I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

With a stiff tone, Miura Yumiko turned her face away and twirled the spiral ends of her hair with her fingers.

Yui Yuigahama paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh happily: "Yeah, you're right! Can we leave the rest to you guys, Yumiko?"

"Hurry up, hurry up, it's all just finishing up anyway... He keeps glancing over there every few minutes, he's such an unbearable guy."

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Miura Yumiko glared at Tenkuji Yuu, her attitude still undisguisedly tough and arrogant.

"Tenkuji, I don't care if you're a kendo champion or a sports prodigy, if you dare to do anything to betray Yui, I'll make you regret it!"

"Treat her well if you're dating her; you're her first time!"

"Eh?!" Before Yui Yuigahama could even feel touched, her face flushed red, and she was too embarrassed to look at Yuu Tenkuji.

"W-What do you mean, 'first time'? You're being too blunt, Yumiko... Although, that's definitely true..."

Yuu Tenkuji nodded to Yumiko Miura but didn't say anything more. He then turned around and greeted the class executive committee member.

Then, carrying her schoolbag, she left the classroom with Yui Yuigahama.

Chapter 40 Your skills are really bad

As you leave the classroom of Class 2-F, you will pass by the Cultural Festival Executive Committee just before going downstairs.

Because the curtains weren't drawn, the scene of the meeting inside could be seen.

"It's Xiaoxue..."

After blurting it out unconsciously, Yui Yuigahama quietly glanced at Yuu Tenkuji.

He was also looking inside, or rather, looking at the girl inside who was speaking expressionlessly, with an extremely imposing gaze that made everyone involuntarily listen to her.

She seemed to sense something, and her crystal-clear, cool blue eyes turned around. She paused for a moment when she saw them outside the window.

After giving a barely perceptible nod, he continued talking to the other members of the committee as if he hadn't seen anything.

Of course, his gaze never met that of the person next to Yui Yuigahama.

"Let's go."

With no change in expression, Tenkuji Yu turned and went downstairs.

Yui Yuigahama followed behind him, and asked hesitantly, "Yu, what about Yuki... are we just going to leave it like this?"

Without turning her head, Tenkuji Yu said, "It's okay to leave it, isn't it? Anyway, in her mind I've always been that kind of frivolous guy, and now she's just admitting it."

She shook her head vigorously: "Xiaoxue clearly believes you! Just like me, she believes you're not the kind of person who would be unfaithful in a relationship..."

If they weren't facing a losing Q&A session, even though he had previously said he would cheat, Yui Yuigahama's answer would have been the same as Yukino Yukinoshita's.

There's no other reason than my trust in him; I want him to know that I believe in him.

Even if he's frivolous in his words, once he falls for someone, Yuu Tenkuji will be devoted to that person and automatically keep his distance from other women.

Even knowing that he has never been in a relationship, Yuu Tenkuji has a personal charm that makes people believe him.

"Yes, it really hurts to betray a friend's trust."

As he said this, he spoke in a completely nonchalant tone: "But she'll be disappointed sooner or later, so it's better to take precautions now, lest she think I'm a hypocrite."

Whether he's a womanizer or not is another matter, but Tenkuji Yu doesn't want to lie to her.

If you pretend to be a friend, the feeling of having your lies exposed will definitely be worse than being seen as a jerk by her.

Which kind of friend do you hate more: a friend who lies all the time or a friend who flirts with other women?

The former is a crisis of trust, while the latter is merely an emotional indiscretion... so naturally, Yuu Tenkuji chose the latter.

"Is it just because you don't want to lie to Xiaoxue...?"

Yui Yuigahama murmured, and then asked the most crucial question to Yuu Tenkuji, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs:

"Then, as long as Xiaoyou doesn't cheat, there won't be any problems?"

I don't know why he insists on saying he will cheat in the future, nor can I understand what he is insisting on, and I can't understand where the tired helplessness in his eyes comes from when he talks about relationships.

Despite having been watching him for three years, Yui suddenly realized that he had become more unfamiliar than she had imagined.

"Indeed, there are two ways for me to continue being a devoted and good man."

Tenkuji Yu stepped onto the ground floor, leaned against the handrail, and looked up at her with a smile.

"First, I'll date you without caring about anything else, and see how long I can keep it up."

"Secondly, I'll start dating you officially once everything is settled... but that's definitely not a good idea for you, Yui."

"What's the meaning……"

Yui Yuigahama stopped in her tracks without realizing it, staring blankly into his eyes, her face full of confusion.

"Persist? Xiaoyou, do you have some kind of curse that will definitely make you unfaithful? And what things do you have to wait for to settle down? What does that have to do with me?"

"Please, I don't understand unless you explain it clearly..."

As expected, Tenkuji Yu shrugged, his expression still casual: "I'm the only one who can understand, so don't worry about it."

He walked slowly toward the shoe cabinet with his hands in his pockets.

"No matter what, I will try my best to choose the option that will least affect your choice."

Yuu Tenkuji didn't want to see that expression on his face again—the one where he looked dejected but forced himself to cheer up because he had a girlfriend.

On the steps, Yui Yuigahama stood there for a while before quickly catching up with his back.

He suddenly spoke up again: "Oh, right, Yui. There's something else I haven't told you yet."

Startled, Yui Yuigahama shrank back nervously, "W-What's wrong? Is it about Yuki...?"

Tenkuji Yu sighed heavily.

“I was standing down there and I saw all of your pink panties.”

"...?"

"Remember, don't make the skirt too short... Luckily, no one else was around just now, otherwise, with my super possessive nature, I would have had to erase their memories one by one."

That's exhausting.

Yuu Tenkuji shook her head, ignoring Yui Yuigahama's increasingly red face, and took out sneakers from the shoe cabinet to put on.

A moment of silence fell over the air.

"...No matter how many times, I want to say it."

With her face flushed red, Yui Yuigahama gritted her teeth, covering her skirt as she glared at him angrily and said something.

"You idiot Xiaoyou! Your skills at changing the mood and altering the topic are really terrible—absolutely terrible!"

After school, the girl's complaint seemed to echo continuously throughout the schoolyard.

Your skills are really, really bad.

……

On the way home, Yuu Tenkuji suddenly received a message from a friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hey, hey, how have you been lately, Ayou?"

"It's Hao-ge! Long time no see, how's your university life?"

"Great! Let's hang out sometime. I'll take you to places kids can't go and have some fun, hehe~" A lewd laugh came from the other end of the phone.

Is this guy so excited because we haven't talked to him in so long that he can't help himself?

"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't need it." Yuu Tenkuji rolled her eyes.

Standing beside him, Yui Yuigahama, though unable to hear clearly, couldn't help but frown and whisper, "Who is it?"

“My friend, a shut-in college student,” Tenkuji Yu said frankly, letting Yuki Koichiro on the other end of the microphone know that there was someone with him, so he quickly coughed twice to get back to his serious tone.

"Your introduction is a bit much. I'm a pretty well-off person, I go out to meet people every now and then... Anyway, let's get down to business."

Koichiro Yuki suddenly adopted a mysterious tone.

"You know what? I just heard some really shocking news from my mom, it's about my sister."

"Your sister?"

Yuki Asuna?

Tenkuji Yu raised an eyebrow.

Yui Yuigahama also subconsciously moved closer to him.

As everyone knows, the things that Tenkuji Yu cares about most are usually related to the word "sister".

“That’s right, last week, Asuna suddenly said to my mom…”

Chapter 41 Long-Awaited Greetings, Yuuki-kun

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a gentle and warm voice rang out, forcefully interrupting their conversation.

"Brother, who are you talking to on the phone?"

Caught off guard, Yuuki Koichiro exclaimed in a panic, "A-Asuna?! Why did you come into my room without knocking?!"

"Oh dear, that's very rude of me. But I was just curious to see what was going on when I heard my name mentioned, so I came in to check it out. Is that alright?"

"Your ears are so sharp... No, don't be so presumptuous! Get out, get out!"

"Okay, before we went out... you were talking to Tenkuji-kun, right?"

"Alas!"

Startled by something, Yuuki Koichiro let out a brief, embarrassing groan before maintaining his elder brotherly authority: "So what if it is? Alright, you can leave now, right?"

Asuna Yuuki seemed to still be standing in front of the door, her voice growing even gentler:

"You wouldn't be thinking of secretly telling him 'that thing,' would you?"

"..."

Even Yuu Tenkuji could guess what he was thinking from this sudden silence.

Her tone suddenly turned cold: "Give me your phone."