Just arriving at the apartment building, Shinnosuke saw a familiar figure standing in front of the entrance, looking hesitant as she glanced at something.
Yukino hadn't expected that after going through so much trouble to live independently, her first day would face a major crisis.
'Doesn't this apartment prohibit keeping pets? Why is there a dog sitting in front of the elevator, and it keeps staring at me?'
Yukino was a hundred percent cat lover. A childhood experience left her with an inexplicable fear of dogs.
Although the small snow-white dog in front of her looked fluffy and very cute, she still felt extremely scared.
"Yukinoshita Hirano-san, even though Shiro at our house is very cute, staring at him like that will make him embarrassed, you know!"
Shinnosuke had just arrived and saw Yukino and Shiro staring at each other with wide eyes.
Shinnosuke knew that Shiro wanted Yukino to help him press the elevator button. Yukino must be very afraid of dogs, which was why she froze on the spot.
'Yukinoshita… Hirano?'
'What an impolite way to address someone!'
Clenching her fist, Yukino, who turned around to use Aikido, was stunned to see Shinnosuke.
'Why is Nohara-kun here?'
Taking two steps forward, Shinnosuke picked up Shiro and pressed the elevator button.
*DING!*
The elevator door slowly opened, Shinnosuke stepped inside and looked at Yukino in front of him.
"Hirano-san, aren't you coming in?"
"My name is Yukinoshita Yukino!"
"Maybe I misremembered."
Shinnosuke looked like he was being teased, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"No one is teasing you!"
Hardening, her fist hardened!
Glancing at Shiro in Shinnosuke's arms, Yukino hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and entered the elevator. However, she kept a considerable distance from him, about two steps away.
For some reason, Shinnosuke's bad personality reminded Yukino of her older sister.
"Which floor?"
"Fifth floor."
Yukino was still annoyed by the Hirano call.
'Am I really that flat? And even if I am a little flat, so what? I'm still cute!'
Shinnosuke nodded, not expecting the two of them to live on the same floor.
Soon after, he realized that they not only lived on the same floor but were even neighbors, their doors facing each other.
Yukino was very wary of him constantly following her until she saw Shinnosuke open the door and enter the room next to hers, only then did she feel relieved.
'That man is actually my neighbor?' Yukino felt a slight sense of danger.
Quickly opening the door and entering her room, Yukino finally felt a little safe.
That man named Nohara Shinnosuke was really quite frightening. Yukino couldn't find a single weakness in him.
Only those who knew Shinnosuke knew that there were only two things that could scare Shinnosuke – overly realistic playing house and green peppers. Other than that, he had no weaknesses at all!
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Returning to her room, Yukino sighed.
Since childhood, she had always been a model student, but when she came to this school, she suddenly became mediocre.
Since elementary school, she had always been first in her class, but in this school, being first was really too difficult. Even a genius like Yukino felt completely hopeless.
Even her sister wouldn't be able to do it, right? The entire elite from various families and fields across Japan gathered here, each person possessing astonishing talent.
How could she prove herself?
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On the other side, Shinnosuke carried Shiro back to his room and put him down.
The encounter just now reminded him of the task Yukino had given him.
He needed to make Yukino meow in front of him voluntarily.
This task felt very difficult, but upon closer thought, it didn't seem too impossible to complete.
"The woman who left first when we first met Shizuka should be Yukino's older sister, right?"
"Just one look and you can tell, she's a troublesome and two-faced person."
"Then, from Yukino's behavior, it can be seen that her parents must be very strict."
"Contradictory and cold, stubborn and honest, she's a sweet girl."
"Fifty-one percent of Yukinoshita Real Estate's shares, huh? I wonder how much money that is."
After thinking for a moment, Shinnosuke decided to postpone this task for the time being.
He had too many things to work on lately. Shinnosuke, who liked peace and hated being busy, didn't want to trouble himself too much.
This weekend, he would visit Eriri's house and then go to the Musashi Dojo to practice kendo. According to Musashino Kenta, Musashi Geiken's junior martial brother was a kendo expert who emphasized real combat, a kendo master who had received the Menkyo Kaiden title, the strongest person of the Kyoshin Meichi style currently.
He was also one of the few kendo experts of the Kyoshin Meichi style who still emphasized real combat.
Shinnosuke would fight him to test his kendo level.
The tasks from Eriri and Hiratsuka seemed easier to complete. Making Yukino meow in front of him voluntarily, the difficulty level was a bit too high.
He added dog food for Shiro and then made a simple dinner for himself.
Living alone, finally he didn't have to eat those disgusting green peppers anymore!
Misae clearly knew that Shinnosuke didn't like green peppers, but she still often put them in his lunchbox, reasoning it was for his health.
But in reality, it was a manifestation of parents' desire to control their children.
Shinnosuke's cooking skills were quite good. He had talent in many things and could quickly master them after a little learning.
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At the Nohara house in Kasukabe, Misae suddenly sneezed. While preparing dinner, she unconsciously thought of Shinnosuke.
"That brat must be talking about me behind my back!"
"I wonder how Shin-chan is doing alone over there, can he eat his fill? Is his room messy?"
"No, I have to find time to see Shin-chan. If he's alone, his life will definitely become even more carefree!"
Misae was also a person who wasn't very honest; in this regard, Shinnosuke was very similar to her.
In fact, she just missed her son. This was the first time Shinnosuke had gone out and lived independently. He had always been by her side and taken care of by her. This feeling of loss made Misae feel anxious and difficult to accept.
She, who was going through menopause, became more easily sentimental.
After making a decision, Misae planned to choose a time and make a surprise visit to see what kind of carefree life that brat Shinnosuke was living out there.
If his room was really messy, she would definitely let that brat know the consequences!