Soon, amidst Su Rui and Shizuka Hiratsuka's conversation, Yukino Yukinoshita quickly finished her homework, then packed her bag and stood up:
"I'll help Hiratsuka-sensei tidy up the room; it's really too messy."
"How can I let you do that? And you, a student, dare to dislike your teacher."
Shizuka Hiratsuka squirmed a bit but didn't refuse.
Yukino Yukinoshita, meanwhile, turned her head and looked at her teacher as if she were an idiot:
"My sister and I are staying here tonight. If it's not cleaned up, do you expect us to sleep in a garbage dump?"
"Hey! Even if my room is a bit messy, calling it a garbage dump is a bit too rude!"
Shizuka Hiratsuka complained discontentedly, then realized the more important thing Yukino Yukinoshita had said:
"You and Haruno are staying here tonight? How come I didn't know?"
Then she turned to Su Rui: "Did you say that?"
"No." Su Rui rolled his eyes, not caring about the matter; Shizuka would make her own decisions. It was a minor, harmless thing, so it didn't matter.
At this moment, Yukinoshita Haruno, who had brought dinner outside, smiled and said:
"I said it, Shizuka. Would you really be willing to send two girls, who have just been startled, are completely flustered, and trembling with fear, back to a haunted house on such a dark night?"
"You don't look startled at all, and besides, you can take Yukino back to your place, right?"
Su Rui's peripheral vision noticed Yukino Yukinoshita's hand instinctively clench. Although he didn't know the specifics, the girl didn't seem to like her sister very much.
However, Su Rui was a bit busy right now and had no time to care about these things. He'd leave it to Shizuka to decide; he still had to reply to messages.
During the time since he left his castle, Su Rui had received many messages, most of which were from Hayasaka Ai, and some from Kaguya Shinomiya, who had already returned home from school.
"All-Purpose Maid Ai-chan: Su Rui-sama, where are you now? Can you reply to me? Kaguya Shinomiya has returned home."
"All-Purpose Maid Ai-chan: Not there?" (Selfie of a blushing girl under the covers.jpg)
All sorts of coquettish photos were sent by Hayasaka Ai like a bombardment, interspersed with a few lines such as:
"I'm going to die without Su Rui-sama."
"I can only get better with Su Rui-sama's kiss."
Su Rui had just opened his phone and was immediately overwhelmed by the flood of messages. He slowly scrolled through them one by one, not noticing the new messages Hayasaka Ai had sent.
It wasn't until he scrolled to the very end that he saw Hayasaka's new message:
"I see the message has turned to 'read'. Su Rui-sama, you're reading my messages, right?"
"Reply quickly! Reply quickly! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o"
Su Rui: "Just saw the messages. Have you been staring at the chat interface?"
Su Rui then remembered that this chat software called Line displayed 'read' or 'unread', which was hellish for people who read messages but didn't want to reply in certain situations.
This kind of social software isn't office software; it doesn't need to monitor whether employees have noticed messages. Why display 'read' at all?
Su Rui could only helplessly watch as Hayasaka Ai, who had "caught" him, poured out her troubles on the other side:
"Kaguya-san came to my room to see me and even asked about my health, wanting to support me and take a walk with me."
"Fortunately, I was clever and found an excuse to brush her off, so I can continue to rest in bed as Su Rui-sama requested!"
"Su Rui-sama, you care about me so much. If Kaguya-san finds out, she won't be angry, will she? Unlike me, Ai-chan won't be jealous; she'll only care about Su Rui-sama."
Su Rui silently watched Hayasaka Ai's performance opposite him, not knowing how to reply, so he just sent an ellipsis.
Then he'd see what else Hayasaka Ai would reply with.
With that thought, Su Rui opened another chat interface; it was a message from Kaguya Shinomiya.
Kaguya Shinomiya: "Su Rui-sama, hello. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧"
Kaguya Shinomiya: "This is my first time learning to use this software. I'm not very familiar with it, so please bear with me."
Kaguya Shinomiya: "I noticed Hayasaka said you went out for something. Approximately when will you be back? Do you need me to send a driver to pick you up?"
Su Rui: "No need. I have other plans tonight. You all get some rest early."
After replying to this message, it showed as 'read', but Kaguya Shinomiya didn't reply.
Su Rui thought she might be sulking and didn't pay much attention, then he received a message from Hayasaka Ai.
"All-Purpose Maid Ai-chan: Has Su Rui-sama replied to Kaguya-san? The Young Mistress just excitedly ran to my room to share!" (Jealousy.jpg)
"All-Purpose Maid Ai-chan: Although Su Rui-sama ignored Ai-chan and is instead accompanying Kaguya Shinomiya, Ai-chan won't be jealous; she'll only care about Su Rui-sama and provide information to Su Rui-sama~"
"All-Purpose Maid Ai-chan: For example, right now, Kaguya Shinomiya is replying to your message, but Kaguya Shinomiya types with one finger, so her reply is slow."
After Su Rui finished reading Hayasaka Ai's messages, he received a new message notification from Kaguya Shinomiya. He switched interfaces to look.
Kaguya Shinomiya: "Okay, I'll wait for you at home. (^v^)"
Even though she typed slowly, Kaguya Shinomiya had already learned to use emojis!
After glancing at it, Su Rui didn't send any more messages. He just waited for a moment, and when there were no new messages, he put away his phone.
Beside him, Shizuka Hiratsuka, who had been leaning close to him, looking at the messages on his phone, said sourly:
"You and I don't have such intimate conversations."
Because Shizuka Hiratsuka was still mindful of her own dignity, she spoke softly into Su Rui's ear, so the Yukinoshita sisters didn't hear what she said.
Su Rui didn't pay attention either; he just shared some of his dessert with Shizuka Hiratsuka as his response.
"That's more like it."
Shizuka Hiratsuka snorted and contentedly began to eat dinner. Yukinoshita Haruno, who was beside her, smiled at the scene before her and reminded them:
"I made a lot of food. If it's not enough, you can ask me to get more."
"Mhm, mhm, don't worry, if I'm not full, I won't hesitate to make you do it." Shizuka Hiratsuka nodded casually, but Su Rui looked at Yukinoshita Haruno with a thoughtful expression.
After dinner, the Yukinoshita sisters were arranged in a guest room, but Yukinoshita Haruno didn't go to prepare for bed with her sister. Instead, she went to the unlit balcony, where Su Rui was looking at the sky outside the window.