Chapter 274: Still Remembered
Because Yuigahama's house was on Hikigaya Hachiman's way home, after picking up Sakura, Hikigaya Hachiman temporarily left her at Yuigahama's house, planning to first take Yukinoshita Yukino back to her apartment and then return for Sakura.
"Did anything happen over the weekend?"
Neither Hikigaya Hachiman nor Yukinoshita Yukino were people who liked to talk much. Hikigaya Hachiman originally thought this silence would be maintained until Yukinoshita reached her apartment, but unexpectedly, while waiting at a traffic light, Yukinoshita suddenly broke the routine and struck up a conversation with him.
"Nothing much. With only two days off and having to deal with Sakura's matter, what could possibly happen to me?"
"You're lying."
Yukinoshita Yukino instantly exposed Hikigaya Hachiman's lie without hesitation. Her silently standing body slightly turned, and those clear, cold eyes stared directly into Hikigaya Hachiman's.
"..."
Hikigaya Hachiman turned his head to avoid meeting Yukinoshita's gaze and said, "Nothing really happened."
"The change in your demeanor can't lie."
Looking at the traffic light across the road change from red to green, Yukinoshita Yukino narrated the flaw that caused Hikigaya Hachiman to be seen through while moving forward.
"The way you feel to me today is completely different from last week. Compared to before, your gaze is much sharper now..."
Although it was a good thing that Hikigaya Hachiman had changed and was no longer as lackadaisical as before. However, considering the deeper identity Hikigaya Hachiman concealed, the change that made him serious was probably not a good thing.
"It has already been dealt with, so you don't need to worry about me."
Understanding that Yukinoshita asked this question out of concern for him, Hikigaya Hachiman showed a faint smile towards Yukinoshita.
"It's nothing more than concern for a club member's safety. Since you said it's fine, then it must be fine."
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, a trace of redness appeared on Yukinoshita's fair earlobes. Yukinoshita, somewhat annoyed that Hikigaya Hachiman had guessed her inner thoughts so easily, involuntarily quickened her pace.
"Hey, wait for me. Why did you suddenly start walking so fast?"
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly accelerate her pace, Hikigaya Hachiman, who didn't understand why she would suddenly speed up, quickly jogged to catch up.
A few minutes later, after maintaining the faster speed, the panting Yukinoshita Yukino arrived downstairs at her apartment.
"That's why if you have poor stamina, you shouldn't walk so fast..."
Looking at Yukinoshita Yukino, who was slightly out of breath and had fine beads of sweat on her exquisite forehead, Hikigaya Hachiman's face was full of helplessness. This girl clearly knew her stamina was lacking, yet she still walked so fast. Was it because he said something wrong just now that made her angry?
"My body is not that frail. This amount of exercise is well within my control!"
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman describe her as quite delicate, Yukinoshita Yukino retorted unconvincingly.
"Yes, yes. Since we've arrived downstairs at your apartment, I'll be leaving now."
Having successfully delivered Yukinoshita to her destination, Hikigaya Hachiman, who didn't want to argue with her over such a trivial matter, responded perfunctorily, then turned and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute!"
Looking at Hikigaya Hachiman's back, Yukinoshita Yukino subconsciously called out to him.
"Is there something else?"
Hearing Yukinoshita's call, Hikigaya Hachiman stopped and turned his head, puzzled.
Calling him back in this situation, could she be inviting him up? How could that be? If it were Yuigahama Yui, it might be possible, but the person standing in front of him was Yukinoshita. The proper thing for her to do should be to politely thank him for safely escorting her back to her apartment and say some nice words like "See you tomorrow."
"I accidentally picked up your award certificate and brought it back to the apartment before. You can take it back now."
The moment she called out to Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukinoshita Yukino's heart was in turmoil. But she immediately forced herself to calm down and then came up with a perfect reason to call Hikigaya Hachiman back.
"Award certificate?"
Hikigaya Hachiman blinked, his eyes filled with confusion. Would he, who never liked to participate in various activities and competitions, really have something called an award certificate?
"Second place!"
Seeing that Hikigaya Hachiman had long forgotten about the award certificate, Yukinoshita Yukino kindly reminded him with a smile playing on the corner of her lips.
"The National Essay Contest, huh..."
Yukinoshita's call successfully awakened Hikigaya Hachiman's unpleasant experience buried deep in his memory. It was a national competition, and he got a good rank, second only to one person, yet the only person who surpassed him was this woman, Yukinoshita...
"Then, excuse me for intruding."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Hikigaya Hachiman, feeling a sense of gloom, nodded and followed behind Yukinoshita into the upscale apartment building.
Standing in the elevator, smelling the scent of shampoo from Yukinoshita's hair beside him, Hikigaya Hachiman's mind recalled the scene he saw last time when he and Yuigahama Yui visited Yukinoshita's apartment.
"Your sister shouldn't be here this time, right?"
The sight of Haruno's big smiling face, crimson high heels, black stockings, and scattered clothes flashed across Hikigaya Hachiman's mind. Hikigaya Hachiman felt that if he encountered a similar scene again this time, Yukinoshita would surely die of embarrassment!
"My sister was sent by Mother to a company out of town for a business trip last week, so you don't have to worry about seeing anything strange."
Recalling the embarrassing scene last time when she brought Hikigaya Hachiman and Yuigahama Yui home, a trace of unnatural awkwardness flashed across Yukinoshita's face. Immediately reacting, her eyes coldly glared at the man beside her.
"Even though so much time has passed, you still remember it?"
It was just some clothes that that woman had worn, and he hadn't even seen her face. Yet, Hikigaya Hachiman still clearly remembered the incident...
Gazing at the face extremely similar to her sister's reflected on the metal door, Yukinoshita raised her hand and quietly pressed down on her chest a few times.
"Could it be that this is the advantage of being big?"
"What?"
Although they were very close, what Yukinoshita said was too vague. Hikigaya Hachiman, who only barely caught the word big, looked curiously at Yukinoshita Yukino beside him.
However, for some reason, Yukinoshita, who was still trying to maintain her composure, suddenly got angry.
"Nothing!"
The elevator had reached the destination floor. After giving Hikigaya Hachiman an annoyed look, Yukinoshita Yukino was the first to step out of the elevator.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting