Ch 35. Yukino, Look...
In the evening, the lights of ten thousand homes and the stars in the sky reflected each other, and the modern city entered the bustling rhythm of the night once again.
But this prosperity did not cover every corner of the city. In a high-rise apartment where the noise could not intrude, the solitary Yukinoshita was sitting alone on the living room sofa, flipping through the book in her hand.
"Sigh~~"
Suddenly, Yukinoshita sighed deeply.
She casually threw down the book, leaned back on the sofa, and placed her right arm over her forehead.
Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, her thoughts in disarray.
Was today's revenge a success? Or a failure?
Hoshimi did indeed eat the dark cuisine she made, but his reaction afterward was not what she expected at all.
His indifferent response made her doubt whether there was something wrong with her dark cuisine.
And she still couldn't understand why the girls in class reacted so ambiguously when she accepted the soda water.
Why?
"Ugh~~"
In her frustration, Yukinoshita clenched her fists and couldn't help but hit the back of the sofa.
One hit wasn't enough; she imagined the sofa as Hoshimi and punched it another dozen times before stopping.
"Phew~ Much better~"
Yukinoshita took a long breath, her eyes gradually regaining clarity.
She sat up again, picked up the book she had thrown aside, and flipped through it again.
No, this "Compendium of Dark Cuisine" is completely useless.
In the afternoon, thinking there was something wrong with her dark cuisine, she had humbly bought this "Compendium of Dark Cuisine" from a bookstore.
But it turned out to be completely useless.
The dark cuisine in this book was indeed dark, to the point of being excessively so.
Things like "Candied Squid," "Stargazy Pie," "Grilled Noodles and Salmon," and "Alien Cake" were downright psychological pollutants. Just one look was enough to tell they were full-fledged dark cuisine.
This wasn't the type she wanted. She needed something that looked normal, preferably even beautiful, but tasted explosively bad.
After all, to make Hoshimi obediently eat her dark cuisine, it had to be in a public setting.
Making such bizarre-looking dark cuisine would only make people question her culinary skills and intentions, and if Hoshimi forced himself to eat it, those brainless girls would definitely praise Hoshimi's "sincere love."
That wasn't the result she wanted.
"Forget it, I'll do it myself."
Annoyed, Yukinoshita tossed the book aside, put on an apron, and headed to the kitchen.
Tonight, she'll use even stronger ingredients and make Hoshimi's taste buds explode.
Right, she also needed to pay more attention to food incompatibilities, making sure not to accidentally poison Hoshimi.
She just wanted to get revenge on Hoshimi, to give back what she had suffered, but she had no intention of becoming a murderer.
"Let's begin..."
In the kitchen, Yukinoshita opened the refrigerator, took out the ingredients, and began her dark cuisine research for the night.
...
Meanwhile, on the 27th floor of the apartment.
Hoshimi, who was happily playing games in his bedroom, seemed to remember something. He found his phone and sent a message to someone.
Then, he tossed the phone aside and continued happily playing his game.
...
The next morning, Yukinoshita, who had been bullied by Hoshimi in her dreams all night, woke up slowly.
She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, her eyes full of calm.
It seemed she had gotten used to it to the point of not bothering to get angry...
She sat up and stretched in the pleasant morning sunlight.
Then, she lifted the blanket, put on her slippers, and headed to the bathroom.
A not-so-wonderful day had begun. Today, she must make Hoshimi realize her prowess!
After a while, with everything in order, Yukinoshita slung her school bag over her shoulder and left the apartment.
"Ding---"
In front of the elevator, Yukinoshita coldly watched as the elevator doors slowly opened.
According to past experience, Hoshimi, who woke up at the same time as her, was most likely in the elevator now.
"Huh?"
But today seemed a bit different. There was only a career woman in business attire in the elevator, and no sign of Hoshimi.
Yukinoshita frowned slightly and thoughtfully stepped into the elevator.
Was Hoshimi not here? Did he leave early? Or was he still at home?
After pondering for a while, Yukinoshita decided not to think about it anymore.
Whatever Hoshimi did was none of her business. In fact, it was better if he didn't go to school with her; she would have some peace and quiet.
"Ding---"
The elevator reached the first floor. Once again alone, Yukinoshita stepped out onto the road to school, her figure cold and distant.
...
During the last class of the morning, in Class 2-J of Sobu High.
"Alright, take the remaining time to do some problems on your own."
The balding math teacher seemed tired. He told the students to study on their own and then went to the window with a thermos cup to drink tea and enjoy the view.
Already well-versed in the classroom material, Yukinoshita put down her pen and glanced at her neighboring seat where Hoshimi was sound asleep.
This guy was really unrestrained. He had slept from the second period till now, waking up four times in between. Once during a break, so he left the classroom, probably to go to the bathroom.
The other three times were during class. He woke up, looked at her for a while, and then went back to sleep.
He hadn't listened to a single minute of the lesson all morning. Although he didn't sleep during the first period, he was playing a mobile game, probably a pay-to-win one?
By the way, when she came to school today, Hoshimi was already at his desk chatting with other girls.
She didn't know why he came so early. Was he bonding with the girls in class?
What a degenerate. There's not a trace of effort in him. If it weren't for his family background, he would surely be discarded by society in the future.
"..."
Yukinoshita withdrew her gaze, no longer paying attention to this social waste.
"Ding ding ding~~~"
Soon after, the bell rang.
"Alright, take a break."
The balding math teacher informed them and then slowly left the classroom with his thermos cup.
Once the teacher left, the classroom began to buzz. As usual, the girls gathered in groups of three or five.
Yukinoshita, on the other hand, was ready to wake Hoshimi up and make him taste today's dose of suffering.
"Hoshi..."
She turned her head, ready to call Hoshimi, but found that he was already awake and had moved his desk over.
Yukinoshita closed her mouth, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the smiling Hoshimi.
Her intuition told her something was up, and today's revenge might not go as smoothly as she imagined.
Hoshimi's subsequent actions confirmed her intuition.
"Yukino, yesterday you said you wanted to eat something flavorful, so I prepared it for you~"
As soon as their desks were joined, Hoshimi cheerfully took out an insulated bento box from his drawer.
"When did I ever say..."
Knowing there must be some trick, Yukinoshita was about to refuse when Hoshimi pushed the bento box in front of her and began his heartfelt introduction.
"Yukino, I almost lost my mind completing this assignment you gave me. I even consulted a chef to finish this bento. I hope you don't mind."
"Yukino, look..."
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