What she'd said earlier was that Yui Yuigahama and Iroha Isshiki would simultaneously become his girlfriends.
She'd said the odds were high, but generally speaking something like this simply wouldn't happen.
Yet in Iroha Isshiki's eyes, this was far, far more likely than Mai Sakurajima and Yukino Yukinoshita becoming Lin Ye's girlfriends at the same time.
But even she herself hadn't imagined that in the span of just a few minutes, this possibility was about to become reality.
Yuigahama-senpai was her girlfriend, and she was Senpai's girlfriend, so, Yuigahama-senpai should also be Senpai's girlfriend—the logic held up perfectly.
So Iroha Isshiki concluded.
Yui Yuigahama was dumbstruck.
Today, she felt her entire worldview had taken a beating, going through things she'd never experienced in her life.
She never imagined something like this could still happen at noon today.
"Iroha-chan, this... it's not like that!"
"Senpai, please be quiet, stay silent."
Cowed by Iroha Isshiki's forcefulness, Yui Yuigahama shut her mouth.
Even she didn't know why she'd fallen silent—she was clearly the senpai here, and Iroha Isshiki was the junior.
"That's more like it."
Iroha Isshiki nodded with great satisfaction.
"Senpai, be happy, be glad! Two girlfriends!"
Lin Ye had caught on too. Faced with Iroha Isshiki's logic—honestly, he hadn't thought of this line of reasoning himself, but it did carry at least a tiny sliver of plausibility.
It could, just barely, be made to make sense. It was only that he couldn't accept it.
"Isshiki, I'll pass on your kind offer, go find someone else."
"Ehh, Senpai, two cute girls as your girlfriends, and you don't even want that?"
She shot back.
Not moved by even two girlfriends? She was floored.
Buy one get one free!
He didn't even want a deal this good?
"No need. My heart already belongs to someone—I like Yukinoshita, I like Mai. If I really wanted two girlfriends, I'd definitely pick the two of them."
Faced with this answer, Iroha Isshiki got quite angry.
He didn't want two girlfriends practically within arm's reach, and instead insisted on two girls he couldn't touch at all—wasn't that just asking for trouble, making things harder on himself?
"Hmph, Senpai, you'll definitely regret it someday. When that day comes, come find me! As Senpai's most, most, most adorable junior, my door will always be open for you. Yuigahama-senpai and I are ready to become your girlfriends anytime."
"Um... I, I, I..."
Yui Yuigahama had just meant to speak up, but Iroha Isshiki shot her a glare, and in an instant most of the nerve in her heart drained away—she didn't even have the impulse to open her mouth anymore.
After a good while,
Yui Yuigahama finally snapped out of it, her basic train of thought restored.
She spoke up, "Break up. Iroha, I want to break up."
That's right.
Since she'd agreed, going back on it wasn't ideal, but breaking up was fine!
This relationship wasn't one that couldn't be ended.
"I won't agree."
"We're breaking up regardless."
"Senpai, do you think just saying that settles it? I won't agree. From today on, our relationship is confirmed. If Senpai insists on breaking up, then let me think..." Iroha Isshiki scratched her chin and thought of a method. "I'll just say Senpai has a certain orientation, that she likes girls, and that when faced with my joking confession, she actually chose to accept."
"Guh..."
Iroha Isshiki wore a triumphant smile,
while Yui Yuigahama let out a whimper.
She wanted to rebut, but this was the truth—an undeniable truth.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered ignoring Iroha Isshiki's threat, but how to put it! If word of this got out, she really had no idea what might happen.
Japanese high schools did have bullying, and people were especially fond of gossip—those who didn't fit in were the ones who ended up talked about, bullied, and pushed around.
Though she had no such pressure thanks to joining Yumiko's group, still, what if, what if the same kind of situation arose again!
That was something Yui Yuigahama didn't want to see.
"Senpai, just tacitly accept this relationship! Hahaha, don't worry, I won't use it to demand anything of you, nor will I stop you from dating other girls—oh, and I won't stop you from dating other boys either. Really, I won't put many restrictions on you."
After repeated reassurances,
Yui Yuigahama wavered too, knowing that even if she kept pushing she couldn't get the outcome she wanted.
For now she could only accept it temporarily, and then... find a chance to resolve the problem!
So Yui Yuigahama thought.
"By the way, Yukinoshita-senpai still hasn't come back—did she run into something?"
The two girls' gazes converged on Lin Ye.
Lin Ye and Yukinoshita were classmates, and the one who best understood Yukinoshita's schedule was Lin Ye.
"She should be back soon."
'Knock knock knock...'
In less than a minute, a knock came at the door.
Soon, the Service Club room door opened.
"Sorry, I'm late getting back."
She'd finished her business and returned.
"Let's eat, let's eat."
Having been worked up until now, even Iroha Isshiki felt hungry. She wanted a proper meal to replenish her Stamina, and to make her body and mind a bit more cheerful too.
"You didn't have to wait for me first," Yukino said.
Although she knew that if others hadn't arrived either, she'd have chosen to wait as well—like last time, when Lin Ye hadn't shown up promptly, the three of them had also waited in the Service Club until a certain point had passed.
And though she said that, deep down she actually felt a bit happy and pleased. This was her companions' concern—everyone here, waiting for her.
"How could we do that? Yukinon is the president of the Service Club, and we're friends—we absolutely have to eat lunch together," Yui Yuigahama spoke up first.
With Yukino's arrival, Yui Yuigahama's pressure eased greatly. Earlier, facing Lin Ye and especially Iroha Isshiki, she'd truly been drained in body and mind—and worst of all, in the end she'd somehow ended up with a girl as her boyfriend.
Come to think of it, even she couldn't believe it.
"President Yukinoshita, if you don't come eat lunch and pick up your chopsticks, how could we dare to start! Hahahaha," Iroha Isshiki said with a laugh.
All one could say was that Yukino Yukinoshita's timing coming back was truly perfect—otherwise, had she come back midway, there probably would have been no follow-up to the affair.
Such an interesting follow-up—how could it not be allowed to happen!
Yukino Yukinoshita felt the atmosphere was ever so slightly off. She sensed that while she'd been away, something must have happened.
She instinctively glanced toward Lin Ye.
Here, the one she could most readily ask was Lin Ye—she'd already come to regard him as the person closest to her.
But Lin Ye merely shrugged, showing no particular reaction.
Baffled, Yukino Yukinoshita first returned to her own seat.
The bento was opened,
its aroma wafting everywhere,
and the group began to speak up too.
Rewind to just when the lunch break had begun.
Yukino Yukinoshita had left the classroom and headed for the spot she'd arranged with Miura Yumiko.
After their last contact, she'd exchanged numbers with Miura Yumiko. Even though the two weren't on great terms, on the basis of the Service Club's request, she'd extended the basic courtesy.
'Tap-tap-tap...'
The two arrived at a secluded spot outside the school building.
Miura Yumiko stood there waiting.
"What is it?" Miura Yumiko still maintained her aloof posture.
Her golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, radiating an enchanting brilliance.
It was just that, compared to Yukino, Miura Yumiko still fell short by no small margin.
"The matter of your request."
"Hm?"
There were already leads this fast?
Yukinoshita hadn't even privately questioned her, and it was already resolved?
"I've already spoken with Lin Ye."
Miura Yumiko was stunned.
How did she know it was Lin Ye—hitting the mark directly? She hadn't leaked a single scrap of information!
And Yukinoshita, witnessing Miura Yumiko's shocked expression, was full of delight in her heart.
She was quite pleased—this blondie had finally failed to keep up her aloof posture and at last revealed her true side.
"You... what do you mean? I was talking about my friend..."
"I'm also talking about your friend. I've already spoken with Lin Ye—he won't disturb your friend again, Student Miura."
Yukino Yukinoshita said, playing along.
"Why... would you know it was... Lin Ye?"
In the end,
Miura Yumiko couldn't hold back from asking the doubt in her heart.
If Yukinoshita could see it, then could the others present at the time also have seen it?
"Take a guess."
That single line nearly made Miura Yumiko explode with rage.
But she held it in.
She knew now was not the time to sulk with Yukino.
Faced with Yukinoshita's deliberate provocation, what she needed was to respond calmly—she couldn't get angry and emotional, couldn't throw herself into disarray.
"Student Yukinoshita, please tell me plainly."
Yukinoshita was a bit taken aback that Miura Yumiko would actually set aside her pride and use polite language.
"I didn't expect Student Miura even knew how to use polite speech."
This was more mockery and provocation. Miura Yumiko continued to endure—for her, what she had to do now was endure, to make Yukino Yukinoshita speak and reveal her source of information.
Could it be that Lin Ye had told Yukinoshita?
But Miura Yumiko quickly dismissed that possibility.
How could Lin Ye, the perpetrator, possibly tell the girl he liked about such vile things he'd done himself? Wouldn't that be lowering his favorability in Yukinoshita's eyes?
No man could possibly do such a thing, she thought.
So then, why would Yukino Yukinoshita know?
This doubt plagued Miura Yumiko.
She even wondered whether Yukinoshita could read minds—otherwise, how could she possibly know?
"I'm always polite. It's just that Student Yukinoshita has had little contact with me, and simply hasn't seen it."
Faced with Miura Yumiko showing no reaction to round after round of provocation, still meeting it all calmly, Yukinoshita understood that this blondie was now quite certain of how she ought to deal with her.
"True enough, we really aren't close," Yukinoshita echoed. "It's very simple. When you came to ask for help with the request, I keenly noticed you harbored considerable hostility toward Lin Ye."
"That's it?"
"Of course not. When Student Yuigahama mentioned Lin Ye, though you said nothing, some of your instinctive reactions were quite obvious," Yukinoshita went on.
"Of course, when you came in you were checking and searching. At first I thought you were looking for Student Yuigahama, or perhaps for me, but in fact you wanted to confirm whether Lin Ye was in the Service Club! If he'd been in the Service Club, you probably wouldn't have brought up the request."
The girl with long black hair laid out one piece of information after another as evidence.
Faced with all this intelligence, Miura Yumiko didn't press further with questions.
For an attentive person, it really was easy to notice these things.
"Did you tell Yui about it?" Miura Yumiko asked worriedly.
"No. This matter isn't suitable to tell Student Yuigahama. She doesn't know, rest assured, and I haven't told anyone else either."
Yukinoshita's words gave Miura Yumiko a measure of relief.
At least Miura Yumiko knew the image she'd maintained could continue to be maintained.
Otherwise, the Blond Queen's reputation and image would be shattered.
How could someone who'd been bullied by a man, unable even to resist and forced to endure the abuse, still keep up the aloof queen's posture?
After a good while,
Miura Yumiko slowly spoke, "Thank you."
This was gratitude toward Yukinoshita—thanks for keeping her secret.
Yes,
if Yukinoshita had let this news out, the harm it would cause her was truly unimaginable. Perhaps nothing would come of it, but perhaps it would inflict severe damage.
She might even become depressed, might even leave Sobu High altogether and transfer to another school.
"How rare—you actually know how to say thank you."
Yukino Yukinoshita's reply, as ever, made it hard for one not to get angry.
Miura Yumiko took a deep breath, then slowly spoke again, "Student Yukinoshita, do you realize that sometimes you're truly a little detestable, that you can't help but make people feel resentful?"
"Many girls are jealous of me, resent me—it's very normal. Student Miura is no exception," Yukinoshita said.
This was the truth—a truth truer than sincerity itself.
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
"Oh, so you're talking about Student Miura being jealous of me, envying me? That's also very normal. My cuteness has already reached a level that makes even you jealous."
Miura Yumiko trembled, gritting her teeth. She truly, truly wanted to unleash a furious tirade at the woman before her.
This woman was too pretentious, too haughty—that posture made her want nothing more than to use every means to pin her down and vent her frustration thoroughly.
"I'm talking about your personality, your way of speaking—it draws a lot of people's dislike. Of course, I'm one of them."
"Oh, is that so. That's also very normal. I don't care about others' thoughts and opinions, and I care even less about Student Miura's thoughts and opinions."
Miura Yumiko was speechless—truly speechless.
How could there be a woman like this?
Did such a woman really not fear retaliation, not fear being beaten to death?
Forget it, forget it, Yumiko, don't bother sparring with her—there's no need to bicker with a woman like this, it's not worth it, not worth it, truly not worth it.
You're the one asking her for help,
but there's no need to grovel like this.
"Fine. Since Student Yukinoshita doesn't care, I won't say any more," Miura Yumiko continued. "So then, Student Yukinoshita, did you really get Student Lin Ye to give it up—that he won't do anything more to my... friend?"
"Yes, I've already successfully persuaded him. Rest assured."
"How did you persuade him?"
Miura Yumiko didn't quite believe it.
"That's a secret."
But Miura Yumiko clearly couldn't fully accept that.
Standing rooted to the spot made plain the truth she wanted to know.
Seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita decided to give a basic explanation. "Lin Ye likes me."
"This... you know that, right?"
Miura Yumiko nodded.
She'd known this long ago—that noon on the day Lin Ye bullied her, he'd even confessed to Yukinoshita, only to be rejected again.
Thinking back now, she wondered whether it was because Lin Ye had been rejected by Yukinoshita and was furious that he'd come to find her, to bully her and vent his anger harshly.
"Knowing that much is enough," Yukino Yukinoshita gave a light chuckle. "Boys are willing to do many things for the girl they like. His agreeing to stop bullying you—isn't that perfectly normal?"
This...
Miura Yumiko fell silent.
It really was quite normal, but she felt uneasy in her heart, without much conviction. She felt Yukinoshita's account wasn't complete, that she was hiding some key information.
"Did you... didn't Lin Ye take the chance to make some... condition of you?"
Miura Yumiko felt that would be the normal way of it.
Yukinoshita makes a demand for Lin Ye to stop, and Lin Ye uses that to make a condition of Yukinoshita, the two negotiating to reach an agreement—that was the most human, most plausible situation.
Now Yukino Yukinoshita claimed a single word had gotten Lin Ye to agree—she couldn't accept that at all.
That bastard Lin Ye's oppressive, threatening face and attitude—she remembered them very clearly. He was hardly a reasonable person.
That pervert, taking advantage in every way—could he so easily let go of a juicy piece of meat like her, without even a single demand?
"No," Yukino Yukinoshita answered very calmly.
But this only deepened Miura Yumiko's suspicion.
Could it be...
"Yukinoshita, you couldn't have been... by Lin Ye..."
"Watch yourself, Student Miura."
Yukinoshita's words suddenly turned cold.
She realized what Miura Yumiko was imagining.
This woman was actually letting her thoughts run in that direction.
How could that be—
how could she possibly sacrifice herself for the sake of Miura Yumiko? That was utterly impossible.
"You think too highly of yourself. Me, sacrificing myself for your sake? Aren't you telling the biggest joke in this world?"
Faced with Yukino Yukinoshita's calm reply and counter-mockery, Miura Yumiko's notion wavered somewhat.
That's true too.
Yukinoshita really had no need to go that far for her sake. Absolutely no need.
She and Yukinoshita weren't close at all; the two of them were nothing more than classmates, on poor day-to-day terms, and this matter was based solely on the Service Club's request.
Hm?
Miura Yumiko thought of something.
"You'd go this far for a request."
Right.
Yukinoshita perhaps wouldn't go so far as to sacrifice herself for her, but she could go this far for a request.
She knew Yukino Yukinoshita was a serious, responsible person—if it were for a request, Yukinoshita absolutely could.
"You think too highly of it. I, Yukino Yukinoshita, would never go so far as to strike a deal with a man for the sake of a request," Yukino Yukinoshita continued. "From the very start, with your request, I only said I'd take it on—I never guaranteed I'd complete it for you."
That was what she said, but Miura Yumiko still felt Yukinoshita would do her utmost to complete the request, that she'd give it her all so long as there was the slightest chance.
"So, please don't let your imagination run wild."
"Alright," Miura Yumiko replied. "As long as you personally state that there's nothing intimate between you and Lin Ye, I'll believe you."
Yukino Yukinoshita fell silent.
This woman—why on earth would she say something like that?
And Yukinoshita's brief reaction did indeed leave Miura Yumiko stunned, whereupon she realized this matter wasn't simple—something must have happened between Lin Ye and Yukinoshita.
"So you really did, for the sake of my request, agree to some condition of his," Miura Yumiko said with certainty.
How to put it—her feelings grew complicated.
For her sake, for this request of hers, Yukino Yukinoshita could actually sacrifice herself to this degree—she was truly surprised, truly shocked.
Hadn't she just said she hadn't? How could the reality be like this?
And she knew all too well what conditions that bastard pervert Lin Ye would make of Yukinoshita.
It was surely some act of taking advantage.
At the lighter end, it would be holding hands, stroking her cheek.
At the heavier end, it would be touching certain sensitive areas, even kissing and the like.
If it were the former, Miura Yumiko felt she could perhaps accept it—of course, that was what she deemed acceptable—but if it were the latter, then...
Then Yukinoshita's sacrifice was truly rather great.
She had no idea how she'd ever repay Yukinoshita.
This was an enormous debt of gratitude!
Too difficult.
Miura Yumiko felt she owed Yukinoshita a great deal.
Yukino Yukinoshita was quite angry too.
How on earth had she been imagined in that light?
The crux was that explaining now was very troublesome—the more she explained, the more it made Miura Yumiko certain of her own guesses.
But if she didn't explain, Miura Yumiko would still keep speculating.
She could neither advance nor retreat now.
"Yukinoshita, thank you."
Miura Yumiko's heavy gratitude
made Yukinoshita's eyelid twitch.
She really hadn't sacrificed anything for Miura Yumiko's sake.
"Let me repeat once more—I did not agree to any demand of Lin Ye's for your sake or for the request's sake."
These words still didn't convince Miura Yumiko.
Even at this point, Yukinoshita still wouldn't admit it—it could only be her pride at work, not wanting to burden her with a greater psychological weight, along with her own sense of shame!
So Miura Yumiko thought.
"I understand. I get it. Rest assured."
Rest assured about what?
Yukinoshita continued to grumble inwardly.
"Student Miura—"
"Right, I know. You didn't sacrifice anything. I know."
But the next line made Yukino Yukinoshita's expression shift slightly.
"That bastard groped me, held me, went at my backside, my waist, my chest—he even made me kiss him."
Miura Yumiko spilled it herself first. This was to make Yukino Yukinoshita let down her guard, and to let Yukinoshita know she wouldn't betray her.
"I figure that no matter what, the conditions he made of you definitely couldn't be more outrageous than what he did to me, right?"
He's already forcibly kissed me and even held me through the night in bed, Yukino Yukinoshita grumbled inwardly.
She met it with silence.
Miura Yumiko went on, "In all my life, I've never been like that with a boy. You could say it was the first time in my life. I even thought about throwing caution to the wind and going down with him in mutual destruction, but in the end I still held it in."
Miura Yumiko's tone was sorrowful.
Yukinoshita broke into a cold sweat.
If Miura Yumiko really went down in mutual destruction, the one to suffer would be Lin Ye, the one whose reputation would be ruined would be Lin Ye—while the sister who'd instigated it all wouldn't get so much as a scratch.
This made her even more resentful of her sister.
In this matter, her sister truly hadn't done enough.
She genuinely felt that letting Lin Ye give her sister a proper lesson, a proper punishment, might not be a bad thing at all.
Lin Ye absolutely had to give her sister a good lesson.
In this moment, realizing that Lin Ye had nearly had his reputation destroyed, she made this resolution.
"I know—if I really let it out, because the two of us are publicly lovers now, the police wouldn't be able to do anything to him. And besides, he's a member of the Eastern Union; even if a case actually arose, it would basically be deportation, sending him back to his country. As for me..."
She'd be finished.
At the very least she'd have no face to stay at Sobu High,
and she was unwilling to leave Sobu High.
This was her hometown, this was the school she'd spent over a year at; here she still had many, many friends she knew.
Yui, Yumiko, Hayama—
even Yukinoshita, she felt a bit of attachment to, and didn't want to part like this.
"And so, you endured it?"
"Mm. I endured it. I'll just treat it as thanks for what he did for me before, and... as being bitten once by a dog."
She could think of it that way?
Yukino Yukinoshita mused silently to herself.
"But what I didn't expect was that you would sacrifice yourself to this degree for my sake. I... I..."
Yukino Yukinoshita knew she'd been misunderstood by Miura Yumiko—and this misunderstanding was probably going to be rather hard to explain away.
"Thank you, truly thank you."
In this moment,
Miura Yumiko's gratitude was utterly sincere, without the slightest trace of discontent.
"If there's ever anything you need my help with in the future, I, Miura Yumiko, will do my utmost, and will never refuse."
"There's no need."
But these words were ignored by Miura Yumiko.
"I'll state it one final time—I did not agree to any conditions or demands of his on account of you and the request. You don't need to hold such a notion."
"I understand."
Miura Yumiko kept nodding.
This attitude left Yukino Yukinoshita unable to tell whether Miura Yumiko had accepted or not accepted the explanation she'd offered.
"In any case, no matter what, I have to express my thanks to you."
Miura Yumiko gazed at the girl with long black hair before her.
Before, no matter how she looked at Yukinoshita, she found her displeasing; now it was fine—no matter how she looked, she found her quite pleasant, quite satisfying.
An aloof beautiful girl on the outside, yet inwardly truly so gentle and caring.
Miura Yumiko was happy, feeling it was genuinely good to have gotten to know Yukinoshita.
She even thought about how wonderful it would have been if she could have known this side of Yukino Yukinoshita sooner!
"Yukinoshita, let's... let's..."
A certain impulse kept surging and rising within her. Emotional, her eyes as she looked at Yukinoshita brimmed with a certain feeling.
Yukino Yukinoshita sensed it too.
She wondered what this golden-haired young girl before her would say.
"Let's... be friends!"
As the words fell,
the scene went utterly silent.
What did Miura Yumiko just say?
Be friends?
Miura Yumiko was telling her she wanted to be friends with her?
What kind of thing was that to say?
Was it real or not?
Was she hearing things?
Yes.
Lin Ye felt he must be hearing things—otherwise, how could he possibly hear such an utterly impossible remark?
Such words would be normal coming from Yui Yuigahama, fairly normal coming from Iroha Isshiki, but coming from Miura Yumiko alone, there wasn't the slightest bit of normalcy to it.
This blondie, this Blond Queen—a girl who had always been domineering toward her, wearing a thoroughly displeased posture—how could she say something like this?
Yukino Yukinoshita truly couldn't believe it.
She froze on the spot, giving no reaction for a short while.
And Miura Yumiko, who had summoned every ounce of her courage to say that line, was in no better state herself.
For her,
had it been the her of before, there'd have been no possibility of saying such a line at all, let alone saying it to Yukinoshita—that was all the more impossible.
But now, she really had said this line, and had said it to Yukinoshita with her own mouth, without any external pressure or coercion—she'd said it of her own accord, from within, from the heart, words that came from her true self.
You could say
she had not the slightest sense of aversion—only shyness and embarrassment.
She even feared being rejected.
Mm.
She was now beginning to fear that she might be rejected.
An inexplicable worry and panic surfaced within her; Miura Yumiko was afraid Yukinoshita would refuse.
After all, the impression she'd left on Yukinoshita before wasn't very good, and the two of them had been at odds.
Now she was rashly proposing friendship—any normal person would find it hard to understand, right?
But this really was her true feeling, her heartfelt truth.
At this moment Miura Yumiko didn't quite dare to look at Yukinoshita, but faced with the silence, in the end she couldn't help slowly casting her gaze over.
It was Yukinoshita.
She remained silent, saying nothing.
Miura Yumiko's heart gradually sank to rock bottom.
An unprecedentedly awful feeling kept surfacing in her heart.
The first time in her life proposing friendship, and it was going to end in rejection.
The harm this incident brought, she felt, rivaled the confession incident of that day.
So heartbroken.
So miserable.
Yet she had no idea what else she could do.
And Yukino Yukinoshita, too, felt the shift in Miura Yumiko's mood, and moreover guessed at the girl's thoughts in that moment.
The current Miura Yumiko was much like those boys who confessed to her and then sat waiting for an answer—only, compared to those boys, Miura Yumiko would find her rejection even harder to accept.
After all, this wasn't a confession; this was wanting to be friends.
Such a request was generally much lighter—generally, no one would refuse a request to be friends.
But her situation with Miura Yumiko was rather special, so her refusing fell within the range of normal possibility.
Yet Miura Yumiko didn't want to face the outcome of being rejected either, so...
"I'll think about it."
In the end,
Yukino Yukinoshita gave such an answer.
Neither directly refusing nor immediately accepting, it left Miura Yumiko a bit of room to breathe.
As for when she'd give a reply, she couldn't guarantee, nor would she promise.
And Miura Yumiko, after this stretch of time to ease her emotions, would gradually return to normal—so that even facing her refusal in the future, she could accept it completely.
This was different from a confession.
Give an "I'll think about it" answer to a confession, and afterward the confessor would be caught in a state of anticipation and nervous waiting; as time passed, that feeling wouldn't lessen much, but would instead grow ever stronger.
In the end, it was entirely possible for the confessor to fall into constant self-torment.
If the final result was acceptance, that was fine—all those feelings would turn into joy and happiness.
But if it was refusal, then it was over; the pressure and emotions the confessor had accumulated over days would all turn into grief and sorrow, sweeping through their entire being, leaving them mired in negative emotions.
How would it end?
The result definitely wouldn't be good.
But at least for giving Miura Yumiko this answer, Yukinoshita felt it was enough.
And Miura Yumiko, having gotten an answer, relaxed all over.
At least she hadn't been rejected—yes, she hadn't been rejected.
Had she been rejected, she surely would have been heartbroken to the point of tears!
She wouldn't even have wanted to go to afternoon classes, heading straight to the infirmary to grieve away the whole afternoon.
"Mm, I'll wait for your answer."
In truth,
Miura Yumiko also knew which way Yukinoshita's answer leaned, but how to put it! Since no clear reply had been given, she still had hope.
As for how it would end, she believed the odds of her succeeding were greater.
She would let Yukino Yukinoshita know that they, too, could become friends.
Soon,
Miura Yumiko spoke again, "Thank you for your help. I'm very grateful. If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can contact me, and I'll help."
"I, Yukinoshita, won't run into difficult problems, and if I do, I'll solve them."
"You, honestly!"
In that moment, Miura Yumiko let out a helpless sigh.
Compared to her earlier anger, now she felt more helplessness. She sincerely hoped Yukino Yukinoshita could work on tempering that venomous tongue of hers.
But if Yukino Yukinoshita were really the kind of girl who took such things to heart, she wouldn't have ended up this way.
She also believed plenty of people must have reminded her, yet the girl remained the same, without any change whatsoever.
So there was no need for someone like her, who wasn't even a friend, to keep repeatedly reminding Yukino Yukinoshita about her words.
This woman didn't need anyone else telling her what to do.
It was enough for her to just do her own thing well.
"In any case, you can tell me. I regard you as a friend now."
No matter what attitude you take toward me, my attitude toward you is that of a friend—that was Miura Yumiko's choice.
On this point, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't continue with her venomous tongue.
"If—I mean if, on the off chance Lin Ye comes to disturb your... friend again, message me directly."
"Okay."
Faced with that phrasing of Yukinoshita's, Miura Yumiko felt like laughing too.
"Grrrrr..."
It was Miura Yumiko's stomach growling.
She blushed with embarrassment.
"I'm off—going to eat lunch first."
Her most unrefined side had been seen; Miura Yumiko felt miserable! Especially the awkwardness and shame.
The golden-haired young girl, bathed in sunlight, briskly took her leave.
Watching Miura Yumiko's retreating figure as she left as if fleeing, Yukinoshita smiled.
This noon's harvest wasn't small either.
She'd also seen the wretched side of this Blond Queen of Sobu High.
"Be friends," Yukino Yukinoshita said softly. "Not just anyone can be my friend."
"If you want to be my friend, we'll have to see whether you've got what it takes."
The girl with long black hair smiled.
Soon she too set off toward the Service Club.
By now, she felt a bit hungry too.
She needed to go eat something as well.
Any longer, and she was afraid her own stomach would start growling too.
...
...
The Service Club.
Lunch was over,
and the four were resting.
Yukino Yukinoshita's phone received a text message from Lin Ye.
——How did things go with Miura Yumiko?
Yukino Yukinoshita replied with a reassuring look in her eyes.
With her stepping in, what problem could there be?
Lin Ye asking was asking for nothing.
"Senpai, there's news about Miss Mai Sakurajima!"
Suddenly,
Iroha Isshiki's voice broke the calm of the Service Club.
And the four characters 'Mai Sakurajima' fell upon the calm lake surface, stirring up ripples.
The two besides Lin Ye also turned to look at Iroha Isshiki.
Iroha Isshiki was quite surprised too, not expecting everyone's reactions to be so strong.
"Um..." Iroha Isshiki began. "I searched up the latest information on Miss Mai Sakurajima. She... she seems to have a new film coming out."
"So, if there's a chance, shall we go see it together?"
Iroha Isshiki said cautiously.
"Sure," Lin Ye agreed.
He still hadn't actually seen a movie starring Mai Sakurajima. His own girlfriend's film, and one about to premiere at that—he definitely had to go see it.
"Mm-hm, okay, I'll take charge of buying the Movie Tickets. Senpai, how about it—your cute little junior treats you well, doesn't she?"
Iroha Isshiki said with a hee-hee giggle.
Of course, her main goal was to use this topic to draw Yukino Yukinoshita's attention, and along the way to let Yukinoshita-senpai know that Lin Ye liked Mai Sakurajima, to see what reaction Senpai would have.
"Not bad."
"Senpai is really hard to please," Iroha Isshiki shook her head. "But Mai-chan mentioned a boyfriend once and then there was never any more news about him—kind of curious!"
"I wonder what kind of man could win Mai Sakurajima's favor."
A casual topic,
and Miss pink bun was watching Lin Ye, then looking at Yukino. She originally hadn't known whether to tell Yukino, but since Iroha Isshiki had already brought this matter up, maybe she could go with the flow and say a little too?
"Student Lin is a fan of Mai's—surely he must be curious too!"
Yui Yuigahama spoke up as well.
A fan surely means he likes her.
In this way she was passing this information along to Yukino.
But Yukinoshita seemed not to have caught on, her expression calm, leaving Yui Yuigahama unsure whether Yukino had picked up on it, or whether Yukino simply didn't care at all.
"Yes, I really am quite curious—just who exactly is Mai's boyfriend," Lin Ye said, and at the same time he looked at Yukino, a smile he couldn't hide at the corner of his mouth.
Yukino felt displeased inwardly, but she didn't spill it outright. Setting aside whether spilling it would be appropriate, even if she did, she felt it wouldn't mean much.
"A man who could trick Mai Sakurajima's heart into his hands is surely some scumbag, some playboy, very good at sweet talk—otherwise it'd be quite hard..."
This was Yukino's reply.
She was mocking Lin Ye.
"I think so too. A man like that could perhaps even trick you, Student Yukinoshita."
Lin Ye immediately counterattacked.
The fact was he'd already tricked her.
With only the two of them in the know, the two conversed in tacit understanding right in front of the other two.
"This... Yukinon surely wouldn't, right! Hahaha..."
Yui Yuigahama laughed.
There was no telling whether this was her true feeling, or simply meant to smooth over the atmosphere.
As a member of the Service Club, Miss pink bun had always played the key role of the central air conditioner smoothing over the atmosphere.
Without her, the level of squabbling in the Service Club would probably climb to an even higher tier.
...
...
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