This made Natsuhi's heart skip a beat, and the smile she had been enjoying just a second ago stiffened instantly,
The cold, refreshing drink disappeared, replaced by Yui's unfriendly gaze; it felt like things would get troublesome if she didn't answer well...
"This person... this look, this tone... could she be jealous?"
Did she even need to ask? Yui asking this meant the vinegar jar had definitely been overturned.
At this point, to still be holding onto wishful thinking—it had to be said, her nerves were really thick.
This realization made Natsuhi inexplicably flustered; she didn't want to, and absolutely could not, be seen by her as that kind of frivolous woman who flirted everywhere and had messy relationships!
"You've misunderstood, Saki is not my girlfriend."
She blurted it out, her voice slightly raised due to her urgency,
"Saki?"
Catching this intimate form of address, Yui raised an eyebrow, her tone becoming a bit more dangerous,
"You say it so naturally, so intimately?"
"She really is just a classmate; we only call each other that because we're close. Plus, she calls me Natsuhi too."
After saying that, she realized the last sentence might have been a bit superfluous,
It seemed like the more she explained, the closer the relationship sounded.
Looking at the judgmental intent that still hadn't faded from Yui's ice-blue eyes, Natsuhi didn't know why, but she always felt especially flustered at times like this, completely unlike her usual high-spirited self.
"Forget it, since it's come to this..."
Hardening her heart, a clever idea flashed through her mind—the move she thought would best prove her innocence—
"If you don't believe me, look!"
Natsuhi simply unlocked her phone screen and shoved it directly into Yui's hand, her actions very open and honest, looking like someone who had nothing to hide.
"You can look at the chat history or whatever you want! She and I really are just ordinary friends!"
(That's what she said, but Natsuhi herself had no idea; after all, this was the original owner's phone, and she didn't know what was inside.)
(But for an ordinary girl, her social connections should be simple; it was unlikely there would be any ambiguous records that went beyond friendship.)
(Besides, she hadn't heard the system say that Ito Natsuhi had any special fetishes, so there shouldn't be any unhealthy software, which was why she could be so bold and confident right now.)
Facts speak louder than words; once Yui saw there were no issues, she wouldn't have any reason to lash out.
"Hehehe... go ahead and look, go ahead! Once you're done, you'll know you misunderstood me."
Yui was also a bit stunned by the phone suddenly shoved into her hand. She looked down at the simple and familiar social media icons on the screen, then looked up at Natsuhi's clear, foolish-looking eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, Yui ultimately couldn't bring herself to actually open those apps,
After all, since the other party dared to let her check the phone, if she still kept pestering her despite such an open attitude, it would seem too dramatic.
Besides, whether Natsuhi had a girlfriend or not, what did that have to do with her! It was like she was deeply concerned about this issue...
Although she really wanted to secretly learn more about Natsuhi's daily preferences...
Forcibly suppressing the reluctance in her heart, Yui turned away her burning cheeks, preparing to shove the phone back into Natsuhi's hand.
"...Who would want to look at your boring stuff."
Her tone softened slightly,
"I'm just reminding you, don't laugh like an idiot; it's disturbing my rest."
But just as Yui was shoving the phone back into Natsuhi's hand, "Ding-a-ling—" a crisp message notification sound rang out abruptly in the room.
The screen lit up, and a profile picture of a beautiful woman with pink and white hair was particularly eye-catching.
Yui's gaze was subconsciously drawn to it, and she happened to see the line of text in the preview interface:
"Student Natsuhi, don't forget about our date this weekend, I'm looking forward to it..."
The content displayed on the screen made Yui's fingers freeze in mid-air.
"Oh no, this is bad, it's Student Nikaido!"
The moment she saw this message, Natsuhi's head buzzed!
She swallowed hard,
Gulp—!
The scene before her was no less intense than a third-rate player trying to defuse a time bomb in front of her; one red wire, one yellow wire—if she messed up, it would be total ruin.
Her intuition told her something big was about to happen, and she scrambled to turn off the screen, but Yui's movements were clearly faster—
She snatched the phone away and, with trembling fingertips, tapped on the voice message.
The voice carried the unique allure of its owner, as if trying to seduce the listener,
"...Remember to wear the clothes I personally picked out for you. If you want to see me wear something, you can feel free to tell me too, for example... I wouldn't mind wearing garters or something..."
The air seemed to freeze.
The evening breeze blew open the curtains, adding a bit more chill to Natsuhi's mood.
Yui slowly raised her head; a layer of frost seemed to have condensed in her blue eyes. She shook the phone, her voice filled with immense pressure:
"Is this, also, your, 'good, classmate'?"
"BOOM!!! OK, the bomb went off after all..."
"It's over, it's all over, completely over, I'm finished! Student Nikaido, what are you saying?!"
"Hehehe, garters or something... Wait, is this the time to be thinking about that?!"
Is it too late to jump from the upstairs window now?! (Asking online, very urgent!)