But whether it was true or false,
Mai Sakurajima herself didn't know.
It wasn't as if Lin Ye never dropped suggestive, ambiguous remarks now and then.
She actually hoped he'd dare to do something. He'd already been intimate with Yukino Yukinoshita — they'd reached the closest possible bond — and if she still hadn't reached that point with him, she couldn't help feeling like her position was somehow precarious.
What if —
What if Lin-kun became so attached to Yukino's body that he couldn't let go, and eventually, at Yukino Yukinoshita's request, ended things with her? What would she do then?
So deep down, Mai hoped that this morning's confirmation of their relationship would push things forward into something more substantial between them — only then could her heart truly settle.
But she also knew such things couldn't be forced. The initiative lay with Lin Ye; as the woman, all she could do was hint and wait.
Tonight — could it happen?
Mai held her doubts, but she held her hopes too. What if Lin-kun really had something in mind?
A little over an hour later,
the movie ended.
Mai followed Lin Ye out of the theater.
The moment they stepped outside, she took the initiative and looped her arm through his.
A girlfriend ought to look and act like a girlfriend.
Whenever she was with Lin Ye, she wanted to feel like his girlfriend, properly.
As an actress who'd played her share of romantic comedy roles, she'd always wanted to experience an ordinary walk with a boyfriend of her own.
And now,
she meant to seize the chance, to treasure this moment.
When would the next one come?
She honestly didn't know.
Even though Mai had decided to transfer to Sobu High, and the paperwork was already being arranged, she still didn't feel confident about it — she felt she'd need to keep some distance from Lin Ye at school regardless.
If word got out, it would inevitably draw attention toward Lin Ye, letting anyone with an agenda suspect that he was the mysterious man in question.
That was the last thing Mai wanted.
Since Lin Ye didn't want to be exposed, she didn't want this to affect his life either.
"We still have time, Lin-kun. Where should we go next?"
"Wherever you decide. You know Tokyo better than I do."
Lin Ye truly hadn't spent much time in Tokyo — Mai, on the other hand, had spent plenty.
As for Tokyo,
Lin Ye wasn't actually all that interested in it.
After all,
big cities were mostly alike, once you got down to it.
But wherever Mai wanted to go, he was happy to tag along and see it with her.
"You're stumping me," Mai said with a helpless laugh.
She genuinely couldn't think of anywhere to go.
Tokyo's nightlife was famous — Shinjuku had all sorts of places — but she'd never been to any of them herself, and there was no way she could take Lin Ye there either.
What kind of girlfriend takes her boyfriend to a nightclub or a bar? Besides, at their age, they wouldn't even get in, let alone be allowed to drink.
"Let's go to a park!"
"Sure," Lin Ye said.
But at the mention of a park, Mai couldn't help but think of that Strange park.
That had been her first Strange event — a dangerous one, one she never could have handled alone.
If it hadn't been for Lin Ye, she'd probably have been killed there — and not even a trace of her would have been left behind.
Lin Ye and Mai went to Ueno Park, and the two of them strolled through it together.
The sunlight was bright, the breeze mild,
and the green foliage rustled softly.
On the weekend, plenty of people had come out for a walk in the park.
Aside from elderly grandfathers and grandmothers, most were families — a man, a woman, and a child.
Families out for a stroll and some fun.
Couples like Lin Ye and Mai — a man and a woman walking together — were much rarer by comparison.
Though Mai had disguised her face, her outfit and bearing still drew glances from the crowd.
She was used to being watched, but walking beside Lin Ye while under such scrutiny — even though her identity hadn't been revealed or recognized — still stirred a faint sense of shyness within her.
When it came to romance, even a major star like Mai, even someone accustomed to being watched, could still feel bashful and flustered.
"Mai,"
Lin Ye's voice suddenly sounded close to her ear.
Lin Ye leaned in, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint, ambiguous smile.
"Mm?" the girl made a puzzled sound.
To her, that smile of his gave her a very bad feeling — as though Lin Ye had his eye on something.
"You don't want everyone to know you're Mai Sakurajima, do you!"
Mai: ???
Her eyes widened in surprise; she had no idea what he meant.
Why would Lin Ye suddenly say something like that, out of nowhere?
"You... what are you trying to say?"
"Of course, I mean..." Lin Ye went on, "Kiss me."
The words left Mai stunned.
A kiss? Here? A kiss right here?
He had to be joking — there were so many people coming and going. She was certain Lin Ye was just teasing her.
"No way," Mai refused flatly.
There was no way she'd agree. If she said yes once, she had a feeling Lin Ye would only push for something even more outrageous next. She didn't think that was impossible at all.
Men always wanted to push their luck — there wasn't a single exception to that rule.
"Fine," Lin Ye simply agreed, without another word.
This left Mai momentarily stunned.
What was that about?
Why?
Why didn't Lin Ye push further? Wasn't he trying to get her to kiss him in public?
Why had he just given up like that?
Mai couldn't make sense of it.
But then he took her hand and pulled her along, continuing their stroll through the park.
Laughter and playful chatter filled the air around them.
Mai gradually let the whole matter slip to the back of her mind, choosing instead to enjoy this moment of happiness and pleasure as fully as she could.
Finally,
as evening approached,
the sunset painted a red glow across the edge of the sky.
Lin Ye and Mai sat together on the grass, gazing at the burning red of the setting sun.
"It's so beautiful," she said.
"Mm, but there's something even more beautiful."
"What?"
"You are."
With that single line, a flush of red bloomed across Mai's cheeks in an instant, made all the deeper under the glow of the sunset.
"There's... hardly anyone around anymore."
Within seconds, Mai realized exactly what Lin Ye meant.
He wanted to do this and that to her, didn't he?
Her eyes darted quickly over their surroundings.
Sure enough, there really weren't many people left nearby, and those who were, were far off in the distance.
"Should we... head back?"
But the moment those words left her mouth, they already gave away the girl's true feelings — she'd already said yes, deep down; she just wanted to put up a token struggle first.
As for that,
Lin Ye, of course, simply chose to ignore it.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, and with his other hand, reached up and slid the sunglasses off the bridge of her nose. Under her gaze, he leaned in and captured her red lips.
Bathed in the light of the setting sun,
the two figures embraced.
Off in the distance, a few onlookers noticed but kept their distance, only occasionally casting curious, delighted glances their way.
Time slipped by, second by second.
Lin Ye finally let go of her.
Mai was left breathless.
Whenever Lin Ye kissed her, he always left her gasping for air.
This time,
she shot him a bashful, resentful glance.
"Let's head back!"
She quickly put her sunglasses back on, hiding her face once more.
"Where should we go for dinner?"
"Home. But let's stop at the supermarket first, to buy some ingredients."
For tonight's dinner,
she planned to cook a meal with her own hands.
She hoped that tonight, Lin Ye would get to taste a delicious dish she'd made herself.
Letting the man she loved eat something she'd cooked for him with her own hands — that, too, was a kind of happiness.
"Sure," Lin Ye said.
He was looking forward to it too.
Tonight, he'd finally get to try Mai's cooking.
He wondered how her skills would compare to Yukino's.
At the supermarket,
Mai carefully picked out fresh ingredients, her slender fingers lifting each item as her eyes studied its color with focus.
She examined everything with real care, choosing thoughtfully.
"Lin-kun, how about steak tonight?"
"I don't eat beef."
Mai: ???
"Just kidding — steak it is!" Lin Ye laughed.
Whatever Mai decided to cook, he had no complaints.
Still, steak required careful timing to get right, and he wasn't sure if she could manage it.
Mai picked out three steaks, along with some other vegetables besides.
Dinner didn't have to be just steak, after all.
Back at the apartment,
Mai went straight to the kitchen to start preparing.
Lin Ye offered to help, and she didn't refuse, letting him wash the vegetables, chop them, and lend a hand with the small tasks.
But when it came to the actual cooking,
Lin Ye was sent off to the dining room.
Mai had decided she wanted to handle the cooking itself entirely on her own.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."
Sounds of sizzling drifted from the kitchen,
along with the steady clatter of a wok being stirred.
Lin Ye sat quietly in the dining room, waiting for the meal to arrive.
A little while later,
a fragrant aroma began to drift through the air.
Lin Ye breathed it in, and it put him completely at ease.
This felt good.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."
Lin Ye's phone buzzed.
He took it out and glanced at the screen — the call was from Yukino,
the girl calling from far-off Chiba.
Lin Ye thought about it for a moment, then answered.
"Good evening, Yukino,"
At those words, Mai, in the kitchen, pricked up her ears, wanting to know what the purpose of Yukino Yukinoshita's call was.
"Good evening, Lin-kun,"
Listening to the faint sound of cooking on the other end of the line, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately knew that Lin Ye and Mai were still in the middle of preparing dinner.
And that told her Lin Ye was currently at Mai's apartment.
Which meant the two of them would likely be sleeping together again tonight.
No matter,
it wasn't as if this were the first time, after all.
It was no issue whether Lin Ye and Mai spent one more night together or several.
She really didn't need to dwell on it too much.
"Missing me?"
At Lin Ye's words, Yukino Yukinoshita broke into a smile.
But she put on a show of displeasure. "Why would I miss you?" she shot back.
"Well, since it's not that Yukino misses me, I suppose there's no reason I couldn't consider heading straight back to Chiba to see the Yukino who misses me so much—"
Of everyone, Mai reacted the most strongly to that.
The spatula slipped right out of her hand and hit the floor with a sharp clatter.
Truthfully, Mai genuinely hadn't expected Lin Ye to actually consider leaving right away, just for Yukino Yukinoshita's sake.
What did that make her?
Some woman who was optional, replaceable?
She was angry.
Miss Mai Sakurajima was furious.
The look she shot Lin Ye was thick with displeasure.
But then,
Mai quickly caught, in Lin Ye's eyes, a glint of amusement and mischief.
At once,
she understood exactly what he was up to.
This jerk — this absolute jerk — was doing it on purpose. On one hand, he was trying to please Yukino Yukinoshita; on the other, he was trying to needle her.
Too much.
Mai was so, so angry.
"You're going to come back?" Yukino Yukinoshita herself asked, equally startled.
At this hour, Lin Ye was still willing to go back to Chiba — willing to set aside the big Tokyo star to come back?
Yukino Yukinoshita thought that was impossible.
But,
what if — what if Lin Ye really did mean to come back?
Yukino Yukinoshita found herself hoping, despite everything.
Without realizing it, things that, under rational judgment, should have been firmly, absolutely impossible — things that simply wouldn't happen — were now, in this moment, things Yukino Yukinoshita found herself hoping for.
"If Yukino wants me to, I could — but it seems Yukino doesn't want that after all. I think I'll stay the night here with Mai instead,"
Lin Ye got the whole line out in one breath, worried that if Yukino agreed too readily, he'd be caught between keeping his word and backing out.
Yukino Yukinoshita understood then — she'd basically just been played by Lin Ye.
It matched exactly what she'd suspected: the jerk had said all that on purpose, never once actually intending to come back.
"You can just never come back, then," Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly, tossing out the line.
Lin Ye was briefly caught off guard — it seemed Yukino really was upset.
"Well, since Mai wants me to come to Tokyo, and Ai-chan wants me to come to Tokyo too... and now Yukino wants me to stay away from Chiba as well..."
Lin Ye spoke slowly, his low tone conveying the complicated, heavy feelings weighing on him.
Of course, all of this was an act.
Yukino Yukinoshita knew perfectly well this was basically Lin Ye putting on a show on purpose.
But in the end, she still couldn't help softening her tone — she really was afraid Lin Ye might actually not come back to Chiba.
If Lin Ye really did stay in Tokyo and never came back, what would she do then?
She'd probably have to go to Tokyo herself,
and be apart from Lin Ye —
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't want that.
They were lovers now, practically fiancés — how could she possibly stand to be separated from him?
"What do you want for lunch on Monday?"
Yukino Yukinoshita changed her approach, expressing her true feelings by agreeing to prepare Lin Ye's bento lunch.
Lin Ye smiled.
Yukino really was one of a kind.
But he liked that about her — liked it a lot.
"Mai's making me steak tonight."
"Fine, I'll make you steak too."
"Isn't that repeating myself?"
"Pork cutlet, then," Yukino Yukinoshita said, switching the meat.
Lin Ye said that was fine.
He hadn't had pork cutlet in a while, after all.
"Are you coming back tomorrow, or the morning after?"
"We'll see how it goes."
Lin Ye still hadn't settled on exactly when he'd be heading back.
But classes would resume as normal next week regardless.
So Lin Ye thought to himself.
"If you're coming back tomorrow night, let me know — send me a message,"
he said to her, taking the initiative.
He figured Yukino probably didn't want him spending too many more nights in Tokyo either. That was probably how she felt.
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