Fairness.
Mai Sakurajima needed a fair deal.
This ordeal she'd gone through — let's call it punishment, for lack of a better word.
She'd been through it. But if Lin Ye's other girlfriend, Yukino Yukinoshita, hadn't gone through the same thing, then in her heart she was firmly against it, firmly resistant. She wouldn't accept that.
But if Yukinoshita had already experienced it too, then she felt she could stomach it better — she could accept the awful things Lin Ye had done to her.
So.
She needed an answer from Lin Ye now.
Even though she thought the chances of Yukinoshita being tormented the same way were slim.
That woman might be Lin Ye's first love. How could he possibly bring himself to torment her like that?
The famous actress with the long black hair fixed her bright eyes on Lin Ye, his reflection caught in them.
Lin Ye cleared his throat twice before speaking. "Last night I tormented Ai-chan pretty badly — worse than you, actually. She nearly fainted."
What he said was true, too.
Ai Hoshino had gone through it firsthand.
After a brief flash of surprise, Mai Sakurajima thought of something else.
She'd asked about Yukinoshita, not Ai Hoshino.
"What about Yukinoshita!"
She stared at Lin Ye, waiting for his answer.
Since Lin Ye hadn't immediately confirmed it and had instead brought up Ai Hoshino's situation, that meant Yukinoshita hadn't been treated the same way. That left a knot of discomfort in her.
Even though Ai Hoshino and Lin Ye were close, their relationship wasn't officially that of a couple — it was more of an ambiguous, undefined thing.
Yukinoshita was different. Yukinoshita was Lin Ye's girlfriend, his fiancée.
And she herself was Lin Ye's girlfriend too.
On this matter—
If Lin Ye hadn't done the same to Yukinoshita, then it wasn't fair to her at all.
That was how the girl saw it.
"What if I said yes, would you believe me?"
"I'd believe you. So what happened?"
"Yukinoshita — I tormented her mercilessly. She begged for mercy over and over, and I never agreed. I kept going until she fainted, several times over," Lin Ye said slowly.
Haruno was a Yukinoshita too, after all.
Well. No issue there.
Everything he said was true — not a shred of deception in it.
Mai Sakurajima was half-convinced, half-doubtful, suspicion flickering in her eyes.
Lin Ye didn't argue back. He simply watched her quietly. Finally, after a few seconds, she let out a soft "hmm."
"I believe you."
At this point, she had no real reason not to.
When it came to Lin Ye, all Mai Sakurajima could do now was trust him — and mostly just let it go.
On one hand, she didn't think Lin Ye would lie to her. On the other, even if he had lied, there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Of course, more than anything, she believed Lin Ye wouldn't deliberately deceive her.
On the credibility front, Lin Ye scored full marks.
"Good, you believe me. Then..."
Lin Ye laughed. "For the sake of fairness, Mai needs to faint at least once too! Otherwise, how would that be fair? After all, Ai-chan already went through it once last night."
In that instant—
A very bad feeling swelled up inside Mai Sakurajima.
This bastard man was just so relentless, so outrageous!
Always scheming up new ways to torment her.
Mai Sakurajima refused flatly, tone firm. "I refuse."
"Doesn't Mai want fairness?"
"That's not the kind of fairness I want."
"Then what is it—"
"It's fairness in how much you love me. No — fairness in how much you favor me."
She wanted Lin Ye to favor her.
That was what 'fairness' meant to her — being favored.
Lin Ye wasn't upset, of course.
Every girl wanted to be favored, to be loved deeply.
He reached out and stroked her hair.
"That's enough for tonight. I won't torment Mai anymore."
Hearing that, Mai Sakurajima finally relaxed completely.
And really, she'd been worried.
She'd been afraid Lin Ye would go another round — if he had, her body really would have been wrecked.
Her small frame had already reached its limit.
If that intense sensation kept going, she'd probably end up fainting too, just like Yukinoshita and Ai Hoshino.
Right now her whole body felt uncomfortable, sticky. The desperate struggling earlier had left her drenched in sweat.
She wanted a bath.
Lin Ye noticed her reaction and asked, "Want a bath?"
"I'll... go in a bit."
Yes.
She'd go in a bit.
Mai Sakurajima didn't want Lin Ye doing anything more to her right now.
"Eh—"
Before she even noticed, Lin Ye had bent down and scooped her up in both arms. She flinched instinctively and tried to struggle, but the soreness from her earlier resistance flared up faintly, though not too badly.
Lin Ye carried Mai Sakurajima out of the room and toward the bathroom.
The sound of water splashing began.
Hot water started running.
Lin Ye took the initiative to undo the girl's clothes. Under his gaze, her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she let him undress her.
Mai Sakurajima felt very shy, very self-conscious — she even wanted to bolt right then.
But—
She buried all those feelings deep inside and, forcing down the wave of embarrassment welling up in her, let Lin Ye have his way.
The occasional brush of skin against skin left her feeling strange, her body reacting rather strongly.
But the ticklish sensation still lingered faintly on the soles of her feet.
In the end, Mai Sakurajima simply closed her eyes and stopped worrying about it.
Hot water cascaded over her skin.
Lin Ye gently wiped down the girl's body.
Every now and then, Mai Sakurajima let out an involuntary whimper — a reflexive reaction from her body that she couldn't quite control herself.
Time crawled by.
Mai Sakurajima had never imagined a single bath could take so long.
It felt as though everything had fallen into a kind of standstill.
After a good while—
Mai Sakurajima only realized, with Lin Ye's prompting, that the bath had finished.
"Want to soak a bit?"
Mai Sakurajima shook her head. "No. Let's get some rest early tonight."
She was sleepy, tired — she wanted to turn in early.
"Alright."
Lin Ye then dried the girl's body with a towel and wrapped her in a bathrobe.
Under the whirring hot air of the hairdryer, her hair gradually dried, and Lin Ye carried the girl to her bedroom.
Lying on the soft bed, Mai Sakurajima's whole body finally relaxed a little.
"Get some rest."
"Mm."
But no sooner had she murmured her agreement than Mai Sakurajima noticed Lin Ye was actually heading for the bedroom door.
He wasn't planning to stay the night here?
That couldn't happen.
The thought crossed her mind instinctively.
He'd come all the way here, been in her bedroom, taken advantage of her plenty just now in the bathroom, and now he didn't intend to stay the night? That was absolutely not something she'd allow.
"Lin Ye."
Mai Sakurajima spoke up, her tone carrying a bit of an edge.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Ye actually knew exactly what she wanted to say, but he deliberately said nothing.
Nothing worth explaining here. Nothing worth saying at all.
Heh heh.
So Lin Ye thought to himself.
Faced with his reaction, Mai Sakurajima grew quite irritated. She was certain Lin Ye was doing this on purpose, deliberately playing dumb.
He clearly knew exactly what was going on in her head, but he wasn't saying a word.
Mai Sakurajima was furious, wanting badly to get back at him somehow, but she had no good way to do it.
"Where are you going this late at night?"
"The guest room."
Lin Ye said it plainly.
He wanted Mai to say it herself — to invite him to stay in her bedroom of her own accord.
If Mai wouldn't say it, he'd go to the guest room.
"You've decided to sleep in the guest room?"
"Mm. I can't very well sleep here, can I? Mai hasn't given me permission to sleep here, to spend the night here," Lin Ye said, shrugging with a note of feigned regret in his voice.
Mai Sakurajima clenched her jaw. She knew this bastard was doing it deliberately — he just needed her to say those words.
Damn it. So damn infuriating.
She gritted her teeth in fury.
She'd never said he couldn't stay. Given the relationship the two of them had now, how could it possibly be that he couldn't sleep in the same bed as her!
Mai Sakurajima was thoroughly furious, seething.
"I never said that."
"Said what?"
Crack — a crisp sound rang out, the sound of her small fist clenching tight in warning. Mai Sakurajima glared at Lin Ye furiously, her bright eyes looking as though they might swallow him whole.
"So — did I... say it?"
Mai Sakurajima pressed the point, demanding an answer from Lin Ye directly.
Lin Ye nodded — this wasn't the moment to keep sparring with her. "You said it. You already said it."
He then turned and came over to her side.
The girl with long black hair scooted a little further toward the wall, leaving one side of the bed empty.
Lin Ye climbed into bed and lay down beside Mai Sakurajima.
"Lights out."
"Mm."
Click — the incandescent light went out, and the room fell into darkness.
Only the two of them remained on the bed, eyes still open.
Soft breathing filled the air, heartbeats faintly audible.
Lin Ye stayed still, doing nothing more, while Mai Sakurajima lay motionless too, tense and expectant.
Even though she'd just been thoroughly tormented by Lin Ye, now — what would he do next?
Would Lin Ye try something else with her?
Holding onto that thought, she waited quietly, patiently.
The minutes ticked by.
Finally, seeing that Lin Ye still hadn't stirred, she glanced over sideways to check.
Her peripheral vision hadn't been able to make out his condition clearly before, but now she turned and looked directly.
And there was Lin Ye, eyes closed, breathing softly, his chest rising and falling with each breath.
Mai Sakurajima: ???
A few question marks surfaced in her mind.
Asleep?
He'd just... fallen asleep?
A gorgeous celebrity was lying right beside him, and he'd just gone and fallen asleep?
No, no, no — a stunning beauty right next to him, and he could still fall asleep?
Was he questioning her feminine charm as a woman?!
A stifling irritation kept rising in her chest. Mai Sakurajima was livid.
She badly wanted to shake Lin Ye awake, but then it occurred to her — maybe he was just pretending to sleep. Otherwise, how could he possibly doze off with a beautiful girl lying right beside him?
On purpose. It had to be on purpose.
The thought made Mai Sakurajima pause, and then an idea struck her. She pulled a lock of her own hair over and used the tips of her long black hair to tease Lin Ye's cheek.
A faint rustling sound whispered through the air.
Seeing no reaction from Lin Ye, Mai Sakurajima slowly shifted position and targeted the tip of his nose instead.
That spot was known to be a sensitive, ticklish point for most people.
But still — no reaction at all.
Really... asleep?
Mai Sakurajima was stunned.
This couldn't be happening.
She'd rarely made it to Tokyo, and after being tormented thoroughly, it was just going to end like this? Mai Sakurajima felt thoroughly put out.
Shifting her body, she scooted closer.
At this distance, the masculine scent that belonged to Lin Ye grew even stronger around her.
She placed her slender fingers on his chest and moved them lightly, poking at him through his clothes — but Lin Ye still showed no reaction, his breathing steady, calm as could be.
Mai Sakurajima's fingers moved lower, heading toward a certain place.
But even as they reached his abdomen, Lin Ye still didn't react.
Really asleep?
Mai Sakurajima couldn't help but wonder.
This wasn't supposed to happen like this.
She felt it shouldn't be like this.
"Lin-kun..."
Now Mai Sakurajima spoke up softly, calling out his name. But Lin Ye remained sound asleep, eyes closed, showing no reaction whatsoever.
"Are you asleep?"
"If you're really asleep, I'm not going to hold back."
Mai Sakurajima stared at Lin Ye, but all she got in return was his calm, undisturbed breathing.
Frustrated and stifled, Mai Sakurajima decided to try something a bit more stimulating.
But her hand was caught by Lin Ye.
She laughed.
She'd known all along he was faking it.
"Are you a little kid? Not sleeping this late at night?"
"That... should be my line, shouldn't it?"
Mai Sakurajima shot back, "Falling asleep just like that — isn't that... not good?"
"Is it that time of the month?"
That question made Mai Sakurajima flush red.
Was he really that blunt about it?
Too much.
She thought Lin Ye had really gone too far this time.
"Lin-kun, I'm really upset."
"I know."
Lin Ye rolled over and pinned the girl beneath him, kissing her over and over.
After a good while—
Mai Sakurajima was left breathless, panting, while Lin Ye rolled back to his own side of the bed.
"Good night, Mai..."
With that, Mai Sakurajima had lost whatever urge for a comeback she had left.
Whatever, let him do as he pleased. If he ever regretted it later and came crawling back to her, she'd flatly refuse him too.
With that thought, the girl shifted position and closed her eyes.
In the dim room, steady breathing filled the silence.
The two of them fell asleep, one after the other.
Some unknown amount of time passed.
Mai Sakurajima's consciousness slowly stirred, and she opened her sleepy eyes, hazy and disoriented.
She turned over to shift into a new position to keep sleeping, but the space beside her was empty — nothing there at all.
"Hm?"
This felt like the usual thing, but why did something feel off now?
This wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Something felt missing.
Her mind lagged a beat behind. She lay there with her eyes open for a good while before it clicked.
The lingering warmth on the spot to her left told her that a body should have been there.
Mai Sakurajima remembered. "Lin-kun."
A flicker of fear even crept in — worry that the man she loved had left and wouldn't come back.
Had Lin Ye already left?
That wouldn't do. How could he leave so soon? She couldn't accept that. Absolutely couldn't.
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉