In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"That means you were already aware of your good looks back so long ago."

“It’s the truth after all.” Yukino tossed her hair, revealing a confident and matter-of-fact expression, like a proud white swan.

"Oh my, it feels like it's been a long time since I've seen Miss Yukinoshita like this. When was the last time we could chat so casually? Was it when you had just returned from the United States?"

Time always seems to fly when you're with someone special to you.

They didn't have to wait long; the slightly ajar door was pushed open.

Fujiwara Chika was the first to walk in, greeting everyone cheerfully: "President Minamoto~ We're here... Eh! Are there only two of you here?"

Yuan Qianye smiled and stood up to greet him: "Well, the other members of our student council all have other work to do today and can't get away for the time being. We may need more people to finalize the details, but the two of us should be enough for the initial discussion today."

"Greetings, President Minamoto." Kaguya Shinomiya followed closely behind Chika Fujiwara as she entered. She gave a slight nod to Minamoto Chika before her gaze fell upon Yukino Yukinoshita standing beside him.

"Good afternoon, President Shinomiya." Chiya introduced them: "This is our Soubu High School student council vice president, Yukino Yukinoshita. Yukino, this is the student council president of Shuchiin Academy, Kaguya Shinomiya, and this is the secretary, Chika Fujiwara..."

"Hello, Yukinoshita-san. Let me introduce the others." Fujiwara Chika took the initiative to introduce the other people who were about to leave.

After a brief greeting, Kaguya Shinomiya approached Yukino: "Yukinoshita-san, it's been a long time."

"You two know each other?" This was something Yuan Qianye hadn't expected.

Yukino explained, "Yes, my father took my sister and me to several parties hosted by Shinomiya's family."

"I never expected to run into Yukinoshita here, this is wonderful! How is Uncle's health?"

"He's fine, thank you for your concern..."

Because of this unexpected turn of events, the two young ladies began to exchange pleasantries.

However, it is clear that compared to Kaguya Shinomiya, who has been immersed in top social circles since childhood and is very adept at it, Yukino's etiquette, although impeccable, is obviously not used to this kind of overly formal greeting with family background connotations. Her performance is somewhat distant and formulaic compared to Kaguya Shinomiya's natural fluency.

After the polite small talk, everyone sat down to start talking about business, at Yuan Qianye's suggestion.

Since Shuchiin Academy had no experience in holding joint activities with other schools, the arrangements for this event were something they had to figure out together.

The discussion was mainly led by Chiya Minamoto, who was born and became the president of the association, and Kaguya Shinomiya.

They each described the general situation of their respective schools, as well as basic information such as the time schedule.

Others then offered supplementary information and raised questions about the details.

During this period, disagreements arose, the most significant being over their budgets.

Based on the previous expenses of Soubu High School's outings, Yukino had initially set the budget per person at 80,000 yen, a range that most students could accept.

The initial proposal put forward by Shuchiin Academy does not seem to have the concept of a "strictly limited budget".

Among the several alternative plans that Fujiwara Chika enthusiastically proposed was even a "seven-day luxury cruise," which costs over 100,000 yen just for the basic ticket alone. With onboard expenses and shore excursions, the average cost per person would easily exceed 300,000 yen.

Such a sum of money is naturally insignificant to most of the well-off students at Shuchiin Academy.

But the situation is completely different at Soubu High School.

However, this is not a particularly difficult or acute problem to solve.

Just as Chiyo Minamoto said before, school trips are a legally mandated part of the Japanese education system, aiming to allow students to "learn while traveling" through group accommodations and hands-on experiences.

The purpose of such activities is primarily educational, not recreational.

Taking a study tour on a luxury cruise ship sounds impressive, but it completely fails to achieve the ultimate goal of knowledge practice and skills development.

With Chiya Minamoto explaining the pros and cons, and Kaguya Shinomiya not being the type to be stubborn and unable to listen to other opinions, the meeting, though occasionally filled with disagreements and differing viewpoints, was ultimately able to continue in a relatively harmonious atmosphere.

The initial meeting and conversation lasted for more than an hour.

By the time the negotiations ended, it was past six o'clock.

The time frame wasn't very long, but both sides had reached a preliminary consensus on some issues, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

The sky outside the window darkened without us realizing it, and the rain intensified.

After exchanging greetings and watching the others leave first, Gen Chiya helped Yukino organize the meeting minutes. Together, they put the tables and chairs in the activity room back in place and walked out side by side.

At the entrance of the community center, a damp, cold wind mixed with rain hit her face, causing Yukino to instinctively shrink her neck.

Gen Chiya remained unmoved, opening his umbrella to look at Yukino.

Yukino understood his implication, but shook her head and took an umbrella out of her bag: "No need, you have a lot of things to do, I'll take the train home by myself."

Yuan Qianye snatched it away: "It's rush hour now, and you might not be able to squeeze on even after waiting for several trains. Plus, the weather is getting colder, so don't catch a cold from the wind on the platform."

"I'm not that weak, give it back to me." Yukino frowned slightly and reached out to ask for it back.

“But that’s how I see it.” Yuan Qianye raised his hand: “If you can touch it, I’ll give it back to you.”

Yukino was speechless for a moment: "Chiyo, can you please stop being so childish?"

Yuan Qianye smiled and said, "Cherish it. Many people would like to see me show this side of myself, but they don't have the chance."

"You mean I should be grateful for this?"

"It's not that exaggerated, but you should definitely feel honored for it."

Yukino seemed to give in: "Okay, I understand."

Yuan Qianye handed the umbrella back to her: "Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"

Yukino reopened the umbrella, then suddenly changed her mind: "Thank you for your concern, but I'll just take a taxi home."

This time, Yuan Qianye directly pressed down on her hand.

Just as he expected, the girl, who had a cold personality and whose name contained the character for "snow," also had icy cold hands at that moment.

As Eriri and Saeko's faces flashed through her mind, Yukino immediately withdrew her hand and took a half step back, resisting any physical contact with him.

At least outwardly, they resisted.

Yuan Qianye didn't care: "So you'd rather ride in a car driven by a potentially dangerous killer or antisocial individual than get in my car?"

"Your statement is far-fetched. Please apologize to all taxi drivers in Tokyo."

Furthermore... it's completely unconvincing for someone who is truly a "dangerous element" to say such things.

"Okay, I understand. How about this... Your sister is coming over tonight to talk to me about work. You can come directly to the studio with me, and then go home with her afterward, okay? It's no trouble for me, it's on my way."

Yukino pondered for a moment.

Since he had said so, she really had no reason to refuse.

She finally nodded, which was considered her agreement.

"You're so difficult to deal with. You used to be much more straightforward and cute..." Yuan Qianye complained.

Yukino seemed not to hear him, and silently pulled her scarf up even higher, covering most of her face.

Then she once again took the initiative to walk under his umbrella.

The two shared an umbrella and stepped into the rain.

Yukino's right hand, gripping the backpack strap, slowly tightened, silently responding to his words.

The person who made me into this neither straightforward nor lovable person... isn't it you...?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Not far away, inside a black limousine parked on the street.

"They're finally out..." In the back seat of a car parked on the street not far away, Kaguya Shinomiya kept a close eye on the situation at the community center.

Thanks to the young lady who was eager to regain face from Minamoto Chiya, who had once overshadowed her, Hayasaka Ai was able to stare directly at her lover and observe him closely without arousing suspicion.

"Two people sharing an umbrella... they're definitely in that kind of relationship!"

Seeing the way Chiya and Yukino interacted, Kaguya Shinomiya's face suddenly flushed slightly, and her voice instantly rose, but she quickly calmed down and analyzed the situation.

"But it's not surprising. The fact that only the two of them came to this meeting made me a little suspicious. During the discussion, the two of them seemed to have a lot of chemistry. Their eyes and postures didn't seem like a simple classmate or superior-subordinate relationship within the student council."

Hearing these words spoken by a young lady whose face was almost pressed against the car window like a voyeur, Hayasaka Ai felt no emotion.

The rain obstructed her vision, and the distance was indeed quite far, so she couldn't see the specific expressions of the two people under the umbrella.

However, the fact that they could stand shoulder to shoulder and share an umbrella so openly in public was something she envied immensely at that moment.

In comparison, her relationship with Qianye was exactly the same as the content of his novel, "White Night Walk".

The protagonists, living in seclusion and unable to see the light of day, can only lean on each other in the darkness, drawing warmth from one another...

But thinking about it carefully, if you accept this setting, the taboo that only the two of you know... doesn't that seem quite exciting?

"Ahhh! They even got on the same bus, and it's so late! This...this...this!!! This is inappropriate...this is so inappropriate! Are students from other schools really this open-minded?!"

“Young Miss, I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking right now, but it’s not too late. And according to the information I found online, Minamoto Chiyo and Yukino Yukinoshita have known each other since kindergarten. They are childhood friends, so it’s perfectly understandable that they’re acting so intimately right now.”

"Oh, I see... You've known each other since you were so young, so you're just like us."

"Yes, the information I got online is correct."

Kaguya Shinomiya pondered silently for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Interesting. Childhood friends working together in the student council in high school. My intuition tells me that things aren't that simple between them."

"What do you want to do, young lady?"

"I didn't do anything, I just felt that the young lady from the Yukinoshita family might be his weakness, so I just expressed my feelings."

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 210: Finally, it's time to lay the cards on the table.

Tuesday, December 3rd, was a cloudy day.

As the year draws to a close, temperatures are dropping further.

As the bell rang for the end of the last class in the afternoon, students packed their bags and headed either to the school gate in small groups or to their respective clubs.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was sleeping on the table, was awakened by the noise. She yawned slightly, and her legs under the table unconsciously came together, while her equally cold little hands rubbed together.

Personally, she actually quite likes winter. Unlike other seasons with the chirping of insects and birds, and the constant noise of the night, the quiet environment is perfect for clearing her mind and thinking, which is more conducive to her writing. Not to mention, the soft blankets and warm kotatsu are also very comfortable.

There's one downside: with her embarrassingly weak constitution, her hands and feet get very cold after she wakes up from sleeping on her stomach at school.

After sitting in her seat for a while to calm herself down, Kasumigaoka, now fully awake, opened the small mirror she carried with her, tidied her slightly messy hair, and then picked up her schoolbag and left the classroom.

Instead of going home, she went to the student council room.

After knocking and receiving a response, she opened the door and stepped inside. The warm air, carrying the rich aroma of coffee, wafted towards her.

"Excuse me... Ah, Shiyu, you're here."