Kato Yusuke narrowed his eyes slightly and stared expressionlessly at Tonya Aki, who was not far away, without speaking.
An Yilun did not dare to look at him, but instead turned his gaze to the person next to him.
"...Although this may be me meddling, senior Shiyu should feel the same way, right?"
"--oh?"
Shiyu raised his eyebrows slightly when his name was called, but did not answer the question immediately.
She first glanced at Kato Yusuke, who was silent, and Eiri, who was stunned on the spot, and then looked at Aki Rinya with interest.
"Yes~ If you really want to say it, I am indeed a little angry."
"That's really it, isn't it? Right——!?"
An Yilun also asked overjoyed, making several girls who saw his expression at this moment startled.
Shiyu continued calmly: "You seem to have misunderstood me. When I said angry in the last sentence, I didn't mean I was angry with Yu-chan?"
"Eh--?"
"On the contrary, it's you, classmate An Yi Ethical."
The girl's smile suddenly turned cold, and she said word by word: "What qualifications do you have to accuse Yu-chan from the moral high ground?"
"What……?"
The unexpected reaction made An Yilun open his mouth in shock and subconsciously defended:
"But, but -! As a girl, wouldn't Senior Shiyu be angry?"
"Sigh...I always feel like I've been completely looked down upon."
"……What?"
Shiyu deliberately sighed heavily and said, "Let's not talk about whether I want to be angry or not. Why do you think I don't know about Yu-chan going to Sawamura's house?"
"ah??"
"Basically, Yuu-chan told me about this the moment he received the invitation from the Sawamura family."
"——!"
An Yilun also suddenly showed an expression of disbelief, while Shiyu continued.
"Moreover, I not only knew that he stayed at Sawamura's house that night, but I also knew that Shinjoka and Xiaoyu also went there together.
Rather, I had already expected that the three of them would spend the holidays together.
I'm just angry because my boyfriend went to another girl's house to celebrate the festival, went to worship with others, stayed overnight, etc... I'm not that superficial."
Coincidentally, a sentence emerged in the minds of several people present at the same time:
——"This person definitely cares a lot!"
Mayu Sagara and Dekai Hashima sat in their seats with lowered eyebrows and remained silent for a while.
Hui's eyes wandered between the several parties involved, and then he pondered for a moment.
"Well~~ Aki-san probably doesn't know, but Shinjou-san posted a photo with Eiriri and Xiaoyu on New Year's Eve? So I think this is a misunderstanding~"
As she spoke, she took out her mobile phone to retrieve the photos from that time, and took the initiative to show them at the scene.
"Here, it's this photo ~ Shinjou-san posted it on LINE."
"--Well?"
An Yilun also blinked twice in confusion. After seeing the scene on the screen clearly, he seemed to have his neck stuck, and was speechless for a long time.
after awhile.
"...Sorry, everyone."
He rubbed his eyebrows with one hand, "I've been staying up late typing code in the past few days, so I'm in a bit of a bad state. Please allow me to take a day off today..."
Regardless of the reaction of the remaining people, he turned around and left after saying this.
◇
It's dusk.
Kato Yusuke led Shiyu back to his apartment.
——"I have something to discuss with you, Yuu-chan. Let's go to your house together."
For this reason, the girl unilaterally announced her decision to come to his home, and Kato Yusuke did not refuse.
Rather, he actually expected that this might happen, and it would be strange if Shiyu didn't ask anything.
Just like that, the two of them entered the room together.
"Senior, please sit down for a moment. I will suck the hair in the room and then make coffee for you."
"Otherwise, that's fine. I'll vacuum the floor for you, and you can just go make coffee."
"……is this okay?"
"In terms of efficiency, this is the highest, right?"
"I'm not talking about that..."
Kato Yusuke looked at the graceful girl in front of him and said thoughtfully: "With all due respect, senior sister doesn't look like she knows how to clean a room."
"I pinch!"
"Hiss~ It hurts."
"Who told you to suddenly say such rude words?"
Shiyu retracted the two fingers pinching his flanks, puffed up his cheeks slightly and muttered: "... Even I can do such a small thing well."
"Then let's change it. Can the senior sister make coffee for us?"
"Huh? Are you questioning my ability?"
"No." Kato Yusuke smiled gently: "I just suddenly want to drink the coffee made by my senior sister, can't you?"
"...?"
Shiyu blinked twice very quickly, feeling a little uneasy because of his smile, and replied with a blushing face:
"...My skills are not very good. At most, I can give you the taste I am used to."
"Well, that's fine."
"Oh...you're not picky, then I'll make coffee."
The girl said, turned around and walked to the kitchen, getting busy.
Kato Yusuke took the vacuum cleaner from the corner and started cleaning.
In order to appease the black cat that was running around chasing the vacuum cleaner, he also opened a can of canned cat food as a snack, which finally calmed the little guy down.
He had just finished dealing with the black cat when a girl's inquiry came from the kitchen.
"Yu-chan, where did you put the cup?"
"It's in the cabinet on the left above. You can see it when you open it."
"knew."
"Do you need me to get it?"
"No, I can get it...eh——?"
"Any questions?"
"...Is this mug here a new one you bought?"
Kato Yusuke turned around and saw that the Hermès mug he was holding was in his hand.
"Oh...that cup was a Christmas gift from Ms. Kosaka. I haven't used it yet."
"Miss Kousaka..."
Shiyu narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly and sarcastically: "Hmm~~Are you really not picky?"
Kato Yusuke smiled bitterly and replied in embarrassment: "...Can you not use such a malicious term?"
"I can't stand it."
Shiyu said and sighed: "There is obviously a beautiful girl in front of you who you can take advantage of, so why do you choose to stay far away from her?"
After hearing her words, Kato Yusuke scratched his cheek, "Generally speaking... would anyone praise themselves for their beauty?"
"Um?"
The girl stepped forward and stopped in front of him at a distance that was almost touching each other's bodies. Then she tilted her head slightly and asked deliberately:
"Then tell me, am I not beautiful?"
"..."
The sudden distance made Kato Yusuke take half a step back unconsciously.
Seeing this, Shiyu made a charming and seductive voice: "Eh? Are you shy?"
"Basically, this is a normal human reaction."
"Hey~? So are you excited?"
"Is this..."
Kato Yusuke opened his lips and said, "To be honest, I have seen a lot of various appearances of seniors, so I am somewhat used to them."
"--Um?"
"I mean, no matter how many times you watch it, it's still fresh, pretty, and sexy, so stop pinching my carotid artery!"
"...I tell you, those words just now really hurt me."
"I'm sorry, it's just that it's a bit embarrassing to give a serious compliment in this atmosphere."
"An apology alone is not sincere enough."
"What compensation do you want?"
"Cooking."
Shiyu pointed back to the kitchen and muttered: "I want to eat the food you cooked by yourself."
"...That might be hard to swallow, right?"
"That's okay, as long as it's made by you, no matter how unpalatable it is, I will eat it all."
"There's no need to go to that extent..."
Kato Yusuke touched the back of his neck and said, "Then let me try it later. Don't be angry?"
"Yeah, no problem."
A smile spread across the girl's face.
…
After the brief interlude ended.
After finishing the finishing work, they each took a cup of hot coffee and sat down on the carpet.
Shiyu started the conversation without hesitation: "So, what is the farce going on today?"
Kato Yusuke naturally replied: "Senior, are you talking about Aki?"
"Yes and no."
Shiyu said calmly, putting one hand on the black cat's head and massaging it gently, and the black cat snored beside her legs with enjoyment.
"More than that Aki, I want to know what happened between you and Sawamura."
"……Um?"
"Let me know beforehand that it would make me more sad if you kept it from me or lied to me than if you knew the truth."
"..."
Kato Yusuke's hand holding the mug paused slightly, "How could it be? It's just a long story. I don't know where to start."
"That's okay, you can say it slowly, I have a lot of time."
The girl said, taking a sip of coffee and giving him a "You can start now" look.
Kato Yusuke sighed lightly and told the other party what happened on New Year's Eve.
This lecture lasted twenty minutes.
"...Hey~"
Shiyu said in a long voice: "Didn't you expect that Aki and Sawamura have such a past? This is really interesting. I will definitely use it to laugh at her next time~"
Kato Yusuke listened to her words and showed a very headache expression.
"Can you please stop using such a serious tone to make such a bad joke? Senior Shiyu."
"Why not? Do you feel bad when you see me bullying the village?"
"Um?"
"Or do you want to protect her?"
"Isn't this way of asking too much of a leap...?"
"Why else would you stop me?"
"If I have to say it, I just think it's a bit cruel to rub salt into other people's wounds."
"--lie."
Shiyu asserted unceremoniously, pinching the tip of his nose with her delicate hands, "Your nose is going to get longer, right? Canocchio."
Before the young man could speak, she continued: "However, I finally understand why An Yi is so angry today."
Kato Yusuke didn't answer and silently took a sip of the cold coffee. He also knew the reason behind this.
To be honest, he had never encountered similar situations in school.
Girls who have a crush on him without permission, and boys who like that girl but are very wary of him, this kind of thing happens almost every day, and he is almost used to it.
"So." Shiyu asked again: "Regarding this matter, what are you going to do next?"
"If what the senior sister is talking about is An Yi's problem, I won't do anything. Now everything is about the studio."
"What about Sawamura?"
"What's wrong with Yinglili?"
"After what you have experienced, can you still look at Sawamura-san from the perspective of a younger sister? Did your heart move when you faced her that night?"
Kato Yusuke hesitated for a moment, and then breathed out weakly.
"...I really want to answer that you can, but in fact, I did waver at a certain moment."
"Sure enough, I knew..."
Shiyu crossed his arms slightly irritably and said:
"No matter how much you play the game of 'brother and sister', you two are still strangers with no blood relationship. It's only a matter of time before things change. What about you? What do you think?"
"Honestly, I didn't think about it that much..."
"Oh? This means that you are going to let her develop naturally?"
Kato Yusuke rubbed the center of his eyebrows vigorously and sighed for the first time: "Can I ask senior a question?"
"Problem? What problem?"
"Since Senior Shiyu is so angry about this matter, why did you still speak for me in the studio today?"
Shiyu answered without hesitation.
"Is there any problem with this? No matter whether it is right or wrong, when outsiders are present, of course I will stand by you unconditionally."
"Uh...? Now you..."
"Now that we are at home and there are no outsiders, it is a different matter."
After a short period of silence.
"I always feel...Senior Shiyu like this seems a bit handsome."
When Kato Yusuke said this, Shiyu reached out and pinched his cheek.
"Don't be tricky, you haven't answered my question yet."
The young man smiled helplessly, knowing that he had to give an answer here, so he lowered his head and thought seriously.
When the girl saw this, she didn't rush her and waited quietly.
After a while, Kato Yusuke pondered and raised his head.
"Excuse me, can I ask senior sister another question?"
"you say."
"Senior sister, do you think there are people who can think of things that happened very long ago just because of a momentary heartbeat?"
"..."
Shiyu narrowed his eyes slightly and replied: "It depends on the person. Some people can do it and some people can't."
"Well, then I belong to the latter category."
"oh?"
"I've said my thoughts before, I don't plan to do anything."
As he spoke, Kato Yusuke glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up from the ground with two empty glasses.
"Anyway, let's talk about this for now. I'm going to wash the cups and prepare for cooking. If Shiyu-senpai is bored, you can watch TV for a while."
Shiyu curled his lips disdainfully, feeling a little dissatisfied with his evasive behavior, but said nothing more.
She thought for a moment, then took out her phone and sent a LINE message.