"Yu-Yui?"
Upon seeing the pink-haired girl, Yukino froze on the spot, even stuttering a bit.
"Mm, why that expression?" Yui asked, puzzled.
"...Why are you here? And... what do you mean by being late?" Yukino felt she had fallen into a trap.
Yui was stunned, then glanced at Shinra and said, "Eh? But didn't Shinra say..."
"Shinra..." Yukino looked at Shinra, hoping for an explanation.
Heh, why should Mori Shinra ever explain his actions to others?
Yui opened the messaging app on her phone and showed the chat history to Yukino.
Shinra: [I'm going to the first-year cat ear cafe with Yukinoshita. Are you coming?]
Yuigahama Yui: [Going!]
Shinra: [See you at the shop then.]
Yukino checked the time the message was sent and found it was ten minutes ago. At that time, she and Shinra had just arrived at the conference room and put down their things; his phone hadn't been handed over to her yet.
So he guessed back then that I would confiscate his phone?
Yukino gave Shinra a deep look, then sighed, and said to Yui as if helpless, "Then sit down and talk first."
"Mm-hmm~" Although Yui didn't understand what happened, hearing Yukino invite her to sit, she sat next to her with smiling eyes.
"Um... guests..."
The junior waitress holding the tray hesitated to speak.
Are you going to 'meow' or not?
Yukino finally remembered she hadn't completed the challenge yet, but Yui was still here...
If it were just Shinra and this unfamiliar junior waitress, she could barely accept it. For the former, she had already lost enough face in front of him; the latter was a stranger she wouldn't interact with again.
But Yui was different. She was her good friend, and she had never shown her love (?) for cats in front of her.
Would suddenly 'meowing' make her feel strange?
No no no, this is just the shop's challenge rule. If Yui really feels strange, I can respond with the shop's rule, or go a step further and drag Yui down with me.
"Meow~"
Just as Yukino was struggling internally, Yui beside her 'meowed' first, wearing Shinra's cat ear ornament on her head.
"Senpai, your coffee." The junior breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly handed the remaining cup of coffee on her tray to Yui, and then planned to leave this weird small group directly.
But before she walked a few steps, she was stopped by Shinra.
"Um, could you trouble yourself to bring another cup?"
He pointed at Yukino, "She hasn't completed the challenge yet."
He had no intention of letting her off just like that.
"Okay." The junior complained inwardly but had to agree due to her identity as a waitress.
She made up her mind to let the shift leader deliver the next coffee.
Hmm, speaking of which, that senior just now was quite handsome...
After the junior left, Shinra met Yukino's unkind gaze and suggested to Yui: "Rare opportunity, want to take a photo?"
While speaking, he guided Yui's eyes to look at the top of Yukino's head.
Yui had actually seen the cat ear ornament on Yukino's head long ago but couldn't find a good entry point. Now that Shinra said so, Yui found a breakthrough.
"Yukino-chan..." Yui held up her phone and looked at Yukino. The hopeful look in her eyes reminded Yukino of a puppy seeing a sausage.
Because the sense of déjà vu was too strong, Yukino couldn't say no at all.
So this was also in Shinra's calculation?
"...Alright." Yukino gave up resistance, as if she couldn't do anything about Yui, and finally agreed.
"I'll take it." Shinra offered again.
"Use my phone."
Although Yukino knew this photo had to be taken today, she still wanted to make a last struggle.
"Oh? Really use your phone?" Shinra raised his eyebrows, his gaze seemingly harboring malicious intentions.
Yukino suddenly remembered that there was still the video of Shinra meowing just now in her album. If she handed the phone to him, he would inevitably destroy the evidence. It was too late to upload to the cloud now, and doing so would be too deliberate, making it seem like she didn't trust him.
So Yukino showed a hesitant look again.
"Use my phone."
Yui offered her phone. Because everyone in the Service Club used smartphones, to fit in, Yui also changed her phone to the latest smartphone this summer. Then she experienced the convenience of technology, and the feature phone she liked very much before suddenly became 'Madam Niu' (old news).
"No problem." Shinra took the phone from Yui smoothly.
Hesitation leads to defeat.
Seeing the boat had sailed, Yukino stopped struggling and looked at the camera with Yui.
Anyway, the photo was on Yui's phone. After taking the photo later, she just needed to tell Yui not to send it to unrelated people and send it to her privately.
Thinking this way, the expression on Yukino's face relaxed a little.
"Done?"
Seeing Shinra fiddling for a long time while she and Yui had changed several poses, Yukino couldn't help urging.
"Hmm, the light feels wrong." Shinra pondered for a moment, then said to Yukino: "Can you turn on the flashlight on your phone?"
...
Why so much trouble for a photo?
Yukino couldn't understand, but considering he was so attentive for the photo of her and Yui, it wasn't good to criticize... Of course, she also knew Shinra definitely wasn't up to any good.
Wanting to finish quickly, Yukino turned on the built-in flashlight of her phone as told and filled the light according to Shinra's instructions.
"Very good, look at the camera."
Obviously just shooting with a phone, but in Shinra's hands, it felt like holding a Hasselblad.
Yui seemed very interested and tireless about this. How to put it... as long as she played with everyone, Yui rarely showed impatience or said disappointing words, which was one of her virtues.
Soon the group photo was taken. Shinra made an OK gesture. Yukino rubbed her slightly stiff face, thinking it was finally over, when a female voice sounded in her ear.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, your coffee."
Judging by the attire, the other party seemed to be a waitress of this 'Cat Ear Coffee Theme Experience Hall' too. But unlike other juniors, this junior had a red armband on her arm with the word 'Shift Leader' written on it, looking very professional.
And listening to her words, she seemed to know Yukino.
"Thank you. May I ask...?" Yukino tilted her head, unable to recall where she had seen her.
Honestly, this junior was quite cute. With short flaxen hair, fluffy hair paired with big round eyes, giving an impression of a small animal. She managed to wear the waitress uniform with a sense of fashion.
Her eyes were lively and charming, perfectly fitting the public's impression of a cute junior.
If she had interacted with her, even Yukino would have left some impression, instead of being completely confused like now.
"Eh? Iroha."
Shinra and Yukino turned their heads simultaneously. You know her again?
It had to be said that Yui's connections at school were always an unfathomable mystery.
Isshiki Iroha heard Yui's words, tilted her head slightly, revealed a cute smile, and waved to greet her with a gentle voice: "Yui-senpai, hello~"
Hey hey, holding a tray of coffee with one hand, will it really not spill?
It seems it really won't. Although the coffee in the paper cup kept sloshing, not a drop spilled until the waving ended.
Well, that's why she's the shift leader.
"You know each other?" Seeing Yui seemed to recognize this junior, Yukino simply asked Yui directly.
"Yes." Yui nodded but didn't explain how they met. Instead, she directly asked the topic Yukino cared about.
"Iroha, how do you know Yukino-chan?"
"Because Yukinoshita-senpai is very famous."
Isshiki Iroha gave an explanation that wasn't really an explanation.
Although Yukino's name was widely spread on campus, because the first and second years were not on the same floor, most first-year students only knew Yukino by name but not by face. Even if they met, they would only think she was a very good-looking senior, not recognize her as Yukinoshita Yukino at a glance.
"Of course, mostly because Meguri-senpai often mentions Yukinoshita-senpai to me." Isshiki Iroha added.
"So that's how it is." Yukino nodded. "Hello."
Isshiki Iroha looked at the third person in the field, "This should be Mori Shinra-senpai, right?"
"Am I very famous?"
Shinra was a bit surprised.
"Mm, Senpai looked very handsome when speaking as the student representative." Isshiki Iroha nodded and said with a smile.
Being able to make those usually arrogant leaders applaud so hard, this Senior Lin's identity was obviously not simple.
"Is that so." Shinra revealed a shy smile on his face, looking very pleased.
However, Yukino saw at a glance that this guy didn't take this junior's words seriously at all.
But somehow, seeing Isshiki Iroha admire Shinra so much, Yukino inexplicably felt an indescribable sense of urgency.
This feeling was like something she liked being coveted by others.
Therefore, overall, Yukino wasn't very interested in this junior who suddenly popped up.
"Ah, just focused on chatting. Yukinoshita-senpai, this is your coffee. Please enjoy it while it's hot." Isshiki Iroha placed the paper cup with coffee in front of Yukino.
"I haven't completed the challenge yet." Yukino said.
Isshiki Iroha was stunned, then quickly waved her hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Consider it my treat for Senpai. Also, the cat ear ornament suits Senpai very well~"
Yukino touched the ornament on her head, but soon revealed a serious expression again. One thing is another. Since she participated in the challenge, she must follow the rules.
No reward without merit!
"Meow~"
Yukino seriously meowed like a cat. Because of the overly serious expression paired with her exquisite face, it gave an indescribable sense of moe.
Even fellow girls Yui and Isshiki Iroha were stunned.
So, so cute.
As for Shinra... Shinra had already started recording when he heard Isshiki Iroha say 'my treat'.
Based on Shinra's understanding of Yukino, rather than accepting kindness from others for no reason, Yukino was more willing to force herself.
Ding-dong~
Recording ended.
Shinra returned the phone to Yui and mentioned as if inadvertently: "Send me a copy of the photo later. I'll retouch it on the computer afterwards."
Mm, as a professional photographer, how can I not know how to retouch photos?
—From photography beginner to Photoshop master.
"Oh, okay." Yui agreed without thinking.
"Wait..."
Very fast. Before Yukino could speak, Yui had already sent the picture to Shinra's phone via LINE.
"What's wrong?" Yui asked belatedly.
After a long time, Yukino squeezed out a sentence: "N-Nothing."
She still had a chance because Shinra's phone was with her. As long as...
"Um, Yukino, isn't my phone with you?"
"!!!" Yukino didn't expect Shinra to suddenly ask for his phone at this time.
Didn't we agree to keep it with me temporarily?
Noticing Yukino's murderous gaze, Shinra returned a sunny smile. I only said keep it with you temporarily, but didn't say how long exactly. It can't be with you forever.
Moreover, what if Mai sent him a message at this time?
That would really be a grand funeral.
For this, Shinra even made up a very reasonable excuse.
"I remember I gave you the phone because my hands were full when moving things just now, right?"
"...Right." Yukino responded heavily, her voice seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.
Under the gaze of Yui and Isshiki Iroha, Yukino took Shinra's phone out of the hidden pocket of her skirt and returned it to Shinra.
In this process, Shinra could clearly feel a small foot stepping on his instep under the table and constantly exerting force.
Hoho, massage service included.
But unfortunately, from the moment Yukino agreed to him, she had already fallen into the trap!