I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"No, Auntie, I'm only seventeen. You're making me feel too heavy-hearted." Tenkuji Yu pretended to be disgusted and shrank back a little.

Chizuru Mizuhara's forehead veins throbbed, and she slammed her hand on the table, glaring at him angrily, adopting the air of an elder: "Who's the auntie! I'm only twenty years old. Call me older sister, or if you want to call me 'older sister,' I don't mind!"

Yuu Tenkuji clicked his tongue without any attempt to hide it: "Sorry, I have no interest in that kind of role-playing."

"It's clearly the truth!?"

"The accomplished come first. I haven't even asked you to call me 'brother' yet."

"That's more like role-playing!"

They teased each other and had a close conversation for more than two hours, which did bring them much closer.

Compared to their previous dates at the shopping mall, their conversations were much more natural and casual, like ordinary people chatting without pretense. There was no excessive calculation or concealment, and despite their age difference, they still felt comfortable talking to each other like friends.

As dusk approached, Tenkuji Yuuya prepared to say goodbye and escort Natsukawa Masuzu home.

"It's just a small token of my respect, nothing more." After paying the bill, Mizuhara Chizuru gave each of them a small cake and said with some emotion, "The desserts here are quite delicious. Although I don't know why the business is worse than the coffee shop next door, I prefer the taste here... and the mixed coffee is the best I've ever had."

"Really? The store manager will be very happy to hear that."

Yuu Tenkuji didn't say much. He waved from the coffee shop entrance and watched the slender, beautiful figure disappear into the bustling city under the night sky, her back straight and carrying her unyielding dream.

Then she turned her head and reached out her hand to Natsukawa Masaki, who had been as obedient as a potted plant from beginning to end and had not said much.

"Let's go back too."

"Go back?" As if still lost in thought, Natsukawa Masuzu paused for a moment before looking at him as if waking from a dream. "Ah, you're going to take me home, right?"

“If you don’t want to, I can save some effort.” Yuu Tenkuji didn’t mind, and directly grabbed her cold little hand placed at her side and walked towards the station. “But it’s a pity, I promised to cook porridge for you for the next three days, and I usually don’t go back on my promises.”

"So now, let's go to the supermarket to buy everything, then go to your apartment to cook the porridge, and then I'll go back to my own home."

He pulled her along, her skirt casting a thin shadow under the streetlights, and she staggered to catch up, her expression somewhat dazed.

"I thought you were just saying it casually..."

"Then you really don't understand me at all."

Blinking, Natsukawa Masaki teased, "Really? You weren't just saying you liked my abnormal side?"

Yuu Tenkuji didn't turn around, her eyes always fixed on the distance, just like the gray clouds slowly drifting across the distant dome. She answered calmly and without any ripples, "Yes, although I like more than just these places."

"..."

His words, which meant nothing to him but were simply an analysis of his own feelings, had a tremendous impact on the girl behind him.

She walked forward mechanically, staring blankly at the boy's back. It was as if the hustle and bustle of the entire city had left her. The warmth of her palm seeped deeper into her heart, and the slow beating of her heart echoed in her ears.

After a long pause, she muttered softly, "...Too cunning, they actually attacked me at this time."

"I have no intention of raiding anyone."

"Don't you even realize how much favorability you can bring to a girl with just a few words?"

"Ah, maybe so. After all, I am quite popular."

"You scumbag, You scumbag! Mizuhara-san is your next target, isn't she?"

"Is it starting again? Ms. Natsukawa's jealousy contest?"

"It's not because I'm jealous! You silly girl, Ayu, if you want to call someone 'Big Sister' so badly, I'll play with you as many Preys as you want! As long as the door is closed!"

"You should be the one saying that behind closed doors! Didn't you see the strange looks people were giving us?"

"Oh no, this is terrible, my body is starting to act strangely too..."

"What? Is a Black Flame Dragon about to awaken?"

"No, it's that the part of me as the older sister is about to awaken... From now on, please call me Masuzu-sama. You can also call me a lowly little bitch."

"The difference between the two is too great!"

"The time spent teasing each other and holding hands to avoid strange looks from others seems to stretch to the infinite distance, just like this endless street."

"Don't read the narration out loud."

With her silver hair flying, Natsukawa Masaki suddenly quickened her pace, jumped onto his back, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Tenkuji Yu reacted quickly, regaining his balance and grabbing her thigh, then said helplessly, "Hey, what are you doing on the street?"

"Hug you~ Hug you~ Hug you to punish you—!!"

"...Part Two, Baker of the Steel Wire?"

"Tsk, you actually knew that?" The voice, which had been soaring like a bluebird's wings, suddenly turned somber and unpleasant. "It's so annoying that you're so smart."

"To be honest, it would be strange if you could remember such villainous lines."

Tenkuji Yu turned his head, wanting to see her expression, but was blocked by her deliberately puffed-out chest, bumping right into her.

"Instead of looking at my face, look at my chest." Natsukawa Masaki said in a serious tone, as if reciting a famous line.

Tenkuji Yu rolled her eyes, didn't answer, and simply walked with her back to her, seemingly unconcerned amidst the strange gazes around her.

A moment later, warm and soft hands gently embraced him around his neck.

"It's really cold."

“…Hmm?” she answered lazily in a soft voice.

"Aren't you afraid of your skirt showing if I carry you like this?" Even though he was already trying his best to cover her skirt with his hands.

Natsukawa Masaki shook his head, feeling an itchy sensation on the side of his neck.

"Don't worry, I don't want anyone other than you to see this, and you're not interested in seeing it anyway, so I've started wearing safety shorts recently."

"……Yeah."

His slightly amused sigh landed on the two people's footsteps, creating a gradient halo.

Bounty Campaign Summary

With the bounty successfully concluded, let's get straight to the point!

Here's a simple and easy-to-understand data summary:

打赏——41.73w→52.46w（11w打赏，算12w，6更）

Blade count: 2878 → 4442 (calculated as 1600 blades, 8 updates)

Monthly votes - 4843 → 5242 (400 monthly votes, 1 update)

Adding the 8 chapters I owed from before, there are a total of 23 chapters!

Haha, it's not bad, less than I expected, so easy!

There's still half of February left, watch me quickly pay it off!

Bonus Chapter: Valentine's Day x Valentine's Day Tragedy (Part 1)

February 14th, Valentine's Day.

Advertisements for discounted chocolates and chocolate-related merchandise filled the streets. Businesses and couples alike were unabashedly spreading a pink atmosphere, and the streets of Tokyo were filled with the scent of mating... and romance.

Even though the treetops are desolate and the cold wind is biting, that sweet fragrance still hangs like lanterns on the branches, illuminating the restless hearts of everyone.

The park next to the station.

The fountain quietly splashed up cool water droplets. If the dark clouds hadn't obscured the sun, the scattered water droplets would have reflected a warm golden light, and occasionally even formed a faint rainbow.

Yuu Tenkuji stood in front of the fountain for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand and threw his switched-off phone into it.

It was still cold, and there weren't many people in the park. The couples passing by didn't even see what he was doing.

As if nothing had happened, Tenkuji turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and idly admired the gloomy sky.

There were five minutes left until the agreed time—he always had a habit of arriving ten minutes early.

And the only person willing to go along with his habit and always compete to see who arrives first seems to be Yukino Yukinoshita.

Well, it's all in the past anyway.

Yuu Tenkuji shook his head. Just then, he sensed deliberately light footsteps approaching him from the side.

He pretended not to notice and continued to calmly look ahead, when he soon felt a light tap on his left shoulder.

"senior--"

I turned my head to the left, but I didn't see anyone.

Turning her head to the right again, this time, her cool fingertips gently touched her cheek, as if teasing, yet inexplicably tenderly poking it twice.

"Hehe, you got tricked, didn't you~"

The cute girl standing on the right with a mischievous smile is his junior, Iroha Isshiki.

Her flaxen hair swayed back and forth, her legs moved lightly on the ground, and her skirt swayed with her movements.

"Your vigilance is really lacking, senior. You can easily be ambushed like that! You need to be more careful just because you're a senior!"

"If I hadn't deliberately let my guard down, do you think you would have had a chance to run into me?"

Tenkuji Yu rolled her eyes and slapped away the finger that was playfully poking her cheek.

Isshiki smiled nonchalantly, put her hands behind her back, took two steps back, blinked her big eyes, and looked over curiously.

"So, senior, did you deliberately let me run into you?"

"There's no need to overreact."

With his hands still in his pockets, Tenkuji Yuu responded calmly.

With a smile that suggested she had found the answer, Iroha Isshiki raised her finger and said proudly, "That's what they say, but you still like this kind of thing, right? The kind where you're teased by a cute girl in a cute way!"

"Don't call yourself cute, I don't like being played with either." After making a few casual remarks, Tenkuji Yu gestured towards the park entrance and started walking. "Let's go, it's kind of cold here."

"Who told you to choose this place to meet, senior? You brought this on yourself."

With a pout and a complaint, Isshiki Hachiman moved closer, the girl's softness and fragrance suddenly pressing against him, her flaxen hair brushing against his shoulder—it was that close.

"Although there won't be the classic 'Have you been waiting long?' or 'I just got here a short while ago' scenario, since my senior won't answer the way I expect anyway, let's skip that and start our date today!"

A slight smile involuntarily crept onto her lips, but Tenkuji Yu feigned indifference as she said, "A date? I remember I only asked you out to buy something."