By the time Miura Yumiko returned to the venue, the conversation between Shinra and Haruno had already ended.
Upon noticing Miura Yumiko, before Shinra could make a move, Haruno waved to her first:
"Over here Over here"
Her attitude towards Miura Yumiko was exactly like that of a friend who had been waiting for a long time. For some reason, Miura Yumiko felt a sense of being flattered.
Wait, why would I have this kind of thought?
Miura Yumiko composed herself, forcefully suppressing the timidity in her heart regarding the 'Yukinoshita' surname, held her head high, and walked elegantly towards the two.
The seats provided by the venue organizer were not single chairs, but soft benches. The benches were long enough to seat four or five people, clearly custom-made for families.
Unlike the crowded plaza where there was barely any place to stand, the paid area where Shinra and the others were located was much more spacious. There was enough space around each bench so that one wouldn't have to worry about not being able to stretch their legs.
The location of Shinra and Haruno was the core of the entire paid area, offering the best view of the fireworks in the whole venue.
Haruno sat on Shinra's right. Seeing this, Miura Yumiko intended to sit on Shinra's left. Just as she was about to act, Haruno grabbed her arm.
"Oh my, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Did you settle everything with your friends? I heard from Shinra just now that you're also his classmate. That's great. Come, come, sit next to me. I have so many questions I want to ask Little Sister Miura..."
By the time Miura Yumiko reacted, she found herself sitting on Haruno's right, with Haruno separating her from Shinra.
Miura Yumiko parted her red lips slightly, looked at Haruno, then at Shinra beside her, and suddenly wanted to cry but had no tears.
Y-You can't play like this!
But since she had already sat down, standing up to change seats now would seem inappropriate and quite offensive.
Although Miura Yumiko usually had a straightforward personality, she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't offend the unfathomable Haruno over a seating issue, nor would she lose her manners in this situation.
Miura Yumiko could only force a smile uglier than crying and said to Haruno through gritted teeth, "Th-Thank you."
Haruno seemed completely oblivious to the resentment in Miura Yumiko's tone, continuing to chat with Yumiko with a smile.
Asking about Miura Yumiko's hobbies one moment, and what she liked to do usually the next, but never mentioning anything related to Shinra. Even if Shinra was occasionally mentioned, she quickly brushed over it.
From beginning to end, Haruno firmly controlled the rhythm of the conversation with Miura Yumiko.
If verbal sparring with Yukinoshita Yukino was like a sharp knife drawing blood with every word, aiming for maximum damage with concise language, then Haruno's verbal style was more gentle. While not allowing anyone to find fault, she also gave no opportunity for rebuttal. No matter how hard the opponent tried, it was like punching cotton—futile.
Simply put, arguing with Yukinoshita Yukino was all about the thrill of combat. But arguing with Haruno made it easy to be led astray, losing one's bearings, and feeling powerless with nowhere to exert force—pure frustration.
Here, Miura Yumiko hadn't even started to compete with Haruno, and she had already been led astray by a few words, even having most of her personal information extracted.
They were completely on different levels.
Shinra, watching this scene from the side, couldn't help but have a few black lines appear on his forehead.
Are you smurfing here?
Seeing Miura Yumiko retreating in defeat, Shinra knew he had to step up and say something.
No matter what, Miura Yumiko was his friend, and her father was his subordinate. She was one of his own. He certainly couldn't sit back and watch Haruno 'bully' her like this.
So Shinra changed the topic and said:
"By the way, Haruno-san, you should be in university now, right?"
"Yes, the nearby National University of Science and Technology."
Seeing Shinra speak up, Haruno understood his meaning and didn't continue to make things difficult for Miura Yumiko.
At the same time, she more or less figured out Miura Yumiko's status with Shinra.
Mm, not as high as Yukino.
After all, if it were Yukino, Shinra would have probably intervened actively not long after she started speaking.
Judging from Shinra's current attitude towards Yumiko, Haruno estimated that he only regarded her as a friend. As for anything beyond friendship... no clues had been seen yet.
However, just because no clues were found now didn't mean she could relax her vigilance.
Miura Yumiko was still quite outstanding. Precisely because she knew this, Haruno showed such an attitude towards her.
Although the other party was being played in the palm of her hand now, Haruno knew very well that she was just taking advantage of the other party's inexperience, and the fact that the other party hadn't realized her own advantages yet.
A combination of factors led to the current crushing situation.
Once Miura Yumiko realized this, it would probably be difficult to suppress her firmly like today.
Originally, according to Haruno's plan, she wanted to use this opportunity to let Miura Yumiko see the gap between them, thereby making her give up some unrealistic ideas.
But with Shinra's sudden interruption, Haruno knew this goal probably couldn't be achieved. He wouldn't let her do that.
Well, actually, this was also within Haruno's expectations. After all, if she were Shinra, she wouldn't allow outsiders to interfere in her interpersonal relationships either.
Nor was she arrogant enough to think Shinra would draw a clear line with a beautiful girl like Miura Yumiko for her sake. Not to mention that her father was Shinra's partner, just for Miura Yumiko herself, Shinra wouldn't do that.
Don't be fooled by Shinra calling her "Haruno-san/Big Sister Haruno". In reality, as long as Shinra and Yukino hadn't confirmed their relationship, or unless she personally entered the fray, she would always be an outsider to Shinra.
Moreover, even if she really became an insider, so what?
Previously, when she mentioned his unfaithfulness to Shinra, he never directly denied it...
Anyway, with Shinra's intervention, Haruno finally stopped making trouble, and the chat began to tend towards normal.
The time came to 7:40. The fireworks display, delayed by nearly ten minutes, officially began with the staff's announcement.
Warm applause immediately rang out in the venue, and the atmosphere reached a peak.
Following a speech by some big shot on stage, the first firework finally rose into the sky. Immediately after, countless fireworks exploded in the sky. Red, yellow, green—various lights overlapped, continuously illuminating the night sky.
Seeing Haruno begin to seriously watch the fireworks, Miura Yumiko couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, using the excuse of going to the restroom, she returned and sat naturally next to Shinra.
Phew, safe.
To be honest, it wasn't that Miura Yumiko didn't see Haruno's intent to make things difficult, but she really couldn't outplay her. In the end, she relied on Shinra's external intervention to make the other party cease fire.
Of course, she didn't come away empty-handed. At least Shinra was willing to speak up for her, which was enough to prove that she had some presence in his heart, and Haruno's status in Shinra's heart wasn't as high as she imagined.
As of now, neither side had romantic feelings for the other.
This was undoubtedly good news for Miura Yumiko.
After all, having Yukino as an opponent and having Haruno as an opponent were completely different experiences.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the sisters' names only differed by one character (in the original Japanese/Chinese context, though not necessarily in English transliteration). In reality, their personalities were completely different. Miura Yumiko would rather face Yukino's sharp tongue than get entangled with an opponent like Haruno again.
Whether she could win or not was another matter. The battle experience was too poor. She couldn't find a point to attack at all. Even if she wanted to flare up, she couldn't find a reason. Just two words: Suffocating.
Taking advantage of the booming sound of fireworks exploding in the sky, Miura Yumiko tugged at Shinra's sleeve and asked in his ear, "How do you plan to go back later?"
"Should be by taxi."
Shinra came by taxi. Mainly because there were many people attending the fireworks festival today, and the nearby trains were quite crowded. Not wanting to be squeezed among people, naturally, he could only spend a little more money.
If it were back when school just started, Shinra probably wouldn't have spent this money. After all, taxis in Japan are quite expensive. But now Shinra wasn't short of money, so naturally, he wouldn't treat himself poorly.
Actually, the main reason was that Shinra basically didn't go out much. Plus, school was about to start soon, so arranging a dedicated driver seemed a bit wasteful. Therefore, Shinra's current mode of travel basically relied on trains and taxis.
"Then... do you want to go back together later?" Miura Yumiko suggested. She was driven here by her family's driver.
It just so happened that when going back, she could take Shinra along. This would save him from taking a taxi and also provide space for them to be alone.
It could be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Of course, if Shinra was willing to visit her home as a guest, that would be even better. In that case, Miura Yumiko felt her allowance for next month would probably increase again.
"Sure." Shinra readily agreed. Since there was someone specially picking him up and dropping him off, there was no reason to disagree.
Moreover, Miura Yumiko had suffered quite a bit of grievance from Haruno tonight. Shinra naturally wanted to show some attitude to appease her.
Balance exists in all things.
Sure enough, seeing Shinra agree, Miura Yumiko swept away her previous gloom. Her expression became visibly happy, the joy between her brows couldn't be hidden, and the look she gave Haruno had less wariness and more smugness.
Win!
Even if you, Yukinoshita Haruno, have a glib tongue and are slick in social situations, Shinra still chose to go home with me.
Haruno naturally noticed the movement beside her and also noticed Yumiko's gaze, but she didn't say anything, just smiled at Miura Yumiko.
As the last firework rose into the sky, a brilliant golden curtain fell from the sky, and the finale of tonight's fireworks display began.
Haruno suddenly stood up at this moment and said to Shinra, "The fireworks are about to end. Should we head back before the venue gets crowded?"
Shinra looked at the crowd squeezed together watching the fireworks in the distance. Without thinking, he knew that once the show ended, the way back would definitely be packed again.
Almost without much thought, Shinra agreed. He looked at Miura Yumiko and said, "Let's go back too."
"Oh, okay."
Miura Yumiko didn't insist on finishing the fireworks display. For her, fireworks or not didn't matter; going back together was what she valued.
Or rather, the earlier they left, the fewer people there would be, and the more chances for alone time. It suited her perfectly.
The only pity was that this proposal was made by Haruno. Her agreeing like this made it seem like she was weaker than the other party.
But... whatever. Won't see her later anyway.
The three of them embarked on the return journey.
Beside the paid viewing area where they were, there was a small path leading directly to the parking lot, avoiding the surging crowd in the square.
Both the Yukinoshita family's driver and the Miura family's driver were waiting in the parking lot.
However, whether Haruno had contacted the driver in advance, or the Yukinoshita family's driver was more professional, when they stepped into the parking lot, the black luxury car belonging to the Yukinoshita family was already parked in front of them.
"Do you need me to give you a ride?" Haruno invited.
Hearing this, Miura Yumiko immediately became alert and said, "No need, I have a car picking me up."
Haruno wasn't surprised, then looked at Shinra and said, "What about you?"
Seeing Haruno turn to invite Shinra, Miura Yumiko immediately went from alert to nervous. Besides these emotions, Yumiko was also a bit angry.
She didn't believe the other party hadn't heard her conversation with Shinra just now, not knowing she had just invited him to go home together.
Now Haruno bringing this up—this wasn't giving Shinra a ride, this was clearly trying to send her away!
Simply bullying people too much!
Are all Yukinoshitas this rude?
Just when Miura Yumiko intended to explode at Haruno, Shinra spoke up.
"No need, I'll take Yumiko's car. It's on the way."
Haruno was returning to the Yukinoshita family home now, not Yukino's apartment, so it wasn't on the way at all.
Furthermore, he had already promised Miura Yumiko, so naturally, he wouldn't go back on his word.
If he really agreed to Haruno, then Miura Yumiko would be completely done for. Shinra wouldn't let such a situation happen.
Hearing Shinra's answer, Haruno wasn't surprised. Under Miura Yumiko's gaze that seemed about to spew fire, she bid farewell to the two and gracefully sat into the car.
While the car window was rolling up, Haruno mouthed a word to Shinra silently.
Shinra knew what she was saying.
—Unfaithful.