I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

“Natsukawa-kun, I wasn’t saying anything discordant.”

Natsukawa Masaki touched the corner of her mouth with interest: "Really? That's not what I heard just now."

"Seriously, your vigilance is too low. If someone else overhears our request, it'll all be the Service Club's fault, and you won't be either?"

As she spoke, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone became more dangerous and sharp.

Yui Yuigahama shook her head, her expression unchanged: "If that really happens, I'm willing to take full responsibility. I'll do anything to compensate you..."

"But I believe that if Xiaoyou were here, our conversation wouldn't be overheard by anyone else. So that's impossible!"

Startled by that unwavering trust, Natsukawa Masaki then curled her lips into a mocking smile.

"...That's really funny."

January Bounty End and Statistics

The bounty has ended.

Thank you all for your strong support. Fortunately, as expected, the number of extra chapters was not as exaggerated as the twenty-seven chapters last time, but within the range of a dozen or so, which made me breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Although my updates have been a bit unstable lately, and I've returned to my usual erratic schedule, I've already made up for the 27 updates, so what's a dozen or so? It's just a matter of time.

If nothing unexpected happens, the bounty should be paid off in January... Well, the future is an unpredictable stage of fate, so take all the grand pronouncements with a grain of salt.

Anyway, I won't renege on it~

-

The following are the results of the bounty offer.

blade:

2610 - 1951 = 659 (6th update)

Tip:

37.53 - 30.44 = 7.09 (7th update)

Total: 13 chapters. More than half of them were razor blades, so rounding up, we'll add one more chapter, making it 14 chapters.

Extra chapters are not included.

-

Alright, let's start listing the sins of adding extra chapters!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Uncle, I love watching women argue.

If you ask what's funny, it's definitely the dog-like trust and the overly self-righteous attitude.

Natsukawa Masaki couldn't help but let out a sneer through his nose.

...I could tell yesterday that this Yui Yuigahama is a typical love addict whose brain has been poisoned by love and who can no longer think normally.

It had nothing to do with Tenkuji Yu standing next to her. That guy who did whatever he wanted just because he "liked" her made her very unhappy.

"If you had any objections, why didn't you say so yesterday? Don't you think it's a bit too late to offer your hindsight opinions now?"

Like a rose with thorns slowly blooming, Natsukawa Masaki spoke softly as she walked towards the two.

Unlike her usual docile and obedient demeanor towards strangers, she directly tore off her good-girl facade in front of Yui Yuigahama, revealing her sharp side.

"Yuigahama-san, Yu accepted this request voluntarily. Even as a friend, aren't you being a bit too concerned?"

Yui Yuigahama did not lower her head, but met the slightly mocking gaze head-on.

"Well, I admit I was being a bit nosy."

Her voice didn't tremble at all; only her inhalation was slightly more pronounced.

"Not only that, but yesterday he clearly acquiesced to the commission, but now he's privately giving opinions to Xiaoyou, doing things like a loser trying to drag others down... I'm really very cunning!"

With a decisive and clear assessment of herself, Yui Yuigahama's gaze became even more resolute, as if she would never back down even if everyone pointed fingers at her.

Yuu Tenkuji had seen that expression once before.

In the autumn of her junior year of middle school, she vowed to herself that she would definitely get into the same high school as him—just like now, an unwavering light shone in those eyes that were always smiling foolishly, hesitant, and gentle.

Two years later, she still stubbornly and persistently leaves people helpless in some strange places.

"you……"

The unexpectedly straightforward answer seemed to catch Natsukawa Masaki off guard, and she opened her mouth and remained silent for a moment.

However, she paused for a moment, then walked around Yui Yuigahama and went to Yuu Tenkuji's side, defiantly taking his arm.

"Unfortunately, the truth is that your Service Department couldn't think of a better way, which is why Ayu had no choice but to agree to be my fake boyfriend... Well, it's really shameless for the one asking for a favor to say such things."

"So, I'm very grateful for his gentleness; I almost fell in love with him because of it."

Speaking words that were hard to tell whether they were true or false, Natsukawa Masuzu observed Yui Yuigahama's slightly changing expression and suddenly laughed.

"But don't worry! I've said before that I hate being in love, to the point of loathing it."

"If he ever finds someone he likes, or wants to date someone else... for example, if you start dating, I will decisively abandon this commission and do my best to help him pursue the girl he likes."

Is that alright?

With an expression that seemed to say this, Natsukawa Masaki shrugged and said, "Now that things have come to this, you can't erase everyone's memories and start all over again, can you?"

The rumors of their relationship were already established, and a sudden "breakup" would only make things more ridiculous. She couldn't and wouldn't give Yui Yuigahama a chance to persuade Yuu Tenkuji.

...Because the only leverage she had, the threat of "renting a boyfriend," had become ineffective, Natsukawa Masuzu was actually in a passive and vulnerable position in front of him.

Aside from persuading him with reason, moral persecution, or seducing him with her body, she is basically unable to influence Tenkuji Yu's decisions and is always at risk of being betrayed.

—That's right, just like the girl with the bun hairstyle in front of me.

Unable to take the lead, she could only humbly and pitifully beg for his favor; no matter how composed she appeared, it was just a lie to deceive herself.

Thinking about this, Natsukawa Ryou felt very unhappy, and also felt a strange anxiety and unease, and his expression became slightly ugly.

Even the arm holding Tenkuji Yu was held with a slight force, as if she wanted to give him a reverse cross brace.

"???"

Yuu Tenkuji looked completely bewildered, not understanding why she had suddenly gone crazy.

"...Yes, you're right, Natsukawa-kun. But my perspective is different from yours."

After a long silence, Yui Yuigahama gave a wry smile as if in agreement, but then looked directly at Natsukawa Masuzu with clear eyes.

"You might not care about the downsides of pretending to be a couple... but what about Xiaoyou?"

"..."

Like a pond being emptied from a lake, Tenkuji Yu and Natsukawa Masuzu both gazed at her quietly.

"You're forced to have close contact with a girl you've only known for a short time, and then be looked at strangely by everyone. After school, you're even forced to walk home with her... After taking advantage of his gentleness and his kindness, have you ever considered Xiaoyou's feelings?"

Explaining in a gentle tone, Yui Yuigahama shook her head and smiled, "I don't think so! Because even just now, you only grabbed Yu's arm to show off to me—that's so strange."

Natsukawa Masuzu subconsciously let go of Tenkuji Yu's hand. When she realized that she was wavering and wanted to hug him back, her fingers hesitated in mid-air.

At the same time, Yui Yuigahama stared straight at her as she looked away.

"When two strangers pretend to be a couple, shouldn't they be more considerate of each other's feelings? Why can't you even do this?"

Her fists clenched, and the pink-haired girl's face tightened as she spoke with unusual seriousness:

"Even as just Xiaoyou's good friend, I don't want to see him looking unwilling and forced to endure it because of your willfulness!"

Yui Yuigahama clearly saw the expressions on Tenkuji Yuu's and Totsuka Saika's faces during their conversation.

That's why she finally mustered up the courage to pull him out of the "fake girlfriend" situation and didn't want him to continue suffering like this.

The reasons are superficial and based on emotions.

Yui Yuigahama has been this kind of simple-minded idiot since two years ago.

"..."

As if the truth had been revealed, Natsukawa Masaki was speechless for a moment.

Despite having fluent speaking skills, I suddenly couldn't think of a way to respond to the other person.

It has nothing to do with reason; it's purely because of the other person's attitude. It's not about criticizing her from the standpoint of "love" or "jealousy," but rather clearly pointing out that her behavior was wrong and wanting to seek justice for my friend.

Because it is the truth, there is no room for sophistry.

Because the purity of love is so low, it makes people lose their fighting spirit and even unconsciously begin to reflect on their own actions.

"……wrong."

Natsukawa Masaki shook her head, banishing the thought of feigning weakness from her mind. Her gaze froze, and she once again displayed a confident and composed smile.

"You're making it sound so high-sounding, Tuanzi-chan, haven't you forgotten the most important premise?"

"What?" Yui Yuigahama blinked in surprise.

Natsukawa Masuzu confidently stated, "Tenkuji Yuu-kun—is Yuu really unwilling? Or does he enjoy this request so much that you don't need to worry about him?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: World Famous Paintings

"Of course..."

"Alright, stop talking to yourself here!" Natsukawa Masaki interrupted her, his expression calm and rational, but his tone unconsciously becoming stern.

"It's no use for us to hold our own opinions. What the person says is what matters. Otherwise, no matter how much they talk about being a 'fake girlfriend' or a 'good friend,' they're just a bunch of self-indulgent 'actors'."

After she finished speaking, she added, "If you haven't heard the story of 'You Are Not a Fish,' I can tell you the whole story right now."

"……All right."

Yui Yuigahama had nothing to say, so she could only turn her trusting gaze to Yuu Tenkuji and say sincerely, "Yuu, I know you are a very gentle person... but when everyone was saying that you and I were boyfriend and girlfriend in middle school, didn't you also find their looks and rumors annoying?"

"With me and Xiaoxue here, as long as our service department takes the time to come up with a solution, we can definitely avoid this situation!"

Because of what happened in the past, Yui Yuigahama is able to empathize with Yuu Tenkuji in the present.

"Are they dating already?", "Have they done it?", "With a body like that, it must have been really fun..."