I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

The only way to persuade such a person is to demonstrate your own value, make him change his mind and believe that entrusting his daughter to you can create more benefits than a marriage alliance.

...But Yuu Tenkuji doesn't need to do that.

Because as long as it doesn't interfere with his dating life, there's no need for me to compete with Ryoji Natsukawa.

Marriage? Arranged marriage? What does that have to do with Yuu Tenkuji?

Once the mission is over, Natsukawa Ryoji will be a stranger to him. He was never involved in her past, and he doesn't need to accompany her to the end in the future. As Natsukawa Ryoji said, it is too naive to talk about the future now, because the vows made now will change sooner or later.

Because of Yuu Tenkuji, he was unable to stay with his girlfriend until the end.

He will eventually disappear from the other person's memory, so he has no right to guarantee anyone the future, nor is he qualified to talk about life plans other than love.

So in the end, all they can do is bluff, right?

"Mr. Natsukawa, do you know why I started a company and began making money before even graduating from high school?"

Yuu Tenkuji stood up, downed the rest of his iced Americano in one gulp, and slammed the glass down on the table.

"What?" Ryoji Natsukawa looked up at him.

"It's to tell you parents that there's a promising son-in-law here, so don't let him go so easily!"

He thought for a moment, then added, seemingly feeling that his words weren't assertive enough: "Even if you let him go, he might not let your daughter go—don't underestimate a young man's potential; it's hard to say who will be unworthy of whom in the end."

Ryoji Natsukawa looked puzzled: "You guys?"

"Ahem." He let it slip, "Anyway, I'll leave it at that. Father-in-law, your daughter is temporarily under my care. Please don't take her back to Sweden casually, otherwise I'll have to chase her back, which is a lot of trouble."

"I'm sorry, but if she causes trouble here in Japan, I'll still bring her back..."

"Then I will provide her with all the resources she needs to run away from home, and see whether her profit-driven family is more important to her, or her gentle and handsome lover."

Ignoring Ryoji Natsukawa's slightly furrowed brow, Yuu Tenkuji turned and left, leaving behind a single sentence before departing.

"Whether now or in the future, I will accompany her to the end in whatever she wants to do, and I will fight against her to the end in whatever she refuses—because I am Natsukawa Masuzu's boyfriend."

Who cares about qualifications?

If he can't even say something like that to his father-in-law, what kind of boyfriend is he? He might as well go back to the countryside and grow sweet potatoes with his sister!

Most importantly, as long as the timeline changes, the other party will forget whatever he said, so what if he's a little arrogant now?

If you're so capable, go ahead and try to win me over in the future, then talk to me about how much dowry you want!

With such a relaxed and carefree thought, Tenkuji Yuu strolled out of Hoshino, ready to tell Masuzu the good news of the successful negotiation.

Meanwhile, Ryoji Natsukawa silently watched his figure disappear from behind.

"……Father?"

Seeing that the two seemed to have parted on bad terms after their conversation, Natsukawa Mana glanced at the door, then looked back at his expression and asked cautiously.

"What was the result...?"

With a slight pursing of his lips, Ryoji Natsukawa lowered his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "So it really can't be that smooth... If Ryo's attitude is the same as his, then we really have to change our approach."

Seizing the opportunity, Natsukawa Mana immediately said, "Ryo, you definitely like him even more than you think!"

"is it?"

He lowered his fingers from his eyebrows and gently tapped the table.

After thinking for a long time, and taking the business card out of his pocket to examine it again, Ryoji Natsukawa murmured thoughtfully, "It seems that having him join the company and train him as a deputy could generate more profits... It's not a marriage, but an uxorilocal marriage? I can't stick to the old ways; I have to make changes to adapt to this era."

He turned to look at Mana Natsukawa: "Mana, I won't let you go back to Sweden for now. Keep a close eye on them in Japan. If possible, go live with your sister. If anything happens, tell me. You should know what kind of information I want to hear."

"I know~ But Liang is sticking to that apartment, there's no way she'll let me live with her."

Mana Natsukawa pursed her lips, looking impatient, but inwardly she clenched her fist tightly.

Okay, brother-in-law!

Not only did she manage to win over this money-grubbing guy, she even got him to make concessions on how to handle Liang. He truly deserves to be called a super-strong sister-complex guy who dares to lay a hand on me!

The thought of having someone to protect her in the future made Natsukawa chuckle smugly, eagerly anticipating the moment she would go back and brag to her classmates.

"Okay, I'll head back to my office now."

After finishing his coffee, Ryoji Natsukawa stood up. Upon hearing this, Mana Natsukawa waved her hand without even looking up.

"Oh, take care~"

"...Why is this so perfunctory?"

"Ahem, it's nothing. Let me take you to your bus stop, Angang!"

"Yes, I'll go get the car."

"Just asking in advance, Zhenna, you don't have a boyfriend or anyone you like right now, right?"

"Of course not! Dad, what nonsense are you talking about! If you want me to like you, you'd at least need to have the same appeal as my brother-in-law!"

"That's really difficult... Hmm? Something feels off..."

"Don't worry about such a small thing, let's go!"

Not long after, Xia Chuan and his daughter also left Xing○K.

Without causing any disturbance, the Kyoto University campus remained as peaceful as ever.

Chapter 145 This moonlit night will bring everything to an end.

Tonight is a full moon.

She spent the whole afternoon playing with everyone, taking many stunning landscape photos for Kasugano Sora, which aroused her desire to go out and play.

The trip to Kyoto is almost over. After the final tomorrow, Yuu Tenkuji and the others will take a bus back to Tokyo to continue their daily lives, which are no different from any other day.

After soaking in the hot spring, Yuu from Tenkuji Temple strolled around the backyard of her guesthouse in a yukata.

The bathrobes provided by the hot spring inn are different from the pure white ones at the hotel, where you can just pull the belt open and see nothing underneath. They are dark green and thick, somewhat similar to yukatas. Even if the temperature is low in November, as long as you wear a piece of clothing underneath and a shawl on top, you won't get too cold.

Of course, with Yuu Tenkuji's current physique, she wouldn't tremble or catch a cold even if she ran naked outside—she would still feel hot and cold, but she was resistant to cold and could endure hardship.

However, if it's not necessary, he will still dress like an ordinary person, wearing more clothes when it's cold and less when it's hot, so as not to look like a different kind of firework.

That would be pretty stupid, after all.

As for why they didn't stay in the hotel late at night but came to the garden outside to enjoy the breeze and admire the moon, the reason is quite simple.

He is waiting.

On November 11th, at 11 PM, in the sparsely populated backyard of the hotel, I came with Koike Kiyotsuki and the others.

brush--

The sound of slippers crunching on the grass filled the air, soft and gentle, like feathers tickling the eardrums.

Yuu Tenkuji withdrew his gaze from looking up and turned to look over.

The girl's silver hair blended seamlessly with the moonlight, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"It wasn't long before I wanted to go back to sleep."

"You're really good with words."

Natsukawa Masaki looked at him as he turned halfway around.

Perhaps, when you like someone, you can fall into an uncontrollable vortex of emotions.

He makes you cry, disappoints you, and leaves you in pain and confusion—even so, when he stands there, you still walk over and take his hand, involuntarily.

Natsukawa Masaki walked to his side, hugged his arm, and looked at the full moon at the end of the night, gently resting her head on his shoulder.

"The moonlight is so beautiful."

Feeling the warm, jade-like temperature beside him, Tenkuji Yu smiled and asked, "Is this a confession?"

"How dare you ask such a question? Idiot!" She scolded lightly, but her face was flushed red, so the scolding had no power at all. "If you want me, an opponent of love, to confess my feelings, you're still hundreds of years away. Go become an immortal vampire first!"

Yuu Tenkuji said nonchalantly, "Then just confess via text message. Or telepathy would also work. After all, words are just a medium. As long as we understand each other, there won't be any problems."

"You're really persistent..." Natsukawa Masuzu sighed helplessly, "Why do you like me so much?"

As the cold wind froze the treetops, and the girl reflexively hunched her shoulders, Yuu Tenkuji put his arm around her shoulder, building a warm and solid fortress for her.

"Reasons? There are many reasons, I don't know if I can list them all."

Tenkuji Yuu looked nostalgic: "First of all, you are very beautiful and have a great figure."

“It’s too superficial,” Natsukawa Masu criticized, “but I like it.”

"Next, your personality is terrible, just like mine."

"Does anyone talk about their girlfriend like that?" Natsukawa Masuzu frowned. "But I like her."

"Furthermore, you lack common sense, have distorted views, a shady background, are unscrupulous, outwardly strong but inwardly weak, and are both arrogant and cowardly..."

"Aren't these all flaws?! You actually hate me, don't you?" Natsukawa Masuzu glared at him fiercely, gritting her teeth as she said, "But, I like you!"

"Haha... What I like most is your expression when a fake relationship gradually gives birth to real feelings. It's so cute."

A smile played on his lips as Tenkuji Yu embraced her, his mind filled with memories of the past few days.

She threatened to confess her feelings to him using a rented boyfriend; they walked home together after school for the first time; they caused a commotion at school; they had lunch together in the woods; they ran into Natsukawa Mana on the street after a mixer...

We've been through a lot of messy things together, I glimpsed her changed state of mind during an autumn outing, she relied on me and spoiled me, and I gradually realized how much more important I was to her...

The journey with Natsukawa Masuzu was like driving wildly on a road full of pebbles. The road was rugged and the scenery was not very beautiful, but even so, the smiles that were blown by the wind are still memorable.

The most beautiful scenery is perhaps her gradually changing appearance, from being gloomy and twisted at the beginning to being a natural, cheerful, sometimes shy and sometimes bold young girl now.

Unbeknownst to him, these shadows had filled his heart, making him unwilling to give up or leave—if he left, who else but him could stay by Natsukawa Masuzu's side?

Who will have lunch with her when she's lonely? Who will carry her to bed when she has a cold?

Who can resist her incredibly troublesome personality, who can react quickly to her unreasonable demands or sudden jokes, making her smile with satisfaction?

I guess I'll just have to be alone.

In this world, only Yuu Tenkuji can be Natsukawa Masuzu's boyfriend—so she can't live without him, and he can't live without her.

...But what good does it do to reach this conclusion?