'Plop…'
Unable to concentrate, Yukinoshita set the book down on the desk once more.
Even now,
the lit-up screen still hadn't received any reply.
In the past this had rarely ever happened.
Normally, she wouldn't have read much into it.
But thinking of how Lin Ye had an appointment, going out with a girl to deal with some unknown matter, her heart couldn't help running wild with imaginings.
Had Lin Ye gone off to flirt with some girl again? Was he doing something intimate with her right now?
"Whoosh!"
She stood up and walked to the bathroom.
'Splash splash…'
Cold water ran from the tap; she cupped it in both hands and pressed it to her face. The chill jolted her, and her muddled mind cleared considerably.
Yukino Yukinoshita lifted her eyes and gazed at herself in the mirror.
An exquisite face, long black hair, with a few water-dampened strands clinging to her snow-white skin.
Even though her bad mood lent her expression an added touch of coldness, there was no doubt she was still a girl radiating allure.
She closed her eyes,
then opened them again.
Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her lips together, unwilling to accept it.
"If I'd known, I'd have gone with him."
Yes,
if back after school she had proposed to "go along together," she felt Lin Ye wouldn't have refused—he would have accepted.
The fact that Lin Ye had told her of his own accord at the time showed he didn't mind her coming along; it was only because she'd figured that, since Lin Ye had volunteered the information, there surely wouldn't be any big problem, that she now found herself stuck in this miserable deadlock.
"Let me give Hina-sensei a call!"
Lin Ye had gone out together with Rui Tachibana; if Rui Tachibana had already gone home by now, Hina-sensei ought to know.
As for an excuse, that was easy to come up with.
She'd just say she had seen Rui Tachibana out alone on the streets at night, grew a little worried, and so called to check in.
'Ring, ring, ring…'
But once again the call didn't go through.
The bad premonition instantly grew stronger.
How was it that she couldn't even get through to Hina-sensei now?
What was going on?
So,
she dialed Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei's number.
Of course, there was still one other person she could turn to for help—her own older sister, Haruno—but unless it was necessary, unless she had absolutely no other choice, she really didn't want to ask her sister Haruno.
"Who is it?"
Yukino Yukinoshita: ???
But that groggy voice instantly told Yukinoshita what state the Sensei was in now.
She was helpless.
She couldn't count on the Sensei.
"Sensei, you should go to sleep first!"
"Oh… Yukinoshita! What… is it?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka, gripping her phone, still had her eyes shut—she didn't even have the strength to open them—but she retained a bit of awareness.
"It's nothing,"
"Speak."
"I wanted to reach Hina-sensei, or her little sister Student Tachibana… I wanted to ask whether you had a contact num—"
"I'm… right at her place…"
"Huh!"
"Student Tachibana is back?"
"Sh-she's back, Lin Ye's here too…"
Shizuka Hiratsuka spoke with some effort, "Is he… not here? Ugh… my head hurts so much. Lin Ye… seems to be staying over… sleeping in Rui Tachibana's room…"
Just a few fragmented words, but enough for Yukino Yukinoshita's imagination to fill in the rest.
So he was staying over at a girl's home.
Considering the Sensei was there, the chance of the two of them doing anything wasn't very high, but… with the Sensei this dead drunk, even if the two did do something, there'd be no need to worry about anyone discovering it.
Sigh,
how miserable!
Yukino Yukinoshita asked again, but the other end of the line was slow to respond.
"Sensei, Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei…"
No response.
"Old-Maid… Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei…?"
In the end she even uttered this title that must never be said to Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei's face, yet there was still no response whatsoever.
'Beep…'
Yukinoshita hung up.
That Shizuka Hiratsuka hadn't reacted even to this title showed she had now completely fallen asleep.
"Sigh!"
He was even sleeping over at a girl's house.
This ambiguous situation instead dragged her into a further bout of inner turmoil.
It would be better to just let her know the worst-case scenario. After all, Lin Ye had already slept with Mai Sakurajima; one more girl, and she could still bear it.
As long as that guy Lin Ye didn't play with feelings, and especially didn't actually date them, it would be fine.
'Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt…'
Suddenly, the phone's vibration sounded. Yukinoshita reacted on reflex, spinning to look, taking a step forward and swinging out her left hand—
'Bang…' came a sound,
her hand slammed into the wall,
"Owww…"
Pain assaulted her in an instant, and Yukinoshita let out a whimper of hurt.
It was excruciating!
Caught completely off guard, her left hand had suffered a violent impact.
She was thoroughly miserable.
Her next step, she put her foot down, lost her balance, and her whole body crashed hard onto the floor.
"Wuwu…"
This time,
the impact was even more intense than the hand-slam from before.
Sprawled on the floor, Yukino Yukinoshita's face changed color; it took her a good while to recover, the pain in her rear making her grit her teeth.
It hurt like hell,
and she was furious.
She'd never imagined she could have such an unlucky day.
"Damn it,"
Yukino Yukinoshita propped herself up with her right hand and slowly climbed to her feet.
The phone had already stopped vibrating.
Step by step she walked over and tapped the screen awake.
The caller ID showed Lin Ye.
Looking at this familiar name, she clenched her teeth even harder.
Her misfortune all seemed to be because of Lin Ye. Ever since she'd grown too deeply involved with him, she'd had no good luck, and even her mood had suffered all the more.
Sitting down in her seat, she picked the phone back up and dialed the number. Yukino Yukinoshita's breathing was rapid.
After a moment, the call connected.
"Yukino, what's up? Is something the matter?"
The instant these words came out, Yukinoshita's anger flared from nowhere, and she grew even angrier.
But she held it in.
"Just curious what my fiancé is doing right now, that's all,"
"Hm?"
Something was off.
Lin Ye keenly sensed that Yukinoshita's mood was a little off.
Having spent a fairly long time getting along and communicating with Yukinoshita, even though the girl's tone now was placid as water, he could still feel the unusualness within it.
"What is it… doing something unspeakable and indescribable?"
"Sleeping…"
"..."
Yukino Yukinoshita fell silent outright.
I told you to tell the truth, but I didn't tell you to be this blunt.
You really don't have even the slightest thought of disguising it or telling a little lie.
She didn't even know whether she should be pleased or angry.
"You really are honest."
"What's there that can't be said? Is sleeping not allowed either?"
This matter-of-fact reaction made her even more stifled with frustration.
"I'm your fiancée,"
"I know,"
"Lin Ye, don't you think I'd be angry?"
Lin Ye paused. "Um… Yukino, did you get the wrong idea? When I… said sleeping, I meant actually sleeping. If you don't believe me, let's just video call."
In this moment,
Yukino Yukinoshita's face flushed outright, a sheet of embarrassed crimson—she had gotten the wrong idea!
It wasn't that she didn't believe Lin Ye; rather, since Lin Ye had volunteered to video call, it showed that Lin Ye really was simply sleeping.
"Where are you right now?"
"My own apartment,"
Yukino Yukinoshita immediately frowned.
Could Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei's words be trusted?
"You're sure."
"I'm very sure. Let me just video call!"
With that, Lin Ye hung up first, and then a video call request came through.
Yukino Yukinoshita pressed the answer button.
Soon, both of them appeared on the screen.
Yukinoshita saw Lin Ye dressed in pajamas, and then watched as Lin Ye turned a full circle, deliberately panning over German Shepherd John.
In this moment, she was certain Lin Ye was at his own apartment.
Of course, the familiar apartment layout was the best proof of that.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye admired the girl's rare appearance—clad in loose pajamas, slightly weary yet breathtakingly beautiful—
it gave a completely different impression from the everyday Yukinoshita.
Even though Lin Ye had once stayed over at Yukinoshita's apartment and seen this before, compared to back then, the outfit Yukinoshita wore now was even more enticing, her snow-white skin impossible to conceal even through the camera.
"Sigh!"
Lin Ye let out a long sigh.
It immediately drew Yukinoshita's attention.
"What are you sighing about?"
"Yukino doesn't believe me, harbors suspicions about me—can't I be allowed to sigh sorrowfully?"
Yukinoshita was stumped by the question.
She indeed hadn't fully believed him, but now Lin Ye had proven it.
Looking at the man's expression in the video, the girl thought of something, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Offering compensation of her own accord—that was something she couldn't do.
"I want compensation, Yukino,"
"..."
Sure enough, this guy wanted compensation.
"Sigh, Yukino won't even give me compensation. You should know, today I turned down a girl's hint for Yukino's sake."
At once,
Yukino Yukinoshita's interest was piqued.
She very much wanted to know what hint Rui Tachibana had given Lin Ye.
This was the very thing that had been bothering her all night.
"Does Yukino want to know?"
These words left Yukinoshita unable to reply.
Saying "yes" always gave the feeling of falling into one of Lin Ye's traps.
"Looks like Yukino doesn't want to know, so never mind, I won't say it,"
"Say it."
In the end, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but speak up after all.
She also knew Lin Ye really would dare not to say it; this guy was deliberately teasing and toying with her, hoping to "bully" her through it.
"Then… the compensation…"
Lin Ye's voice was suddenly filled with a faint trace of anticipation.
"It depends on what you have to say."
"Stingy."
Lin Ye said it bluntly, without any reserve.
Yukinoshita's eye twitched, but she still didn't promise anything.
"Today Student Tachibana asked me for a favor,"
"What favor?"
"To help her grow up,"
"Hm?"
This phrasing was a tiny bit odd.
"She hoped I'd help her mature, hoped I'd make her into a woman."
"..."
If the first two phrases could still be understood innocently, then that last phrase was absolutely problematic.
"Is it the 'woman' I'm thinking of?"
"Probably not,"
Not?
Yukinoshita was taken aback. It wasn't that she doubted the truth of what Lin Ye said, but rather—if it wasn't that, then what was the point of saying it?
"And the method is to date her."
Yukino Yukinoshita's lips twitched.
Yet another woman had set her sights on her boyfriend and fiancé. Lin Ye wasn't even all that great—how did he keep getting eyed by one girl after another?
In the past she'd never seen any girl at Sobu High take an interest in him.
"So, you agreed."
"How could I! I'm a man with a girlfriend—how could I just casually agree to someone's dating request?"
That was acceptable.
She'd genuinely thought Lin Ye turned no one away and had taken on yet another girlfriend.
"And who's the one dating Mai Sakurajima?"
"Seems like… a certain someone started dating me only after Mai and I were together."
Yukino Yukinoshita suffered a spiritual shock. "We made contact first; we even have a Quasi-fiancés relationship. Mai Sakurajima knew this perfectly well and still inserted herself—she's the third party,"
Japan's hottest female celebrity had already been slapped with the label of mistress.
Yukinoshita firmly maintained that she was the first, and Mai Sakurajima the latecomer.
"Is that not so?"
In this moment, even through the camera, Lin Ye could feel the icy gaze coming from Yukinoshita.
If he didn't give the girl the answer she wanted, the coming days were likely going to be rough.
"Yes, of course, Yukino came a bit earlier than Mai."
But,
there's someone even earlier than you.
Lin Ye silently thought to himself.
The long-black-haired girl gave a light hum, indicating basic satisfaction with this answer of Lin Ye's.
"So, in the end? Did you agree, or did you agree?"
You're still worried after all!
"I refused. Even though she insisted our dating would be genuine dating, I still refused, and I even gave her a session of psychological counseling and successfully persuaded her."
Although Lin Ye didn't put it very clearly, Yukino Yukinoshita could still tell—he'd left it vague out of consideration for the girl's dignity—but Yukinoshita pieced it together.
As a man, faced with a cute girl's advances and hints, he had actually refused.
Not bad.
Quite good, even.
Yukino Yukinoshita thought to herself.
Many guys were ruled by their lower half—any woman would do, let alone a cute girl.
As for Mai Sakurajima,
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't want to fuss or overthink it. Since Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima were lovers, it was only normal for something to happen between them; since she'd accepted the fact of their relationship, she ought to accept the occurrence of that thing as well.
"Hiratsuka-sensei said you went to her place,"
Shizuka Hiratsuka had even called Yukinoshita?
This Sensei, she deserved a beating.
Lin Ye regretted it; he felt that back at Tachibana-sensei's place, he should have gone hard at Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei a few times and left a permanent record.
Taking photos and recording videos, to become a permanent handle to threaten the Sensei with—that would be even better.
Many, many ideas surfaced in Lin Ye's mind.
"I saw her home, then Hiratsuka-sensei and Hina-sensei came back. The two Sensei were drunk, so Student Tachibana and I looked after the two of them for a while, and then I came back."
This explanation was fine.
"Mn."
Yukino Yukinoshita gave a hum. "She didn't have you stay over at her place?"
"That wouldn't be appropriate. But how about I head over to your apartment right now, Yukino! Seeing how uneasy you are about me, if I sleep beside you, you'll surely be at ease."
"Denied,"
Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly.
Uneasy about what?
She wasn't the least bit so.
"So cold. How heartbreaking. Yukino rejected me."
Yukino Yukinoshita remained unmoved.
Acting this paltry from Lin Ye wasn't enough to make her believe it.
"It's getting late, get some rest soon,"
"That's too much."
Yukino Yukinoshita: ??
"What about the compensation! The compensation we agreed on!"
"It depends on the circumstances, I…"
"You want to welch on it?"
Through the screen, Yukino Yukinoshita caught a whiff of a "threat" from Lin Ye.
"I can't guarantee I'll agree."
"Tomorrow night I'll spend the night at your apartment, in the same bed as you,"
"No,"
"I want to try the taste of a girl's lips,"
"Impossible,"
She wasn't about to hand over her first kiss so easily.
"This won't do, that won't do—what will do for you!"
Lin Ye's voice carried a hint of displeasure.
He was doing it on purpose.
"Holding hands—surely that's allowed!"
"..."
Yukino Yukinoshita thought it over and finally nodded; she agreed.
Holding hands, then, fine!
To the degree of just holding hands, she could still accept it.
They were already boyfriend and girlfriend, already fiancés—holding hands was acceptable.
she thought silently.
"Oh right, Yukino, there's one more thing,"
"Say it all in one breath,"
"The Maid outfit."
"..."
This guy was always bringing up things she didn't want to face.
"I won't break my promise,"
"When will you fulfill it? Several days have already passed."
Lin Ye was hinting at Yukinoshita's stalling.
"Tomorrow night, then! Barring any unexpected incidents, tomorrow night,"
This… is fine now, right! This… should satisfy you, right!
Lin Ye read this meaning from the other party's eyes.
"Mn, that works. I'll have the camera ready, so Yukino, you'd best prepare yourself mentally!"
Yukinoshita instantly felt a surge of added discomfort.
Even though Lin Ye guaranteed the photos wouldn't be leaked, the mere thought of her own appearance in the Maid outfit being recorded by Lin Ye's camera sent the intense discomfort climbing ever higher.
Sigh!
But who told her to have agreed to it!
Yukinoshita could only accept it.
"Let's leave it here for today! Get some rest soon,"
Yukinoshita was a bit sleepy and wanted to end the call.
"Good night, Yukino,"
"Good night."
"Oh right, from now on, when I'm around, you should wear these pajamas too—I really like them,"
"Hm?"
Having said that, Lin Ye had already hung up the video call, and the screen returned to normal.
Only then did Yukino Yukinoshita slowly lower her head to look at the pajamas she was currently wearing.
Light, silky, faintly revealing glimpses of her snow-white skin.
"Aaaah!"
In a flash, she immediately wrapped both arms around her body.
She'd been seen in full, seen completely by Lin Ye!
Hugging herself tightly, face flushed all over, Yukino Yukinoshita gnashed her teeth, wishing she could gouge out Lin Ye's eyes.
Only,
"That bastard saw all of me long ago,"
"what does this even count for now."
Through a screen, and through a thin layer of pajamas,
no matter how much was exposed, it was nothing compared to how much Lin Ye had seen back when he used perspective directly on her.
That week,
she'd been seen clearly by Lin Ye from head to toe.
And she'd seen Lin Ye clearly too,
but this matter was fundamentally different—a man being seen in full and a woman being seen in full were on two completely different levels.
If anyone lost out, it was definitely her.
The matter was already in the past,
but every time she recalled it, it tormented her heart.
"Phew…"
"It's over,"
"Just this much is nothing,"
"And besides…"
They were already boyfriend and girlfriend, already in a fiancé relationship,
being seen in full was no big deal.
In the future it might even possibly…
Yukino Yukinoshita's face flushed at once.
If the current relationship kept on like this, she knew that someday in the future they would surely reach that step.
Yukino Yukinoshita was traditional; normally, she would wait until her wedding night. But considering the real circumstances, if their feelings were in place, the mood was right, and he brought it up, it wasn't as if she couldn't agree.
But all of this had one prerequisite: that Lin Ye was the man who would walk the rest of her life with her, sharing a lifetime together.
She certainly didn't want to just be toyed with and then discarded.
Dragging her still somewhat aching body to the bed, Yukino Yukinoshita climbed up and pulled the covers over herself.
"I hope I'll have recovered when I wake up tomorrow."
She turned off the light and closed her eyes.
When she woke the next day, she found her side and waist were so sore and aching!
"What… do I do about this?"
Yukino Yukinoshita slowly put forth a question mark.
Finally, she tried to get up, only to find that every movement kept sending stabs through the nerves of her side and waist, which led her to a decision.
"Today I'll just have to take leave."
In this state, even if she forced herself to go to school, it would only attract more attention and strange looks.
Yukino Yukinoshita had no intention of letting herself become the center of her classmates' gossip.
She composed a message and sent it to Shizuka Hiratsuka.
The only thing she couldn't be sure of was whether Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei would see this short message in time.
Dressing slowly, gritting her teeth as her feet touched the floor, Yukino Yukinoshita headed to the kitchen.
Even with her aching waist, she still had to eat breakfast and maintain her normal three meals a day.
...
Lin Ye arrived at Sobu High, but didn't see Shizuka Hiratsuka's figure at the school gate.
"Don't tell me she really got so drunk she still hasn't woken up!"
If that were the case, then the next time Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei came after him, he'd have grounds to argue back.
In good spirits, Lin Ye walked into the classroom.
Yukino Yukinoshita hadn't arrived.
This sort of thing happened on occasion, so Lin Ye didn't think it strange—until class began and Yukinoshita still hadn't shown up, which added a touch of worry.
On the phone last night the girl had seemed perfectly normal—why hadn't she come to class today?
This was very unlike Yukinoshita.
Lin Ye took out his phone and composed a message, but before he could send it, he received a message from Yukinoshita.
"Hm?"
Feeling unwell,
not coming to school today; he'd have to fend for himself for lunch, and as compensation Yukinoshita said she'd add two extra days of lunch going forward.
Lin Ye set aside his worry.
"It's probably that, huh!"
That thing that comes for girls every month.
This time it seemed to be the more severe kind; otherwise, Yukinoshita wouldn't have gone so far as to skip class.
"But how am I going to sort out my lunch?"
In the end, all Lin Ye could think of was the school store; he prepared to just buy some bread to make do.
The noon bell rang,
After the other students had left the classroom, Lin Ye rose and walked toward the classroom door,
A figure appeared.
It was Rui Tachibana,
"Something the matter? Student Tachibana?"
"I made an extra bento,"
She held the bento out in front of Lin Ye.
Lin Ye was startled!
This wasn't the first time Rui Tachibana had brought him a bento, but having one delivered just when he needed it filled him with quite a pleasant surprise.
He couldn't help wondering whether Rui Tachibana had learned in advance that Yukinoshita wouldn't be at school today, leaving him with the problem of an unsolved lunch.
"Thanks, I won't stand on ceremony today."
Lin Ye took the lunch bento that Rui Tachibana handed over.
"Mn."
But then he saw Tachibana-sensei at one end of the corridor.
That smile made him realize the Sensei had surely gotten the wrong idea.
...
...
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