"What is going on with teenagers nowadays? One by one, small in size, big in attitude, all of them are problem teenagers!"
After two glasses of wine, Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't hold it in anymore, and started furiously ranting to Yukinoshita Haruno.
At the moment, the main target of her rant was still this brat Shin-chan.
Shizuka could be said to both love and hate Shin-chan. What she was most worried about now was that Shin-chan was attracting too many girls.
The girls in Shuchiin were basically all rich young ladies. As far as she knew, Shin-chan's family situation was very ordinary. If something happened, it would be very troublesome.
"Shizuka-chan, it's normal for a teacher to encounter some problem children. But the problem child you're talking about shouldn't include Yukino, right?"
Haruno wasn't very interested in the wine in her glass. Lightly swirling the wine glass, she looked extremely elegant, forming a stark contrast with the carefree Shizuka.
The men in the izakaya also had their eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, fall on her.
"Your little sister is even more dishonest than you. Haruno, it's not good for you to treat your sister like this. Her awkward personality is basically because of you, right?"
Shizuka understood Haruno very well. This all-smiles beauty could get along well with everyone, except her own sister. She always liked to tease her with a bad attitude, which is what slowly turned Yukino into the person she is now.
In short, because of the special circumstances of the Yukinoshita family, this complicated family relationship was created.
The slightly weak father who married into the Yukinoshita family, the overly strong mother who controlled the whole family, the very excellent but not sincere elder sister, and the slightly confused younger sister due to her childhood experiences.
Not the best, but better than the worst, a family whose development had temporarily come to a deadlock. Three mother-and-daughter figures who were not sincere and couldn't express their inner emotions.
"But don't worry, I discovered a very interesting kid. He will definitely change Yukino."
"Oh?" Yukinoshita Haruno became interested. She knew very well that she wasn't sincere, but the moment she saw her cute little sister Yukino, she just couldn't help teasing her.
Besides, all her hard work, wasn't it for Yukino?
As long as she was excellent enough and could inherit the Yukinoshita family, then Yukino could freely enjoy her own life and choose her own lover and future.
It's just that asking her to say these things to Yukino with her own mouth was basically like killing her.
She wanted Yukino to mature a bit, but also wanted Yukino to stay childish forever. Who could possibly understand such contradictory thoughts?
"Tell me about him, and about Yukino. I heard she set up a club?"
Shizuka began talking to Haruno about Shin-chan and the Service Club, and along the way complained a bit about this unreliable, headache-inducing brat.
Haruno nodded noncommittally and gained some interest in this man called Shin-chan, whom Hiratsuka was talking about, though not too much.
What she was thinking now was, after sending Shizuka back, she'd go find Yukino to recharge her "sister energy," and also check how her sister was doing living alone.
———
After Yukino returned to her apartment, she was restless and a bit regretful about agreeing to eat sukiyaki with Shin-chan. But she really did want to eat it, and she also wanted to observe Shin-chan to find his flaws.
In Yukino's view, Shin-chan's act of maturity was his disguise, covering up some emotion deep inside his heart.
Just like her, her cold and arrogant demeanor was to hide her soft heart.
Unfortunately, Yukino guessed wrong. Shin-chan wasn't hiding anything. He had always been like this.
The sudden vibration of her phone made Yukino hurriedly pick it up.
[Shin-chan: Already almost done with preparations. Yukino, hurry over.]
'Again with the "Yukino." Why can't Nohara-kun remember? Whatever, still better than Hiratsuka.'
Walking out the door, she came to the entrance of Shin-chan's home, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
After waiting a moment, the door opened, but from the open door, she didn't see Shin-chan.
Looking down, Yukino discovered that the one who opened the door was actually that little dog she saw last time. There was a rope tied above the doorknob, and the other end was held in the dog's mouth.
Yukino and the puppy locked eyes. Her body instantly tensed. She was very afraid of dogs. Even a dog as small as this one scared her terribly.
Luckily, Shin-chan's puppy was a very polite puppy. It let go of the rope in its mouth, nodded to Yukino, then turned and left.
'This dog… is way too smart, right?'
Seeing the puppy go back to its dog bed, with no intention of attacking her, Yukino let out a breath of relief.
"Yukino, you're here! I'm still chopping vegetables, it'll be ready soon!"
"Okay." Yukino replied and began observing the room.
Even though they were neighbors, Yukino's apartment was twice the size of Shin-chan's, and the decor was much nicer.
The room wasn't very tidy, a bit messy, but not dirty. Instead, it gave off a lived-in feeling, much warmer than her own neat but slightly cold apartment.
On the small dining table in the living room, there was already an electric hotpot, with some side dishes placed around it. Shin-chan was cutting vegetables and meat in the nearby kitchen.
There was a light scent of rice in the air, and two small bowls were placed beside the table, each containing pre-beaten pasteurized eggs.
The smell of the food made Yukino feel much more at ease. Her body wasn't so tense anymore. Shin-chan seemed more reliable than she had imagined.
"All done, just wait a little bit longer."
After putting the sliced vegetables and beef into the pot and turning on the hotpot switch, Shin-chan sat down expectantly. Yukino also pulled over a chair, sat down gracefully, and also looked expectantly at the electric hotpot on the table.
Looking at Yukino, Shin-chan summarized his intel.
Yukino really liked cat, she was a total cat fanatic. Her relationship with her family wasn't that great, especially with her sister. There was some awkwardness between them.
How should he get Yukino to willingly meow once in front of him? With her personality, this wasn't going to be easy.
"Nohara-kun, you staring at me like this makes me really troubled. Don't tell me… you finally couldn't resist your inner desire and want to make a move on me?"
"Let me warn you first, I've practiced aikido for a long time."
"Don't worry, I only like well-endowed and very gentle big sisters. Yukino, you still need to work harder."
'Work harder? How? Is this something that can be changed just by working hard?'
He really makes people grind their teeth in frustration. If only she were Shizuka, she could punch him without psychological burden.
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