At 4:30 in the afternoon, outside Sobu High School.
The dismissal bell had just rung, and students were leaving the school gates in twos and threes. Some were chatting and laughing, some had their heads lowered as they checked their phones, and others hurried off toward club activities.
Yukino held her schoolbag and stood near the school entrance, her brows faintly furrowed.
Her gaze fell not far away, where a black luxury sedan was parked quietly by the roadside.
Leaning beside the car was a woman in a fashionable dress and sunglasses, smiling warmly as she looked at her.
Haruno.
"Hi, little Yukino!"
Haruno raised a hand and waved at her younger sister, her smile bright as sunlight.
Yukino's frown deepened.
She walked over and stopped in front of Haruno, studying this older sister who had appeared out of nowhere with a guarded look.
"What is it?"
Her voice was cool, carrying a hint of caution.
Her sister Haruno always wore a cheerful smile, but every time she appeared, it meant trouble.
Either it was a family social function, Mother's instructions, or some social event Yukino had no desire to attend.
In short, it was never anything good.
"You need to come home with me today. There's something important."
Haruno removed her sunglasses and looked at her sister, a sly glint in her eyes.
Yukino fell silent for a moment.
She knew refusing would be useless.
With Haruno's personality, even if Yukino said no, her sister would find all sorts of ways to drag her into the car.
Rather than get into a tug-of-war at the school gate, it was better to be decisive.
She opened the car door and sat in the back seat.
"Then let's go."
But Haruno did not get in immediately. Instead, she leaned against the car door, looked at her sister, and shook her head.
"Not yet. Besides little Yukino, your big sister still has to pick up one more person."
Yukino raised an eyebrow.
"One more person?"
"Mm-hmm."
Haruno nodded, and a mysterious light flashed through her eyes. "He's today's main guest. Mother invited him to our house for dinner."
The main guest?
Mother personally invited him?
Several names quickly flashed through Yukino's mind.
Someone Mother would personally invite could not possibly be ordinary.
Was it one of her business partners?
An elder from a family they had long-standing ties with?
Or perhaps some important person Yukino did not know?
While she was still thinking, Haruno suddenly raised her hand and waved in a certain direction.
"Over here!"
Yukino followed her gaze.
Then her expression instantly stiffened.
That person was walking out of the school gates, wearing an ordinary school uniform, carrying an ordinary schoolbag, with a careless expression on his face.
He looked no different from the students around him. If not for that face, he would have vanished into the crowd.
Genichi.
The man who had used vicious words to strike at her sore spot.
The cold, indifferent guy who seemed to care about nothing.
The problem student she had placed on her list of people who needed correction.
Why was he here?
Why was Haruno waving at him?
When Genichi saw Haruno, he nodded. Then his gaze fell on Yukino inside the car.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a playful smile.
"We meet again, Yukino Yukinoshita-san."
Yukino gave a cold snort and turned her head away, clearly not intending to acknowledge him.
She had no interest in speaking to someone like him.
But Haruno's next words made her eyes widen instantly.
"That's not very polite, little Yukino."
Haruno's voice was still light, but there was a serious glimmer in her eyes.
"He's your future brother-in-law, you know."
Future brother-in-law?
Yukino's mind went blank.
She stared in disbelief, looking at Haruno, then at Genichi, then back at Haruno, then back at Genichi.
What kind of joke was this?
This awful guy was going to be her brother-in-law?
The bastard who had mocked her as "flat as a board"?
The cold man who seemed indifferent to everything?
The problem student she considered in need of correction?
With her sister?
Haruno?
"You… you two…"
Yukino opened her mouth, only to realize she had no idea what to say.
Her thoughts were completely scrambled.
Seeing her like that, Haruno could not help bursting into laughter.
"Oh, little Yukino, that expression of yours is just too funny!"
She laughed so hard she nearly doubled over, tears almost forming at the corners of her eyes.
Genichi looked at her smug expression, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
This woman had definitely done it on purpose.
She simply enjoyed seeing her sister shocked like this.
"Haruno-nee, stop teasing her."
He spoke with a trace of helplessness in his voice.
Haruno finally managed to stop laughing. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked at her sister, and her gaze was full of mischief.
"Well, little Yukino? Are you surprised? Shocked?"
Yukino took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She was Yukino Yukinoshita.
The girl who could maintain her composure no matter what happened.
She could not lose her footing over something like this.
"Big Sister, are you joking?"
Her voice had already returned to calm, but her eyes were fixed tightly on Haruno, as if trying to find some trace of a lie on her face.
Haruno shrugged.
"Do you think I would joke about something like this?"
Yukino fell silent.
Of course she knew that while Haruno loved teasing her, she never lied about important matters.
In other words—
This was real?
Genichi was truly going to become her brother-in-law?
Yukino's gaze landed on Genichi. Her clear, cold eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
Shock, confusion, and a strange awkwardness she could not quite describe.
Genichi met her gaze, the faint smile still hanging from his lips.
"What? Surprised?"
His voice was soft and carried a hint of amusement.
Yukino snorted coldly.
"Of course I'm surprised. I never thought my sister's taste would be this poor."
Genichi raised an eyebrow.
"Poor taste?"
"What else would you call it?"
Yukino said coldly, "A man who attacks girls with cruel words, a coldhearted guy who doesn't care about anything, a bastard who doesn't even understand basic social etiquette—does someone like that deserve my sister?"
When Haruno heard that, she could not help laughing again.
"Oh my, is little Yukino standing up for me? How touching."
Yukino's face flushed slightly, and she turned her head away.
"I'm not. I'm only telling the truth."
Genichi looked at her, amusement flashing in his eyes.
"Yukinoshita-san, do you know something?"
Yukino did not turn back, but her ears perked up.
"The way you look right now is exactly like your sister when she gets angry."
Yukino's body stiffened slightly.
When Haruno heard that, she laughed even more happily.
"Right? Right? I told you little Yukino and I are alike!"
Yukino gritted her teeth but could not find a rebuttal.
All she could do was turn her head and glare fiercely at Genichi.
Genichi shrugged, opened the car door, and got into the passenger seat.
Haruno also got in and started the engine.
"All right, let's go home!"
The sedan slowly pulled away from the school gate and merged into traffic.
Inside the car, each of the three had different thoughts.
Haruno drove with a smug smile lingering on her lips.
Yukino sat in the back seat, watching the scenery outside the window rapidly retreat, while her heart remained in complete disarray.
Genichi…
Brother-in-law…
No matter how she put those two words together, it felt unbearably awkward.
(End of Chapter)
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