Zongman: Beginning and Snow under the Rain Escape from Raccoon City

However, there are limits to how much care one should give to their students.

A mortgage of fifty to sixty million yen is no small sum.

Hiratsuka Shizuka wouldn't go so far as to incur such a huge favor for the sake of a student.

As for asking Ye Hai to repay the favor he did for getting the financial license last time?

That was used up back when Ye Hai was pretending to be her boyfriend.

Hiratsuka Shizuka considered many things, but she didn't consider Ye Hai's so-called bottom line.

He said last time that he would never agree to pretend to be her boyfriend, saying that lying was against his moral bottom line.

As a result, after Hiratsuka Shizuka said it was to repay a favor, Ye Hai immediately agreed.

Ah, a flexible bottom line.

……

evening.

Yui Yuigahama pushed open the door to her house, which was dark inside.

Mom hasn't come back yet.

She sighed softly, placed her schoolbag on the shoe cabinet in the entryway, and bent down to change into indoor slippers.

"Wang!"

A fluffy Samoyed dog excitedly pounced over, its tail wagging like a propeller, its wet nose rubbing against Yui's hand.

"Sabre~ I'm back!"

Yui crouched down, ruffled the dog's fluffy fur, and finally a smile appeared on her face.

Sabre licked her cheeks affectionately, making her temporarily forget the unpleasantness of the day.

She held Sabre's warm body, feeling its steady heartbeat.

The familiar scent of dog shampoo calmed her down a little.

"Sabre..."

She murmured softly, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the kitchen.

It was empty there, with no lights, no clattering of spatulas, and no trace of my father sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper.

—It's been four years.

Since her father passed away, her mother has had to work to make ends meet.

Her job at the convenience store often meant she wouldn't be able to get home until late at night, and the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen had long since been replaced by the mechanical sound of the microwave heating up bento boxes.

Yui still remembers that when her father was still alive, her mother would be busy in the kitchen every day at this time, wearing an apron.

My father would sit at the dining table, reading the newspaper while waiting for dinner to be served.

She would hug Sabre and secretly pinch a piece of meat from the pot to eat, only to be laughed at and have her hand slapped away by her mother.

The kitchen was always warm back then.

"Wang!"

Sabre's shout brought her back to reality.

The dog tilted its head to look at her, its bright black eyes reflecting her slightly reddened eye sockets.

"...I'm fine."

She rubbed her eyes and forced a smile: "I just... suddenly miss my dad a little."

Sabre seemed to understand, let out a sob, and gently rested his head on her knee.

Yui took a deep breath and stood up.

"Today... I'll cook."

She walked towards the kitchen, her steps hesitant. The refrigerator contained only a few eggs, half a carton of milk nearing its expiration date, and some discounted vegetables she'd brought back from the convenience store yesterday.

"Hmm... surely you can fry an egg, right..."

She clumsily cracked the egg, dropping shell fragments into the bowl, which she frantically picked out. Sabre sat beside her, her tail gently patting the floor, as if encouraging her.

When the oil in the pan heated up, she shrank back in fright. Oil splattered onto her hand, making her hiss in pain.

"So...it's this difficult..."

Looking at the eggs in the pan that were gradually turning black, she suddenly understood why her mother always had a band-aid on her hand.

—It turns out that it's so hard for one person to support a family.

"Ding-dong-"

The doorbell rang suddenly.

Yui hurriedly turned off the stove and ran to open the door. Outside, Yuihama Yuka looked exhausted, carrying a bag from the convenience store.

"Mother……"

Coconut's gaze passed over her daughter's shoulder and fell on the smoking pot in the kitchen and the mess on the counter.

"Yui, you..."

"sorry!"

Yui lowered her head, her voice growing softer and softer: "I just... wanted to try..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

Coconut Fragrance hugged her tightly, her voice unusually gentle: "Little Yui has grown up... she's starting to help her mother with housework."

Yui hesitated for a moment in her mother's arms before finally telling the truth: "Mom...actually..."

"Someone from the school came to see me today; it's about our family's mortgage..."

Coconut Fragrance's body stiffened visibly for a moment, but she quickly relaxed: "Are you... from the bank?"

Chapter 44 Hachiman Hikigaya

Yui slowly took the notice out of her bag, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Deep Sea Financial Co., Ltd."

The few bold characters stood out starkly on the paper.

"Mom, this is what they gave me today..."

Yui's voice trailed off: "They said we have to pay the overdue monthly payments and... and penalty interest within a month... totaling more than nine million yen."

Among the things that Yui Yuigahama handed to Yuigahama Yuuka, besides these, there was also a work hour certificate signed by the convenience store owner.

This shattered Yuihama Yuka's wishful thinking.

As she took the paper, her full breasts rose and fell noticeably with her rapid breathing.

The plastic bag from the convenience store slipped from her fingers, and the fast food bento box inside fell to the ground with a thud.

Sabre pricked up his ears alertly and paced anxiously around the mother and daughter.

"Three years and two months' worth of debt... plus penalty interest..."

Coconut Fragrance's voice choked. She slowly squatted down, leaning against the wall, the movement causing her shirt collar to open slightly, revealing her delicate collarbone: "This... how is this possible..."

Her monthly salary is only around 300,000 yen. After paying Yui Yuigahama's tuition and the family's daily living expenses, there is hardly anything left.

"mom!"

Yui quickly knelt down to support her: "I...I've made up my mind! I can go to work! Isn't the convenience store always hiring? I..."

"no!"

Coconut Fragrance suddenly looked up, her chest heaving. She grabbed Yui's shoulders, her nails almost digging into her flesh: "You're still a student, how could you..."

"But this money..."

Coconut took a deep breath, a movement that made her figure even more prominent.

She picked up the fallen lunchbox, her slender fingers leaving a few wrinkles on the packaging: Tomorrow... I'll go talk to Deepsea Financial tomorrow.

"There will always be a way..."

Although Yuihama Yuka is wearing a convenience store uniform, she still can't hide her mature woman charm.

Her figure, clearly defined beneath the uniform, made it impossible to tell she was the mother of a teenage girl.

Mother……

Tears welled up in Yui's eyes: "I don't want to see you suffer like this..."

Coconut Fragrance gently wiped away her daughter's tears, a gesture that caused her previously styled pink hair to cascade down like a waterfall. She gave a forced smile: "Silly child, this is a mother's responsibility. As long as you study hard, that's the biggest help you can give your mother."

Sabre barked at just the right moment, squeezing his head between the two, making Yui burst into laughter through her tears.

"Okay, let's eat first."

As Ye Xiang stood up, the movement revealed her waist and hip curves perfectly.

She glanced at the burnt eggs in the kitchen, then suddenly chuckled, her ample bosom trembling slightly: "Looks like our little princess still needs more practice."

……

"Hachiman Hikigaya, your problem is very serious."

Inside the teachers' office, Hiratsuka Shizuka, with her legs crossed and a cigarette lit in her hand, spoke in a serious tone.

Hachiman Hikigaya instinctively retorted, "Hiratsuka-sensei, first of all, it's unreasonable to take up students' time after school. Secondly, I think your smoking at school is an even bigger issue."

"!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka's fist whistled past Hikigaya Hachiman's ear and slammed heavily against the wall behind him with a dull thud.

Hachiman Hikigaya could even feel the stinging sensation of the fist wind brushing against his cheek.

"Cut the nonsense."

Hiratsuka Shizuka withdrew her fist and casually flicked her cigarette ash: "As a student, participating in club activities is an obligation. But you, you just sneak home after school every day."

Hachiman Hikigaya pushed up his glasses, a hint of resentment flashing in his deadpan eyes: "Ye Hai didn't join any clubs either, so why is he only picking on me?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka's expression visibly stiffened, and the cigarette almost slipped from her fingers: "Ahem... Ye Hai has already joined the Service Club, and he was participating in club activities at noon."

She exhaled a smoke ring, feigning composure.

Hachiman Hikigaya narrowed his eyes: "Service Club? I've never heard of this club before."

"It's right on the top floor of the teaching building!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice suddenly rose a few decibels: "Yukinoshita is the club president, and Hakai is a member... They are diligently carrying out club activities every day!"

Although Ye Hai did not actually participate in any department, if Hiratsuka Shizuka were to throw Ye Hai into the Service Department, would Ye Hai dare to say "no" now?

Hmph~ If he dares to refuse, she'll tell Yukino, and then we'll see how he explains himself.

Hiratsuka Shizuka could even picture Yukino Yukinoshita looking at Ye Hai with teary eyes, asking him, "Don't you want to stay with me a little longer?"

Hehe, just thinking about how the usually aloof Yukino turns into a meek and submissive girl after falling in love is so exciting.

Hiratsuka Shizuka opened her mind. Yes, she would throw Ye Hai into the Service Department, which would be just enough to make up the number of people in the Service Department.

Otherwise, it would be quite troublesome to have to explain to the principal every semester why a club could exist even though it only had one person, and it even occupied a classroom all to itself.

She couldn't very well say outright that she had given him special treatment, could she?

Hachiman Hikigaya stared at Shizuka Hiratsuka suspiciously: "Really... then why have I never seen Ye Hai's name on the club activity bulletin board..."

"that is because..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly got stuck. One lie always needs another to cover it up, which is too troublesome.

She scratched her hair in frustration, the lit cigarette twirling nimbly between her fingers without burning herself in the slightest.

Well, I was originally planning to put Hachiman into the Service Club, but now I think it's not really appropriate.

Putting aside the fact that it would disturb Hakai and Yukino's relationship, just imagining Hachiman's deadpan eyes staring at the young couple's interactions is awkward enough.