Kotegawa picked her up and spun her around twice. Under her somewhat speechless glare, he said softly, "I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow."

"You have six classes tomorrow... Won't you make Aunt Qiuye angry if you go back?" Qingkong looked at him in surprise: "I'll go back the day after tomorrow. The shop isn't too busy right now. I can ask for leave the day after tomorrow and go back together."

"Hmm...okay!" Kotegawa, who had already buried his head in happiness, had lost all his opinions. He rubbed his cheeks back and forth, which made the girl hum a few times and pat his head.

Yuka brought the kitten out, and Kotegawa and Haruka returned to their normal distance, squeezing into the kitchen to prepare the dishes and sauces they would need later.

After a while, the doorbell rang at the front gate, accompanied by a shout of "Excuse me."

"Hmm! Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!"

Yuka jogged over, with Kotegawa following behind her.

She opened the front door and saw Amamiya and Tsuki still wearing their shop uniforms, with two large boxes about half a person's height next to them.

Upon seeing Yuka and Kotegawa, she immediately smiled, as if she hadn't seen Kotegawa for a month: "Long time no see, Kotegawa-kun, come to the shop for coffee sometime."

Looking at Sachiko Amamiya, whose smile and expression were completely natural, he nodded slightly, thinking to himself that this girl hadn't wasted her time watching so many TV dramas.

"Mommy..." The last kitten cried out happily, squeezed out from the crack in the house, and rushed towards Sachiko Amamiya with outstretched arms.

"Ah! Kazuki! I've missed Mommy so much!" Sachiko Amamiya opened her arms as well.

Kotegawa coughed lightly and glanced at them.

If this continues, he might just turn his back on the cat.

The two cats returned to normal instantly.

She bowed and said, "Dear Mother, it's been a long time since I last spoke to you. I'm doing well here, so please don't worry about me."

Another gently raised his hand: "My son..."

A minute later, Kotegawa and Sachiko Amamiya each carried a large suitcase into the entryway and greeted Haruka, who was clearing the dining table.

Sachiko Amamiya responded with a smile, quickly and skillfully taking out meat and side dishes from the box and filling the entire table. She then politely declined the invitation to eat together again, and apologized to Haruka once more, saying that she had to go back to the shop to pack up and might not finish until quite late. She hoped that Tsuki could stay another night, and as a thank you, she would treat him to this meal.

However, Qingkong insisted on paying, and it wasn't a big deal for Yue to stay at the house for one night. If the manager really didn't have time, it wouldn't matter if Yue stayed there indefinitely.

They each held on for a while, then Sachiko Amamiya's expression changed, and without saying anything more, she hurriedly left with her suitcase.

Qingkong and Kotegawa stood under the streetlight at the gate, watching her leave.

Once the person was out of sight, Qingkong turned around and asked in confusion, "Where's the cat? Is it sleeping upstairs?"

"Maybe. I went to practice my boxing in the yard as soon as I got back today, and I didn't pay attention..." Kotegawa said without changing his expression.

Qingkong hummed in agreement, then stepped back into the house, intending to go upstairs to take a look.

Kotegawa, with his sleeves tucked in, remained standing at the front door. Only after Seizo returned to the house did he slowly lock the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a white cat darting back like a shadow. Upon reaching the door, the cat leaped up and onto the second-floor balcony, then slipped inside through the open window.

"Being a cat is quite a tough job..."

He locked the door with a click, then tapped the side where a longsword he had placed there glowed faintly. Only then did he turn and go back into the house.

From this moment on, any monsters or ghosts that dare to trespass will have to take a sword strike first.

The door to the entrance was also closed.

Just then, Qingkong came down the stairs carrying the big white cat.

Before having dinner, she seemed to be planning to feed the cat first.

Kotegawa ignored it, washed his hands, and started grilling the meat.

That night, the house remained peaceful and lively as usual.

...Around 9 p.m., after the living room lights had been off for about ten minutes, Kotegawa tiptoed down the stairs to the second floor and entered Seikatsu's bedroom.

Not long after, Sachiko Amamiya came out of Kazuki Amamiya's bedroom and quietly went upstairs...

Chapter 142 Preparation (Part 2) (Please Subscribe)

On Friday morning, on the way to school, Youjia noticed Qingkong's faint dark circles and tired look on his face, and asked with concern, "Did you study late again last night? There's still a long time before the exam, you don't need to work so hard."

Still a little dazed, Qingkong hummed in agreement a few times.

"Huh? Qingkong, why is there a red spot on your neck?" With her height advantage, Youjia instinctively reached out to touch it.

Qingkong immediately snapped out of it, tightened her school uniform collar slightly, and tried to calm herself down, saying, "It's nothing, just a bug bite."

"Huh? Bugs?" Qingkong's arms instantly broke out in goosebumps: "What? Are there bugs in the house again?"

"But don't worry, it's been resolved." Qingkong kicked Kotegawa, who was walking beside her.

Kotegawa responded with an "uh-huh": "It's solved, it's solved."

He was bitten hard last night too, almost to the point of being completely devoured.

"That's good..." The innocent girl patted her flat chest and muttered to Kotegawa, "I think you should go and cause trouble for the guy who sold you the house! The house is infested with bugs every few days, it must be a problem with the building materials! If they don't find a solution, complain about them! Complain about them thoroughly!"

A huge pot was suddenly dumped on someone's head.

Kotegawa coughed and said, "Don't worry, there definitely won't be any bugs in your room."

"You can guarantee that? Do you think bugs will listen to you?" Youjia expressed her disdain, then suddenly seemed to realize something: "Hmm? Does my cat catch bugs? Does it eat them? I heard bugs are a great source of protein..."

"Don't, don't do anything weird!" Kotegawa quickly stopped her, seeing her tempted expression as if she were about to feed the cat bugs: "You and Haruka kiss the cat every day. Just imagine, what if the cat had just eaten bugs..."

Before he could finish speaking, both girls felt disgusted and shook their heads, telling him to shut up and making Youjia give up the idea herself.

The three met up with Takanashi, then ran into Glasses-kun, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, at the entrance of the shopping street. Finally, they met up with the Walnut siblings, who were waiting not far from their home. The seven of them were reunited once again after a long time.

Glasses-kun's senior, Ogasawara, has already left school to focus on preparing for the college entrance exam. He no longer needs to get up early to go to Ogasawara's neighborhood to go to school together.

The seven people naturally split into two rows.

Four girls walked in front, three boys walked behind, and Glasses-kun was sandwiched between Kotegawa and the little priest.

The man with glasses adjusted his glasses, first cautiously glancing at the girls in front of him to make sure they weren't eavesdropping, before reaching out to pull the two burly men beside him away from the girls.

This little gesture was quite unusual, and Kotegawa and the little priest silently slowed down without making a sound.

"Listen to me, there's a really exciting girls' match at the neighboring St. Light Middle School this afternoon..." The bespectacled guy winked and gestured with his hands, "I heard it's the kind where clothes rip off, you know, really rip off... But normally you're not allowed to watch, but I have a way. I've already gotten three security passes from a senior I know there... Shh, don't let them know. Meet at the cafe next to the school gate after school..."

Kotegawa and the little priest exchanged glances and each gave an OK sign.

Glasses Guy quickly looked ahead and saw that the four girls seemed to have genuinely not heard him this time and were still chatting about other things. He patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Great! I can finally take my friends out for some fun! And I don't have to get beaten up anymore!

"Oh, right! Speaking of which..."

Suddenly, Hu Tao seemed to remember something. She put her hands behind her back, smiled, and said to the person beside her, "I received a new gift! Two daggers this long..." She gestured with her hands to show their length, and laughed, "And they're made of a very special material. I heard they won't stain with blood, and they're quite beautiful... I wonder who will be so lucky in the future to get stabbed by one..."

As she said this, she seemed to glance back unconsciously.

The other three girls all exclaimed "Wow!" in unison.

Qingkong also said softly, "I also received a sword. It seems to be made of that special material. Although it's not sharpened, the tip is quite sharp."

She seemed to unconsciously glance behind her.

"That's great!" Gu Xiang exclaimed, her voice filled with envy. "I don't have a dagger or a sword, but could I borrow one later?"

"Me too, I also want to see it..." Takanashi added.

Kotegawa looked ahead with some surprise. So Yuka and Takanashi also like daggers and swords? Then I'll go to Senji Knife Shop and order two more later.

At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his clothes from the side.

He looked down and saw that the junior priest beside him was doing the same.

The bespectacled guy looked pale and his lips trembled as he said, "Um, I suddenly remembered that I have something urgent to do after school this afternoon, so... so I won't go, okay? Forget what I said earlier."

"I'm fine with anything," the junior priest replied casually. He had never been interested in human women, and the reason he had agreed earlier was simply because he wanted to watch the competition.

"It's okay, don't be so nervous..." Kotegawa said first, then added, "If you need any help, just let me know, don't hesitate to ask."

Glasses Guy was almost in tears, deeply moved by his friends' understanding.

Let's just let it go this time, otherwise he's worried he won't see the sun tomorrow morning.

Seven people entered the school and separated in the school corridor. Three went to Class 1, three went to Class 2, and the remaining student, a carefree underachiever, walked briskly to the back and entered Class 5.

During the first period of class, Fujiwara-sensei looked at Kotegawa with some surprise, as if he thought it was somewhat unusual for him to be in class today.

Kotegawa remained unfazed.

His teacher really does understand him. If he hadn't accidentally gotten caught up in... happiness last night, he would probably be on his way back to his hometown in Nagano right now.

Today is Friday, but the classes are much more intensive and demanding than usual for four days, leaving almost no time to clear your mind. By the time you finally stop, it's already lunch break time.

He called to the young priest and they went to the cafeteria for lunch together.

But as soon as they stepped outside, they saw the bespectacled guy also rushing out of the classroom. Upon seeing them, his eyes lit up and he said, "Perfect timing, I didn't bring my lunchbox today. Shall we go to the cafeteria together?"

"It's possible..." Kotegawa casually replied, "Did you forget to do it?"

The bespectacled boy opened his mouth, then said awkwardly, "The holidays are starting next month. When I go to the second grade, I'll be in the honors class. Even if I wanted to eat together then, it probably wouldn't be possible... I heard there's a cafeteria in the honors class, specially set up for the honors class, and the teachers eat there too."

Kotegawa, who was walking towards the exit of the teaching building, stopped in his tracks.

What? The honors class has its own special cafeteria? Damn it! It's been almost a year! He'd never even heard of it! This lousy school still does this kind of thing!

But the junior priest next to him was not surprised at all, and even indifferent: "Luye has never been able to compete with other schools in exorcism, so it can only try to improve the college entrance rate of general courses. It is normal for prestigious universities to have this kind of differential treatment. The small canteen probably hired a famous chef and used better quality ingredients, although it is only for the top students."

Kotegawa swallowed hard. No wonder! No wonder he had never seen anyone from the honors class at school. It turned out they had their own school buildings, their own gardens, and their own cafeteria. Why would they need to run around everywhere? The honors class was practically a school within a school!

It's unbearable to repair!

He continued walking forward and said, "It's just that the food tastes a little better. It's still essentially about supplementing protein and nutrition, so it's not a big deal!"

"Furutegawa, slow down..." Glasses-kun quickly caught up with him.

The three of them left the classroom and headed towards their usual cafeteria.

P.S.: Here's what happened... In the evening, I accidentally locked another 4,000 words, and I couldn't unlock it no matter what I did. I had to grit my teeth and type it out, so there's a third chapter today... Don't go to the free version just because there's an extra chapter, or the author will really starve.

Chapter 143 Going Home (Please Subscribe)

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