Yukino Fuyumi had figured it out.
So, these people weren't here to cause trouble, but to flirt…
She had seen this red-haired woman before and knew that Hayato seemed to have a long-term inappropriate relationship with her, but where did this kimono-clad beauty come from? And she was questioning him right off the bat?
Hmm…
Moreover, Yukino Fuyumi narrowed her eyes, observing the woman in front of her.
If you said she was young, her demeanor seemed to have a mellow, intoxicating quality, like red wine.
If you said she was old, her face was as smooth as that of a twenty-year-old.
Miyajima Tsubaki and Aiya Yayoi were actually different.
The latter was a cunning urbanite, more in line with the character of the international city of Tokyo. Miyajima Tsubaki, on the other hand, was a very traditional beauty; to call her a "Tokyo woman"… it would be more fitting to call her an "Edo woman," which was quite similar to Yukino Fuyumi.
It's just that Yukino Fuyumi was currently dressed like an OL; her professional suit goes without saying, and her hip-hugging skirt and black stockings made her look even more capable. As for Miyajima Tsubaki, wearing a kimono, she exuded a more poetic and elegant charm.
Their eyes met, like needle points clashing with awns, sparking with electricity.
If Aiya Yayoi's ear hadn't still been twisted by Hayato, she would have surely whistled and yelled, "Fight, fight, I love watching women fight!"
Yukino Fuyumi's eyes darkened, and Miyajima Tsubaki felt a chill (physical) run down her back.
She thought it was psychological and couldn't help but click her tongue, muttering softly, "She's not here for good…"
Aiya Yayoi, enduring the pain in her earlobe, still managed to lean over and whisper a reminder: "You're the one who just arrived."
Miyajima Tsubaki glared back… Although she was speaking to Aiya Yayoi, that fierce glare was mostly directed at Hayato.
"Who are you? Why should I answer?" Yukino Fuyumi replied even more coldly, seeing the other party's rude attitude.
After speaking, she also cast her gaze towards Hayato.
Both sides were looking at him; it seemed the answer to this question could only come from him.
Hayato scratched his cheek:
"Just a neighbor. This Miss Yukino Fuyumi lives upstairs from me."
"!! Neigh…!"
Yukino Fuyumi was not satisfied with this answer.
Her cheeks quickly puffed up, turning red on both sides… This time not from shyness but from anger, her eyes brimming with tears that seemed about to fall but ultimately remained in her eye sockets. She leaned back as if gasping for a cold breath.
And Miyajima Tsubaki, as if she had won, put her hands on her hips and snorted through her nostrils.
"Oh, so she's the neighbor lady," she said with a chuckle.
Yukino Fuyumi didn't say a word. After her light-colored eyes turned to ice, she turned and left.
But after taking two steps forward, she couldn't suppress her anger and turned back.
Her cheeks were aimed at Hayato, her red lips and white teeth gritting.
"…Go to hell!"
With that, she huffed and walked away again.
With a 'bang', she slid open the apartment's sliding door, then'slammed' it shut again.
"Hmph hmph."
Miyajima Tsubaki nodded repeatedly at Yukino Fuyumi's retreating figure, striking a pose of victory.
Hayato continued to scratch his face.
…How troublesome. Isn't this the answer you wanted?
Hayato clearly remembered Yukino Fuyumi emphasizing to him more than once that she and he had "no relationship"…and that he absolutely couldn't tell outsiders what happened between them, blah blah blah. Hayato had kept it firmly in mind, but he didn't expect this girl to have forgotten.
But after Yukino Fuyumi entered the house, Miyajima Tsubaki's triumph vanished without a trace, and she continued to ask in a cold, questioning tone:
"So…what exactly is her relationship with you?"
The scene of her pushing the young man away just now was clearly etched in Miyajima Tsubaki's mind.
Coupled with her current demeanor…just a "neighbor" relationship? Miyajima Tsubaki wasn't stupid; who would believe that?
Her attitude in front of Yukino Fuyumi was merely to strike at the enemy…for Sakura.
Her current questioning was truly to understand the truth…for Sakura.
"…Oh, it's getting late," Hayato said, glancing at his phone, then relaxed the pressure of his fingers and scraped Aiya Yayoi's earlobe twice. A ticklish sensation made Aiya Yayoi's sensitive body shiver. "You should take Miss Tsubaki back first. She just got out of the hospital and isn't really suitable for staying up late," Hayato said.
"Yes, sir!" Aiya Yayoi stood at attention and saluted, then turned Miyajima Tsubaki's body.
"Hey, what exactly is your relationship? You have to give me an explanation…you must give me an explanation! You…!"
Miyajima Tsubaki hadn't finished speaking when Aiya Yayoi stuffed her back into the passenger seat and buckled the seatbelt across her ample chest.
As Miyajima Tsubaki tried to lean out of the car window to loudly question Hayato, Aiya Yayoi had already floored the accelerator. With a'screech', amidst the rapidly disappearing scenery, Miyajima Tsubaki only saw the young man wave at her:
"Bye-bye."
"…Hey," Miyajima Tsubaki wanted to complain.
But it was late, and her good moral character prevented her from making a scene, so she could only angrily pull her head back in.
"You can't stick your head out of the car window when driving. Good children shouldn't learn that, okay?" Aiya Yayoi said.
"…Who are you talking to?" Miyajima Tsubaki asked, but Aiya Yayoi didn't respond.
"Don't you want to know?" Miyajima Tsubaki pressed.
"I do want to know," Aiya Yayoi said, skillfully shifting gears while whistling.
"Then why did you stop me?" Miyajima Tsubaki asked, feeling wronged.
"I'll ask him when I get back," Aiya Yayoi said calmly, then squeezed out a comical smile: "He's sleeping with me tonight."
Miyajima Tsubaki thought and thought, deciding to think again.
Finally, she came to a conclusion:
Oh no!
She almost forgot that the one beside her was also an enemy!
…For Sakura.
"He-he-he-he-he-he-he-he-he's still a child, aren't you afraid…" Miyajima Tsubaki stammered her classic line: "…What if you break him?"
"Just sleeping," Aiya Yayoi said, turning the corner indifferently: "Madam Tsubaki, don't imagine me to be as bad as you are unhealthy."
"…I'm not," Tsubaki said.
"Oh? Then what does 'break' mean?" Aiya Yayoi asked.
Miyajima Tsubaki: …
She cared about her reputation, so she was easily cornered by Aiya Yayoi.
Tsubaki blushed, silent the whole way.
Aiya Yayoi, on the other hand, licked her lips…And besides, who was going to break whom?
Hayato had one hand in his jacket pocket, and just as he was about to pull back his other waving hand, he looked up as if he felt a gaze.
The fifth-floor window was rattling, but there was no one at the window.
Hayato scratched the back of his head, and just as he was about to look down, a pale white hand reached out and, with a 'thump', almost closed the window.
But it stopped halfway, as if brewing for a while. A flushed face cautiously peered out of the window, looking down.
It met Hayato's gaze.
"…Hmph!" Yukino Fuyumi was annoyed, then slammed the window shut with an extremely loud bang.
"Bang!!"
Hayato frowned, his mouth twisted.
So inconsiderate. He'd have to talk to her about it next time.
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