I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

He would never have imagined in the past that his improved relationship with Yukino Yukinoshita would actually make him happy—

She had vowed to save herself, and whether she could actually do it was another matter, but that one sentence alone was already a kind of salvation for Yuu Tenkuji.

If someone knows your vulnerabilities, then you can confidently present your strong side to the person you want them to see.

"Next, I just need to explain to her what the so-called 'ideal boyfriend mission' is, without triggering any system warnings..."

Then, together with Yukino Yukinoshita, they have to confess to Yui Yuigahama that her boyfriend is planning to openly cheat on her with her best friend.

Just thinking about the expressions the dango girl might make made Yuu Tenkuji wrinkle his nose and feel a bit of stomach pain—but there was nothing he could do, these were things he had to do.

He's not stupid; he knows that concealing things will only bring greater trouble and harm, so he tries to be honest as much as possible. When he really can't tell the truth, he uses other methods to get by. That's how he's always treated people and handled things.

However, after all the groundwork laid, the sadness and doubts that needed to be expressed, Yui Yuigahama should have been mentally prepared and her reaction shouldn't be too intense.

If she can't accept it, then Yuu Tenkuji will have no choice but to...

"Pooh!"

Spitting his foamy saliva into the sink, Tenkuji Yu rinsed his mouth, tidied his already handsome face, left the restroom, changed into his sportswear, and prepared to go for a morning run.

Although his body had long been enhanced by the system to the point that he could kill a bear with his bare hands without any training, he still retained his old habit of going for a morning run, quietly contemplating his own affairs in the cold and refreshing morning breeze.

With light and quick steps, your mood can also become more relaxed.

"In the afternoon, through the game, Sora got along better with everyone and wasn't as afraid of people as before... I don't know if it's just my imagination, but she seems to like Tachibana more than Isshiki and Yui."

Later, when she went to his room to play games, whenever there was a team game, Kasugano Sora would take the initiative to find Tachibana Kanade to team up with, completely without the hostility and wariness she had when they first met at the hospital.

Is this what friendship between girls is like?

Although she didn't understand, it was still a good thing, so Yuu Tenkuji didn't delve into it further.

"After that, it was Yukinoshita Haruno..."

The scenery along the riverbank swept past her, and Tenkuji Yuu let her body run mechanically, her expression calm and her eyes focused on thinking.

"It wasn't a coincidence; she definitely came prepared... I guess she sensed something was wrong on the day she visited her in the hospital. After noticing that Natsukawa Masuzu had many similarities to her after she lost her memory, she brought Masuzu to me to observe our reactions in order to learn more information."

Yukino Yukinoshita hasn't changed at all; she'll stop at nothing to achieve her goals, directly using Natsukawa Masuzu as a tool to test her—later, when Masuzu tried to force a kiss on her, it was probably because Yukino said something to her in the car.

To Yuu Tenkuji, Yukino Yukinoshita, who has regained her memories, is just like a boss, only doing things in the shadows to hinder him and causing him a lot of trouble and annoyance.

However, what she wanted was very simple: to be with him again and fulfill her promise to "walk with him through thick and thin."

It was so simple, yet Yuu Tenkuji had to refuse with all his might.

"After all, I have someone else I like now..."

The sigh was blown away by the cold wind. Suddenly, Tenkuji Yu stomped his foot hard on the ground, the veins on his calves bulging, and his body suddenly accelerated, turning into a blurry light and shadow, freely shuttling through the sparsely populated streets and alleys.

Ten minutes later.

With a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, he stood in front of the door, slightly out of breath, waiting for his calf tendons, which he had strained too much, to recover from the tear before opening the door and going inside.

The moment he closed the door, he looked completely refreshed, unlike the person who had just gone to the construction site to do 500 weighted squats while carrying cement pipes, just to experience the feeling of physical fatigue.

There was no need to take a shower, so Yuu Tenkuji went straight into the kitchen, put on an apron, and started preparing breakfast.

"As for Yukinoshita and Masuzu Natsukawa, we can only react as things unfold for now; it wouldn't be appropriate for them to take any initiative. As for Asuna Yuuki, as long as we avoid the vicinity of Black Lily Academy, we won't run into her, so there's not much to worry about…"

"So, don't worry about anything else, just focus on Yukino and Yui."

Having sorted out the current situation, he set this principle for his future actions, which made him feel much more relaxed.

If you try to please both sides, the end result will be that you can't please either side. Even though he has gained superhuman physical abilities and numerous powers from the system, Yuu Tenkuji is still a mortal at heart, and he can't do everything perfectly.

Especially when it comes to relationships, he's as naive as a middle school student just starting out in love, a far cry from those player types.

So, there's only one thing he can do now.

That means keeping your sights on the goal at hand and moving straight ahead.

"I'm going to a meeting in the Service Club after school today... I wonder if Yukinoshita will be free. I always feel like I don't have enough time."

She skillfully plated two breakfasts and went upstairs to call Kasugano Sora for dinner.

As his sleepy-eyed younger sister watched him leave, Yuu Tenkuji left home and took out his phone to send a message to Yui Yuigahama.

Yu: "I'm leaving now, do you want to go to school together?"

She read it about a minute later.

Yui: "I have a bit of a cold, you can go ahead. Don't wait for me."

Looking at her phone, Yuu Tenkuji frowned slightly—she hadn't been out in the wind all night yesterday, so how did she catch a cold?

Yu: "Are you alright? I'm on my way to see you. I should still have time to cook some porridge."

Yui: "There's no time! You go first, I'll catch up soon! (Shiba Inu muscular arm sticker)"

Yu: "Okay, feel free to let me know if you have any questions."

After reading the message, Yui Yuigahama did not send another reply.

Yuu Tenkuji put away her phone. Since she had said so, she changed her mind and continued walking towards the school instead of heading towards Yuihama's house.

Then, during morning reading time, I received a message that Yui Yuigahama had taken sick leave today.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: She's My Girlfriend

Lunch break, classroom of Class 2-F.

Many people sat sideways on chairs that weren't theirs so they could chat with the people behind them.

"I never thought Yuigahama would take sick leave. At least, as far as I can remember, this seems to be the first time she's taken sick leave, right?"

Totsuka Ayaka said with a touch of emotion, delicately picking up a piece of food from the bento box and eating it in small bites.

Yuu Tenkuji absentmindedly ate her bento and casually replied, "After all, idiots don't catch colds. I was quite surprised to see her take a sick leave."

"I just wanted to say that Yuihama is usually very energetic, giving the impression that the virus can't defeat her at all... You're going too far."

Totsuka Ayaka gave a slight wry smile, as if she had suddenly thought of something. Her eating motions paused slightly, and two faint blushes appeared on her cute, fair face. She became inexplicably shy.

"Um, Yu...can I ask you a question?"

"Love... cough, what's the problem?" Tenkuji Yu almost blurted out the classic answer like "I loved you, you saved my mom," but quickly collected her scattered thoughts and looked seriously at her slightly shy and handsome friend in front of her.

Totsuka Saika glanced around discreetly, and after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, she brought her fragrant, soft short hair close to his face, teasing his ear with her breathy whispers.

"You and Yuihama are dating, aren't you?"

“…That’s right.” Tenkuji Yu gave him a strange look. “I thought you already knew.”

After all, he has been going home with Yui Yuigahama every day recently, and they never hide their intimate interactions in front of others. Rumors of their relationship have been circulating in the class for some time, and quite a few fearless guys have used this to tease him. Yui Yuigahama is the same; when other girls ask her about it, she blushes and nods. The rumors have basically been confirmed.

Yuu Tenkuji thought that his relationship with Yui was already common knowledge among the class.

I didn't expect Totsuka to suddenly ask about this.

"We still need to confirm with the person involved. It would be awkward if there was a misunderstanding." Scratching her cheek, Totsuka Ayaka let out a soft breath, her smile a mixture of relief and joy, and murmured, "They're already dating... That's wonderful."

Tenkuji Yu raised an eyebrow: "Is my dating Yui something to be happy about?"

“Because Yuihama really likes you!” Totsuka Ayaka said with a gentle smile. “Although I only realized her feelings for you around mid-September, before that, whenever I ran into Yuihama on the street, she would always ask me about you. She listened very attentively, almost as if she was taking notes.”

"When someone speaks ill of you, she will show an unhappy expression, as if she wants to confront them but doesn't have the courage to do so, and can only defend you quietly behind their backs."

"When you are praised, she is happier than others, and she shows a proud expression. I almost thought she was a member of your fan club."

"By the way, when she saw you being pulled aside by other girls, she would stare intently from a distance, as if she wanted to break you up with her eyes... When I asked her why she was staring at you like that, she just angrily said it was nothing, and only relaxed after that girl left."

Before she knew it, she had said so much. Totsuka Saika picked up the kettle, took a sip of water to moisten her throat, and sighed with emotion.

"Looking back now, Yuihama-san was just like a girl in love back then... It's wonderful that unrequited love can have a happy ending and lovers can finally be together!"

The handsome, silver-haired boy smiled broadly and sincerely said to his friend, "Congratulations! You must be happy!"

Looking into his bright, clear eyes, Tenkuji slowly chewed the food in his mouth, swallowed it, and then spoke.

"Of course, she's my girlfriend."

Without a doubt, I say this with absolute certainty from the bottom of my heart.

Yuutokuji knew better than anyone how much Yui Yuigahama liked him—no matter how many times her memories had been altered, she was still that silly girl who had liked him for more than two years, and this feeling had not been diminished by anything external, but had only grown stronger.

Therefore, the pain caused by love will be even more intense.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't want her to get hurt, didn't want her to be disappointed; he wanted to stay by her side, to see her silly smile as always, to see her shy expression when she was being made into dumplings, and to see the warm look in her eyes when she was by his side.

Is this what love is? He still couldn't say for sure.

Just like when facing his past "ex-girlfriends," Yuu Tenkuji didn't want to jump to conclusions and admit that he had fallen for someone so easily.

After all, such feelings can hardly be encompassed by a single word or a simple "like," right?

That's why time is needed, more time is needed to analyze this relationship with Yui Yuigahama; before the deadline arrives, no matter where she wants to escape to, he will not easily let go of her hand.

It doesn't matter if he's called selfish, or how many people he can be boyfriend to—after all, Yui Yuigahama can only be his girlfriend.

As this thought crossed my mind, the bento box was unknowingly emptied.

Yuu Tenkuji made up his mind to visit her at her house after school...

Together with Yukino Yukinoshita.

……

After school, Yuu Tenkuji picked up her schoolbag and quickly left the classroom.

Having already asked the props team for leave, no one stopped him; they simply watched him leave with slightly ambiguous, blessing-like smiles.

Standing in the bustling corridor, as usual, Tenkuji Yu didn't go directly to Class J to find Yukino, as that would be too troublesome and conspicuous.

He waited until the door to the cultural season's executive committee opened, and then he saw a crystal-clear young girl walking down from upstairs before he went up to talk to her.

"Are you free later, Yukinoshita?"

The girl, who had a cold expression and a refined demeanor, paused for a moment, her gaze softening involuntarily, and asked gently, "What is it?"

"Yui is on sick leave, we'll go see her together later." Knowing she didn't like listening to nonsense, Yuu Tenkuji got straight to the point.

"Yuigahama-san?" Yukino Yukinoshita frowned with concern, then quickly nodded. "Okay, but wait until I finish dealing with the committee matters."

"Then I'll wait for you outside."