A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

The time stopped at 5:01.

She forgot to turn off the alarm clock; she always gets up at this time.

What a blunder! I could have slept through the night, but I was woken up by the alarm clock.

She hadn't gotten up this early in a long time. Back in Zongwu High School, when several people took turns getting up to make breakfast, she still wouldn't get up this early.

"Let me sleep a little longer," Hayasaka Ai murmured.

Then he drifted off to sleep again.

"Knock knock knock," I was woken up by the sound of knocking on the door.

"Please come in." A small surge of anger rose in her heart, and she even found herself ridiculous. She sat up from the head of the bed.

At this point, only one person would knock on the door, right?

Kaguya wouldn't be so polite, and besides... she slept in the same room as President Shirogane last night.

"Hayasaka." Uesugi Genshin entered, turned around, and closed the door. "Power outage..."

He was about to say something important when he froze when he looked at Hayasaka.

This person hasn't gotten up yet; it's already past eight o'clock.

and......

Feeling slightly shy, Hayasaka Ai brushed her loose hair behind her ear and got out of bed.

Seeing his wide-eyed, somewhat dazed expression, Hayasaka Ai waved her hand in front of him, "Hey~"

"So you used to wear glasses." That was the real reason why Uesugi Genshin was so captivated; he was just too beautiful.

With her dazzling blonde hair, snow-white skin, and delicate collarbone beneath a white shirt, what truly catches the eye are her glasses, which exude an intellectual air and highlight the beauty of a young girl.

“I used to wear high-performance contact lenses.” Hayasaka Ai explained, putting her hands behind her back. She also had regular contact lenses, and she had been wearing them since her time at Soubu High School.

"What's the prescription?" Uesugi Genshin asked curiously. Isn't that the first question most people ask when they see a friend wearing glasses?

Taking off her glasses and placing them in his hand, Hayasaka Ai calmly said, "Not that tall."

"Eh~" Uesugi Genshin put on the round-framed glasses with curiosity. Hmm, the prescription is alright.

Looking down at Hayasaka, I realized she was also somewhat dazed, staring at me intently.

"..."

He finally realized what kind of look he had been giving Hayasaka.

Thinking of this, Uesugi Genshin couldn't help but laugh, and then his voice grew louder and louder, he simply couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Ugh..." A blush rose to her face as Hayasaka Ai snapped back to reality, inwardly realizing how careless she had been.

She then noticed that the person had quietly moved closer to her face and gently touched the back of her hair.

"chirp"

“This was a surprise attack.” Hayasaka Ai glared at him fiercely, criticizing his evil deeds.

Suddenly or something.

That's so despicable.

Chapter 248: She really understands

"Wait." Seeing that the other party was about to push their luck, Hayasaka Ai put her hand in front of her mouth, palm facing outward.

"what happened?"

"I didn't brush my teeth." As she said this, she couldn't help but look away, her face feeling a little hot.

Although she was also a little curious about what the deep kiss that Kaguya-sama had described felt like.

But there should always be some principles to uphold; the first French kiss should never be taken lightly.

She had just woken up and her mouth felt a little dry; she had a guess in her mind about what it tasted like.

"Huh?" Uesugi Genshin was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. It was exactly the same; all girls were so sensitive about it. "Pfft, hahaha..."

"Isn't it a bit much to think about other girls at a time like this?" Hayasaka Ai looked back at him with a cold gaze.

Did you actually guess it?

"So what you came in to say was..." She placed her hand on his face, pushed him away to stop him from getting closer to examine the smell of her breath, and then silently took a step back.

"Hmm, the power's out." Thinking about his real purpose for coming, Uesugi Genshin pointed his thumb behind him to the light switch by the door.

"Hmm." Hayasaka Ai nodded calmly to indicate that she understood. "The Shinomiya family mansion has a backup power supply, but we're leaving soon, so there's probably no need to turn it on, right?"

"This is really convenient." As expected of a large villa belonging to the powerful and wealthy, it is fully prepared.

"But... the power's out." This is really a big deal. Hayasaka Ai stared intently at the ceiling, then closed her eyes.

"It shouldn't be a problem with the power plant, but rather with the power supply station." Uesugi Genshin's guess was based on the fact that, according to Haruno, the nuclear power plant would continue operating until they sent people to rotate it.

The Chiba Self-Rescue Committee also found employees working at the nuclear power plant, and it is still possible to maintain the normal operation of the nuclear power plant or shut it down.

As for power stations in various regions, they are not so important. Many are located in remote "suburbs," meaning that no one will station or maintain them.

If it lasts for a month, the quality is already very good.

"I wonder how things are going at Shuchiin and Soubu High?" Hayasaka Ai poked her cheek with her finger. It wasn't a question or an attempt to confirm, but rather a sign of worry.

Soubu High School was alright; they had prepared generators early on, and there were also oil storage facilities near the new port. Shuchiin High School, on the other hand, was in a much worse situation, being in the city center with so many people still inside.

"We'll find out when we get back." Not wanting to make unfounded guesses, Uesugi Genshin stretched, rubbed the back of his head, and looked out the window. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a dazzling golden glow on the white cloth.

The windows were closed, and the room was filled with the fragrance of soapberry flowers—a scent you could probably smell for a lifetime without ever getting tired of it.

"Let's wake up Kaguya-sama and President Shirogane first."

Those two haven't gotten up yet.

"Haasaka~"

That was what I was thinking when Kaguya's voice came from outside the door.

It’s really a bad thing.

"You go out first, I need to change my clothes." Hayasaka Ai pushed his back forward.

The warmth of her hands seeped through her clothes, a comforting warmth; girls generally have higher body temperatures.

"From the main gate?" Uesugi Genshin asked again.

This caused the force of the push to decrease instantly, and it ended up being placed on him instead.

When he turned around, he saw Hayasaka staring calmly out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

"Are you a demon?" They actually wanted him to go out the window?! This is the second floor!

"Hayasaka~" The door opened, and Uesugi Genshin happened to slip behind it.

Kaguya Shinomiya paused as she entered, twitching her nostrils, as if she felt...

"Kaguya-sama, may I change my clothes first?"

"Oh, um." Kaguya Shinomiya nodded after regaining her senses, and closed the door, perhaps puzzled.

"..." Upon seeing this, Hayasaka Ai immediately pulled her manager in from the doorway and quickly pushed her into the bathroom.

"Hayasaka." The door opened again a second later.

"What's wrong, Kaguya-sama?"

Seeing Hayasaka's calm expression, Kaguya Shinomiya was no longer sure. What was the reason for the unusual fragrance she smelled at the door earlier?

"It's nothing." She pushed the door hard with suspicion, and when she made sure it hit the wall, she slammed the door shut.

"..." Then, Hayasaka Ai went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Should I go out again?

"Never mind." Hayasaka Ai looked at the person sitting on the toilet seat in the mirror and mumbled incoherently, "Kaguya-sama is probably still outside the door."

"..." So he should have just gone out back then! He shouldn't have asked that question. Uesugi Gensuke rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the mirror.

He had already made a basic judgment that Hayasaka's series of bold actions were largely due to Kaguya Shinomiya's side.

Well, Ms. Shinomiya, thank you so much.

He was left alone in the bathroom until Hayasaka Ai changed her clothes, then she pulled him out.

She opened the door and walked out normally, turning around as if she were closing the door normally. There was no one in the hallway; it was safe.

Then she pushed the door open again, letting the person inside come out.

Looking around, Uesugi Genshin came out and took her suitcase.

"..." Hayasaka Ai turned around, put her hands behind her back, and walked towards the restaurant.

We made something simple to eat, and apart from talking about the power outage, we didn't talk much else at the table.

After finishing their meal, they prepared to head back to Xiuzhiyuan.

In front of the mansion, Kaguya Shinomiya took one last look back at her home before getting into her car without looking back.

This time, she and the president sat in the back, and the back seat was filled with other things.

"What's that?" Uesugi Genshin looked at the box in Hayasaka's hand, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“When I left just now, I remembered that I still had some truffles in the kitchen.” As she spoke, she opened the box and showed them to the kitchen. “They are said to be from Provence in France and Tuscany in Italy. I don’t know much about cooking.”

It was filled with mushroom-flavored potatoes that looked like black mulberries.

"If you don't understand it, you don't need to bring it." As a spice, it's at most used for seasoning. He thinks that scallions, ginger, and garlic are more commonly used and easier to use.

"It's a bit of a shame not to bring it." After all, it will be very difficult to get one in the future.

"Ha... there should be other things that are more necessary to bring than this, right?" Uesugi Genshin sighed softly and smiled helplessly.

"I brought both tea and coffee." Hayasaka Ai glanced at him sideways and nodded. She would mostly bring the coffee to Soubu High School, while the tea was mainly for Kaguya-sama.

"Really."

"You're the one who almost lifted the oak barrel into the car." Hayasaka Ai criticized his double standards as she closed the box.

"I... I just wanted to see how heavy it was." He couldn't lift it up, so he knew he couldn't take it to the car. He just grabbed a few bottles of wine, not because he wanted to drink them, but because he wanted to take them back to Yang Nai.

Each one is quite old and comes from a famous production area; it would be a shame not to bring them along.

"Yes~ yes~" Hayasaka Ai replied casually, seeing that the person seemed to be trying to get away with it.

Basically, they'll return along the same route, bumping into the zombies they encountered yesterday again. Maybe some of them will get bumped into twice in a row. If zombies have any luck, then they're just unlucky.

The car remained silent. Uesugi Genshin looked in the rearview mirror and saw two people holding hands in the back seat. Even without speaking, they felt a connection between their hearts.

Meanwhile, the person next to him was lazily looking out the window through the gaps in the steel plate at the scenery outside. As for what scenery there was, there didn't seem to be anything else outside except zombies.

He had just hit a zombie wearing a JK uniform, the thigh of which grazed the windshield before the body flew out. If it had been pure glass, it might have made a squeaking sound. He realized he had been too hasty.

Even among zombies, there are different levels. Those that are intact, can run and jump, and only have ordinary, ferocious faces are classified as the higher level.

On the contrary, a horrible zombie that's been bitten and is limping, with its face a mess, makes you want to hit it with a stick.

Haha, hopefully no one in the apocalypse has awakened some incredible XP.

They eventually returned to Shuchiin before lunchtime.

However, the lunch at Shuchiin was not good, as it was very simple due to food shortages.

So Uesugi Genshin cut up some ham and bread from the trunk and handed them to Yukinoshita.

"Is this the result of your day's work?" Yukino Yukinoshita ate her simple lunch in small bites, her posture still very elegant.

Unlike the other side, whose legs were kicking wildly, perhaps because she was in public, Hayasaka Ai had put on her gyaru mask again, and several girls who knew her came to say hello.

"I'm leaving now." After finishing her meal, she jumped lively off the bench and clapped her hands.

After she left, a silent atmosphere lingered between Uesugi Genshin and Yukino Yukinoshita until he suddenly remembered, "I need to go out for a bit."

"What is it?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked in a calm voice.