In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"Good afternoon, Minister."

"Good afternoon. You guys continue practicing. I'm showing the new members around. Don't worry about us."

"Yes!"

After greeting the club members who were practicing in the center of the field, Saeko led Chiya Minamoto past the sidelines, pointing out various locations in the kendo club and giving a brief introduction.

Finally, she led him into the innermost room of the kendo club.

After the door opens, the first thing you see is a row of pools where members can wash their faces and wipe their protective gear after practice.

There is a small compartment on the right side of the pool, used to store cleaning supplies such as mops and shovels.

On the left is an office of only about ten square meters, furnished with just a desk, a few chairs, and a display case.

There are windows, but they are frosted glass and not transparent.

On the desk were some documents and books, while in the display case were some honorary trophies or certificates that the Soubu High School Kendo Club had won in the past. Most of them were participation awards and not worth mentioning.

As Chiya was observing the display case, Saeko gently closed the office door.

“Occasionally the kendo club instructors come here, but most of the time, this is my private space. I use it to help the club members develop training plans and arrange the list of people responsible for cleaning the venue every day.”

Despite discussing such a serious topic, Saeko pulled Chiya Minamoto's hand and made him sit in the chair next to the desk, while she herself slowly knelt down in front of him and looked up at him.

As Yuan Qianye looked at her, his gaze then fell on the brightly colored armband marked "Discipline" on the table. The stark contrast made his heart skip a beat, and an indescribable tension filled the air.

Even he felt that their current way of playing was too abnormal.

Therefore, he rationally offered his advice.

"Saeko, this isn't a good idea... after all, we're at school."

"It's okay, no one else will come."

"My last class in the morning is physical education."

"That's just right..." Saeko's voice gradually lowered as she lowered her head to hide the sudden surge of shyness.

Saeko Busujima's outwardly dignified and unapproachable demeanor presented a stark contrast at this moment.

Yuan Qianye simply couldn't refuse her in her current state.

The next moment, he took a slight breath and closed his eyes.

The sound of their breathing mingling in the office was drowned out by the noise from the playground outside the window.

…………

Chapter 008: The Second Miss's Actions and Determination

A short while later.

Saeko stubbornly shook her head at the tissues that Chiya Minamoto offered, refusing his considerate help and choosing to finish the task herself.

"You've worked hard." Yuan Qianye helped her up, put his arm around her waist, and held her in his arms.

"It's not hard work, and it's exactly what I expected."

Saeko's eyes were filled with an undeniable tenderness. Being so close to the person she loved made her instinctively lean against his chest and tilt her head back, intending to ask for a kiss.

But she stopped halfway through because she realized that she was in a bit of an inconvenience right now.

Even tigers, though fierce, do not eat their cubs...

Not wanting to make things difficult for Qianye, she inquired about another matter that concerned her.

"What do you plan to do about Yukino, Chiya?"

Although neither of them had deliberately brought up Yukino in their past interactions.

Even if she didn't say it, Saeko was well aware of the feelings between Chiya and her.

She knew this from the beginning, and it was precisely because of this sense of crisis that, facing pressure mainly from Yukino and others, she took a gamble and chose to reveal her feelings to him late at night when everyone else had gone to the hot spring inn.

In the end, I was very fortunate to receive the response I had hoped for.

What I didn't expect back then was that the "response" Qianye gave back then is no longer exclusive to me.

However, such a thing was not unacceptable to her.

Besides, it was she who couldn't satisfy him back then, and she actively facilitated Shiyu's entry into the game. She didn't think Qianye himself was at fault.

"Do we really have to talk about her right now?"

It wasn't that Chiya was unwilling to discuss Yukino's situation with Saeko.

He just felt that the timing wasn't right.

Even now, still flushed from their passionate embrace, Saeko's body temperature was still high, and her face was flushed with a faint pink. The scent of the other lingered on their bodies, and talking about Yukino under these circumstances always made him feel a sense of immorality that was hard to confront.

Saeko looked up at Chiya, seemingly understanding something, and nodded thoughtfully.

"It seems that Yukino is more important to you than I thought. Even talking about her while you're holding me makes you feel awkward."

"That's not how it works..."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Now let's change the subject. Yukino and Utaha are now classmates. Although they're not in the same year, they inevitably run into each other because of you. How do you plan to mediate their relationship?"

In Saeko's case, Eriri, whose situation was similar to Yukino's and who also didn't get along well with Utaha, was overlooked.

It wasn't out of any intentional disrespect; she simply felt that Eriri wasn't even qualified to sit at the table at this stage, so she didn't really pay any attention to her.

"Those two... are definitely a problem."

Yuan Qianye was also troubled by this matter. Yesterday at noon, when the two of them were in the cafeteria, they first noticed something was going on. If he hadn't spoken up in time to mediate, who knows how much more confrontational they would have become.

Given their somewhat competitive nature, they're unlikely to come to blows like shrewish quarrels, but a war of words and sarcastic remarks are probably inevitable. They might even attract a lot of onlookers on the first day of school and create a big news story.

Although Shiwa is closer to him now, Yukino's friendship with him is much deeper and longer-standing. If you really want to compare them... there's no real comparison.

Both sides are his flesh and blood; he can't openly favor one side over the other. Standing in the middle, he has to treat them equally.

However, we cannot expect him to step in and resolve every situation in the future.

The best solution is to address the root cause of the problem, which is to improve the relationship between the two of them.

But while it sounds simple, it's actually quite difficult to do.

"Actually, I originally planned to wait until they entered high school and then invite them to get together. Since we all have the same schedule, we might be able to do some things that make everyone happy and gradually improve their relationship. But judging from what happened yesterday when we ate together in the cafeteria, my idea was too naive and I guess it will be difficult to achieve."

"Did they have a fight yesterday?"

"It wasn't exactly an argument, but there was definitely an aura of disharmony, like magnets that repel each other, making it impossible for anyone to get close to them."

"I'm sorry, I should have taken the time to go with them yesterday."

"This has absolutely nothing to do with you, there's nothing to apologize for."

As his fingernails brushed against Saeko's beautiful black hair, Chiya sighed wistfully once more.

Saeko wrapped her arms around his neck, thought for a moment, and said...

"Actually, there's no need to overthink it. We have my example and Shiyu's example before us, how about we use that as a reference?"

"Hmm?" Gen Chiya didn't immediately understand Saeko's meaning.

"It means boarding the ship first and buying the ticket later," Saeko said succinctly.

Specifically, it means to put aside and ignore the discord between Yukino and Utaha, as well as various other unresolved and currently unsolvable issues.

In short, first establish a relationship with Yukino. As for other things, deal with them slowly after everything is settled.

Anyway, by then the die was cast, and the situation couldn't get much worse.

Yuan Qianye looked at the person in his arms with a subtle expression.

Saeko may appear to be gentle, composed, and well-mannered, but she is actually quite cunning and ruthless!

Moreover, perhaps because of her years of practicing kendo, her approach to problem-solving is straightforward and decisive.

However, a similar approach might work for Shiwa, but if it were to be implemented on Yukino... Minamoto Chiyo, who knows the second young lady all too well, could quite clearly predict her reaction, and there would probably be two outcomes.

One possibility is that her plan will be discovered, in which case she will definitely turn against him on the spot, angrily denouncing his moral depravity and extremely disappointed, causing their relationship to plummet to a freezing point.

Secondly, as Saeko said, everything would proceed without incident until the plan succeeded, at which point he would finally confront her. By then, even if the deed was done and the deed was done, Gen Chiyo had reason to believe that, given the Second Miss's personality and temperament, she would simply sink the ship and throw away the whole mess, making it impossible for her to accept anything.

Yukino is different from Utaha, who appears mature and independent on the outside but is actually a little woman who longs to depend on her beloved. Yukino is more resilient and is a pure idealist with a strong sense of justice and righteousness. It is impossible to win her heart completely by using deception, unless Chiyo is confident that he can keep it from her for a lifetime without her noticing anything amiss.

But that kind of life of constant anxiety and fear of being exposed is definitely not what Gen Chiya wants to see.

Seeing her lover's helpless shake of the head, Saeko pressed for an answer.

"I can help, and maybe I can persuade Shiyu to cooperate as well, but even then, is it still not enough?"

"If I really do that, based on what I know about Yukino, the situation will only get worse. When everything is out in the open, she'll probably look at me like I'm trash."

Saeko said with some distress, "This is indeed a difficult situation..."

She was genuinely distressed by her lover's troubles.

Yuan Qianye tightened his embrace, burying his nose in her soft, beautiful breath, using that warmth and fragrance to heal himself: "You've helped me enough so far, you don't need to worry about me anymore, I'll handle Yukino's situation myself."

"Yes, I believe in Chiya."

Saeko's gaze was gentle and soft, flowing quietly over his hair and facial features.

Her fingertips darted through his thick black hair, occasionally pressing his scalp gently with her fingertips, bringing a soothing tingling sensation.

"There's another thing that I'm also a little concerned about."

"Um……"

Yuan Qianye's eyes were closed, and his response was barely audible.

"Actually, after the new semester starts, Chiya's goal isn't just Yukino alone."

"..."

After a short while, Gen Chiya looked up and met Saeko's bright eyes, which showed no sign of being bothered.

He understood Saeko's question and felt he needed to explain.

"Before Kazusa's mother went abroad to work, she specifically asked me to take good care of her."

"I see... I understand."

"Saeko, that doesn't look like you understand."