Sitting at the dining table, listening to the sizzle drifting from the kitchen, Lin Ye felt a quiet warmth spreading through his otherwise calm mood.
The warmth of home.
A girl was in the kitchen preparing a late-night meal for him.
This scene was something he'd always looked forward to.
And now, here it was, right in front of him.
Lin Ye loved this feeling.
Loved having someone he cared about cook for him.
He liked cooking for the girls he loved too, preparing elaborate meals for them, but he equally loved it when they cooked for him.
Yukino Yukinoshita.
This girlfriend-slash-fiancée of his had really done a great deal for him.
If, in this life, he'd met Yukino Yukinoshita first and built a relationship with her early on, the other girls probably wouldn't have stood a chance at all.
That was what Lin Ye thought.
The order in which people appeared in his life really did matter a great deal.
Lin Ye stopped his wandering thoughts there.
He watched the girl walk out of the kitchen carrying a plate.
Her hair was pinned up, baring the pale, swan-like curve of her neck, gleaming under the light.
Lin Ye couldn't help glancing at her a few extra times.
This was the first time he'd ever seen Yukino wear her hair like this.
Usually it was loose and natural, or occasionally tied in a single ponytail.
"What are you looking at?"
"A beautiful girl, delicious enough to eat."
That line earned Lin Ye a glare from Yukino Yukinoshita.
As if she were something edible.
Though to a man, she really might be a feast.
Except this particular feast, Lin Ye had been putting off tasting, because he didn't want to make that one promise.
He could have eaten first and delayed the reckoning, could even have gone back on his word shamelessly.
But he refused to do that. He held firm to his promise to her.
Sometimes she genuinely felt Lin Ye didn't need to be so stubborn about keeping his word, but that very stubbornness was what made her realize this was exactly the kind of boy she liked.
If Lin Ye were the type of man who promised everything to everyone, fickle and without any sense of integrity or responsibility, she doubted she could treat him the way she did now.
She might even have stayed away from him entirely.
The way he behaved now was, if anything, one of the reasons she kept tolerating the whole situation.
She never imagined she could put up with a man to this degree.
The old her would never have believed it.
But now, she accepted it, and she'd come to see it simply as reality.
Honestly, present-day Yukino Yukinoshita didn't think there was anything wrong with it. She could accept it. She could fully accept the situation as it stood now.
It had become routine.
Recognizing the reality of things, Yukino Yukinoshita had chosen to accept her current situation. She knew she had no intention of leaving Lin Ye anytime soon.
Even if she wanted to leave, her parents — her mother especially — would never allow it.
The family needed her to maintain its ties to Lin Ye.
Given how unusual Lin Ye was, the family was bound to go to great lengths to win him over and keep the relationship between him and the Yukinoshita family intact.
She was the best bond they had.
It was a matter of the family's interests, and as a daughter of the family, she had a duty to contribute. At the same time, she knew she didn't dislike Lin Ye — in fact, she'd even come to like him a little.
Yes.
Yukino Yukinoshita admitted she had feelings for Lin Ye now.
There was affection there.
How much, she couldn't quite say.
At the very least, she was already willing to marry this man, to step into that stage of life with him.
Beyond that,
she honestly didn't know, and didn't want to think about it too much.
For now, she'd keep things as they were with Lin Ye, and look for a chance to end Mai Sakurajima's relationship with him.
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's current plan.
As for the long term?
Once Mai Sakurajima was out of the picture, how could any of those other women possibly be her match?
Yukino Yukinoshita had that much confidence in herself.
"You can eat if you want."
Yukino Yukinoshita sat down and said the words that nearly made Lin Ye choke on his water.
What did she mean, he could eat if he wanted?
"What, you don't believe me?"
The girl with long black hair shot the question back, arching an eyebrow, a hint of displeasure in her tone.
But it didn't faze Lin Ye.
There was a precondition to him eating.
He remembered that very clearly.
"Free of charge?"
Lin Ye thought about it and asked.
It couldn't hurt to ask.
What if — just what if — it actually worked?
The question made the corner of Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth twitch. Her dark blue eyes reflected his figure. "You're dreaming."
Free of charge?
As if.
She wasn't that far gone yet.
She wasn't about to casually withdraw the conditions she'd set.
If she gave in that easily, it would just teach this man that she was a pushover.
Yukino Yukinoshita wouldn't allow that to happen.
"So dreaming is allowed? I'll start dreaming right now."
With that, Lin Ye closed his eyes, signaling that he was dreaming.
A moment later, he opened them again. "Alright, I'm in the dream now."
As he said it, he rose and walked toward Yukino Yukinoshita.
Smack—
Yukino Yukinoshita got there first, slapping the back of his hand, laughing as she said, "Don't try anything."
She was a little afraid, truthfully —
if Lin Ye really pretended to dream and did this and that to her, then she...
"The me in the dream can do whatever I want."
"Lin Ye, just eat your steak."
"I'd rather eat the beautiful girl first."
Lin Ye stared at Yukino, looking her up and down, a faint desire radiating off him that made the pressure on her build steadily. Something unnamed was stirring deep in her chest.
She suddenly felt that if she nodded, Lin Ye would pounce on her right then and there and devour her.
"Fine."
Yukino Yukinoshita's voice rang out, cool and composed.
"This is your right as my boyfriend and fiancé. As your girlfriend and fiancée, I naturally need to satisfy that need of yours."
The moment she said it, Lin Ye felt the pressure hit him.
He knew exactly what she was going to say next.
This girl with long black hair still stuck firmly to that one thing. Of course, he knew that too.
And that one thing was something he simply couldn't bring himself to do.
Naturally, so long as he still intended to keep his word, to honor his promise, to never renege or weasel out of it, he wouldn't touch her.
"But don't forget our agreement — just remember it, that's all."
A faint smile hung at the corner of Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth as she waited for Lin Ye's answer, looking forward to it.
If Lin Ye refused, she'd simply continue on as things had always been between them.
If Lin Ye accepted, all the better — it would mean she'd won this war of love, and Mai Sakurajima would have no place in the future at all.
So no matter the outcome, she'd come out ahead. Hah.
Yukino Yukinoshita waited for Lin Ye's answer.
She watched him draw closer.
Then one arm wrapped around her waist, and he kissed her hard on the lips.
Mm?
She'd been kissed.
She'd been kissed.
Yukino Yukinoshita struggled for a moment, then gave up.
This sort of thing had already become routine.
Already something she was used to.
If she was going to be kissed, so be it.
Yukino Yukinoshita offered no resistance, quietly accepting it.
A while later, Lin Ye let go.
"Done?"
The question caught Lin Ye off guard.
Yukino Yukinoshita's reaction was strange.
In the past she would have scolded him for it. Why was her reaction different this time?
"That's enough."
"Not going further?"
"That's enough already."
"I thought you were finally going to act like a man."
Yukino Yukinoshita's words came out calm, but a faint trace of shyness was still detectable underneath.
But having been around Lin Ye this long, she'd gradually gotten used to things like this.
Facing Lin Ye, she knew that bringing up that particular subject herself only made him more restrained.
Because Lin Ye didn't dare take that final step — so she could push, could say things to drag him into a whirl of frustration.
That was exactly Yukino Yukinoshita's plan.
"If you don't dare, don't force it. It makes me wonder if you're even a man."
The girl's rebuttal left Lin Ye momentarily speechless.
This girl knew perfectly well he wouldn't dare — or was gambling on it — otherwise, how would Yukino Yukinoshita herself ever dare say such a thing?
Fine. He wasn't going to argue this point with a girl.
What he needed to do was hold firm to his own resolve.
That was all he could do for now.
"Whether or not I'm a man, Yukino — you'll find out eventually."
"I'd rather find out right now."
The girl stared at him, as if daring him.
"Right now? You sure about that?"
The counter-question made Yukino's heart race even faster.
But she still couldn't afford to back down.
If she backed down, Lin Ye would only push further.
So,
she had to hold her ground.
"Very sure. As long as you're willing to honor the agreement."
"I don't want to. I still think Mai is better — Mai doesn't come with any extra conditions attached."
A string of question marks practically formed over Yukino Yukinoshita's head.
"Tonight Mai kept urging me to stay over, tried every method she could think of, but I still wanted to come back to Chiba. If I hadn't come back, if I hadn't come back at this hour, some girl might have spent tonight crying alone in sadness."
In the end, Yukino Yukinoshita gave him a helpless glare.
What he said was right, and also not quite right.
She wouldn't have cried alone in sadness.
But she definitely would have felt miserable tonight.
After all, she'd been certain Lin Ye would come back, and if he hadn't — if he'd stayed over at Mai Sakurajima's instead — wouldn't that mean that in Lin Ye's heart, she ranked below Mai Sakurajima?
That competitive streak in her made it clear she would never let that happen.
And in the end...
Lin Ye had come, truly come to Chiba exactly as he'd said, come to her side.
"Let's just eat quickly, then. Enough talk about this."
"Changing the subject, huh. Fine, fine, I'll hurry up and eat. Yukino, sit in front of me — I want a beautiful girl to feast my eyes on."
At Lin Ye's request, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't refuse. She sat right across from him, her delicate face on full display.
She watched him calmly, and whenever his eyes flicked up to meet hers, she answered with a smile.
This reaction, oddly enough, left Lin Ye feeling thrown off, caught off guard.
Not one to hold back, Lin Ye speared a piece of steak and savored it with one part of his attention, while the other part lingered on the exquisite face across from him — a pleasing, comfortable sight.
"How does it taste?"
"The ingredients are excellent."
Lin Ye deliberately avoided answering directly.
"How does it taste?"
Yukino asked again, as if she hadn't noticed his dodge.
"A certain girl's beauty is quite something to feast on."
Again, Lin Ye avoided answering directly.
Yukino Yukinoshita let out a soft sigh at that.
Then Lin Ye finally spoke. "It's delicious. Top-tier ingredients, your skill, Yukino — this one-of-a-kind steak in the whole world, and I'm the only one who gets to enjoy it. I must be the happiest man alive."
Lin Ye's praise left the girl a little embarrassed, even as she heard it out.
Her cheeks flushed faintly.
She needed Lin Ye's approval and recognition, but was this praise...
Well — it was only what she rightfully deserved.
Yukino Yukinoshita thought about it quite seriously.
"Yukino, cook for me for the rest of my life."
Words that sounded almost like a confession made the girl's cheeks flush lightly.
Should she agree, or not?
She was already Lin Ye's girlfriend, already his fiancée.
But,
faced with such a direct declaration, agreeing outright felt like offering up everything of herself.
"I suppose it's not out of the question."
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't flatly refuse.
"It depends on how you behave from now on."
She wasn't about to let Lin Ye have it that easily.
That was Yukino's way of thinking.
Lin Ye shrugged helplessly. He could guess what she was thinking.
It didn't matter.
That answer was good enough.
Sooner or later, there'd come a day when she admitted it out loud too.
The moment she admitted it with her own mouth would be the day she'd completely fallen for him.
Lin Ye was waiting for that day to come.
A little over ten minutes later,
Lin Ye finished his steak.
Yukino hadn't made a large portion, mindful that Lin Ye had already eaten dinner.
This was meant as a late-night snack for him.
It was also the most carefully prepared one she'd made yet.
Before this, she'd made steak several times, trying to find the ideal way to cook it.
The practice steaks hadn't gone to waste — she'd called Yui Yuigahama over to act as a food critic, tasting and finishing one piece after another.
The memory of the dumpling-haired girl eating herself so full she had to rub her stomach still made Yukino Yukinoshita smile even now, a grin she couldn't quite suppress.
And the piece Lin Ye had just eaten was made using exactly the searing method she'd found to be the best.
If Lin Ye had still thought it wasn't good, all her effort and care would have felt like it went to waste.
The late-night meal came to an end.
Yukino Yukinoshita cleared the plates.
"Go take a shower first."
She'd already assumed Lin Ye would be staying the night.
"I... should head back."
But Lin Ye's answer caught Yukino Yukinoshita completely off guard.
As far as she was concerned, she didn't think Lin Ye was making an excuse — this time, his tone didn't sound the least bit fake.
So,
she pressed further. "Did something happen?"
Lin Ye thought it over before answering. "Nothing special. Tomorrow's Monday, isn't it? I need to go home and change into my school uniform."
He hadn't brought a spare Sobu High School uniform with him.
But the girl had an answer ready.
"I have a boy's uniform here."
This... she must have prepared this in advance.
Lin Ye couldn't help but think.
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