I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Yui Yuigahama sighed helplessly, but still extended her hand to her with a smile.

"Ok!"

"As long as you don't mind, your friend is your former love rival!"

"..."

Natsukawa Masaki blinked her big eyes and slowly withdrew her outstretched hand: "I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it... To be honest, I'm a little bothered by it. Let me think about it some more."

"Hey!"

Even someone as good-natured as Yui couldn't help but bare her teeth and shout.

Natsukawa Masuzu playfully stuck out her tongue and grabbed her hand, shaking it: "Just kidding~ Let's get along well, Dango-chan!"

Yui Yuigahama puffed out her cheeks and complained, "Seriously, Natsukawa-san... no, Ryo, stop making these teasing jokes all the time."

Natsukawa Masaki shrugged, looking completely innocent: "I'm sorry, but I can't comply. Just like vampires want to eat bread rolls or Stand users are attracted to each other, it's an instinct deeply ingrained in my DNA!"

"How annoying this instinct is!"

The sauna was filled with steam, and even though the other person was right in front of you, their face was still somewhat blurry.

Even so, there is one thing that can be clearly confirmed at this moment.

—Natsukawa Masuzu and Yuigahama Yui, who started as rivals with lies, officially became good friends who soaked in hot springs together.

……

"By the way, Tuanzi-chan, I have a question for you."

"what?"

"How can I believe that this feeling is what they call love?"

"Hmm, that's a philosophical question. I'm not sure I can come up with any brilliant answer."

"It's okay, I just wanted to hear your thoughts."

"Let me think... Hmm, whether it's love, dreams, or family, when strong emotions arise, they are often accompanied by pain. Right?"

"Yes, that's why I subconsciously denied it."

"But I think that encountering that sense of incongruity is the most precious thing in my life."

"……Feel sorry."

"I told you there was no need to apologize. It was Xiaoyou who fell in love with you, not you who took Xiaoyou away from me... Well, let's try to follow our hearts and see! After that, maybe we can give this feeling a name."

"I've got it. Thank you, Dango-chan."

"You're welcome, Xiao Liang. Keep it up!"

Everyone can be changed by the people around them, and they will also be changed by the changes they make.

Like gears... perhaps, this is the shape of fate?

Yui Yuigahama nodded as if she understood, then couldn't help but chuckle smugly:

"Such profound thoughts actually came to mind! Have I become as clever as Xiaoxue? That's so true of me!"

The hot spring steam filled the indoor space, but the stone surface underfoot was still a bit cold.

Following her new friend, Yui Yuigahama waved with a smile to Yukino Yukinoshita in the hot spring pool, then quickly ran towards the pool.

Ignoring the fact that the towel had slipped from his body mid-air, he pounced on her with two wobbly cotton candy-like balls in his arms.

The chest pain seemed to have never occurred.

Only the satisfaction of fulfilling a certain mission warms the whole heart.

Chapter 141 So Cool! (Two Chapters Combined)

After everyone finished their bath, Asuna Yuuki came to visit them as promised.

That night, Yuu Tenkuji played games in his room with a group of fragrant girls until almost midnight before he and Masuzu Natsukawa escorted Asuna Yuuki back to the Black Lily Academy's outpost.

Of course, even if there are five women and one man in the room, the process is still healthy and wholesome.

The group played standard versions of Monopoly and UNO. As for the unconventional versions of Monopoly and King's Game suggested by Yukino Yukinoshita, they were unanimously rejected, successfully preventing any strange developments from occurring.

Nothing happened on the way back with Masuzu; they chatted a bit on the way there and returned quietly, simply holding hands as they walked along the quiet streets of Kyoto, side by side looking at the clear and transparent night sky, a few stars reflected in their eyes, with the same gentle brightness.

Back at the guesthouse, they parted at the door. Natsukawa Masuzu looked at him hesitantly, her small mouth slightly open.

"...Goodnight, Ayu."

In the end, she just smiled, tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, then walked quickly toward the group room with a rosy face.

"What...?"

Turning around, Yuu Tenkuji pushed open the door to the private room, touching her cheek with a puzzled look on her face.

However, a familiar premonition quickly surfaced, making him almost certain, in a moment of realization—

"Is time running out?"

The same thing happened last time and the time before that. The repetitive process could be described as a routine. In addition, I had prepared myself mentally before coming. Apart from feeling a little lonely, I didn't feel any regret or sadness.

He simply turned off the lights, drew the bed curtains, and plunged the room into perpetual darkness, not allowing a single ray of light to penetrate into any corner.

Then I lay down fully clothed and silently waited for that moment to arrive tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.

Tonight's dream is all memories.

……

The following morning, the National Kendo Championship reached a crucial point in its decisive round.

Today they will go straight to the semifinals, and the remaining two teams will play their final match tomorrow morning to determine the champion of this national tournament.

As a result, the atmosphere at the competition was even more tense than yesterday, and there were many more spectators in the stands. The shouts of encouragement made the air in the stadium feel like flames, burning brighter and brighter in this winter.

In the first match, Zongwu High School ran into trouble—the second striker accidentally twisted his wrist during yesterday's intensive training, but he endured it without saying a word and made it to the competition, where he struggled to deal with an even stronger opponent than before.

They finally managed to tie the game, but after Captain Himura forcefully removed his gauntlet, a noticeable bruise and swelling was visible, clearly indicating that he would be unable to play in the next match.

Inside the lounge, the menacing bald man knelt on the floor, his hands supporting him, bowing deeply to the other team members, especially the coach and the team leader.

"The next semifinal match is against Jiuyushan. I know about their second striker; their substitute, Kuroda, will be removed from the first division... I'm willing to accept any punishment when I go back. Please let me continue playing!"

Everyone looked at each other, no one spoke, they just silently avoided the direction his head was pointing, leaving only the coach, the captain and vice-captain, and Tenkuji Yu standing there, looking down at him as he performed the dogeza (a type of prostration).

"With your skills, Kuroda could easily beat you with one hand right now," Yuu Tenkuji said calmly, arms crossed.

"Come on, give it a try!" The bald man suddenly raised his head, his eyes as red as an angry bull, filled only with impatience and pleading to prove himself. "It's just a sprain, if I beat him, please let me play!"

Tenkuji Yu raised an eyebrow: "Is this the belief that you want to win the game? You think you can beat a strong opponent even when you're injured, disregarding the risk of defeat, and risking your teammates' victory or defeat just to prove your strength?"

"..." The bald man was speechless and could only clench his fists and stare at him.

"Well, although I don't think I'm qualified to talk to you about this, I'm just a little bit better than you, so I can speak louder." Tenkuji Yu sighed and shrugged slightly. "Baldy, it was your fault for overtraining and injuring your hand. Didn't I tell you yesterday to keep things in check and not overdo it? Since you knowingly did it, it's only natural that you should be punished by being removed from the competition, right?"

"I have a name, it's ○○○○!" The bald man subconsciously asserted his identity.

"That's not important. You're not going to play anyway, so stay in the bench." After saying this without any mercy, Tenkuji Yu looked around at all the members of the kendo club, including the coach and the two captains and vice-captains. "Kuroda will take the second striker position, and then the tactics will change—from now on, we will apply for the 'Jade Dragon Flag' tournament format, with the order of appearance remaining the same, to ensure that we are not completely wiped out before I take the stage."

"So, you can just focus on the game."

"Yes!"

Amidst the unified shouts, only the bald man's voice carried a hint of resentment, while everyone else placed complete trust in him, even feeling more at ease about the upcoming matches.

If this tactic had been used earlier, while there would have been no risk of being eliminated early, there would have been a risk of being wary of the opponent and being unwilling to accept the Jade Dragon Flag format. In the finals, the possibility of securing victory entirely with Tenkuji Yu would have been much smaller.

Now, with the semifinals and finals just around the corner, every team is giving it their all to show their strength and has plenty of confidence and pride in their abilities. Even knowing that Soubu High has a champion who wins every match, they will still accept the tournament format proposed by Soubu High with a mindset of trying and challenging.

After confirming that no one had any objections, Yuu Tenkuji announced the disbandment of the team. They were to meet again in the locker room before the next match, and then go to a corner with the coach, captain, and vice-captain to discuss the upcoming match.

Time flies.

So, in the next match, Soubu High School took the lead in proposing the Jade Dragon Flag format for the first match of this national tournament. After discussing it within their team for a few minutes, their opponent, Kyuyuyama High School, readily accepted it and sent out their star player as the first player, looking ready to crush them from the start.

At this moment, on the second-floor stands.

"What a noisy place... Let's finish what we have to say and go home."

The man in the suit let out a soft sigh, loosened his tie somewhat uncomfortably, and frowned slightly as he walked around the crowd of people moving back and forth in the corridor.

The competition had just begun when he glanced around casually, then turned to the two people following behind him and asked, "Mana, which venue is Mana's boyfriend competing in?"

"You can't see this from here, please follow me."

Glancing at the friendly smile that was always on the other person's face, Natsukawa Mana first gestured to her bodyguard Anka with her eyes, and then followed ahead to lead the way for her father who had come from afar.

The petite blonde girl touched her phone in her pocket, hesitated for a long time, but still didn't send a message to Natsukawa Masuzu to warn him first—mainly because she didn't have the opportunity. She could only deliberately take him to a place far away from her sister to watch the game, just to help him a little.

"He really likes to surprise people, huh... that bastard..."

Thinking this, Natsukawa Mana couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly.

She knew that her father's purpose in returning to the country was to get to know Zhenliang's boyfriend. With Angang around, it was only natural that she would be found out when she secretly came to watch the game. What surprised her was that her father not only came, but also wanted her to take him to watch her brother-in-law's game. He also planned to wait for her in the players' tunnel after the game and talk to her about some "things".

Isn't this a bit too hasty? It's not like something a father who always has everything under control and plans ahead of him would do.

Ultimately, it's strange enough that he would make a special trip to Kyoto. Chiba is his home base, so shouldn't he be sitting at home leisurely, waiting for his brother-in-law to finish the competition before finding a way to contact him?

With many questions in her mind, but none of them daring to be asked, Natsukawa Mana could only use the excuse that "perhaps her father unexpectedly enjoys watching kendo matches" to appease her curiosity, and casually led him to a corner of the second-floor stands.

"The second venue, the position of general of the General Staff High School, belongs to him."

"Hmm." The other person nodded indifferently, ignoring him and scrutinizing a certain boy in the audience.

Mana Natsukawa silently stepped aside, letting out a sigh of relief.

Here, there's no fear of Zhenliang and her father seeing each other. Avoid trouble whenever possible, and leave the rest to her all-powerful brother-in-law—that was her temporary course of action.

Her gaze followed the first floor, locking onto that mature and composed, yet ruthless and decisive, handsome figure, just like yesterday. Natsukawa Mana twirled her blonde ponytail with her little finger, her small nose wrinkled slightly, but a pleasant smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

"Foolish brother-in-law, I've thought so much about you all... If you don't treat me better in the future, I won't let you off the hook!"

As I was thinking this, the first match had already ended.

The general of Jiuyushan easily defeated the vanguard of Zongwu High School. The second vanguard could barely hold his sword and stood opposite him, clearly nervous. The moment the referee announced the start of the match, he moved back and started to move around, seemingly intending to wear down his stamina as much as possible.

"I remember the rules were one-on-one and sequential... so why is he still on the field?"