I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Don't worry about it so much, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters, right?" Tenkuji Yu ruffled her bun and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Thank you so much for playing games with my troublesome little sister... I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Of course not, in fact, I should be thanking you."

Yui Yuigahama smiled and shook her head, her gaze falling on the footprints that were running alongside his. Her voice was soft: "It was just my own selfish desire... We achieved an unexpected result, so how could I let you thank me?"

Sky Temple remained silent, letting those words drift away on the wind, without trying to hold them back.

"...Can we come again next time?"

Meeting her probing gaze, Tenkuji Yu pondered for a long while, seemingly scrutinizing her.

"If there's time, it would be a good thing to let Qiong talk to people other than me."

With a soft "pfft," Yui Yuigahama narrowed her crescent-shaped eyes and chuckled, "Sometimes, you two siblings really do talk in exactly the same awkward way~"

“I don’t think so.” Tenkuji Yu shrugged, looking quite smug. “That kind of awkward, tsundere persona is outdated. I am who I am, a firework whose persona cannot be defined.”

Yui Yuigahama stuck out her tongue: "Ugh... I don't understand what you're saying."

"Then give more of your breasts to Yukinoshita."

She blushed and covered her chest: "Pervert! I'm going to tell Xiaoxue!"

"Go ahead, go ahead." A wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and his pace quickened unconsciously. "I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of theory she'll come up with to prove to me that breast size has nothing to do with intelligence."

"Ugh, this Yui is hopeless..." Yui Yuigahama grumbled under her breath as she watched his retreating figure. She slowly lowered her hand from her chest, took a deep breath, and hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

For example, what's on his mind? Can I continue liking him like this? Should he go on a date with me? Who does he like more, me or Xiaoxue?

There are so many things I want to ask him, so many things I want to tell him that I could talk about even if we walked the whole street together.

She only opened her mouth slightly, but before she could utter a sound, the boy in front of her turned around.

With a faint smile on his face, he and she met eyes as they stood on the other side of the sunset.

"Yui".

"Xiao You...?"

The sunset began to fade, and the stars of the night appeared and disappeared.

In that instant, Yui Yuigahama suddenly understood—

What exactly did Yukino Yukinoshita and Kasugano Sora mean by those terrible looks in their eyes?

Even now, do you still like me the same way you did three years ago?

He asked calmly.

Chapter Twelve: I will cheat on you, at least twice.

"...Huh?"

Startled, Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened. She didn't even have time to feel embarrassed; she simply responded with a blank expression:

"Why...why did you suddenly ask that..."

"I can't really explain the reason myself, but you just want to know, right?" He rarely used such an ambiguous way of speaking, and he raised the corners of his mouth again, smiling gently.

"So? Do you like it or not?"

"..."

Her breathing stopped along with the sound of the wind, and Yui Yuigahama fell into a brief silence, her palms damp with sweat.

Just like when I confessed to him in my third year of middle school, the reasons for my hesitation and panic were completely different this time.

Even so, there was only one answer she could give.

"I love it. I've always loved it."

She let out a soft breath, a faint, lonely smile appearing on her face, her soft hair swaying in the evening breeze: "You know so much, why did you specifically ask me? Were you trying to make me give up sooner?"

For some reason, her calves started to twitch, causing Yui Yuigahama to instinctively take a step back.

"Hmm...maybe that's what I used to think?"

"before?"

That slightly weak sigh stopped her slight trembling, and her rippling gaze turned to doubt as she looked at his thoughtful yet somewhat uncertain expression.

"Yui, although saying this now feels like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted..." With a gasp, Yuu Tenkuji looked directly into Yui Yuigahama's eyes.

There were no superfluous emotions involved; he simply looked at her honestly and earnestly, just so she could believe him.

"Back in middle school, I only had one reason for rejecting you—I had to take care of my younger sister and didn't think I was good enough to date you."

Otherwise, even if the feelings haven't reached the point of liking, Yuu Tenkuji wouldn't mind starting to cultivate a girlfriend early on—after all, beneath the surface of reality, there's still the sexual desire of a normal man.

If one could be free and unrestrained, who wouldn't want to live life to the fullest?

Not to mention, he never disliked this strong yet gentle, albeit slightly clumsy, dumpling-shaped girl.

"Huh? So that means..."

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Yui Yuigahama opened her mouth slightly in disbelief, feeling as if she had been hit in the face with a huge surprise.

Before she could give her answer, Yuu Tenkuji continued frankly: "Then there was the time after the second semester started. The reason I rejected you was very simple—dating you would only bring harm to both of us. Once we crossed the line of friendship, I would hurt you sooner or later."

Therefore, in the previous missions, he always kept a proper distance from her, even though he knew it would hurt and disappoint her. But it was still easier to let go than the sense of loss that comes with slowly losing happiness after gaining it.

Yuu Tenkuji had considered that after successfully completing the five missions, if he had no more reservations and Yui Yuigahama still loved him...

Looking back, there's nothing wrong with giving this unrequited love a happy ending.

"..."

Looking at Yuu Tenkuji, Yui Yuigahama was speechless.

She simply covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes trembling violently, and tears welled up, quickly condensing into glistening droplets.

Past speculations were shattered one by one, and the void of loss was filled.

Ah, so that's all there is to it—

As those words echoed in my mind, an unprecedented sense of happiness surged up, like a heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settling safely on the ground.

Life is full of disappointments, like a hair tie that's too loose after two turns and too tight after three; turning the shower switch to the left a little and freezing you to death, or to the right and scalding you to death; one pack of instant noodles isn't enough, two packs are too much.

as well as……

More than friends, less than lovers.

"So, it's not just wishful thinking on my part..."

Even after confirming the fact that "he didn't reject her confession because he didn't like her," Yui Yuigahama couldn't contain her overwhelming emotions, and tears of joy welled up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Tenkuji Yu raised his hand in a rare moment of panic: "Wait, don't be so moved yet!"

"?"

As if a pause button had been pressed, Yui Yuigahama stared at him without blinking, her eyes conveying confusion.

Yuu Tenkuji coughed twice and began to get down to business: "Even if I made it sound nice before, the truth is, I did have feelings for other girls during this period, and not just one... You understand what I mean, right?"

In other words, my feelings for you aren't very deep. I can date you, but I might fall for someone else at any time.

—Even Yuu Tenkuji himself felt that someone who dared to say such a thing was so despicable that even sugarcane residue would be ashamed of it.

Such a blatant declaration of his womanizing ways makes him worthy of being called a "playboy."

"Xiao You, what exactly are you trying to say?"

The surprise was abruptly extinguished by this bucket of cold water, but Yui Yuigahama gradually calmed down and was no longer blinded by her excited emotions.

She wiped away her tears and looked at him inquiringly as he stood with his back to the twilight.

"I'm not as smart as Xiaoxue. Could you explain it to me in simpler terms?"

"I just wanted to tell you the facts."

He exhaled all the air from his lungs, as if he had given up on himself, and Tenkuji Yu said decisively:

"I can't say why, but if you start dating me now, I will definitely cheat on you—at least twice!"

Perhaps because the system was updating, I was able to say those words without feeling the pain of my heart being squeezed by a witch's hand.

This left Yui Yuigahama with a look of utter confusion: "Cheating? How can you be so sure...?"

"This is prohibited."

"..." Yui Yuigahama felt like she had been tricked. She wasn't made of wood; she would get angry when she was supposed to.

Sensing her emotional shift, Tenkuji Yu could only try to explain, lest she ignore his rambling and turn away.

"Yui, besides Sora, you are the person who knows the most about my past... I ask you, if I was smart enough to beat someone like Yukinoshita in the exam, and could win the national kendo tournament without much training, why did I have to study so hard to get into Soubu High School and work part-time everywhere to earn money?"

"That's because, Xiaoyou, you suddenly had a breakthrough during the summer vacation..."

"Getting enlightened isn't the same as transforming. Do you think I'll become a Kamen Rider just by saying 'Henshin! Open your eyes!'?"

"The situations are different..."

"The differences are the same; people who can do this are clearly abnormal."

Carefully revealing information within the limits he could, Yuu Tenkuji tried to get Yui Yuigahama to accept his words in a tone devoid of any jokingness.

Just as I can't tell you the reason why this is 'abnormal,' I also can't tell you why I know I'll cheat sooner or later.

Yui Yuigahama hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Yuu Tenkuji always felt that her gaze was like that of someone caring for someone with intellectual disabilities.

"I've only told you this... If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

"I believe you!"

It was embarrassing; the moment she saw his disappointed expression, Yui Yuigahama reflexively raised her hands in "surrender," as if trying to prove herself.

Chapter Thirteen: "Will Yui Hihama be chosen as the next mission target?"

Regardless of whether she truly believes him, the point is to show that she's on his side... A girl in love won't care about such things.

She pressed her fist against her throbbing temples, her delicate brows furrowed, and after thinking for a long time with a series of "mmm" sounds, she turned to Tenkuji Yu with a look of utter despair and resignation:

"In short, for some ulterior motive, even though you were dating me, you still went after other girls, at least twice?"