this?"

Hikigaya didn't need to comfort Kiyoyori with his own failures, because Kiyoyori wasn't the type to kick someone when they're down.