I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Ayu?"

After saying "cute," he fell silent. Natsukawa Masuzu couldn't help but look up at him, puzzled.

His profile was incredibly beautiful under the soft moonlight, neither too masculine nor too feminine, just the right amount of beauty that made him pleasing to the eye from the bottom of my heart.

Even though I've seen his face countless times, whenever I see him, my empty chest is quickly filled with warmth, like a migratory bird finding its direction, or a winter snake finding its nest.

Natsukawa Masuzu carefully experienced the emotions at this moment, no longer running away or turning a blind eye—perhaps this was the feeling she had when she was with her mother?

I don't remember some of it. After all, it's been several years since I've seen my mother.

She instinctively tightened her arms, then realized that his hands were supporting her like pillars, dispelling all the loneliness that had overwhelmed her.

In a distance so tight that even the wind couldn't penetrate, a burning and overflowing emotion was gradually rising.

Fortunately, he was there for me.

She always thought her path was dark and lonely, being used by her father as a prop and a showpiece; because of this, it didn't matter how twisted or despicable she was, because a villain should act like a villain. In any case, she would be shattered by the "light" of the protagonists sooner or later, so she might as well do what she wanted to do while she could still move.

And just like that, the scenery before my eyes changed; the desolate and lonely night was now bathed in the warmth of the sun.

Haha, it's like a beautiful fairy tale unfolding!

Her life, Natsukawa Masaki's life, can only be described as a dark fairy tale...

"Ayou, there's something I want to tell you."

The silver-haired girl looked up with her clear eyes.

Under the moonlight, her smile seemed to radiate light.

"Likewise, you go first."

Sky Temple replied with a smile.

Chapter 146 Life is Like a Dark Fairy Tale (10/23)

The two walked along the stone-paved road, strolling along the edge of the ancient courtyard.

In the cold wind, all was quiet except for the rustling of leaves and the moon's shadow. The two of them felt as if it were springtime, and not a trace of coldness could penetrate their surroundings.

“My mother grew up in a Nordic country. It is said that she fell in love with my father, a Japanese businessman, at first sight and ran away to Japan against her family’s wishes.”

She recounted the story of that year in a soft voice, her tone calm: "The Xia Chuan family was a well-known wealthy family in the area, so I had a very happy childhood because I was always with my mother and had no worries about food or clothing—but I don't have many memories of my father."

“My father hates children. I only have memories of seeing him talking to my mother and the maid from afar. I didn’t even realize until kindergarten that I could go home with my father, ride on his shoulders, and have such a good relationship with him.”

"However, that's nothing, because I still have my mother. I'm just a little different from others... Then, not long after, my mother took me away from the Xia Chuan family."

Natsukawa Masuzu looked at her toes, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Although my world has changed from a spacious mansion to a cramped apartment, I still don't feel unhappy... because as long as I can be with my mother, nothing else matters."

"Looking back, the time I spent alone with my mother was truly wonderful. She loves the Japanese magazine JUMP, and you probably know her favorite work, which is the cosmic masterpiece 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.' She would often read it to me with great enthusiasm, not even missing the onomatopoeic words like 'gogogogogo,' which made me like 'JoJo' more and more, and like this work that brings a smile to my mother's face more and more."

"She always smiled so cheerfully in front of me, but she would hide and cry in places I didn't know about."

Sadness flickered in her eyes, but Natsukawa Masaki skillfully concealed these emotions and smiled at him.

"Then when I was seven, my father finally came to our apartment—I still can’t forget how he just said his name on the walkie-talkie and she jumped up excitedly like a little girl, pulled me around in circles, and had an excited and happy smile on her face."

"She still loves her father, doesn't she? If her father and mother could get back together, perhaps we wouldn't have to see her hiding and crying anymore. That would be wonderful."

"Unfortunately, Father didn't come for Mother. All he wanted was me—he needed me, his lovely and obedient daughter, to help him expand his connections in Sweden. As for Mother? Of course, he didn't need her."

"Of course, he was very tactful at the time, only saying that one day he would bring his mother to overseas so that the three of us could be reunited... But as it turns out, that was just a perfunctory lie."

She tilted her head back, took a deep breath at the full moon, as if she wanted to shout "You bastard!" at the sky, but instead she just held onto Tenkuji Yu's hand tightly, closed her eyes and let him lead her forward.

Slippers crunched on the stone surface, and the streetlights among the grass stretched out their shadows, swaying with a dim yellow trail.

“My mother, who said things like ‘Masuzu, you’d be happier if you went and were raised as a daughter of the Natsukawa family,’ and ‘Mom will be there soon, so just wait for me there,’ never appeared in front of me again. Instead, my father’s second wife—that blonde pig bastard’s mother—took her place.”

"I think she really likes you..." After a long silence, Tenkuji Yu finally chuckled and made a sarcastic remark.

"Anyway, I hated both of them back then, but I hated that hypocritical, cold-blooded guy the most... Do you know what he said to me when I was only nine years old?"

Natsukawa Masaki let out a cold laugh, uttering words that seemed capable of freezing.

"What you think in your hearts doesn't matter. I just hope that you can play the role of a harmonious family with me on this occasion. As for why it has to be you, Zhenliang, who came? Because you are as beautiful as a jewel."

"A man who can raise such a beautiful child from his ex-wife while skillfully maintaining a harmonious relationship with his second wife would be praised and trusted in society. Don't you think so?"

"—He bluntly stated this intention to me when I was young."

Seeing the expression still filled with hatred, Tenkuji Yu fell silent.

He can lower himself to talk to high school students, and he can also say such awful things with a smile on his face... Ryoji Natsukawa is more realistic than he imagined.

Not entirely evil, just a businessman who prioritizes profit and treats his family as commodities—but that makes him even more disgusting.

"If only you had told me sooner," he couldn't help but sigh.

"Why?" Natsukawa Masaki tilted his head, his silver hair cascading down like a waterfall.

Tenkuji Yu said matter-of-factly, "That's why I have a reason to punch him in the face! As long as I say it's a family dispute, I won't be afraid of being suspended. I'm also confident that no one else will see me make the move."

"..."

She paused for a moment, then happily rubbed her cheek against his arm: "Even if it's just talk, I'm still very happy."

I'm not just saying this casually, you can ask our dear Mr. Sugo if you don't believe me...

If he still remembers being beaten up.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't say those words aloud, but quietly squeezed her hand, signaling her to continue.

"Of course I decisively rejected him, and at the high society party I kept standing with my back to everyone in the JOJO pose—and then came a month of house arrest, not allowed to go down to the second floor of the mansion, and not allowed to send letters to my mother who was still in Japan."

"Later, Zhenna's mother told me that all I had to do was use my father like she did."

“Whether it’s wealth, connections, or resources, those who use others will always be used… So ever since then, in order to see my mother, I listened to my father’s words and played the role of ‘the jewel of the Xia Chuan family,’ suppressing the ‘crazy diamond’ that was about to emerge at any time, and became the perfect heiress of the Xia Chuan family.”

While speaking, she didn't forget to make a joke, and Natsukawa Masuzu chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Since then, I haven't recognized myself anymore."

“Unlike here, my ‘disguise’ overseas is perfect, you know? No one can see through the fact that beneath the young lady’s appearance lies a filthy and obsessive soul. I’ve used this identity to earn countless amounts of money and connections for the Xia Chuan family.”

She looked at Tenkuji Yu, her face showing helplessness yet also a sense of relief: "But I don't know why... our pretense never goes smoothly."

The two walked to the stone bench, and Tenkuji Yu took out a handkerchief to wipe the dew off the bench before sitting down next to her.

"My butt feels so cold... Can I sit on your lap?"

“It’s possible…” She turned to face him, blushing as she opened her legs, revealing her fair skin beneath the hem of her bathrobe. “Not straddling him, you lie down sideways.”

"Why not..." she muttered, just like when they were having lunch together in the stone pavilion, Natsukawa Masuzu sat across his lap in a princess carry.

She let out a lazy breath and rested her head on his chest: "Then I'll continue~ Later, because I didn't receive any letters from my mother and the JOJO manga that she kept secretly sending, I was very angry and questioned my father, but he just brushed me off... So I decided to gather the servants and secretly go back to Japan, to the apartment where my mother lived, to see her one last time, but I didn't expect that everything had changed."

"The apartment became more upscale, the rent went up, and my mother is gone... but the JOJO manga volumes are still in the room, so I decided to stay and wait for my mother to come back."

"Because she left me a message—'You read these volumes while you wait for me to come back,' and that's absolutely right!"

Her voice was like a child's, filled with stubborn yet straightforward anticipation, and her face shone with a bright, expectant smile.

“From that day on, I tried even harder to play the role of my father, so that he could see my value... I was finally able to come back this September and stay in that promised place, hoping that one day I could reunite with my mother.”

Natsukawa Masuzu raised her hand, her icy fingers gently touching his chin.

"Then, I came to Soubu High School, met you, met Dango-chan, and met all of you."

She cupped his cheek in her hand, squinted her eyes, and smiled innocently.

"Even someone as cunning and despicable as me feels happy just thinking that there are wonderful people like you in this world... That alone is enough to keep me alive. You and Tuan-chan are definitely the best choice."

Chapter 147 Pinocchio Can't Grow a Nose (11/23)

She was smiling, but tears were streaming down her face.

The tears were clear and transparent, just like the eyes that reflected the face of Tenkuji Yu.

"But you hold me so tightly, not letting me feel inferior, not letting me back down, you directly blocked my escape route with your confession... Why did you do this! What should I do? How can I possibly accept your confession?"

As if explaining, yet also as accusing, Natsukawa Masuzu lay in his arms, whispering in a trembling voice:

"Love is nothing more than a transaction. You may give ten parts of love but only receive five parts in return. Even worse, you may give a hundred parts of love but receive not even a single part in return."

“If you misplace your love, you will truly lose everything. When this balance is disrupted, love becomes a blind act… Yes, just like my mother.”

She bit her lip hard, her small hands clenched into fists hanging in front of his collar.

“The people involved are often unaware of this; they are already deeply mired in the mire, yet they believe themselves to be happy from beginning to end.”

"The most terrifying thing about this deal is that it had already failed, yet still believed it to be a success!"

That's why Natsukawa Masuzu said those words with hatred and disgust on that day:

"Loving and falling in love like an idiot, making irresponsible vows, laughing and joking while only having the present moment for happiness, like drugs, religion, or pyramid schemes, leading people astray—ha! That's hilarious! What reason do I have to accept such garbage as love?"

"Those who wish to wallow in self-pity are welcome to do so, but I respectfully decline. Please don't try to impose your hypocritical ideals on me; it will only make me want to vomit!"

It is precisely because I have seen it with my own eyes that I feel such deep hatred for it.

It is precisely because I have suffered so much from it that I vehemently refuse.

"...With thoughts like that, how could I possibly accept your confession?"

Her beautiful face was now a mess.

Natsukawa Masuzu raised her bloodshot eyes, sniffed her stuffy nose, her lips were bitten until they were swollen and red, and only intermittent sobs could be heard.

"I don't want you to leave me, I don't want to be separated from you, I want to be together with you forever, I don't care if I go to hell with you..."

"Why did you want to date me? Why did you say those things on purpose? Why did you make me reject you? Why..."

As if something was stuck in her throat, she choked for a long time before finally letting out a weak, mournful cry:

"Why would you fall for someone like me...?"

Tenkuji Yu closed his eyes and hugged her even tighter.

Her soft, petite body was burning with fever, and she convulsed with intense emotion, rubbing her clothes. Intermittent sobs echoed in my ears.

But he knew that it wasn't crying out of sadness.

Rather than feeling regret and pain, she seemed to be forcing herself to make a choice, to pull her foot out of the nail buried deep in the ground and move forward.