I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Without dwelling on it, Yuu Tenkuji quickly gathered her thoughts and, before the others could recover from their surprise, her expression turned serious as she assertively questioned:

"Xia Chuan, why did you do this? If it was just a prank, this is going too far!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita, whose expression was equally unfriendly and whose eyes were cold, stopped in her tracks, crossed her arms, and stood a short distance away, intending to see how he would handle this unexpected incident.

Nearby, Yui Yuigahama, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, remained silent, only subconsciously biting her lip as she looked at the two people whose eyes met again, her fingers clenching the hem of her clothes.

As for Yukino Yukinoshita, after a brief moment of surprise, she showed a slightly regretful expression.

Why?

Lowering her hand, Natsukawa Masaki slowly closed her eyes.

She tilted her head back, as if listening to the sound of her blood flowing, or as if deep in thought in the cold night wind.

She pursed her lips, which had just touched his palm, and a faint smile appeared on her lips against the pale inky sky.

"It's just a return gift for the porridge you cooked for me that day. If you want, I wouldn't mind giving Yukinoshita, Haruno, and Yui a kiss."

That's a lie.

As for the truth, I did it simply because I wanted to; it stemmed from a primal impulse, a nerve reflex similar to a knee-jerk reaction.

However, in front of so many people, Natsukawa Masuzu couldn't tell the truth and could only choose to lie—but she didn't want to lie while looking him in the eye.

So, after explaining, she understood that feeling a little better.

'Just like Aja's Red Stone is to Kars-sama, Tenkuji Yuu is very important to me.'

As for the reason, just as Yukino Yukinoshita said to him in the car, he still needs to find more clues.

But in any case, Natsukawa Masaki still took the first step out of the fog.

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Prelude to the Sisters' War?

Group 4⑧87④97⑨9

Finally, the black sedan drove away with the Yukinoshita sisters and Natsukawa Masuzu in it.

As the night sky hung high, Yuu Tenkuji saw Isshiki Iroha and Kanade Tachibana off to the station, and also took Yui Yuigahama home.

To avoid awkwardness, no one mentioned what had just happened, and they continued chatting and laughing as usual.

Yuu Tenkuji could tell that Yui Yuigahama was clearly preoccupied, forcing a smile; she couldn't hide her confusion and unease, yet she tried to appear calm and composed so as not to seem petty.

She wasn't good at pretending, so much so that Isshiki Hirohime kept hinting to him along the way that he should explain things clearly soon and not let her anxiety last more than a day, because the longer it went on, the harder it would be to explain.

Yuya Tenkuji also wanted to, but unfortunately Yui Yuigahama never gave him the chance.

When alone, he speaks evasively and avoids the topic, but when he gets home, he quickly goes inside without looking back, leaving only the words, "I feel a little strange, I'll go back and calm down!"

Although it's not impossible to stop her and give her a firm explanation, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

But firstly, we've already agreed to tell Yukino Yukinoshita about it together.

Secondly, Yukino's situation seemed to have convinced her, and even if she didn't completely believe it, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't explain any further.

Third, it's not me who should be explaining to her, but Natsukawa Masuzu.

He was a victim too! He hadn't had any contact with Natsukawa Masuzu since visiting her in the hospital, so who knew she would suddenly kiss him?

Hmm... Yukinoshita Haruno might know.

In conclusion, Yuu Tenkuji was actually unable to explain anything to Yui Yuigahama, so he gave up on trying to comfort her and let her go home with a heavy heart.

The only good news might be that Kasugano Sora seems to have given up on some kind of insistence, becoming more cheerful than usual, and not caring at all about how many women he's been having affairs with.

"You said you wanted to date this silly dumpling, but you have such ambiguous relationships with so many girls. You really disappoint me!"

"...Please intensify your efforts."

His younger sister said the above sentence with a lovely smile.

Yuu Tenkuji could guess what she was thinking; it was nothing more than something like, "Once you've suffered enough in this hellish situation, you'll give up those women and come back to my arms!"

At first, he would smell the odor on his body when he came home late, but now he's gotten used to him having affairs outside while sitting at home calmly waiting to reap the benefits.

This change in mindset must have been really tough on Qiong... and his image as a perfect older brother who was pure and devoted only to his sister was also a burden.

No matter how many storms there are, night will always fall.

As the city quiets down, the ordeal called "today" comes to an end. Some people fall asleep peacefully, while others toss and turn, unable to sleep.

Yuu Tenkuji no longer wanted to think about how many more headaches and stomachaches awaited him in the future—thinking too much makes people hesitant, which is why there's a saying that fools are lucky.

"Then I'll leave it to you, future Tenkuji Yu."

I hope you can still smile tomorrow.

……

The drive from Tenkuji's house back to the luxury apartment takes about half an hour.

There was also the fact that Yukinoshita Haruno was a skilled driver, fast and safe—but in that short half hour, the three of them only talked about trivial things, the atmosphere was distant and heavy, as if they wanted to stretch that half hour into half a day, which was uncomfortable.

They were all lost in their own thoughts, like a game of Ludo, with three different colors becoming opponents, none of them willing to talk to each other much.

In the driver's seat, Yukinoshita Haruno is hiding something from Yukino, but she can't tell her yet.

In the passenger seat, Yukino Yukinoshita was hiding something from Haruno, but didn't want to tell her.

In the back seat, Natsukawa Masaki... still savoring the feeling of almost kissing him while resting with his eyes closed. The gloom dissipated from that fair and delicate face, revealing a faint, relaxed smile; he was the most open-minded of the three.

The black sedan slowly came to a stop in front of the apartment building.

Yukino Yukinoshita unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door: "I'm going back. Goodbye."

"Well, bye~"

Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, seemingly still pondering something, Yukinoshita was unusually perfunctory with her younger sister.

Holding onto the car door, Yukino Yukino suddenly stopped. After Natsukawa Masaki got out of the car and walked towards the apartment, Yukino Yukinoshita, still standing there, pursed her lips, mustered her courage, and whispered to Yukino Yukinoshita:

"Sister, do you really... like Tenkuji-kun?"

"Huh?" Only now realizing she hadn't left, Yang Nai turned her thoughtful gaze to her younger sister, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "That's right... What's wrong?"

Even if he's very popular?

"I'm very popular too. That proves that we're a perfect match."

That confident and poised reply startled Yukino Yukinoshita slightly. Unaware of the sudden surge of unease that welled up inside her, she subconsciously emphasized her words:

"If he gets a girlfriend, are you planning to just give up on him?"

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita Haruno almost blurted out:

"I'm his girlfriend!"

However, he suppressed the urge to tell the truth and looked at his sister in front of him with a puzzled expression, his eyes gradually changing.

"Girlfriend? He doesn't have one right now, does he? Or is it that he's really with..."

"Yuigahama-san!"

Before she could finish saying the rest of the name, Yukino Yukinoshita hurriedly interrupted, her tone decisive and her expression serious, as if she was very afraid that Yukino would misunderstand.

However, under her sister's slightly mocking gaze, her face flushed again. Her fingers unconsciously pinched the hair by her ear, but she quickly let go, coughing a few times to ease her embarrassment.

Her tone regained its composure, and she stated bluntly, "He told me today that he will be dating Yui-hama."

"I can't control what Natsukawa thinks, but sister, Tenkuji-kun clearly doesn't want to have much contact with you. You'd better give up on him as soon as possible."

Unsure whether she had ulterior motives, Yukino Yukinoshita was simply stating the facts.

It's hard to say about others, but from her observation, Tenkuji-kun was clearly avoiding his sister and didn't want to get involved with her.

If she were to continue to entangle herself with this, it would only bring harm and trouble to both of them. As someone involved in the relationship between the two, Yukino Yukinoshita felt it was necessary to intervene and persuade her to give up her feelings for Tenkuji-kun.

This is for their own good.

As for how to handle the emotional issues within their service club, that's none of my sister's business. She still needs to discuss it with Tenkuji-kun...

"..."

After he finished speaking, Yang fell silent.

The streetlights and car headlights illuminated the dark street, but half of the car seemed to be swallowed by darkness, melting her deep, dark pupils into the night sky, turning them into a pair of cold, emotionless stars.

"If it weren't for you, Yukino, who said those words... I would probably be very angry, extremely angry like I've never been before, right?"

That was a cold, indifferent voice that Yukino Yukinoshita had never heard before, making her instinctively step back, her whole body goosebumps rising.

Like a ferocious beast provoked into anger, she wore the same smile as usual, yet there was not a trace of intimacy in her. It only made people feel that she was trying hard to restrain her anger, and that she would pounce on them at any moment.

"If you don't understand anything, then shut up and stop being so righteous."

"Close the door, I'm going back."

Chapter Sixty-Seven: So Simple, Yet He Had to Reject It with All His Might

the next day.

As the new morning dawned, Yuu Tenkuji faced the rare warm winter sun and cursed at her past self.

"You idiot, all you do is push things into the future!"

Go downstairs and turn on the toilet.

While brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, Yuu Tenkuji carefully reviewed the events of the previous day and made plans for the future.

After all... the system's return to the scene means his 'vacation' is over.

"The morning was a harmonious cooking class. Tachibana and Isshiki both learned what they wanted to learn, and Sora didn't have much hostility towards them. It can be said that it was a complete success."

But at noon, while he was happily preparing lunch with a friend, without any warning, the dog system's wheels rolled over him again, like a ruthless capitalist urging his workers to get to work.

"The difficult choice of four options is left to Yukino Yukinoshita to decide... If she hadn't been there, perhaps I really would have given up on making a choice and just let the system do whatever it wanted?"

Despite having a mouthful of spittle, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but grin.