I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Tenkuji Yu avoided her gaze, feeling inexplicably guilty.

"The wording might be a bit harsh... but that's the gist of it."

"Then why did you tell me this?"

It wasn't Xiaoxue, or even Xiaoqiong, who mentioned it... Was she really such a special person to him?

Despite feeling indescribably complicated and upset, Yui Yuigahama helplessly discovered that a sweet joy was also rising in her heart.

How embarrassing!

"Why?" After thinking for a moment, Tenkuji Yu answered matter-of-factly, "Because you just happened to be there."

Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened: "Just a simple coincidence?!"

How come this person is so good at hurting other people's feelings!

Seeing her utterly disappointed expression, Tenkuji Yu smiled from the bottom of her heart, her voice unconsciously softening.

"Idiot, it's no coincidence that you happened to be here."

Regardless of whether there is a system or not, Yui Yuigahama, who is not family, will always appear by his side.

She expressed her feelings timidly yet persistently, only to be cruelly rejected by herself.

Perhaps out of a desire to make amends, or perhaps simply to cherish this relationship, Tenkuji Yuu decided to be frank with her at this moment.

As for the reasons, there are too many to explain.

I want to make changes starting now, and I want to change the repetitive situation.

I want to vent my pent-up frustrations, I want to share the weight of my secrets with someone, I want to avoid being forgotten...

I want to find a 'companion' who has nothing to do with my girlfriend.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't care about his reasons; he just wanted to say it to this female friend who had liked him for three years.

"Yui, even so, will you still date me?"

Only two people remained in the narrow alley.

Under the sky where the sunset and twilight overlapped, he said this to himself.

Unlike at the beginning, Yui Yuigahama gazed at the smile on his face and slowly pursed her lips.

She seemed to be enveloped by an ethereal atmosphere from who-knows-where, and her eyes held a loneliness that pained her.

It was as if he had been fighting alone in a world where there was nothing for a long time.

Suddenly, Yui Yuigahama understood what kind of answer he wanted her to give.

"...I don't want to."

The moment he was lured into saying those words, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and laughed from the bottom of his heart.

It seemed to replace the stars and moon, illuminating the city where she was standing before me.

"I was rejected."

No matter how beautiful his smile is, it's useless. Yui Yuigahama feels annoyed whenever she sees him looking so happy.

She suddenly threw what she was holding to the ground, strode up to Tenkuji Yu, her face flushed and wrinkled with anger, and she grinned fiercely.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't reject you, Xiaoyou, because of the reason that you 'might cheat on me'!"

"That is……"

Yuu Tenkuji instinctively took a step back, but Yui Yuigahama grabbed her collar tightly and forcibly pulled it off.

The girl stared intently into his eyes, her breath, still carrying the aroma of red tea, brushing against his lips, causing his eyes to redden once more.

"Silly Xiaoyou, ever since then, it's been me who has taken it upon myself to like you, to approach you without permission—and to hope that you would like me back!"

It all started the day he made himself sit across from the desk, awkwardly uttered those encouraging words, and was always unwilling to give up on his helpless self.

Even though her confession was rejected, her changed heart could not return to its original state, and this has continued to this day, filled with his image.

Whether it's the warmth of his hand or the smile he casually flickers; whether it's his silent companionship or his nonchalant teasing.

Yui Yuigahama has a crush on Yuu Tenkuji.

That's why she spoke loudly to him in a clear voice, as if trying to completely dispel the night sky:

"If we're really going to be in a relationship, so what if there's a possibility of infidelity?"

"Before I hate you and break up with you for this reason, I will still like you and confess my feelings to you!"

"As long as you like me too, no matter how many troubles we encounter in the future, I'm confident we can overcome them together!"

"Because of Xiaoyou... Xiaoyou, you..."

Yui Yuigahama sniffed, biting her lip to hold back a sob, and gently bumped her forehead against his, saying each word clearly:

"If you don't like me, then it's all meaningless!"

"..."

Tenkuji Yu stopped breathing and stared at her silently.

"So, I'm asking you, Yuu Tenkuji—"

Yui Yuigahama closed her eyes and whispered, "Do you like me?"

As the evening wind howled, the alley fell into a deathly silence.

It's clear that if someone moves even a fraction closer, their lips will overlap.

But this distance, it seems, cannot be shortened even after three years of trying, as if it is always separated by a suffocating air.

Before anyone knew it, Tenkuji Yuuya closed his eyes.

Her body temperature reached me, the warmth reaching my heart, yet it felt as cold as if it were freezing my body.

Familiar voices rang out at the same time.

"System update paused, progress 23.333%"

"Should Yui Hihama be chosen as the next mission target?"

"Once confirmed, the mission will begin immediately."

Note: The mission objectives selected by the host will bring even richer rewards and...

"Screw you, you damn system."

Before it could finish speaking, Yuu Tenkuji murmured gently.

'If you dare lay a hand on Yui, even if I reincarnate hundreds of thousands of times, I won't give a damn about this crappy mission again... When a person is truly evil, they're capable of anything.'

"...Confirm your refusal?"

'Do you even need to ask? Go update now.'

"System update in progress..."

After disciplining that troublesome system, Tenkuji Yu opened her eyes and looked at the girl in front of her, whose tears had stopped, but whose rosy face still retained a lingering sadness.

As if she had already guessed her answer, she remained silent, but a smile gradually appeared on her lips, and she smiled with ease and relief.

"I don't know what you're really thinking, but if you can, please don't ask these kinds of questions anymore..."

Otherwise, I will really, really, really be more heartbroken than you can imagine.

Before she could speak, the rest of her words were cut off by warm, soft lips.

It was just a fleeting kiss, almost like a dragonfly skimming the water, or even like someone accidentally dozing off, their head just lowering down to give me a quick kiss.

The shock it brought was like an atomic bomb exploding inside your skull.

Yui Yuigahama first stopped speaking in a daze, then widened her eyes and looked at Yuu Tenkuji in disbelief, her throat bobbing but unable to make a sound.

"I don't know if I, who have liked others before, truly like you, or if I will ever like someone else."

As if giving up the resistance, Yuu Tenkuji smiled helplessly and gently touched the bun on her side of her hair.

as always.

"But from now on, Yui Yuigahama... I don't want to hurt you anymore, and I don't want to drift further and further away from you."

His eyes were clear, reflecting only her dazed expression, like the vast starry sky beginning to spread in the distance.

At least for now, Tenkuji Yuu has no time to feel sad about his powerlessness.

He has his own "task" to do.

"I will fall in love with you even faster than you fall in love with me."

As for the reward, it will probably be a love that will never be forgotten.

His gaze never left her; Tenkuji Yu cupped her burning cheeks, forehead to forehead, and whispered to her:

"So don't run away until then."

No matter how many times the world is remade, never run away.

He pleaded like an ordinary boy who had nothing.

Not long after.

My cheeks were wet from the water droplets that slid down.

She leaned forward, bit her lip in revenge, then buried her face in his neck, gripping his collar tightly as if she wanted to tear it apart on the spot.

Once she let go, a faint, mosquito-like sob rang out, carrying a sense of relief.

"Hmm... I couldn't escape it any longer."

He held the girl in his arms, letting her tremble slightly as if she couldn't stop sobbing.

Tenkuji Yu raised his head, gazing at the night sky, his eyes deep and bright.

He believed that the warmth that filled his heart again after losing a day would never disappear.

Even if it increases the difficulty of completing the task, and may even bring more trouble and discomfort to myself, it completely violates my original intention of asking the system to eliminate my emotions...

As long as it doesn't disappear, that's fine.

Watching those memories felt like having your heart ripped out and stuffed into a TV screen; Yuu Tenkuji no longer wanted to experience that again.