I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

As she was speaking, Ji Xiaolu shifted her gaze and looked over.

So, Yukino Shino didn't study psychology. In psychology, there's a subtle suggestion effect. For example, if I suddenly tell you, "Don't think about apples!", then apples will involuntarily pop into your mind.

The room was decorated in a way that was quite different from a typical girl's room. For example, it was quite different from Ogiso Setsuna's room. Standing near the door, you could smell a faint fragrance inside, which was the same scent you had smelled on Yukinoshita earlier. There were several posters of Mr. Panda on the walls, all of which were produced by Tokyo Disneyland. There was also a limited edition "Panda Chizuru-kun" plush toy on the chair in front of the dressing table.

Several Mr. Pan panda plush toys were laid out on the light blue, fresh-looking bed, with another one lying askew on the carpet. This reminded Ji Xiaolu of the comical scene where a group of panda cubs sat on a platform, only for one to fall off. The curtains, designed to resemble bamboo blinds, were currently half-open. Ji Xiaolu couldn't help but wonder if this guy hypnotized himself while sleeping, saying, "I am a panda... I am a panda..."

When she turned around, Yukinoshita's cheeks were already bright red.

Noticing Himekoji's gaze, Yukinoshita immediately turned her head away, hugged her knees, and hid her head between them, saying, "M-most girls' rooms are similar to this, right? There's nothing... strange about it!"

"At least I can say it suits your personal style perfectly. Phew—okay, if you say I don't want to go in, then I won't. Breakfast, what do you want to eat?"

Back in the kitchen, Himekoji opened the Yukinoshita family's refrigerator and checked it out. The meat was still the same: fish, chicken, and a small amount of beef. There were a few more kinds of vegetables, some fruit in the crisper drawer, and some toast and milk in the refrigerated section. Basically, they could make anything.

Yukinoshita didn't reply, so Himekoji did it on her own. After it was done, she ate it obediently without any complaints, but never made eye contact with Himekoji.

On the small, transparent glass table were several thick stacks of documents, with a small portion clipped together and piled up next to them, which appeared to have already been processed.

"Can I use the computer?"

Himeko pointed to her folded silver-gray business laptop.

"can."

After a moment's thought, Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.

So Ji Xiaolu sat down at the computer, took out the unprocessed files, categorized them, put the most troublesome part first, turned on the computer, and skillfully began processing them.

“I said, Himekoji, this is my job.”

“You’re helping me with the workload, so this is essentially my part. You can just sit there and watch me work, or you can go take a nap, or play with the cat. Don’t worry, I won’t sneak into your room and attack you while you’re asleep.”

Chapter 196 A Visitor Arrives: [Hachiman Hikigaya] Arrives Late

"No matter what you say, it still makes me uneasy. It would be better if you didn't say anything."

"Well, I do know how to secretly take a few pictures of you sleeping."

"...Hey, why did you kick me?"

"I'll make some tea. Black tea will do, right?"

Yukinoshita pretended that she hadn't done anything and casually stood up to ask.

"As long as it's not tea served to guests, any other type of tea is fine."

"Unfortunately, that was exactly the thought I had."

"Then you'd better put that idea aside for now. Let me think about it. I probably won't leave until I've finished processing this part of the documents."

"..."

Yukino sighed softly and went to brew tea.

Two hours passed from a little after nine in the morning to a little after eleven in the morning. Even Himeko had only managed to finish the most troublesome part of the documents. Yukinoshita fell asleep on the sofa, still holding the giant panda Mr. Pan plush toy in her arms. After finding her asleep, Himekoshi covered her with her school uniform coat, since it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go into her room and rummage through her drawers for a blanket without her permission.

"Let's take a break..."

Ji Xiaolu stretched, got up and drew the dark brown curtains, turned on the dim yellow floor lamp, and stretched her joints on the floor.

At that moment, he suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu.

If I were to run to the balcony and do push-ups right now, wouldn't it be just like that night in Tokyo Ghoul when Amon Kotaro was at Mado Akira's house?

Shaking her head to banish the strange thought, Ji Xiaolu poured herself a cup of still-warm black tea, took a couple of casual sips, rubbed her neck, and continued working on her documents.

About an hour later, with only a third of the document remaining, Himekoji got up and started cooking. Since Yukinoshita was a patient, he couldn't make any extremely spicy Sichuan dishes. This time, he made traditional Japanese cuisine. Although there was nothing special about it, it was light and elegant, just right for a patient.

After finishing, Himekoji returned and called Yukinoshita, but of course, they had to take a picture first.

He touched the cheek under the snow. She seemed to irritably slap Himekoji's arm, but after doing so, she seemed to remember something in her sleep, and suddenly sat up, the clothes that were draped over her body falling to her legs.

"Ha—" She let out a long breath, looked around, and after spotting Ji Xiaolu, she glared at him with a mixture of relief and annoyance, saying, "Why didn't you wake me when I suddenly fell asleep?"

"Didn't I call you?"

"How long have I slept?"

"About three hours..."

"I'm so hungry... Ugh—" Yukinoshita rubbed her forehead and took a couple more breaths. She seemed to have had a nightmare and was sweating a little. Himekoji tapped her shoulder, and she glared at him. Then he pointed to the food on the dining table and said, "I called you because the food is ready. Come and eat."

After taking just one bite of her food, Yukino stopped, placed her chopsticks on the bowl, and sighed.

"what happened?"

"I always feel like I owe you a huge favor."

"There are two in total, including the previous one."

"Ah...that's true."

"As the saying goes, once or twice, it will happen three or four times. You can never have too much debt. I believe you will owe even more in the future."

“That would really bother me. I’m trying, though,” Yukinoshita said casually as she picked up her chopsticks again. “I can’t keep calling those strong summoning hotlines all the time… Summoning strong people is too expensive, I can’t afford it.”

"Didn't you ever consider defaulting on the debt?"

Who do you take me for?

Yukinoshita rolled her eyes at Himekoji and started eating her meal by herself.

After dinner, Himekoji continued to focus on her work, while Yukinoshita let the cats roam freely in the living room. She was holding a few cats in her arms, but Himekoji hadn't noticed and wasn't sure which ones they were. Yukinoshita sat a little closer and picked up a file to ask, "What part are you working on?"

Stage lighting equipment rental.

"Oh, I'll read it, you do the work."

As she said this, she cleared her throat and began to read aloud softly. Although her voice was not loud, the room was very quiet, and apart from her soft voice, there were only meows and the sound of Himekoji typing on the keyboard.

After Yukinoshita helped, the remaining, easiest part of the documents was quickly finished. It was just past four in the afternoon, and Soubu High School had just let out for the day.

Yukinoshita's phone, which was in the room, seemed to have received several emails in a row, but she didn't check them. Since she herself was indifferent, Himekoji was too lazy to remind her. Because they had eaten lunch rather late, neither of them was hungry. After finishing the documents, Yukinoshita put on the fatigue-relieving patch that Himekoji had bought for her forehead and leaned back on the sofa eating pomegranate.

Because she didn't have to cook or deal with documents during the day, she seemed to be in much better spirits. Actually, she wasn't sick, but rather her body and mind had both collapsed. She would recover quickly with rest, but when she returned to school, there would still be just as many documents waiting for her to handle.

Himekoji was brewing black tea in the kitchen. Because he had unexpectedly discovered that the Yukinoshita family had some honey, he planned to make some honey black tea. Just then, pleasant classical music filled the room. It was Bach's Little Dance, which Himekoji recognized immediately.

Is this your doorbell?

Himekoji, who was in the kitchen, asked Yukinoshita, who seemed somewhat indifferent.

"Ah...yes."

She answered weakly.

"Is it okay if I don't go open the door?"

"It's okay, it's definitely a mistake anyway."

"..."

Is it really possible for someone to make a mistake with the floor plan of such a high-end residence?

But the other party kept ringing the doorbell relentlessly until it rang for the fifth time. Finally, Yukinoshita couldn't resist putting on her slippers and going to the wall in the living room to press the answer button.

"Hello...?"

"Yukino, it's Yui. Are you alright?!"

"...Well, it's alright, so..."

"In short, open the door quickly."

Hikigaya's voice came through the walkie-talkie. Yukinoshita glanced towards the kitchen, then quickly looked back and asked, "Why are you here too?"

"I have something to tell you."

"I understand, come in."

Yukinoshita pressed the open button, but it actually only opened the door to the elevator, not her own home.

"have a guest?"

"It's... Yuihama-san and Hikigaya."

"I see."

Himekoji didn't ask any more questions. Yukinoshita ran to unlock the door, and about a minute later, there was a knock on the door. Yukinoshita opened the door.

Chapter 197 is interesting; [Kitahara Haruki] chooses to give up.

"Please come in," Yukinoshita said, gesturing to the sofa after letting the two in. "You can sit there."

"So, what is it that you want to say?"

"Ah, um... I heard you didn't go to school today, so I'm a little worried..."

"Yes, but it's okay. I just need a day of rest. There's no need to be so nervous. I've notified the school, and I have people helping me."

Yukinoshita pointed towards the kitchen. Due to the house's structure, Yuihama and Hikigaya didn't see Himekoji immediately. When they turned their gaze over, they were also taken aback.

“I’ve been here since a little after nine in the morning,” Himekoji said, bringing over some honey black tea. “Here, have some, it’s honey black tea.”

"Why would President Himekoji...?"

Yuihama stared at Himekoji in disbelief, while Hikigaya, though silent, undoubtedly held a question in his eyes as well.

"It's because..." Himekoji was interrupted by Yukinoshita before she could finish her sentence. She continued, "I asked him to come over to help me with the documents and stuff... After all, he has the highest level of authority, so he can handle it very easily."

Himeko glanced at Yukinoshita, then lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.

"These tasks were originally meant for President Himekoji, but she dumped them all on Yukino and went to participate in that light music event herself. How cunning!"

Uncharacteristically, Yuihama became angry.

This time, before Himekoji could say anything, Yukinoshita cut him off.

"It was because I took Sagami's request without permission, and my sister caused trouble at school that things turned out this way. It has nothing to do with him."

“But, but—” Yui Hama seemed very anxious, as if she had a thousand words stuck in her throat. She looked at Himekoji, who shrugged and explained, “I just assigned the work to Sagami. As for how Yukinoshita helps Sagami, that’s Yukinoshita’s business.”

"That's right, it's my business."