My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As Expected

The two were chatting casually, waiting for the banquet to end, when someone from the Shirakawa Family walked over and whispered something in Shushi Shirakawa's ear. Shushi Shirakawa's expression turned somewhat dumbfounded.

Maki Shijo put down her cup. "If you have something urgent, please attend to it first. Don't worry about me."

Shushi Shirakawa thought for a moment before speaking directly. "Actually, this matter concerns you as well."

Maki Shijo let out a soft "Mm?" "Me?"

"Yes, someone came to tell me they were standing up for you. However, they were instead set up by that Eldest Miss from the Yukinoshita Family and have now been indicted by the prosecutor's office for economic fraud. From the looks of it, they'll be arrested soon."

Shushi Shirakawa smiled. "If you know them, I can go and pass a word to the prosecutor's office right now."

Maki Shijo: "..."

What kind of random people were coming forward to stand up for her? If this happened, wouldn't her feelings for Tanuma-kun be spread all over the world?!

Also, she had always found it incredibly strange. Even though she had decisively clarified things every time such rumors surfaced, why did they keep lingering? Now it seemed, it was indeed these "brilliant" people who were tirelessly stirring up trouble.

Maki Shijo waved her hand, feeling utterly speechless. "No need. I don't know them."

Even if she did, casually disregarding the law and using special privileges to pardon scum was something only people like the Shinomiya family would do.

Shushi Shirakawa nodded. "Then, regarding the Yukinoshita Family, what are your thoughts...?"

He smiled meaningfully. "The Yukinoshita Family has been quite ambitious lately. But similarly, their cash flow must have been stretched to its limit..."

"No!"

Maki Shijo refused immediately.

Normally, Maki Shijo wouldn't bother with such matters. While she maintained basic integrity and morals, she was, after all, a capitalist at heart. She would gladly watch the families of such annoying people fall into misfortune.

But...

But she couldn't help but recall the moonlight she and that girl had shared earlier.

And their shared secret under the moonlight.

When the Black-Haired Girl suddenly appeared on the terrace, Maki Shijo looked up and saw her slightly red-rimmed eyes, and the sorrow and loneliness that permeated her entire being.

She was clearly so sad and embarrassed, yet she was willing to abandon her image and squat down to listen to Maki Shijo's harsh resentments.

She had faced the worst, most despicable version of Maki Shijo.

When they stepped out of the moonlight and back into the dazzling banquet hall, they should have been strangers.

But Maki Shijo still couldn't help but refuse Shushi Shirakawa's offer.

Perhaps the moonlight tonight was simply too gentle.

"I have no extra grudges with the Yukinoshita Family, please don't do anything unnecessary because of me."

Shushi Shirakawa looked up at her with a bit of surprise, then broke into a smile.

"Of course."

The banquet ended, and Yukino waved goodbye to her older sister's friends who had added her Line.

Haruno didn't say much until she got into the car.

Yukino poked her arm.

Haruno looked straight ahead, showing no reaction.

Ah, she really is drunk.

"Mr. Ito, my older sister seems to be drunk, I'll wipe her face for her."

Yukino pressed a button in the back seat of the sedan, and a metal partition slowly lowered, blocking off the space between the front and back seats.

She took out wet wipes from her bag, opened the package, lifted the hair behind Haruno's neck, and wiped her neck and chest for a moment, then reached out to massage her neck and forehead.

While wiping Haruno's neck, she saw a small wooden charm on her neck.

When did Haruno start believing in ghosts and spirits? Wasn't she an atheist?

Yukino picked up the wooden charm and was about to laugh when she saw the words "exorcise evil spirits and ward off malevolent entities" on it. Her smile suddenly froze on her lips.

She suddenly thought of a fact.

What if Haruno had already noticed when this body was swapped?

She would have thought an evil spirit had possessed her sister's body and would have tried to find a way to expel it. And in the despair when all her efforts were useless, she would have surely reminded herself again and again not to give up.

If it were normal, she would definitely have noticed that the person in front of her was her real sister.

But this obsession had lasted until now, and any familiarity or momentary confusion she occasionally felt in her heart would only be dismissed by her as proof of her own weakness, and she would have decisively removed it.

"Stupid older sister..."

Drunk Haruno mumbled subconsciously, "...I'm not your older sister."

If she were sober with perfect emotional defenses, she wouldn't have said something like this.

Drunken Haruno, her soul almost completely defenseless at this moment, turned her head and saw the person before her, so familiar.

Her voice drifted, "So it was a dream."

Yukino was about to mock her when, in the next moment, Haruno leaned down and, with a dreamlike warmth, gently kissed the corner of her lips.

It was as if crushed moonlight fell upon her face.

"If it's a dream, it's okay to be a little excessive, right..."

The next morning, a powerful biological clock quickly made Haruno Yukinoshita's eyes open. She then saw the familiar ceiling of her room.

She rubbed her head. Apart from still feeling a bit groggy, she didn't feel much of the pain and discomfort of a hangover.

She must have had the maid at home give her a hangover remedy.

Her clothes had been changed, and the makeup on her face had been properly removed.

Ah, the maid at home must have worked hard.

Yawning, Haruno rubbed her eyes and got out of bed.

After a quick shower and wash in the private bathroom attached to her room, she also applied an emergency hydrating mask.

If she didn't take good care of herself promptly after a hangover, Miss Haruno's dark circles would likely be even more severe today.

Hair, face, neck, fingers – after quickly making herself dazzling again, Haruno then gracefully left her room.

As she went down to the second floor, she saw Yukino Yukinoshita sitting alone at the dining table, already eating.

She was already dressed in her Sobu High School uniform. Her hair was smooth, and her posture was upright and proper, like a lush green pine tree in the snow.

It was exactly how Haruno had imagined countless times, her sister wearing the Sobu High School uniform.

The sense of discrepancy that Haruno had deliberately ignored in her heart seemed to spread like a shadow, growing larger.

In other people's eyes, Blonde Yukino and Yukino Yukinoshita were no different. The same face, the same body. The changes in the past were probably due to a late rebellious phase in high school.

But in Haruno's eyes, her sister was completely different from that person.

Yukino's annoyed frown when she was angry, her increasingly serious expression when she was secretly happy, her tendency to quickly change the subject when shy, the curve of her smile, her walking posture.

Yukino was a girl who grew up under Haruno's gaze. Haruno remembered all these things related to Yukino clearly.

But now... was it because she was still hungover and not fully awake?

She felt like the current Yukino Yukinoshita was truly like the "sister" in her memory.

Haruno averted her gaze. As she sat down and waited for the maid to serve her breakfast, she took out her phone.

It was only seven in the morning, and there were no incoming calls. However, there were a few more messages from her subordinates in her inbox.

During the banquet yesterday, they had excitedly reported back that everything went smoothly. If there were no accidents, those people would be formally prosecuted by the prosecutor's office in a while.

Mr. Yukinoshita subtly pushed the milk in front of him aside.

After swallowing the tamagoyaki in his mouth, he casually asked, "Is the company really okay recently?"

Haruno scoffed inwardly, but her expression remained completely devoid of emotion.

"It's indeed a bit troublesome, I've been having a real headache lately~"

This was a lie.

Although these conceited and confident fools were quite laughable, considering they had managed to secure a few orders for the company, Haruno would refrain from mocking their potential imprisonment for now.

Haruno's high-strung vigilance was never directed at these people. For her, those who truly had the power and willingness to cause trouble for her and Yukinoshita were those led by the Shijo Family.

Shirakawa, Eguchi, and Takeda.

Although Yukinoshita Corporation's construction projects were still a highly profitable venture, its other subsidiaries were also massive money sinks. Therefore, despite the group company's seemingly beautiful financial statements, its cash flow was genuinely tight.

If it were any other time, it would be fine. But now, if any one of those families were to exert a little effort and speak to the banks, the Yukinoshita Family could very well fall into danger due to a broken cash flow.

As a result, the entire Yukinoshita Family had been extremely busy lately. Mr. Yukinoshita was busy traveling to America, Madam Yukinoshita had flown to Tokyo overnight, and even Haruno was working around the clock.

This busyness was not solely to cope with potential crises that might occur but hadn't yet, but also to further advance the Yukinoshita Family.

Ever since those vermin started plotting and scheming in the shadows, Haruno Yukinoshita had already devised countless ways to deal with the trouble caused by the three families under the Shijo Family.

However, Haruno habitually told a few white lies when meeting people, and she didn't want to say much to those she disliked.

Yukinoshita looked up at her.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Haruno felt a sense of utter speechlessness in Yukinoshita's gaze towards her.

--It's like her.

Yukino had disliked drinking milk since a long time ago, but due to her family education, she wouldn't be deliberately picky. However, she would put the things she disliked the most for last, and then finish them in one go with a frown.

Just like now, Yukinoshita, across the dining table, pushed the milk away and dealt with her tamagoyaki and grilled fish first.

This person's expression was indifferent, and her emotions were rarely revealed. Even her occasional small acts of willfulness were hidden within her calm and restrained demeanor.

--It's like Yukino.

Memories surged up like churning sand at the bottom of the sea, bringing with them the gloom and dampness she had never dared to face.

It was probably on some date in her childhood, when Yukino had just gone abroad to study, the first time she had left home and her older sister's side, feeling extremely insecure alone.

And she, having just entered the social circle of Japan's aristocratic families, had gritted her teeth and memorized the names, ages, hobbies, and photos of everyone in the entire aristocratic family network to avoid disgracing the family name.

In addition to these, there were many more complicated and busy matters. And precisely because of this, she had missed Yukino's first birthday after leaving home.

Haruno was truly heartbroken that time.

In previous years, on Yukino's birthday, Haruno would take her to Hokkaido to see the snow and set off fireworks just for her.

But this year, Haruno couldn't see Yukino's smile when she saw the fireworks.

Even though it was Yukino's birthday that was being missed, Haruno felt completely dejected.

Yukino found Haruno childish and then, uncharacterently, revealed a teasing smile.

"Then this year, I'll set off fireworks for you."

She raised both her hands as high as she could, then suddenly spread her five fingers.

"There, I'm setting off fireworks for you."

She smiled like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

"And I even set off two."

Even though they were on a bright, sunny street abroad, Haruno felt as if day and night had instantly reversed, and grand fireworks bloomed in the night sky behind Yukino.

Snapping back from her memories, Haruno saw Haruno Yukinoshita looking at her speechlessly, "Why are you so listless again?"

She propped her chin on her hand, "Want to see the five-finger fireworks again?"

With a "snap."

Haruno Yukinoshita's chopsticks fell onto the dining table.

The fireworks that had once resounded in the night sky of her world three years ago now bloomed endlessly in her world once more.