Then came Wednesday night. Chisato didn't do anything particularly noteworthy. He spent the entire time on a phone call, ensuring his voice was low enough not to disturb Yukino.
As for the content of the call, since he had no intention of hiding or avoiding it, Yukino heard everything clearly.
It seemed that he was planning to start his own agency.
On the other end of the call was likely an industry professional with relevant experience, sharing various insights with him.
A high school second-year, not yet officially stepping into society, was already preparing to start a business.
Yukino couldn't quite describe how she felt about this.
All her life, she had regarded her older sister as her role model, always striving to catch up.
However, in her memories, her sister, during her second year of high school, had merely participated in normal school activities.
She had become the student council president, governed the school in an orderly manner, and earned great prestige among the students.
Later, this experience was even added to her résumé by the school—an impressive achievement.
But now, comparing those accomplishments to what Chisato was doing, she couldn't help but feel that the sister who once shone so brilliantly in her eyes was perhaps not that extraordinary after all.
As her interactions with Chisato increased, Yukino gradually gained a deeper understanding of him, and her impression of him subtly changed.
She used to think of him as a "shameless playboy who only relied on his looks to toy with girls."
Now, that perception has shifted to "a playboy who uses both his looks and talents to toy with girls."
The "playboy" part had yet to change, but there was now a certain acknowledgment and a touch of admiration mixed in.
Then came Friday night. Yukino, despite herself, was somewhat looking forward to seeing whether Chisato would once again do something beyond her expectations.
Chisato, unaware of her thoughts, had merely been following his principle of not wasting time, diligently working toward his grand goal of retiring before the age of thirty.
Yet, even without knowing, he did not disappoint Yukino today.
Under her silent observation, he completed the challenging high school test papers almost without pausing.
After a quick review, he reached into his bag and took out a newly purchased laptop—along with a digital drawing tablet.
The next moment, Yukino's eye twitched slightly as she watched Chisato skillfully use the stylus to draw cartoonish anime characters.
She quietly closed her eyes, let out a silent sigh, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
It was one thing for him to finish such difficult test papers in such a short time.
But now, on top of his academic excellence, musical talent, and ability to make money, he also had an artistic gift?
And the key point was—his drawings were actually quite good.
Was there truly anything this person couldn't do?
For the first time in her life, Yukino felt utterly defeated.
However, this feeling did not last long. The next moment, the sound of the front door opening startled both Chisato and Yukino.
Then, before the person even stepped inside, an uncharacteristically bright and cheerful voice called out:
"Yukino~ Let's have some fun together~"
There was no doubt about it. The voice belonged to Haruno.
Chisato paused, pen in hand, and quickly turned to look at Yukino. He had completely forgotten that something like this could happen.
Yukino was just as unsettled. According to her sister and mother's plan, they weren't supposed to return from Sapporo for another few days.
Chisato didn't say anything, but the look he gave her clearly conveyed the question: What do we do now?
After a moment of initial panic, Yukino quickly calmed herself.
After all, she had a legitimate reason for letting Chisato come over—it wasn't for any inappropriate reason.
Though she couldn't exactly say it outright, realizing this stopped her from feeling guilty.
She put down her teacup, took a deep breath, and made a decision.
"Let's just play it by ear."
Which, honestly, was as good as saying nothing at all.
But with no time to discuss a proper strategy, they had no choice but to improvise.
"Huh? Yukino, is someone else here?"
Haruno had already noticed an extra pair of men's shoes at the entrance.
She was surprised. After all, it was already past ten o'clock at night.
Given her little sister's personality, would she really allow a man to stay in her house this late?
But as she carried her bags into the living room, her doubts were immediately resolved.
"Haruno-san."
Chisato stood up and greeted her with a polite smile.
"Why are you back at this hour, Sister? Didn't you say you'd be staying with Mother in Sapporo for a while longer?"
Yukino also stood up, stepping forward to take some of Haruno's bags and placing them on the table.
Haruno didn't respond to either of them right away. Instead, she thoughtfully tilted her head, first glancing at her sister, then shifting her gaze back to Chisato.
As the seconds passed, her expression grew more and more amused.
She looked extremely pleased, as if she had just stumbled upon something incredibly interesting.
"Well, well, I certainly didn't expect this… Long time no see, Chisato-kun."
With a dazzling smile, Haruno raised her hand in greeting before turning toward Yukino, narrowing her eyes slightly as she responded to her sister's question.
"Because the events Mother planned with her friends were so boring, I decided to leave early. As for why I didn't tell you in advance…
Well, of course, it's because I wanted to surprise you! And it's a good thing I didn't tell you beforehand, or I wouldn't have been able to uncover this little~ secret of yours."
She stretched out the last few words teasingly, reaching out to poke Yukino's soft cheek with a playful finger, all the while fixing Chisato with a mischievous, glinting gaze.
"Sister!"
Yukino was clearly flustered by the teasing. She took a step back, putting some distance between them, and immediately attempted to explain.
"Please don't say it like that. It's nothing like what you're thinking."
But since she had finally found some amusement, there was no way Haruno would let her go so easily. She took a step forward and followed up,
"Oh~ I haven't said anything yet. What do you think I'm thinking, Yukino?"
"Ugh..."
"Come on, tell me~"
"..."
"Um, Miss Haruno..."
Just as Yukino was being completely overwhelmed by her older sister, Chisato spoke up to break the tension.
"I'm just here to have a cup of tea."
Haruno turned her head to look at Chisato, shifting her focus to him, which significantly eased the pressure on Yukino.
"A cup of tea, huh..."
There were indeed two cups of tea on the table, but this excuse was obviously unconvincing.
Haruno crossed her arms.
"I'm quite curious—since when did the two of you become so close?"
"Well, I wouldn't say we're that close. Wasn't it Miss Haruno who asked me to bring medicine for Yukino..."
"Oh~ calling her by her first name already, huh?"
"No! It's because you both have the same last name, Yukinoshita, so I just wanted to avoid any confusion!"
"Hmm... okay, I'll accept that reason. And then?"
"Since Miss Haruno asked me to bring Yukino some cold medicine, I suppose she felt a bit grateful.
So at that time, she invited me inside for tea. I casually mentioned how good the tea tasted, and she politely said that whenever she had the time, she wouldn't mind making me a cup.
And well, you know me, Miss Haruno—I'm pretty shameless, so... it just turned into what you see now."
"Oh, I see~"
Chisato reacted quickly, but his reasoning was extremely flimsy—too direct, with no real explanation, full of inconsistencies, and completely unconvincing.
For example, even if what he said was true, Haruno knew her sister well enough to be certain that Yukino would never say something like, "I'll always make tea for you whenever it's convenient for me."
If the tea was that good, she would have just given him a bag of tea leaves to take home and brew himself—why go through all this trouble?
There had to be some hidden truth behind all this.
Something definitely happened between these two while she was away for the past two weeks.
Still, even though Chisato's story had many holes, at least it provided some kind of justification for why he was here so late.
Haruno wasn't the type to press someone without reason.
She knew that if she kept pushing now, Chisato would just come up with another excuse to brush her off. So, for now, she accepted his explanation.
"I see. I understand."
The sudden appearance of this 'final boss' seemed to resolve things far too easily.
She glanced at the laptop and the drawing tablet on the table but merely smiled and didn't ask any further questions.
Although Haruno had interrupted the flow of things, Chisato had already spent enough time at Yukino's place.
He was ready to take his leave and escape from this increasingly complicated situation, leaving the rest for Yukino to handle.
"It's getting late, so I won't overstay my welcome."
"Wait a minute."
Haruno smiled playfully and suddenly grabbed his arm.
Feeling the softness pressing against him—far more substantial than her sister's—Chisato repeatedly told himself in his mind, "Too close, too close..."
"Did you forget? When I asked you to take care of little Yukino for me, I promised to properly thank you when I returned.
Since tomorrow's Saturday and there's no school, staying a little longer shouldn't be a problem, right~?"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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