Meanwhile, Ichin and Yukino were at the supermarket, picking up ingredients for the day.
Their shopping cart was already piled high with all kinds of groceries, various cuts of meat, fresh vegetables, and even some seafood. The large supermarket was well stocked, and they could find practically everything they needed.
After browsing through the seasoning aisle and picking up a few condiments they were running low on, it was time to grab some snacks.
Looking at the cart, which was already stuffed to the brim, Ichin said helplessly, "Yukino, wait here a moment. I'll go grab another cart."
"Alright. I'll wait for you in the snack section."
With that, Yukino took over the current cart and slowly pushed it toward the snack aisle.
Ichin headed back to the entrance, grabbed another cart, and made his way straight to the snack section. Following the message Yukino had just sent him, he found the shelf lined entirely with potato chips.
But as soon as he arrived, he saw Yukino talking to a blond young man and woman.
Well, to be precise, the blond young man was the one speaking. The girl beside him remained silent, simply standing there and observing Yukino.
Seeing the two of them, Ichin vaguely recalled that they seemed to be characters from the original story.
But that hardly mattered anymore. The original plot had long since been completely derailed. Yukino had spent both her high school and university years in Tokyo, and even Shizuka Hiratsuka had been teaching at Toyogasaki.
With that thought, Ichin pushed his cart over.
"Yukino, are they your friends?"
Seeing him return, Yukino's lips curved into a faint smile. Under the young man's surprised gaze, she nodded.
"Someone I knew when we were children. This is Hayama Hayato. His father works as a legal advisor at my father's company. And this is his friend, Miura Yumiko. Hayama, this is Ichin."
Ichin looked at them and smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ichin. I'm, well, Yukino's… older brother? Though it's been a while since you called me 'Onii-chan,' hasn't it?"
Yukino shot him an annoyed look and lightly kicked his calf. "Since you've got the cart, let's go. There's still quite a lot left to buy. Kō and the others have already arrived."
"They're already here, huh? Then we'd better speed things up."
Nodding, Ichin turned to the two blond youths. "Sorry, we have guests at home, so we need to continue shopping. Please excuse us."
As he spoke, he casually grabbed a few bags of chips from the shelf and tossed them into the cart.
After the two of them walked away, Miura turned to Hayama. "Hayato, do you know that guy? His name sounds kind of familiar."
Hayama thought for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "I remember now. Tobecchi plays a few games made by that company. The president of that company should be Ichin. I also heard from my father that the Yukinoshita sisters acknowledged a godmother, who happens to be his mother. Their families are quite close."
"So that's how it is. Now that you mention it, I remember too." Watching Ichin and Yukino walk off, Miura murmured softly, "He looks pretty impressive. But Yukino really is quite different from her older sister."
Because she often hung out with Hayama, Miura had met Haruno twice before. As for Yukino, who spent most of her time in Tokyo, this was her first time seeing her in person.
Hayama nodded. "There are definitely differences. But she's also changed quite a bit from how I remember her as a child. Anyway, let's not dwell on it. We should hurry and finish shopping so we can meet up with the others."
They had plans today as well.
Back on Ichin's side, he picked out snacks while listening to Yukino recount what had happened while he was gone.
"If he hadn't greeted me first, I might not have even recognized Hayama," Yukino said softly, now linking arms with Ichin. "These past two years, I haven't attended many family banquets, so I haven't run into the Hayama family. We chatted briefly just now. He's attending university in Tokyo as well."
"I see. Then running into them today really was quite a coincidence."
After nodding, Ichin asked, "So, are those two a couple?"
Yukino thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't think so. But that girl probably has feelings for Hayama. I could tell."
"Oh? Impressive. Yukino can read that kind of thing now?"
She shot him a glare. "Don't treat me like a child. I'm over twenty now. I'm not the same high school girl who barely understood relationships. Besides, her behavior was obvious. While I was talking to Hayama, she kept watching me very warily."
"I noticed that too. Which just proves how beautiful our Yukino is, making others feel threatened."
Grinning, Ichin leaned over and rubbed his head lightly against hers. Then he glanced at a shelf of marshmallows. "Want to grab some marshmallows? Roasted marshmallows are pretty good."
"Sure. Let's get a bag. Everyone does like sweets."
They did not usually eat that many snacks at home, but since there were many guests today, by the time they finished browsing, the second cart was nearly full as well.
After quickly making sure they had everything, they headed to the checkout, loaded everything into the car, and drove home.
By the time they returned to the villa, it was almost ten thirty.
Since they had taken Yukino's car today, and the garage was already occupied, they parked in the front yard instead.
Once the car was parked, Utaha and the others came out. Ichin called for everyone to help carry the groceries inside.
Kō Yagami walked over and looked at the bags being unloaded from the car, her eyes lighting up. "Whoa! So many snacks and so much meat!"
"It's all for you guys. Why aren't you helping already?" Ichin said as he handed her a heavy bag of meat. "Kō, put this in the fridge for me. Arrange it neatly."
"So heavy!"
Startled by the weight, Kō quickly steadied herself and hurried into the villa. This was the meat for dinner. She definitely could not afford to drop it.
After everything was finally carried inside, Ichin was at last able to take a break. He plopped down onto the sofa, inadvertently squeezing Peiqi, who had been sitting there, into the corner until the poor chubby orange cat could barely move.
"Hm?"
Only then did Ichin realize he had pinned Peppa under his weight. Chuckling, he scooped up the fat orange cat.
"You little guy, couldn't you at least make a sound? You're getting lazier by the day."
Facing Ichin, Peppa showed no sign of resistance or annoyance. Instead, he simply let out a lazy yawn.
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