Yukino's Considerations

The evening afterglow dyed the glass of the school building a warm orange. Yun Lan glanced at the time, his fingertips tapping rapidly against the screen.

"Where is Honami now? I'm done on my end."

The message had barely been sent when a reply arrived almost instantly—as if someone had been holding their phone in their palm, waiting.

"I'm at Yun Lan's dorm, you know."

Another message popped up immediately after:

"Just me, all alone."

At the end of the text was an emoji of a kitten curled up on a pillow, its tail tip swaying gently.

Yun Lan looked at those two lines, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily. He put his phone away, wove through the thinning crowd, and headed toward the dormitory area. The hallway was very quiet, with only his footsteps echoing. The sound of the key turning in the lock was exceptionally clear; as soon as the door was pushed open a crack, he caught a faint, familiar scent of citrus.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the light inside was dim. Honami Ichinose was lying on her side on his bed, wearing a simple light-colored knit sweater and a plaid skirt, her legs pulled together and slightly curled. Hearing the door open, she turned her face, her soft hair spread across the dark blue sheets.

"Welcome back." Her voice carried the soft, languid tone of someone who had just woken from a nap as she patted the empty space beside her. "Did everything go smoothly?"

Yun Lan closed the door behind him, shutting out the setting sun. "Faster than expected." He walked to the bedside and naturally smoothed the stray hair from her cheek. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not very long." Honami rubbed against his slightly cool fingertips, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "It's just... I missed you a little, Yun Lan."

From outside the window came the distant sound of whistles from club activities, making the tranquility of the room feel even softer.

The two looked at each other in the dormitory.

"Is there nothing you want to say to me, Yun Lan?"

Honami Ichinose asked curiously.

"You little fool, your curiosity about what I did this afternoon is written all over your face."

Yun Lan stroked Honami Ichinose's hair, speaking with a helpless tone.

"I went to make a deal this afternoon to earn some points. That's the only way I can properly take care of my little sister Honami."

"Is it just a sister?" Honami Ichinose muttered in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Yun Lan asked curiously, not having heard her soft muttering clearly.

"Here is your magnetic card. I'll head back first. Let's have dinner together later, we'll keep in touch by phone."

After saying this at a rapid pace, Honami Ichinose put down the magnetic card and hurried away in a panic.

Yun Lan watched the pink silhouette fleeing in a rush and smiled. Still the same as when we were kids, aren't you? Can't handle being teased. "Also, wait for me a little longer. Wait until I handle this fiancée situation."

At this moment, Yun Lan's phone lit up with a new message.

Yukino Yukinoshita: I wonder if Yun Lan has any time this Saturday to accompany me for a stroll?

Yun Lan: Miss Yukinoshita, I have someone I like. I'll say it again: if you also dislike this arranged marriage, I will go explain it to both our parents. I guarantee it won't affect you in any way, Miss Yukinoshita.

Yukino Yukinoshita: ...Thank you for your consideration, Yun Lan, but I think we should try to get along and see how it goes.

Chiba Prefecture, Yukino Yukinoshita's apartment.

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her phone. The screen dimmed, reflecting her expressionless face. She walked to the window and gazed at the distant flickering lights, her fingertips brushing the cold window glass unconsciously. The phrase "I have someone I like" echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, the sigh dissipating quickly into the silent air.

Yukino Yukinoshita stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of her apartment. The garden landscape outside was meticulously manicured, just like the image her family presented to the outside world. The black tea in her hand had already gone cold, yet she hadn't taken a single sip.

"The Yukinoshita family needs a son-in-law or a husband who marries into the family," this thought lingered in her mind, clear to the point of being cold. "Simply put, they need a man; otherwise, all the wealth and influence are nothing but castles in the air—hollow and impractical things."

The night air stained the window glass, reflecting her side profile, which lacked any hint of a smile. Her mother's struggle in the business world, the gazes of those on the board of directors who appeared respectful but were actually assessing her, and the vacant parliamentary seat of the Yukinoshita family... all the pressure ultimately converged on her shoulders as the eldest daughter. The Yukinoshita family's business needed to continue; it needed a representative recognized by traditional social structures, a "head of household." No matter how sharp she was in business or how decisive her decisions were, in the eyes of some, she would always be a "daughter waiting to be married."

Yun Lan's rejection text still lay on her phone. He mentioned "someone he likes," his tone so calm and firm that it almost stung her. It wasn't because of emotional loss—she and Yun Lan were far from that stage—but because of that freedom of "being able to choose," that luxury of placing personal feelings above family needs, which made her feel a profound exhaustion in an instant, along with a trace of... envy, one she didn't even want to admit to herself.

Did she have the courage to reject the engagement like Yun Lan? She didn't have the qualification. She, or rather the Yukinoshita family, needed this engagement; they needed this son-in-law.

Yun Lan possessed something she didn't—the freedom of choice. His family might have expectations, but clearly not to the absolute extent where personal feelings had to be sacrificed. He could refuse because he "liked" someone else; he could calmly say, "I will go explain." This openness was, to Yukinoshita, almost a luxury.

"Courage..." Yukinoshita whispered to herself, her fingertips tracing the cold tabletop. Her courage had been used up elsewhere long ago, back when she was a child and realized the weight her surname carried—it had been used in the cutthroat business world, in maneuvering between various figures, in protecting her younger sister's budding defiance, and in maintaining this family machine that looked glamorous on the outside but had already begun to creak on the inside.

Refuse? That would mean placing the family at unpredictable risk, meaning her mother might have to bear even greater pressure, and meaning Yukino might face even harsher scrutiny and fewer choices in the future. What she carried on her shoulders wasn't just her own future, but the weight of an entire system, and more importantly, Yukino's future.

Therefore, she replied, "Let's try to get along and see." This was both a way out for Yun Lan and an explanation for herself and her family. This wasn't admitting defeat, but changing the battlefield. If marriage was destined to be a transaction that had to be completed, then she at least had to ensure the terms of the transaction were most favorable to her and the Yukinoshita family. She didn't just want a "son-in-law," but a reliable collaborator, an ally who might... perhaps understand this weight in the future.

Yun Lan had someone he liked in his heart? To some extent, that was even better. It would allow the relationship to maintain the necessary clarity and distance, reducing unnecessary entanglements.

Yukinoshita turned off the living room lights, leaving only the faint blue glow of the computer screen reflecting on her calm, ripple-free face. Outside the window, the city's neon lights continued to flicker, outlining a prosperous yet lonely silhouette. She had no right to be willful, no right to live only for herself. Her battlefield was here, amidst the reports, negotiations, trade-offs, and calculations. And "marriage" was merely another stronghold on this battlefield that she had to conquer and utilize.

Her courage had long since transformed into a cold determination to keep moving forward on this path she was forced to walk.