I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

The closer you get to the station, the stronger the Christmas atmosphere becomes.

The walls of shops are covered with festive red flyers, Christmas trees of various sizes are displayed in shop windows, and even the train station is filled with various items symbolizing Christmas, demonstrating how much the island nation values ​​this holiday.

After all, both KFC and small hotels saw their business increase several times over the past two days, and whether they could have a good New Year depended on this opportunity. In fact, not only couples but also many families would buy a big meal (usually a family bucket of fried chicken) to celebrate Christmas.

Even if for most people it is just a commercial folk activity without religious significance.

"This place must be beautiful at night, right?"

Before entering the station, Yui Yuigahama suddenly felt a pang of emotion and became listless.

Following her gaze, Yuu Tenkuji saw that the trunks of the roadside trees were already decorated with various kinds of lights, silently adorning the entire station.

Even though it may not be very noticeable now, and may even slightly affect the original landscape, once it gets dark, the colorful and dazzling lights will suddenly turn the entire street and the whole city into a dreamlike, radiant spectacle.

Perhaps the bustling travelers will feel as if they have entered a fairy tale world?

"How about we meet at the train station after the hot pot party? Around nine o'clock. If you don't want to take the train, I can rent a car and take you for a drive."

"Swipe your card to enter the station," Tenkuji Yu jokingly suggested.

Yui Yuigahama looked at him in surprise: "Yu, you have a driver's license?! Aren't you not even twenty yet?"

Although you can get a motorcycle license for motorcycles under 400cc at age 16, her boyfriend probably wouldn't want to take the two of them for a ride on his motorcycle...

Putting aside whether it was legal or not, the three of them were sandwiched between him, crammed onto a small motorcycle, speeding through the streets of Tokyo at night—the scene was just too strange, there wasn't a single romantic element to it!

Fortunately, Tenkuji Yu shook her head and denied her guess, then said confidently, "Although I don't have a driver's license, whether the 86 can go up the mountain depends on my mood—my driving skills are probably that good."

He had driven Yukino Yukinoshita's car during summer vacation, so his driving skills were naturally at the level of an experienced driver.

The woman didn't care whether he had a driver's license or not. After discovering that he could drive, she would let him drive from time to time while she sat in the passenger seat happily drinking red wine—they were really lucky not to be stopped by the police.

"Then forget it, driving without a license is not allowed."

As if giving up, the honest girl Yui Yuigahama sighed and unconsciously moved closer to him.

Her lowered face seemed to conceal some subtle emotions she didn't want him to discover.

"Besides, there's nothing we can do today, since we already promised... As for tomorrow, I don't know if we can go together..."

"Yui? What's wrong?"

Strangely enough, even though her hearing is excellent, when she mutters something to herself, Yuu Tenkuji can never understand what she's saying.

However, Yui Yuigahama quickly looked up again, a casual smile on her face: "It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered that I think I prepared a Christmas present for you!"

Tenkuji Yu looked puzzled: "What's this sudden realization? And what's going on?"

With a squinting smile, Yui Yuigahama bumped her head against his shoulder, the force as light as a puppy's whimper: "There are complicated reasons behind this that I can't explain to Yuu-chan. In short, just look forward to it!"

"Sigh... I know." Yuu Tenkuji shrugged helplessly. "Honestly, girls just like so-called surprises, they're not straightforward at all."

He had barely finished speaking when she stepped on his foot and cursed him as an insensitive guy.

After that, there was no more shadow on Yui Yuigahama's face, and her smile was as bright and cheerful as ever.

Thinking that he would get the answer during the hot pot party that night, Yuu Tenkuji didn't pay much attention to it and took the train with her to Inagekaishi Station, where Sobu High School was located.

While admiring the fogged-up car windows and the advertisements on the signs inside the car, they chatted with their girlfriend about which celebrities were having extramarital affairs recently. Before they knew it, the gentle announcement from the flight attendant reminded them that it was time to get off the train.

Most of the people getting off the bus were students from Soubu High School. The two of them didn't seem to care about avoiding each other and continued chatting with their faces buried in their scarves, their breaths mingling on each other's faces. They didn't seem to mind the extremely close proximity where their lips could touch at any moment.

"So, Xiaoyou, if you're going to have an extramarital affair..."

"There's no 'what if.' If I were to get married, I would definitely marry all of you, and then remain chaste and devoted to you all from then on!"

"Okay, okay, be quiet for a moment. It's just an example! For example, in the future, we both marry you, but one day after get off work, when you go to an izakaya to let loose, you suddenly run into Ryo, the girl you had a relationship with in high school. You start drinking and chatting, and then, under the influence of alcohol..."

"Wait a minute, isn't the plot a bit too cliché? You might as well say that when I was interviewing for a secretary position at the company, I happened to run into Masuzu, who was there to apply for the job."

"Is that what you care about?!"

They chatted as they passed through the school gate. Unlike before, they didn't run into Yukino Yukinoshita and Masuzu Natsukawa. They changed into indoor shoes and walked to Class 2-F. Along the way, their scarves and fingers, which had been tightly wrapped around each other, were forced to separate.

Not to mention the train station, the Christmas decorations in Zongwu High School and Class F classrooms were equally impressive, and the students were mostly talking about Christmas.

Who's going on a date? Who's going to buy up all the odd-numbered seats in the movie theater? And who's trying to start a holy war and raid hotels on couples who're about to have sex for six hours straight...?

"The human world has become filthy again."

A soft voice sounded from behind, and Tenkuji Yuu trembled almost imperceptibly. Then, with a subtle twitch of his lips, he looked back.

"Why are you here again..."

Natsukawa Masaki sighed dramatically, her fingers lightly twirling a strand of hair by her cheek. As if oblivious to his speechless expression, she continued with a somber tone, "Ultimately, isn't Christmas Jesus' birthday? Or his death anniversary? Well, whatever the case, since it's such an important holiday, shouldn't we suppress all disrespect and distractions, offering all our piety and gratitude on this day? Why, instead, do we let our lust erupt? Did Jesus perhaps want to see this kind of lewd scene? Pshaw, then the main color of Christmas shouldn't be red, but white—"

Before she could finish speaking, Tenkuji Yu raised his hand and covered her mouth, then pulled it back before she could stick out her tongue to lick her palm.

"Alright, if you keep talking, you might not even get a trial. Christians will put you on the cross first."

“Are you speaking up for Christians?”

Natsukawa Masaki gave her a flirtatious wink before instantly reverting to a serious expression.

"They start getting horny as soon as Christmas arrives, and even came up with a term like 'Six Hours of Love,' taking it for granted that they fill such a holiday with money and desire—if we're being honest, shouldn't the Japanese be the ones being condemned by Christians?"

"I don't want to discuss this with you." Yuu Tenkuji rolled her eyes and pointed her thumb towards the door. "Class is about to start, please go back to your own classroom."

"There are still ten minutes left, what's wrong with chatting a little longer?" She pouted somewhat dissatisfied, but still obediently walked towards the classroom door, only turning back every few steps, looking very reluctant to leave.

As for the other students, they were already used to this kind of scene.

After all, in the past few days, Natsukawa Masuzu had been coming to Class F to chat with Tenkuji Yu whenever she had nothing to do, yet she also got along very well with Yuigahama Yui; so after the initial surprise, even though she showed a completely different attitude towards others, no one was so idle as to gossip about their interactions anymore.

To avoid causing them any trouble, Natsukawa Masuzu specifically offered an explanation:

Yu Tenkuji was her only male friend she could talk to, and the group formed a very strong and pure friendship during the filming of the movie.

Therefore, like Yukino Yukinoshita, she supports their relationship and will also be their best friend. She hopes everyone will not let unfounded rumors and misunderstandings ruin their friendship.

In short, that's roughly the gist of it.

Thanks to this, Tenkuji Yu was spared the trouble of refuting the rumors, and he also understood just how meticulous this woman had been in planning to get close to him.

...Did she really not regain her memories?

Even now, Yuu Tenkuji still cannot confirm the answer to this question.

"By the way, Yu, are you free tonight?" Natsukawa Masaki suddenly asked before leaving.

Yuu Tenkuji replied irritably, "Of course I'm busy. I have a girlfriend."

"Really? That's a pity."

For some inexplicable reason, Natsukawa Masaki's lips curved into a smile. She glanced at the back of the classroom as if it were nothing, before leaving Class F classroom with light steps.

Chapter 176 Under the Snow of Ono-rae!

The morning classes were similar to the previous days, consisting of either self-study or watching videos. As usual, Yuu Tenkuji passed the time by reading.

This time, he was reading a famous work by a French author, "In Search of Lost Time".

This kind of stream-of-consciousness literature—and the original version at that, filled with French—is really hard for the average person to read; just turning the pages makes them dizzy.

Not only must one possess sufficient French proficiency, but one must also be patient enough to empathize with the protagonist's inner world in order to gradually gain reading pleasure and recognize its essence as a literary masterpiece in the middle of the story.

As for Yuu Tenkuji's French, since he had not acquired the relevant skills, he was not very proficient, at least in terms of spoken French. However, he was already quite satisfied that he was able to start from scratch and successfully read French novels in less than ten hours, thanks to his expert-level "learning" skills.

On the contrary, Yukino Yukinoshita, who strongly recommended the book and tried to become his French teacher, was very dissatisfied with it.

"I don't ask for much, can't you be a little bit dumber? Or at least act like a carbon-based life form. No matter how much I like you, the idea of ​​dating an alien will still make me feel resistant."

The aloof girl who could say such things with such an air of superiority would often blush and steal a kiss from him in an empty stairwell, or hug him tightly, bury her face in his chest and take deep breaths, and then separate as if nothing had happened after a minute or two.

Those movements were as forceful as if they were trying to etch his mark into his body; those emotions were as endearing as a kitten's paw gently scratching at his heart.

Besides, when they chatted on the phone at night, Yukino Yukinoshita's voice was always gentler and more delicate than usual, making his ears itch.

Gone was her usual stern and composed demeanor; she was just like a simple and innocent little girl, speaking with great enthusiasm and eloquence when discussing her favorite novel plots; and when she felt that a passage contained the author's personal bias, she would sullenly and arrogantly criticize it repeatedly.

Before hanging up the phone at night, she would hum a reluctant snort, yet deep down she held onto hope, smiling and whispering to him:

"See you tomorrow, Tenkuji-kun."

She had long forgotten what she had said in the past; now, all Tenkuji Yuu felt was that she was really likable.

A beauty that is not annoying, pure, intelligent, and straightforward—that is a treasure that belongs only to oneself.

Every day and night, I can feel my heart swelling with longing, filled with many memories of her, and warmth overflows whenever I think of her.

Even at noon, when talking to her on the phone in the corner of the stairs, Yuu Tenkuji would unconsciously smile, and the white smoke he exhaled seemed to have her outline in it.

"Honey, is now a good time to talk on the phone?"

"I hope that when you ask this question, you can use an opening line that won't cause any misunderstanding." The gentle voice on the other end of the phone sighed helplessly, but like him, it couldn't suppress the smile in its tone.

"What's wrong? If it's something, it would be more convenient to send a message, right?"

Yuu Tenkuji said in a serious tone, "That won't do. My ears will protest to my fingers. They want you, not a heartless dialog box."

"Stop being so glib." Yukino Yukinoshita, already tired of hearing such words, remained as unmoved as ice. "Will you be having lunch at the Service Club?"

"Saying 'go' instead of 'come' means you're still in the classroom and don't plan to go to the Service Club later, right?"

"You guessed right, but there's no reward."

Leaning casually against the wall, Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but scoff: "Are you kidding? I'm usually the one who rewards you, okay?"

"...Hehe, so that's what you think."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by laughter that carried a chillingly dangerous undertone.

"I understand. Please look forward to the hot pot party tonight."

However, instead of immediately begging for mercy, Tenkuji Yu continued to speak to her in a provocative tone: "Hmph, you're making such big promises, don't disappoint me later."

"Don't worry, it won't happen."

Yukino Yukinoshita chuckled coldly, which made Yuu Tenkuji look delighted.

Don't get me wrong, it's like how elementary school boys always make the girls they like angry.

He deliberately provoked Yukino Yukinoshita, wanting to see her various reactions—whether shy, annoyed, or amused. He simply wanted to see a side of her that others didn't know, to keep all the different sides of Yukino Yukinoshita in his heart, and to possess all these beautiful moments alone.

Therefore, I wasn't expecting her to overcome her shame and engage in any wicked, provocative play.