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

"Th...thank you." Yukinoshita mumbled softly before immediately running away from Himekoji. Just as she was about to enter the house, she suddenly pointed at Himekoji and said, "If I find out my address has been leaked, I really will call the police!"

Himekoji naturally knew her address, since working in the student council brought her many advantages.

When Ji Xiaolu got home, his mother praised him for driving the girl home, without mentioning a word about his unlicensed driving. To Ji Xiaolu's great surprise, the pet his mother ultimately chose was not a cat, dog, or rabbit, but a chubby, pure white duck. After arriving at Ji Xiaolu's house, the duck arrogantly quacked, making Ji Xiaolu always want to roast it.

The next day, Himekoji arrived at the shady spot at the south exit of the subway station a little early. As a result, it seemed that because he arrived a little early, some girls came to chat him up. Himekoji was really annoyed. After seeing off one group, another group came. Yukinoshita finally arrived about five minutes after the agreed time.

"Ah... I'm so sorry I'm late."

Yukinoshita, with a →_→ expression, walked towards Himekoji. The girl who had been pestering Himekoji turned around and saw Yukinoshita, immediately feeling ashamed of herself. She glanced at Yukinoshita silently and slipped away. Himekoji breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks to you, I'm finally saved."

Do you always do this when you go out alone?

Yukinoshita rubbed her forehead, looking exasperated. She was wearing a light blue sleeveless top with a high collar, her smooth black hair tied into twin ponytails that swayed slightly on either side of her head, and her skirt, which was shorter than her knees, fluttered with her steps. A small wicker handbag was slung over her arm, making her look youthful and beautiful.

"Same to you." Himekoji pointed in the direction of the station and said, "Let's go."

"I have a question."

"tell me the story."

"Why don't you come to the Service Club, but instead help me with these tasks that belong to the Service Club? In the end, the rift between Yuihama and Hikigaya has nothing to do with you. Who exactly are you...?"

"I just feel that if I leave certain things unattended, I'll regret what might happen... and sometimes I just can't help but take action."

"What is that? It's inexplicable, I don't understand."

"It's okay if you don't understand. Today's task isn't to understand what I'm saying, but to buy a gift for Yuihama, right? Have you decided what you want to buy?"

"No... I've consulted a lot of things, but I still don't know what to give her. What's your suggestion?"

"Well, for women, if it's not exquisite and sparkling gemstone jewelry and expensive bags, lipsticks, and perfumes, then it can only be some practical and durable items. Of course, it would be best if they had some sentimental value."

"You're not planning to give it to the former, are you? I don't think Yuihama-san will accept it."

"Actually, the lipsticks and perfumes are just so-so. I don't plan to buy luxury bags. Even if I did, she probably wouldn't accept them. If I forced her to accept them, she might feel guilty, which could have the opposite effect."

After Himeko finished speaking, she noticed that Yukinoshita was staring at her with a surprised expression.

"what happened?"

"I didn't expect you to know about these things. At first, I just thought you were a Himekoji."

"You're treating Himekoji as a derogatory term, aren't you!"

"Well, who knows?"

Yukino turned her head away and ignored him.

"By the way, I have something to tell you."

"?"

Yukinoshita turned her head, but didn't say anything.

"The woman who claimed to be my sister yesterday..."

"What's wrong with Sister Daphne?"

"She's actually my mom..."

"Ha ha--??!"

Yukinoshita's eyes widened, and her voice rose considerably. Luckily, the two of them had just come out of the station, otherwise they might have embarrassed themselves.

"Well, that's the truth. I'm just giving you a heads-up to prevent you from being scammed again next time."

"But—, your mother...how could she be like that...? Well, how should I put it..."

"You're acting like a little kid, aren't you?"

"Um..."

"I won't explain the reasons. At least my mother has always been like that since I was born. She is knowledgeable and talented, but extremely lacks common sense. She doesn't know how to turn on the air conditioner or use the TV, let alone use a smartphone. But no matter what, she is a very qualified mother. I love her."

"That's true..." Yukinoshita sighed silently, feeling a little envious of Himekoji.

BAY LaLaPort, a nationwide chain with over 500 locations, is home to a wide variety of shops, cinemas, and large event venues, making it arguably the most luxurious leisure and entertainment complex in Chiba Prefecture. It even boasts a mini-golf course. But most importantly, its developer is Gido Shoji—the family behind the famous actress Mariya. (Originally the Mitsui Group; please don't draw parallels to reality.)

After crossing the pedestrian bridge together, the two arrived at the entrance of the shopping center. Yukino looked at the facility information map, crossed her arms and thought, "Have you been here before? This place is so spacious."

"I have a small question before that."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"If you and Hachiman were here today, what would you do? Even with my gray hair, I know that Hachiman has probably only been here a handful of times, maybe less."

After Himekoji finished speaking, he noticed that Yukinoshita was looking at him with an expression as if he were an idiot.

What's with that expression on your face?

"What I mean is, how could you possibly think I'd be dating that Yui here? Even if it's just to buy a gift for Yuihama, it's the same. I'd rather come alone than invite him... although I doubt I'd actually come here," Yukinoshita straightened up and said to Himekoji with a stern face, "And you, don't think you can act so arrogantly in front of me just because you helped me deal with that guy who hit on me yesterday and brought me back. I'll still get angry no matter what."

Author's Note:

P.S.: Hedgehog Cat solemnly reminds you: If you read a book but don't vote, the author will shed two lines of tears.

Chapter 070 Mr. Pan, Yukino Yukinoshita's favorite!

"Pfft... Hahahahahahaha."

Ji Xiaolu couldn't help but burst into laughter, turning her head away and shrugging her shoulders repeatedly.

"Hey, what's so funny? I'm really getting angry."

"I'm so sorry, it's just that it's so different from what I expected..."

Himekoji barely managed to suppress her laughter, then silently mourned for a few seconds for Hachiman, who was playing video games at home.

This wasn't the answer I was expecting, I'm so sorry.

I really didn't know you rated Yukinoshita so low...

"Alright, you still haven't answered my question. Have you been here before?"

“I’ve been here many times, so just listen to me this time.”

"Hmm, it would be best if you could provide a goal. Splitting up can easily lead to confusion. If we really don't have a goal, then that's just how it is." Yukinoshita said thoughtfully in a low voice, "If we absolutely have to come with Hachiman, we'll definitely have to split up, right..."

"Young women are the group with the highest spending power, so in order to get these women to quickly hand over their 'Yukichi-san' (referring to 10,000 yen), the counters targeting women's consumers are usually located on the lower floors, and that's where we go first—"

Himeko pointed to the "JASSIE" and "LISA.LISA" counters on the inside of the first floor, where Givenchy, Swarovski crystal, and other brands were located. Yukinoshita followed his finger and walked straight ahead without listening to his rambling any further.

The two arrived side by side at the fork in the road leading to the left and right sections respectively. If they continued to walk forward, they would have to take the escalator upstairs. If they kept walking to the right from here, they would have basically reached their destination. However, Yukinoshita had already secretly slipped away from Himekoji and arrived at the panda plush toy store.

Mr. Panda is a well-known character at Tokyo Disneyland. During the Golden Week holiday, Himekoji took her mother to Sichuan after avoiding China's three-day holiday in Russia. There, they could see plenty of giant pandas. To her mother's amazement, Himekoji was able to communicate fluently with people from Sichuan, which she found incredible.

However, this chubby black and white creature has an extremely strong bite force. If it gets angry, it can easily kill a person. Perhaps this is why Japanese toy stores make Mr. Panda so ferocious. It looks like a cursed plush toy with a ferocious expression, and many of them even have a scar on one eye.

Each of them has a mischievous expression, a plastic bamboo stick in its mouth, wearing all sorts of hats and colorful clothes. Even so, there are still many Japanese people who are obsessed with it. The store is never short of customers, and the staff greets customers warmly while rushing to stock up on new products. Yukino Yukinoshita is obviously one of the fans.

She was like the squirrel in Ice Age who discovered a huge patch of pine cones, completely immersed in Mr. Panda Pan. Her hands were impatiently pinching this and that, and her hesitant but unwilling-to-give-up look was just like that of Yoko-neechan who saw a whole table of sweets but couldn't eat them all but didn't want to let any of them go.

Ji Xiaolu didn't disturb her for the time being. She silently walked to her right rear and leaned against the counter, watching her without saying a word.

Finally, when Yukinoshita reluctantly chose to buy one of the Mr. Pan dolls instead of the entire store, her eyes lit up as she picked up the doll with both hands and lifted it high. But as she turned to pay, she met Himekoji's eyes, which held an undisguised smile.

"..."

An awkward silence fell over the room, and then Yukino turned around and placed the chosen Mr. Pan on the counter.

"What's wrong with that? Buy it if you want."

"I'm not..." Yukinoshita couldn't deny the fact that she was extremely obsessed with Mr. Panda Pan, so she lowered her head in utter disappointment and glared at Himekoji, saying, "You saw it all, didn't you?"

“I won’t arbitrarily dismiss a girl’s preferences, so don’t worry about it. Aren’t giant pandas adorable? I even took my mother to see giant pandas in Sichuan, China during Golden Week.” Himeko waved to her, then closed her eyes and said, “You have one minute to buy it, and then we’ll go buy a gift for Yuihama.”

So Yukino glanced at Himekoji a few times, then at Mr. Pan, the panda she had put down, and decisively grabbed Mr. Pan and took him to the cashier. She paid and put him in a bag in a serious manner, then went to Himekoji's side and tapped his arm.

Himekoji opened his eyes. Yukinoshita was standing about fifty centimeters away from him, gently stroking the hair behind her ear. She pretended to be calm and said, "Okay, okay, let's go."

Since Mr. Panda Pan was being directly chosen by Himekoji, there was no point in Yukinoshita trying to hide it. So she simply gave up and openly carried it in her hand along with the wicker handbag.

"Go, which way?"

After walking back to the same corner, Yukinoshita stopped and began to look around.

"right."

"Okay, to the right."

"You're standing in the opposite direction, so this is your left... and my right."

"You should have said that sooner, you idiot!"

Yukinoshita turned around and glared at Himekoji, embarrassed and annoyed.

Upon entering this area, the atmosphere changed abruptly. The air was filled with the scent of perfume and shampoo often used by young women. The number of male customers around decreased sharply, and even those who were there were accompanied by their female companions. If a male customer appeared here alone, he would basically be watched warily. If you were tall and handsome, it would be fine, but if not, the women's gazes alone could make you break out in a cold sweat.

Yukinoshita clearly rarely visits shopping malls like this, so she was also somewhat intimidated by the scene. She stopped and observed Himekoji's position. When she saw Himekoji standing not far behind her, she breathed a slight sigh of relief, but immediately gestured for him to come over. Himekoji followed, and she casually pointed to a women's clothing store and said, "Let's take a look over there?"

"Buying clothes..."

Himekoji gave a wry smile. If you were to buy clothes for Yuihama based on your own modeling style, she probably wouldn't be able to fit into them. You need to know the size when buying clothes. However, directly rejecting Yukinoshita's first suggestion would be irrational and impolite. Despite her good upbringing, Himekoji still took a step forward and followed.

When Yukinoshita saw that Himekoji had followed her, she stopped caring and went straight into a nearby clothing store, picking up one nice-looking dress after another to compare them on herself.

So Himekoji followed her in.

Author's Note:

P.S.: Hedgehog Cat solemnly reminds you: If you read a book but don't vote, the author will shed two lines of tears.

Chapter 071 Choosing a Gift, [Yukino Yukinoshita] has no experience.

As is customary, when a man enters this kind of store, he is destined to be stared at by female customers. However, Himekoji was not afraid at all. On the contrary, the girls who looked at him seemed to have a gleam in their eyes. The shop assistants who originally wanted to surround him to monitor him gave up the idea. Just as other customers were intentionally or unintentionally moving closer to Himekoji, he walked up to Yukinoshita and asked, "Is there anyone you like?"

When Yukino turned around, the girls who had initially had some ideas quickly gave up on them.

What do you think of this one?

Yukinoshita held up the Asahimekoji shirt she was wearing.

"Your clothes are appropriate, but Yui's are not. The color scheme doesn't match her personality or hair color. The color you chose is too cold."