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

"On another note, are you really that bothered by what I said to Kawasaki?"

"I'm just worried that another girl might fall victim to your cruelty, after all, you are the infamous Himekoji."

"...I have a terrible reputation. First of all, you've never heard of me dating anyone and then abandoning them, have you?"

"How do you explain Kasumigaoka-senpai and Touma-senpai—?"

"That is—well, never mind, it feels like the more I explain, the worse it gets."

Himekoji shrugged, deciding not to dwell on the topic, while Yukinoshita wore an expression that seemed to say, "See? I knew it," as if she had solved a case, and was also a little smug.

"By the way, the chocolate is delicious."

"Well...that's good...after all, it's my work that I'm confident in."

"Although I only ate three pieces myself."

"Huh? What about the rest?"

"After I put it on the piano, my mom found it and secretly blew it clean."

"Pfft... Hahahaha..."

Yukinoshita was initially surprised, then turned away, covering her mouth and shrugging her shoulders. Yes, Himekoji didn't expect it either. You, as a mother, would steal your son's snacks, and then pretend to be clueless, saying you didn't know there was any chocolate on the piano. Himekoji's lips twitched wildly—I don't think I said the chocolate was on the piano, Mom, you're just admitting it!

The cold wind was biting, and the two of them instinctively shrank their necks. Himeko tightened her scarf, which Kasumigaoka had knitted for her, while Yukinoshita's coat had a fine fur collar. She tucked her neck into the collar, a gesture that made her look somewhat like a penguin.

What should we do next?

"There's nothing I absolutely have to do... I've found what I was looking for, so, is it time to say we can go back now?"

How are the cats?

When it comes to cats, Yukinoshita immediately perked up and started telling Himekoji all about the funny things that had happened with the cats recently. The most common story was about a kitten making a silly mistake and falling off the table, only to be picked up by the scruff of its neck and thrown into a cage by its mother. Although Yukinoshita had initially considered using a box to keep the cats, she ultimately opted for a cage.

"Phew—in short, everyone is full of energy. Seeing how energetic they are makes me feel more motivated for the new year."

After confiding in each other, the two walked slowly, and by the time Yukino noticed them, they had already reached the vicinity of the parking lot.

Are you going back?

"Today is a holiday, so there's not much going on."

Kazusa is probably coming over this afternoon, but if she does, she'll probably focus on the snacks her mom made first.

"Well then, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"You speak."

"What are you and Kawasaki-kun doing here today...? Of course, I know you came for your first visit, but—"

Her gaze drifted to the flashing headlights on the left, and her words became somewhat unclear.

"To put it simply, I feel like I was tricked into coming here, but oh well, she didn't seem to make out what she really wanted to say, making me think she was going to confess her feelings, hahaha~" Himekoji laughed self-deprecatingly, while Yukinoshita showed a disdainful expression and said: "You really think too much about girls confessing their feelings to you."

"No, no, no... When I was in junior high, I was handing out friend cards so many times my hands were sore."

Even when I was in junior high school, I went to and from school with Kazusa every day, and that was still the case. You can imagine how much more overwhelming the number of confessions I would have received if Kazusa hadn't been there.

"..." Yukinoshita gently rubbed her forehead and shook her head, seemingly regretting saying such a stupid thing. In fact, just look at how popular she is. If you stacked up all the photos of the boys who confessed to her from childhood to adulthood, you could make a book out of them.

Would you like to come over for a visit?

"My family?"

"I didn't go back to my family home this year, and since I didn't have anything to do anyway, it's just my own house, how about that?"

"Well... I've got nothing else to do anyway."

"It would be perfect if your car could take me there."

So that's what you were planning!

"Humph."

Yukinoshita smoothed her hair and deliberately nodded her chin toward Himekoji, as if to say: You didn't expect that, did you? You fell for it.

Subconsciously, Ji Xiaolu flicked Xue Xia's forehead. Xue covered her head and rolled her eyes at Ji Xiaolu, while Ji Xiaolu pointed to his car and said, "Hurry up and follow us."

Despite muttering to herself, Yukinoshita quickly took a step and followed.

After opening the car door and getting in, the most unexpected person was Ms. Reiko.

"Oh dear, it seems that Haruto's reservation this morning wasn't with Yukinoshita, was it?"

"That's right, I was supposed to meet Kawasaki, but I ran into Yukinoshita, so I just spent some time with her. Sorry, I have to change the plans now. Let's go straight to Yukinoshita's house."

"OK~"

Ms. Reiko started the car, while Himeko suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "By the way, why did I drive straight into your neighborhood when I went to your house last time?"

"...Is that so strange?"

"Isn't that strange?"

"I just entered your car's license plate number into the system... It's really annoying to call every time." Yukinoshita seemed unwilling to discuss this topic further. She smoothed her hair and asked directly, "By the way, have you decided on your major? Arts or sciences?"

"Of course, it's the humanities. I expect it to be law or finance, or maybe a double major."

"Well...it's about what I expected."

Chapter 282 Inside the car, [Himekoji Haruto] was utterly exhausted.

Lately, I've been feeling inexplicably tired. Although I've always lived like this, and I had a day off for the New Year, it was this one day off that caused all the fatigue I had accumulated to come rushing back and overwhelm me.

When people are on edge, they don't feel tired or even the passage of time. Once they relax, it's very difficult to get back on edge. Coupled with the fatigue from last night, Ji Xiaolu felt like she was replying to Yukinoshita's words in a half-hearted way, and after a few minutes, she seemed to stop talking.

It wasn't that Yukinoshita stopped talking; rather, Himekoji had fallen asleep.

Like an unsuspecting child, he tilted his head and rested it on the shoulder under the snow. There was a certain difference in height between the two of them when they sat together, so it was obviously uncomfortable to rest his head like that. In addition, he was wearing glasses, and with his head resting on someone else's shoulder, his glasses almost pushed his nose to the side.

Of course, that statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that lying on your side while wearing glasses can make your nose bridge very uncomfortable. Reiko stopped talking early after seeing that Himeko was already very sleepy. Yukinoshita noticed it later, and by the time she realized that Himeko was already very sleepy, he was already leaning on her shoulder.

"Miss Yukinoshita, could you please take off Haruto's glasses?"

Seeing that Yukinoshita remained tense and unmoved, sitting there like a wooden statue, Reiko felt a growing displeasure, thinking to herself: "What an oblivious girl." Of course, it wasn't entirely Yukinoshita's fault. After all these years, who had ever fallen asleep leaning on her shoulder? This was the first time for Himekoji Haruto, so she didn't know what to do and just stood there like a statue, dumbfounded.

"Ah, okay..."

She quickly responded and carefully removed Himekoji's glasses with her right hand. Himekoji's appearance without glasses was somewhat different from the one Yukinoshita usually saw. However, Yukinoshita had never seen Himekoji with such a peaceful expression before, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth and almost burst out laughing.

"He seems really tired lately. Did he stay up late last night?" Yukinoshita asked Reiko quietly. Reiko blushed and quickly coughed lightly before adding, "He's very busy every day."

It's just that they were busy with me last night...

"It must be so tiring to be so busy on New Year's Eve."

"Yes, yes, it must be very hard work."

The two engaged in a rambling conversation and arrived at Yukinoshita's apartment building about twenty minutes later. Seeing Himekoji sleeping so soundly, Yukinoshita couldn't bear to wake him. Reiko, of course, remained unmoved. Since Yukinoshita wasn't making a sound, she naturally wouldn't disturb Himekoji's peaceful sleep.

After staring at each other in the rearview mirror for several minutes, Yukino finally gave in. She first pushed Himekoji away, then shoved her glasses into his hand, before patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Wake up, hey, wake up, we're here."

"Ah...phew—, how did I fall asleep..."

After waking up groggily, Himekoji found that her glasses were still in her hand. Although she didn't remember taking them off before falling asleep, she figured that no one else would take them off for her.

Himeko gently rubbed her soft hair to clear her head, then got out of the car into her familiar parking spot. Yukinoshita emerged from the other side of the car, and Reiko, being quite tactful, didn't follow, something Yukinoshita was used to.

Standing in the elevator, the atmosphere between the two was somewhat heavy for some reason. They both looked up at the ceiling without saying a word. Only when Yukinoshita opened the door did she break the silence and say, "Please come in."

As soon as the door opened, the cats' meows filled the air. Although Yukino wouldn't let the cats roam freely when she left, the power of six cats was not to be underestimated. The two changed their shoes in the entryway, and as Yukino quickly walked towards the cat cages, she asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Just some tea will do."

Before Himekoji even sat down on the sofa, Yukinoshita had already brought out three cats. After nearly half a year, they had become quite plump and strong at Yukinoshita's house. Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but they had long since grown out of the size of the kittens they were when they were first discovered. Their fur had also grown in, and they were all very affectionate towards Yukinoshita. When she held them in her arms, they didn't struggle at all and just kept nuzzling against her chest.

Seriously, cat, you must have it tough. All that rummaging around in that kind of place must have hurt your head... Cats have it tough these days, having to fawn over their flat-chested owners for a little food.

What are you looking at?

Seeing Himekoji staring blankly at Yukinoshita's chest, she couldn't help but glare at Himekoji with a stern face. It was nice to see a cat snuggling in a girl's arms, but the shape of her chest was really too small, which made Himekoji feel sorry for her.

"I'm sorry, but I feel sorry for your cat."

"How could that be? I'm pouring my love into every aspect and every angle."

"This love is too strong; I feel the cat might not be able to handle it."

"I don't understand what you're talking about..."

Although she didn't know what Himekoji was referring to, Yukinoshita sensed that it was definitely not something good. She sat down next to Himekoji about half a meter away and then became completely absorbed in the cat.

Thank goodness, Ji Xiaolu couldn't help but feel relieved. After all, ducks aren't like cats; they prefer rubbing against legs or standing on shoulders rather than chests. Otherwise, Ji Xiaolu's poor little duck named Haruto would be so pitiful, rubbing against her mother's breasts that are barely small enough to be considered AA...

Warning: Nasal bone protrusion!

How can an Italian noblewoman like you have such small breasts? The Borgia family doesn't have a history of small breasts, there must be something wrong!

After sitting for about ten minutes, Himekoji was practically fuming. He glanced at Yukinoshita, who was completely absorbed in her cat, and asked, "By the way, where's the tea?"

Yukinoshita immediately got up, and the cat rolled onto the sofa with her movement. The two of them rolled together and crawled towards Himekoji. Without saying a word, she hurriedly went to pour tea, seemingly trying to cover up the fact that she had forgotten to pour tea for Himekoji because she was so engrossed in the cat.

This isn't the first time! Ji Xiaolu cursed inwardly.

Chapter 283 is frustrating; [Himekoji Haruto] is very busy.

Ten minutes later—

"Meow~" Himekoji also had a cat on his lap. Yukinoshita gave him "Magic," the one that was closer to him, and held the other two herself. He asked, "Speaking of which, you asked me whether to choose humanities or sciences, which subject are you planning to choose?"

"Logically speaking, we belong to the international liberal arts program, so there's no need to worry about this, but... I guess science is more suitable for me after all."

Yukinoshita held her teacup, lost in thought.

"Science, huh..."

"What, you have a problem with that?"

"Opinion? I have no opinion on your own choice, no one forced you."

"...Would you like to have lunch together later?"

They left early in the morning and hadn't eaten much with Kawasaki, so when they arrived at Yukinoshita's house, it was natural for Yukinoshita to cook. Anyway, her health hadn't collapsed yet, so Himekoji was too lazy to cook for her.