I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

For example, they met in a game; after noticing something was wrong, she quickly locked onto her target; she was willing to transfer schools for him; and she discovered the special ability of "feelings" during a duel with him at the school festival, and used "feelings" to correct her distorted memories...

Before discussing serious matters, Yukino Yukinoshita was very interested in this "feeling" and even to the point of being eager to learn about it.

"Yuki-kun, can you teach me 'heart'?"

Knowing roughly about this classmate's experience, one can understand her desire to quickly regain her memories.

Yuuki Asuna could only shake her head regretfully, looking at her earnestly and saying, "I'm sorry, Yukino-san. Even in the game, let alone in reality, I can't control this ability freely. I only know it's an ability born from strong emotions, but I have no idea how it works, let alone how to teach it..."

"Is that so..." Yukino Yukinoshita bit her lip slightly in distress, sighed, and lowered her head without pressing the other party further. "This information is enough, thank you. I hope you can recover all your memories as soon as possible, and not be troubled by this ambiguous feeling like I was."

"Well, then I'll take your kind words." Yuuki Asuno said with a wry smile.

Beside her, Natsukawa Masuzu, stroking her chin, muttered to herself, "Sure enough, something's fishy... If he can even win over Yuuki-kun, it really makes one wonder if Yu has even more ex-girlfriends on the side..."

"I can't stand any more~" Yukino Yukinoshita said with a smile, her tone very light. "I might just get so angry that I secretly cut off Yu-Yu's thing and soak it in alcohol to drink."

Natsukawa Masaki expressed his agreement with his eyes: "If that day ever comes, please let me have a drink."

"You two, don't talk about this kind of thing in front of someone else's sister!"

Kasugano Sora glared at them fiercely, her bared teeth and menacing expression suggesting that she would have kicked them out the door long ago if the situation hadn't prevented it.

Then, Kasumigaoka Utaha closed her notebook, sighed deeply, and glanced speechlessly at the girls present.

"I say, shall we stop catching up here? Am I the only outsider who's so eager to get rid of that guy?"

"Of course not, but there's no use in being anxious, is there? If you don't relax a little, Xiaoyou will feel bad too."

Yukinoshita shrugged nonchalantly, wanting to sneak a peek at Yuukokuji, but was slapped back by the furious Kasugano Sora, and could only pout sullenly, touching the back of her hand that had been slapped red.

“Oh, right, Kasumigaoka-senpai.” Asuna Yuuki suddenly remembered something and turned to Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was already getting impatient, and asked, “During the school festival, it really was you who caused the building to lose power, right? We’ve never met before, yet you knew my name and lied to the president of the Virtual Research Club and the others…”

"There's no other way, we were forced into this situation by this thing."

With her legs crossed and her black stockings clasped, Kasumigaoka Utaha tapped the black notebook resting on her lap, propped her cheek up with one hand, and said insincerely, "If it caused you any trouble back then, I can only apologize~ But I checked before turning off the power, and the sudden power outage won't affect you, and it'll only last a few seconds, so it should be fine, right?"

"..."

You might not care, but I do!

If it weren't for the sudden power outage, I might have been able to regain my memories with just my "willpower" back then, instead of having to face other "love rivals" in this situation now... You, who weren't there, would never know how painful it is to fail at the last minute!

Despite her many complaints, Yuuki Asuna swallowed them all when facing her senior, who was a year older than her. She sighed helplessly, trying her best to maintain proper manners and composure.

"I'm not trying to settle scores with you or anything... Never mind, let's leave it at that."

"Very well, let's leave the rest of the topics for the next women's meeting! Let's get down to business, Asuna, please listen in for now!"

Yukino clapped her hands, her assertive attitude and seemingly insightful red eyes easily seizing control of the atmosphere.

She looked around and finally fixed her gaze on Natsukawa Masuzu.

"So, Xiaozhenliang, have you found your own 'key'?"

Chapter 40: How are you feeling right now? (Part 2)

This slightly mocking question clearly shows a lack of confidence in her.

"What a pity." Natsukawa Masuzu sighed dramatically, her voice filled with disappointment. "No matter how hard I search, I can't find anything here that proves our bond. Should I just stop here...?"

Seemingly unable to bear such a clumsy performance, Yukinoshita Haruno mercilessly exposed her: "It's not here, it's at home, isn't it?"

Natsukawa Masuzu quickly composed herself, casually tossing her long hair aside and crossing her arms, saying, "That's right, so I have to go home to get something... I can't guarantee it's correct, but I guess I'll have to try anything."

"Well then, please hurry back and have a safe journey~" With the demeanor of a hostess, Yukinoshita Haruno, who was lounging on the sofa, smiled and waved at her, but her eyes clearly indicated that she should get lost.

"Tch." Xia Chuanzhen clicked his tongue in annoyance, too lazy to argue with this smug guy, and turned to go to the entrance to put on his coat and prepare to leave for the time being.

Hearing the door close and having witnessed the confrontation between the two, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed silently.

At a time like this, do they still have the mood to compete for favor?

The person involved is unconscious, so what's the point of arguing?

He glanced at the sleeping Tenkuji Yu with a hint of worry, then turned his gaze to Yuuki Asuna.

With her hands clasped together on her knees, Yukino Yukinoshita spoke calmly and earnestly, "Yuuki-kun, before he came to our apartment, he talked to you about his girlfriend at the coffee shop, right? Can I ask how you felt when you found out that you were actually his girlfriend?"

"What are you feeling?" Asuna blinked in surprise, then rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a moment. Realizing she was under everyone's gaze, she scratched her cheek somewhat embarrassedly. "Well... the feeling of suddenly realizing something and feeling relieved, happy and wanting to regain my memories as soon as possible, right?"

“My situation is rather special. I was not fooled by the false memories for long before I recovered through the power of ‘will’. I also learned in advance through various clues that I had a close relationship with Tenkuji-kun… So when I found out that I had dated him, I was more like ‘Ah, I see’ than surprised.”

Looking into Yukino Yukinoshita's thoughtful eyes, Asuna Yuuki seemed to suddenly understand something and smiled gently.

"But most importantly, I have to admit that I like him, right? Because he is very important to me, so before everything settles down, I have to work hard so that I can stand by his side without any confusion!"

"Yuki-kun..."

As if deeply shaken, Yukino Yukinoshita stared at her for a few seconds, then lowered her eyes and smiled helplessly.

"To act solely because of a feeling of liking someone... I probably wouldn't be able to do the same as you..."

despite this.

Once I know where I stand and what my goals are—I also have things that are uniquely mine and that I can do!

Yukino Yukinoshita clenched her fists as if to encourage herself, then raised her eyes again and smiled confidently and proudly at Asuna.

At that moment, Yukinoshita Haruno spoke up, completely oblivious to the atmosphere.

"Oh my, what a touching sentiment~ So how do you feel when you find out that Xiaoyouyou has girlfriends everywhere, but you happen to fall for this scumbag who seems to be planning to build a harem?"

“Sister…” Yukino looked at her reproachfully.

Yang Nai blinked innocently: "What's wrong? You changed the subject first, can't I even ask a question?"

"It's not that it's impossible..."

Too lazy to deal with her silly younger sister who had become hypocritical after interacting with someone, Yukinoshita Haruno turned her gaze back to Yuuki Asuna, observing her slightly troubled expression with interest.

"To be honest, when I first found out, I really wanted to call him a scumbag..."

After hesitating for a long time, Asuna Yuuki sighed helplessly: "But now that we know he has unspeakable difficulties, and his situation is so abnormal, all things considered, we can even say that he is actually very responsible and sentimental..."

Yukino nodded in agreement, while Haruno gave a noncommittal smirk.

“Even if you blame him for being ‘womanizing,’ you can’t guarantee that he wouldn’t choose you if he weren’t womanizing…” Yuuki Asuna pressed her forehead lightly, seemingly giving up. “Sigh, I don’t know what to say right now. I can only leave it to the me after all my memories are restored. I can’t hate him because of this, can I?”

"Indeed, that's a very good mindset."

Making this casual comment, Yang Nai glanced at the two with a smile and said rather pleasantly, "Thinking about it this way, I'm actually looking forward to what will happen after your memories are fully restored... You know what? Recalling all the little things you experienced with him, only to find that you can never go back to that past where you exclusively possessed all his deep love, and can only reluctantly admit that you are 'one of the people he likes'—"

Her tone suddenly turned cold, her curved eyes flashing with icy light, and her kind smile twisted into a chilling, mocking curve, as if it could freeze solid. She spoke slowly and clearly:

"That was so painful, I almost couldn't help but lock him in the basement and make sure he never saw anyone else again."

"..."

With their mouths dry, Yukino and Asuna subconsciously swallowed, looking at the female college student in front of them with a cold expression and a deep black aura floating around her, quite frightened.

The light bulb in the living room flickered twice as if there was a bad connection. In the brief darkness, those lifeless eyes resembled two pools of blood, with unsettling filth and cruelty floating in the deep red, viscous liquid.

From his tone to his expression, everything about him was serious—which is why it was so frightening.

Kasugano Sora, who was making a lap pillow for Tenkuji Yu, decisively took out her phone and quickly dialed the three numbers 110. She glared at Yukinoshita Haruno without fear, her eyes sharp as knives.

"For Yu's safety, it's probably best to eliminate you first."

"—Wait, you're kidding!"

With a dramatic change of expression, like a Peking Opera mask being switched, Yukino Yukino quickly tried to lighten the mood with a laugh, attempting to prove her harmlessness with a deliberately cute tone.

"They're way past the age of being so infatuated with love that they'd commit crimes; how could they possibly do something so impulsive?"

"Adults are the majority of criminals, okay..." Kasugano Sora's vigilance hadn't subsided, as if she were about to call the police to arrest her at the slightest provocation.

Yang Nai could only shrug and explain with a helpless expression, "I'm not stupid, I can figure it out with a little thought, right?"

"With Xiaoyouyou's abilities, the chances of him escaping from the basement are too high. Instead of venting his possessiveness in a way that is easy to fail and has no way back, it would be better to accept the current situation and find a way to make him spend more time on him, causing his other girlfriends to feel neglected and leave in disappointment. This way, he can achieve his goal by retreating in order to advance."

"You actually seriously considered that possibility..." Yukino covered her forehead, groaning in pain.

If her mother found out, she'd definitely send her to a psychiatric ward...

"And just stating the plan like that feels like looking down on people."

Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but shake her head, her gaze subtly drifting towards Yuu Tenkuji.

How could he fall for such a bad woman? Is it just because she has a good figure and a mature demeanor...?

While she couldn't agree with Yukinoshita Haruno's point of view, upon reflection, Yuuki Asuna had to admit that if she could really do that, then the ultimate winner would definitely be this mature older sister.

Those who cannot sacrifice anything will ultimately gain nothing—if one cannot be so resolute and share Yu-kun with others, it seems there is no other outcome but a quiet exit.

So, is the only option to accept the status quo for now, just like her...?

As she pondered this, Asuna Yuuki lowered her head and re-examined her feelings, wondering if they were truly that intense and persistent.

"Hey, why are you even starting to veer off-topic?"

Tired of the boring and tedious love dramas of these girlfriends, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but slap her notebook and say, "Isn't the most important thing right now to get Yuuki Asuna to find something that can be the 'key' and then figure out a way to unlock the next chapter's mission?"

Asuna Yuuki looked puzzled: "A key? What's that?"

After being explained by others, she realized that it was a precious item related to him, enough to prove the bond between the two, and reflexively turned her gaze to the square box she had brought.

"If I really have to say, this is all I have..."

"What's that?" Kasugano Sora asked curiously after putting down her phone.

Asuna Yuuki smiled kindly at her, then opened the box and took out a crown-shaped device with two rings side by side, but it looked more like a high-tech silver-white eye mask.

"This is an improved version of the NerveGear virtual reality immersion device—AmuSphere. It's not yet available on the market. It only has the game 'Sword World' installed on it. It's my personal device."

She put it aside and then took out a second machine of the same style, but in a dark blue color, from the box.

"This is a special machine that my brother originally intended to give to Yu-kun. It's the same model as mine and was designed specifically for him. Since I needed to visit him, I brought this along as well."

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmm, I want to play the game with him and see if we can recover some lost data."

Asuna Yuuki didn't explain much to them. After placing the dark blue machine aside, she picked up her AmuSphere, her focused gaze gradually revealing a look of reminiscence, and she murmured softly:

"I've searched hard, but nothing remains in reality; everything has been wiped clean by the gods... From that time on, perhaps our past, our memories, can only be found in fragments in that virtual world?"