I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Just before he could speak, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, and a face came close, looking at him curiously at close range.

"Yukinoshita-kun, what's wrong? You seem a little uneasy. Are you afraid to walk alone at night?"

"..."

Natsukawa Masaki smiled kindly, but the streetlight only illuminated half of her profile, leaving the other half in shadow.

She clasped her hands together, squinted her eyes, and tilted her head slightly as she said, "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you—after all, we live in the same apartment building, so taking care of each other is only natural."

"On the way, I can also tell you about Miss Yang Nai."

Standing still, Yukino Yukinoshita fell silent.

Chapter 109 Sisters' War (Part 1)

Night had fallen.

After dinner, Yukino Yukinoshita sat on the sofa, looking at her phone with a hesitant expression.

"Should I ask...?"

Recalling what Natsukawa Masuzu said, and recalling everything she had done during this time.

Her wavering heart gradually hardened, and Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and opened her contacts.

Her sister's phone number appeared on the screen. Her finger paused for less than half a second before she pressed the call button.

Slowly, I pressed the cold microphone to my ear. The busy tone of the microphone sounded along with my heartbeat, and the surroundings were so quiet that I couldn't hear any other sounds.

Now that things had come to this, Yukino Yukinoshita calmed down.

She closed her eyes slightly before the call was connected, silently organizing the questions she wanted to ask.

According to information revealed by Natsukawa Masuzu, her older sister is not simply having a crush on Tenkuji Yu—but rather treating him as her own, handling everything related to him from the perspective of his girlfriend.

Eliminating rivals, planting spies, and even deliberately taking Natsukawa Masuzu to meet Tenkuji Yu that day—all of these were to show him the consequences of playing around with so many girls…

The latter point feels like something Natsukawa Masaki made up on the spot, so I'll leave it as a truism for now.

In short, it was precisely because she "deluded" that Yukinoshita Haruno showed such an angry expression for the first time when she said, "You'd better give up on him as soon as possible."

If you change the context, you'll understand. It's practically like telling your wife, "Your husband prefers his mistress, so you should divorce him." It would be strange if she wasn't angry.

Even so, Yukino Yukinoshita felt no remorse towards her sister and had no intention of taking back her words.

—Not only did she consider herself his girlfriend, but she also sent Natsukawa Masami to try and interfere with their relationship, acting like a genuine, obsessive pursuer, secretly resorting to so many underhanded tactics.

As Yukino Yukinoshita's younger sister, Yukino Yukinoshita simply couldn't ignore such a thing.

That's why I thought of calling her to find out what she was thinking and to stop her before she went too far.

It wasn't just for those two people, it was also for myself...

In order to prevent the request given to her by Tenkuji-kun from being disrupted by some extremely troublesome guy, Yukino Yukinoshita believes that she must have a serious talk with her older sister.

beep--

The call rang about seven times before it was finally answered.

"Yukino? What's wrong? Why are you so late?"

She seemed to be resting in her room; her tone was languid and casual, and the sound of typing could be faintly heard.

"Um, are you free to talk on the phone now?"

Yukino Yukinoshita spoke calmly, without intending to make the atmosphere as tense as an interrogation.

As if nothing had happened, Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled softly, still in her teasing tone: "Convenient~ What's wrong? Haven't seen your older sister in so long, want to act cute?"

"Looks like your life is still stuck in kindergarten," Yukino replied with a light laugh, then the smile faded as she got straight to the point.

"I want to ask you, do you really like Tenkuji-kun?"

"..." After a moment of silence, Yukino smiled somewhat helplessly. "Why is it this question again? Honestly, is it such a strange thing for me to like a boy? Or should I find a girlfriend to bring home someday? That would make Yukino think it's more normal."

"I didn't mean that, I just wanted to confirm." Yukino Yukinoshita let out a soft breath and asked carefully, "Do you like Tenkuji-kun in the way you want to be in a romantic relationship, or do you like him as a toy or a possession?"

"Hmm—" she drawled, as if considering how to answer.

Yukino always felt that her older sister wasn't thinking about the answer to the question, but rather whether to tell the truth or just give a perfunctory answer.

Despite being the closest family member, it's different when facing Yuukishiro Tenkuji—if Yukino Yukinoshita lies, there's a high chance Yukino Yukinoshita won't realize it, and no matter how much she questions her, she'll be able to deflect it with her explanation.

I hope you can answer honestly.

In the end, I could only ask her for help like a younger sister.

"Huh?" Yukinoshita Haruno was a little surprised, then chuckled as if she found it amusing but also slightly disdainful, and the sound of typing on the keyboard completely stopped.

"What, is this some kind of heart-to-heart talk between sisters? And it was actually suggested by that awkward Yukino? Ugh, this is so scary~ Is tomorrow going to be the end of the world? I'd better tell Mom right away~"

"..." Her face flushed slightly as she clenched her teeth, Yukino Yukinoshita tried her best to resist the urge to hang up the phone, and said in an icy tone, "If you don't tell me, this will be the last time I try to communicate with you normally."

"Oh, so you're resorting to threats now? Yukino's grown up quite a bit." She chuckled casually, completely unconcerned. "Alright, let's open our hearts and talk to each other. Come to think of it, this is what sisters from normal families do, but it's our first time experiencing this."

Yukino retorted sarcastically, "If someone's personality weren't so annoying, this situation wouldn't have occurred."

"They're about the same. Okay, I'll answer your question." Yang Nai's tone became slightly more serious. "It was definitely the latter before, but after experiencing so much, my feelings have long since changed to the former—I want to be his real boyfriend and girlfriend, and that thought hasn't changed at all."

"before……"

Why does it sound like they've known each other for a long time and have been through a lot together?

This is completely inconsistent with the words that Tenkuji-kun said in front of his house.

"I wasn't lying." Seemingly sensing her doubts, Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled mischievously. "As for how you interpret it, that's up to you~"

“…I understand.” Yukino Yukinoshita decided to put this question aside for the time being and make her first conclusion: “Although it’s just wishful thinking, your feelings for him are indeed serious.”

"Don't talk about wishful thinking." Her tone was light, but it carried an unyielding force.

However, Yukino did not back down as usual. Instead, she stared straight ahead with a fierce look and retorted in an even stronger tone: "Sister, please face the facts. The person Tenkuji-kun likes is Yuihama-kun, not you, who thinks you are his girlfriend!"

"I don't believe he's the kind of scumbag who would treat you coldly in front of us while secretly having an affair with you!"

"Tsk..." Yang Nai's voice suddenly lost its emotion. She wasn't angry, but just said in a bored tone, "That's it? If that's all you wanted to say, I'm hanging up."

I haven't finished speaking yet!

Instinctively gripping her phone, Yukino immediately got to the second main point, her excited tone unconsciously adopting an interrogative quality:

"Sister, if you really like him, why don't you pursue him in a proper way instead of observing his school life through others? You even planted spies around him to try and prevent him from dating Yui-chan?! Is this the only kind of petty trick you can use?"

This was the first time in her life that she had questioned anyone so sharply.

Her somewhat irritated voice seemed to still echo in the empty room. After speaking, Yukino Yukinoshita took several deep breaths, biting her lip lightly to suppress the overflowing emotions.

"..."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone, as if even breathing had been frozen by the spreading cold air; only the seconds of the call were quietly ticking away.

Suddenly.

"Ha—ah—"

As if exhaling all the air from her lungs, Yukino Yukinoshita let out a heavy sigh, filled with disgust and impatience.

"You bunch of high school girls are really something. Being immature is one thing, but can you please stop causing trouble for others?"

Yukino Yukinoshita said in a deep voice, "Don't beat around the bush."

"I'm saying the same thing."

Completely devoid of her initial gentleness and cheerfulness, Haruno made no attempt to hide her mocking and disdainful attitude: "Yukino, what did Natsukawa Masuzu tell you today, right? And then, believing her words, you couldn't wait to come and confront me, your older sister, that very night?"

“I can tell whether she’s making things up. That’s why I’m calling you to ask you this question, because I’m not blindly believing.”

Remaining calm and composed, Yukino Yukinoshita added, "If you're willing to explain, I'm willing to listen. As long as you deny it..."

"There's no explanation needed, it's just as you think."

Before she could finish speaking, Yukinoshita Haruno readily admitted it, speaking with the ease of a murderer boasting about her crime:

"I monitored Xiaoyou's school life in various ways. After learning that he and Tuanzi-chan were having an affair, I decided to send Natsukawa Masaki, who was also interested in him, to stir things up, so that the two of them wouldn't accidentally eat the forbidden fruit..."

She's still a virgin, how can we let another girl take Xiaoyouyou's first time?

Chapter 110 Sisters' War (Part Two)

The moment she paused, Yukino couldn't help but speak up: "Sister, do you think this is normal? To be honest, you really should see a psychologist."

"Silly girl, that's just how love is. You're the one who doesn't understand, aren't you?"

Yang Nai said matter-of-factly, "Unless I do something bad to Tuanzi-chan for my own desires, or tie Xiaoyou to the basement and lock him up to train him into a little puppy that belongs only to me, then it would be abnormal and I would have the right to be questioned by you—but at least for now, I have no intention of going to that extent."

She gave a cold laugh.

"So, Yukino, right now you're just meddling in other people's business."

Without hesitation, Yukino Yukinoshita said earnestly, "You are my older sister, and they are my best friends. It's not like I'm meddling in other people's business!"

"Ha, how touching. But so what?"

Yang said indifferently, "No matter what you think, to me, Tenkuji Yu is my boyfriend. Whatever means I use to drive away the girls next to him, it is a right given to me by this identity."

"Even if we take a step back and assume that I'm just having a crush on him, do you know what a long-distance relationship is?"

At this point, she chuckled softly, her tone suddenly softening.

Her voice, however, was even lonelier than a bird returning to its nest only to find its chicks gone, carrying a self-deprecating tone and a deep sadness, quietly reaching Yukino Yukinoshita's heart through the microphone.

"Yukino, I'm different from you..."

"I can't see him at school every day, I can't find opportunities to chat and eat with him every day, and even things like video calling each other at night, exchanging messages, saying goodnight, making plans to go out on holidays, and smiling into each other's eyes—"

"It's impossible to do that now."

Perhaps it was just a fleeting illusion.

Yukino had never heard her sister's sobbing voice. The grievances, anxiety, and unease that she had never told anyone were like mud and sand that suddenly splashed out and sank to the bottom of the river where no one could see them.

That perfect, superhuman older sister, that older sister who always faces everything with a light smile, that unwavering Yukinoshita Haruno...

How could she possibly cry out like an ordinary girl?