"Miss Yukinoshita, I won't bother you anymore." Seeing that Yukinoshita consistently refused help, the tall woman did not persist further.
After bowing to Yukinoshita, she turned to leave.
"What about the thermal box?" Yukinoshita asked from the doorway.
"Young Master Hoshimi said the thermal box could be left to use as a trash bin," the tall woman said with a slight twitch of her eyelid, conveying Hoshimi's instructions.
"Prodigal son." Yukino muttered a curse under her breath, closed the door, and struggled to carry the heavy thermal box to the living room.
Shortly after, Yukinoshita was silently staring at the coffee table, now overflowing with dishes: bone soup, fish soup, braised fish, tomato scrambled eggs, stewed beef, vegetable salad, dessert, fresh juice...
And three large food containers full of rice.
Is there something wrong with Hoshimi's brain? Even if she ate all these dishes, they would last her several days!
Idiot! Wastrel! With a bit of money, all he does is waste it! If he keeps this up, he'll be penniless soon enough!
"Grrrr~~"
As she cursed, Yukinoshita's stomach rumbled loudly. She rubbed her stomach and, without saying a word, picked up one of the containers full of rice and started eating.
Since she was hungry, she decided to eat first and think about other matters afterward.
As for whether the food was tampered with, she believed it wasn't. Most likely, these dishes were Hoshimi's way of apologizing for his earlier misconduct.
If the food were tampered with, she would take it as a sign to decisively oppose Hoshimi!
...
Meanwhile, on the 27th floor, Hoshimi was sitting cross-legged at his coffee table, enjoying a sumptuous meal while watching a tennis doubles match.
Knowing that Yukinoshita's movements were limited today and cooking might be challenging for her, he had ordered extra food for her when placing his own order.
That was all there was to it; he had no ulterior motives.
...
Shortly after, both Hoshimi on the 27th floor and Yukinoshita on the 15th floor finished their meals almost simultaneously.
They began to clear the table in sync, and with his swift movements, Hoshimi quickly cleaned up his dishes.
Initially planning to go to his room to play games, the sound of rain outside the window caught his attention.
After some thought, Hoshimi turned and went to the third living room.
Feeling full and satisfied, he leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window in the third living room, staring out at the rain in a daze.
As he watched the raindrops trickle down the window, his thoughts began to drift, recalling the scene he had witnessed in Yukinoshita's apartment.
That little girl seemed quite pitiful...
Despite projecting the image of a proud, aloof, and independent woman, she was actually a well-behaved girl who didn't dare defy her parents' orders...
When her parents were mentioned, Yukinoshita showed no expression, seemingly unsure of what expression to make. However, when her father alone was mentioned, her demeanor softened slightly.
So, most of the pressure from her parents came from her mother?
Yukinoshita... Yukinoshita... He wondered if there was any information about the Yukinoshita family in his father's study.
There should be. His father, a master of social interactions and a market-savvy "stock god," would definitely have information on the local elite families in Chiba.
He would look into it when he had the time; he might find something useful.
Speaking of which, that little girl was very soft when relaxed, really feeling like having a piece of tender jade in his arms.
What a pity her figure was so lacking...
Although he didn't mind a flat chest, a bit more would be better.
It wasn't too late yet; there was still a chance. He would give Yukinoshita more nutritious food in the future and see if it could change her fate.
"Hoo~~"
While Hoshimi was making plans for Yukinoshita's future, Yukinoshita, with limited mobility, finally finished cleaning up the dishes.
She took a long breath, braced herself against the wall, and prepared to go to her study to finish today's homework, but the patter of rain outside caught her attention.
After thinking for a moment, she slowly walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and sat down.
Hugging her knees, she stared blankly at the city lights outside the window.
As the rain trickled down the window, Yukinoshita's eyes seemed to focus, quietly watching.
Gradually, it seemed like her icy blue eyes were filled with a thin layer of rainwater, and even her usually cold gaze softened into rain droplets.
"Hoshimi Kiyokawa..."
In the cold apartment, the solitary Yukinoshita muttered softly.
Her faint voice made it impossible to discern the emotions behind it.
"What a timely rain..."
Meanwhile, on the 27th floor, Hoshimi, leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window, muttered almost simultaneously with Yukinoshita.
Today, the rain was perfect.
Ten minutes later, both stood up at the same time—one went to his room to play games, and the other went to her study to do homework.
...
Late at night.
"Clang—"
Exhausted from a day's work, Haruno Yukinoshita pushed open the door, returning to her apartment with a slight scent of alcohol.
"Bang—"
She closed the door with her foot, kicked off her wine-red high heels, and walked barefoot into the living room.
After lying on the living room sofa for a while, she got up, made a pot of hot tea in the kitchen, and brought it to her bedroom.
"Hoo~ I'm exhausted..."
Haruno Yukinoshita sat in front of her computer, drinking tea while massaging her throbbing temples.
Today had been nonstop for her.
Morning classes, afternoon classes, and attending a ball on behalf of the Yukinoshita family in the evening.
At the ball, dealing with those clueless wealthy young men had drained a lot of her energy.
The most troublesome part was the hostess of the ball. In her youth, she had conflicts with Haruno's mother and took several jabs at Haruno during the event.
As the hostess was an elder and her family was slightly more influential, Haruno couldn't retaliate directly and had to maintain politeness and elegance, subtly responding in kind.
"Ugh, it's such a hassle. I'm not going to that family's events again. Whoever wants to go can go."
In her bedroom, Haruno grumbled irritably.
But it was just a complaint. If she didn't go, who else would? Yukino?
Forget it. If it was giving her a headache, it would be even worse for little Yukino.
"Little Yukino, let big sister take a look at you~ Big sister needs to replenish her Yukino energy..."
Like a zombie, Haruno straightened up, her eyes full of anticipation as she turned on her computer, pulled up the surveillance, and prepared to replenish her Yukino energy.
With the rain pouring down today, Yukino must have gone home early, and she must have watched cat videos for longer than usual. Her food supply would be ample today!
After dragging today's surveillance files into the 'facial recognition software,' Haruno eagerly awaited the results.
"Ding—"
Before long, the files were processed. Haruno couldn't wait to open the video and drag the progress bar to find Yukino's cute moments watching cat videos.
"Crash!"
Moments later, the teacup in Haruno's hand fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces, and the tea spilled across the floor.
But Haruno didn't care at all, her expression frozen as she stared at the computer screen, her eyes filled with disbelief.
===
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