"She reported you to the police as a pervert...?"
Now that was interesting.
Just picturing the scene of Lin Ye being hauled off by the police was enough to make the corners of her mouth curl up.
Of course,
Yukino Yukinoshita had once entertained the idea of doing exactly that herself. But when it came to Lin Ye, she was simply too soft-hearted. Yes, Yukino Yukinoshita was soft-hearted.
Even if her relationship with Lin Ye had been an ordinary one, she still wouldn't have gone so far as to call the police—unless he'd truly done something unforgivable to her.
But now, their relationship had grown deeply, deeply intimate. Faced with Lin Ye's countless antics, she found she could no longer resist them. All she could do was accept them.
At the very least, she would never actually report him to the police. That didn't mean, though, that she didn't sometimes wish he'd get hauled off and taught a good lesson.
"I told you to stop tailing pretty nurses around, and look what happened! Now you see how serious this could've gotten, right?"
She waited for Lin Ye's answer, but he only shook his head and continued, "That's not quite it. A bus happened to arrive right then, and Ren, realizing I was there, panicked and ran onto it."
"Taking the bus was actually the safe choice,"
When dealing with a suspicious tail, heading somewhere crowded was the best option—a bus was a decent choice too.
"That's not it,"
But Lin Ye shook his head again, denying it.
"That bus was dangerous."
"Hm?"
"It had been tainted by something. It wasn't a normal bus anymore. If I hadn't gone along, she probably would have been stuck there forever."
The situation on that Strange bus wasn't something an ordinary person could have handled.
Lin Ye knew that he'd only managed to escape thanks to his own superpower. But Ren, being an ordinary person, would have had almost no chance of getting out safely.
Yukino Yukinoshita understood that Lin Ye and Ren had clearly been through a dangerous Strange event together, but even after hearing his explanation, she couldn't help but sigh.
Whenever Lin Ye was around a girl, that girl always seemed to run into a Strange event, and Lin Ye always happened to step in and resolve the danger, freeing the girl and keeping her safe.
And the result, naturally, was simple enough—he ended up winning the girl's favor.
Yukino Yukinoshita even thought that, if Lin Ye wanted to, he could probably win over a girl's body and heart both.
When faced with the person who saved their life, most girls, even if they didn't fall in love, would at least feel goodwill and gratitude toward him.
And Lin Ye wasn't lacking—he was good-looking, and his abilities were considerable.
Most girls really had no way of refusing him.
Yukino Yukinoshita recalled the sight of Lin Ye's back that day, shielding her from the jaws of a mad dog.
A good deal of time had passed since then.
And yet, every now and then, that scene still surfaced in her mind—that tall, resolute figure.
Every time that image resurfaced, so many things stopped mattering.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the man in front of her. "Exactly how many girls have you saved?"
Right!
Just how many girls had this guy saved, anyway?
She couldn't hold back the question any longer and asked it outright.
At this, Lin Ye simply fell silent.
How many people had he saved?
It seemed like... quite a few.
"Actually..."
"Tell me the number."
Lin Ye fell silent again.
"You'd better not be trying to make up a number to fool me!"
"I'm counting. There are quite a few. I'm having trouble keeping track."
Yukino Yukinoshita: ???
This time it was her turn to fall silent. Even though she'd braced herself for it, hearing that Lin Ye really had saved so many, many girls still left her speechless with astonishment.
Just how many people had he saved, exactly?
How many women out there had you made fall for you?
Yukino Yukinoshita thought to herself with a sigh.
"All right, I'm joking. It's not that many. But when things like that happen, I do what I can to help, that's all."
The mood eased up considerably, but for Yukino Yukinoshita, it only made her start worrying about Lin Ye's safety instead.
What exactly was Lin Ye trying to do?
He kept putting himself in danger for the sake of helping others.
That was a good thing, sure, but from the girl's perspective, it wasn't a good thing at all.
"Put your own safety first."
The girl with long black hair didn't argue with him outright. Instead, she made clear that he ought to prioritize his own safety—that within his means, helping others was fine, but if it put him at risk, he shouldn't do it.
"You're not alone. I—Mai and I are both waiting for you."
She even brought up Mai Sakurajima, just to make Lin Ye think a little harder about his own well-being.
"Yukino, you should phrase it this way."
"Hm?"
"You and Mai are both waiting for me at home."
At that, the corners of Lin Ye's mouth lifted, an irrepressible grin spreading across his face.
Which drew a soft huff from Yukino Yukinoshita.
She was thoroughly annoyed. She knew exactly what he meant by that, and she couldn't possibly agree to it.
"Dream on!"
She shot back.
"It's not a dream. I'm looking forward to the day Yukino and Mai are both waiting for me to come home. Then the two of you can take turns—one rubbing my shoulders, one massaging my legs, and then at night..."
"Shut up."
Yukino Yukinoshita cut him off immediately.
If she let him keep going, there was no telling what outrageous nonsense he'd say next.
She was angry, genuinely angry. She felt that Lin Ye loved making jokes like this just to... change the subject.
"Promise me you won't gamble with your own safety."
Her dark blue eyes stayed fixed on Lin Ye, and she reached out and took both his hands in hers.
In that moment, she showed a sincerity and concern more genuine than she ever had before.
"I know you like pretty girls—that whenever you see a beautiful woman, you can't seem to walk away. But even so... you can't let yourself fall into danger because of it."
Lin Ye understood that Yukino was worried about him, expressing it in her own way to try to keep him out of harm's way.
But—
But what did she mean, he couldn't walk away from a pretty woman? How was that even possible? There was no way he'd be like that!
"There's something in there that needs correcting."
Lin Ye spoke up. "Seeing a beautiful woman doesn't stop me in my tracks."
If beauty alone were enough to root him to the spot, he'd have died in the Strange Game who knows how many times over by now.
"It affects your judgment. That's close enough, isn't it?"
"Well, at the very least it'd have to be someone as pretty as you, Yukino—and she'd have to throw herself into my arms first."
With that, Lin Ye moved his hands, and the girl found herself pulled into his embrace.
Holding this warm, soft armful, Lin Ye felt nothing but pure contentment.
Breathing in the faint fragrance of her hair, he felt himself relax completely, at ease.
"Yukino."
"Hm?"
"Close your eyes."
The girl looked up, held his gaze for a moment, blinked a few times, and then slowly closed her eyes.
She knew exactly what Lin Ye was about to do.
She didn't object, didn't resist—in fact, she might even have... liked it, a little.
That was, in truth, exactly how she felt in that moment.
Lin Ye gazed at her familiar face and slowly leaned in.
What came next was something both of them knew all too well by now.
A few minutes later,
the girl was breathing hard, her cheeks flushed a lovely, glowing pink.
For Yukino, this was no longer her first time—not even close to her tenth. But every single time, the reactions of her body and the shyness welling up inside her still left her flushed and breathless without fail.
"So don't worry about me. If I can hold back even with a beauty like you, Yukino, there's no way other women could compare to you."
He drew a comparison meant to put her mind at ease, but in truth, Yukino Yukinoshita showed hardly any reaction to his answer.
In fact, she almost thought it would have been better if he couldn't resist her charms.
But this guy really had managed to resist her.
"It's more like you just can't bear to give up Mai Sakurajima."
Yukino Yukinoshita tossed out the remark with some exasperation. "In your heart, Mai Sakurajima matters far more to you than I do."
"That's... not possible,"
Just as the girl thought Lin Ye was about to admit it, he quickly changed his answer. He held her close, gently stroking her back. "You and Mai both matter to me equally."
Both matter equally—
Wasn't that the textbook line of a player?
Yukino Yukinoshita felt a surge of irritation.
"Then pick one!"
"I want both."
"You can only choose one."
"I want both."
Lin Ye's answer remained just as unshakeable.
This left Yukino Yukinoshita at a loss. What else could she even say?
Clearly this guy wasn't going to budge, no matter what. Since that was the case, all she could do was accept it. There was no point continuing the argument.
This guy clearly wasn't going to budge.
"My final position remains: be careful, prioritize your own life. I don't want to wake up one day and find I can't see you anymore, my... future husband."
It was rare—
Yukino Yukinoshita had called Lin Ye her future husband.
It meant that, in this moment, she was reminding and cautioning him as someone bound to him by an engagement.
To Lin Ye, this was the concern and reminder of a future wife—the girl standing before him, who would one day become his wife, hoping for his safety and for his return home.
"Okay."
Lin Ye answered with just that single word, showing his resolve.
He responded to the girl's earnest concern with his own most sincere attitude.
"I'll be careful. And I'll be waiting for the day Yukino gives me a cute little baby."
The moment he said it, Yukino Yukinoshita's face turned red. "That's never going to happen!"
But her bashful words carried not a trace of real denial.
In truth, she had more or less already, indirectly, accepted what Lin Ye said.
She knew, too, that her future husband could only be Lin Ye. Marrying him and spending her life with him—that was her future, and she had already accepted it.
"Would Yukino prefer a girl or a boy?"
Lin Ye, his arm around her shoulders, leaned in close and murmured softly into her ear.
The teasing warmth in his voice made her cheeks flush even redder.
She didn't want to answer. Not at all.
"I'm going to go rest."
She didn't want to stay here any longer.
"Then I'll head back tonight."
Staying by Yukino's side all the time wasn't exactly a good idea, was it?
If he kept holding her and sleeping beside her every night, he worried that one day he might not be able to hold himself back anymore.
But Lin Ye caught the suspicious look the girl was giving him.
"What is it?"
Lin Ye asked.
Yukino Yukinoshita was thoroughly puzzled.
This guy used to always want to stay the night, taking advantage of her in the dark—but now he suddenly wanted to leave every single day? What was going on? Why?
"You're not going on a date with some other girl, are you?"
Lin Ye: ???
He couldn't help but mentally put up a question mark.
Yes—
even he was caught off guard by that remark from Yukino Yukinoshita.
This cool, aloof girl with long black hair had actually reached this point already.
"No,"
"Then don't go back."
Well, wasn't that basically telling him to stay?
"I'm just worried I've been taking advantage of you too much, and it's affecting your rest."
...
All Lin Ye got in response was a cold glare from Yukino Yukinoshita.
As far as she was concerned, what he'd just said meant nothing at all, because lately he'd been taking every single opportunity to take advantage of her anyway.
Yukino had probably already gotten used to it by now.
"Fine! I'll stay the night here tonight. But tomorrow I really do have to go back to my own apartment. I need to go pick up John—he's been at the pet hospital for a long time now."
Yukino Yukinoshita thought of that other member of Lin Ye's family.
She was afraid of dogs, but since Lin Ye had one, and clearly cared for John deeply, she couldn't bring herself to ask him to get rid of the dog.
She really wasn't that kind of person.
Yukino Yukinoshita truly wasn't that sort of girl.
"How about... I go with you tomorrow, after school?"
Yukino Yukinoshita wondered if she ought to start getting used to living alongside John.
Though, if she had the choice, she really didn't want to live with a dog—especially a medium-to-large German Shepherd.
"No need to rush. We've got plenty of time. You don't have to force yourself, Yukino."
Right—
Lin Ye felt that Yukino was pushing herself, trying to adapt for his sake even when it was hard for her.
"Mm."
In the end, Yukino didn't insist on her own idea. She accepted his suggestion.
Getting used to a dog took time, after all. There was no need to rush it.
"Let's go."
With that, Yukino headed toward the bathroom.
Lin Ye didn't hesitate for even a moment before following right after her.
What was there to be embarrassed about, anyway? By this point, he and Yukino were basically like an old married couple.
Once something crossed that first threshold, everything after tended to come easily.
The familiar bathroom—
this wasn't the first time the two of them had bathed together here.
Yukino pursed her lips, still a little uncomfortable, as she washed up.
Half an hour later,
the two of them finished bathing, and Lin Ye dried the girl's hair for her.
By now, Yukino had grown used to it. When it came to Lin Ye drying her hair, she found herself feeling a warm, comfortable ease.
She thought that a life like this, with someone she cared for close by, wasn't so bad after all.
Hm?
Suddenly,
Yukino's eyes went wide.
What had she just been thinking?
Someone she cared for?
Had she really come to see Lin Ye that way?
This...
But that thought really had surfaced unbidden from somewhere deep in her mind.
Yukino Yukinoshita's heart was in turmoil.
Late at night,
gazing at the sleeping face of the man beside her, the girl with long black hair found her thoughts drifting far and wide.
When exactly had her feelings—her sense of what this man was to her—started to change?
...
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