The next day, seven in the morning.

“Phew— last night was a disaster.”

Yugong Jingyue stretched like a cat in a sunbeam, then glanced at the sleeping sisters, Yugami Rexiao and Yugami Rexi, and a smile bloomed like dawn.

It was noisy, sure, but everyone was happy; no one complained. The Mizumi Clan hadn’t felt this lively in ages, like a courtyard waking to spring drums.

“Hmm… should I cook breakfast for Rexiao and Rexi myself?”

She sat on the bed, doubt curling like mist. The moment she remembered Yumigawa Sumeragi’s cooking, her confidence sagged like wet paper. Then—

“No, no! Taste isn’t the point. It’s the thought, the love! Okay, breakfast it is!”

She clenched her fists like a little general mustering troops, decided the sisters’ first breakfast back home would be hers, and hurried off after dressing and washing up, her resolve bright as morning glaze.

Kitchen.

“Jingyue, you’re early. Hungry?”

The kitchen maid, Yugami Yue, looked up and smiled, voice warm as steam from a kettle.

“Yue, I’m here to cook it myself today!”

Jingyue puffed out her chest like a proud pheasant, wearing her most triumphant face.

“Huh? You’re making breakfast yourself?”

Yue froze, then stepped close and pressed a hand to Jingyue’s forehead, worry drifting like a cloud. “No fever. What nonsense are you on?”

“You’re the one talking nonsense! Hmph— I’m cooking breakfast for Rexiao and Rexi with my own two hands!”

Jingyue swatted her hand away, cheeks ballooning like a pouting bun.

“Uh… okay. Then one question. Can you cook?”

Now fully grasping the situation, Yue’s voice tiptoed, careful as a cat on a ledge.

“Nope! So you’re gonna teach me!”

Jingyue answered at once, brisk as a snap of chopsticks.

“Knew it.”

Yue sighed inwardly, resignation heavy as a damp apron, then muttered, “Right, right. Let’s hope your talent isn’t as terrifying as Littlesky’s.”

“…I’ll try my best!”

Jingyue’s aura wilted like a wilted lily, then sprang back, stubborn as bamboo.

“Oh? Then let’s begin.”

“Mm-hm.”

…

An hour later, after a dozen spectacular failures, Yugong Jingyue finally produced breakfast that was at least edible, plain as rainwater.

“Thanks for the patient guidance, Yue. I’ll head back.”

Balancing the plates like a careful waiter, Jingyue smiled, thanked Yue, and left for her room with footsteps light as a breeze.

“Uuugh… please, just go. And don’t come back!”

Yue stared at smoke-blackened walls, ingredients charred like meteorites on the floor, and several pots melted like candles on the table. Her eyes brimmed like overfilled basins as she waved Jingyue out.

Room.

“Rexiao, Rexi, I made you breakfast.”

She came in to find the sisters just done washing up, then set the plates on the table, hopeful as a sparrow with a crumb.

“You cooked it, Second Sis?”

“Since when can you cook, Second Sis?”

They leaned in, curious as kittens— and found two bowls of porridge that looked like mud in a storm. What it was made of was a mystery locked behind a tragic surface.

“…”

“…”

As expected, silence fell like a dropped curtain. Then—

“Second Sis, are you trying to poison us?”

“It doesn’t even look like food, Sis.”

Four eyes drilled into Jingyue, twin arrows of sarcasm shot in sync.

“Ugh! So mean. I got up at dawn and worked so hard to cook, and you say that?”

Jingyue took the hit, eyes welling like dew, looking at the sisters like a bullied rabbit.

“Uh… don’t look at us like that, Second Sis… we’ll eat, okay?”

“…Fine. One bite.”

Under that gaze, they felt like villains in a play, grabbed spoons, and took a mouthful, brave as soldiers.

“Huh? The taste’s… surprisingly ordinary.”

“But only ordinary.”

It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t inedible. It was porridge, plain as a village well— if you ignored the look.

“Really? Great! Remember to finish it!”

Her spirit snapped back like a taut string. Jingyue put her hands together and tilted her head with a smile, sweet as a lantern glow.

“Ugh… fine. It’s edible.”

“…I’m digging in.”

Resolute in the face of adversity, Yugami Rexiao and Yugami Rexi shut their eyes and shoveled it down in big gulps, like crossing a river in one breath.

A few minutes later, the bowls were clean.

“Phew— that was the hardest meal I’ve ever eaten.”

“Second Sis, please don’t do this again, okay?”

Not that it tasted bad, but the look alone drained them like a fever.

“Struck down! Uuugh, I’ll never cook again!”

Jingyue cleared the plates, declared her defeat like a banner tossed to the ground, and sprinted out of the room.

“Crying then laughing— Second Sis is busy.”

Rexiao shrugged, helpless as a leaf in wind, poured herself water, then handed a cup to Rexi as well.

“That’s called joy until tears… right? Forget it. Let’s check the kitchen for real food.”

Rexi downed the cup in one go and made the suggestion, practical as a broom.

“Mm, okay.”

They set the cups on the table and left for the kitchen, steps quick as swallows.

…

Kitchen.

“What… happened here?”

“…Was there a fire?”

They froze at the chaos inside, minds stumbling like wheels in mud.

“Morning, Rexiao, Rexi.”

Yugami Yue was cleaning, greeting them with a wave, tired as a moon after rain.

“Uh, morning. What happened in here?”

Rexiao scanned the carnage again; the corner of her mouth twitched like a frayed string.

“What else?”

Yue’s shoulders drooped, her sigh billowing like smoke. “Jingyue showed up at dawn, said she’d make breakfast. And, well, you can see the results. By the way, did you finish what she made? I was watching from the side, heart pounding like drums.”

“Uh… we finished. Did Second Sis put anything in that shouldn’t be there?”

A ripple of dread passed through the sisters, cold as a draft.

“Shouldn’t be there… I’m not sure. She threw everything into the pot. And ruined several pots too. Look.”

Yue pointed to the corner, where pots lay broken and black, like fallen planets.

“Second Sis really did try to poison us!”

“Agreed. We were idiots to finish it.”

“Rexi, I need the restroom. Now. You?”

“Same. Let’s go, Rexiao.”

“Mm!”

No more words needed— the sisters bolted for the restroom, speed sharp as arrows.

“What a calamity.”

Passing by, Yugong Jingyue saw them sprint out of the kitchen and let out a light laugh, airy as a wind chime—

Never mind who started this calamity.

…

From that day on, the Mizumi Clan added one more house rule: Yugong Jingyue is banned from the kitchen.