The next day, Chongzong arranged to go jogging with Usuki Yui. Originally, it was supposed to be a morning run for the two of them. However, when Chongzong was waiting for Usuki Yui at the door, Usuki Yuki also came out. And she was already dressed in full workout attire, even carrying a water bottle.

"Uh, Yuki, why are you here too?"

"...Mm."

"Can't I go jogging with you, big brother...?"

Seeing Yuki's pitiful and teary-eyed look, Chongzong immediately surrendered.

"Of course you can~ I was just surprised. Did Yui tell you?"

"No... I overheard it myself."

"And I wanted to go jogging with Yui and big brother."

"Aww, Yuki is so good and loves exercising!" Chongzong praised while patting Yuki's head.

However, his original plan was to talk to Usuki Yui alone. Now the plan had changed. That's what Chongzong silently thought.

After waiting for a while, Usuki Yui arrived as well. She was wearing the school's athletic attire, with graceful lines that made Chongzong unsure where to look.

"What's wrong, Chongzong?"

"N-Nothing, let's go."

Unexpected plans were unexpected, Chongzong thought, and he opened the door.

But as soon as he opened the door, he saw a twin-tailed little girl standing outside.

"Good morning, Chongzong-nii~!"

"...Mizuo, why are you here too?"

Stunned for a moment, Chongzong already knew without asking that Yuki must have told Mizuo everything that happened.

But the question had already been asked and couldn't be taken back.

"Is it not okay for me to be here, Chongzong-nii?"

"Chongzong-nii, do you not welcome me?"

"Chongzong-nii, do you not like me anymore?"

Instantly, Mizuo unleashed a flurry of desperate questions.

Without much thought, Chongzong quickly replied, "No, of course I like Mizuo."

Upon hearing this answer, Mizuo immediately smiled with joy, bouncing around unable to contain her excitement.

Yuki, not happy with this development, was not as outgoing as Mizuo. She didn't say anything, just lowered her head, looked at the floor, and gently tugged at Chongzong's clothes. She made little shaking movements and softly made "uhu, uhu, uhu" sounds.

Even Chongzong, who was often dense when it came to matters of the heart, suddenly understood.

"I like you too, Yuki."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuki let go of his hand, burying her head even deeper, as if smoke was coming out of her shyly blushing head.

"Alright, everyone is happy now. Can we go jogging? Yui-san, you're getting impatient over there, stomping your feet with your hands on your hips, clearly showing your displeasure."

Not happy with the situation at home, Chongzong, Yuki, and Mizuo promptly restrained themselves and started their morning run.

In order to take care of the two little girls, Chongzong and Uesugi Yui deliberately ran slowly.

But after running about a kilometer, the two children couldn't go on anymore.

Taking advantage of the situation, Chongzong proposed that they send Yuki and Mizuo home to rest and have breakfast, and then he and Yui will continue running.

The two tired little girls nodded like bobbleheads, and Uesugi Yui had no objections either.

After the fuss, Chongzong finally achieved his initial goal of running alone with Uesugi Yui.

"Do you have something to say to me?"

Before running a few hundred meters, Uesugi Yui asked directly.

This question almost made Chongzong stumble and fall on his face.

"Um, why is Yui asking like that?"

Before answering, Chongzong couldn't help but ask back.

"No reason, just a gut feeling that you have something to say," Uesugi Yui replied.

A dreadful intuition.

"Well, it's about asking Yui for help."

"Do you remember Manranyama's young lady, Manranyama Canran?"

"Um, yeah, we even went to the mountains in the suburbs together."

"She is involved in this matter too."

"Huh? Really?"

Upon hearing this news, Uesugi Yui forgot about running and stopped in her tracks.

She had been very worried about this operation, and this news undoubtedly gave her a peace of mind.

The same goes for Chongzong.

However,

Misfortune relies on fortune, and fortune hides behind misfortune.

When you let your guard down, that's when the crisis begins.