Ch 48. Rice Balls, Milk and Papaya

"Huff~ Huff~"

In the quiet park, Hoshimi sat leaning against a bench, breathing heavily.

After being cooped up at home for a year, his physical fitness had declined significantly, and just running for a while left him breathless.

Moreover, running and tussling with Yukinoshita earlier made him inhale some cold air, causing his lungs to feel dry and cold, leaving him unwilling to move.

"Hoshimi, you're such a weakling. Your stamina is terrible."

After buying breakfast, Yukinoshita returned to the park and stood in front of the bench, mocking Hoshimi without mercy.

"Huff~" Hoshimi glanced at Yukinoshita, who was trying to suppress her breathing, her chest heaving.

He rolled his eyes and weakly said, "Yukinoshita, stop pretending. I know you're exhausted too. Your legs are shaking. Isn't it uncomfortable to hold your breath like that?"

Yukinoshita's expression turned cold as she took two steps forward and sat on the same bench as Hoshimi, opening her pink lips to breathe.

As Hoshimi said, she was indeed holding on.

Her stamina wasn't particularly great, and while running with Hoshimi, he kept distracting her, making it hard for her to maintain a steady breathing rhythm. She had inhaled too much cold air, and her lungs felt very uncomfortable.

"Hoshimi, I thought you were perfect at everything, but your stamina is worse than mine," Hoshimi, having caught his breath a bit, began to provoke Yukinoshita again.

"Hmph!" Yukinoshita snorted coldly. She glanced at Hoshimi and coldly said, "Hoshimi, before you say that, look at yourself. Your stamina is even worse than mine."

"Well, I've been a shut-in for a year. It's inevitable that my physical fitness would decline."

"..." Seeing Hoshimi's nonchalant attitude, Yukinoshita frowned slightly.

This was the second time Hoshimi had mentioned being a shut-in for a year. She was puzzled why someone with such a nasty personality would stay at home for so long.

She glanced at Hoshimi from the corner of her eye, knowing that this guy wouldn't easily answer such a question, so she didn't bother to ask.

She took out the breakfast she had bought and handed it to Hoshimi. "This is for you."

"Huh? You actually bought something for me too?" Hoshimi was a bit surprised as he took the breakfast.

"..." Yukinoshita didn't bother explaining. She silently took out her own breakfast and started eating.

The reason she brought breakfast for Hoshimi was simple. Hoshimi had treated her to breakfast once before, and now she was just returning the favor.

Nothing more.

Seeing Yukinoshita not explaining, Hoshimi didn't continue to ask. He picked up the breakfast and saw that it was two rice balls wrapped in tin foil, still warm in his hand, likely heated in the convenience store.

He unwrapped the foil to find two tuna rice balls.

The tuna and egg yolk were wrapped in rice, with a layer of seaweed on the outside, looking quite good.

But Hoshimi didn't like it...

To be precise, Hoshimi didn't like any rice balls. The taste was too bland and didn't suit his palate, and he didn't like seaweed either.

Moreover, the combination of tuna and egg yolk was too fishy...

He put down the rice balls and turned to look at Yukinoshita, who was eating her rice ball in small bites.

Yukinoshita's breakfast was also a rice ball, but a different kind, a pickled plum rice ball.

Shaped into a triangle, the rice ball had a red pickled plum embedded in the middle of the front side, with some sliced seaweed arranged on it.

Overall, it looked like a cat's face... the red pickled plum was the cat's nose, and the seaweed formed the cat's eyes, mouth, and ears.

"...Why are you looking at me?" Yukinoshita, noticing Hoshimi's gaze, stopped eating and turned to look at him.

"..Can we trade?" Hoshimi held up his rice ball. "I don't like the combination of fish and egg."

"No trade. Eat it or leave it." Yukinoshita coldly dropped a remark and turned back to her own meal.

"Do you have any drinks? Maybe I can wash it down," Hoshimi asked, looking at Yukinoshita's profile.

"Get it yourself." Yukinoshita raised her hand, indicating for Hoshimi to take the drink from the bag beside her.

Hoshimi reached out, passing over Yukinoshita's abdomen to grab the plastic bag on the other side and place it between them.

He rummaged through the bag and found only two drinks.

One was fresh milk, and the other was red date and red bean soup.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to take the red date and red bean soup.

"The red bean is mine. The milk is yours."

At that moment, Yukinoshita interrupted his actions. She looked at Hoshimi and smiled, "You like milk, don't you? The convenience store had fresh milk, so I bought that."

"Sigh~" Hoshimi sighed and picked up the fresh milk, helplessly saying, "I like processed sweet milk, not fresh milk."

"Oh? Really? You can choose not to drink it," Yukinoshita smiled.

"..." Hoshimi pursed his lips, too lazy to argue further.

He picked up the rice ball and milk, eating a bite, drinking a sip, and then complaining.

"The taste is so bland... wait... why does the rice taste a bit sour? Is it expired?"

"Why is the egg yolk still runny? Is it that hard to cook it properly?"

"This fresh milk is too fresh. Has it not been processed at all?"

"Japanese breakfasts are really disappointing. There's not even a decent breakfast place. Eating this stuff is shortening my life..."

Quietly eating, Yukinoshita's eyes gradually filled with a trace of amusement as she listened to Hoshimi's complaints.

She didn't deliberately choose the rice ball and fresh milk combination, but Hoshimi's dislike made her happy, pleased with her earlier decision.

However...

Yukinoshita glanced at Hoshimi from the corner of her eye. Today, he seemed a bit different from usual...

She had thought that Hoshimi, not liking the food, would simply not eat it or throw it away, but surprisingly, he endured the discomfort, complaining while finishing it.

Suddenly, Yukinoshita remembered when Hoshimi ate the dark bento she made before. He had also finished it all that time...

Although this guy had a nasty personality, at least he had some good traits...

For example, not wasting food was quite commendable.

"Ah~~ Let's have Sichuan cuisine for lunch. Otherwise, this fishy taste will bother me for days."

Having quickly finished his breakfast, Hoshimi lay back on the bench, looking despairingly at the sky.

"..." Yukinoshita glanced at Hoshimi and continued quietly enjoying her breakfast.

But after she turned back, Hoshimi's peripheral vision fell on her profile.

Watching Yukinoshita eating in small bites, Hoshimi's attention gradually focused on her pink cherry lips.

As her cherry-colored thin lips opened and closed, the rice ball became smaller and smaller.

When she reached the plum, Yukinoshita's brows slightly arched, probably because the plum was a bit sour.

Watching her, Hoshimi's thoughts started to wander.

He couldn't help but think of his boss's daughter from his previous life.

Come to think of it, Yukinoshita had a slight resemblance to his boss's daughter, but in terms of figure, there was no similarity at all...

To be precise, Yukinoshita's figure was unlike ninety-five percent of women.

After all, it's rare to see a woman who is completely flat from the side...

Thinking of this, Hoshimi suddenly said, "Yukinoshita, why don't you eat more papaya and nuts in the future?"

"Hmm?" Yukinoshita was stunned for a moment, not immediately understanding what Hoshimi meant.

The next moment, realizing his implication, Yukinoshita's expression turned cold.

"Get lost!"

"Haha~~" Hoshimi chuckled twice and continued, "I heard rice wine eggs and foods rich in collagen are even more effective. You should give it a try. It might work wonders."

"Get lost!"

Yukinoshita, somewhat embarrassed and angry, kicked him.

What an outright jerk! Feeding a dog would at least get a wagging tail, but feeding Hoshimi only made him more obnoxious.

Hoshimi, worse than a dog!

"Yukinoshita, Yukinoshita, yam and peanuts are good too~"

"You jerk! Get lost!"

Furious and embarrassed, Yukinoshita protected her chest with one hand and used the other to knock Hoshimi on the head with her drink can.

"Ouch~ damn it..."

Caught off guard, Hoshimi received a solid hit, crying out in pain.

Luckily, the drink was already finished, so it didn't make a mess on his head.

"Hmph!"

Yukinoshita snorted coldly, stood up, kicked Hoshimi's leg, and walked away without looking back.

"...This woman has serious violent tendencies..."

Sitting on the bench, Hoshimi rubbed his head, then picked up the trash and leisurely followed Yukinoshita, who had deliberately slowed down her pace.

...

In the distance, Yukinoshita Haruno, squinting like a fox, didn't continue following.

Standing behind a tree, she silently watched Yukino and Hoshimi leave.

It was enough. She had almost figured out the relationship stage between Hoshimi and her sister Yukino.

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