I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Okay, I misunderstood you."

"It's good that you know how to admit your mistake. I forgive you." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded, her expression returning to calm and composed.

But standing next to her, Yui Yuigahama clearly saw that her right fist, which was behind her back, was clenched up, making a small victory gesture.

—It's cute, but this atmosphere of being excluded feels so familiar!

Even though my relationship with Xiaoyou has progressed further, I still can't join in their conversations...

"No, you can't think like that!"

Yui Yuigahama shook her head. She didn't want the atmosphere of the Service Club to change anyway, so she chose not to care about this little thing. A relaxed and cheerful smile returned to her face as she stepped into the elevator with her boyfriend and best friend.

"Then let's go to Xia Chuan's house to deliver the documents first, and then go to my house to rest... It shouldn't take too long. If you want to go back early, then we can skip it."

The button for the tenth floor lit up. Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the two of them and, after confirming that they had no objections, pressed the close button.

"Wait a moment!"

Just before the door was about to close completely, a loud and clear voice pierced through the lobby and reached the ears of everyone in the elevator.

Yukino Yukinoshita reflexively pressed the door open button, and after recognizing whose voice it was, she regretted it so much that she wished she could cut off the hand that was pressing the button.

Why invite trouble upon yourself? Your good intentions have only harmed you!

"Oh dear, that was a close call. As expected of Yukino, she really did her best not to leave her sister behind!"

The person strode quickly across the bright, clean floor, their mature and charming face still flushed from the journey. As soon as they entered the elevator, they put their arm around Yukino Yukinoshita's shoulder and affectionately rubbed their cheek against her hair.

His tone was one of deep emotion, but his smile was quite wicked.

"Let me go..."

Struggling to break free from her control, the beautiful girl with long, straight black hair bit her lower lip in frustration, wrinkling her nose and revealing an expression of annoyance somewhat similar to that of Yuu Tenkuji from before.

"I swear, next time I'll never wait for anyone in the elevator... By the way, sister, what are you doing here again? Don't you have classes in college?"

"Don't you even look at the time? We've already finished!"

As she spoke casually, Yukinoshita Haruno looked up at the slowly ascending elevator floor and raised an eyebrow: "Tenth floor? Yukinoshita couldn't possibly have pressed the wrong button, so, do you need to see the residents on the tenth floor?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

Passing her, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the two people behind the elevator, their shoulders touching and the backs of their hands clasped together, and said helplessly, "Sorry, we had an annoying person to ruin things... I'll invite you next time."

"Ah, it's alright! Ms. Haruno isn't annoying at all!" Yui Yuigahama quickly waved her hand, glancing cautiously at the smiling female college student, unconsciously using polite language, "On the contrary, it's not good for us to bother you. Let's come to Koyuki's house to play when everyone is free on the holidays."

With her expression softening, Yukino Yukinoshita smiled and nodded.

At that moment, Yuuki Tenkuji and Yukinoshita Haruno made eye contact.

Since this wasn't the first time he'd encountered her after she lost her memory, Tenkuji Yuu remained calm, only showing a surprised expression when she ran into the elevator.

After that, he remained calm and composed, accepting her scrutinizing gaze without changing his expression.

But I don't know if it's just my imagination.

Those gazes finally locked onto his and Yui Yuigahama's shoulders and the backs of their hands where they touched, their pupils shrinking to pinpoints for a moment before slowly dilating and expanding.

Then gradually, the unfathomable smile on her face widened, and her eyes narrowed into dark crescent moons like sickles.

"Ah-la? Ah-la-la. Ah-la-la-la~"

With a cheerful, drawn-out tone, Yukinoshita tilted her head slightly and teasingly said, "Isn't this Tenkuji-kun and that... what's-his-name Dango-chan? We haven't seen each other for a few days, why do you seem so close~"

"Huh? N-no, that's not true..."

Completely lacking any sense of embarrassment, Yui Yuigahama subconsciously shrugged her shoulders, chuckled dryly, and gently pinched the hem of Tenkuji Yu's clothes as if seeking comfort, utterly bewildered as to why her friend's older sister would suddenly exude such immense pressure.

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression vanished for a moment as she took in the entire scene.

Then, she turned her deep, dull, dark eyes to Tenkuji Yu, her smile still gentle and cheerful, like an older sister teasing a child:

"Oh no, Dango-chan said she didn't have it~"

"Tenkuji-kun, aren't you very sad? Hmm?"

The last light, nasal sound faded away.

A cold, heavy atmosphere instantly enveloped the entire elevator, as if freezing the cables from the inside, making the ascent extremely slow.

At the very heart of the cold wind was Yuu Tenkuji, whose heart was inexplicably pounding as she stared at him without any emotion.

"Miss Yang Nai..."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Is This Also a Battle of Wits in Love?

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"No, I know that I have a good relationship with her, and that's enough."

Like a naive boy who couldn't read the room, Yuuki Tenkuji tilted his head slightly, looking at Yukinoshita with some confusion.

"On the contrary, Miss Yang, are you very concerned about our affairs? You seem quite unhappy..."

"I'm not happy?"

Taking a deep breath, Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow, staring intently into the depths of his eyes with a cold gaze, as if silently questioning him—

You little bastard, you cheated on me right in front of me and you still dare to ask this kind of question?

“Xiao You…”

Although she didn't know why the atmosphere had suddenly become so tense, Yui Yuigahama subconsciously took his hand, as if to pass on her courage to him, or as if to keep each other warm in the snow and ice, and to face Yukinoshita with him.

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned, her little fists clenched at her sides, as if she wanted to go forward and pull her sister back, but hesitated because she didn't understand what her sister was thinking.

Different thoughts intertwined, and the air inside the elevator seemed to freeze, remaining stiff for several seconds.

"...Nothing has changed."

Yukinoshita spoke to herself in a voice so soft that the person in front of her could not hear her.

"Just like before, when I pretend to be stupid, no one can tell."

A gentle light returned to his eyes, and a nostalgic smile crept onto his lips. His heart pounded warmly and strongly.

When she came to her senses, her chest was filled with joy and peace of mind.

I wanted to ignore those two and just hug him. I wanted to tell him that I remembered everything, and that from today onwards we could go out and eat delicious food, go to places we'd never been before, and do all the things we wanted to do—

However, his monstrous rationality suppressed all these thoughts.

Yukino Yukino temporarily froze her emotions.

"Sorry, sorry, did I scare you? I was just trying to make the latest trendy joke. Even if you're really dating, it's none of my business, so why would I be angry?"

Suppressing her nausea, Yukinoshita smiled again, patted the two on the shoulder, and spoke in a cheerful and lighthearted tone.

"How was my acting? It seems like the cultural festival at Soubu High School is coming up soon. If any of your classes need someone to perform, you can come and ask me to be a temporary actor!"

"So it was just acting... Haruno-neechan's aura was intimidating; I thought you were getting serious." Yui Yuigahama breathed a sigh of relief, letting out a weak, dry laugh. "Our class is all about acting, but we have plenty of people. I don't know about the other classes..."

"Really? What a pity." She smiled dismissively, quickly shifting her gaze away from her.

On the other side, Yuuto Tenkuji and Yukino Yukinoshita met eyes, blinked and raised their eyebrows, and began to communicate silently.

'You believe me?'

I don't believe it.

What do you think?

'Who knows? Keep an eye on your older sister.'

Sorry, I can't.

'...'

'You and Yuihama-san…'

Envious?

'roll.'

Ding dong.

The timing was perfect; the elevator stopped and opened on the tenth floor, and Yukinoshita Haruno stepped out first, casually asking:

"By the way, who are you looking for here? A friend?"

"Just a student who's sick and on leave," Yukino Yukinoshita said casually. Following the address given by the teacher, she quickly found the house number of Natsukawa Masuzu.

Yuu Tenkuji and Yui Yuigahama were the last to step out of the elevator.

She was still holding his finger, and you could feel the cold sweat seeping through it, but she held on tightly as if she had no intention of letting go.

"Yui?"

"Huh? Ah, sorry..." Startled as if waking from a dream, Yui Yuigahama let go of his hand, her expression somewhat complicated. She lowered her head and said softly, "Just now, I don't know why... I suddenly had a feeling that Yui was going to be taken away."

"By Ms. Haruno?" Yuu Tenkuji was surprised for a moment, then raised his hand to pat her head and smiled. "No, no one can take me away from you. I will definitely keep the promise I made. As long as you remember that, I will stay by your side like this forever."

"Yeah! Even if I'm stupid, I wouldn't forget something so important." Yui Yuigahama nodded with a smile, but her tone wasn't as energetic as her expression; she was just forcing herself to cheer up.

There were two other people outside, and Yukinoshita Yuuno kept her attention focused on herself. Soujou Yu didn't say much, affectionately pinched her cheek, and then followed Yukinoshita Yuuno's steps.

With a calm and composed mind, coupled with his perfect acting skills, no one could tell how turbulent the emotions had been churning in his heart just a few seconds ago. He almost lost control of his emotions and blurted out the question that was rising in his throat, just like Yukino Yukinoshita just now.

"That reaction, was it that she fell in love with me again after losing her memory, or..."

……

I still remember that during the time he and Yukinoshita Haruno were dating, they would drive around on dates whenever they had free time.

Once, he went to a car show, and before he could even glance at the scantily clad car models, Yukinoshita Haruno dragged him into a corner, grabbed his head with both hands, forced him to look directly at her, and said in a gentle tone with a happy smile:

"Ah-la? Ah-la-la. Ah-la-la-la~"

"My dear boyfriend, do you want me to ask her for her contact information? Even though I'm right here, you're still eyeing other girls. Looks like her charm is so irresistible—I know, you want to try a threesome, right? Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Hmm?"

Back then, her sarcastic tone and the intonation of "Hmm↗～?" were exactly the same as now. A strong sense of jealousy emanated from beneath that fake smile, along with a chilling murderous intent that seemed to want to gouge his eyes out.

Of course, Yuu Tenkuji still couldn't tell which were jokes and which were serious at that time; just like a lie that was only three-tenths fake, it was the most mysterious and attractive thing about Yukino Yukinoshita.