An hour later, Yukino walked out of the study room, her face flushed. She went to wash her face with cold water to cool herself down.
Then, she changed into her outdoor clothes and quietly left the apartment.
...
In a large supermarket, Yukino pushed a shopping cart and headed straight for the food section.
She first went to the fresh produce section and picked up three boxes of strawberries, placing them in the cart. Then, she grabbed five bottles of condensed milk from the nearby dairy section.
Afterwards, she pushed the cart to the household goods section to look for ice cream molds.
Yukino wandered around for a while but couldn't find any ice cream molds. Just when she was about to think that the supermarket didn't carry them, a sales assistant approached her.
"Excuse me, miss, do you need some help?" the assistant asked, with a business-like smile on her face.
Frustrated from not finding what she was looking for, Yukino got straight to the point: "Do you have ice cream molds?"
"Yes, we do. Please follow me." The assistant led Yukino to the nearby kitchenware section.
"Here they are," she said, pointing to the bottom shelf of the rack.
Yukino: "..."
So they were on the bottom shelf? No wonder she hadn't seen them; it's easy to overlook the bottom shelf when pushing a cart.
"Thank you." Yukino politely thanked the assistant, squatting down to pick a suitable mold.
She picked up a square-shaped one, but that wouldn't do; she needed a cylindrical mold.
Putting the square mold back, she grabbed a nearby cylindrical one.
This one was also unsuitable. The diameter was nearly the size of her wrist—too thick. It needed to be slightly slimmer.
She put that one back and picked up another.
This one seemed to have a suitable diameter, but the length was a bit short.
Measuring it with her hand, she estimated the mold to be about ** centimeters long—barely half the length of what she had in mind.
So this one wouldn't work either. She continued searching for the right mold.
After searching for a while, Yukino still couldn't find a mold that matched her desired length and diameter.
The sales assistant watched Yukino's selection process, her expression gradually becoming more and more peculiar.
Using her thumb and index finger to measure the length and gripping it to check the diameter... Why did this seem strangely familiar?
"Sigh~"
The assistant's expression grew even more peculiar as she watched the aloof girl sigh in frustration.
Surely, it wasn't what she was thinking, right? This girl seemed pretty cool and aloof; she couldn't possibly be doing "that", could she?
"Excuse me, do you have any other molds?" Yukino stood up and asked.
"Um... these are all we have..." The sales assistant avoided eye contact.
"I see." Yukino pondered for a moment before pulling out the mold that just barely met her standards and putting it into the cart.
The mold was 16 centimeters long, about two or three centimeters shorter than her ideal. That small difference wouldn't matter much.
What really dissatisfied her was that the mold was shaped like a truncated cone, with a large diameter at the bottom and a smaller diameter at the top. The large diameter at the bottom was too wide, and the small diameter at the top was too narrow, failing to meet her standards. What she wanted was a cylindrical mold with the same diameter at both the top and bottom.
Since she couldn't find a perfect fit, she had no choice but to settle for this one.
After finding the mold, Yukino was ready to leave.
Just as she was pushing her cart away, the sales assistant called out to her.
"Um... miss..." The assistant hesitated, avoiding eye contact as if struggling with something she wanted to say.
"Yes?" Yukino frowned slightly.
"..."
The assistant bit her lip, seemingly making up her mind. Looking at Yukino, she asked meaningfully, "Miss, are you trying to practice... some kind of skill?"
"..."
Yukino's breath hitched, her pupils contracting instantly.
Practice... a skill? What did the sales assistant mean?! Could she have figured it out...?
Yukino's fingers tightened on the cart handle, her face going through a rapid series of colors: pale, flushed, and blushing. She pursed her lips, at a loss for words.
"Um..." Seeing Yukino's reaction, the assistant knew she had guessed right.
She turned away, speaking in a soft whisper, "Well... miss... eating too much ice cream isn't good for you... It's too cold for the mouth... Actually, popcorn sticks work quite well... and certain types of taro... steamed, of course... Also, just a personal opinion..."
The assistant blushed and added, "Carrots are the best option."
With that, the assistant quickly slipped away.
"..."
Yukino stood there, her expression frozen, her grip still on the cart.
Her mind was in a complete state of chaos, unable to form a coherent thought.
After a while, she lowered her head, pushing the cart toward the food section without a word.
Though she had no idea what the sales assistant's intentions were, the advice was actually quite helpful...
Popcorn sticks, taro, and carrots... They certainly seemed more practical than ice cream...
Before long, Yukino made her way to the checkout counter.
As she passed by the household goods section, she spotted the same sales assistant from earlier.
The assistant glanced into Yukino's cart. Seeing that Yukino had indeed bought what she suggested, the assistant covered her mouth and giggled.
"..."
Yukino's earlobes turned red. She lowered her head and quickly pushed the cart away.
"Miss, you shouldn't spoil your boyfriend too much. Sometimes, you need to say no."
Hearing the assistant's advice behind her, Yukino quickened her pace.
Spoil him? Does Hoshimi even need her to spoil him?
She'd be satisfied if Hoshimi didn't try to trap her or set pitfalls!
Spoil him? If she spoiled Hoshimi, she'd be holding a daughter by next year!!
This time, she had been too foolish, falling for Hoshimi's trick and having to mentally prepare herself.
Next time, she would never step into his trap again!
...
Half an hour later, Yukino returned to the apartment.
Looking at the strange assortment of items she had bought, she covered her forehead and collapsed onto the sofa.
After a while, she sighed and took the items to the kitchen.
Better to be prepared than caught off guard...
===
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