I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Then why don't you touch it?" she retorted, completely baffling.

Yuu Tenkuji replied helplessly, "This is a school. Although not many people come here, if someone really sees me touching your leg here, Hiratsuka-sensei will come to talk to me with his iron fist again."

"Is it okay to hold him like this?"

“Okay, I admit it.” He lowered his head and gently pressed his burning lips to the side of her hair, jokingly saying, “I was just afraid that if I touched you, I wouldn’t be able to control myself and would end up making sure you weren’t really wearing anything.”

Chapter Ninety-Six: Different Kinds of Preference

"Well……"

As if she had also imagined that scene, Natsukawa Masaki's breathing quickened for a moment. She lightly gripped his hand behind her back and deliberately said in a cold voice, "So all that gentlemanly behavior you had before was just an act? You pervert!"

"If I were really faking it, do you think my hands would be so well-behaved?"

"Then why are you being so proper? Is it because my legs are hard to touch, or are you thinking about other women?! Confess now!"

"..."

This guy is getting more and more unreasonable.

"Pfft... Hahahaha..."

It was as if she could see his expression. Even though her face was still buried in his chest, Natsukawa Masaki couldn't help but laugh, her tone returning to its usual relaxed and carefree manner.

"Alright~ Lord Zhenliang will be merciful this once and won't tease you anymore."

"Are you finally going to get off me?"

"Dream on—" As if she had found the perfect pillow, she leaned lazily against him, relaxing all her strength and enjoying the feeling of being gently supported by him. "At least let me stay like this until the lunch break is over."

"In return, I won't resist whatever you do to me. Isn't that a good deal?"

He had said similar things countless times, and Natsukawa Masaki knew that he would remain unmoved, just like before.

"Really?" To her surprise, Tenkuji Yu's tone became excited. "You'll do anything as long as I let you stay?"

"What...what do you want me to do?"

"What do you think? Of course, it's something every man wants to do."

The low, undisguised laughter, brimming with barely concealed desire, caused Natsukawa Masaki to instinctively bring her legs together, her blood rushing to her head.

Amidst her increasingly rapid, anxious, and expectant heartbeat, Yuu Tenkuji said:

"Shout its name out loud and become Ultraman Ze!"

"???"

……

Of course, the attempt to tease him backfired, ruining the ambiguous atmosphere. Naturally, Natsukawa Masuzu lost interest in continuing to play tricks on him.

She simply closed her eyes and slept peacefully in his arms like a child, letting go of all her bravado and maturity, revealing only her fragile and pale face.

The cool breeze outside the pavilion was quiet, unable to stir her silver hair that fell beside her ears; the rustling of the branches and leaves could not startle her gently falling eyelashes.

Brushing aside a few strands of bangs, Tenkuji Yu gazed at that delicate and beautiful little face.

She possesses the charm of a foreign girl and the quiet demureness of a Japanese girl; in short, she is very beautiful.

...I don't know if it's just my imagination, but she looks much better than when we first met.

“Ayu.”

She suddenly spoke, as if in a dream, her face still serene and peaceful as she slept.

His voice was even gentler than I had imagined.

"what happened?"

"are u there?"

"You can see me as soon as you open your eyes."

"You'd be gone if you didn't open your eyes?"

"……I am here."

"Really?"

"Just kidding."

"Then what is this thing supporting me?"

"It's a cell phone, please don't let this chapter fail to pass the review."

"I'll ask you one more time, are you there?"

"I'm here."

Will you leave?

"meeting."

"When?"

"When you don't remember me."

"Then you'll always be here."

Natsukawa Masaki laughed, and Tenkuji Yu also laughed.

As if to confirm his presence, the girl grabbed his collar, took a deep breath, and then let out a happy sigh.

"Ayu, I like your...smell."

He is not himself, and he wouldn't be full of lies.

Therefore, Yuu Tenkuji will always be by Masuzu Natsukawa's side.

That's enough.

That afternoon, she was still dreaming a beautiful dream she didn't want to wake up from.

△

When the lunch break bell rang, Yuu Tenkuji returned to the classroom.

"Xiaoyou, are you going to have lunch with Xia Chuan again?"

Just then, Yui Yuigahama came in from outside with a bento box and struck up a conversation with him.

Tenkuji Yu looked up from her phone: "You too, going to the Service Club to chat with lonely Yukinoshita again?"

"Don't make Yuki sound so pitiful, okay? Besides, you were the one who went to the Service Club for dinner first, but now you're the only one who's not here!" Yui Yuigahama complained, and as she passed by him, she inadvertently saw his screen.

It's Natsukawa Masaki again...

You just had a lunch date, don't you want to be apart for even a second longer?

Yui Yuigahama had to admit that she was incredibly jealous, and also felt a little wronged and upset.

She was used to all of this, so she could still gloss over it with a smile:

"Haha, I have a feeling you two are becoming more and more like a real couple... You were so reluctant at first, saying you would never do anything real..."

Tenkuuji Yu put away his phone, gazed into the distance, and sighed deeply:

"Yui, no matter how unwilling you are, you can't stop the changes in people's hearts—whether it's renting a boyfriend, dating an online boyfriend, or pretending to be a boyfriend, not every word you say can last until the end... unless, you transcend humanity."

Yui Yuigahama blinked blankly: "Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean... I only know that you borrowed a line from the first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."

"What I mean is, just be yourself and don't worry about so many trivial things."

Tenkuji chuckled and stretched easily.

"Besides, do I look like I like that guy?"

Hesitating for a moment, Yui Yuigahama lowered her eyes and whispered, "Now, it's becoming more and more like it."

"..."

As if his acting had slipped up, or as if someone had suddenly revealed his secret, Yuu Tenkuji rarely showed such undisguised astonishment.

After a long while, he returned to his nonchalant composure, with only a helpless smile on his lips.

"I see... Just like I said at the beginning, this day was bound to come sooner or later."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yui looked at him, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

“Xiao You…”

I was here first.

Whether it was getting to know each other or confessing my feelings, I made my feelings clear to you a long time ago... so why did you still fall for her?

Why can't you see me right next to you?

If I find a reason to ask you to be my fake boyfriend, will you unknowingly fall in love with me like you did with Natsukawa?

—A tearing pain shot through my chest, and I had so many questions and misunderstandings I wanted to share with him.

But looking at that familiar yet gradually fading profile, Yui Yuigahama still smiled and shook her head, saying nothing more. She simply bit her trembling lips and quietly passed by him.

"Seeing the person you like like someone else is even more painful than being rejected after confessing your feelings..."

But there's nothing we can do about it, right?

If Natsukawa really snatched her away, I can only blame myself for not being charming enough and for not knowing how to actively seduce him...

I was actually mentally prepared back when we went on the autumn outing.

I now know you never liked me, because I finally saw how you liked her.

"Haha, we lost."

Yui Yuigahama hugged her lunchbox tightly, lowered her head, and quickly walked back to her seat, trying not to let anyone see her furrowed brow.

After all, I bet I look really bad smiling right now.

Even so, we cannot escape reality—even if we can't be fireworks, we should at least be like incense sticks, slowly burning in our own corner.

Let's cherish this lingering affection and silently wish him all the best!

Because, while liking him...