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

“Speaking of Father?” Yang Nai suddenly interrupted, “His lovely daughter has returned.”

Stopping the conversation, Yukino's mother looked at Yukino and explained, "Your father is somewhere else right now. I've already sent someone to inform him, and he should be back soon. He's also very worried about you."

“Every time I see so many children here who have lost their parents and have to be independent at such a young age, I feel it’s so cruel. If they could, they would all want to stay with their parents.” She said with a sense of pity for those people. “So Yukino, you are lucky. Compared to those people, your father and I are still alive.”

Facing her mother's concerned gaze, Yukino lowered her head, then looked up and said, "We've also taken in some elementary school students who have lost their parents. We teach them every morning, and in the afternoon we help out at certain departments, doing what we can. No one is complaining about wanting their mom or dad, because everyone knows there are zombies outside, and everyone is growing up."

Seeing her reaction, Yukino's mother sighed softly, "I heard about what happened to you from Haruno, so I wanted to talk to you about it. But Yukino, this is the time to stop playing house. What can a few hundred people from Soubu High School do?"

Upon hearing this, Yukino raised her face for a moment and stared intently into her mother's eyes.

"I never thought you were the kind of kid who would do something like this."

To confine her to the rules and negate her, this one sentence is enough.

Is this implying that she doesn't care about her family and insists on staying outside and causing trouble?

These gentle yet cold words seemed to bind Yukino, leaving her unable to utter any rebuttal. She simply bit her lip lightly and looked away.

There was no sharpness in the mother's gaze, nor any anger or temper in her voice; rather, it was more like a lament.

"I trusted you before, so I gave you your freedom."

This refers to when Yukino was asked to move out, right?

"No, this is my responsibility, this is my failure."

Without leaving anyone room for rebuttal, Yukinoshita's mother said this and quietly shook her head.

"I......"

Yukino tried to say something in a weak voice, but it was quickly silenced by a single sentence from her mother.

"Maybe it's my fault..."

Filled with remorse, she sighed softly and muttered to herself, sounding weak, but her posture and self-punishment left no room for criticism. Even Yukino, the one involved, was no exception.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, you're also a student at Soubu High School, right? Because you look quite mature, I subconsciously overlooked that." Yukinoshita's mother looked at Uesugi Genshin again and chuckled.

It was as if she was apologizing for saying that Sougo was no big deal, but in reality she wasn't apologizing at all; it was as if she was saying that what she said was true.

“No.” Uesugi Genshin shook his head and said, “The number of people in Soubu High School is indeed much smaller compared to this place.”

"Hmm." Yukinoshita's mother seemed pleased that he agreed, nodding with a smile. "So what do you think about merging Soubu High into the Chiba Self-Rescue Committee?"

“That’s a great idea,” Uesugi Genshin replied with a smile, and the two chatted and laughed easily.

“That’s wonderful. I was a little worried that the students there might be resistant to this,” said Yukinoshita’s mother, her tone completely unbiased and her smile gentle and kind.

“If there’s a better place to go, no one would disagree, right?” Uesugi Genshin shook his head.

Yukino looked at him with surprise, wondering why he would say such a thing.

"That's good." Yukinoshita's mother nodded, then turned to Yukino, "Yukino, what do you think?"

"I..." Yukino wanted to say something unpleasant, but the words wouldn't come out.

Suddenly, Yang Nai sighed mockingly, "I can't agree with this."

"Yono!" Yukinoshita's mother called out sternly.

“Yukino over there gets this,” Haruno gave a thumbs-up, “but here, it’s this.”

As she said this, she shook her little finger. There was no doubt that the person who said this was Yukinoshita Haruno.

“That’s not the reason.” Yukino’s mother was surprised that Haruno didn’t stand by her side. “Haruno, we’ll reinstate you to your original position later. This vacation is almost over.”

"My sister..." Yukino started to speak again, but was interrupted by Haruno.

"do not want!"

"What did you say?"

"I was dismissed for causing significant losses, so what will people think of me if I go back to my original position?" Yang Nai sneered.

“Sacrifice is necessary, and from the perspective of results, sacrifice is worthwhile,” Yukinoshita’s mother explained, palms up.

"And then they still dismissed me?" Yang Nai revealed a strange smile.

“That’s for those who are dissatisfied. We can’t ignore them just because there are a few dissatisfied people. You understand, Yukino.” Yukino’s mother knew that her daughter could understand her actions, after all, she was the family heir she had raised from childhood.

"Of course I understand, it's a compromise," Yang Nai said with a nonchalant shrug.

“Exactly.” Yukinoshita’s mother nodded slightly. “It seems you’re quite unhappy with what I’ve done?”

"I wouldn't dare," Yang Nai said.

It's not that I don't dare, but that I can't.

Yukinoshita's mother thought for a moment, "Then you can come with me and do an office job. Haruno, don't be willful."

"What's wrong?" A man's voice came from outside the door, interrupting the conversation between the mother and her two daughters.

The door was opened, and Yukinoshita's father appeared.

Yukino's father, dressed in overalls and panting heavily, had probably rushed over there. "Yukino, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Father," Yukino said, bowing her head.

"That's good. What were you talking about just now?" Yukinoshita's father asked with a kind smile, his clothes making him look like a kind, middle-aged man.

"It's nothing," Yukinoshita's mother said, shaking her head.

"Oh." Xue's father didn't pay any attention; his eyes immediately fell on the boy next to him. "And who is this?"

So handsome, almost half as handsome as he was when he was young. He sat upright next to his daughter, looking quite presentable, but he was a bit of an eyesore.

"Ah~, this is Yukino's boyfriend." Haruno gestured to Uesugi Genshin and introduced him to her father.

"Wh! What!!!" Xue's father was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth and instinctively took a half step back.

"!" Yukinoshita's mother's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of this possibility, and Haruno hadn't told her about it beforehand. Thinking of this, she frowned.

"Is it...is it true, Yukino?" Yukinoshita's father asked Yukino in a flustered manner.

"Yes, I confessed to him, and then we started dating." Yukino nodded directly in affirmation.

"..." Yukinoshita's father's heart stopped, it was his daughter who took the initiative to confess!

Harano and Yukino.

His two daughters look very much like his wife. Although they are both intelligent and beautiful, it is precisely because of this that he sometimes worries.

Because of her beauty and talent, has she incurred the envy of others? Has the Yukinoshita family become a burden for them? Because she is so cute, has she made any bad friends?

Now it seems our worries were justified. That scoundrel actually showed up in our house! Can this pretty boy really protect Yukino properly?!

He has a handsome face, seems to be quite tall, and his body features aren't particularly delicate.

As he was sizing up the boy, he saw his daughter shyly lower her head. Had they already done it?!

Hmm? Wait. Wait, wait, no, this feels awful. Wait.

No, no, Daddy won't allow that.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh..." The inner scream almost burst out.

"It's almost time for dinner, isn't it?" His wife's words immediately stopped his outburst.

"Let's talk later, I'll go cook first," Yukinoshita's mother said, standing up.

"Mother, will you cook yourself?" Yukino asked curiously.

"Yes, it's rare that everyone is here." She looked at Yukino, smiling at her and Uesugi Genshin with a hint of anger, but quickly turned to a sense of helplessness.

She turned to her husband and said, "Welcome back. I was so sorry to call you out of work, but you should go and take care of your work first."

"oh oh."

"Yonai, come with me to the kitchen and help out."

"Yes~"

As Yuki's father, with resentment in his eyes, and Yukino, with a calm expression, and Yukinoshita's mother, who maintained an elegant smile, left, they were told that they could rest here for a while.

Only the two of them remained in the empty room.

"Why do you obey Mother so readily?" Yukino sighed softly.

"What else can I say? This is your mother." Uesugi Genshin changed from sitting upright to sitting cross-legged, to be honest, he didn't really like sitting upright in this body.

“No, if Mother asks us to move here.” Yukino hesitated before continuing.

"Then just drag it out, ignore it." Uesugi Genshin chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Do you feel like you haven't done enough? Do you think the students of Soubu High wouldn't obey us? If we give an order, who would dare disobey?"

“But what if Mother really sends someone to monitor us?” Yukino said worriedly, acknowledging that such a possibility existed.

"Humans are inherently lazy. Once they've settled down, they won't get carried away by a lucrative opportunity. If they do, they're hopelessly stupid." Uesugi Genshin shrugged indifferently. "We don't need stupid people like that."

"But spreading inappropriate remarks to shake the students' resolve." Yukino mentioned some common methods, which could be considered a conspiracy theory.

“Ha! Then let’s concentrate power!” Uesugi Genshin stretched out his hand and clenched his fist. “That’s what we’re doing right now. Do you think I want to hold all the positions in my own hands?”

He looked at Yukino, “We are the head! The hands! The feet! No matter how sickly the torso is, the body is still under our control.”

Moving closer to Yukino, Uesugi Genshin gently put his arm around her shoulder and whispered tenderly in her ear, "We're accomplices. If you can't raise your head, then I can only respond in a low voice. And..."

He tightened his arms slightly, pulling her into his embrace.

"We don't need her approval for anything!"

Chapter 310: As a mother, I am against it.

"And do you really think your mother wants you to come here?"

"What does this mean?" Maintaining the embrace, Yukino rested her chin on his shoulder.

The whispers in his ear were like a cat's murmur, and Uesugi Genshin lowered his own voice to avoid making the other person uncomfortable. "Why don't they come here to pick you up in the first place? What do you think is the reason?"

"Because it's dangerous here." Yukino had made a phone call, and her mother only told her to protect herself.

“Yes, and your father established the Chiba Self-Rescue Committee as a prefectural councilor, which means they will gradually and almost unconditionally accept Chiba survivors here, not to mention there are already several thousand people here.”

"You mean it's not necessarily that safe?" Yukino immediately understood what he meant.

“Well, isn’t it purer than Soubu High School? I even had Hiratsuka-sensei send all the other survivors he found here, and they were all accepted.” Uesugi Genshin chuckled. “More people aren’t necessarily a good thing.”

Moreover, the territory is large and even more difficult to defend. If a dozen or so well-trained people were to open a gap on the border here and let the zombies in, it could cause enormous damage.

Zongwu High School's basic territory consists of the school and the adjacent apartment buildings, plus the parkland that is being cultivated. Even though the boundaries have been expanded several times, there are still guards at the four corners of the street, and they have built even stronger barriers with sandbags and steel plates.

As for the outposts in other peripheral areas, their purpose is to serve as early warning systems and deal with any stray zombies that wander into the surrounding areas. This is already the best they can do. They cannot compare to the combat power of the Executive Department, which can normally fight against two to three times the number of zombies. We cannot ask for more.

"Besides, we're not playing house. You know the Execution Department; you're the one who approves the bonuses for every operation."

Uesugi Genshin revealed a confident smile. With each person currently having killed an average of a hundred zombies, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that each person was a killer. He absolutely did not believe that there were so many people in the Chiba Self-Rescue Committee with such a record of killing zombies with cold weapons.

"I understand." Yukino smiled with relief, her face like the first snow melting. They had now built a well-established little society with a certain level of resilience.

This is the result of everyone's hard work, and it cannot be negated by the mother's words.

"And I think your mother most likely wants to..."

Before they could finish speaking, the paper door made a "whoosh" sound, and the two separated as quickly as leaping foxes.

Yukino guiltily smoothed the strands of hair in front of her shoulder, while Uesugi Genshin sat upright, looking towards the door.

"What mischief did you guys do just now?" Yang Nai teased, bringing over a cup of tea.

"Is it that obvious?" Uesugi Genshin asked, only to be lightly patted on the shoulder by Yukino beside him.

"Judging from the posture, no one sits with their toes pointed outwards. It looks like a couple arguing." Yang Nai smiled playfully and put the tray down.

Upon hearing this, Yukino immediately straightened her posture and looked directly at her older sister, saying, "Thank you so much, sister."

I was under a lot of pressure from my mother and couldn't react for a while. If my sister hadn't helped me withstand the pressure, I might have been at a loss.

"Seriously, Yukino-chan, you're too afraid of your mother." After making the comment in a light tone, Haruno smiled. "And don't get me wrong, I'm not on your side. I just want to see this person confront their mother."

She pointed at Uesugi Genshin, "Too bad, he's completely hiding in the back. Aren't you Yukino's boyfriend?"

"To achieve a perfect clear, what matters isn't my attitude, but Yukino's own. I'm just a bonus at best." Shrugging his shoulders, resting his chin on his arms while his legs were crossed, Uesugi Genshin said with self-awareness, "Besides, isn't she your mother?"

"I will try my best to persuade my mother," Yukino promised.

Yukino now felt a sense of hindsight, realizing why she hadn't thought of saying that when she was arguing, which made Uesugi Genshin chuckle.