I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

—You can tell what this silly little dumpling is thinking just by looking at it.

Unfortunately, Yuu Tenkuji didn't feel he needed to explain anything to her.

"The rest is up to you, President."

Turning her gaze away and ignoring the pink-haired girl's changing expression, Tenkuji Yu leaned back lazily in her chair, declaring her intention to shift blame: "I look forward to your brilliant instructions. As long as they are reasonable enough, I guarantee they will be more obedient than my cat."

The moment the words left her lips, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly turned her head, her fist clenched slightly on her skirt, her eyes shining with curiosity and seriousness as she asked:

Do you also have cats? What breed are they? Do you have any photos?

"...That's not the point."

Giving her a strange look, Yuu Tenkuji pointed to Yuihama, who was standing awkwardly at the door, and said speechlessly, "Our client is still there. Is a cat more important than business?"

"Well!"

As if her vital point had been struck, Yukino Yukinoshita froze in her seat for nearly two seconds.

She loosely clenched her fist and pressed it to her lips, then coughed twice awkwardly. A delicate pink blush appeared on her fair cheeks, and her icy demeanor was no longer visible.

"That's not what I meant... Please forget what you just said."

"Ah."

In front of Yui Yuigahama, Yuu Tenkuji simply shrugged and gestured for Yukinoshita to quickly begin the "Service Club Activity Procedures".

Yukino Yukinoshita stood up, her long, straight black hair swaying, and found a relatively new-looking steel pipe chair from the pile of clutter at the back of the classroom, placing it some distance in front of the long table.

"Please sit down, Yuihama-san."

"Ah, thank you..." Yui Yuigahama glanced furtively at Yuu Tenkuji, carefully pressed down her short skirt, sat down on the chair, and then blinked her curious big eyes, "Um, Yukinoshita-san... do you know me?"

As if talking about someone else, Yukinoshita calmly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"There's no need to make a fuss. I've already memorized the names and appearances of all the students in the school."

"Wow, that's amazing! As expected of Yukinoshita, the beauty of our grade, she's both beautiful and smart..." After sincerely exclaiming, Yui Yuigahama asked, "Um, I heard from Hiratsuka-sensei that there's a club here that can grant wishes..."

Using the same tone as before, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately corrected her: "You misunderstood. We are not Aladdin's lamps that grant wishes; we can only provide self-help methods and suggestions. The actual implementation still depends on your own persistence and effort."

As if stunned by her earnest tone, Yui Yuigahama nodded vigorously, her expression slightly tense, and said, "I-I understand! It means that rather than providing a finished dish, we should provide a recipe, right?"

"You have excellent comprehension skills." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded in satisfaction.

Yui Yuigahama glanced furtively at Yuu Tenkuji, who sat idly beside her, then touched her pink bun, took a deep breath, and mustered her courage to ask:

"So, you and...Tenkuji-kun do this kind of thing every day after school?"

Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."

Yuu Tenkuji: "..."

The two exchanged a glance, and then Tenkuji Yuu turned to Yuigahama Yui, saying in a serious tone, "To be honest, she waits for me here every day, but I don't come every day, and this is the first time I've done something like this..."

Snow White expressionlessly pulled out her phone: "Hello? Is this the police? Someone is sexually harassing me here."

Tenkuji Yu shrugged: "Go ahead and call the police. If this kind of teasing can get you arrested, then probably more than 70% of men are sexual harassers."

"Tsk." She angrily put down the phone, which hadn't even gone through, and glared at him coldly. "Letting someone like you go unpunished is a legislative oversight in this country."

"It's better than you overusing women's power to threaten men."

"Who went too far..."

"Um, you two have such a great relationship." Raising her voice slightly to interrupt their bickering, Yui Yuigahama smiled somewhat awkwardly, "It's not very polite to ask this, but are you two dating?"

With wide eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her in disbelief: "Yuihama-san, do I look like someone who would associate with insects?"

Yuu Tenkuji frowned as well: "Yuihama, do you think my taste is so bad that I would be interested in the Kanto Plain with such a terrible personality?"

A massive killing intent suddenly rose from the side, but he didn't care at all. He simply raised an eyebrow at Yui Yuigahama: "Let's get back to the point. Did you tell Hiratsuka-sensei that if we help you fulfill your wish, you would join our club and help us in the 'Club Showcase'?"

“Yes, that’s the plan…” Yui Yuigahama nodded slightly, secretly relieved to see that although the two were talking freely, they clearly disliked each other.

Then, with her head slightly lowered, she stammered, "Actually, it's not really a wish, you know. Hehe~ How should I put it... If possible, I hope to learn how to make bento boxes, the kind that I can share with other people..."

Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita disregarded the urge to kill Yuu Tenkuji with her gaze and looked at her with a slight frown.

"To put it simply, Yuihama-san—your request is simply to improve your cooking skills, right?"

Chapter 74 isn't the usual cookie-making routine.

This is a lie!

[Yui Yuigahama joined this club for one reason only: to get closer to the person she likes!]

[Because of something recent, she doesn't know how to face him, yet she can't help but keep looking at him. These days, the girl is caught in this quagmire of inner turmoil, tormented by her dilemma.]

Fortunately, things soon took a turn for the better—she learned from his friend, Totsuka Saika, that he had been going to his club after school recently, and through subtle inquiries, she also learned from Hiratsuka-sensei that his club was short of members.

Even though people always call her stupid or naive, when it comes to the man she likes, Yui Yuigahama becomes smarter than anyone else!

[The so-called wish is just an excuse; if I had to say something, it would be "to spend time with Yuu Tenkuji," something I simply can't bring myself to say.]

[It would be great if this could improve my hopeless cooking skills, but the goal that led the girl to this special building has always been singular.]

"Hmm, hmm... that's about it..."

Yui Yuigahama scratched her face, tilted her head slightly, and laughed foolishly.

Yukino Yukinoshita, however, seemed to disapprove of this, casting a cold glance at her: "Something like that? Can you stop using such ambiguous language? Please give a clear answer, yes or no!"

"Eh? Um, I..." As if a snowball had hit her collar, Yui Yuigahama involuntarily hunched her shoulders, paused for a couple of seconds looking somewhat bewildered, and clenched her fingers at the hem of her clothes.

Seeing this, Yuuki Tenkuji turned to Yukino Yukinoshita and said, "Yukinoshita, you must never become a waitress in the future."

She frowned and glanced at me sideways, her face full of displeasure: "Although I never intended to become a waiter, what do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what you think."

"I have no reason to be looked down upon by you."

"Don't be so aggressive. Speak properly, and I'll probably respect your emotional intelligence."

“I don’t think there was anything wrong with my tone. Besides, the Service Club isn’t a service industry. If I can’t even speak frankly, then this club has no reason to exist… Can you use your insect brain to think properly, Tenkuji Mushi-kun?”

Tenkuji Yu gave her a warm smile and said softly, "Well, speaking frankly can also make people feel like they're basking in a spring breeze, right? Please think about it carefully with your meager chest, Hirashita Hirano-san."

"You again...!"

With a frosty expression, Yukino Yukinoshita was so angry that her face turned red. She glared at him with her teeth clenched, and her icy aura seemed to freeze even the warm sun outside the window.

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become tense, Yui Yuigahama quickly stood up, put her hands in front of her chest, and tried to ease the tension.

"Hey, you two, please don't fight over me! Peace, peace!"

The two men ignored her, staring at each other as they spoke simultaneously in a chorus:

"It has nothing to do with you, it's just that this guy is too annoying!"

Yui Yuigahama: "..."

Oh, I'm so envious of this kind of perfect understanding!

△

Despite their argument, the three eventually left the special building and headed towards the home economics classroom.

Yukino Yukinoshita leads the way, her figure dignified and solitary, radiating a cold aura that keeps strangers at bay.

Tenkuji Yuuka lagged behind her by a step, idly observing the members of the sports clubs who were sweating for their youth on the distant playground.

Throughout the journey, he didn't initiate any conversation with Yui Yuigahama, treating her like a casual classmate.

She seemed afraid that if she spoke, it might cause the two of them to argue again, so she also remained silent and obediently followed behind them.

"..."

Looking at Yuu Tenkuji's retreating figure, the pink-haired girl recalled how he had spoken up for her earlier.

Even though he knew it was just wishful thinking on his part, he couldn't help but lower his head and chuckle to himself.

The midday sun slanted, casting golden dappled light across the long corridor; autumn's footsteps were quiet and peaceful.

In front of the home economics classroom, Yukino Yukinoshita frowned as she looked at the notice on the door.

"Is the equipment under maintenance? What bad luck."

There was no home economics class today, and she only found out about it now.

After thinking for a moment, Yukino Yukinoshita turned to Yui Yuigahama and said, "Now you have two choices: one is to rent a kitchen off-campus, and the other is to postpone the request until the home economics classroom is available, and then I will teach you the correct way to cook."

"Eh? This is too much trouble for you guys..."

Yui Yuigahama crossed her fingers in front of her, then glanced furtively at Yuu Tenkuji. After her gaze darted left and right for a while, she tentatively suggested, "If it's alright, would you like to come to my house?"

“My kitchen is quite big, and I have all the ingredients I need. It only takes about twenty minutes by car…” She quickly added, as if trying to cover up her mistake, “Well, um, don’t force yourself! I’m not in a rush, it’s okay to do it in a few days…”

"It has nothing to do with being reluctant, you don't need to be so nervous. But, shall I go to your house...?"

With her slender, fair fingers resting on her chin, Yukino Yukinoshita fell into deep thought, comparing the opportunity costs of the two choices in her mind.

If she had known when the home economics classroom renovation would be completed, she would have preferred to resolve this request within the school.

After all, going to a stranger's home to teach her to cook would be time-consuming, laborious, and troublesome... However, Yukino Yukinoshita is not one to slack off on what she should do just because she's afraid of trouble.

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, she slowly relaxed her brow and finally made a decision.

"Then..."

Seemingly seizing the opportune moment to speak, Yuu Tenkuji suddenly said, "The Culinary Research Club has both ingredients and equipment. You can ask them if you can borrow them. At most, you'll have to pay a usage fee and the cost of the ingredients."

"..."

With her beautifully curved lips tightly closed, Miss Snow Woman stared at him indifferently, as if silently saying, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Tenkuji Yu shrugged innocently, looking incredibly irritating.

"I just realized that too... And isn't it you, President, who's the one who's making me obediently listen and wait for your decision?"

After a few seconds of icy stare, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly raised the corners of her mouth and gave a polite smile.

“That’s right, thank you for your helpful advice, Tenkuji-kun.”

"I take back what I said earlier. You are more useful than I thought, in making up for my shortcomings."