She had never had the chance to take a closer look.
Now she was seeing it with her own eyes: the stovetop that could supposedly fit several pots at once, and the neatly arranged spice bottles on the wall.
“Is this where you usually bake cookies?”
“...Mhm, when no one's home.”
Yuki placed the tea tin on the tray, her movements slightly slower than usual.
“Then I'm in for a treat today. Can I have some fresh out of the oven?”
“Freshly baked ones take at least two hours. If you want them fresh... we could do it this afternoon...”
She kept her head down, pretending to adjust the angle of the dessert plates, but the tips of her ears had quietly flushed a soft pink.
Qiluo leaned against the counter, tilting her head as she watched her.
Yuki's fingers were still lingering on the edge of the dessert plate, clearly waiting for an answer.
She didn't directly ask her to stay, instead wrapping the choice in a proposal about cookies.
An invitation.
Just baking cookies together—it wasn't that Yuki wanted Qiluo to stay until evening. Not at all.
It was as if, as long as Qiluo agreed, it would only be for the cookies, not for her.
“Let's do it this afternoon, then.” Qiluo picked up the small spoon next to the tea tin and spun it around her fingertips. “It's the weekend anyway. But let's get one thing straight! I don't know how to use an oven, so I can only help you out as an assistant.”
“Being my assistant is enough.”
Yuki picked up the tray and softly added before turning to leave the kitchen, “The oven isn't actually that hard. I'll teach you.”
She didn't give Qiluo a chance to refuse. As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly carried the tray toward the living room.
Qiluo knew.
Yuki clearly wanted her to stay a bit longer, yet she insisted on using cookies as an excuse.
In the living room, Rin Kurokawa was already sitting on the sofa.
Unlike the intern doctor in the hospital who wore a white coat and had her hair tied meticulously into a high ponytail,
today she wore a beige loungewear set, her long hair draped casually over her shoulders, holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hands.
“Sister,” Yuki said, placing the tray on the coffee table.
Rin looked up, her gaze landing on her sister first before shifting to Qiluo Tian Gong behind her.
She put down her coffee cup and stood up, a polite and proper smile gracing her lips.
“Miss Tian Gong, we meet again. I wasn't able to host you properly last time at the hospital. Please, have a seat.”
...
Hosting someone at a hospital?
That wasn't really a place where you could just casually host guests...
Qiluo grumbled inwardly.
Qiluo sat down across from her, gently placing the cake on the edge of the coffee table.
“I troubled you last time. Today I'm here to freeload a meal, and I brought a cake along... Last time in the breakroom, I saw a matcha-flavored energy bar on your desk, so I guessed you might like this flavor.
“But it was just a guess. If it's not to your taste, Yuki can help eat it.”
As she spoke, she tilted her head to look at Yuki, who was sitting beside her.
“I—” Yuki was about to say she didn't mind eating matcha, but then she felt that saying so would make her seem too eager to bail her sister out. She opened her mouth, only to swallow her words back down.
Rin's gaze fell on the ribbon of the cake box. It was different from the cake shop's standard packaging.
The clerk had mentioned that this was a seasonal limited-edition ribbon, and only this particular matcha cake would be tied with this color.
Qiluo Tian Gong said it was just a guess, but she had clearly known when she chose the ribbon.
“You guessed right.” Rin looked away from the ribbon, met Qiluo's eyes, and took the cake. “Thank you for remembering such a small detail, Miss Tian Gong.”
She placed the cake box right in the center of the coffee table, as if afraid of ruining the light green ribbon.
“You can just call me Qiluo. ‘Miss Tian Gong’ sounds too distant.” Qiluo took a sip from her teacup, looking at Rin through the rising steam.
Rin's fingers, which were in the middle of untying the cake box, paused for a moment.
“I have you to thank for that physical exam. My school teachers said that half the credit for me being able to sit here today goes to the examining doctor.”
Qiluo gently placed her teacup back onto its saucer. “And the other half of the credit goes to Yuki. I came today because I wanted to thank you in person.”
Yuki had been taking small sips of her tea, but when she heard her name called, the cup almost slipped from her fingers.
Steadying the cup, she looked down at the gently rippling liquid inside. Her ears flushed a faint red under the light of the living room floor lamp.
Rin looked at Qiluo, then at her sister who was hiding her face behind her teacup, seemingly understanding something.
“How did you and Yuki meet?” Rin distributed the sliced cake onto the plates in front of everyone.
When she handed the first piece to Qiluo, her fingers briefly brushed against Qiluo's fingertips at the edge of the plate.
“It was during PE class. I had a bit of low blood sugar that day and couldn't stand steadily in the locker room. Qiluo happened to pass by and gave me a piece of candy.”
Yuki took over the conversation, speaking slightly faster than usual, as if she had prepared this answer long ago. “Later, I gave her cookies as a return gift, and then—”
“And then you won me over with your cookies,” Qiluo said, taking the piece of cake and finishing her sentence for her.
“When you first gave me cookies, I thought they were store-bought, but then I found a step-by-step checklist pressed under the bottom of the box. Every step had a checkmark next to it, written in incredibly neat handwriting.”
“That wasn't a recipe sheet...” Yuki's voice grew quieter as she turned her face toward the window.
Rin placed the second piece of cake in front of her sister, saying nothing.
“Qiluo, there's something I wanted to let you know beforehand. Our mother isn't home today. She originally wanted to meet you in person, but something came up at the hospital at the last minute, so she couldn't make it back today. She asked me to convey her apologies.”
“It's fine, work comes first.” Qiluo shook her head.
“Since Mother isn't here,” Rin placed the last piece of cake in front of herself, “it will just be the three of us for lunch today.”
Qiluo pricked a small piece of cake with her fork and put it in her mouth, the slight bitterness of matcha melting on her tongue.
“Three is just right.” Qiluo glanced sideways at Yuki. “Right?”
“...Mhm.” Yuki turned her head back from the window, her fork lightly poking at her cake.
“If my mother were here, the atmosphere would probably be more formal.”
Rin spoke with a trace of subtle apology. “She's used to treating everything as a formal occasion.”
“That works out perfectly, then.” Qiluo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
“I won't have to worry about being interrogated by your mother. My grades are pretty average, and I'm still taking remedial lessons for Classical Literature and History. If she really asked about my rank, I'd probably have to rely on Yuki to cover for me today.”
Hearing her name, Yuki immediately put down her fork and nodded solemnly.
Rin's gaze lingered on her sister's face for a moment. With that level of determination in her nod, she probably really would go against their mother for Qiluo's sake.
“Covering for a friend in front of Mother is no easy task. How do you plan to help her?”
“By telling the truth,” Yuki replied quickly, also having prepared this answer in advance.
“Qiluo's strengths aren't in taking exams, but her observational skills are excellent. If Mother asks about that, I can give many concrete examples.”
“Like what?”
“For example, she knew that you like matcha, Sister.” Yuki shifted her gaze away from her sister's face. “Whereas I never knew...”
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