When Yukinoshita Yukino saw the group of children behind Sato staring at her curiously, her expression could not help but freeze for a moment.
Soon, she turned an inquiring gaze toward Sato.
Sato introduced them. "My nephew, and his friends."
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded slightly, though she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. The way those little kids were looking at her was rather strange.
"What a pretty big sister!"
"Yeah, and she looks like the type who gets really good grades!"
"Um..."
Suddenly, Sakurada Nene looked at Yukinoshita Yukino with bright eyes. Excitement and burning curiosity filled her gaze.
Sato's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Wait, you wouldn't...
"Big sister, are you uncle's girlfriend?"
Sato: "..."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."
Aoyama Apartments, Room 302. At the entrance.
A deathlike silence suddenly fell over the place. Even though several people were standing there, not a single sound could be heard.
"No."
In the end, Yukinoshita Yukino's cherry lips parted slightly and she calmly spoke two words.
"Eh?!"
Sakurada Nene was immediately filled with disappointment. So she wasn't? Behind her, Kazama Toru and the others also showed disappointed expressions.
Shin placed both hands behind his head and looked at Sato with disdain.
"So she isn't. I thought you were rushing us to go home because your girlfriend came."
"Shin!"
Sakurada Nene glared at him.
"Maybe uncle is pursuing this big sister!"
Sato: "..."
He fell into a long silence. These kids were only five years old. What exactly were they thinking about all day?
Suddenly, he noticed Yukino looking at him.
The girl's eyes were like melting snow at the beginning of spring, pure, crystal clear, yet carrying an innate chill.
What exactly is wrong with these kids?
He read those words from her gaze.
Sato shrugged and showed a helpless expression, returning a look of his own.
Maybe five year olds today are different from when we were kids.
Is that so...
After this brief exchange of glances, Yukinoshita Yukino nodded thoughtfully, though she gradually began to feel a headache coming on.
She was not good at communicating with children, especially a group of kindergarten kids.
Sato noticed Yukino's discomfort and turned to urge them again.
"Alright, hurry up and go home. Next time remember not to run this far without adults accompanying you. It's very dangerous."
"Eh? But we still want to play a little longer. Sato, how could you be like this. So heartless..."
Shin twisted his hips and threw flirtatious glances at Sato, putting on a teary eyed expression.
"Get lost!"
Sato suppressed the twitching of his eyebrow and grabbed the brat's cheek. The pain made Shin repeatedly beg for mercy.
"Uncle, I was wrong!"
"Th... then we'll go first!"
Seeing this scene, Nene, Kazama, and the others hurried toward the door. Uncle Shin seemed to be angry.
"Wait."
Sato suddenly called them back and sighed.
"Wait for me. I'll take you to the station so you can ride the train home."
After speaking, Sato went back inside to get some money.
Kazama Toru, Sakurada Nene, and the others looked at each other.
Suddenly, Kazama Toru lowered his voice and said to the others, "Uncle Shin is really a good person."
"Mm. Mm."
Bo and Masao nodded.
"Hm, handsome, good grades, a nice personality, and most importantly he even likes hyper realistic house play. Really not a bad choice."
Sakurada Nene took out a notebook and began writing enthusiastically.
Yukinoshita Yukino grew curious and softly asked Sakurada Nene, "What are you writing?"
"Ah?!"
Sakurada Nene jolted and quickly hid the notebook behind her back, giving Yukinoshita Yukino an awkward smile.
"N... nothing!"
Yukinoshita Yukino did not say anything further, but her gaze suddenly became somewhat strange.
Although Nene hid it quickly, she had still seen something.
[Nene's Best Marriage Candidate]
This...
Even someone as composed as Yukinoshita Yukino could not help feeling stunned, followed by a silent stretch of thought.
Had the world really changed?
At that moment Sato came out from inside. He first said apologetically to Yukino, "Sorry, I'll send them back first. I'll be back soon. Vanilla is inside, you can go in yourself."
After speaking, Sato turned and called out to the little brats.
"Let's go!"
"Oh!"
...
Yukinoshita Yukino stood blankly at the entrance for quite a while before coming back to her senses. She looked toward the quiet room inside and fell silent again.
Meow.
A soft cat's cry came from deep inside the room.
A faint light flashed in Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes. She suddenly bent slightly and said cleanly and politely, "Excuse me."
Then she glanced at the shoe cabinet beside her, took out a pair of slippers from below, changed into them, and walked inside with light steps.
Along the way, although she kept reminding herself not to look around, the curiosity in her heart would not go away.
This was the first time she had ever been inside a boy's home.
Unexpectedly, the room was extremely tidy and clean, completely different from what she had imagined.
Finally, she stood at the door of Sato's bedroom.
They were actually inside!
She cautiously leaned her head in to take a look. After confirming there was nothing strange, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she saw the two cats still lying on the computer desk.
He did not lie.
When she saw the calico cat, a flash of realization passed through Yukinoshita Yukino's mind.
"Me-ow~"
Looking at the cat not far away, the girl made a soft calling sound.
The two sleeping cats woke up. The calico cat glanced at her, then lazily went back to sleep. But the little white cat seemed to remember her.
However, the white cat wandered around the edge of the desk for a long time and still did not dare jump down.
Yukinoshita Yukino pressed her lips together. A trace of hesitation appeared on her face. But after hesitating for quite a while, the girl finally took that step forward.
"Meow."
The moment her hand touched Vanilla's head, a rare smile appeared on the girl's usually cold face.
For a cat lover, the moment they touch a cat is healing.
When their hand strokes the cat's soft fur, when the cat plays in their hands and lets out gentle meows, a cat lover's heart softens.
Soon, Yukinoshita Yukino's attention was drawn to Chocola beside them. For a cat lover, any cat had a fatal attraction.
Should she pet it?
She hesitated.
From the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed a whiteboard standing beside the desk.
What is this...
For the first time since entering, her gaze moved away from the cats and she stared blankly at the plan diagram on the whiteboard.
Rustle.
Suddenly, a faint sound caught Yukinoshita Yukino's attention.
She looked toward the balcony.
A rope had descended from above, and her pupils immediately shrank.
A thief. That was her first reaction.
As the rope swayed, she soon saw a pair of smooth legs wrapped in black stockings, completely different from what she had imagined.
Takanashi Rikka slid down from the fourth floor. When her gaze landed on Sato's bedroom, her somewhat expressionless little face suddenly froze.
At the same time, Yukinoshita Yukino also froze.
The two girls looked at each other.
The same question appeared in their minds.
Who is she?