Uneasy daily life

The gist is probably that you shouldn't forget about tomorrow's play...

I really want to take the day off tomorrow.

"I need to inform my parents. I hope this plan will succeed."

Chitanda Eru snapped out of her elation at the successful negotiation and excitedly pulled out her phone to mutter to herself.

She really looked forward to it and wanted to introduce her hometown to others, even if that was all there was to it.

I don't understand it, and I don't have her passion.

But for now...

I hope I can still be of some help?

Chapter 71 Can you sleep?!

Yukino Yukinoshita was carrying two large bags of things, and her forehead was a little sweaty.

I bought cat food, cat litter, and a modular cat bed, and one bag was already full. It didn't feel heavy when I carried it, so I went to buy some groceries for dinner, picking out some premium ingredients that I don't usually buy, and filled another big bag.

Although her father secretly gave her a lot of living expenses when she moved out, Yukino Yukinoshita was not keen on buying expensive things. Instead, out of a feeling of 'distancing herself from her parents', she had developed a skill in finding affordable ingredients and would only occasionally buy some milk tea and desserts when she was craving them.

Of course, Yukino Yukinoshita pretended not to see the pork offal and other things that someone had greatly admired that were displayed in the store.

After buying the items and walking for a while, Yukino Yukinoshita noticed something was wrong.

It seems... I'm a little overweight?

The Yukinoshita is showing signs of breaking down.

Normally, buying just enough for one person is easy to carry, but this time I bought enough for one person and one cat...

When you feel tired while holding something, fatigue quickly overwhelms you, just like when you start not wanting to type, your computer document will remain blank for a long time.

"Huh...ha..."

Yukino Yukinoshita temporarily placed her things by the roadside, took out her phone, and hesitated for a moment.

Forget it, I'm not asking that guy for help. I can manage on my own!

My phone suddenly rang!

Yukino's heart pounded faster.

And again, it's my mother?

Calm down, regulate your breathing, and pretend to be calm.

Line connected.

"Mother."

"Yukino, I heard you started a club called the Service Club at school?"

"Ah."

"The young girl who came to visit didn't lie; that's quite interesting."

The young girl who came to the door? Are you referring to Chitanda? Didn't Mother notice the white figure?

Yukino Yukinoshita was at a loss for words. She couldn't very well just self-destruct, could she?

"If you're going to do something, you should do it well and help that girl named Chitanda complete her request."

Yukino Yukinoshita was taken aback: "Mother... agreed to her request for help?"

Bai Ying did it? Mother didn't mention Bai Ying... but instead seemed to admire Chitanda?

"Of course, that child is excellent. Why would I refuse? Yukino, you accepted the request but didn't come with Chitanda. Do you think I definitely wouldn't agree?"

"me……"

"There's a club at school that's your rival, right? They contacted me to schedule a visit. You clearly had a simpler and faster way to contact me, but you gave up that option on your own... Yukino, I gave you freedom, are you just going to drift along with it? Giving up when you encounter difficulties is not the demeanor of a daughter of the Yukinoshita family."

"Feel sorry."

His voice was faint, he was expressionless, and his mind was completely blank.

"...That young man named Bai Ying is quite interesting too."

Yukino Yukinoshita felt she had to start struggling immediately, so she forced herself to stay calm and said, "He is indeed quite interesting."

"Chitanda actually called him Uncle Bai, and while I was chatting with Chitanda, he drank the whole pot of tea that I had prepared to serve guests. It was as if he came here to freeload."

Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes twitched slightly: "Is...is that so..."

"Yukino, do you know why Chitanda addresses Hakukage as a junior?"

"Chitanda's uncle was once in trouble abroad, and Hakuei saved him. The two became friends, so Chitanda calls him Uncle Hakuei. They only discovered their relationship when they met by chance at school."

Huh? Is Mother gossiping?

A question flashed through Yukino's mind.

"I didn't know there was such a wonderful connection. What a nice child, very polite."

"Ah."

"Next time, I hope you can stand before me with dignity, just like that little girl."

"……Yes."

The call ended, and Yukino Yukinoshita put away her phone, her mood sour.

Fortunately, Bai Ying did not seek her own death and take him down with her.

Mother actually agreed to appease the parents? Her words were full of praise for Chitanda. Bai Ying, who should have been lively and scene-stealing, was surprisingly quiet, only mentioned a few times by her mother because of 'Uncle Bai'…

Yukino felt somewhat uncomfortable and irritable. This feeling was not unfamiliar to her; she would feel this unbearable emotion every time she saw her older sister.

It's one thing to be inferior to her older sister, but why is Chitanda—

"call……"

That's not the right way to think.

Yukino Yukinoshita sat by the flowerbed, gazing at the sunset that had dyed the sky red. She wasn't thinking about anything; she was just drifting aimlessly, her gaze seemingly carrying her soul, melting into the magnificent sunset—worries and anxieties, like water in a sponge, the more you think, the more twisted and overflowing they become. If you exert too much force, the sponge will be twisted into a different shape, torn apart, and difficult to restore.

If you don't think about it, at least it won't spread. Pick a sunny day, put it out to dry, and it will gradually dissipate where no one can see it.

I feel that after meeting Bai Ying, my mental resilience has been tested and strengthened.

Yukino Yukinoshita relaxed and picked up her things to go home.

We must ask that guy if he's talked about anything unnecessary in front of Mother!

……

……

At your age! How can you sleep?!

Do you have any ambition at all?!

Could you please see the sun at seven in the morning?!

A cat without ambition only thinks about the seven nights ahead! A cat with ambition doesn't sleep a wink for a whole week!

[Think about who you've been fair to?! Think about whether you've been fair to your own cat life?!]

Yukino Yukinoshita opened the door and entered the house, thinking she had stepped into some kind of shady factory.

Speaking of which, I gave the spare key to Bai Ying this morning...

Following the powerful, reprimanding voice, I looked up and saw it was a trash can.

what's the situation?

I closed the door, walked over, and stepped on the foot pedal of the trash can. The lid popped open, revealing what was inside.

The Knight cup was in a trash bag, the bag wrapped around its neck several times, only its listless head was showing, with a sleepy little cat face drooping. Next to it was a phone, playing motivational quotes for office workers on a loop at 100% volume, each sentence with intonation, each word like a whip.

The kitten probably doesn't understand, but it definitely can't sleep.

It's obvious that Bai Ying did this!

"White fungus!"

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her things, called out to a white figure that was nowhere to be seen, and reached out to untie the garbage bag.

Seeing that someone was coming to help, the kitten immediately pawed at Yukino Yukinoshita and, following her movements, snuggled into her arms.

"I'm cleaning the bathroom—! Where's the air freshener? If I can't find it soon, I'll have to use your shower gel to get rid of the stench! That wretched demon is really making my workload bigger! I'll leave the bathing of that demon to the hero; I'm not playing along!"

The sound of a white figure cursing and swearing came from behind.

Yukino Yukinoshita was taken aback. She looked down at the sleepy cat in her arms and subconsciously lifted it up to sniff it.

Cats are indeed very clean creatures; they wash their faces and lick their fur themselves, and generally don't smell bad... But even the cleanest cats have a strong odor from their feces and urine.

Especially in a not-so-spacious place, a cat might roll around and suddenly unleash its ability to kill with its own energy.

Yukino Yukinoshita leaned back silently, stuffing the sleepy and bewildered kitten back into the trash bag and tying a loose knot.

knight: "Meow?"

Sorry, I was very restrained last night because you kept me up for so long, but if a smelly kitten comes to bed—I might not be able to resist.

I'll give you a bath after the bathroom is cleaned up.

Yukino Yukinoshita suppressed her conscience, released the pedal, and left the bucket lid slightly ajar again.

The labor chants of the unscrupulous factory workers continued to echo from the trash can.

Find the air freshener and deodorizer in the bedroom, toss them to the busy white figure in the bathroom, and assemble the loose parts into a cat bed, while also laying down cat litter.

Speaking of which, you do need to train your kitten to poop in the litter box. However, it's said that the litter box naturally stimulates the cat, causing it to defecate instinctively. After paying attention the first few times, the cat will develop the habit of pooping in the litter box...

"Baijun, you didn't do anything out of line when you visited Mother today, did you?"

Yukino Yukinoshita flips through the design drawings, assembles the wooden boards, and takes a screwdriver to turn the screws.

"Drink all the black tea Auntie gave you?"

"Aunt?"

"What else should I call you if not 'Auntie'? I can't exactly call you 'old woman,' can I?"

"..."

To be honest, Yukino Yukinoshita is a little tempted.

"Under the snow, you're thinking about something very exciting."

"Cough cough." Yukino Yukinoshita tugged a little harder to make sure the wooden planks were securely joined. "I did think of some really exciting things, like my mother grabbing you and swinging you around in a big swing, then slamming you into the tatami mat."

"I suspect you're slandering your own mother, you unfilial daughter."

Yukino Yukinoshita rolled her eyes, since he couldn't see her in the bathroom anyway: "My sister and I learned Aikido partly in training classes, but mostly it was our mother who taught us, using our father as an example. There were even routine sparring tests. Even when I was studying abroad, my mother would video call me regularly to check my level."

"A family tradition of Aikido? Could you perhaps be the daughter of a military family?"

"They probably felt that women, who are physically weaker than men, needed to be even stronger. Even after I returned to China several years later, I still saw my mother and father sparring at home..."

Recalling the image of her elderly father, a grown man, being lifted up by her mother's sudden burst of skill, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but smile slightly.

Tighten the last screw, cover the screw and some edges with some soft glue, pour cat litter into the accompanying dish, and a pet cat house is complete.

Before officially checking in, Knight needs to be given a good bath.

"Haku-kun, what did you talk to Chitanda and Mother about today?"

Huh? Didn't I also bring Oreki Houtarou with me?

Oh—Auntie has a bit of a mischievous streak. Although the attack might be less powerful in half a month, giving the hero a few preventative injections would be fine.

Bai Ying replied casually, "What else can I say? I'll try to get help through negotiation. I strictly followed your instructions and barely spoke to Auntie—but the tea she brewed was quite good."

"If the tea tastes good, it's a problem with the tea leaves."