Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Teaching Cooking To Yukino
Hikari squatted down immediately, rummaging through the cabinet as he explained, "This dish is called Cheesy Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Clams."
"The preparation is actually quite simple. First, you need to get some premium fresh roasted clams."
"Next, add some crushed chili to release the shrimp's moisture. Then, stir-fry the shrimp pasta with a mix of cheeses. If you have the strength and patience, you can stew it for a bit before frying again."
"Once the shrimp pasta is coated with a creamy white sauce, transfer it to a small pot and let it simmer. After that, it's ready to serve."
"Got it?"
This time, Yukino listened intently, jotting down notes in her mind. Her brain was working in overdrive, to the point where she was slightly out of breath and gasping softly.
Still, she nodded earnestly and replied, "Yes, yes! Thank you so much for teaching me, Hikari-kun. I... I've got it."
Her seriousness pleased Hikari immensely—it was a rare moment of satisfaction.
For a snow woman hybrid like Yukino, her dedication to learning was truly admirable.
However, perhaps due to her overzealousness, her snow-woman abilities kept accidentally activating, causing several areas to freeze.
The melted ice turned into water, leaving puddles on the sofa, balcony, kitchen, and other spots. Cleaning up this aftermath was a real headache.
While Hikari was busy dealing with the mess, Yukino was also silently berating herself.
As a snow woman, she had lived in ignorance for so many years. She had accumulated an insatiable thirst for knowledge, enough to monopolize Hikari's entire schedule as her teacher.
But to her dismay, she realized her capabilities were far from adequate.
Or rather, she underestimated Hikari's teaching prowess.
His teaching was far beyond her imagination. In no time, he resolved all her questions, leaving her scrambling for more.
Despite racking her brain, Yukino couldn't think of anything else to ask. She could only sit there helplessly, digesting the cheesy wisdom imparted to her.
Just as Yukino was lost in thought, a loud banging echoed from the front door.
"Yukino! If you've got the guts to hog my man, you'd better open this door." a voice yelled angrily.
"You thief! I was kind enough to let you borrow Hikari-kun for a bit, but how long has it been?"
"Four or five hours? The sky's already dark."
"You're a widow, for heaven's sake. Don't you have any shame? Give me back my Hikari-kun."
The apartment had some soundproofing issues. Although this floor only housed Yukino and her neighbor, Natsuha, on the left, and the units on the right were vacant, noise traveled easily.
Natsuha, being right next door, heard everything loud and clear.
For someone as eager to learn as her, it was pure torture.
Unable to endure it any longer, Natsuha stormed over, determined to reclaim her man.
"Well, since you seem to be out of energy, I'll go calm her down and start teaching her next," Hikari said, glancing at Yukino, who was sprawled on the sofa, utterly exhausted, her fingers twitching slightly as her eyes rolled back.
"Ugh... Fine... Okay," Yukino muttered weakly.
She watched as Hikari opened the door, and Natsuha threw herself into his arms with a gleeful grin. A pang of jealousy surged through Yukino's chest.
Though Natsuha had been the one to initiate tutoring first, Yukino couldn't help but feel possessive. She had truly grown to enjoy, perhaps even crave, Hikari's lessons.
"Ugh! It's because I'm too weak." Yukino clenched her fists. "I need to improve so Hikari-kun will spend more time tutoring me... and teaching me to cook!l."
Resolving to work harder, Yukino silently vowed to become a better student.
Meanwhile, Hikari took Natsuha back to her apartment to continue tutoring.
But after a short while, Natsuha, whose learning aptitude was clearly inferior to Yukino's, quickly gave up. "I can't do it anymore. My brain's fried."
Yukino, having finished processing the previous lesson, called out from next door, insisting it was her turn again.
Hikari sighed, resigned to running back and forth between the two.
However, as private tutoring was frowned upon these days, Hikari had to sneak around late at night to avoid getting caught. He spent an hour tutoring Yukino, then an hour with Natsuha, and so on, all while devising engaging educational games to make learning more enjoyable.
For Yukino, he played a scenario where a human wandered into a snowy mountain, was rescued by a snow woman, and developed a bond. But just as they were about to marry, the human discovered her identity and tried to leave, leading to the snow woman's vengeful retribution.
With Natsuha, the theme was different—a human lost in an abyss, saved by an innocent succubus who later revealed sinister plans to harvest the human's knowledge.
Despite his efforts to make lessons engaging, Hikari was thoroughly exhausted by dawn.
Unable to juggle two demanding students any longer, he finally dragged both Yukino and Natsuha into the same room.
"You're learning together, whether you like it or not," Hikari declared.
Though initially reluctant, the two girls eventually cooperated under his stern guidance. Together, they managed to grasp the lessons more effectively, even beginning to work as a team.
By the time their study session ended, both were completely drained. Hikari, equally worn out, collapsed alongside them.
[T/N: For those who couldn't understand, author was writing everything in double-meaning. Tutoring/Lessons equals to Seggs since chinese novels are strictly monitored for sexual content.]
———
The Next Morning
Sunlight streamed through the curtains, illuminating Hikari and the two girls.
Hikari got up first, stretching as he glanced at Yukino, who was barely awake.
"Yukino, should I walk you home? If you want to study more, I can spare some time," he offered.
Yukino shook her head weakly. "No, thank you... I need to rest. Yesterday's lesson was... exhausting."
Hikari turned to Natsuha, who groaned, "No way! I'm taking a break too. Studying with you is way too intense."
"Alright, suit yourselves," Hikari said with a shrug. "I'll head to school then. Don't slack off while I'm gone."
After preparing breakfast for the girls, Hikari left the apartment.
Sitting in a taxi, Hikari glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.
"Yesterday really took its toll," he murmured. "I need to start working on my stamina. These lessons are getting out of hand."
Hikari couldn't help but think of the relentless pace set by Yukino's snow-woman abilities and Natsuha's succubus-like charm. He resolved to strengthen himself—after all, there was no telling what challenges awaited him.
For now, though, his primary goal was clear: survive another day at school.
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