Lin Ye felt a mild headache coming on. How to put it...
Wouldn't it be better if Miura Yumiko just went along with it and declared they'd broken up?
Yet here they were, locked in a standoff, as if she needed to prove some point.
He could understand not wanting to lose to Iroha Isshiki—but if that were the case, why had she chosen to lose to Yukino Yukinoshita instead?
Now that Yukino had been dragged into this mess, shouldn't she just accept it and let things end there?
Why were they still at a standstill? None of this made sense.
What exactly was Miura Yumiko competing over? Had her contrarian streak been triggered? They'd had a perfectly good understanding going—now it had turned into stubborn defiance?
The thought left Lin Ye feeling helpless. What was even the point of this? Just stick with the plan they'd agreed on! Why stage this whole scene?
Lin Ye felt utterly exasperated.
"Yukinoshita, hurry up and beat this woman, then be my girlfriend!"
Lin Ye dropped a bombshell.
The line was so blunt that everyone froze, unable to react at all.
Only after several seconds did the crowd snap back to their senses, realizing just what an outrageous thing Lin Ye had said.
"Student Lin, do you even know what you just said?"
Yukino regarded him coldly, keeping up her usual composed image.
She found Lin Ye exasperating, but since he'd gone this far, there was no reason to hold back.
Beat her? Really? He was making it sound like she had to compete with Miura Yumiko.
That was completely unnecessary. She didn't need to compete at all.
She was already Lin Ye's girlfriend—his quasi-fiancée, even. What could Miura Yumiko possibly compete with?
"I think I made myself pretty clear. Student Yukinoshita should fight Student Miura. Whoever wins becomes my girlfriend."
"Heh,"
she laughed.
Yukinoshita laughed.
Miura Yumiko couldn't help laughing too—Lin Ye was talking as if he were some kind of prize, some trophy, as though the two of them fighting would settle who got to claim him.
"Student Lin, I think you're under some kind of illusion—no, a hallucination,"
"What hallucination?"
Lin Ye smiled, feigning complete ignorance.
"The illusion that you're popular with girls,"
"Hm?"
Lin Ye's voice carried a note of feigned doubt as his gaze shifted to Iroha Isshiki and Miura Yumiko.
"If I weren't popular, there wouldn't be girls around me, would there?"
He pointed at Yukino Yukinoshita last. "Look, you're right here beside me. How am I not popular?"
Compared to before, he really was incredibly popular now.
Compared to his past life, that was true too.
In this life, the number of girls he'd come to know far exceeded the total from before.
A famous actress, an aloof campus belle, a quirky underclassman, and...
None of this would have been imaginable before—he wouldn't have dared to even think it—yet now it had all become real, right in front of him.
For him, it had once been unimaginable, and now it was reality.
Now and then it still struck Lin Ye as dreamlike, unreal—this all felt too vivid to be true, almost like a dream. But the girls in front of him, everything he'd experienced these past days, were as real as anything could be.
He knew this was his reality. Nothing to doubt, nothing to question.
If even he doubted it, who else would affirm it?
He couldn't bear to give it up—even if it really were a dream, he'd be willing to keep dreaming it forever, until his life ran its course.
"It's just a coincidence we came to school together. Don't get too full of yourself,"
Yukino shot back.
Faced with Lin Ye's teasing gaze, she felt a flicker of embarrassment, but quickly reined it in with reason, keeping her expression from betraying anything more.
Lying, or even saying anything with a tinge of falsehood, always made her deeply uncomfortable.
Today wasn't a coincidence at all—they'd come straight from the apartment together from the start.
"It still counts as together, doesn't it? If you really found me distasteful, why would you be standing beside me? Everyone knows how cold you are toward guys."
Lin Ye swept his gaze over the boys nearby.
Under his questioning look, they nodded in unconscious agreement.
If Yukino Yukinoshita really wanted to keep her distance and reject him, she'd never have let it get to the point of walking side by side.
The way Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita walked to school together clearly showed the girl's approval of him—that she wouldn't reject him, that she found him acceptable. Otherwise, none of this would be happening.
"You're awfully confident, Student Lin. You really think that just because Miura Yumiko likes you and confessed to you, and Student Isshiki clings to you and competes with Senpai Miura, every other girl will fall for you too? You're truly narcissistic,"
Yukino Yukinoshita's expression was full of disdain, her words icy.
She showed Lin Ye no mercy, not a hint of gentleness in her tone.
In truth, she was also maintaining her own image.
If she softened, if she changed her style, the flies buzzing around her would only multiply.
Sobu High had plenty of shameless boys; the moment any of them sensed an opening, they'd swarm her with confessions, and that would seriously disrupt her life.
Yukino Yukinoshita had no desire to see that happen.
She'd worked hard to maintain her cold, unapproachable image, and she wasn't about to let it vanish just like that.
Unless... she had a boyfriend.
The fact that she had a boyfriend would make others back off.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Lin Ye.
The day it went public probably wasn't far off. So she thought.
But after that would come the news that even Yukino Yukinoshita was in a relationship.
Just thinking about it made her deeply uneasy.
There were pros and cons, and it all came down to what she chose going forward.
"My narcissism, if you want to call it that, comes from how you and Student Miura and the others treat me. If I kept getting rejected over and over, would I really be this narcissistic?"
Lin Ye showed not the slightest anger at being mocked for narcissism. He simply took it all in stride, accepting it calmly, without a trace of irritation.
That mindset—some onlooking students figured it was all an act, but plenty of others thought Lin Ye's calm really was just his natural temperament, and that this kind of equanimity was something many people envied.
How many students had broken down in tears over lesser blows and taken forever to recover?
"Stay away from me from now on,"
Yukino said.
"Sure,"
His answer caught Yukinoshita off guard.
He wasn't supposed to agree that easily!
Wasn't he supposed to play along, to let it end there, instead of just saying 'sure'?
"From now on, I'll try not to show up in front of you, so as not to affect your mood by being seen,"
This wasn't going according to the script at all. He seemed intent on upending their relationship entirely.
Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't tell if he was serious or bluffing.
If he really stopped contacting her after this, what would she do? Approach him herself?
That would go against everything about how she operated. She really didn't want to be the one taking initiative—reaching out first always felt like putting herself beneath someone, and that wasn't what she wanted.
But denying it now would put her at a disadvantage too.
Yukino Yukinoshita froze, unsure how to respond.
"If it's absolutely necessary, then I'll just do this..."
Lin Ye stepped closer and took Yukino Yukinoshita's hand. "I'll hold your hand and never let go again. If you're going to hate me anyway, then hate me a little more."
This scene left everyone frozen in shock.
What was this?! They were holding hands! This was way too fast.
Lin Ye's nerve was outrageous.
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's hand! The hand so many guys dreamed of holding—they wanted their turn too.
And here Lin Ye was, shamelessly holding it outright.
Reject him, reject him, hurry up and reject him,
countless boys stared at the clasped hands, silently urging her on.
They didn't want to watch Lin Ye holding hands with their school's aloof beauty any longer. They wanted to see Yukinoshita rip her hand away and, better yet, land a resounding slap across his face.
If that happened, they'd definitely be thrilled, ecstatic, jumping for joy.
All eyes were fixed on her, brimming with expectation.
As the center of it all, Yukino Yukinoshita felt every one of those stares.
This bastard—he'd said he'd hold her hand, and now he actually had, right in front of everyone, so brazenly.
Letting him keep holding it was out of the question.
How should she respond? Honestly, her mind blanked for a moment, and she had no idea.
But one thing was clear: she needed to pull her hand back first. This couldn't go on.
She tugged gently, trying to withdraw her hand, but Lin Ye held on tight, giving her no chance to escape.
"Let go,"
Yukino Yukinoshita said after a few seconds.
She had to say something now, had to make Lin Ye understand what he should do instead of continuing this.
"And if I don't?"
Lin Ye countered.
"You wouldn't be able to bear the consequences."
"Such as?"
"Harassment. I could go to the police,"
"I'm so scared,"
Lin Ye said, his expression unruffled, his grip never loosening.
"Go ahead and call them,"
his next words showed just how little he cared.
He wasn't afraid of the police at all.
Students generally held some fear of adults like teachers, and even more so of the police.
But watching Lin Ye now, his reaction was one of complete indifference.
That nerve, that composure—truly impressive.
Even setting aside the police, given who Yukino Yukinoshita was, she wasn't someone you could afford to provoke.
Shouldn't he just let go already?
"Let go,"
"I'm never letting go for the rest of my life."
That sounded just like a confession.
No, no—it was a confession. This wasn't the first, or even second, time Lin Ye had confessed to Yukinoshita,
Plenty of students knew about it; some had even witnessed it firsthand.
What they couldn't understand was how Yukino Yukinoshita could still hold back, still not explode—why wasn't she slapping him already?
Hit him! Slap him! They wanted to see Lin Ye get smacked across the face!
"Student Lin, I'm getting angry,"
"Angry or not, I'm not letting go,"
the two of them stood there, still hand in hand.
Yukino Yukinoshita's head throbbed. Where was this going to lead? She felt nothing in particular about it, but she knew things couldn't keep going this way.
"Let go,"
she said, struggling now.
But Lin Ye kept his grip firm.
"Senpai, why don't you... let go of hers? You can hold my hand instead,"
Iroha Isshiki said, and with that, she grabbed Lin Ye's other hand.
To help Yukinoshita out of this bind, Iroha Isshiki had decided to sacrifice herself.
But faced with her sacrifice, Lin Ye let go instead—of Iroha Isshiki's hand.
That left Isshiki feeling wounded and dejected.
"Lin Ye, that's enough. Holding another girl's hand right in front of your own girlfriend—don't you think that's a bit much?"
Miura Yumiko couldn't stand watching anymore.
Her real reason was to help Yukino Yukinoshita out of the awkward spot; the whole girlfriend angle was secondary.
If there hadn't been other students watching, making her feel a bit like she was being cheated on in public, she really wouldn't have cared much at all.
How long Lin Ye held someone's hand was his own business; if Yukinoshita wasn't making a scene, she wasn't about to say anything either.
But out here, in public, she couldn't accept it—she had to say something.
"Then why don't I hold yours too,"
Lin Ye said, extending toward Miura Yumiko the very hand Isshiki had just been holding.
Miura Yumiko's eye twitched. She had to admit real admiration for Lin Ye.
He truly was in a league of his own for this kind of thing.
Her understanding of just how shameless this man could be had deepened yet again.
Never try to out-shameless Lin Ye, never try to out-thick-skin him.
She, Miura Yumiko, certainly couldn't win that contest—and no one else could either.
How many people could hold Yukinoshita's hand in broad daylight with such shameless nerve?
She certainly couldn't—she still had some dignity to protect.
"Do you really think I won't do anything to you?"
"Of course not,"
Lin Ye immediately shot back. "I figure Student Yukinoshita might even call the police and have me arrested—that's entirely possible. But I can accept that. Holding hands is something I never could have imagined before. Holding the hand of a girl I like—there was a time I wouldn't have dared even to dream of it.
You've done far more than hold hands—you've hugged, kissed, even more..."
Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help thinking.
She let out a slow, quiet breath at the thought of him.
"I don't want this to get any uglier. If it blows up, no one comes out looking good,"
"Fine,"
Lin Ye agreed just as readily, letting go of her hand at once.
Yukino Yukinoshita withdrew her hand, shooting him a quick, exasperated glance.
Where Lin Ye was concerned, she really had run out of patience—there was nothing left to do but sigh.
In the end, they'd still ended up holding hands—right there in front of a crowd, no less.
In the future, next time, they'd probably be taking walks hand in hand.
But that could only happen after Lin Ye and Miura Yumiko had at least officially broken up.
Otherwise, it simply wasn't possible.
Yukino Yukinoshita had no interest in being branded the other woman.
In the end, the scene the onlooking students had hoped for never happened. Yukino Yukinoshita never beat Lin Ye up for the impropriety of holding her hand—not even so much as a slap. If anything, she barely even seemed angry.
The whole hand-holding incident seemed to fizzle out as if it had never happened.
Unbelievable. Since when did Yukino Yukinoshita have such a mild temper?
No, wait—more accurately, had Yukino Yukinoshita ever been this composed before?
The cold, aloof beauty had always shown zero mercy to any boy who got close, rejecting them outright and often with icy remarks.
But she never showed that side of herself around Lin Ye.
The onlooking students just couldn't wrap their heads around it.
They genuinely couldn't figure out what was going on.
Was it because Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita were in the same club that her tolerance for him had grown?
That... sort of made sense.
Being in the same club meant they'd built up some rapport—friendship counted as feeling too. With that goodwill in place, her tolerance for Lin Ye's overstepping had grown, so she wouldn't react too drastically.
Still, the onlookers felt a nagging dissatisfaction, a sense that things weren't right. Shouldn't there have been a proper shouting match, maybe even violence?
Why did it all just fizzle out so quietly?
It made no sense, it wasn't reasonable, and it wasn't at all what they wanted.
And on top of that, how was Miura Yumiko—his girlfriend—so calm about it? Her boyfriend had just held another girl's hand, and she showed no reaction at all, as composed as if nothing had happened.
None of this made any sense.
They couldn't imagine what Miura Yumiko really thought of Lin Ye—did she truly not care at all about him being close with other girls?
If hand-holding was fine, wouldn't hugging, kissing, even more, be fine too?
The onlookers seethed with frustration.
Somehow all the good fortune seemed to fall on Lin Ye alone, while they could only watch. The drama they'd hoped for never played out.
Watching Lin Ye surrounded by three beautiful girls, the onlookers' envy kept building, ready to overflow, ready to explode.
Lin Ye felt all that resentment, all that envy directed at him, but he chose to ignore it entirely.
He was used to it by now. Ignore it, get used to it, and none of it mattered.
What he actually worried about was whether Yukino could stay calm through all this.
Watching her, he saw her expression stay composed, that familiar coolness still on her face, and he gradually relaxed, gradually felt at ease.
As long as she didn't mind, that was all that mattered.
Other people's reactions had never concerned him.
"Senpai, senpai, if you want to hold a girl's hand, come find me! Mine's definitely better than Yukinoshita-senpai's,"
Iroha Isshiki said, undeterred, with no intention of giving up.
By now she was used to failure, thoroughly used to it. No single setback could shake her resolve anymore. All she had to do was keep at it until the day she succeeded.
Iroha Isshiki's contrarian streak had been fully unleashed, on full display, entirely uncorked.
"No thanks, too rough, not comfortable,"
—Isshiki: ???
She immediately looked down at her own hand—pale, soft, plump—where exactly was it rough?
"Senpai, senpai, how is this hand rough? It's not rough at all! Touch it, squeeze it, you'll see,"
With that, Iroha Isshiki shoved her hand straight into Lin Ye's.
The boys' eyes went wide. This wasn't the first time, but every time still stirred up that same envious, resentful expression.
A girl's hand! The hand of a cute underclassman, so soft and pale—how nice it must feel to hold!
They wanted to hold it too! They wanted to, they longed to!
But that bastard Lin Ye just shook her off, looking utterly unimpressed.
He might not want it, but they sure would!
Student Isshiki, let us hold your hand instead.
But that was something they only dared to think, never to say aloud.
They didn't have Lin Ye's level of shamelessness. He could be thick-skinned to the point of no shame, but they couldn't—they still had embarrassment, still had a sense of shame, exactly as fitting for boys their age.
"Isshiki, that's enough,"
Lin Ye said, seeing that she had no intention of stopping.
If he didn't speak up, there was no telling what she'd do next.
"Enough? We've barely started, Senpai! Wouldn't it be nice to walk to school holding my soft little hand? Yukino-senpai won't let you, and Miura-senpai even less so. I'm the only hand you've got left to hold, Senpai!"
"The hand of a cute JK schoolgirl, held all the way to school—don't you want to try it, even once?"
"I'd rather not hold it at all,"
Lin Ye said flatly, and instantly, Iroha Isshiki took another critical hit.
But her spirit stayed strong, without a hint of giving up. She'd keep going, hold to her conviction, and keep pursuing Lin Ye until she succeeded.
The four of them walked in through the school gate.
The onlooking students filed in after them, heading toward the gate as well.
They hadn't gone far when Miura Yumiko suddenly stopped. "Lin Ye,"
the tone of her voice made it clear something was up.
The other three turned to look at her.
"What is it?"
Miura Yumiko gestured toward the side. "Let's talk. I want to talk to you alone,"
In truth, she felt a little nervous about being alone with Lin Ye.
But rather than let him be the one to suggest it, she'd rather bring it up herself—that way she'd retain a little more control.
"Sure,"
Lin Ye didn't refuse.
Yukino and Iroha Isshiki were both curious, but there was no way the two of them could tag along right now.
"We'll go on ahead. You two head to the classroom first,"
Lin Ye told the two girls.
Yukino nodded and walked off.
She was curious, more than curious even, but this clearly wasn't the moment for her to follow along.
She'd just ask Lin Ye properly once it was over.
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's plan.
Given her current relationship with Lin Ye, he wouldn't refuse to tell her if she asked.
But what could Miura Yumiko possibly want with Lin Ye?
If it was about the earlier incident involving her sister taking control of Lin Ye's body, that should already be settled.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched Lin Ye and Miura Yumiko disappear from view, until Iroha Isshiki's voice broke in.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, why don't we go take a look?"
Iroha Isshiki waved her arm, staring in the direction Lin Ye had vanished with pure curiosity in her eyes. She wanted to go, and she genuinely intended to.
Past experience had taught her that whenever Miura Yumiko and Lin Ye went off to that corner, they were definitely up to something.
Kissing, hugging, holding each other—it left her both envious and wistful.
Senpai Miura Yumiko and Senpai Lin weren't even really a couple, so none of that should be happening—yet somehow they still had that kind of relationship.
Hugging and kissing just didn't add up.
She and Senpai hadn't even kissed.
There was no way Iroha Isshiki could accept that.
"I'm not going,"
Yukino stated flatly.
With Iroha Isshiki, she needed to refuse quickly and firmly, to keep her endless enthusiasm in check.
Whether this would actually make Isshiki give up on going, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't know, but it ought to help at least a little.
On her own, surely Isshiki wouldn't dare go over there.
So the girl with long black hair thought.
"Senpai, aren't you curious?"
Iroha Isshiki really didn't believe Yukinoshita-senpai felt no curiosity at all—surely she'd want to know what Senpai and Miura Yumiko were secretly discussing.
If it were her, she couldn't resist—even if she got caught eavesdropping, she'd still want to go.
As for what would happen if she got caught, that was a problem for later.
Right now, Iroha Isshiki only cared about the present, not the future.
Punishment? She wasn't afraid at all. Really, not the slightest bit.
"Go if you want. Just don't drag me into it,"
Yukino Yukinoshita made her stance clear.
At the moment, Lin Ye still had a certain deterrent effect on her—she had no interest in experiencing whatever punishment he might have in mind.
"But eavesdropping alone is no fun. Why don't we go together—I'll do the listening, and you can just relax nearby,"
Iroha Isshiki said, sounding quite reasonable as she gave Yukino an excuse. But Yukino clearly wasn't buying it.
She had no intention of going.
"Go listen if you want. I'm not curious—I can just ask Lin Ye directly,"
Why eavesdrop when you could just ask outright?
That was Yukinoshita's answer.
"What if Senpai doesn't want to tell you?"
Isshiki didn't think Lin Ye would come clean so easily.
"He'll tell me. If I ask, he'll tell me,"
Yukino Yukinoshita said, her confidence on full display.
Iroha Isshiki felt it completely—so much so that, for a moment, she thought Yukinoshita-senpai and Senpai Lin's relationship must be extremely close, close enough that he'd tell Yukino-senpai absolutely everything.
No, no, that couldn't be. Their relationship couldn't possibly be that close—it had to be a misconception, an illusion.
She didn't need to dwell on it.
Iroha Isshiki shook her head, tossing the stray thought out of her mind.
"Well, if you're not going, Senpai, then I will,"
she said, and with that, Iroha Isshiki gave up trying to convince Yukino any further.
There was no time to waste—if she didn't hurry, she'd miss whatever interesting, important thing was about to happen.
Though depending on where they went, she might not catch anything useful anyway—she'd just have to watch from a distance and see if anything interesting happened.
If this time Senpai and Senpai Miura ended up hugging and kissing again, that would prove there was some intimate relationship between them that she and Yukinoshita-senpai didn't know about.
As Isshiki walked off, Yukino Yukinoshita said nothing more. She did pull out her phone, thinking to text Lin Ye and warn him that Isshiki was headed over to eavesdrop.
But after a moment's thought, she put the phone away.
No need. There was no need for that.
That was their business to sort out. She wasn't going to get involved.
Having made up her mind, Yukino Yukinoshita headed for the classroom.
Along the way, many eyes turned toward her.
She was used to that kind of attention and didn't think much of it, but today the stares seemed far more intense than usual, brimming with curiosity and the urge to pry.
Yet because of who she was, no one dared approach to ask or pry.
Yukino Yukinoshita reached her seat.
The International Class students filed in one after another.
Some of the whispered gossip concerned her, so many kept their voices low, not wanting Yukinoshita to overhear.
She simply looked away, gazing out the window.
The morning sun had just risen, its light bathing all of Sobu High in the glow of a spring dawn.
That evening—she was due to see Ryou Fujibayashi.
That adorable nurse.
Surely that nurse wouldn't actually show up tonight in her nurse's uniform to invite him over?
That kind of blatant, obvious temptation wouldn't be appropriate, would it?
How would she even respond to something like that?
Yukino Yukinoshita felt a bit troubled, unsure of the right way to handle it.
"I'll just deal with it as it comes. She probably won't go too far,"
If she did go too far, though, Yukino wouldn't hold back.
Her own boyfriend was hers to guard.
Let every one of those little cheaters trying to sneak a taste think twice.
Her biggest rival was still Mai Sakurajima; the other women barely registered, not worth much concern.
Yukino Yukinoshita silently made up her mind.
Meanwhile, Iroha Isshiki, brimming with curiosity, had followed after them.
Just as she'd expected, Senpai Miura had led Senpai to the same spot where the two of them used to meet secretly.
It felt like their regular, secret meeting spot by now.
It really was secluded, though. A decent place for a private talk.
Isshiki watched anxiously, but found no one there besides Miura Yumiko.
That puzzled her. Then a voice at her ear made her whole body jolt, as if she'd been dropped into an ice cellar.
"Peeping isn't very nice, is it?"
It was Lin Ye's voice.
Isshiki's whole world lurched.
When had Lin Ye gotten here? Wasn't he supposed to be over there with Senpai Miura?
She was confused, stunned.
Isshiki swallowed and looked at him, her tone carefully gentle. "Senpai, what do you mean? I—
—don't know what you're talking about!"
She refused to admit it, absolutely refused.
How could she possibly admit to something like this? Admitting it would be an eternal hell.
An outcome she couldn't accept.
Some things were true, but you just couldn't admit them—that was reality.
Isshiki understood this well.
Even if Senpai knew she'd been eavesdropping and peeking, as long as she refused to admit it, there wasn't much he could do—he'd just have to let it go, maybe scold her a little. What else could he do?
Nothing, really.
"Not going to admit it?"
"Admit what? I really just happened to pass by, that's all—I came here for a walk, just strolling around,"
Even Isshiki herself didn't buy that excuse—it simply didn't hold up.
Lin Ye chuckled dryly.
This girl really had no shame—thick-skinned to the core.
"If you admit it, I might go easy on you,"
he coaxed.
"No, really, I didn't..."
"Sigh,"
Lin Ye shook his head with a sigh. "Seems like you've forgotten what I can do,"
Instantly, the forgotten memory surfaced in her mind, and Isshiki panicked.
"Senpai, don't!"
she said, her voice trembling slightly.
"You really shouldn't use that carelessly. Using it too much would really affect you,"
Yes—Isshiki feared that if Lin Ye used Hypnosis too much, he'd become hopelessly addicted to it.
Then he'd start solving every problem with Hypnosis, on anyone at all.
That would be a nightmare path to go down. She couldn't even bear to imagine it.
Isshiki genuinely didn't want Lin Ye heading down that road.
If Lin Ye ever became some kind of arch-criminal through Hypnosis and got caught, the future would be unimaginable.
"Relax, I'll restrain myself, I'll keep it in check, I'll stay in control,"
"Good, that's good. As for me, Senpai, you can totally—"
"I definitely will—make you a bit more obedient,"
Isshiki froze awkwardly.
Wait, shouldn't he NOT use it on me?!
"Senpai, don't use it on me. Really, don't. It really wouldn't be good to use it on me, I'm really not a good fit for it,"
Isshiki insisted further.
She had no idea what she might turn into if Lin Ye hypnotized her.
Having once experienced the recovered memories of a hypnotized period, she really never wanted to go through that again.
She truly didn't want to experience that again.
Who knew what Senpai might turn her into this time with Hypnosis.
Isshiki had no idea at all.
Though she was fairly sure Lin Ye wouldn't hypnotize her into becoming some kind of weapon.
Senpai did have his limits on certain things—he wouldn't go completely off the rails.
As for everything else, that she really couldn't guarantee.
Losing her memory, or even losing her feelings and her relentless pursuit of him—in Lin Ye's eyes, that was entirely possible.
But that was something Isshiki had no wish to experience.
"You love stirring up trouble so much—this is the only way I know to make you settle down. Forgive me, Isshiki,"
"No, no, no! I won't eavesdrop anymore, I really won't! I'm leaving right now!"
With that, Isshiki, pale-faced, took off at once, moving fast, terrified that if she was too slow Lin Ye might catch up and make it hard for her to walk.
She quickly vanished from sight.
Lin Ye turned and headed back to Miura Yumiko.
"All right, she's gone. There's no one else around,"
When he'd arrived, he'd already used Perspective to scan the area and confirmed Isshiki had followed—he knew right away the girl meant to eavesdrop and peek.
And Miura Yumiko clearly didn't want anyone else around.
"So, what's this about?"
Lin Ye asked her.
He suspected she'd come to talk privately about the Haruno situation.
But according to both Haruno and Yukino, that matter should already be settled.
Nothing more should be needed there.
"Thanks for earlier,"
Miura Yumiko said, her tone softening.
She was thanking him for what he'd done.
If Lin Ye hadn't gone along with it, she really might have been stuck with no way to save face, turned into a laughingstock at Sobu High.
That was something she couldn't have stomached.
As Sobu High's proud golden-haired belle, Miura Yumiko was known for her haughty demeanor and presence. If she'd caved and become the school's joke, she'd have had no face left to keep going here.
Lin Ye had preserved what little dignity she had left.
To her, that was already a great favor.
Even knowing that it probably meant nothing to him, still, proper thanks were still in order.
Or so Miura Yumiko believed.
"I'll accept your thanks,"
Lin Ye said easily. "So what's the important thing?"
If she'd only come to say thanks, she wouldn't have needed to drag him all the way here—he knew that much.
So there had to be something more important on Miura Yumiko's mind.
What could it be?
He waited for her to speak.
Miura Yumiko hesitated where she stood, her fingers fidgeting together, looking a bit uneasy, as if unsure whether to say it or not.
"We don't have much time. Class starts soon. I don't mind being late, but... don't you?"
Lin Ye thought that, for all her gyaru-girl looks, Miura Yumiko was still, at heart, a rule-abiding good student.
That description clashed completely with her golden hair, but it was the truth.
"I understand,"
Miura Yumiko said, nodding. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, releasing the tension building inside her.
For her, this was a huge challenge.
Before, there had been an element of coercion—Lin Ye had taken advantage of her.
But this time, Miura Yumiko was acting on her own initiative.
That made it feel entirely different.
Even so, she was determined to go through with it.
She had to do this—otherwise, once Lin Ye came to demand it himself, she might end up giving even more.
This was her way of thanking him—giving it freely, on her own terms, so Lin Ye would stop pushing her around and overriding her wishes in the future.
That was what Miura Yumiko was thinking, right then.
The golden-haired girl stepped toward Lin Ye, coming to stand beside him.
Lin Ye, not understanding what she meant to do, frowned slightly.
And then—Miura Yumiko grabbed his wrist with one hand, rose onto her toes, leaned in, and pressed her lips to his.
Yes—she'd kissed him, right on the mouth.
It left Lin Ye slowly forming a string of question marks in his head.
Who was she? What was she doing? Was I just... kissed?
A jumble of questions swirled through Lin Ye's mind.
He had no idea why Miura Yumiko had suddenly done this.
In his stunned daze, he felt Miura Yumiko take hold of his hand and guide his fingers into something soft.
What was this? As if he didn't know.
That feel—he knew it all too well.
But why? Why was Miura Yumiko doing this?
That single question kept circling in his mind.
Even now, he had no idea what had prompted the golden-haired girl to do this.
Could it be... that she'd actually fallen for him?
That couldn't be. Absolutely impossible.
Lin Ye was completely confident of that.
All he could say was—there had to be something going on that he didn't know about.
Haruno had probably kept something from him, something to do with all this involving Miura Yumiko.
Once he got back, he'd have to give Haruno a proper interrogation.
For now, though, he decided to ask Miura Yumiko first—though he had no idea whether the golden-haired girl would be willing to say.
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