Sayaka Maizono held out for quite a while, thinking Senpai would finish quickly, but after a full three minutes, Ai Hoshino still hadn't let go.
That was when Sayaka finally couldn't hold back and spoke up.
"Senpai, okay, that's enough, you can let go now,"
She even gave Ai Hoshino a little push, signaling that she could stop and keep some distance.
But Ai Hoshino kept holding on as if she hadn't noticed at all.
It wasn't until Sayaka pushed her away one more time that Ai Hoshino finally let go.
"Senpai, get up already, we need to head to the amusement park early. If we're late, the odds of running into Mr. Lin will drop even more,"
Sayaka said.
She knew that what Senpai Ai Hoshino cared about most was always Lin Ye, with everything else coming second — even idol performances probably couldn't compare to him.
As for anything else, there was no need to even mention it.
Ai Hoshino was someone who loved the idol profession with fierce passion, and yet now she was even willing to give up an idol concert — proof enough of just how deep her feelings for Lin Ye ran.
So Sayaka understood that if she could just manage her relationship with Lin Ye well, she'd naturally be able to build a good relationship with Ai Hoshino too. But that was exactly what stumped her.
How was she supposed to build that kind of relationship?
How, exactly?
She had absolutely no idea.
As for the method Senpai had suggested, there was no way Sayaka could agree to that.
That kind of... lewd business — there was no way she'd agree to it.
"Alright, up, up, time to get up."
Ai Hoshino suddenly found her energy, got up immediately, and began dressing at what must have been the fastest speed of her life. In no time at all, she was ready.
"Sayaka, breakfast is just last night's leftovers, warmed up."
"Okay, Senpai,"
Sayaka didn't mind at all — she knew better than anyone how much Senpai cared about departure time, about getting there as soon as possible.
Leave as quickly as possible —
that was exactly what was on Senpai's mind.
Sayaka got dressed and finished washing up as well.
By the time they reached the restaurant,
breakfast was already warmed and ready.
The microwave worked fast,
and the restaurant was already filled with a faint, pleasant aroma.
"Senpai, I'm digging in,"
With that,
Sayaka picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
The two of them made quick work of it.
Next came the task of picking out nice clothes.
"Sayaka, whichever of my clothes you like, just pick it out,"
"Uh... ..."
Sayaka blinked, letting out a small startled sound.
She genuinely didn't know how best to handle this.
Accept, or decline?
Some of these clothes were pieces Senpai clearly loved, and the last time Lin Ye had bought her clothes, those had been even more expensive.
"Why be so polite? You're my junior — you're my absolute closest, dearest sister!"
The words came out half-joking, but carried a hint of expectation.
Ai Hoshino was still hinting, trying to get Sayaka to agree to her request — to become her closest, dearest sister.
With no blood relation between them, this was the only way left to build that kind of close sisterly bond.
It all depended on whether Sayaka was willing.
"Senpai, please don't say things like that!"
Sayaka was still embarrassed, still didn't want to accept —
but there was already a trace of hesitation in her tone, something even she herself hadn't quite noticed.
Facing the harshness of reality, Sayaka was gradually coming to understand just how cruel reality could be, and how much harder this whole thing had truly become.
She wanted to keep her idol career spotless, wanted to make real progress and achieve real results in the industry — even reach the level of a so-called Super High School Level idol.
But relying purely on her own strength wasn't going to be enough.
She needed Senpai Ai Hoshino's help — but she also knew all too well that Senpai's confidence and backing came from Lin Ye.
Relying on Ai Hoshino was, in effect, relying on Lin Ye — and that indirect path wasn't exactly stable. But relying on Lin Ye directly? How would she even go about that?
She had no idea. She didn't understand the method at all.
After all, her connection to Lin Ye existed only because of Ai Hoshino.
What had happened before only made it clearer to her that Lin Ye really had no interest in her at all.
Even when she'd sat right on his lap, Lin Ye hadn't reacted much, hadn't moved at all — not until she'd forcibly pulled his hand onto her own body, and only then had he finally started touching her.
But even that counted as "touching" only in the loosest sense — nothing close to what it would normally mean.
Lin Ye truly had no interest in her whatsoever.
Even if she threw herself at him, it probably wouldn't get her anywhere.
And she herself still felt considerable resistance toward that sort of thing anyway.
So then what...
Sayaka hesitated, not sure what she should do.
She was truly lost.
"Sayaka, isn't my proposal a good one? There's no man out there better than Lin-kun — not a single one in the whole world, I promise you that,"
Ai Hoshino declared with total conviction.
She had absolute confidence in this.
After all, no one could possibly match Lin Ye's abilities.
In her heart, Lin Ye was simply the strongest, the most impressive — no one else could even compare.
"It's not a question of whether he's impressive or not. It's a question of whether I like him or not. I really have no feelings for Mr. Lin at all."
"Heh, no feelings, and yet you let Lin-kun touch your body? That's just not possible!"
"That's your fault, Senpai, not mine."
Faced with Sayaka's retort, Ai Hoshino merely smiled faintly, unbothered.
As for Sayaka, Senpai's reaction was exactly what she'd expected.
"Anyway, Senpai, please stop talking about things like that,"
"If you put it that way, I have even more reason to keep saying it. Sayaka must definitely care — otherwise why would she be so bothered by it? Why would she keep denying it over and over?"
Sayaka gritted her teeth, helpless.
How could she even respond to that?
"Senpai, I'm not answering that anymore,"
"So it's true — Sayaka likes Lin-kun."
"..."
"That's basically an admission. An absolute admission."
"..."
"Ha ha ha, I knew I was right,"
"Senpai,"
In the end, Sayaka gave up on trying to argue.
Ai Hoshino had won.
"So, Sayaka, just be a good, honest sister to me!"
And so,
Sayaka stopped arguing on the topic. If she kept going, kept pressing further, she was afraid that Senpai's repeated persuasion might actually start to wear her down.
So now,
she could only respond in another way — treating it with cold indifference, hoping Senpai would gradually give up on the idea.
Whether it would work in the long run, she had no idea, but there was still a big difference between trying and not trying at all.
Sayaka decided she'd try it for now, and figure out the rest depending on how things went.
The two of them began changing outfits.
"This one's nice, Sayaka, you should wear this!"
Faced with Sayaka's reserved hesitation, Ai Hoshino finally just insisted outright, having Sayaka put on the outfit she'd picked out.
Since they were heading to the amusement park today,
they'd need to dress up nicely, no matter what.
Of course, given the nature of the amusement park's attractions,
clothes that were too elaborate would actually get in the way of moving around. So the outfits had to be chosen carefully — something practical and comfortable.
Ai Hoshino herself chose a clean, crisp set of casual wear, and on her, that outfit somehow looked uniquely charming, making her seem even cuter and more endearing than usual.
As for Sayaka, she put on the outfit Ai Hoshino had picked out for her —
a school uniform with a pleated skirt, which brought out a youthful, pure student-like quality perfectly.
Once they were dressed and had gathered whatever items girls typically needed, the two of them left the apartment and headed for the nearest train transfer toward the amusement park.
They were running a little late, but there was still enough time. Besides, they weren't going to the amusement park purely to ride the attractions —
the main goal was seeing if they might happen to run into Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima.
For Ai Hoshino, running into Lin Ye was the key thing.
Sayaka, on the other hand, was more focused on Mai Sakurajima.
She'd long admired that particular big star.
Getting to see her in person, maybe even get an autograph, or a photo together —
that would absolutely be something thrilling, exciting.
Just imagining it was enough to get Sayaka's pulse racing.
She was full of anticipation for today. She wanted to run into Mai Sakurajima, wanted to see that great star in person, wanted to get her recognition, to actually talk with her.
"Clack-clack, clack-clack..."
The crisp rhythmic sound of the train wheels on the tracks rang out.
Ai Hoshino and Sayaka Maizono finally arrived at their destination — the amusement park.
The train came to a stop.
A crowd of passengers got off, all heading together to the train station, then on toward the amusement park.
"So many people! Senpai,"
Sayaka gazed at the flood of people, unable to help a small sigh.
The crowd was far larger than she'd expected.
Shouldn't there be fewer people at this hour?
After all, the morning rush had already passed.
"Weekends always draw bigger crowds. Let's stay close,"
Ai Hoshino reminded her.
But before long, the pressure of the crowd pushed Ai Hoshino and Sayaka further apart.
After the two of them finally managed to regroup, they immediately locked arms and held hands to avoid getting separated again.
If they lost each other here, it would be genuinely hard to find each other again anytime soon.
Once inside the amusement park, Ai Hoshino immediately realized just how massive the crowd was, packed everywhere throughout the sprawling park.
The sheer number of people was simply overwhelming, almost too much to take in.
How on earth were they supposed to find Lin-kun in all this?
Ai Hoshino felt the difficulty of the task weighing on her.
"Senpai, there are just too many people. Finding Mr. Lin is going to be really hard,"
Sayaka said.
It wasn't even just "hard" anymore —
it was practically hell-level difficult.
Unless Ai Hoshino and Lin Ye had some kind of telepathic connection, how could they possibly manage it?
"We can find Lin-kun,"
"Why don't... you just send Mr. Lin a message and ask him what he's up to right now?"
"No, don't,"
Ai Hoshino refused.
"This time, I want to rely purely on the luck between us. I'm sure I'll run into Lin-kun — I'm absolutely sure of it,"
she declared firmly.
With Ai Hoshino so resolute about it,
Sayaka had no better idea to offer.
Since Ai Hoshino had made up her mind, all Sayaka could do was go along with it.
So the two of them moved along with the flow of the crowd.
They spotted an attraction,
and Ai Hoshino, feeling a bit curious about it, went to get in line.
Meanwhile, her eyes kept scanning the crowd around them, searching for any sign of Lin Ye —
especially any heavily disguised girls whose faces were concealed, which drew her particular attention.
After all, Mai Sakurajima was a major star — there was no way she'd show her real face out in the open at an amusement park.
If she did come here and revealed herself while participating in the attractions, it would probably shut the whole ride down — no point even thinking about continuing any activities after that.
Not to mention, if Mai Sakurajima's identity got exposed here, it would inevitably drag Lin Ye's existence into the spotlight too, letting people know about him.
The fact that Lin Ye was Mai Sakurajima's boyfriend getting out would be more than enough to seriously disrupt his life.
And Mai Sakurajima clearly didn't want Lin Ye-kun's life disrupted because of her.
"Senpai, it's almost our turn,"
"Mm, okay, no problem, it'll be quick,"
As for this particular attraction,
it was nothing at all for Ai Hoshino.
Soon,
screams rang out.
Ai Hoshino let out a shrill, terrified scream.
Sayaka, by contrast, kept a relatively calm expression,
though the slight paleness of her face betrayed just how unsettled she really was inside.
"Senpai, that one was really fun, want to go again?"
Ai Hoshino said nothing, but her head shake made her feelings perfectly clear.
She absolutely, positively did not want to experience that again.
Once was more than enough for that kind of thing.
"Senpai, that attraction over there looks good, let's go!"
Ai Hoshino let Sayaka lead the way to the next spot.
Of course,
the whole way, Ai Hoshino never once forgot to keep searching for any sign of Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima —
that was the entire reason she'd come here. She absolutely wasn't about to forget it.
But after finishing three attractions, the two of them still hadn't spotted either Lin Ye or Mai Sakurajima.
Given the sheer size of the amusement park, the difficulty of finding two specific people could well be imagined.
Still, neither of them wanted to give up —
especially Ai Hoshino, who was determined not to reach out directly. She genuinely wanted to find Lin Ye through pure luck alone.
That kind of chance encounter, born of fate and luck, would give Ai Hoshino an intensely satisfying feeling.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Ai Hoshino and Sayaka finally sat down to eat and rest at a restaurant inside the amusement park.
By this point, the two of them really needed a break to recover.
"Here,"
Ai Hoshino handed Sayaka a bottle of mineral water,
and Sayaka took it, gulping it down eagerly.
"Finding Mr. Lin really is way too hard,"
Ai Hoshino sighed, feeling exactly that way.
Should she try contacting him after all?
But after thinking it over, she decided to stick it out to the end.
Giving up halfway now would be such a shame.
Sayaka noticed that Senpai's resolve had wavered a little.
Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Senpai's expression suddenly change, as if she'd seen something unbelievable.
What... what was that about?
Sayaka's curiosity was piqued.
____
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! 😉