Ai Hoshino knew a thing or two about the entertainment world, about the idol world. She was young, but that didn't mean she was naive — she knew how dark this industry could be.
Pillow business, sleeping your way up — even voice actresses dealt with that sort of thing, let alone idols.
Every pretty girl was, in the eyes of the men above her, a choice cut of meat. A cut they wanted to eat.
Ai Hoshino hadn't been through it herself, but as she got older, as her body developed, as time went on, the odds of something like that would only climb.
Unless the people running the agency were every last one of them free of desire — and in Ai Hoshino's view, that was impossible.
Men liked women. They liked beautiful women.
There was nothing abnormal about that. It was the most normal thing in the world.
And for a man, using his power and his money to obtain a woman, to get her into bed — nothing could be easier.
Yet right now she didn't have to face that pressure. Even dating, the one thing idols were supposed to be forbidden, had been permitted to her. That came down entirely to Lin Ye.
Without Lin Ye, without Lin Ye buying the agency, she would never have had that privilege.
Manager Saito had always looked out for her, but his attitude toward her had changed enormously.
Maybe Saito himself hadn't noticed it, but she had, and the difference was glaring.
He was careful around her now. Gone was that feeling of a Sensei regarding a student, of an adult regarding a child.
That was what the change in her status had done.
Ai Hoshino hadn't said anything about it, because she wanted things with Manager Saito to stay the way they'd always been. She really didn't want the gap to become any more obvious.
But Sayaka's situation was different.
In the end, Sayaka Maizono was on her own, from an ordinary family. Somewhere down the line there was a real chance she'd run into the casting couch.
"Sayaka, that's a really, really good way to think."
"So Senpai supports me?"
"Mm, I support you. But reality is cruel."
That one sentence from Ai Hoshino landed on Sayaka Maizono like a bucket of cold water.
"Wh-why?"
"Because society is a hard-nosed place. You don't want to borrow Lin-kun's power to make yourself more popular — but do you know what that means? You could end up being squeezed out."
The words drained the color from Sayaka Maizono's face.
Squeezed out?
Was that a hint?
Was this Lin Ye sending her a message through Ai-senpai?
Was he trying to make her submit?
Sayaka Maizono went tense, sick to her stomach. Was it really going to be like this?
She'd studied everything about being an idol on her own, pushing herself higher, making herself better. Was all of that really not enough?
"Society is complicated. One day certain people will take an interest in you, and when they want you to give something up and you refuse, you'll likely face pressure and suppression. For example, never getting another chance in front of a camera or on a stage."
An idol with no chance at a camera or a stage —
that idol's career was as good as pinned down and killed outright.
Sayaka Maizono pictured the scene, and the ache in her chest wouldn't stop.
Was she,
right now, going to face that pressure, that choice?
"Senpai... have you been through it?"
"Is that how Senpai ended up giving in to Mr. Lin?"
A possibility was dawning on her.
Why didn't Ai Hoshino object? Because Ai Hoshino had already submitted. Ai Hoshino's place with Lin Ye wasn't that of a lover at all, but simply a mistress — purely that kind of arrangement.
And now Lin Ye was stretching his claws toward her through Ai Hoshino, making his move.
"You think Lin-kun would use a method like that?"
Wouldn't he?
Otherwise, why would you say something like that?
"All I meant was that this industry runs into situations like that a lot. Lin-kun isn't that kind of person. He and I ended up where we are because we went through hardship and danger together — it's not that Lin-kun coveted my looks and schemed his way into having me."
Sayaka Maizono was thoroughly lost now, with no idea what was going on.
"Then what Senpai said just now..."
"Lin-kun likes you. And a man who loves someone he can't have might resort to certain methods."
So that was it!
But was she supposed to give in just because of that?
No. Everything in Sayaka Maizono pushed back against the idea.
She would never submit to that.
"I won't accept it. Even if I can never stand on a stage again, even if I can never be an idol, I won't accept it."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then you've lost your chance at being an idol."
The cold tone sent Sayaka Maizono's heart plunging to the bottom, and even so, she offered no plea, no bargain, no compromise.
There were things she would never accept, never do.
In this one life, a person has to have something they're chasing.
Faced with that dark casting couch, she chose refusal.
"Mm. I understand."
Sayaka Maizono's reply came out bleak and hollow.
She had already taken what Ai Hoshino said as fact.
If Lin Ye gave the word, there was no way she could stay in the idol group. And switching companies wouldn't help; companies were all connected. One word from Lin Ye and no other company, agency, or group would take her.
She could never become an idol now. Every bit of effort up to this point, every hope and fantasy about the future, turned to smoke in that instant.
It was over.
She'd never imagined it would end so fast.
That evening she'd still been training hard, still eating yakitori skewers with her senpai, still receiving all those beautiful clothes, still in a wonderful mood — and in the end, nothing at all.
It had all been fake.
She had lost everything.
She had lost her chance to become an idol. She was adrift, with no idea what to do with the rest of her life.
She almost wanted to die.
Even the thought of suicide surfaced in Sayaka Maizono's mind.
That look of total surrender made Ai Hoshino realize she'd pushed the joke way too far.
All she'd wanted was to tease Sayaka a little. There'd been nothing else behind it.
So — what now? What now?
She poked Sayaka Maizono's cheek. "Sayaka loves being an idol, doesn't she? You want to be a popular idol shining up there on stage, right?"
"Miss Hoshino, I won't give in. Please don't say anything more."
Even the way she addressed her had changed.
That was how firm Sayaka Maizono's resolve was.
Ai Hoshino realized she'd gone too far.
"I'm sorry, Sayaka."
"..."
Her face stayed stiff, barely a flicker of reaction.
"All right, all right, I'm apologizing. It was all a joke," Ai Hoshino said, at a loss.
"Lin-kun isn't that kind of man at all. Why on earth would he use power and money to force you into anything, Sayaka?"
Sayaka Maizono half believed her, half didn't.
She wasn't convinced. Right now she was like a bird that had heard a bowstring, and Ai Hoshino's shifting words earned nothing but deep distrust.
"It's true, it really isn't like that. Lin-kun really isn't that kind of person. He's never even said he likes you, Sayaka."
That made Sayaka Maizono believe her even less.
"I only wanted to test you, to see whether Sayaka had any feelings for Lin-kun at all."
Ai Hoshino went on, "Because Lin-kun is so charming, and so generous with his money. Most girls would fall for him fast, wouldn't they? Young, rich and handsome — not many girls could hold out."
"I could," Sayaka Maizono said at once.
She said it with real conviction, but strictly speaking, she knew her conviction was shakier than it sounded. Certain thoughts she'd had today told her exactly how much her impression of Lin Ye had shifted.
If Lin Ye made his interest obvious and kept pursuing her, she honestly had no idea what she'd do.
She would refuse — she had to refuse — but how long she could keep refusing, she wasn't sure at all.
She suspected she wouldn't hold out long before giving in. Even with Ai-senpai in the picture, she'd fall in the end.
"Yes. I believe now that Sayaka can. You wouldn't agree to any of it, not to my coaxing and not to my threats. Honestly, I don't know whether to cry or laugh."
Ai Hoshino pressed her lips together, her eyes meeting Sayaka Maizono's. "The one Lin-kun likes isn't you. Although you do know her."
"Mi-chan?"
"Not her. How could it be her? It's Mai Sakurajima."
Sayaka Maizono: ???
That superstar — how could Sayaka Maizono not know her?
Mai Sakurajima was the dream chased by countless young girls in the acting and idol business.
Mai Sakurajima was their idol, the target they all ran toward.
"Mai... don't tell me Mai also suffered—"
"Suffered what? Don't talk nonsense."
Ai Hoshino corrected her at once. "Lin-kun isn't that sort of man. Remember that, Sayaka. Everything I said before was pure nonsense."
Except—
Sayaka Maizono's stomach stayed in knots; she had nothing solid to stand on.
Was it really untrue? Had Ai-senpai really been making it all up, purely to fool her, purely to test her?
"I understand. Then Lin-kun and Miss Mai Sakurajima, the two of them..."
Sayaka Maizono made a small gesture, asking whether the two of them were a couple.
"Wait—"
But something else struck her, and she blurted out, "I remember Miss Mai already has a boyfriend. She announced it publicly herself at that press conference."
At the time she'd been certain Mai Sakurajima was finished.
Because big stars, like idols, weren't supposed to date. Going public was digging your own grave.
She'd assumed Mai Sakurajima would retire from the industry on the spot, that her life as a star was done — and instead the fans bought it. They didn't turn on her.
If anything, Mai Sakurajima's popularity climbed another level, which was the last thing almost anyone had expected.
Most likely Mai Sakurajima's sincerity at that press conference had won the audience over. There was no other way to explain it.
"It's fake," Ai Hoshino said at once.
"Lin-kun is not Mai Sakurajima's boyfriend."
"Hm?"
On first hearing there was nothing odd about it, but listen closely and Sayaka Maizono found problems everywhere. What did she mean, Lin Ye wasn't Mai Sakurajima's boyfriend?
It was phrased as if he were the boyfriend.
That's right.
That was exactly what it meant.
Sayaka Maizono spoke in a trembling voice. "Senpai, Senpai — Mai Sakurajima's rumored boyfriend, that mysterious boyfriend nobody has ever seen... is Mr. Lin?"
In that moment,
her heart shook and wouldn't stop.
She didn't understand it, couldn't work it out.
But thinking of how much mystery surrounded that boyfriend, and of Lin Ye's power, the two lined up perfectly. It had to be true!
"No, no, Lin-kun is not. Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima only manufactured that relationship to handle the outside world. The two of them are not lovers!"
Ai Hoshino explained in a rush, making her stance and her feelings clear.
Because if it were true,
then hadn't she lost to Mai Sakurajima completely, with no chance left at all?
So Ai Hoshino clung to this one point. As long as Lin Ye hadn't told her with his own mouth that it was already a fact, that Lin-kun and Mai Sakurajima were lovers,
she would go on believing Lin Ye had no girlfriend, that he and Mai Sakurajima were nothing to each other.
Back when Lin-kun first met Mai Sakurajima, and at their meetings afterward, none of it had amounted to anything; nothing had ever looked like it was warming up. Which was why she thought it impossible the two of them were lovers.
She didn't believe it, and she wouldn't accept it.
"Okay, okay, Senpai, don't get worked up. Mr. Lin and Mai Sakurajima aren't lovers. They're not lovers!"
Except that seeing her senpai this worked up only convinced her they were.
Things generally develop in exactly the direction people least want to accept.
Lin Ye was Mai Sakurajima's boyfriend. That mysterious boyfriend.
It was explosive information. So many people online were still guessing, and not one of them knew.
And now she knew it. How could Sayaka Maizono not be shaken and thrilled?
She even had the urge to tell someone else, just to scratch that itch to share.
In the end she held it in. This was something she absolutely could not say. Not to anyone.
The moment it got out, there was no telling what pressure and retaliation she'd be facing.
"Mm, that's how it is. Lin-kun and Mai Sakurajima have nothing between them. The only one who's going to be Lin Ye's girlfriend is me."
Ai Hoshino said it with absolute certainty.
She'd even decided to seal the deal with Lin Ye tonight — though whether she could actually manage it, she had her doubts.
Taking that step with Lin Ye, becoming official lovers, was what she'd wanted all along, what she'd been hoping for. But whether she'd succeed, she couldn't say.
Tonight was an opportunity.
She had to try. She had to charge in once.
"Good luck, Senpai. You can do it. I believe in you."
Encouragement was all Sayaka Maizono had to offer; nothing better came to mind.
Soon enough, another thought struck her. "Senpai, um... the reason you had me wear white stockings — is that because of Mai too?"
"Mm. With you added in, let's see if Lin-kun doesn't go down right here."
So it really was that!
The idea had only flickered through her head, and now it turned out to be the truth.
Sayaka Maizono was stunned, blank-faced.
This was something she ought to do, sure — but to what extent?
"Um... just putting on the white stockings is enough, right? I don't have to do anything else, right?"
Certain things had occurred to Sayaka Maizono. She was wondering whether Lin Ye might do something indecent.
"What are you imagining? Lin-kun isn't that kind of person."
Senpai, you saying that makes me less reassured, not more.
Not reassured in the slightest. Who phrases it like that?
Sayaka Maizono's mind was in a quiet panic. She had the feeling she was going to lose her innocence tonight.
When it came to it she'd refuse, of course. But if her senpai helped and Mr. Lin forced himself on her, what was she supposed to do?
And then they'd film it, keep the video as leverage so she couldn't go to the police.
No — even if she went to the police, it would be useless. With Mr. Lin's power, they wouldn't do a thing.
And in the end she'd face reality, giving in step by step until she accepted that brutal truth.
Becoming Mr. Lin's private plaything.
A life like that.
So bleak!
Wasn't that exactly the life her senpai was living now?
Despair washed over Sayaka Maizono.
"You're letting your imagination run wild again."
Sayaka Maizono jolted.
One look at her reaction and Ai Hoshino knew the girl had been overthinking again, spinning off into fantasy.
As her senpai, she knew Sayaka Maizono well. Whenever that dazed look appeared on the girl's face, her imagination was off and running.
"N-no, I wasn't."
"Heh heh."
"...I r-really wasn't."
"Then I'll make the things you're imagining come true. I'll bring Lin Ye in here to properly bully — no, to lavish some affection on you, and I'll film the whole process. I guarantee Sayaka will get a nice clear look at exactly how she gets bullied."
"Eek, no! No, no, absolutely not, that's absolutely out of the question! I don't want to be bullied! I — it's my first time! I don't want to lose my first time here!"
Sayaka Maizono explained frantically, hoping Ai Hoshino would let her off and stop imagining things.
"Oh, Lin-kun likes pure girls best of all. Bullying them feels especially good."
Feels good?
"Lin-kun says that when he's playing with them it feels incredible, gives him this urge to charge in. Watching a girl scream that it hurts and scream that it feels good at the same time — he says it's impossible to stop."
Ai Hoshino nearly convinced herself as she said it.
But to Sayaka Maizono, this was Ai Hoshino's own experience talking. How else could she describe something so true to life?
It had to be firsthand!
She was afraid.
With a twisted man like that,
she would never be treated gently.
"So, does Sayaka prefer it gentle, or rough?"
"Gentle! I'm really bad with pain."
Having said it,
Sayaka Maizono lifted her eyes to meet the gaze of the girl in front of her, and noticed the faint smile hovering at the corner of her senpai's mouth.
She realized she'd been set up. Strung along.
"I knew it! Sayaka's mind went straight to the gutter."
"No, it didn't."
"It's fine, there's nothing wrong with dirty thoughts. In any case..."
The words dragged out, and inside Sayaka Maizono was screaming that this was bad.
This was about to become reality.
Tonight, all those things she'd imagined were really going to happen.
"In any case, Lin Ye won't do anything to you. He won't touch you."
Sayaka Maizono wondered whether she was hearing things.
He wouldn't do anything?
"Haah."
Ai Hoshino let out a long sigh, her helplessness written all over it.
"You probably won't believe me, but Lin-kun still hasn't touched me. Not once."
Sayaka Maizono: ???
He'd never touched Ai Hoshino?
That was impossible!
The two of them were so close — how could they not even have that between them?
"It's true, it really is. There's no reason for me to lie to you."
Ai Hoshino poured out the bitterness she'd been carrying. "From the day I met Lin-kun until now, he hasn't touched me. He's never taken that last step with me."
It was an awkward thing to admit, a humiliating thing, but right now Ai Hoshino had found somewhere to vent, and she wanted to drain every drop of the frustration out of herself.
"Is it... is it that Senpai didn't want to? Did Mr. Lin try to take things further before and you turned him down?"
"..."
That only made Ai Hoshino feel worse.
"I'm the one who wanted to go further. He turned me down."
The complete reversal left Sayaka Maizono staring.
Was that for real?
Could that even happen?
With a girl as cute and beautiful as Ai Hoshino throwing herself into his arms, Lin Ye had actually refused?
Was he even a man?
There was no way he was a man!
She honestly couldn't believe anyone could turn down Ai Hoshino throwing herself at him. As long as a man was in working order in that department, surely not.
Sayaka Maizono sank right into self-doubt. She was sure Ai-senpai was lying to her again, stringing her along again.
She used to trust Ai-senpai completely. But now, this time, she really didn't dare believe it. It felt like a trap.
After all, Ai-senpai had told far too many lies today, teasing and toying with her nonstop, until she couldn't tell which words were true and which were false.
"Senpai, is this... really true?"
"It's true. Truer than pure gold."
Ai Hoshino said it in complete seriousness.
"Lin-kun really hasn't touched me."
"Then what about you saying just now that Lin-kun likes it rough?"
"Made up."
That's the made-up part, surely!
Sayaka Maizono was hopelessly lost, with no idea which sentence was the truth and which was the lie.
"Sayaka, what I said just now is real. Nothing's happened between us. I keep trying to take that step and Lin-kun never does. Haah, haah — I've started doubting myself. Am I really not the least bit attractive?"
Ai Hoshino lowered her head and looked down at her own lovely figure.
This body — she had no idea how many men had eyed it hungrily, and yet Lin Ye had no interest. He'd put his arms around her, hold her close, and still never make a single move.
No wonder Ai Hoshino had fallen into self-doubt and decided Lin Ye simply didn't want her.
"Maybe what Lin-kun likes are tall, striking girls, the Miss Mai Sakurajima type."
She was cute, but her height wasn't on her side. She was the petite, adorable kind of beauty, an entirely different style from Mai Sakurajima.
Lin Ye liked girls of Mai Sakurajima's type, which was why a girl like her held no interest for him.
"That's not it, no way. If I were a boy, I'd definitely prefer a girl like Senpai. Really, I mean it. I think Mr. Lin wants to date Senpai first, build up real feelings as a foundation, and only then take that step, so it becomes the closest kind of relationship there is."
"Otherwise, a purely physical relationship doesn't last, and it isn't good for either of you."
Sayaka Maizono said a great deal in that moment, laying out everything she thought.
Faced with Sayaka Maizono's comfort,
Ai Hoshino was delighted, warmed right through.
She hadn't doted on this junior for nothing. Even after all the teasing and needling, Sayaka Maizono still cared about her.
"There are men who only want the body."
"But Mr. Lin — I believe he isn't one of them," Sayaka Maizono said.
True or not, she had to say it.
It was to set Ai-senpai's mind at ease.
"Men are strange creatures."
"But with Ai-senpai, Mr. Lin is exactly like that."
Faced with a junior defending her this fiercely, Ai Hoshino smiled gently. She reached out, stroked the girl's small head, and said slowly, "Thank you."
That thank-you was sincere.
"We're partners."
"Aren't we sisters, Sayaka?"
"..."
Sayaka Maizono blinked, then recovered at once and broke into a radiant smile. "Right. We're sisters. We're good sisters."
"Mm-hmm. And since we're good sisters, good things have to be shared."
Share what with her?
Sayaka Maizono waited expectantly.
She waited for whatever it was Ai-senpai had.
"Lin-kun is the boy I like. And I'm willing to share him with Sayaka."
Sayaka Maizono felt she'd been hearing things a suspicious number of times today. This was surely another hallucination.
"Senpai, please don't joke about that. I'm really going to get angry."
"You can absolutely take it seriously."
How on earth was Sayaka Maizono supposed to dare take it seriously!
"Senpai, look, just — don't say any more."
"Stop treating my honest words like jokes, would you?"
Ai Hoshino spoke gravely. "There's no chance Lin-kun will have only one girl in his life. Which is why I need a sister with me, standing on the same front line."
That serious, solemn look convinced Sayaka Maizono that Ai Hoshino meant every word of it.
What was this even about?
Sisters, honestly.
She'd understood exactly what Ai Hoshino meant, but what kind of arrangement was that?
Had Ai Hoshino set her sights on her?
"Sayaka, from very early on, from when I first saw you, this idea actually came to me. I know the idea is wrong, but I did have it."
"So let me apologize to you first."
"But there's nothing else I can do. When it comes to Lin-kun, the pressure on me is enormous. I can't compete with the other girls at all."
Sayaka Maizono had no idea just how much Ai Hoshino loved Lin Ye, to be this anxious, this terrified of losing him. Otherwise, even a breakup wouldn't matter much; you could accept that outcome, couldn't you?
With a face like Ai Hoshino's, there'd be no shortage of good men.
The only explanation was that her senpai liked Lin Ye enormously, and to hold onto him, to keep him at her side, she'd go to lengths like this.
Sayaka Maizono marveled at how love muddles people, makes them lose themselves.
And at the same time, she realized this kind of love was something she yearned for.
She was fantasizing about a love like that herself, hoping it could one day be hers.
At her age, of course she longed for that sincere, pure kind of love.
She wanted to experience it for herself — and Ai-senpai's words made her realize that if she agreed, that kind of love would be gone forever.
"Senpai, you're scaring me. This sort of thing isn't okay."
"You don't like him?"
"It isn't suitable. Mr. Lin is a fine person, and Senpai is wonderful too, but it really isn't suitable. My love and my future — I want to make those decisions myself, to choose for myself."
That was her stance, her honest thinking.
That was what she wanted to do.
Lin Ye might be wonderful, but he was nowhere near the point of love.
"You'll regret it. Letting Lin-kun slip away, letting this chance slip away — you'll regret it."
"Then that's for my future self to regret. At the very least, right here and now, what I want is to refuse. Everything in me resists it."
Sayaka Maizono gave the answer in her heart, and gave it seriously.
"My offer stands forever. If Sayaka ever changes her mind, contact me any time."
"No need."
Her attitude was still firm,
but Ai Hoshino gave a small shake of her head, refusing to accept the refusal.
She was leaving that door open for Sayaka Maizono all the same.
She'd said so much tonight, tangled it up so badly that even she'd gotten dizzy, but this really was what she thought. She needed a little sister at her side.
If she stood alone, the odds of her holding onto Lin Ye in the future were far too low.
That wasn't her underestimating her own charm. It was her refusing to overestimate human nature.
Lin Ye was never going to be the faithful type. In time he'd meet more girls, and more girls would fall for him.
With all those pretty things throwing themselves at him, Lin-kun might refuse once — but could he refuse for a lifetime?
Certainly not.
Ai Hoshino was one hundred percent certain of it.
Because Lin Ye had never once shown any sign of being a one-woman man. He hadn't touched her, true, but he'd taken plenty of liberties, there'd been plenty of ambiguity, and he'd even said outright that he intended to build a harem.
With an ordinary person, talk like that was only talk. But Lin Ye had real power. He was a man with that rumored superpower.
He was not the sort of existence ordinary social morals could bind.
Ai Hoshino knew she couldn't hold onto Lin Ye alone, and so she needed people. She needed a sister.
Two girls were always more tempting, more alluring, than one.
With the two of them working in concert, not even Mai Sakurajima could compete.
Unfortunately, the Sayaka Maizono sitting in front of her had no such inclination — she was actively repelled by it.
All she could say was that Sayaka hadn't lived through a Strange event, hadn't been protected by Lin Ye and fallen deeply in love with him. Her one-sided persuasion, and the lure of idol popularity and a bright future, simply weren't enough.
It was hard.
Really... so very hard.
But Ai Hoshino believed she could pull it off. And if Sayaka Maizono never came around in the end, she'd just find someone else.
There were plenty of pretty girls in the world.
She could pick one even lovelier, even more beautiful.
"All right, I won't try to talk you into it any more tonight. You can put the white stockings on. I'm going to go check on the bath."
That was the end of the conversation.
Ai Hoshino decided the timing was about right, that she could go over to Lin-kun now.
Lin Ye still hadn't come out of the shower, which meant he was soaking in the tub. She really had to go in and lend him a hand.
"Uh, Senpai, are you going to—"
"Children shouldn't ask so many questions."
Ai Hoshino made a shushing gesture, then rose and left the room, heading for the bath.
Before going in she slipped off her robe, pulled the door open with her right hand, and stepped inside barefoot.
Lin Ye was soaking in the tub. Hearing the door, he glanced over.
"Lin-kun, are you disappointed I came so late?" Ai Hoshino said with a grin.
From his expression she was sure he'd guessed she would come to the bath — she'd just taken far, far too long about it.
All Sayaka's fault, for talking so much.
"No."
"Really? Lin-kun wasn't looking forward to me coming?"
"Not looking forward to it."
"Wah! Say that and I'll be hurt. I'll really be hurt."
Ai Hoshino padded in on smooth bare feet, her fair skin fully exposed in the steam-filled room.
But the mist hanging in the air blurred everything into softness,
which only made Ai Hoshino more alluring.
"There aren't even any tears. How exactly are you hurt?"
"Ugh."
"If it were Mai, the tears would already be falling," Lin Ye said to her with a smile.
There was a difference between idols and actresses.
As an idol, Ai Hoshino's performances were genuinely outstanding, and on stage she could tug at every heart in the room, but her acting couldn't match Mai Sakurajima, a trained professional. The two professions overlapped in places and stood in sharp contrast in others.
"Lin-kun, when it's just the two of us, don't bring up Mai. I'll get jealous. When you're alone with me, you're only allowed to think about me."
"You really are selfish."
Lin Ye's verdict only made Ai Hoshino smile.
"This kind of selfishness about Lin-kun — I like it. I'm perfectly happy with it. Hahaha..."
As she spoke,
Ai Hoshino reached the edge of the tub.
The tub wasn't big, but at a squeeze it could hold two people — not side by side, of course. One on top of the other. That first sort of arrangement.
"Miss Hoshino, at this rate I could sue you for harassment."
"Go ahead and sue, Mr. Lin Ye."
As she said it, Ai Hoshino lifted one foot over the rim, then eased herself in bit by careful bit until at last she was in the water.
Hot water sloshed over the side and streamed away across the floor.
She shifted, and then her whole body was resting on Lin Ye.
Through the hot water, their skin met in places.
Underwater, the sensation was something else entirely.
"Mr. Lin Ye isn't afraid of being harassed by me?"
"I can't stop it, so I may as well enjoy it."
"Wahaha."
Ai Hoshino couldn't keep the laugh in. She let her body go slack by degrees, pressing herself closer against Lin Ye,
her small head pillowed on his chest. She'd tied her hair up before getting in and put on a bath cap to keep it dry, though she knew perfectly well that in this position a few loose strands were getting soaked anyway.
"Since you've decided to enjoy it, then... shouldn't we be doing something?"
"Pervert."
Lin Ye thought Ai Hoshino was unusually forward today.
But he didn't move, staying exactly as he was.
"I'm not a Pervert. No — I am a Pervert, but I only go boy-crazy when I see Lin-kun."
Ai Hoshino said it with a giggle.
With Lin Ye she had no intention of holding back, no intention of hiding anything, least of all at this moment, with the two of them bare before each other and pressed close.
She felt the change in Lin Ye.
And at once,
Ai Hoshino was flustered and delighted at the same time.
So she did have some pull on him after all.
Lin-kun did want her. The only question was whether tonight she could push their relationship one step further.
She, Ai Hoshino, wanted a boyfriend.
...
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