Although Mai Sakurajima was a big star, an exceptionally beautiful great beauty.
Although Mai Sakurajima was beloved by many and had even already started dating Lin Ye.
Yet in Lin Ye's heart, compared to her, he was more willing to choose her.
Yukino Yukinoshita's navy-blue eyes reflected Lin Ye's figure, gazing at that familiar face, and an indescribable joy welled up in her heart.
Even though she tried her utmost to restrain herself, rationally suppressing this fluttering of her heart, the joy brought by Lin Ye's choice was simply impossible to hold back.
This guy—
he wouldn't lie.
This, Yukino Yukinoshita knew. Since he had agreed, he would do it, rather than saying one thing and meaning another, deceiving and stringing her along.
On this point,
Yukino Yukinoshita was satisfied—one could even say very satisfied.
"Lin Ye, I'll confirm one last time: are you serious?"
Lin Ye looked at the solemn expression of the girl before him, and unconsciously let out a sigh in his heart. He nodded gently and spoke, "Mm, I'm serious. In the end a choice has to be made, and this is my choice."
In his past life, whether it was Mai Sakurajima or Yukino Yukinoshita, he had liked them both.
And in this life he had transmigrated into, he still liked them.
Although before, due to certain factors, he had kept his distance from Yukinoshita, in the end, through a twist of fate, he and Yukinoshita had become Quasi-fiancés, the two of them making contact and interacting with romance and an engagement as the goal.
To say he wasn't happy would definitely be a lie.
He didn't force it, but he also didn't deliberately leave it cold. He had even thought that someday in the future, getting along well and pleasantly with the girl, he would enter a new stage of relationship and begin a new kind of exchange.
But,
now, this relationship was ending here.
To say there was no regret would be a lie.
But he accepted the girl's choice.
Their contact had failed; the agreed-upon relationship was over.
Sorrow spread.
Yukinoshita felt it.
This was normal too; she could understand. If Lin Ye had shown no reaction at all, his attitude perfectly ordinary, she would instead have wondered whether Lin Ye simply didn't value the relationship emotionally.
Because having to break up with Mai Sakurajima, whom he had just started dating—breaking up with such an ultra-popular, hugely famous female star as Mai Sakurajima, ending a lovers' relationship—was something any man would feel sorrowful about.
A man who felt no heartache would be the abnormal one.
Yukino Yukinoshita could calmly accept this reaction and mood of Lin Ye's.
Shouldn't she compensate Lin Ye a little?
Unbidden, a thought surfaced in Yukino Yukinoshita's mind.
Now that Lin Ye was even willing to break up with the big star Mai Sakurajima for her sake, she ought to offer some compensation!
No matter how she thought about it, she felt Lin Ye's sacrifice was enormous.
If she offered not the slightest bit of compensation, it would truly weigh on her conscience.
So then, what kind of compensation would be good?
The cool, aloof girl with long black hair turned the idea over in her mind, several thoughts surfacing, until at last it settled upon a certain one.
And this compensation made her cheeks flush faintly, made her unconsciously pinch the hem of her clothes with both hands, a little nervous, her heart pounding and racing.
This… should be something for Lin Ye, as the man, to bring up first.
But noticing that trace of grief on Lin Ye's expression, she knew she could never wait for those words from Lin Ye.
In other words, if Lin Ye really did speak up, she would instead think his character wasn't all that great.
Having just decided to break up with Mai Sakurajima, then immediately saying it to her… that, surely, would be no good.
So,
this time,
it had to be her.
Yukino Yukinoshita recalled the courage she'd had that day back at her family home, when she'd spoken those words in front of her parents and her sister.
In this moment,
courage descended upon her.
"Lin Ye."
The cool voice rang out, breaking the stillness of the empty living room.
Lin Ye slowly lifted his eyes to look at the girl before him. "I'm here."
He answered calmly, but within that lake-like calm it was hard to hide a faint trace of dejection.
Yukino Yukinoshita's heart ached.
Sure enough, having just made Lin Ye make that decision, she had hurt him after all. This guy usually wore an optimistic look; she had never seen him in a state still wreathed in such a sorrowful aura even now.
"I have something to tell you,"
"Go ahead."
Lin Ye couldn't guess what else Yukinoshita had to say.
The two of them had already broken it off, already ended this relationship—what more was there to say?
Could it be that, as before, they'd maintain a relationship of friends and club companions?
That was difficult.
He could do it, but could Yukinoshita herself?
Recalling this girl's personality, Lin Ye felt Yukinoshita could actually manage it. This cool girl often presented a cold attitude to the outside world; for the two of them to return to their original relationship, Yukinoshita only needed to keep a straight face and maintain her icy demeanor.
It was just that Lin Ye was now pondering whether to agree to this, or to politely decline.
At one point, he had even thought about proactively applying to withdraw from the Service Club.
"From now on, I…"
"Mm."
"…will be your girlfriend…"
"Mm, I understand."
Just as expected, it was about becoming friends—
standard phrasing.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept it; this was, after all, a normal way to end things.
"Hm?"
A few seconds later,
Lin Ye blinked as it registered.
What he'd just heard seemed not to be 'friend,' but 'girlfriend'—had he misheard?
Lin Ye's gaze slowly shifted to rest on the girl's exquisite face, meeting her eyes.
In this moment, he discovered that the girl's eyes shimmered with a faint shyness, and the next second, as if unable to bear his piercing gaze, she hotly turned her cheek away, leaving only a delicate profile.
"Yukinoshita,"
"..."
"What did you just say?"
"..."
This bastard,
he's doing it on purpose, isn't he!
Deliberately making her say it again, making her endure embarrassment, the shame, one more time.
How detestable.
Yukino Yukinoshita clenched her fist and said nothing.
"Yukinoshita, could I trouble you to repeat what you just said one more time?"
Lin Ye spoke up again.
He carefully went over it several times and realized that what he'd just heard was indeed 'girlfriend.'
Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out why Yukino Yukinoshita would say such a thing, at least judging by the girl's current reaction, what she'd said absolutely could not have been a slip of the tongue.
"You're terrible."
Yukino Yukinoshita's voice turned cold outright.
Faced with Lin Ye's nasty sense of humor, she directly expressed her displeasure.
"But…"
Seeing as you chose me, I can say it once—
those words, she couldn't bring herself to say.
Yukino Yukinoshita gathered herself for a moment, "I'll be your girlfriend. Did you hear it clearly now!"
She brushed back the black hair by her ear, her eyes revealing a faint look of helplessness.
Since he was already her boyfriend, a little bit of tolerance was something she could still accept and embrace.
This was the different attitude brought about by a different relationship; she, Yukino Yukinoshita, had always drawn that distinction very clearly.
Lin Ye heard it clearly and distinctly. In this moment, he absolutely could not believe he was hallucinating—that, having realized Yukinoshita wanted to break it off, his dejected imagination had conjured up the auditory illusion of 'girlfriend.'
What on earth is going on!?
Didn't she say we were breaking up?
Why, out of nowhere, is she still going to be my girlfriend—
Could it be that she's ending the 'Quasi-fiancés' relationship, choosing instead a lovers' relationship to compete with Mai?
That explanation seemed to make sense too.
But Lin Ye always felt a bit flustered, a sense that something was off and unreliable.
"Your answer!"
Yukino Yukinoshita's attitude suddenly grew forceful. She stared at Lin Ye, her eyes releasing a faint chill,
as if expressing extreme displeasure at his long failure to respond.
"I heard it very clearly."
Lin Ye answered at once.
But the problem was that he couldn't make sense of why Yukino Yukinoshita would suddenly bring up this idea.
Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."
That wasn't the answer she wanted.
"Lin Ye, may I take it that you're refusing to let me become your girlfriend?"
"No—of course I'm willing for Yukinoshita to become my girlfriend."
Lin Ye immediately voiced his stance.
How could he possibly refuse.
Yukino Yukinoshita being his girlfriend—he was overjoyed before he could even react.
His Quasi-fiancés relationship with Yukinoshita, compared to a lovers' relationship, clearly made the lovers' relationship seem more intimate.
This was the girl's recognition of him.
This was a good thing.
It was just that the one thing that puzzled Lin Ye was that he and Mai Sakurajima had become lovers, yet this instead prompted Yukino Yukinoshita to proactively propose becoming his girlfriend—
which was utterly unreasonable, utterly unscientific.
"Mm,"
she let out a soft hum.
"We're officially dating now."
"Mm."
"It feels kind of unreal, like a dream,"
A development beyond Lin Ye's expectations.
Just like that, he suddenly had two girlfriends, one of whom also held the status of Quasi-fiancée—well, that Quasi-fiancée status seemed to have already ended,
ended along with the 'break it off' Yukinoshita had just proposed.
"There's nothing unreal about it. I, Yukino Yukinoshita, am your girlfriend now."
She gazed earnestly at Lin Ye, her words calm, but the information they carried was immense.
Even though it wasn't the first time hearing it, Lin Ye's heart still trembled along with it.
"Can I… know the reason? I just became lovers with Mai, and you're willing to become my girlfriend—I… really can't quite figure it out."
I just can't figure it out!
He was curious about the reason.
"Getting along with you is alright,"
Yukino Yukinoshita recalled, "Although you're flirtatious with quite a few girls, all sweet-talking, and even think about building a harem, you haven't actually fooled around; your private life is clean, and you're a decent person,"
"Of course, just that alone isn't enough. The most important reason that made me choose to become your girlfriend is still… that you're willing to break up with Mai Sakurajima."
Lin Ye slowly typed out a giant question mark in his mind.
When did I ever say I'd break up with Mai Sakurajima?
How come I don't know about it?
Lin Ye racked his brains trying to recall, but couldn't think of when he had ever said that line in front of Yukino Yukinoshita.
"You're willing to break up, letting me know my place and importance in your heart. Since that's the case, I'll respond too, by becoming your girlfriend and getting along with you further—this is my response and my attitude."
The Quasi-fiancés relationship
was already a relationship that bound the two of them.
She was willing to enter the next relationship with Lin Ye.
And after hearing this much, Lin Ye finally caught on—
where the problem lay.
It was that line of 'break up' from Yukinoshita just now; his answer had caused the girl to misunderstand.
What he had meant was breaking it off with Yukinoshita, while Yukinoshita thought he was willing to break up with Mai Sakurajima.
Holy crap,
what kind of thing is this called.
What kind of development is this.
Now to tell Yukinoshita, 'The break I mentioned just now was breaking up with you, not with Mai'—
Lin Ye guaranteed that the moment he dared utter that line, the very next second Yukinoshita would Aikido him to the floor and unleash a frenzied barrage, a fit of manic venting.
The Yuki-beauty was not someone to be trifled with.
What to do, what to do!?
Lin Ye racked his brains searching for a solution.
There's no way out!?
This simply could not be resolved.
"This reason, is it acceptable?"
"Acceptable, acceptable."
But the perfunctory answer instantly drew a displeased reaction from the girl.
"Very acceptable. It shows that everything I've done has been seen by you, Yukinoshita. I'm very happy,"
Lin Ye blurted out, his words having gone through hardly any thought.
"Yukinoshita?"
This was no longer the first time Yukino Yukinoshita had heard it; she was now quite displeased with this form of address Lin Ye used for her.
What she needed was a more intimate way of addressing her, one befitting the lovers' relationship the two of them now had.
"Yukino,"
The girl with long black hair felt a little awkward, faintly revealing a trace of shyness.
This form of address wasn't the first time she'd heard it either, but after officially becoming lovers, it was the first time, and an indescribable warm current flowed through her heart.
It was completely different.
She could clearly confirm that.
"Lin-kun,"
She responded in kind.
Lin Ye watched this cool, beautiful girl with long black hair, Yukino Yukinoshita, develop in the direction of a soft, adorable sweetheart.
Was this the change brought about by the relationship?
If this kept going, becoming an engaged-couple relationship, a married-couple relationship—wouldn't he get to see an even gentler, more understanding side of Yukinoshita?
He began to look forward to it.
There was a sense of grinding monsters and leveling up, of unlocking higher achievements and obtaining greater rewards.
But there was still one problem at hand.
The matter of breaking up with Mai,
this was something he would not do.
How to make Yukino accept it!?
Or else find a way to keep it hidden.
There were only these two methods.
Lin Ye pondered in distress,
and a certain idea surfaced, but he still held it back—the Hypnosis superpower; he was still somewhat restrained, not really wanting to use this ability on the girl.
He would first search for a solution that satisfied both sides; if in the end he truly couldn't find any other method, then… he could only resort to this superpower.
Yukino Yukinoshita filled Lin Ye's cup with tea.
'Splash, splash…' the sound of flowing water.
The fragrance of tea wafted everywhere.
The atmosphere should have been more relaxed and intimate, but for Lin Ye, it was more pressure and distress.
Unable to find a method, he even felt it would be better if Yukinoshita refused.
Maybe he should just admit it outright!?
Say that he wanted both of them? He'd said exactly that to Yukinoshita before too.
He'd definitely be beaten to death.
So hard.
Too hard.
"What are you thinking about."
"Nothing."
"You don't know how to bring it up with Miss Sakurajima?"
"..."
Sure enough, that's it.
Yukino Yukinoshita made her judgment from Lin Ye's reaction.
"I'll make the call and tell her!"
Before, it had been Mai Sakurajima showing off and flaunting; well now, it was her, Yukino Yukinoshita's, moment to counterattack. She would make that woman understand that the final victor of this war was her, Yukino Yukinoshita, and not Mai Sakurajima, that latecomer.
Thinking back to Mai Sakurajima's words that night,
Yukino Yukinoshita's teeth itched with anger.
She extended her hand in front of Lin Ye, signaling for Lin Ye to hand over his phone.
For Lin Ye, now was the dangerous moment.
He'd thought he could still stall a bit, but it came so suddenly.
Sure enough,
Yukinoshita wanted to see him end his lovers' relationship with Mai as soon as possible.
"You've already made your choice. A man shouldn't hesitate at a time like this."
She was urging Lin Ye to harden his heart.
"If you don't want me to contact her, then you tell her yourself,"
Yukinoshita thought it over and actually found it more interesting for Lin Ye to directly contact and inform Mai Sakurajima of the breakup.
Lin Ye thought left and right; without using his ability, the current situation was unsolvable.
"Let's not say it!"
"What do you mean."
Yukinoshita's aura changed.
"I think it's better not to tell Mai about the breakup. I want to date both of you at the same time."
There was no other way;
Lin Ye decided to state his wishes first.
If breaking up was off the table, then date them together. This was what Lin Ye could do right now.
As for whether the girl before him could accept it?
Lin Ye guaranteed she absolutely would not.
But he had to state his own attitude first.
"Did I have an auditory hallucination, or did you misspeak."
"I'm serious,"
At once,
the atmosphere changed.
A trace of cold air emerged; the temperature in the living room dropped several degrees.
It nearly made Lin Ye think a Strange entity had appeared.
"Are you joking with me—how did you agree with me earlier."
Angry, very angry.
Yukino Yukinoshita had a sense of being betrayed and toyed with.
The thing she hated most in her life was a person who stabbed others in the back and broke their word.
The girl with long black hair fixed her navy-blue eyes on Lin Ye with a piercing, frosty gaze.
"Yukino, calm down first."
"I am very calm,"
Her words were icy.
In terms of attitude, she was indeed calm—no, it would be more apt to say icy.
Lin Ye sat on the sofa, but his heart was flustered.
Facing a Strange entity, he hadn't been this flustered, but facing an enraged Yukinoshita, he really didn't have much confidence in his heart.
This matter—he had indeed handled it shabbily.
"Tell me, Lin Ye, how did you agree with me just now."
"Break it off,"
"Right,"
Yukino Yukinoshita repeated, "Now you want to go back on your word and break the agreement? Seeing me agree to be your girlfriend, you start thinking about having one in each arm? Let me tell you, that's impossible. I, Yukino Yukinoshita, could never satisfy this delusion of yours."
"Actually, Yukino, the 'break it off' I replied to you with earlier meant breaking it off with you, ending our 'Quasi-fiancés' relationship,"
"..."
Silence spread.
Yukino Yukinoshita's angry expression stiffened in place.
Break it off with her? End the relationship with her?
You've got to be kidding,
how could she possibly have meant that.
"I started dating Mai—you must be angry, feeling we're no longer suited to each other, so you proposed ending our 'Quasi-fiancés' relationship between the two of us. That's a perfectly reasonable proposal, isn't it!"
Yukino Yukinoshita pursed her lips, suddenly feeling her strength had nowhere to go.
But on second thought, she immediately came up with yet another possibility,
"You're deliberately quibbling. You must have known at the time that I meant for you to break up with Mai Sakurajima, and now you're seizing on a loophole in my words. Lin Ye, I never imagined you were this kind of person,"
So what kind of person have I become!?
I really did think from the very start that you wanted me to break up with Mai.
"Mai and I just started dating, just confirmed our lovers' relationship. Yukino, do you think I would break up with her?"
"..."
"You contacted me to come here this time precisely because of the matter with Mai, wasn't it? It was precisely to confirm the future relationship between the two of us, wasn't it?"
Lin Ye continued, "And I, when I received your call, had already thought it through carefully. I respect your thoughts and wishes; you want to end this relationship between the two of us, and I'm willing to accept that."
This was Lin Ye's true thinking,
Yukino Yukinoshita felt it.
She could sense that Lin Ye wasn't lying; it was genuine.
But this fact made her heart unconsciously go cold.
The joy and happiness from just now were all false, all a happiness celebrated in vain.
All that about Lin Ye valuing her more, about Lin Ye liking her more—it was all fake.
The one Lin Ye liked more was Mai Sakurajima, not her, Yukino Yukinoshita.
It was all her own wishful fantasy.
She gave a self-mocking, bitter smile.
Yukino Yukinoshita understood.
She sat down on the sofa, all strength drained from her body.
The first heart-flutter of her life was extinguished, just like that.
She and Lin Ye, as expected, were still not suited to each other.
"I understand,"
The cool girl with long black hair's voice rang out,
"Let's end it here. I wish you happiness as well,"
She slowly spoke these words, but her heart was like it was being cut by a knife, the bitterness within continuously conveying a certain thought to her.
Just a moment ago she had still been looking forward to the future of getting along, yet now she could only painfully face the fact of parting and ending the relationship.
She, Yukino Yukinoshita, was after all better off alone; what she preferred was still a life of solitude.
The next second,
Yukino Yukinoshita found that Lin Ye had sat down beside her, and his hand had grasped hers.
She struggled, but couldn't break free.
"Let go of me,"
"I won't."
"Let go of me,"
"No,"
"I'll call the police,"
"You won't be able to."
Lin Ye's attitude was firm.
"What do you want to do? Our relationship is already over."
"Mm, our Quasi-fiancés relationship is over, but we're lovers now."
Yukinoshita: "..."
Speechless,
she was utterly speechless.
"You've already made it clear, so naturally I'm not…"
"You are,"
This bastard,
"I'm not. I, Yukino Yukinoshita, am not your girlfriend."
"You are. You said it with your own mouth—you are,"
He gripped the girl's hand tightly.
At this, Yukinoshita thought of a new method, "Fine, alright, I did indeed say it just now. So then, I now solemnly propose to you: let's break up,"
"I refuse."
"You bastard,"
The girl couldn't help cursing.
"Right, I'm a bastard,"
Lin Ye at this moment looked just like a shameless rogue.
"Tell me, how will you agree to end our relationship and break up with me,"
"You first answer me how I can get Yukino to agree to the three of us dating together."
Yukinoshita glared fiercely, "Impossible. I'm telling you, this is absolutely impossible,"
"Then my answer is the same."
This bastard, he's trying to infuriate her to death!?
Saddled with such a man, Yukino Yukinoshita felt she was going to lose several years off her life.
"I solemnly tell you, there's no way I'll agree. If you've got the skill, then change this view of mine. Don't you have lots of marvelous abilities?"
Yukino Yukinoshita thought of something, "Why don't you just use your marvelous abilities to change my mind—like Hypnosis. Go ahead and use Hypnosis on me, assuming you have that ability."
Lin Ye: "..."
This girl, rushing to get herself hypnotized!
Yukino Yukinoshita laughed; she knew this guy simply didn't have such an ability.
Otherwise, he'd have used it long ago—would he need to be like this?
...
...
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