Thoughts were thoughts, and reactions were reactions, but Lin Ye still knew perfectly well what he should and shouldn't do.
He stepped over and sat down beside Meguri Shiromeguri.
Meguri Shiromeguri nervously closed her eyes; in this moment she had already guessed what was about to happen.
She was going to be treated this way and that by Lin Ye.
She only hoped Lin Ye could go a little slower, a little more carefully, so the waiters outside wouldn't notice anything.
That was what was going through Meguri Shiromeguri's mind.
But after quite a while, Meguri Shiromeguri felt nothing unusual on her body at all. Lin Ye hadn't made a move. Unable to hold back, she opened her eyes and looked at the man beside her.
At once, she saw the man beside her raise his hand and reach toward her.
Startled, Meguri Shiromeguri instinctively leaned back, trying to put distance between herself and Lin Ye, but she was already backed into the corner with nowhere left to move.
'Thunk…'
Lin Ye didn't touch her—instead he flicked her on the forehead. It was the method he'd always used on Iroha Isshiki, and now he was using it on Meguri Shiromeguri.
"Senpai,"
"President,"
"Don't think that by striking such a tempting pose you can seduce me."
"I, Lin Ye, am not the kind of lecher who falls easily for a honey trap."
Meguri Shiromeguri: ???
Several question marks slowly floated through her mind.
Lin Ye, not a lecher?
Impossible.
Getting all handsy yesterday, reacting so strongly—how could a man like that not be a lecher? She felt Lin Ye had a completely different understanding of the word "lecher."
She figured Lin Ye was just trying to make himself look good.
He was what he was; refusing to admit it now only made her feel even more embarrassed.
"Let me tell you, President—even if you stripped completely bare, I wouldn't have any reaction at all. Want to try?"
Meguri Shiromeguri was dumbfounded.
Strip? This guy wanted her to strip herself?
That was simply impossible—utterly impossible.
Meguri Shiromeguri was a thousand times unwilling. Letting Lin Ye take advantage of her with his own hands was already the limit of what she could accept; now he wanted her to strip herself—that was completely out of the question.
"Not happening. Don't dream about it."
"President, you're such a cheapskate."
"This isn't a matter of being cheap or not. There's no way I'll agree to your unreasonable demand,"
"So being touched by me isn't an unreasonable demand?"
Meguri Shiromeguri fell silent.
Honestly, she didn't want to agree to either of these things, but compared to the latter, she found the former easier to accept.
"You can touch, but don't expect me to take the initiative,"
she finally said.
For her, this was already her limit.
"How boring,"
Lin Ye tossed out the remark and stood up. "No fun at all."
He looked down at Meguri Shiromeguri and continued, "I much prefer it when you take the initiative, President. Since you won't, then forget it—I've completely lost interest now."
Lin Ye knew he could only get to the bottom of this through Haruno.
Haruno must have done something unnecessary somewhere in the middle of all this.
After getting her body back, Haruno must have spoken with Meguri Shiromeguri privately and instructed her about something; otherwise there was no reason for Meguri Shiromeguri to go to this extent.
"We've pretty much finished eating. Let's go!"
Lin Ye picked up the last piece of sushi and popped it into his mouth.
Meguri Shiromeguri watched Lin Ye's figure, already at the door of the private room, pursed her lips, and stood up, unsure what she was thinking.
This turn of events… it seemed Sis Haruno had called it right again.
Sis Haruno really was a brilliant strategist!, she marveled inwardly.
"We look forward to your next visit, honored guests."
The waiters respectfully saw Lin Ye and Meguri Shiromeguri off.
As the elevator descended, the two soon reached the ground floor of the building.
Leaving the building, the two came to the roadside.
At this moment, the deep night sky was dotted with a few glittering stars, and neon lights suffused both sides of Chiba's bustling streets, weaving together a nightscape all its own.
Lin Ye and Meguri Shiromeguri walked along the street, passersby coming and going now and then.
Because of Meguri Shiromeguri's lovely looks, quite a few men cast lingering glances her way, but because of Lin Ye's presence, none of them approached to strike up a conversation.
"Four people,"
Lin Ye's sudden remark caught the attention of Meguri Shiromeguri beside him.
"What four people?"
"From when we left the restaurant until now, among the passersby we've encountered, four of them looked at you for more than three seconds, President."
"Hm?"
Vaguely, Meguri Shiromeguri understood what Lin Ye meant.
"As a woman, President, you really do draw men's gazes and attention."
Meguri Shiromeguri had known this for a long time. Back in middle school she'd often been confessed to by schoolmates—upperclassmen and underclassmen alike. She knew her charm as a woman.
But the more members of the opposite sex gathered around her, the clearer her mind became, and the less she dared to take that step.
She'd assumed she wouldn't have a boyfriend all the way until she graduated from Sobu High, and might not even find one in university.
But fate always loved to play jokes.
Lin Ye appeared, and through a forceful attitude and threats, made her agree to become his girlfriend.
For her own sake, and for Sis Haruno's, she gritted her teeth and endured the humiliation of agreeing.
She'd even suffered a round of bullying.
She knew what the man beside her thought of her and wanted from her.
But what she didn't understand was why this man hadn't made a move earlier, and now didn't even seem inclined to take her to a hotel for the night.
It felt very strange to her.
"You don't need to keep praising me. I'm well aware."
"You're not being modest at all, President."
"No need to be modest,"
she said calmly. "So, Student Lin, where to next?"
In any case, she'd already prepared for the worst tonight.
She'd also told her parents in advance that she probably wouldn't be coming home tonight.
Although Lin Ye had just claimed he had no interest in her, Meguri Shiromeguri still couldn't quite believe that a young, red-blooded man would let go of a girl so readily within his reach.
"Is there anywhere you'd like to go, President?"
"No."
What she wanted most was to go home.
"Since there isn't, then let's go to your place, President!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Meguri Shiromeguri immediately thought of something.
This guy planned to spend the night at her house and then do this and that to her?
"No way."
The moment she thought of the possibility Sis Haruno had mentioned, Meguri Shiromeguri immediately refused.
"I'm not going home tonight,"
She'd wanted to say "I don't want you coming to my house," but thinking that this would only further provoke Lin Ye's rebellious streak and make him want to go to her house even more, Meguri Shiromeguri changed her wording.
"You're going to spend the night out tonight, President?"
"Yes,"
she stared at Lin Ye. "Doesn't that fit exactly with what you want?"
"Pick a nicer hotel."
This was a request she made.
She refused to spend the night with a man in some hotel with poor sanitation again.
As for separate rooms? She didn't even consider it—how could this man possibly book separate rooms.
"President, you seem to have a great misunderstanding about me."
Even now, Meguri Shiromeguri kept imagining him as a man of insatiable appetite, and that this whole outing was because he lusted after her body.
This was all Haruno's fault and truly had nothing to do with her.
"Misunderstanding? No—isn't it the truth? There's no need to hide it. Once you've done it, there's nothing you can't say."
Meguri Shiromeguri seemed to have made up her mind.
"President, I'm telling you very seriously here: I don't have any special feelings for you. What happened yesterday was purely an accident,"
Meguri Shiromeguri: "…"
"Right, an accident, I get it. So which hotel are we going to? If you haven't picked one, I'll pick,"
As she said this, Meguri Shiromeguri was about to take out her phone to search for nearby hotels, but Lin Ye grabbed her wrist.
"I'll take you home,"
"I'm not going back."
Meguri Shiromeguri's attitude was resolute; she would absolutely not go back.
In her eyes, Lin Ye was no longer satisfied with ordinary methods. If she really brought him home, who knew what terrifying things this man would do.
This was not something Meguri Shiromeguri wanted to see.
"President,"
"Either way, I'm not going home. I already told my parents today that I won't be coming home tonight,"
Meguri Shiromeguri said firmly.
The more Lin Ye wanted to do something, the more she couldn't let him succeed.
Either way, she wasn't going home tonight.
"Fine, since you put it that way, President, I'll take you to a hotel."
Lin Ye took out his phone and began searching, looking for a star-rated hotel.
Since Meguri Shiromeguri had just stated her hotel requirements, he naturally wouldn't look for an ordinary one.
Soon Lin Ye placed the booking and headed to the hotel following the map's navigation.
Meguri Shiromeguri followed.
About ten-odd minutes later, the two arrived at the hotel lobby.
The check-in was quickly completed.
Lin Ye and Meguri Shiromeguri arrived at their room on the eighteenth floor.
The whole hotel was decorated in resplendent gold; even walking down the corridor, one could feel its distinctive grandeur.
'Beep beep…'
The electronic lock opened, and Lin Ye inserted the key card into the room's power slot.
'Click…'
The room lights came on.
The exquisitely decorated room instantly came into view.
"This should do, right?"
"Mm,"
A large bed took up half the space, its pristine white bedding neatly arranged.
Meguri Shiromeguri was fairly satisfied.
The thought that here she was about to enter a new stage of her life inevitably made her nervous.
Her heart hung suspended.
"Whew…"
She took a deep breath and steadily exhaled, trying not to be overly nervous.
At this point, she had no room to regret and no space to retreat.
Satisfying this man, making him abandon the idea of exposure, protecting Sis Haruno—that was all she could think of.
"I'll shower first. No need to rush,"
But Meguri Shiromeguri had barely taken a step when a hand landed on her shoulder.
She turned to see Lin Ye looking at her.
"You… don't want to shower? I need to shower first. Without a shower, I can't go through with it."
she said insistently.
And Lin Ye spoke up too: "What I meant to say is, I'm heading back now. You rest well here alone tonight. You can give your clothes to the hotel staff to wash; after they've washed and dried them, they'll leave them at your door,"
With that, Lin Ye patted Meguri Shiromeguri on the shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind him on his way out.
Leaving behind a beautiful girl standing there in disarray.
She couldn't figure it out, couldn't understand why Lin Ye had really just left like that.
Could it be that this guy really had no interest in her at all?
Really just like he'd said?
But if that were the case, then what was the reason for yesterday's behavior?
A momentary impulse he hadn't properly restrained?
Meguri Shiromeguri didn't understand, so she took out her phone and called Sis Haruno.
After a short wait, the call connected.
"Sis Haruno, things are a bit different."
"Oh! How so?"
On the other end, Haruno waited with interest for the rest.
"Lin Ye dropped me off at the hotel and just went straight back. He had no intention of sleeping with me,"
Hearing this, Haruno shook her head helplessly. That guy really was strict with his self-control—he wouldn't touch a woman he had no interest in at all.
A beautiful girl delivered right to his door, and he wouldn't even touch her?
Not touching her, Haruno could understand—she knew Lin Ye's concerns, that he worried touching her would lead to more trouble.
Not touching Yukino was also barely understandable—after all, the conditions Yukino had set really were a tiny bit difficult, and if Lin Ye wanted to keep his promise, he couldn't make commitments carelessly.
But Meguri Shiromeguri, this adorable girl served right up to his lips, and he still wouldn't touch her?
Haruno could only marvel at Lin Ye's character.
"Maybe my little sister is just too alluring, and he doesn't want to do anything to wrong Yukino!"
Haruno couldn't help but quip, which also served as a kind of explanation.
For Meguri Shiromeguri, this was also true, but being directly compared by Haruno and found inferior to Yukino left her feeling somewhat uncomfortable inside.
"How was dinner tonight?"
"Pretty good,"
"He didn't take advantage of you?"
"No, not at all. Completely different from yesterday. I even wondered whether Lin Ye had become a different person."
Meguri Shiromeguri couldn't help but say.
Inwardly, Haruno kept praising the accuracy of Meguri Shiromeguri's judgment.
Yesterday's "Lin Ye" had been her, not Lin Ye.
"Since Student Lin Ye won't touch you, then don't force it. Meguri, just rest well at the hotel!"
"Mm."
"By the way, which hotel are you at, Meguri?"
"Oh!"
Meguri Shiromeguri gave the hotel's name and room number.
"Great—since Student Lin Ye won't enjoy it and went back, I'll enjoy it instead. Whoa, just thinking about getting to hold you all night in a star-rated hotel, Meguri, makes me so happy!"
"Sis Haruno, it's not like you can't afford a star-rated hotel,"
she quipped.
Meguri Shiromeguri knew Haruno Yukinoshita's family circumstances very well; money was nothing at all to her.
"But it's having you keep me company that's the key part. Or is it that you don't want to, Meguri?"
"No, no, no, I do! I couldn't be happier!"
Meguri Shiromeguri quickly said.
For her, being able to spend the night with Haruno was truly something she couldn't have wished for more.
When was the last time they'd spent the night together?
Meguri Shiromeguri thought back.
Sweet memories of the past were all drawn out.
A faint, warm smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"I'm coming—I'll be there within thirty minutes, wait for me,"
With that, Haruno hung up, seeming rather anxious.
Meguri Shiromeguri gave a small "Mm" and set her phone on the table.
"Shower first,"
She took off her clothes and headed to the bathroom.
'Splash splash…' Warm water flowed down over her body, every inch of skin feeling the patter of the warm water, and she comfortably closed her eyes.
Today, she'd been on edge the whole time; being around Lin Ye, she'd braced herself for the worst inside.
Coming here, to this hotel, she'd even mentally prepared herself to sleep with him and warm his bed.
But in the end, Lin Ye had left—left just as he'd said, uninterested in her.
Now, along with her relief, Meguri Shiromeguri was also puzzled.
Yesterday at noon he'd been so impatient, getting handsy, practically wanting to have his way with her right there in the Student Council Office; yet now, here, he had no such thoughts at all. From start to finish, aside from that one forehead flick, there hadn't been any physical contact whatsoever.
Meguri Shiromeguri couldn't understand it—truly couldn't understand it.
After finishing her shower, she slipped into the bathtub, and as her body was enveloped by the warm water, she let out a comfortable "Mmm."
"Nothing beats a good soak,"
Every cell in her body was cheering.
Today, more than physical exhaustion, what she felt was mental exhaustion.
Matching wits with Lin Ye, she'd at one point braced for the worst, even planning to take the next day off school and rest at the hotel.
After all, from various books and information, she knew that after a girl's first time, her body would be quite uncomfortable and need time to recover.
But now, she found that all her mental preparation had been unnecessary, as if she'd simply overthought it.
The comfort of her body gradually dulled Meguri Shiromeguri's mind as well.
Until the phone rang and the room's doorbell sounded, jolting her awake and restoring her train of thought.
Sis Haruno had arrived.
Meguri Shiromeguri sprang up with a start and hurried out of the bathtub.
'Splash splash…' Countless streams of warm water cascaded down.
Meguri Shiromeguri grabbed a bath towel, wrapped it around her body, and quickly hurried over.
'Click…'
She immediately opened the door.
The door opened, and in that instant she froze, because the person standing there wasn't Sis Haruno but Lin Ye.
Yes—the very Lin Ye who had already left.
"You, you…"
After a brief two-second mental short-circuit, Meguri Shiromeguri came to her senses. With one hand she shamefully covered her body—she had the towel on, yet she still felt her body exposed to Lin Ye's view—while with the other she backed away, trying to put distance between herself and Lin Ye.
'Sllp…'
Whether it was bad luck or not, Meguri Shiromeguri stepped onto the soaking-wet floor, her foot slipped, she lost her balance, and she tumbled over.
With quick eyes and quicker hands, Lin Ye caught the girl in his arms.
"Than—"
Before she could even finish saying "thank you," Meguri Shiromeguri saw that the towel wrapped around her had come completely open, her beautiful figure fully exposed to the air, and the shame within her erupted completely in that moment.
Her face flushed crimson as she began to struggle.
This made Lin Ye instinctively hold on tighter to keep his balance.
The girl wasn't heavy, but her violent struggling still caused Lin Ye to lose his balance.
In the end, with a 'thud,' the two of them, locked together, crashed heavily onto the floor of the hotel room.
Lin Ye felt softness against his face.
There was no mistaking this sensation.
He knew exactly what it was.
A development even he hadn't anticipated.
Well, then again, a similar incident seemed to have happened before, only not as thrilling as this time.
"Ngh…"
"Nghh, nghh…"
The slightest movement let Meguri Shiromeguri feel the sensation and stimulation against her body. She wanted to struggle free but didn't dare, so she remained locked in place like that.
Her eyes looked down and saw Lin Ye's black hair.
After a moment, Lin Ye raised his head, their eyes met, and in that instant the air froze.
As if sensing Lin Ye's thoughts and burning desire, Meguri Shiromeguri slowly closed her eyes, and her taut nerves relaxed as well.
Her whole body went limp as she lay on the floor.
Lin Ye gazed at her, realizing what the girl was thinking.
Giving up the struggle, leaving herself to his will.
In this moment, if he wanted, he could have this girl's lovely body.
But this was not what Lin Ye wanted.
He'd come here because he'd received a message from Haruno saying to meet in the hotel room—that was the key reason he'd returned.
He just hadn't expected a situation like this to arise.
Lin Ye was quite taken aback too.
Meguri Shiromeguri's heart pounded violently, thump after thump, with nervousness.
She carefully squinted up at the man on top of her, wanting to know what he was thinking of doing right now.
She felt the man's weight but no action from him at all, which left her puzzled, confused, and increasingly worried.
The unknown was all the more frightening.
The moment Lin Ye moved, Meguri Shiromeguri nervously squeezed her eyes shut tight, her whole body tensing—only for Lin Ye to simply pull up the girl's towel and cover her private parts.
"President, I came back to find Miss Haruno. Where is she?"
Haruno had said she was bathing with Meguri Shiromeguri, which was why he hadn't used his perspective right away and had chosen to knock instead.
But now it seemed he'd been deceived by Haruno—she hadn't come here at all.
"Sis Haruno didn't come,"
Meguri Shiromeguri clutched the towel tight with one hand and pushed herself up with the other, but the earlier accident seemed to have left her lower back a bit sore; she tried several times without managing to get up.
Seeing this, Lin Ye reached out a hand, but Meguri Shiromeguri didn't respond, so Lin Ye unceremoniously bent down, scooped the girl up, and carried her to the bed.
Along the way, Meguri Shiromeguri had at first thought about struggling, but thinking that she'd already prepared herself mentally for that sort of thing, what was the point of struggling?
So she gave up.
It wasn't until she was on the bed and Lin Ye had even pulled the covers over her that she realized this man really did seem to have no intentions toward her at all.
"Did you tell her you're staying here?"
"Yes. Sis Haruno said she'd come."
"Give me your phone,"
"Uh, okay, it's over there."
Lin Ye took a couple of steps and grabbed the phone. After Meguri Shiromeguri told him the unlock password, Lin Ye saw the latest message from Haruno.
—Meguri, something came up tonight, so I won't be coming. Hehehe.
One look at the timestamp and Lin Ye knew she'd been played by Haruno.
That wretched woman had schemed against him.
Fine.
Very well.
He'd really been played by Haruno once again.
This kind of accident—Lin Ye knew it was a coincidence, but if not for Haruno's deliberate scheming, how could it possibly have happened?
...
...
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