Uneasy daily life

I still need to have a talk with Kazuka about retiring...

This hater! Ugh—!

……

"You pervert!"

Halfway through, Yukinoshita Hino covered his mouth, and Toyohama Kazuka began to writhe excitedly, wishing she could have a real fight with the white shadow.

Bai Ying's expression changed, and she stared at Feng Bin and Hua, licking her lips.

Wrapped in the blanket, Feng Bin and Hana instinctively shrank back, evolving from caterpillars into silkworm cocoons.

Bai Ying chuckled, put down her phone, and made a quick getaway.

"Pfft hahahaha——!"

Yukinoshita patted Toyohama and Hana with great delight and ran off with them.

"what--!!!"

Feng Bin and Hua couldn't help but make noise that disturbed the peace.

Chapter Twenty-Three: White Shadow: Step on me!

"Meow~"

Knight lazily flicked its tail, the morning sunlight bathing it. Its half-closed eyes, feigning sleep, languidly watched its human change the litter box and pour cat food for it. This was the life of a class cat. Waiting for its servant to finish, it stretched out its hand, its long, slender fingers twitching humbly, yearning for praise and reward.

He slowly straightened his reclining body, stretched comfortably, and let out a big yawn.

The cat stretched out its paw and patted its owner's palm—a reward for you. Now step back, servant, this cat is about to eat.

Knight is already considered a well-trained house cat.

Yukino Yukinoshita withdrew her hand with satisfaction, watching her pet happily devour its cat food. Unable to resist, she reached out again and ruffled Knight's fluffy head, eliciting a protesting 'meow'.

Let's not disturb Knight while he's having breakfast.

Yukino returned to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast, pondering her afternoon work schedule.

Speaking of which, when will Bai Jun be back? According to my estimation, it should be around that time, right? Maybe I should call and ask... but calling is another problem.

What reason should I use? Can I find a necessary, reasonable, and not too abrupt reason to contact them?

Yukino Yukinoshita returned to the table with breakfast and fell into thought. The simplest questions would be about holidays and birthdays, but after searching her memory, she couldn't find any relevant information. Should she express her concern for Shiro more directly? For example, where was his new rental apartment...? No, she had to be careful not to let her feelings be seen. If her thoughts were revealed in public... well, hellish.

Hmm? Isn't there an obvious and convenient reason?

Yukino Yukinoshita took out her phone, considered it for a moment, and sent a private message.

[Yukinoshita: When are you going back to school?]

If Bai Jun tries to guess that it's related to his personal feelings, then say that he feels good about himself and steer the conversation toward the final exams. If Bai Jun talks nonsense, then bring up the bet and continue to steer the conversation toward the final exams.

That's right, that's the legitimate reason—competition for commissions between the Service Department and the Aid Department!

Yukino Yukinoshita feels absolutely perfect.

On the private chat interface, Bai Ying has read the message but is not replying.

Yukino calmly ate her breakfast.

Three minutes later.

Yukinoshita Yukino: #!

【Hello, brave warrior, the number you dialed is not within range. Please try again later…】

"Good morning, Shiro-kun." Yukino Yukinoshita replied calmly, casually chatting with the sound of eating coming from the other end of the line, "Still having breakfast?"

[You called just to ask this? Couldn't you have talked privately? Learn to utilize the convenience of technology.]

Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly, "Hakujun, who has read but not replied, please describe the convenience of private messaging."

[I've read it, I understand. I won't reply, you know. Isn't that convenient enough?]

"It conveniently exposes Shiraki's perfunctory attitude," Yukino Yukinoshita scoffed. "Is Shiraki really that confident about the final exams?"

"It's okay, I have confidence in Hikigaya. Even without my supervision, he's definitely working hard to learn."

Yukino Yukinoshita smiled and said, "It's a pity, but it seems that Hikigaya-kun would rather take a different path and redeem himself through meritorious service."

[How dare he! I think he's lost in Komachi's Gensokyo again, daring to disobey the minister's orders!]

"Shiro-kun isn't much better, is he? I was tutoring Yui-hama yesterday. Has Shiro-kun even touched a pen lately?"

[You're tutoring Yuihama? You wouldn't be trying to seduce one of my subordinates with your beauty, would you?!]

Although the conclusion was wrong, some things were guessed correctly?!

Yukino Yukinoshita felt she couldn't continue the conversation. If she unconsciously said something one-sidedly affectionate, she was afraid she would be immediately bombarded with insults. She smiled meaningfully and said, "I look forward to the day when Shiro calls me 'Captain'."

[Stop right there! You despicable scoundrel...]

beep--!

Hmm... As we were talking, I forgot to subtly ask when Bai-kun would return to Chiba.

Yukino Yukinoshita tapped her forehead and pulled two chibi stickers from her pocket. One of them was naturally the one that Shiro had left on the table, and the other was a chibi version of herself—wearing black stockings, a plaid skirt, a black blazer and a white undershirt, arms crossed, serious, with a single ahoge (cowlick) standing out on her long black hair.

Final customized stickers, never altered.

I spent a few days designing it. The first draft was subconsciously inspired by a passage from a light novel, and I created a chibi version of myself as a hero. Anyone who saw it would think it was a chibi version of Shiro... So I started over on the spot.

That moment and what followed made me understand the painful feelings someone had when revising a manuscript.

A smile won't do! It's too suggestive! A fantastical outfit won't do! It's too suggestive! Your expression needs to be calm, your emotions stable, and your demeanor composed! Your features need to be distinctive enough to be recognizable as yourself! But not too obvious… In short, you need to be an ordinary, unremarkable version of yourself, without any suggestive undertones!

"Giving this to Bai Jun as a thank you shouldn't be misinterpreted, right? It's just a way of thanking him for helping me a lot, as a reward for completing my request... That's right, being helped is being helped. If Bai Jun can give me a sticker as proof of completing the request, then giving me a sticker is also proof of completing the request."

Yukino Yukinoshita carefully examined the design of the sticker.

Very good, there's nothing suspicious about it.

……

……

"Your sister is a bit suspicious."

In the early morning on set, after cleaning up the breakfast trash, Bai Ying pondered, "Could it be that she wants to find out where my new rented house is, and is trying to block my door and make me cook those ten meals for her?"

"Oh? You and Yukino-chan have this strange agreement?"

Yukino raised an eyebrow slightly: "I have no idea what Yukino-chan is thinking. It's all thanks to that jerk."

Bai Ying retorted confidently, "Don't be ridiculous, what did I do?"

“Toyohama, Hana, and Sakurajima Mai… In a way, you really didn’t do anything, you just acted as a substitute twice.” Yukinoshita Haruno sat in a chair, unzipped her jacket and took out a red guitar. “It’s not very interesting to talk about it, so come and listen to me play the guitar.”

Bai Ying sat down, crossed her legs, and gestured, "Come on, I love being a judge. I used to dream of becoming a critic."

"Even a jerk has dreams?" Yukino Yukinoshita strummed the guitar strings, and a cheerful and melodious tune flowed out. "But I thought your dream was to be a writer."

“It’s a rare pleasure to openly criticize others,” Bai Ying said, pointing. “Although I don’t know much about music, your playing is really not good, I can’t understand it.”

Yukinoshita teased, "Is it that you can't understand the melody, or that you don't know which song this melody belongs to?"

"I don't quite understand why someone so empty would want to play something joyful." Bai Ying had the air of a nouveau riche. "Don't bother with anything below this level, just play what you think is the best!"

"Fine, you annoying bastard."

Yukino Yukinoshita chuckled, took a slight breath, and strummed the guitar strings.

A fierce and rapid guitar melody reverberates in the early morning. The melody is not a passionate, vibrant display of energy or an adrenaline-pumping beat. Instead, it's a defiant roar rising from low to high, a sudden plunge into profound despair, a renewed struggle to climb higher, and a final, utterly bewildered fall back to the bottom. The melody rises and falls dramatically, and as it approaches its end, it ascends higher and faster, revealing a hysterical intricacy and chaos.

Om-!

Yukino lowered her head and with a single strum of her strings, she broke the wings of the sound that had soared to the clouds, sending it plummeting into the abyss of nothingness.

This is the music I wrote myself... Chasing after other people's success, in the end everything came to nothing.

Bai Ying commented, "It's far inferior to Phantom Shadow."

Yukinoshita Haruno gave a forced smile: "You jerk really knows how to piss people off."

"This music is great, it really matches the tone of the movie." Okita, with dark circles under his eyes, patted Bai Ying's shoulder with deep emotion. "Brother! You really worked so hard for this movie! I'll always remember your contribution!"

"?"

Bai Ying leaned back and asked, "Director, are you awake?"

"Huh? Isn't this a song written specifically for a movie? The crowd pushes me forward, each effort ends in failure, leaving only a dissipating roar." Okita asked doubtfully, "Isn't this a song written for a movie?"

Bai Ying said disdainfully, "Director, you won't get any points on this question."

Okita exclaimed in surprise, "This is a piece of music you wrote, little brother?"

“This is a piece I composed,” Yukino Yukinoshita said with a smile. “It was indeed written for this movie. Does the director want to use this piece for the soundtrack?”

"Of course I want to, it sounds good, and it's quite suitable," Okita Masashi laughed. "Look, even the author says so, how could I not get full marks on this question?"

"What does my rating have to do with the author?" Bai Ying raised her hand and tapped the small table. "Don't get the priorities mixed up."

"Unfortunately, this song is only a work in progress, since it doesn't have lyrics."

Yukino Yukinoshita said casually, "Director, I'm not very good at writing lyrics."

"It's alright!" Okita Masashi immediately pressed down on the white figure's shoulder: "You're pretty good, bro!"

White Shadow: "Get up!"

Okita Tadashi: "I'll give you a raise! A huge raise!"

Bai Ying: "How dare you! You think you can do whatever you want just because you have money? Can't you hear your father's wailing echoing in the numbers!"

Okita Tadashi: "You're no longer the screenwriter; you're going to be promoted to general director of the production team!"

Bai Ying: "Nonsense! I'm leaving get off work today, why are you making me work overtime?"

“Getting off work is not a problem. You’ve finished filming your scenes, so you don’t need to stay on set…” Okita Masashi said earnestly. “You can take the lyrics work home to do.”

"You jerk, I'm your assistant, for goodness' sake," Yukino Haruno said with a grin. "Shouldn't you pay your assistant a salary?"

Bai Ying said, "You won't be playing a supporting role later; you'll be the lead!"

Yukino Yukinoshita smiled and said, "Why play the lead role? I'll play the wooden character later. The kind that can read words in a deadpan, expressionless way, and put on a show. After all, Yukino can act with her face."

"What do you want to do to my work? Don't you have any conscience?!" Bai Ying cried out in anguish. "You're really something else, coming right to my doorstep!"

"Hmm~ Where's the answer?"

"Tsk—oh well, I just had a bit of inspiration...and a murderous aura!"

The white figure suddenly stood up, and with a turn, saw Toyohama, Hana, and Sakurajima Mai walking towards them.

Feng Bin and Hua were fine, just grinning foolishly.

Mai Sakurajima walked over with a bright smile, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Bai Ying sighed, stretched out her right foot, and said with a righteous air, "Please!"

Sakurajima Mai's expression turned cold. She bypassed the possibly ghostly right foot and approached directly, stepping on the white figure's left foot.

"you……"

The hard, tactile feel against the sole of the shoe caused Mai Sakurajima's foot to slip, almost causing her to twist her ankle.

What did they stuff into the toe of the shoe?!

You hater!!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Blind Date

"Hahaha! You didn't expect that, did you?! I stuffed a piece of metal into the toe of my shoe!"

The white figure swayed its toes, raised an eyebrow at Sakurajima Mai, and revealed a mocking expression.

Sakurajima Mai glared at her—couldn't you just let me kick you to vent my anger and let this go? You're even plotting something against me?!

Upon seeing this, Feng Bin and Hua pondered for a moment.

In terms of the outcome, the other party did help me out, allowing me to be open and happy with my sister without worrying about whether she dislikes or ostracizes me...