My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 461

This is really true.

○It is certain that Yukino Yukinoshita will continue.

As the sweet aroma wafted through the air, the kitchen began to fill with a peaceful and warm atmosphere.

Then, another figure appeared who could be considered a symbol of this peace and warmth.

The child's long hair was combed into two braids, both styled to shoulder length, and she wore a well-fitting children's apron. I also remember very clearly her features, which destined her to become a beauty.

Kawasaki Kyoka is the younger sister of Kawasaki Kyoka.

Kawasaki picked up her younger sister from daycare first, and then arrived here late, carrying a shopping bag in one hand. She quickly and efficiently helped her sister tidy up her clothes, then breathed a satisfied sigh and took a picture as if to keep it as a souvenir.

The apron was probably specially altered to fit Jinghua Xiangfu's size; the embroidery and name embroidery on it are quite adorable.

After taking many photos, she seemed to realize that she hadn't finished her preparations.

"Well, um, I need to go over there to do some preparations..."

She waved slightly to me, looking at me with some hesitation as she spoke.

Well, I don't know what she was preparing for by leaving, but girls always have all sorts of things on their minds. Asking too many questions at a time like this would definitely get her angry, as Komachi has already confirmed. Besides, in a crowded place with many dangerous cooking utensils, she'd probably be worried about not having someone watching over things herself.

"Ah, I'll keep an eye on her, you don't need to worry."

"Then, I will..."

After saying that, Kawasaki nodded to me and walked out of the kitchen.

I watched her leave, then looked towards Jinghua.

Jinghua seemed very sleepy, probably because she was already tired from being at the nursery, or perhaps because she was exhausted from being photographed so much by Kawasaki. Her eyelids were almost closed.

"It's Hachi—!"

It seems she still remembers what I look like, as she pointed her short finger at me.

"Oh, that's right, it's Hachi. Although, to be precise, it's Hachiman—and don't point at people with your finger. You'll get pricked—"

I crouched down to look at her, and at the same time, I reached out and poked Jinghua's cheek with my finger. Oh no, it's so soft…

I kept poking her cheek with my finger, and Jinghua made strange "oh-oh" sounds like a seal, looking very confused... Hmm, the punishment is over. Hopefully, she won't point at other people with her finger anymore.

Although I had achieved my goal, her softness was truly hard to defend against. Oh no, she's so soft... Komachi went through a similar phase too—no, she must be soft now... As I thought this, I poked her cheeks even more recklessly. Kyoka still had a confused expression, but it seemed like she suddenly remembered something.

"Eh~"

She slashed at my face without any hesitation.

"Ouch... That's why you shouldn't point at people with your finger. It's dangerous if you poke someone's eye or something."

To punish him, I poked him even harder than before. It was definitely a game, I guess. Jinghua laughed and poked my face back as if in retaliation. Hmm—it seems the lesson failed.

As I was pondering why this was happening, and continuing to poke Jinghua's cheek, I suddenly felt a cold voice coming from behind me.

"...Hey, what are you doing?"

"Ah, no, it's nothing..."

I turned around and saw Kawasaki, wearing an apron, holding a metal bowl and a cut piece of chocolate, staring at me with a terrifying look. She sighed deeply, as if it were very difficult for her to speak.

"Well, while it would be nice of you to look after things for me, this kind of thing, this kind of..."

"No, wait a minute. That's not how it works."

A dangerous man with a corrupted gaze is poking a cute little girl's cheek... On the surface, this is clearly a crime. If this were outside, I could see it already being treated as a case, even posted on the notice board and circulated in the community, and my mother would laugh at me, saying, "That's exactly you, hahaha," and I would be powerless to respond to such a future scenario with nothing but "Um... um..." Besides, Kawasaki's gaze, which seemed to say, "I still believed you...", stung me, and I felt a pang of guilt.

"This is because, that..."

I stood up and raised my hands to indicate that I had no intention of resisting, thinking about what to say next. Suddenly, I felt something bump into my feet. Looking down, I saw Jinghua holding my waist.

"She's playing with Xiaoba~"

"Well, that's how it is..."

Although I intended to play with her, looking at it from another perspective, perhaps it was actually the little girl playing with me. And considering how much I was drawn to her cute, soft cheeks, even if I said that, it wouldn't be too wrong.

This child is terrifying for having boys completely under her thumb from this age!

Well, there's no doubt that her future is promising. Actually, her older sister, Kawasaki Saki, is also, as you can see, a beauty in general. The only problem is her initial roguish air. The way she looks at her sister completely lacks that terrifying or intimidating quality.

"...That's it."

Seeing Jinghua's adorable actions, Kawasaki smiled, his mood calming down. Then Jinghua smiled happily as well, tilting her head cutely while still holding onto me.

"Will Xiaosha play too?"

"No, I don't want to play anymore. Okay, Xiao Jing, come to your sister."

Kawasaki pulled Kyoka away from me and hugged her tightly. "No, even if you weren't so wary, I wouldn't do anything, okay?" Thankfully, it seems we've successfully avoided a future where an arrest was reported. I sighed with relief.

However, compared to my reassured state, Kawasaki seemed somewhat uneasy. She stroked Kyoka's head while gazing into the kitchen, and spoke.

"Is it really okay to bring her along?"

I can understand Kawasaki's unease. After all, everyone here is a high school student, and there are even some from other schools, making Keio seem somewhat out of place. However, this isn't a formal, official event, so there aren't any clear rules.

I glanced at the kitchen counter next to me, and saw Ms. Haruno talking to Senior Kai. Now that even that person is here, there's no point in talking about qualification or anything like that.

"Well, it's alright. There are quite a few other people coming too."

"Um……"

After I finished speaking, Kawasaki nodded as if she had accepted it. Well, firstly, one of the reasons this event was able to be held was because of Kawasaki's request. It's quite apologetic that she feels a little uncomfortable staying here; at least her request should be fulfilled properly... But it wasn't like she was asking me to do anything directly anyway.

As I was searching for the one who could make this request a success, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Oh—Saki, you made it in time."

The one who spoke in a bright voice was Yuihama, with Yukinoshita following behind her.

"It's been so long since I've seen Jinghua!"

As she said this, Yui Hama started patting Kyoka's head. She and Yukinoshita had both met Kyoka at the Christmas event, so they knew each other.

Yukinoshita did approach Kyoka, but her hand hesitated, reaching out and then withdrawing repeatedly.

She must be worried about whether she can touch him; she's so clumsy.

Just as I was thinking this, I didn't expect there to be an even more clumsy person next to me.

"Um... I'd like to ask you for a lot of help today..."

Kawasaki seemed to hesitate for a moment about how to greet her, and finally said it hesitantly and somewhat shyly. Perhaps feeling that her older sister's behavior wasn't quite right, she straightened up and bowed deeply to Kyoka, who was looking up at Kawasaki.

"Please give me your advice."

She probably learned it at daycare. Although her greeting was a bit slow, it was much more approachable than her older sister's stiff manner, making everyone who saw it feel relaxed. Not only me, but even Yuihama looked like she was struck by her cuteness, and Kawasaki's eyes even welled up with tears, as if he was moved by his younger sister's growth.

Then, Yukinoshita smiled with a loving expression. She held her skirt, slowly squatted down, and looked directly into Kyoka's eyes as she spoke.

"Yes, please guide me here as well. What kind of desserts would you like me to make?"

When asked this question, Jinghua looked up at Kawasaki's face, and Kawasaki nodded in response.

"Xiao Jing—what kind of snack would you like to eat?"

Upon hearing this question, Jinghua paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke up.

"eel."

"Oh, oh... I see..."

That's all I could say for the moment. Oh, I see... eel...

"Sorry, I ate eel at home the other day, and it seemed like I really liked it."

Kawasaki lowered his head, looking very embarrassed. But that's how kids are; sometimes they say things that don't make sense, and sometimes they just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind without thinking... If that's the case, there's nothing we can do about it.

As I was thinking this, Yukinoshita rested her chin on her hands, deep in thought...

"So, it's an eel pie? I can make the pie myself, but I need to investigate how the eel is prepared..."

"Oh—they can actually make that pie?"

"Ah."

Yukinoshita said matter-of-factly. This guy really knows everything. But his own "pie" isn't very good...

"How about giving it a try?"

When Yukinoshita asked him that question, Kawasaki shook his head, his face turning bright red.

"No, that's not necessary! Just teach her some things that ordinary children can do..."

"Hmm, it must be something like truffle chocolates... I'll go get some extra ingredients."

As she spoke, Yukino walked toward the podium in front of the kitchen.

While waiting for her, I thought about continuing to take care of the child and looked towards Jinghua, but it seemed that my job had already been taken by Yuihama.

Yuihama completely ignored the state of her skirt and squatted down to have a lively discussion with Kyoka.

"Eel—I know. I'd like to try it too—"

"Eel is delicious. You can eat it with rice."

"Yeah, eel is so delicious—"

"Mmm, the rice is delicious."

"Hey, rice..."

Although their conversations didn't quite match up, both of them seemed quite happy. On the other hand, it would be troublesome if Yui actually tried it.

However, as long as Yukinoshita and Kawasaki are there, they probably won't go berserk. It seems my role as the taste tester isn't quite there yet.

I'll wander around a bit before I find a job.

Ms. Yang and Senior Xun were talking to Teacher Heizuka. The new and old student members were moving around the various cooking stations listening to questions, while the vice president and secretary were occasionally laughing and saying something. Vice president, you'd better get to work!

The students from Seaside Comprehensive High School were gathered around the cooking station, discussing something, but judging from the fact that they hadn't really started cooking yet, they were probably still brainstorming.

Hayama, who was also a taster, was blocked by Miura and Isshiki as always, while Hobe, who wanted to try the food, was making a fuss around Ebina. He was completely being manipulated.

I was secretly watching when Ye Shan seemed to notice me. He looked around for a moment, then walked towards me.

"what happened?"

"No, it's okay."

He inexplicably raised his voice. What's going on? Is he spying and excited at the same time? Am I a girl in love? He was still whispering and shrinking back, afraid to speak... If this keeps up, I'm afraid I'll have to buy a megaphone so he can hear what I'm saying.

Perhaps, for a series of reasons, I've been able to communicate with him amicably. We're different; he's not entirely a good person, while I really am a detestable one.

So, I can probably guess why he came.

"so?"

She pretended not to care, half-opening her eyes to look at him. But she didn't look away; he smiled bitterly.

"……you're right"

I was a little surprised. Hayama rarely showed such a smile, one that matched his age.

He reached for a can of coffee on the table next to him, shook it gently, and handed it to me.

"It's quite troublesome... Consider it a return gift from last time."

Hearing him say that, it suddenly dawned on me. He was probably referring to our conversation before the marathon, where I invited him for coffee under the guise of something else. In the cold park, I gazed at the sky.

How honest this person is. It wasn't a thank-you gift at all, but rather an excuse to chat. It's not that it's bad, and I didn't suspect anything, it's just that people like us, sometimes colleagues, sometimes companions, always need an excuse to act.

We need an excuse to convince ourselves and to allow ourselves to be accepted by others. No matter how different we are, we are always looking for reasons.

So I nodded and took the coffee with an "Oh." But why is it black coffee?

Seeing me repeatedly touching the bottles and jars to check the brands, Ye Shan smiled:

"You like sweets?"

"Not entirely."

Even I'm not interested in anything sweet right now. Besides, there's a whole bunch of sweet chocolates to eat later. So I pulled the tab and took a deep gulp.

Hayama sighed, just like me.

There was no verbal communication, only the clinking of coffee cans and the occasional sigh.