Eisuke Shi watched the awkwardness of the people outside and thoughtfully pressed the close button on the elevator.

A faint red glow flashed in Yuzu Arisugawa’s peripheral vision. Her Puff Princess had already eagerly flown inside, heading straight for the white-haired boy.

Yuzu Arisugawa’s eyes widened slightly. She raised her hand to stop them, but it was too late; her feet had already subconsciously stepped inside, the elevator doors closing behind her.

A silent awkwardness spread through the confined space.

Puff’s exclamation filled the blank space in Yuzu Arisugawa’s mind.

“Handsome guy! Super handsome guy! Yuzu, quickly ask him for his contact information! I have a feeling he’s super good at cooking! Get him to tutor you! I want to see a handsome guy cook!”

Yuzu Arisugawa’s heart was surprisingly strong. She curved her lips into a smile. “Hello, I’m Yuzu Arisugawa, a first-year in the upper division, new to 601.”

Ryotan Kobayashi looked at her feigned calm smile with curiosity, casually putting his arm around Yuzu Arisugawa’s shoulders. “I know you, junior. You’re quite famous~”

Ryotan Kobayashi pointed a hand and continued his self-introduction. “I’m Ryotan Kobayashi, a third-year, and it’s a coincidence that I live right below you.”

Eisuke Shi watched as his friend finished his self-introduction, wondering if he should also introduce himself, when Ryotan Kobayashi, who knew his thoughts, had already done it for him. “This is Eisuke Shi, he lives next door to you.”

He then leaned into Yuzu Arisugawa’s ear and whispered, “If you have any problems, you can ask Eisuke.”

Yuzu Arisugawa was a little confused by this extra sentence.

If someone was willing to be asked for help, they would usually say something like, “If you have any problems, you can ask me,” right?

Ryotan Kobayashi whispered conspiratorially, “Oh, you’ve been stealing glances at Eisuke, haven’t you? He’s pretty handsome, isn’t he, junior?”

Yuzu Arisugawa’s eyes widened. She had been wronged!

She was looking at her lovesick little princess, Puff! Puff was practically glued to the senpai’s face!

Yuzu Arisugawa was unhappy, but she couldn’t say anything. A subtle displeasure welled up.

She hadn’t been stealing glances.

Although the senpai had white hair, although the senpai had beautiful eyes, although the senpai had excellent proportions, although the senpai was really handsome.

But, cats don’t just cuddle without a reward.

Yuzu Arisugawa, a cat-type who absolutely wouldn’t take the initiative.

The little girl’s wide eyes were incredibly cute. Ryotan Kobayashi couldn’t help but hug Yuzu-neko tightly, revealing a lovesick smile.

Eisuke Shi’s hand hung in mid-air, unsure of what to do. His voice was filled with uncertainty. “Um, Ryotan, isn’t this a bit…?”

If it were him, he would definitely be disliked, but Ryotan was different. Ah, if he were like Ryotan, he wouldn’t have to worry about external communication. Ugh, it’s the beginning of the school year, and there’s so much work for the Elite Ten…

Eisuke Shi was also feeling insecure today.

Hearing his mutterings, Puff showed a regretful expression. “Such a handsome guy is so insecure? He must not be good at cooking. What a pity. If his cooking were good, he’d be the perfect man. If his cooking isn’t good, it’s worth worrying about.”

Yuzu Arisugawa was once again trying to boost her fairy’s intelligence.

Stupid Puff, someone who could make it to the third year of Totsuki, how bad could their cooking be?!

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor. Eisuke Shi was the first to notice and quietly reminded the entranced Ryotan Kobayashi, “You’ve arrived, Ryotan.”

Ryotan Kobayashi glanced outside the elevator, pressed the cancel button, and pouted at Yuzu Arisugawa. “Hey, I heard that little Yuzu-chan is best at making coffee jelly. I want some~”

Yuzu Arisugawa blinked, smiling brightly, radiant as if beautiful roses were blooming in the small elevator. “If you eat my coffee jelly, you’ll be stuck with me, senpai.”

Ryotan Kobayashi was even more excited.

“Hey! Eisuke! If you eat the junior’s coffee jelly, you can be stuck with a beautiful junior! This is a great opportunity! After all, it takes talent to get a cat to cuddle you, but to get a junior as cute as a cat to cuddle you, all you need to do is eat her coffee jelly!”

Eisuke Shi, who had never been cuddled by a cat, looked at the “Basic Cooking Knowledge Encyclopedia” Yuzu Arisugawa was holding and bluntly asked in a cold tone, “Is coffee jelly made by a chef who was still blowing up the kitchen two years ago really worth a trip?”

Puff exploded unrestrainedly. “Hah! What nonsense is this man saying! He’s questioning the dessert skills of Puff-sama’s partner! Yuzu, quickly, conquer him with your coffee jelly!”

Yuzu Arisugawa thought the person who had just been muttering was suddenly cool and handsome. Truly, the appeal of contrasting personalities never gets old.

But on her face, she still showed displeasure. “If senpai wants to know if it’s worth it, why not try it yourself?”

Eisuke Shi frantically gestured in the air. “Eh, don’t be angry. I really can’t do this. I was disliked at our first meeting…”

If the elevator wasn’t so small and cramped, Yuzu Arisugawa suspected that Senpai Shi would be looking for a corner to draw circles in.

—Cute. I want to see senpai draw circles.

She snorted proudly, shifting her gaze from Eisuke Shi to Senpai Ryotan, and smiled sweetly. “Senpai is welcome to come over.”

Both of them followed Yuzu Arisugawa to the door of her apartment.

“I just moved in, so it might be a little messy.”

Yuzu Arisugawa said this as she completed the fingerprint authentication for the electronic lock.

She hadn’t been to this apartment before; the fingerprint was directly registered from the database.

Ryotan Kobayashi was also full of curiosity about the beautiful girl’s residence. She immediately peeked inside, and then, unusually, froze in place.

At a glance, the apartment was clearly divided into three different styles, with each space distinctly separated.

Futuristic technology style, warm and elegant style, and fairytale princess style, a three-way split.

Ryotan Kobayashi turned to the junior, trying to find signs of multiple personality disorder on her delicate face, but instead saw a face even more shocked than her own.

“Hahaha, little Yuzu didn’t expect her house to look like this, did she?”

Eisuke Shi clutched his stomach and began to seriously reflect on whether he hadn’t kept up with the times.

Yuzu Arisugawa held her head and explained, “I’m sorry, the people who designed my room may have had a disagreement. Please come in, at least there’s still room to walk.”

Yuzu Arisugawa had four older brothers, three of whom had overwhelming desires for control, and all of them liked to play Miracle Yuzu’s game.

Nanao, why didn’t you stop them?

Yuzu Arisugawa clenched her fist inwardly, tsk, I want to tear the house down.

On the surface, she maintained a graceful smile as she greeted her guests, walking into the only outwardly normal kitchen, which was a one-to-one replica of the one at home, at least it hadn’t been messed with.

Is this the last of your sisterly love? Nanao.

Yuzu Arisugawa filled a kettle with filtered water and put it on to boil. She didn’t rush to the next step, but instead took out her phone and opened a group chat.

In the group chat of only five people, a vote had already been spontaneously started, listing three options, the names of her three brothers, and asking, whose decorating style was the best?

Nanao, I’m asking you, whose is the best?

Nanao was pretending not to exist today.

Deduct 1, add merit to help the princess graduate (Kou 1 Jia Gongde Zhùlì Gōngzhǔ Diànxià Bìyè – roughly translates to “Deduct 1, add merit to help the princess graduate”): Kōsuke’s appliances are so convenient! I wish all appliances were designed by Kōsuke.

Deduct 1, add merit to help the princess graduate: Keishi’s fabric choices are so soft. I’ll leave the color coordination to Keishi.

Deduct 1, add merit to help the princess graduate: I admire my brother’s eye for decorations. The luxurious and cute ones are both good on their own, but it’s too much. Behave, don’t improvise with next week’s stage makeup, listen to the designer.

Yuzu was playing it safe today.

Closing her phone, Yuzu Arisugawa thankfully found the coffee beans in their familiar place.

The ingredients were all where they should be. That’s great.

The kitchen was large and open-plan, the aroma of high-quality coffee beans filling the air. Ryotan Kobayashi on the sofa stared longingly at the kitchen.

Eisuke Shi showed some surprise. The figure in the kitchen was graceful and beautiful, without a single unnecessary movement. All the movements were fluid and natural, with an indescribable beauty, blending seamlessly with the elegant and rich aroma of coffee. It wasn’t like cooking; it was like a painting of a dancing court lady.

In the grand Perfect Dessert Competition at St. Mary’s Academy, presentation points were very important, so from the beginning of her dessert-making studies, Yuzu Arisugawa learned how to make desserts beautifully.

She had also beautifully blown up the kitchen, though.

Ryotan Kobayashi’s face flushed strangely. “Ah—It’s really beautiful, isn’t it? Eisuke.”

Eisuke Shi watched without blinking. “She passed the transfer student exam given by Nakiri-san, after all.”

“If she could reach this level in two years, that’s amazing.”

Ryotan Kobayashi heard her friend’s muttered boast, revealing information she had already found out. “I heard that little Yuzu is extremely one-sided in her studies, and she’s always focused on desserts.”

Eisuke Shi didn’t turn his head, but asked, “Like Momo?”

Ryotan Kobayashi laughed. “Momo just likes cute dishes; desserts are just one kind of cute, but that doesn’t mean Momo can’t make other dishes.”

Ryotan Kobayashi thought, “Could it be that girls with fruit in their names are all super cute?!” Then she added more information:

“Little Yuzu probably didn’t just study for two years, but three. Three years ago, she was a talented cellist who received much attention in the music world. Those hands were worth two hundred million yen when she graduated from elementary school three years ago.”

Puff loudly relayed the conversation between the two to Yuzu Arisugawa in the kitchen, even dramatically differentiating the voices.

My little fairy is so cute.

Yuzu Arisugawa interrupted Senpai Ryotan’s continued praise with a smile. “It has nothing to do with skill. I can only thank my two economically independent brothers for contributing one hundred million yen each to the value of my hands, and the insurance company with no security measures and the sensationalist media.”

Eisuke Shi counted on his fingers, like a silly goose, one hundred million, two hundred million, sighing, “What valuable hands.”

Yuzu Arisugawa, waiting for the jelly to set, smiled gently as she brought tea to the two. “Musicians’ hands are all valuable. Now, I just want to graduate smoothly.”

Japanese people prefer green tea or barley tea when entertaining guests. Yuzu Arisugawa brought out black tea, more like European preference. The news showed that Yuzu Arisugawa was indeed active in the UK.

Ryotan Kobayashi took a sip of tea. The temperature was just right, and the black tea flavor had also brewed. It must have been brewed with the coffee at the beginning.

Yuzu Arisugawa also brought out a jar of honey. “This is homemade rose honey, it goes well with black tea.”

After adding the honey, Ryotan Kobayashi eagerly took a sip, closing her eyes happily. She fully utilized her curiosity:

“Let’s interview our little Yuzu. What made you make such a big leap from the music world to the culinary world?”

Many people had asked Yuzu Arisugawa this question. There was no hidden reason. She said frankly, “The cello is indeed romantic, but to me, it always felt like it was missing a ‘Pika~’ feeling.”

Eisuke Shi looked up, questioning, “‘Pika~’ feeling?”

Ryotan Kobayashi understood immediately. “Ah! That ‘Pika~’ feeling! Little Yuzu is really interesting!”

Yuzu Arisugawa winked at Eisuke Shi, her eyes clearly conveying the message: What? You don’t even know the ‘Pika~’ feeling? Figure it out yourself, next.

She shifted her gaze to Senpai Ryotan, happy that Senpai Ryotan understood what she meant immediately.

I can let Senpai cuddle me a little.

Quietly glancing aside, she found that Senpai Shi hadn’t found a corner to draw circles in even in such a spacious living room, and regretfully withdrew her attention.

Are we still not close enough?

“The coffee jelly still needs to cool for a while. Would senpai and senpai like to eat first?”

Ryotan Kobayashi happily agreed. “Okay! Let’s eat dinner made by little Yuzu!”

Eisuke Shi politely expressed his agreement, clutching his stomach. “I’m hungry.”

Yuzu Arisugawa slowly bloomed a perfect smile. “What flavor of instant ramen do senpai and senpai like?”

Two large question marks appeared above the heads of the senpais.

What? Students from Totsuki Academy resorting to instant ramen? What kind of hellish joke is this?

Yuzu Arisugawa tilted her head, her smile exceptionally well-behaved. “Or would senpai and senpai prefer takeout? There are more choices, but I just moved in and I’m not familiar with the takeout around here yet. Do senpai and senpai have any recommendations?”

What? Students from a top culinary academy ordering takeout? Is it the collapse of humanity or the decline of morality?

There’s no such thing as takeout near Totsuki Academy! They’d go bankrupt!

Ryotan Kobayashi hesitated for a rare moment. “Yuzu… you wouldn’t…”

Yuzu Arisugawa looked encouragingly at Ryotan Kobayashi, holy and compassionate, like a deity in a shrine attracting investment.

“You haven’t made any dishes other than desserts, have you?”

Eisuke Shi said it quite frankly.

Yuzu Arisugawa nodded obediently.

Ryotan Kobayashi covered her head.