I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

It wasn't a French kiss, so... it shouldn't have violated the promise I made to Yui Yuigahama, right?

Chapter 136 Girlfriends in Pairs

"Do you touch me like that when you kiss someone?"

"What? I didn't! How can something as sacred as kissing be tainted by filthy desires?"

"Then why did your hand linger on my bra strap several times? And who kept touching my waist during the process?"

"Ahem, I was just a little nervous when we were kissing, and I didn't know where to put my hands."

"……satyr."

As she left the Service Club classroom, Yukino gave him a reproachful look, her face still flushed, her pearly teeth lightly biting her cherry-pink, glistening lips, looking both resentful and simply venting her shyness.

"Next time, keep your hands on my shoulders and don't touch things everywhere!"

Such an unquestionable command, delivered in a soft voice, carried little intimidating power; instead, it made one want to tease it a little more.

However, Yuu Tenkuji knew that a girl whose first kiss had just been taken away needed a period of calm. She couldn't be allowed to experience too many things at once, otherwise it would easily cause resentment, or even make her think that she was a kissing maniac.

He approached her step by step, as if she were a fragile ice crystal, carefully and gently caring for her.

"I promise I'll remember this, and it won't happen again!"

He spoke with such conviction, not foolish enough to say something as stupid as "there will be a next time." He simply smacked his lips as if recalling the taste, then grinned, revealing a blissful smile.

"You..."

Seeing his silly expression, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but smile, feeling both shy and sweet inside.

For no apparent reason, the urge to kiss resurfaced, my heart was pounding wildly, and the heat throughout my body felt like it was about to boil my blood.

To maintain the purity and dignity of the young lady, Yukino Yukinoshita simply ignored him for the time being, quickened her pace, and let the cold wind cool the heat on her face.

With his long legs, Tenkuji Yu easily caught up with her in just a few steps and reached out towards her slender, fair hand.

"Snow……"

However, the moment his fingers touched her, she jerked him away as if she had been electrocuted.

The two stopped in their tracks, staring at each other with wide eyes; the silence was so intense it pierced their eardrums.

"No, this is...!"

Snapping out of her daze and noticing his somewhat stunned expression, Yukino frantically clenched her fists, her face draining of color, and began to explain hastily:

"This is still a school, after all. If others see us, all our previous efforts will be..."

"Yukino, would I get angry over something like this?"

Tenkuji Yu interrupted her, his expression returning to ease. He waved his hand casually and said with a smile, "You know me, and I know you. How could I not know what you're worried about? On the contrary, I should apologize. I was the one who was two-timing, yet I didn't even notice what I should have been careful about. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Hearing his gentle tone, Yukino slowly released her grip, but this did not bring her any sudden relief.

"No, it's my problem..." She lowered her eyes, her voice low, a cloud of disappointment hanging over her fair face.

"Knowing that no one would pass by here, you still reacted so excessively, as if you hated being touched... I'm sorry, it must have felt terrible, right?"

She turned to the side, her long hair obscuring her expression, and a sigh of guilt drifted into the cold corridor.

Normally, Yukino Yukinoshita would probably just say sorry and let the matter drop.

However, she had just made up her mind to save him last night, but less than 24 hours later, she had carelessly hurt his feelings...

Breaking one's word is not the most important thing. What is important is that Yukino Yukinoshita does not want Tenkuji Yu to misunderstand, nor does she want him to smile on the surface but be saddened when he returns.

She never imagined that she would care so much about such a small thing.

"Yukino, this isn't like you."

Seeing her dejected appearance, Tenkuji Yu sighed helplessly.

However, this wasn't the first time he'd seen a girl change after falling in love.

Asuna is alright, but Haruno and Masuzu, whose personalities are already twisted, are completely different people before and after they started dating. Their unpretentious, frank, and adorable appearance would make anyone who knows them say, "This is not like you at all."

Even with a mind as clear as ice, pure and righteous, Yukino Yukinoshita cannot escape the fate of being changed.

Yuu Tenkuji once heard a saying.

—Once a girl starts dating, her heart is no longer completely open and transparent.

The fabric is covered with countless threads of love, tightening more and more. A gentle tug at one end of the thread might draw blood. The harder you pull, the more it breaks apart. It hurts, of course, but you don't want to let go, only hoping for the day when everything can become beautiful.

Because you have someone you care about, the things you care about in the future will become more numerous and more important than yourself.

It wasn't just them; Yuu Tenkuji felt the same way—it was painful, but that was precisely proof that they had fallen in love with each other.

Even if I say I don't care, you probably won't be able to let it go so easily, right?

He stood beside her, not doing much, but simply gazing at the slanting light spots coming from the far end of the corridor, letting his gentle voice drift in the air.

"So, next time we're alone, I'll settle this score with you."

The girl, who had been standing with her arms crossed and her face downcast, paused, then seemed to quietly raise her head and look at him hesitantly.

"what you up to?"

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you. Making you anxious is one of my ways of teasing you.” Tenkuji Yu smiled and turned his head, gently stroking her pert and cute nose with his finger.

"If you're unhappy, you can come back to me to collect this debt anytime."

After pursing her lips and remaining silent for a while, Yukino lowered her hand and sighed with a hint of amusement, "Idiot, won't this go on forever?"

"Isn't that even better?" Yuu Tenkuji raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "In our industry, getting entangled with beautiful girls is a reward."

"That kind of industry should just disappear as soon as possible," she criticized mercilessly.

Then, she let out a soft breath, finally returning to her usual calm and composed demeanor.

"Whatever... but if it goes too far, I'll fight back."

"Huh?" Yuuki Tenkuji looked at Yukino Yukinoshita in surprise. "And you're talking about me? I wonder who it was that was kissing just now, and their movements got a little too much... Ouch!"

The girl withdrew her foot from his shin, her face expressionless, and brushed her long hair aside with her delicate hand.

Sunlight and leaden blackness coexisted in the air as she stepped confidently and gracefully toward the stairwell.

He then calmly said, "If your nonsense makes me late, I will try to avoid being alone with you for the next week."

The tone was exactly like a wife telling her husband, "You're sleeping on the sofa tonight."

Tenkuji Yu stood there, his lips twitching as he watched her retreating figure, suppressing all the words of complaint he wanted to say.

—On another note, when other people cover up their shyness, they pat your shoulder or punch you in the chest with their little fists, so why are you the only one kicking people's shin?

Luckily, my muscles are tough enough. The harder you kick, the more pain you'll be in...

"What are you still standing there for? Do you really want to be late?"

She walked alone to the stairs, then suddenly stopped and turned around.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she puffed out one of her fair cheeks, her eyes revealing dissatisfaction and impatience, like a little girl waiting for her parents to take her hand, completely unlike the cold and beautiful woman she had just been.

Without hesitation, Yuu Tenkuji smiled and strode over to her side. They didn't hold hands, maintaining their usual distance, as they descended the stairs together.

The faint voice was gently dispersed by the cold wind in the corridor.

"How far into the future can this endless cycle continue..."

"What?" Tenkuji Yu tilted his head in confusion.

Even though they were extremely close, she seemed to know how good her hearing was, and mumbled something at a volume he couldn't quite hear.

Yukino chuckled softly, then suddenly asked, "Is anyone nearby?"

Despite her confusion, Yuu Tenkuji opened her five senses and carefully sensed the movements between the upper and lower floors.

It was like a campus where only they existed, in a secluded, special building where only their breathing and heartbeats could be heard.

"Report, nobody's here."

"very good."

After saying that, she pulled down Tenkuji Yu's collar and Yukino Yukinoshita stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

She didn't even bother to close her eyes, just looked at his wide-open eyes gently and quietly, as if she wanted to entrust endless longing into them.

In about three or four seconds, before the sweetness had even penetrated, their lips parted.

She casually straightened his collar and continued downstairs.

Yuu Tenkuji followed unconsciously, like a puppet whose consciousness had been sucked away, her steps even appearing somewhat unsteady.

After a long pause, he came to his senses and spoke hesitantly:

"...Um, Yukino-san?"

"what happened?"

"Next time you launch a sneak attack, could you at least give me a heads-up?"

"If you told me beforehand, it wouldn't be a sneak attack, right? Or is it that you don't like it?"

"I like it, but I'd rather ask you to come more often..."

"I knew you'd say that." Yukino scoffed dismissively, her profile revealing a cool and indifferent beauty, though the tips of her ears were noticeably flushed.

"This is also one of my ways of teasing you. Feel free to retaliate in the future... just don't let anyone else see."

"..."

Yuu Tenkuji was speechless.

Shy, proactive; indifferent, gentle; guilty, and defiant.

The closer you get, the more distinct Yukino Yukinoshita's appearances become...

She's so adorable, how could I not like her more and more!

……

The corridor on the fifth floor of the student association building.

Kasumigaoka Utaha put down her binoculars, watched the two people disappear into the distance, took a bite of her red bean bread, and muttered thoughtfully: