I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Kiyoshi kept his eyes fixed on the road, but freed one hand to take Yukino's hand and put it to his lips. "Let's go on a trip together during spring break."

"Didn't we say we wanted to go to Finland to see the Northern Lights? We can try our luck this year."

"it is good."

Yukino withdrew her hand, signaling to her lover to drive carefully.

"Go rest in the back. You don't need to stay here with me. It's so noisy in the back, I can't sleep."

Kiyoshi knew that Yukino had gotten up very early today in order to prepare lunch for everyone before going to class.

"Okay, if you get tired, just ask Nozomi to switch shifts with you."

Yukino unbuckled her seatbelt, bent down (edited), and then leisurely left.

"Yukino-senpai, you're so cute."

Qinglai couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile.

P.S.: I'm going to make you all swoon with sweetness! You probably didn't expect Kiyora to be afraid of ghosts, right? Surprisingly, she's incredibly cute!

Please see the announcement if you have any questions.

Chapter 146 Extra - We're 03

Mizore was sitting in the booth directly opposite the LCD TV in the back seat, with Nozomi and Reina sitting next to her. Both of them were staring intently at the screen, while Kumiko, huddled in the legroom, hugged a square cushion with both hands and rested her head on Reina's shoulder, using the cushion to block most of her view, but she still couldn't help but glance at the terrifying scene on the screen.

"We should be careful here."

As the game's storyline unfolds, a sudden, intense yet eerie background sound erupts from the previously silent scene, accompanied by terrifying sound effects, causing everyone to involuntarily slow their breathing.

Meanwhile, Mizore, who was controlling the protagonist, was even more focused. Following the game's instructions, she was about to push open a door that didn't look very good. The scene returned to silence, and the clear sounds of breathing and gradually accelerating heartbeats could be heard. As if they had some kind of resonance with the protagonist, the heartbeats of the several people also reached the same level.

"Wow—, this place looks dangerous..."

Nozomi nervously grabbed a cushion and hugged it to her chest. She glanced at Mizore beside her, and a crack appeared in her usually calm expression, revealing a hint of nervousness.

Mizore finally managed to push open the door, and the sudden sound startled everyone. Even the usually composed Mizore's hands trembled as she made her character take a step back. Kumiko, who was already terrified, buried her head in Reina's neck.

"Oh, there's nothing there."

Upon closer inspection, apart from the obviously frightening sound effect, nothing actually jumped out from behind the door, and the health bar in the upper left corner of the screen was still intact, without any strange negative effects being added.

"That's a bit strange."

Reina was surprisingly unafraid of such things, and instead earnestly offered a suggestion, "I have a feeling it can't be that simple, Mizore-senpai, how about we try a different approach?"

“Yes,” Mizore shared the same opinion, “but the arrow keeps pointing in this direction, so there might be something that can only be obtained by going inside.”

After hesitating for a moment, Mizore decided to go inside.

With a mischievous grin, Reina, who had anticipated this, gently pulled Kumiko's head away from her neck before the person entered the dark room. "It's alright, Kumiko, look, nothing happened."

Horror movies have this kind of magic: even if you know they are scary and you know you are afraid, you will still find yourself unable to look at the screen.

Kumiko did the same; as Reina stroked her hair, she slowly shifted her gaze to the screen.

At that moment, the character in the game walked into the pitch-black room. Suddenly, the door slammed shut by itself. After Ying instinctively exclaimed "Oh no!", a terrifying sound effect suddenly appeared. The pitch-black screen flashed for a moment, revealing a hideous and terrifying ghost face. Then, the edges of the screen turned red, and the entire screen turned gray. The interface displayed the option to "return to the save point".

Kumiko didn't scream; she seemed stunned, and the light in her eyes disappeared.

"Kumiko...?"

Reina touched Kumiko's cheek with concern.

"Reina is the one with a really bad personality!"

"I learned it all from Kumiko."

"Hehe, you two have a really good relationship."

Nozomi sat to the side, watching the interaction between the two juniors with a smile.

"Do you want to continue playing?"

"Hmm, I haven't finished the game yet."

Mizore operated the controller, accessed the game's most recent save, and started the game again.

"I think you could bring a weapon in. I've read some game guides before, and it seems like this game has a feature that allows players to counterattack."

After comforting Kumiko, Reina earnestly offered Mizore her advice.

"Well, that makes sense."

"Why isn't Reina afraid of this at all?"

Kumiko looked at her lover with a puzzled expression. She still remembered the embarrassing incident from high school when Reina's class had a haunted house, and she was scared half to death when she went in to find her.

"Because they're all fake."

Reina replied calmly, "Kumiko's cowardice is as expected."

"I'm really sorry!"

"Kiyoshi is also afraid of this kind of thing."

Ying dropped an explosive topic in a very calm tone.

"Huh?! Kiyora?!"

Nozomi was so surprised she almost choked on her juice. In her memory, that junior always seemed so calm and composed. Even when they were in third grade, during the competition between her and Mizore for the solo performance of "Liz and the Blue Bird," and when she lost the competition before the Kansai Grand Prix, she still maintained her composure.

However, what Nozomi didn't know was that after losing the election, Kiyoyori cried for a long time in Yukino's arms before she could let go of her grief.

Kumiko was equally surprised.

If we're talking about when she and Kiyoshi really started getting to know each other, it was during their senior year of high school. Because of her college application, she sought out Kiyoshi for tutoring, and in her memory, most of what she saw was Kiyoshi as a strict tutor, teaching without any mercy.

"Yeah, I invited Kiyotaka to play games with me before, and she was terrified. When I saw her the next day, she had really dark circles under her eyes."

The simple words made everyone laugh.

"So it was that day."

Reina clearly remembered Kiyoshi being absent-minded during practice that day, looking like he hadn't slept well the night before. However, she knew that Kiyoshi was helpless against this kind of thing.

A new round of the game began, and the four of them quickly found themselves in the tense and exciting process of advancing the plot.

Just then, Yukino also got out of the passenger seat and returned to the back of the car.

She glanced at the game screen, just as the ghost appeared, then turned around without much expression to get the black tea from the storage cabinet above the stove.

"Isn't Yukino-senpai afraid of this?"

"Yeah, it's alright."

She responded indifferently.

Actually, she wasn't always this calm and collected. But after that haunted house date, Yukino realized one of Kiyori's weaknesses. Perhaps it was because she felt that the two of them couldn't have the same weakness, or perhaps it was because she wanted to protect Kiyori, but Yukino started her own anti-horror story training. After watching horror movies from various countries on a certain video website, she became immune to them and could even guess the plot patterns.

Anyone want some black tea?

Yukino took out the kettle specifically for brewing tea.

"Ah, let me help you."

Nozomi immediately stood up and walked to Yukino's side.

With their backs to the booth, Nozomi whispered in Yukino's ear:

"Thank you, Yukino."

Yukino glanced at the other person's sincere eyes in surprise, and when she realized what the other person was talking about, she just smiled slightly.

"You're welcome."

P.S.: It's raining again, I don't feel like writing. I don't know why I feel a bit unwell today, a little tightness in my chest, and a bit nauseous, sigh.

Chapter 147 Extra - We're 04

The lively atmosphere in the car didn't last long. As the initial enthusiasm and excitement of the road trip faded, the drowsiness brought on by the journey gradually overwhelmed the already tired passengers, and the car returned to silence, with only the dull rumble of the car driving on the road.

Nozomi, who had rested earlier, took out several blankets from the drawer under the seat and carefully covered the three tired people with them, while Yukino was taking a nap on the bed at the back of the carriage.

Feeling much better, she tiptoed to the driver's seat, lifted the soft curtain, and saw Kiyoshi concentrating on driving, occasionally checking the navigation route on his phone. The navigation beeping occasionally sounded in the quiet space, but Kiyoshi had turned the volume down to the lowest level so as not to disturb the people in the back seat.

"Want to switch shifts?"

As Nozomi sat in the passenger seat, she noticed Kiyoshi's unusually frequent blinking and the faint scent of some kind of invigorating essential oil permeating the front cabin.

Kiyoshi drove very smoothly, and even sitting inside the car, there wasn't much of a bumpy ride. Fortunately, while Mizore and the others were still playing games, Nozomi had already taken a nice nap.

"Let's wait for the next rest stop."

Qinglai did not refuse. The intense training in the orchestra in the morning and the long drive had already exhausted her.

"Is everyone asleep?"

"Yes, they're all exhausted."

Nozomi smiled helplessly. Mizore gets very focused when she plays games. Neither Nozomi nor Kiyori are usually gamers, so today they met Kumiko, who is interested in games, and Reina, who is competitive. The three of them had a lot of fun.

"Yeah, it's suddenly become quiet, and it feels a bit strange."

“Kiyoshi,” Nozomi suddenly spoke after a moment of silence, “thank you.”

Kiyoyori blinked, puzzled. "For what?"

"They invited us to come out and have fun this time. Mizore always stays at home and doesn't like to go out, so we've never had a chance to travel together. This is a perfect opportunity."

“Ah,” Kiyotaka nodded knowingly, “I’ve always wanted to try a road trip, but it’s a bit too much for just the two of us, Yukino and me, to go on a long road trip. Yukino isn’t in good physical condition and can’t drive for long periods of time.”

"Moreover, road trips and camping trips are more fun when everyone is together."

Nozomi, who was next to her, suddenly burst out laughing.