Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Kuroba Akira left the room first.

The moment he closed the door, Lan Yi felt a terrifying force of gravity.

The joint trial began, and Makoto and Makoto stepped aside to watch the show.

The presiding judge was Ziyin, who criticized him directly and without hesitation.

"Tsukimi Ran-i... don't misunderstand. There are countless ways to stop you. The reason we agreed to let Ming-jun marry you is not because we can't do anything about you, but simply because we respect Ming-jun's decision."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lan Yi chose to play dumb. She felt that she had not yet clearly shown her intentions towards Hei Yuming or her revenge against them. The twins should not have heard the complete conversation between her and Hei Yuming, only the last sentence. Therefore, they should not know what she wanted to do.

However, even without hearing the entire conversation, Ziyin and Tong were perfectly clear about Lanyi's thoughts.

"You don't need to play dumb. No matter how good your acting is, it can't hide the stench of your inflated possessiveness... Luck may be more on your side than on ours, but crossing the line is unacceptable. You just used us to threaten the wise ruler, didn't you?"

Ziyin mercilessly exposed her evil thoughts.

Now that she had been exposed, Lan Yi stopped pretending and used the same method to threaten them.

"Aren't you afraid of your reputation outside..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ziyin continued.

"If we had to choose one of the two, you know which side we would choose, but are you really determined to fight us to the death?"

"...If necessary, this will be my revenge against you."

"Then you should try it and see. In the end, the one who will suffer is the wise ruler..."

I did this to make him feel bad.

The way he looked so distressed because of himself...it didn't seem so bad.

Lan Yi, whose inner darkness had turned her to the dark side, was not bothered at all, but Zi Yin's next sentence directly stripped away her dark emotions and asked a more fundamental question.

"And the person who made him suffer is none other than you, Tsukimi Ryoui. Is your 'love' just tormenting him?"

"...!"

"You know very well in your heart, don't you? Mingjun has already done everything he could to help you find another way to see Kikurihime. He could have just ignored you or found another way to repay you, but he still chose to help you to the end... Why do you think that is?"

Yeah, why?

Lan Yi actually knew, but she chose to turn a blind eye.

Or rather, she deliberately made herself feel that it was unimportant, telling herself that it was cheap.

"Don't think that only your feelings are feelings, only your liking is liking... You are making sacrifices, and so is he."

Just as the thread of fate connects two people, liking someone is a mutual feeling.

Kuroba Akira... he also likes him.

Chapter 475 Cherish the Hard-Won Fate

"Hmph, isn't it just that he wants to add me to his harem? He acts like he's made some huge sacrifice..."

Lan Yi is still being stubborn.

Even though she knew perfectly well that Kuroba Akira had no such wicked intentions, she still reflexively said those words.

If I had to say anything, it would just be inertia.

Human beings' self-preservation mechanism makes it impossible for her to simply admit that it was her own negligence, so like most people, the first thing she does when she makes a mistake is not to admit it, but to shift the blame to others.

However, such a persistent and unrepentant response is truly disappointing.

Ziyin's patience was almost exhausted. She felt that she had already said all that, and no matter how awkward the other person's personality was, they should have come to their senses by now.

Do you really think so?

Ziyin wasn't a gentle person to begin with; all her gentleness was reserved for Kuroba Akira, and even her patience in offering kind advice had its limits.

"Are you still going to trample on his feelings to protect your own insignificant sense of self-esteem?"

"Well……!"

Ziyin grabbed Lanyi by the collar and lectured her.

"Set up a scale in your heart and weigh it carefully to see who 'gains' more and who 'gains' more."

Finally, Ziyin revealed the truth with her most ruthless voice.

People shouldn't be compared to each other, because comparison will only make one pale in comparison.

This is actually Ziyin forcing Lanyi to make a comparison of their feelings.

He likes himself, which is why he's willing to do more, give more, and help others without expecting anything in return.

And what about myself? What did I do for him? I only shielded him from one disaster...

Ultimately, however, even without his help, Kuroba Akira could have resolved the commotion caused by his sister on his own, though the outcome wouldn't have been as satisfactory.

So it wasn't a timely help, but rather an added bonus. Lan Yi knew she wasn't 'key' or the 'core' of the incident; she was just someone who turned a Normal Ending into a Good Ending.

It was just fate that I happened to be there, got caught up in his destiny, and then went along with it to help him out.

And as Shion had said, she had indeed received the information she most wanted: how to see Kikuri again...

The value of this intelligence is unique to Lan Yi.

If she hadn't met Akira Kuroba, she might never have seen Kikuri before she died, and would have lived a lonely life, ending her days in regret.

So, who really benefited from whose success?

The answer was already clear.

Kuroba Akira can live without her, but she cannot live without Kuroba Akira.

But now she shamelessly wants more, and even threatens him when she can't get it, trying to control him...

Ugh, what have I done?

Tears welled up in her eyes, and a deep sense of regret overwhelmed Lan Yi.

It's too ugly, too dirty, too filthy.

What good is a beautiful appearance if your heart is as ugly and despicable as a pile of mud?

Lan Yi lowered her head, covered her eyes with one hand, and silently shed tears.

Judging from this scene, it looks exactly like a bullying incident at a girls' school, with Shion as the mastermind and the others as her henchmen and accomplices.

However, it was actually the pioneer Ziyin who guided the younger generation Lanyi to repent.

Even so, making the girl cry still made Ziyin feel a little uncomfortable. She had originally wanted to say something sarcastic to her, but this had already hurt her so much...

Tong nudged Ziyin with her elbow, and their eyes met. Ziyin could now read her thoughts instantly... although the fact that they were telepathically connected made Ziyin very uncomfortable.

'You made her cry, take responsibility.'

Ziyin felt very uncomfortable. She really didn't know how to comfort people. She had always played the bad cop before, but there were always people who stood up against her. And no one was so weak that they needed others to comfort them to cheer up again.

This time, however, Lan Yi seemed to have been truly dealt a heavy blow and needed someone to lend her a hand.

"Ahem... Anyway, since this is the first time you've liked someone and the first time you've felt possessive, I'll let you off the hook for now... Don't do anything you'll regret."

Looking at Tsukimi Ranyi in front of her, Shion slowly recalled her initial feelings of liking Kuroba Akira, the pain and despair when Kuroba Akira was taken away by Anri Hitomi, and... her determination not to give up no matter what.

She can recover, and she will recover quickly.

If you ask why, it's because of the spirit of never giving up, which Tsukimi Ayane has long possessed.

"After all, everyone has moments of wicked thoughts at the beginning, especially when you feel that you can get him as soon as you reach out. You will definitely want to keep him firmly by your side and not let anyone touch him... I couldn't resist that temptation either."

Ziyin's tone was full of regret; she had almost completely won over Kuroba Akira as well.

"You're speaking like someone who's been there, are you trying to comfort me? Or are you regretting not succeeding back then?"

Lan Yi wiped her eyes with her palm, washing away all the tears, as if she had never cried at all, though her voice was still trembling slightly.

Ziyin sneered.

"Heh, it seems my worries were unnecessary. He recovered so quickly and can continue his sarcastic remarks."

"Thank you for reminding me. I was indeed a bit arrogant this time."

Lan Yi didn't retort, but instead thanked her honestly.

She knew something was wrong with her just now. If she could see the thread of fate between herself and Kuroba Akira, it would probably have turned black and red by now.

Looking back, Lan Yi also found it a bit unbelievable that she could feel such dark emotions, even though she wasn't this persistent with Kikuri.

But this also means that he feels more for Kuroba Akira than he originally thought…

like?

But he's definitely not my type...

Love?

It hasn't reached that level yet.

Lan Yi was somewhat troubled. She now had to admit that she did have feelings for Hei Yuming. However, she originally thought it was just at the level of 'more than friends, less than lovers,' and that she would only have some ambiguous thoughts occasionally. She never expected that it would make her want to possess him so desperately.

Whose problem is it? Is Kuroba Akira abnormal, or is it me?

Or perhaps... neither side is normal?

I can't rush to conclusions. I'll probably need to spend more time with Kuroba Akira and get to know him better before I can figure out why my feelings for him have become so heavy.

"Actually, you didn't do anything wrong. You just arrived too late, so an annoying woman appeared to get in your way. It's just that I'm the one playing that role this time... and I encountered the same role before."

Ziyin switched her gaze to Tong, who had remained invisible throughout the entire exchange.

"If it weren't for other women getting in the way, someone would have already been able to have a wise ruler, like me."

"Hehe, it's clearly me, isn't it? You're the woman in the way. I met a wise ruler much earlier than you."

"It's only half a day earlier than usual, how much longer are you going to keep saying half a day?"

"As long as you still feel uncomfortable about this, I will keep saying it forever. Objectively speaking, it's just that I met a wise ruler earlier than you."