Can Lixi look at me alone?

Thinking of the girl who always treated her so gently, Yuzuki suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

Was Su Shi forced into this by Xiangzi? Just like me, she couldn't refuse her invitation, so she had no choice but to prepare all this?

Could it be that Su Shi actually dislikes Xiao Xiang?

Yuzuki patted Xiangzi's wrist with a gentle smile.

"Wouldn't this cause some trouble, Soyo?"

Mu silently followed, while Deng, standing next to Xiangzi, was also a little worried that he might cause trouble for others.

"No, Soyo really hopes everyone can go there and have fun!"

After all, her request to borrow the kitchen at the Yuzuki family's house was immediately rejected by Ritsuki. That's why she had to choose another companion who could cook…

The girl, filled with anticipation for her companions' arrival, waited with a happy smile.

Yuzuki reached out and grabbed the lamp's wrist, only feeling relieved after glancing at Riki out of the corner of her eye to make sure he didn't have any unusual reaction.

"Little Lamp, don't be afraid. Is there any food you like? Maybe I can teach you how to make it."

The girl's gentle smile gradually gave Deng courage. Her arms, which had been struggling to break free from Yuzuki's control, obediently stopped moving and were pulled away from Lixi by Yuzuki's strength.

"I... like penguins... and stars."

The girl was a little nervous as she spoke face-to-face with Yuzuki for the first time, but she still managed to express her preferences.

Unfortunately, Yuzuki didn't understand what she meant.

Penguin meat... I don't think I've ever made it before. Stars? Is that star fruit?

Xiangzi poked his head over to explain before Jieyue told him how to cook the penguin.

"Little Lantern likes konpeito (Japanese candy) that looks like stars, right?"

What is that penguin...?

Yuzuki raised an eyebrow and glanced subtly at Riki, who was standing far away from the others.

"Penguins aren't the food that lamps like. They're animals, animals!"

Yuzuki tried her best to make her smile less stiff and businesslike, and gently nodded to comfort the lamplighter who seemed to have said something wrong.

"It's alright, konpeito... it's not difficult to make."

She saw the gray-haired girl's eyes sparkle like stars in the sky.

"Really...? Thank you, Yuzuki, for teaching me how to do this..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuzuki awkwardly started playing with her long hair.

Although the preparation process is simple, it takes a week to two weeks to make. Yuzuki doesn't like food that requires a lot of waiting time; she prefers dishes that can be eaten as soon as they're cooked.

However, there's probably no way to refuse now, so I'll just have to bite the bullet and accept it.

While buying a special rotating pot on my phone, I was also a little worried about how to deal with the lamp later.

"It's okay, konpeito... I like it too."

Most people just like to eat, and I believe lamps are no exception.

Oh, right. Let's go to the little shop next door and buy some konpeito (Japanese sugar candy) to fix up the little lantern.

No, no, that's too perfunctory... It's really a headache.

If it weren't for Riki-chan, I wouldn't tolerate you guys like this.

Each one is more troublesome than the last... You guys have completely taken over my private time that I was supposed to spend with Riki-chan...

She was seething with resentment towards the lamp's troublesome and irresistible demands. When Yuzuki noticed that the lamp had tripped, she quickly reached out to support the girl's body to prevent her from making intimate contact with the ground.

"Xiao Deng? Are you alright...?"

The lamp, which had been distracted by the strange stone, finally turned its attention back to the stone.

"I'm sorry... Yuzuki, I accidentally..."

That stone…

Under Yuzuki's somewhat puzzled gaze, the girl, who had just regained her footing, pulled her to the roadside and bent down to pick up a... stone?

He even put it in his pocket... Was he planning to use it as a weapon to hit someone?

Unable to think of any other use for these things, Yuzuki blankly accepted the stone handed to her by the lamp.

"It's a very unique shape...!"

The girl, who showed no particular quirks, accepted the gift with feigned delight, even though it was nothing more than trash in her eyes.

"Really...these are really pretty little pebbles!"

Watching them interact, Lixi clenched her fists, which were holding the things.

I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

She can't show it, because if she does, Yuzuki will come and comfort her. That would only make Yuzuki feel worse... She should restrain herself.

Xiangzi clapped his hands.

"Mina, we're here! Soyo's waiting for us over there..."

We've finally arrived...

Yuzuki was a little unsure how to deal with the increasingly enthusiastic Deng, and could only keep giving perfunctory replies.

"Really?" "That's amazing..." "Mmm!"

They barely managed to maintain the conversation.

To be fair, up to now

She thought it was unlikely that Lixi would pay attention to the light.

This strange social interaction severed Lixi-chan's connection with her.

Yuzuki took out a tissue from her pocket and cleaned the lamp's fingers after picking up the stones.

"Thank you, Yuzuki..."

Have you started using the monthly summary method?

You're so approachable, but unfortunately, I'm not interested in you anymore.

"You're welcome, Little Lamp."

The pink-haired girl bent down and gently stroked her head, a beautiful scene frozen in the lamp's memory.

Even much later...

"Yuzuki! Is that you?!"

"Eh...? Excuse me, student. My name is Chihaya Aine."

Love you guys

Go ahead and place your bounty!

Sufficient manuscript storage

12 chapters are currently missing.

Love you guys

Volume 1 Crychic! Chapter 25 No Crying

"Little Yuzuki, please come this way!"

Seeing that Yuzuki had only washed her hands briefly before being called to the kitchen, Riki looked out the window with a bit of annoyance.

Couldn't Yuzuki have rested a little longer...?

That's really not possible.

Shoko, who had already changed into an apron and was looking left and right in front of Mu, had her hair tied up by Mu to prevent something...not so bad from happening during the cooking process.

"Hmph~ Soyo and Yuzuki! I'm coming in..."

Although Xiangzi plays the keyboard very well and has a talent for composing music... he might not be just as talented in cooking, right?

I wonder if this will cause trouble for Yuzuki... It's too crowded in the kitchen with four people. So, the drummer, who was asked to take care of Mutsuki and Akari, sat on the sofa like a guardian, watching over Akari as she washed the stones and Mutsuki who kept staring at the kitchen.

It was so worry-free that she began to admire Xiangzi's strong social skills in getting along with the two of them.

But Xiangzi is not someone to be trifled with.

In particular, after she almost knocked over the kettle in the kitchen, she was asked by Yuzuki to sit to the side.

"Xiao Xiang just needs to stay here. I will teach Xiao Xiang how to handle Burgundy snails step by step."

As Yuzuki chopped the vegetable leaves into small pieces, she smiled at the startled girl beside her. She then casually picked up the bag of live snails that Su Shi had been too afraid to touch.

"Hmm...soyo, you could put a plastic bag in the pot, that will make cleaning easier later~"

Su Shi glanced at the large snail crawling around in the bag and gave a somewhat forced smile.

"Thank you, Xiaojieyue..."

While he was at it, he used his free hand to wipe away her cold sweat.

Seriously, why did Xiao Xiang bring so many live snails?! We really don't want that pot anymore. Should we throw it away after everyone leaves in the evening?

But Yuzuki specifically said that this would be cleaner... If we throw it away, won't Yuzuki feel like I don't care about her?

Despite having a physiological aversion to snails except those seen on the dining table, Su Shi looked at Jie Yue's busy and slender figure and still mustered up the courage to stand beside her and help her with some tasks.

"Thanks, Soyo. And Xiaoxiang, if you want to eat snails in the future, you can just buy pre-processed ones... there's no need to use live ones."

Handling live snails is extremely troublesome, requiring the removal of their internal organs and mucus bit by bit. It's not complicated, but the tedious work made Yuzuki's hands a little sore.

"Sorry... I just didn't think of that much..."

Was it really this complicated...?

"Xiao Xiang was just trying to make the final dish taste better, right? Don't blame yourself."

Su Shi is so gentle... much gentler than me.

Yuzuki lowered her eyes and glanced discreetly at the smiling girl beside her.

After a while, Jieyue breathed a sigh of relief as she finished processing the snail meat and handed the snail shells over to Xiangzi to clean.

"Little Yue~ What's the next step?"

Looks like I can finally take a break...

He taught Xiangzi step by step how to spread chopped vegetables and butter on the surface of the soft and elastic snail meat, and then taught her how to stuff the snail meat back into the snail shell and seal it with butter...

Finally, place it in the special mold that Soyo just bought and heat it until the butter melts. That means it's done.

Did you make it?

If we ignore the fact that Xiangzi accidentally cut a small gash on Jieyue's index finger while she was chopping vegetables, then it should be considered a success.

As a few drops of bright red blood seeped into the snail meat, Yuzuki didn't immediately treat the wound. Instead, she placed a mark on the snail shell to prevent others from unintentionally consuming food she had contaminated.

"Sorry, I didn't notice. I'll take care of this snail. If Xiaoxiang and Soyo find it disgusting, I..."

The girl, pale-faced in the sunlight, paid no attention to the still-bleeding wound on her index finger, and even said heartless things like, "If you find me disgusting."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xiangzi immediately dropped the kitchen knife and hurriedly took the medical kit from Su Shi, who had run back.

With a hint of helplessness, Jieyue watched the two of them rummaging through bandages and disinfectant, then put her index finger in her mouth and turned on the gas stove with her other hand.

Seeing Su Shi run out with a first-aid kit and then run back to the kitchen, Li Xi, who was starting to worry that something had happened to Jie Yue, moved the kitchen light aside and then went into the kitchen as well.

"so."

She looked at the pink-haired girl whose fingers were already bandaged.

"Yuzuki, how could you be so careless...?"

The somewhat reproachful tone made her look out the window.

It wasn't me who caused it... If it weren't for Lixi-chan's love of playing in a band, I wouldn't want to hang out with these troublesome people... All my feelings for them are fake... But my feelings for you are the only real ones.