The moment Lin Ye spoke, the entire mood shifted.
Both Ai Hoshino and Mai Sakurajima turned their eyes to him, their standoff forgotten.
Mai Sakurajima had assumed Ai Hoshino would back down, yet she'd held her ground.
Ai Hoshino, in turn, had assumed Mai Sakurajima would be the one to yield in the end.
So the two of them had stayed locked in their silent contest.
But now,
Lin Ye's words and his proposal had swept both of their calculations away entirely.
Go...
It seemed they really were going.
Feeling the pull at her wrist, each girl followed the man in front of them, stepping forward with the flow of the crowd.
Both women watched Lin Ye's back. They thought about pulling free, but in the end, neither of them could bring herself to do it.
Sayaka Maizono followed behind, doing her best to keep pace with the crowd, worried that falling too far back might disrupt the other three's outing.
"Having someone to hold onto really does make a difference," Sayaka Maizono thought, watching the three of them ahead of her.
She quickened her steps, determined not to fall behind.
A few minutes later,
the four of them reached the queue.
The line wasn't short — the wait alone looked like it would take at least half an hour.
Lin Ye wasn't in any hurry, chatting easily with both Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino.
Before long, though, the conversation shifted mostly to Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino talking between themselves — nothing tense about it, just the kind of easy, everyday chatter two close girlfriends might share, without a trace of friction.
Lin Ye found it strange. The two of them had been at each other's throats not long ago, and now their relationship had turned perfectly warm.
"A woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea," Lin Ye thought, unable to do anything but sigh at the saying.
Then he noticed Sayaka Maizono, who had been following along behind them the whole time.
It made sense that Ai Hoshino would invite Sayaka Maizono along to the amusement park.
"Miss Maizono, is this your first time at an amusement park?" Lin Ye asked her.
The question caught Mai Sakurajima's attention. The long-haired star glanced over for a moment, then let her gaze settle back on Ai Hoshino.
As far as looks went, Mai Sakurajima had no doubt Sayaka Maizono was a pretty girl, and given Ai Hoshino's profession, she guessed Sayaka was probably an idol too.
But Lin Ye — Sayaka wouldn't hold his interest. He'd seen more than enough beautiful girls in his time, and he didn't go around wanting to claim every pretty face he met.
On that point, at least, Mai Sakurajima had complete confidence in him.
"Mm," Sayaka Maizono nodded.
In truth, she felt a small twinge of embarrassment. Never having visited an amusement park at her age — however you looked at it, that seemed like it should raise some questions.
Her family's circumstances were modest, and that was never easy for people to simply accept.
"How's today been so far?"
"It's a lot of fun. I've known about amusement parks for a long time, but I never had the chance to come. This time, I finally get to experience it."
"If you like it, you should try some of the more extreme rides sometime."
"I'll think about it," Sayaka Maizono said, smiling and nodding at Lin Ye.
How to put it...
Being near Lin Ye always brought back that scene from the night before last.
The memory of being touched all over surfaced faintly, again and again.
She couldn't shake it. It clung to her, refusing to fade.
Whenever Lin Ye drew close — even when it was completely innocent, nothing more than natural proximity — it still triggered an instinctive, unconscious reaction in her.
That encounter had left her with a memory she knew would never fade.
"Mr. Lin," Sayaka Maizono suddenly called out, just as Lin Ye's attention had begun to drift elsewhere.
"Go ahead," he said, seeing the girl hesitate, and gestured for her to speak freely.
"Senpai... is a really wonderful girl. You should treasure her properly."
Ai Hoshino, standing right beside them, heard every word clearly. She was surprised Sayaka would suddenly say something like that.
But then it struck her — all the ideas she'd been quietly planting in Sayaka's mind these past few days, about the two of them being like sisters.
She wondered if it was finally working. Maybe Sayaka had already started warming to the proposal in her heart, maybe she'd even accepted it, just holding back outwardly out of modesty.
There was hope.
With a little more effort, it was entirely possible to get Sayaka to quietly go along with it.
Ai Hoshino felt a sudden surge of motivation. She could feel the day when the two of them would work together to win Lin Ye over drawing closer.
Mai Sakurajima's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she studied the two of them.
To her, Sayaka Maizono's words carried a hint of provocation.
She didn't believe for a second that Sayaka didn't already know she was Lin Ye's girlfriend. And knowing that, for Sayaka to say something like that anyway — it was clearly a challenge, a test.
So then,
how should she respond?
She hadn't planned on correcting or arguing the point.
But now that Sayaka had thrown out this little provocation,
she felt she had to make her stance clear, one way or another.
Mai Sakurajima stepped closer to Lin Ye, looped her arm through his, and turned to him with a smile.
She said nothing, but her actions spoke for her stance plainly enough.
To everyone watching, Mai Sakurajima was exactly the "senior" Sayaka Maizono had been referring to.
One man and three women together —
the group had already drawn plenty of attention from the people around them,
especially since all three women were undeniably beautiful.
And Lin Ye, at the center of it all, was almost too much for people to wrap their heads around.
How could one man have three beautiful girls to himself, all of them seemingly on such friendly, harmonious terms with each other?
Most onlookers settled on treating the four of them as ordinary friends or classmates.
Otherwise, if it really were the kind of tangled romantic relationship you'd only see in anime or novels, they'd probably have wept with envy.
Time passed, minute by minute.
Finally, it was their turn.
The ride looked like some kind of haunted house.
The four of them walked down the corridor.
Blue-white light spilled down from the ceiling of the hallway,
stretching their shadows long across the floor as they walked.
Every so often, strange sounds echoed around them.
Other visitors let out occasional startled shrieks.
Ai Hoshino, for her part, wasn't reacting much. She was afraid of ghosts, sure, but after living through a Strange event and facing the Strange head-on, something she knew was fake couldn't really scare her much anymore.
Mai Sakurajima was much the same.
Having been through the Strange park herself, she barely reacted to this man-made spectacle of horror.
If anything, held up against the real thing, it was almost laughable.
Sayaka Maizono, though, was the one left tense and frightened.
She truly hadn't expected this ride to be something like a haunted house.
Ghosts and monsters were exactly what she feared most.
So this was what the 'extreme' meant here!
Sayaka's head was throbbing.
She wanted to leave, but there was no way out now — they'd already gone in. What was she supposed to do if she just walked off?
Her eyes went to Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino, but neither girl showed the slightest sign of unease — not a trace of fear.
It puzzled her.
Weren't girls generally supposed to be afraid of ghosts?
Yet Senpai and Miss Sakurajima both seemed completely unbothered.
Finally, Sayaka's gaze settled on Lin Ye. She wondered if it had something to do with his presence — maybe that was why neither of them felt any fear at all.
Because the man she loved was here, even Senior Mai Sakurajima wasn't afraid.
The more Sayaka thought about it, the more certain she became that her guess was right.
Alone as she was, she really didn't know what to do about it.
She truly had no idea how to handle the situation herself.
Without quite meaning to, Sayaka drifted closer to Lin Ye, closer to the three of them.
Only that way could she feel any warmth at the end of it all.
After roughly ten-odd minutes of walking,
they finally reached the final area.
This part really was the thrilling one —
something like a roller coaster,
just with a ghost-chase theme layered on top.
Now, riders would board vehicles that entered the track for the actual "escape."
Each car seated four.
Lin Ye, Mai Sakurajima, Ai Hoshino, and Sayaka Maizono all took one car together.
Seatbelts fastened.
The staff finished the last of the safety checks.
"Departing..."
The car began to move slowly, gradually picking up speed as it entered the dark stretch ahead.
The mournful, resentful sounds grew louder and louder,
and a pale figure appeared behind them.
The car began accelerating.
Within a few seconds,
the speed had climbed sharply —
rising, then plunging fast, and a sudden weightlessness hit them.
"Aaahh!"
Mai Sakurajima let out a scream.
Just like a roller coaster, the drop of weightlessness tore the cry right out of her.
She grabbed Lin Ye's wrist and squeezed her eyes shut — only that gave her any sense of warmth and security.
Behind her, Ai Hoshino wasn't faring much better.
She'd managed to hold it together through the first drop, but when the car surged again right after a brief moment of calm, she finally lost the fight and screamed too.
Beside them, Sayaka Maizono's hand was gripped tightly.
She gritted her teeth against the pain — it hurt a little, but it was bearable.
A few minutes later,
the car slowed and came to rest on level ground.
Ahead, the lights came on.
It was over.
The ride had ended.
Once the car stopped and the restraints released,
Lin Ye was the first to climb out.
He reached a hand toward Mai Sakurajima, helping the girl down safely.
Sayaka Maizono, on the other side, did the same in Lin Ye's place,
taking Ai Hoshino's hand and helping her down as well.
The weightlessness had left both women feeling off, their legs still a little unsteady beneath them.
Ai Hoshino had been leaning on Sayaka Maizono at first, but as soon as she got close to Lin Ye, she let go and leaned against him instead.
With one woman on each arm, Lin Ye walked toward the exit, holding both of them close.
The other visitors around them stared, dumbstruck.
This guy — one on each arm, living the dream!
Every single one of them wore an expression of pure, bitter envy.
The four of them stepped outside.
Bright sunlight greeted them, bringing a sense of ease and lightness.
The tightness in their chests began to loosen.
Mai Sakurajima glanced over at Ai Hoshino, whose face was still faintly pale.
Feeling the gaze, Ai Hoshino lifted her eyes to meet Mai Sakurajima's. Their eyes locked.
A soft scoff sounded.
Mai Sakurajima answered it with one of her own.
Both of them now knew exactly what the other was going through — clearly putting on a brave face, clearly not actually cut out for extreme rides.
That one ride alone was nowhere near comparable to a roller coaster.
And yet,
both had shown such an obvious, strong reaction of discomfort
that it was proof enough — everything either of them had claimed to the other earlier had been a lie.
"Did you have fun, Miss Sakurajima?" Ai Hoshino spoke up.
Her tone had completely changed from how she'd sounded while waiting in line — now it carried the attitude she reserved for her romantic rival, Mai Sakurajima.
"It was great, pretty good actually. With Lin-kun here keeping me company, of course I had fun," Mai Sakurajima said with a smile.
Since Ai Hoshino had kept things civil, she wasn't about to go picking fights on purpose.
Tit for tat — that was simply how Mai Sakurajima operated.
"Then how about we go again?" Ai Hoshino said.
She really couldn't handle it — but that didn't mean she couldn't throw the invitation right back at Mai Sakurajima anyway.
Worst case, they'd both go through it again and see who could actually hold up and who couldn't.
Mai Sakurajima froze for a moment, genuinely surprised by the challenge.
This girl's body had reacted so strongly, and yet she still wanted to go again — that was some real dedication.
Still, Mai Sakurajima didn't turn her down. As far as she was concerned, if Ai Hoshino dared provoke her, she'd hit back twice as hard and show her exactly who was stronger.
"Sure, no problem. I actually liked it a lot," Mai Sakurajima said, the words not quite matching what she felt.
You could lose the fight but never lose face —
worst case, she'd just endure it one more time. It wasn't like she couldn't handle it.
Mai Sakurajima braced herself for the worst.
"Great, then let's go try another thrilling ride — I've been wanting to try it for a while now. And with Miss Sakurajima along, even better," Ai Hoshino said.
Neither of them wanted to be the one to back down.
It had become a real contest between them.
Sayaka Maizono wanted to say something to stop them, but found she couldn't get the words out.
Lin Ye, for his part, didn't mind at all. When it came to whatever this level of exchange between the two women was, staying out of it was clearly the smart move. Getting involved any further than that — that would only make things worse.
Lin Ye chose to simply follow the two girls to the next ride.
Sayaka Maizono kept pace as well.
She felt a little out of place here, but no matter what, she figured she should stick with the group and see the whole day through.
As for anything beyond that, it wasn't really hers to think about.
When it came to the competition between Senpai and Mai Sakurajima over the man they both wanted, she really had no standing to speak up and stop it.
Was one man really this popular?
Sayaka Maizono thought helplessly, watching Lin Ye's profile.
Even as she thought it, she understood his appeal well enough.
A perfect all-rounder —
no weak points anywhere, excelling at everything.
And that mysterious power of his in particular — what did that even mean?
Sayaka Maizono decided not to dwell on it any further.
By the time she stopped to think, the group had already reached the queue for a new ride.
Five hours later,
Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino sat slumped on a bench, both breathing hard.
They'd been through ride after extreme ride,
but the tolerance they'd expected to build never came — instead, what came was a growing physical misery.
Round after round of it,
and finally, both Ai Hoshino and Mai Sakurajima collapsed, unable to take any more, now resting on the bench to recover.
Mai Sakurajima leaned back, her legs still holding onto that faint floating sensation.
Sayaka Maizono was already gently massaging Ai Hoshino's legs, trying to ease her discomfort.
"Thank you, Sayaka."
"It's nothing, Senpai."
Sayaka Maizono shook her head — this was nothing much to her.
She just hoped Ai Hoshino would recover quickly.
It was the only thing she could do for her right now.
The rest lasted about ten minutes.
The sun began to set.
At the edge of the sky, a red glow spread across the horizon.
Lin Ye gazed out at it.
Beautiful scenery always had a way of drawing the eye.
Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino looked out too, taking in the view.
Before anyone quite noticed,
another day had come to an end.
Mai Sakurajima realized she'd soon have to part with Lin Ye again.
She didn't want to.
Yes — she really didn't want to.
Two days had gone by so fast, too fast, catching her off guard, leaving her genuinely reluctant to let it end.
If only a life like this could just go on forever.
That was what Mai Sakurajima found herself thinking.
"Lin-kun, let's head back. It's about that time," Mai Sakurajima said.
She had no interest in any more rides. Today had already given her more than enough — enough that she probably wouldn't want to come back to an amusement park for a long while.
Even with Lin Ye, she thought she'd rather go somewhere more relaxing next time — an aquarium, a museum, something like that.
In any case, she wasn't eager to return to an amusement park anytime soon.
Even though amusement parks were supposedly the ideal date spot for couples, she really didn't want to come back here again.
"Sayaka, let's head back too," Ai Hoshino said, patting Sayaka Maizono's shoulder to signal it was time to leave.
"Okay, Senpai," Sayaka Maizono replied.
She'd worn herself out today too and genuinely wanted to get home soon for a good night's rest.
"Lin-kun, let's have dinner together tonight!" Ai Hoshino said.
She knew that tonight's dinner invitation wouldn't come from Lin Ye himself, and an invitation from Mai Sakurajima was even less likely.
So she had to make the first move — only by taking the initiative could she find her chance.
Even if he turned her down in the end, she'd lose nothing by asking.
And if he said yes — well, that would be pure profit, wouldn't it?
That was exactly how Ai Hoshino thought about it.
Faced with the suggestion, Lin Ye didn't dwell on it much and answered directly. "Next time."
Today,
his plan was to spend the rest of it with Mai Sakurajima.
Have dinner with Mai, walk her back to her apartment, then head back to Chiba.
That was Lin Ye's plan.
Rushing back to Chiba the next morning would leave him tired, so better to head back tonight, get some sleep, and go to school the next day.
"Miss Sakurajima, would you mind..." Ai Hoshino asked, this time putting the question straight to Mai Sakurajima.
If Mai Sakurajima agreed, she was confident Lin Ye wouldn't keep refusing.
"I would mind," Mai Sakurajima said.
The atmosphere stiffened instantly.
"But if Miss Hoshino really, really wants to have dinner with my boyfriend and me, then... I suppose it's not entirely out of the question."
Ai Hoshino found herself caught in an awkward spot.
Accept, or decline?
As if there was even a question.
Of course she'd accept!
"I'd love to. Getting to have a meal with Miss Sakurajima again is something I've been looking forward to," Ai Hoshino said.
The shift in how she addressed her made her acceptance clear enough.
This was the response of a fan to her idol.
Not a rival in love.
____
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