The thought flickered and vanished.
Lin Ye quickly realized that the voice's owner really was Yukino Yukinoshita herself, not a Strange.
He'd finally found the real one.
Or at least, it should count as finding her.
Recalling what had just happened, Lin Ye felt a headache coming on.
He'd assumed it would be simple—follow, confirm, done—but things had strayed a bit further from his expectations than he liked.
He'd hurried to catch up with the man in the suit.
Watching the man's countdown tick toward zero in its final minute, Lin Ye had sharply sensed the change in the surroundings: the temperature dropping, the air growing oppressive, and finally even the streetlights dimming further and further.
Lin Ye knew such abnormalities meant a Strange was about to appear.
And the man in the suit had clearly already been marked by it.
Lin Ye called out a warning, and the sound of his voice sent the man bolting into a run.
The man still remembered vividly just how intimidating Lin Ye could be. Seeing him tailing along now, and recalling that Lin Ye had told the three of them to split up, the man suddenly leapt to a wild conclusion—that Lin Ye meant to silence him for good. Otherwise, why else would he have shadowed them so long, only showing himself after all this time?
"Don't kill me, don't kill me,"
"I really just let my head get hot earlier, I wasn't thinking straight,"
"I've got parents to support and kids to raise, please don't kill me, I swear I'll never do anything like that again,"
The man begged for mercy as he ran, though really it was half a plea and half a cry for help—hoping someone nearby might hear him.
As long as there were enough people around,
he figured Lin Ye wouldn't dare make a move.
So he ran with everything he had, desperate to reach somewhere crowded.
But ahead of him lay nothing but darkness.
Even the streetlamps seemed to have gone dark.
The man didn't dwell on it—his running feet never slowed, if anything picking up speed.
But very soon, a chill washed over him.
A cold that went straight through him, freezing his back.
He assumed Lin Ye had caught up, and glanced back on reflex—but saw nothing at all.
Only, faintly, he made out a shadow.
The man had barely furrowed his brow when a searing pain tore through his body.
"AAAAH!"
Before he could even finish screaming from the pain, his body let out a series of cracking sounds.
In just a few seconds,
his whole body slumped and collapsed to the ground,
turned into a shapeless mass of flesh.
Lin Ye had witnessed the whole thing.
And that faint, blurred shape—he'd gotten a clear look at it after all.
A formless shadow.
This time, that was the shape the Strange had taken.
The question was how to deal with it.
There had to be a proper method, a way to suppress it.
Just as that thought crossed his mind,
Lin Ye saw the shadow melt into the corpse lying on the ground.
In only a few seconds,
the corpse trembled and rose upright, as if it had never been hurt at all.
"Ka-ka-ka..."
The corpse began to move. Its eyes snapped open, and its face twisted into something menacing.
"Die,"
"I'll kill you... you..."
It seemed consumed with venomous hatred toward Lin Ye. Once it had regained motion, it lurched toward him with an unsteady, stumbling gait.
Under normal circumstances,
any ordinary person facing this would immediately turn and flee.
But Lin Ye wasn't ordinary.
Instead, he stepped closer.
The corpse went briefly blank at that, clearly caught off guard by Lin Ye's behavior.
That reaction told Lin Ye this corpse-monster still possessed considerable intelligence—otherwise, how could it show such a human response?
"Let's see what you've got."
If it meant to possess and use a corpse, that meant it intended to attack in physical form.
That made things simple.
Physical attacks were the last thing Lin Ye needed to fear.
"Rooaaargh!"
Facing the charging corpse,
Lin Ye didn't dodge at all. Instead, in that instant, he lifted his foot and drove a brutal kick into it.
This wasn't the same restrained force he'd used on humans before—this time, Lin Ye had poured in everything he had.
"Thud..."
A silhouette went flying backward.
The corpse flew through the air,
and as it felt itself airborne, it fell once more into brief, stunned disbelief.
Clearly this outcome had far exceeded whatever it had expected.
It had assumed it was strong—that no ordinary human could possibly stand against it.
But as it turned out,
one kick from its opponent, and it had gone flying.
That alone spoke volumes about just how much power the man possessed.
Thud.
The corpse slammed hard into the ground, its suit tearing even further.
The next instant,
the corpse jerked upright again, stiff and unnatural.
It stared at Lin Ye, twisting its neck, and with a series of cracking sounds it lurched toward him once more.
It seemed to want to confirm something—or perhaps prove something.
This time,
whether because of the passage of time or from the earlier blow, the corpse's agility had noticeably sharpened.
But,
Lin Ye paid it no mind at all. He showed no reaction whatsoever to the incoming corpse.
Just as the thing lunged at him, claws bared, trying to tear him to shreds, Lin Ye moved with lightning reflexes and drove another brutal kick square into its back.
"Thud-thud..."
It slammed into the ground once again, hard.
Lin Ye considered.
If this was all there was to it,
this wouldn't be too difficult to handle.
Only,
he'd already put his full strength into it, yet he saw no sign of actually resolving the Strange.
It seemed pure physical force wasn't going to be enough to deal with this monster.
So how was he supposed to solve this?
Lin Ye turned his mind to other approaches.
There had to be a proper method somewhere to deal with the creature.
And the corpse hadn't given up either—it hauled itself up again, seemingly enraged from being beaten twice in a row. It charged again, thrashing wildly once more.
But the result...
it still ended up flat on the ground.
After a few more rounds,
the corpse seemed to finally resign itself to its fate.
This time when it rose, it didn't come at Lin Ye at all—instead it spun around and bolted toward the darkness at a brisk pace.
"Don't run,"
"Don't run,"
"I haven't had enough hitting yet!"
The monster before him was fleeing. Lin Ye didn't hesitate for a second and gave chase immediately.
But the monster's speed kept climbing higher and higher, until it vanished at the far end.
"Hm?"
No other way to deal with me?
Lin Ye wondered.
Would it try attacking him in shadow form instead?
Lin Ye figured his own body must be quite the tempting target—surely appealing enough to make a shadow-Strange's heart race!
So,
every step he took, he stayed on guard. But he never sensed anything unusual, as though the shadow-Strange had simply given up.
It had given up, just like that?
He shook his head, helpless.
"This is way too easy,"
Lin Ye thought of the other two, and quickened his pace toward their agreed meeting point.
But right then,
Lin Ye realized the space he was currently deep within had already shifted.
Retracing his path wouldn't lead him back to that original opening.
"Well, this is really..."
Lin Ye grew a little anxious, worried for the two girls' safety. "I need to find a way out, fast."
He started moving around, searching,
worried for Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana's safety, though he also knew mere anxiety accomplished nothing. What he needed now was to find a path or passage forward as quickly as possible,
to reunite with the two girls.
About ten minutes later,
Lin Ye spotted a figure.
The distance wasn't close,
but Lin Ye recognized her at a glance all the same.
It was Yukino Yukinoshita.
"Yukinoshita, why are you alone,"
Lin Ye closed the distance a few steps and, once he'd gotten a clear look at the girl's condition, asked, "Where's Rui Tachibana!"
If something had happened to Rui Tachibana, Lin Ye wouldn't be able to rest easy—nor could he ever explain himself to Tachibana-sensei.
"We got separated when we ran, just now... there was... something,"
As she spoke,
the cool, clear-voiced girl hurried toward Lin Ye.
Step by step, the distance closed.
But the instant she reached him,
Lin Ye sidestepped and evaded her.
That left the girl stumbling forward several steps, unable to catch him.
"Wh... what's wrong?"
Her cool voice carried a note of deep confusion, as if utterly baffled by Lin Ye's behavior.
"What's wrong, you ask—I'm not in the habit of letting a Strange hug me,"
"..."
"I'm not one,"
"I still have that much judgment, at this distance,"
What Lin Ye had seen first was the countdown above the girl's head. The number was strange—far too large.
That was a problem.
Even if Yukino Yukinoshita had escaped danger, that number could never exceed a human's natural lifespan.
After that, Lin Ye used perspective and looked at the girl's insides.
Not organs—just a solid, pitch-black mass.
That told Lin Ye the one before him wasn't Yukino Yukinoshita at all, but a Strange.
"I really am..."
"Looking like this, it really is a bit hard for me to strike you—but that doesn't mean I won't,"
It looked at Lin Ye, understanding he'd truly seen through its identity.
This time, it no longer bothered hiding its intent and charged straight at him, meaning to tear him apart.
But,
in front of Lin Ye, she was no match at all, and got dismantled with ease.
However,
it couldn't be killed.
That was right—
Lin Ye tried several different methods, but it simply refused to die.
"How am I supposed to deal with you all."
It had already fled.
Lin Ye didn't linger over it.
He'd tried questioning it earlier, but the Strange was stubborn to the end and refused to say a word. Without finding the right way to handle these things,
he had no trouble protecting himself, but actually resolving the Strange and finding a path to reach Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana was another matter entirely.
"One step at a time,"
Lin Ye thought.
"I still have faith in Yukinoshita—even in a bind, she'll find a way to handle things properly,"
For now, all he could do was trust in Yukino Yukinoshita's abilities.
As for Rui Tachibana, that girl should be fine too.
With the two of them together, they had each other to lean on. Short-term, they shouldn't be in much danger.
So,
Lin Ye pressed on with his search.
He encountered Rui Tachibana—or rather, a Strange disguised as Rui Tachibana.
The result was the same: it got beaten down thoroughly by Lin Ye, with absolutely no chance to achieve whatever it was after.
"The Strange knows about Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita—otherwise it wouldn't have taken their appearances to lure me out,"
If it had been using their actual corpses, things wouldn't have played out quite like this.
So,
for now, the two of them were still safe.
However,
the situation was still dangerous.
The Strange had already marked both Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita.
Lin Ye knew Yukino Yukinoshita's Stamina wasn't great—if she simply tried to outrun it, the girl wouldn't hold out long.
So,
Lin Ye kept turning the problem over in his mind.
"If Yukino's still fine by now, she must have found some way to stall it or defend herself,"
What could that be?
Lin Ye walked on, thinking it through.
Ahead, another Strange appeared.
This time it wasn't wearing Yukinoshita or Rui Tachibana's face—instead, it was someone else entirely.
A blonde woman.
Her looks weren't bad, honestly.
Though nothing compared to Yukinoshita.
"Hurry up, I'm in a rush. If you won't tell me how to get out of here, don't blame me for what happens,"
But the blonde woman just stood there, not approaching.
Bored, Lin Ye walked over toward her.
Once he got close, the female Strange wasted no time—she stripped off her clothes right there, revealing a fine figure and pale, flawless skin.
Any ordinary man would probably have been struck dumb on the spot, unable to look away.
Lin Ye also took several good looks.
It was quite a sight—who wouldn't look?
And lately, having been so close with Yukino all the time,
this kind of... fullness wasn't something he saw often.
So Lin Ye simply enjoyed the view with pure, unbothered appreciation.
It was right then that the blonde female Strange bared her teeth and struck—she meant to make Lin Ye pay, pay with his life.
But the instant she moved,
what followed was the sound of a body crashing to the ground.
What was going on?
Wasn't he supposed to be entranced?
Yet he'd shown no reaction at all, not even the faintest hint of chivalry toward a pretty face.
The force that slammed through her body made clear just how hard that one strike of Lin Ye's had landed.
"I'm not quite at the level where you can test my willpower with that. Just how foolish do you all think I am,"
Lin Ye walked toward the female Strange.
She struggled to rise.
But her movements were sluggish, as though something was suppressing her severely.
At first Lin Ye assumed it was simply the force of that last blow—that he'd done enough damage to slow her down.
But after a good while,
he realized this wasn't about his own strength at all, but something else entirely...
Because the countdown above her showed the number changing—dropping sharply, in distinct stages.
"Light,"
Right.
Lin Ye caught onto it immediately and started testing his theory on the spot. He dragged the female Strange's body toward a streetlamp, drawing it closer to the light.
Lin Ye then noticed the countdown plummeting even faster.
That confirmed his hypothesis.
"Aah, argh, aaargh..."
A wail rang out.
The female Strange let out a scream.
Her body shook and convulsed violently.
Lin Ye caught it sharply—her body was releasing a faint, pale-gray mist, fizzing and hissing as it dissipated into nothing.
Before long,
the body stopped moving entirely.
"So light is what destroys them?"
Just the faint moonlight in the night sky clearly hadn't been enough to do the job on its own.
Lin Ye understood now.
"This can be solved,"
Now that he knew the method,
it would be easy from here on out.
All he had to do was find each Strange and drag it near a strong light source.
After all, none of them could beat him in a fight anyway.
Unless a Strange had some other trick up its sleeve, this crisis wasn't really a problem at all.
And through this, Lin Ye had found his solution.
Earlier, he'd overlooked it out of instinct.
After dealing with the second Strange, Lin Ye found a familiar street corner.
The isolated space had returned to normal.
Lin Ye understood then.
He made his way back, following memory, to the spot where he'd split up with Yukino Yukinoshita—but there was no sign of the two girls there.
Lin Ye wasn't panicking, felt no tension or worry at all.
He knew the girls wouldn't come to harm.
"They must have gone somewhere else,"
"So which way would that be?"
Lin Ye looked over the paths in front of him.
If it were up to him to choose, now that he knew the Strange's pattern, he'd definitely pick the lit path—humans naturally gravitate toward light anyway.
Now,
thinking it over,
Lin Ye figured the girls might have done the opposite,
because that lit path was the one he himself had chosen.
By the time he came back, he'd already ended up facing a different direction entirely.
So,
Lin Ye headed toward the path he himself had pointed out to Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana, the one he'd called out to them from.
Back to the present moment,
Lin Ye looked at the girl in front of him and slowly spoke, "Sorry, I'm back late."
A single apology,
conveyed just how guilty Lin Ye felt this time.
Even though both girls were safe and unharmed, he'd still come back later than he should have.
If he'd been any slower, if the girl hadn't realized in time that the light meant safety, the two of them could very well have run into real trouble.
Facing Lin Ye's words—calm on the surface but heavy with apology underneath—Yukino's heart gave a sudden jolt.
This was exactly the kind of thing Lin Ye would say.
This was exactly his style of speech.
In that instant, Yukino Yukinoshita was certain—this really was Lin Ye.
But, just to be safe, Yukino Yukinoshita still didn't rush over and believe right away.
"Prove it first,"
was all she said.
"That's easy,"
Lin Ye walked straight ahead, step by step, coming to stand right in front of the girl.
Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita both looked at Lin Ye now so close before them, and finding nothing at all off about him, both understood—the man in front of them really was Lin Ye.
"Welcome back,"
Yukino Yukinoshita said.
With Lin Ye by her side,
Yukino Yukinoshita felt at ease—truly at ease.
That tall, steady presence was itself the greatest reassurance.
"Sorry I'm late,"
"Not late at all,"
The two of them locked eyes,
completely oblivious to everyone else around them.
At that moment, Rui Tachibana genuinely began to feel like a third wheel.
No—Rui Tachibana truly felt like she had no place there at all, no room to insert herself into the moment.
She wanted to say something, but seeing the sweet atmosphere between the two of them, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
She agonized over it, opened her mouth and closed it again, and in the end just stayed silent, letting the two of them catch up first.
"Okay, there's still someone else here!"
Noticing Lin Ye's movement, Yukino Yukinoshita snapped back to attention, stepped back to put some distance between them, and spoke up to stop him.
Only then did Lin Ye turn to look at Rui Tachibana.
"Student Tachibana—"
"Rui. I'm your girlfriend,"
Rui Tachibana cut in stubbornly.
There was nothing Lin Ye could do about that.
The two of them still nominally carried the title of lovers,
and even though it was all Haruno Yukinoshita's doing in the first place, as far as Lin Ye was concerned, it was still something he needed to sort out and resolve.
Once tonight was over,
this arrangement would come to an end.
That was what Lin Ye had in mind.
"At least until our agreement's over, I'm still your girlfriend,"
Under that kind of demand, Lin Ye had no choice but to agree,
and started addressing Rui Tachibana by her first name.
The blue-haired girl broke into a triumphant, happy smile.
This was great,
this was really something.
That was exactly how Rui Tachibana felt about it.
Lin Ye did in fact understand people's feelings well enough.
As long as Lin Ye could go soft on her, Rui Tachibana felt her chances were still plenty—that she still had a real shot at success.
"Ahem, ahem,"
Yukino Yukinoshita cleared her throat twice, trying to keep the two of them from slipping into anything too intimate.
Rui Tachibana looked embarrassed.
Lin Ye, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed, showing barely any reaction.
"Alright, what do we do now?"
Yukino Yukinoshita asked Lin Ye, hoping he'd give them a solution.
"Simple. Just follow me out of here,"
"..."
Simple, sure, but was it really that simple?
"Lin-kun, there's a monster out there,"
Rui Tachibana assumed Lin Ye hadn't seen that monster before, so she described it in detail, laying out the situation carefully.
At the very least, any decent person would find something so inhuman terrifying.
That was Rui Tachibana's thinking.
"It's fine, just come with me. The monster can't hurt us,"
With Lin Ye's assurance, both Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana moved. At this point, of course they chose to trust Lin Ye.
What else could they do besides trust him?
Lin Ye walked ahead, steady, in no hurry at all, showing nothing out of the ordinary.
Yukino Yukinoshita was fine with it—she knew how strong Lin Ye really was, so this calm made sense to her. But Rui Tachibana felt it differently, unable to shake the sense that his composure was almost too relaxed for the situation.
She could only stay close by Lin Ye's side, keeping near him for a greater sense of safety.
Time passed, minute by minute.
Suddenly Rui Tachibana spotted a figure up ahead.
She spoke up immediately.
"A monster, over there,"
Following the direction of her finger, both Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita saw the figure too.
Yukino Yukinoshita tensed up a little.
How were they supposed to deal with this?
Even with Lin Ye there, how to handle it still depended on him.
Could Lin Ye actually deal with it?
Both girls' eyes turned to Lin Ye.
"Lin-kun, we should hurry and—"
"Give me a moment. I'll go grab it,"
Yukino Yukinoshita: ???
Rui Tachibana: ???
Were they hallucinating?
What had Lin Ye just said?
It sounded like he meant to bring that monster back with him.
In the blink of an eye,
they watched Lin Ye dash forward, his figure quickly appearing up ahead.
In under twenty seconds,
Lin Ye came walking back, dragging the monster's body behind him step by step.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana both fell completely silent.
Yukino Yukinoshita had imagined many possible outcomes, but she'd never once imagined this.
Lin Ye had caught the monster and dragged it back with him.
This was far too dramatic, too much of a complete reversal.
Who'd ever believe it, hearing about it secondhand?
But the fact was right there in front of them.
"Come with me, to the nearest streetlamp, or your room, whichever,"
Fizz, fizz, fizz—
Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana watched a wisp of pale-gray shadow rise off the corpse and quickly dissipate.
That was the correct way to deal with a Strange.
Neither Rui Tachibana nor Yukino Yukinoshita had expected this.
They'd known light suppressed a Strange, but they'd never imagined that at close enough range, it could destroy one outright.
"How do we get back?"
"We take care of a few more."
How could it possibly be this simple?
But it really was that simple.
Watching Lin Ye in action, both Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana couldn't help feeling like this Strange business was too easy—nothing at all like what they themselves had faced. It felt like an entirely different level altogether.
Both of them found themselves marveling at it.
As they walked, the sounds of cars and horns returned, along with distant voices of passersby—everything had gone back to normal.
All three of them knew they'd made it back safely.
"Friendly reminder: try to keep this whole thing to yourselves as much as possible. Otherwise, it'll only raise the odds of dragging other people into it," Lin Ye said, looking at Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana. "You two don't want your own families getting pulled into somewhere that dangerous, do you?"
No one wanted that. Not a single person would want that.
Especially having just been through it themselves, neither of them wanted it, neither could bear the thought of it.
"Mm."
Neither of them had any objection.
"We'll keep it quiet,"
Rui Tachibana agreed to Lin Ye's request.
But the very next moment, she voiced the suspicion she'd been holding. "Lin-kun, has something like this happened with my sister too?"
She really wanted to know. "Has Sister been through something like this too?"
"The things you can't tell me, the things Sister won't tell me either—is it the same thing?"
Even without Lin Ye saying a word,
Rui Tachibana had already all but confirmed it in her own mind.
Lin Ye smiled faintly but didn't deny it. "Let's go."
That much was already an answer in itself.
Rui Tachibana had gotten the answer she wanted.
One matter was finally settled.
But there was still another matter.
"I'll take you two home first,"
But Rui Tachibana tugged at Lin Ye's sleeve. "Our deal,"
This girl still wanted to go to the hotel? Wasn't going home the obvious choice right now?
"To the hotel,"
Rui Tachibana's tone was unyielding.
"Then let's drop Yukinoshita off first,"
Yukino Yukinoshita shot him a glance. After everything she'd just been through, there was no way she was going home first—she wouldn't feel at ease.
That monster's face—she didn't want to face that at all, not even for a moment.
"All together, then. Isn't that what you like? I'll satisfy you,"
Lin Ye's remark left him stunned as much as anyone,
and Rui Tachibana was stunned too.
Was this really about to happen?
Rui Tachibana couldn't believe it.
Were the three of them really going to spend the night together?
Rui Tachibana thought it impossible, but looking at how serious Yukino Yukinoshita looked, it seemed like a three-way night was really going to happen, which made her think it might actually be real.
"What's wrong, losing your nerve now? Who was it that said she was happy to watch, and even offered to knock on the door to add a little extra spice for you two?"
"Ugh,"
Rui Tachibana let out a whimper.
"N-no, it's not just that either, Student Yukinoshita,"
"It's fine. After all, we're friends. I don't mind,"
Lin Ye was taken aback by the word "friends" that had just come out of Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth.
Could it be,
had the two of them really become friends?
He couldn't think of any other explanation.
"If we're really doing this, then let's just go to the hotel,"
Lin Ye said it in dead earnest. "But whatever I do, whatever happens after that, I'm not taking responsibility,"
It was both a reminder and a warning.
Rui Tachibana had no objections and agreed immediately.
And Yukino Yukinoshita certainly wasn't about to back down at a moment like this either.
Go.
She had to go.
That was exactly what Yukino Yukinoshita was thinking right then.
So,
the three of them set off together for the hotel.
A high-end hotel.
The front desk processed check-in for all three of Lin Ye's party.
Seeing one man and two women booking a single room, the front desk staff couldn't help thinking how wild young people these days really were.
And both girls were so pretty, too.
This man had to be loaded.
Otherwise, where would he have found such gorgeous girls to bring along?
Rui Tachibana caught the odd looks from the front desk, and in that moment she felt unusually self-conscious.
She was always keenly sensitive to how others perceived her.
But she did her best not to let her emotions show.
Ding!
The elevator arrived.
Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita followed Lin Ye out of the elevator, one after the other.
The hallway was elegantly furnished.
The hotel's luxury was on full display.
Rui Tachibana rarely visited places like this and felt a persistent sense of unease.
Yukino Yukinoshita, having been to such places before, was already used to it—and Lin Ye, of course, didn't even need mentioning.
A click sounded,
the door opened.
Lin Ye slid in the keycard, and in no time, the room lights switched on.
The three of them stepped inside.
With the door shut, it felt like they'd sealed themselves into their own separate world.
Rui Tachibana grew tense on reflex, a wave of nervousness rising at the closed-off space.
Lin Ye walked toward the window and pulled back the curtains.
With a rustling sound,
the night view spread out before them.
Lin Ye gazed out at it.
Rui Tachibana, too, was seeing the night view of Chiba from this height for the very first time.
"So beautiful,"
"See it a few times and it's nothing special,"
Yukino shot Lin Ye a look, as if to say he had no appreciation for romance.
"Let's go shower."
Seeing neither girl move, Lin Ye said, "I'll go first?"
Both nodded.
With that settled, Lin Ye didn't bother being polite and headed straight for the bathroom.
Soon,
the sound of running water filled the bathroom, and steam began to spread.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked over at Rui Tachibana. "Are you mentally prepared?"
"Uh... yeah,"
In the end, Rui Tachibana gave a firm nod, confirming her resolve.
Her attitude was firm—she wasn't backing down.
Seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita gave up trying to talk her out of it. "Don't worry, I won't watch,"
Rui Tachibana's mouth twitched. "Can... you not listen either?"
What bothered her was Yukino Yukinoshita's presence there—a third person in the room would inevitably affect how she felt about all of it.
"I can not listen on purpose, but if the sound drills its way into my head, there's nothing I can do about that,"
"..."
Which basically meant she was going to listen either way.
This was so awkward.
Rui Tachibana had no choice but to speak up again. "Could you go outside?"
Yukino rolled her eyes. "Can you really bear making me wait outside? Or does Student Tachibana actually want that door-knocking scenario after all—I suppose I wouldn't mind indulging you with that either,"
Rui Tachibana shook her head furiously after hearing that.
She truly did not want that scenario—it was far too intense.
Even if Lin Ye himself suggested it, she wouldn't go along with it.
"Well then, might as well accept reality. We're friends, don't worry, I won't laugh at you,"
This wasn't really about laughing or not laughing—it was about that other thing entirely!
In the end, Rui Tachibana gave up thinking about it altogether, gave up trying to argue.
There was nothing else to do.
Truly nothing else to do.
"Fine, whatever, do what you want,"
"Now that's more like it,"
At that, Yukino Yukinoshita broke into a triumphant smile.
This was exactly the answer she'd wanted.
As long as Rui Tachibana gave up, that meant she'd won.
It wasn't that she was so eager to watch—but since she'd already come this far, she figured she might as well see just what Lin Ye intended to do.
With her present, would Lin Ye really go ahead and do this and that with Rui Tachibana?
If Lin Ye really did go through with it,
then Yukino Yukinoshita... she'd accept it.
Yes,
Yukino Yukinoshita had decided she'd accept it.
Her staying there was itself the biggest obstacle standing between Lin Ye and taking that step.
She wouldn't say a word, but her presence alone would be the greatest deterrent.
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's confidence in the matter.
Ten minutes later,
Lin Ye finished his shower and came out.
Wrapped in a towel, he walked into the room. "You two—the bathroom's pretty big. If you don't mind, you could shower together,"
Together?
Yukino Yukinoshita balked at the idea.
She wasn't particularly fond of showering with other girls.
"Student Yukinoshita, we could—"
"No. Not together,"
Her attitude was firm. Even when Rui Tachibana tried tugging at her, Yukino Yukinoshita stayed rooted in place, refusing to budge.
In the end, Rui Tachibana gave up.
She went into the bathroom alone, and soon the sound of running water started up again.
That left only Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita in the room.
"Are you actually going through with it?"
"With what?"
"Sleeping together,"
Yukino Yukinoshita said it plainly, as if she'd rather not spell it out further.
"You want me to actually go through with it?"
"That's your business. My opinion doesn't matter,"
"But to me, your opinion matters a great deal,"
"It doesn't matter,"
Still, Yukino refused to say more—she just wanted to know what Lin Ye was really thinking.
"Since Yukino won't say, I won't press you on it."
Lin Ye smiled. "Of course, I won't say either. You can just watch and find out,"
That attitude of his—it made it feel like Lin Ye really did intend to go through with it.
"Hmph,"
Yukino Yukinoshita only gave a soft huff in response.
She wasn't going to reveal her true thoughts either way. She understood perfectly well that if she did, the only thing waiting for her would be Lin Ye's teasing.
That much was certain.
So,
she'd keep it to herself, and let Lin Ye do as he pleased.
She just wanted to see whether he'd actually dare go through with it.
Rui Tachibana finished washing up quickly.
She came out before long,
mainly out of worry that Yukino Yukinoshita would end up waiting outside too long.
And Yukino Yukinoshita, before stepping into the bathroom, cast one glance behind her.
A while later,
the sound of splashing water started up once more.
Yukino felt the warm water against her skin, and her whole body relaxed considerably.
For her, in that moment her body was at ease—but mentally, nothing had changed in the slightest.
Whatever was about to happen in that room—what could she even do about it?
She wasn't about to speak up and stop it.
But if something really did happen, she still felt like she couldn't quite accept it.
Yukino Yukinoshita's head ached with the conflict inside her.
Meanwhile, outside,
Rui Tachibana sat on the edge of the bed, looking thoroughly tense.
Her eyes kept drifting toward Lin Ye—he felt a bit frightening to her, yet also somehow very kind.
The shifting expressions on her face nearly made Lin Ye burst out laughing.
"What... what's wrong?"
Noticing her expression, Lin Ye asked.
"If you're too scared, that's fine too, I understand,"
"No,"
Rui Tachibana denied it instantly. "I'm not scared."
Her attitude remained resolute—she still meant to see this through with Lin Ye, determined not to stop until it was finished.
"Really?"
"Really,"
"Then let's start now,"
"Ah!"
"Yukinoshita's in the shower right now, not here. If we start now, we can avoid her seeing anything... can't we?"
A shiver ran straight through Rui Tachibana's whole body.
She'd been prepared for this, mentally braced for it.
But this fast, this suddenly—she really hadn't seen it coming.
She wanted to leave, wanted to run.
"Guess you really are too scared after all,"
"No, I'm not,"
With that,
Rui Tachibana lay down and closed her eyes. "Go ahead."
She let him do as he wished—that was her stance.
Handing the whole thing over to Lin Ye, letting him take the lead, while she stayed passive and simply went along with it.
That was Rui Tachibana's thinking.
Seeing this,
Lin Ye didn't give up outright either. He stepped closer, one step at a time, and reached out to touch the girl's cheek.
Rui Tachibana's body gave a slight, involuntary jolt.
As Lin Ye's fingers moved lower, Rui Tachibana's trembling grew even more intense.
Next, next was supposed to be that, wasn't it?
She grew even more nervous, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter.
But no matter what, she wasn't going to call it off.
Right—
because calling it off now would mean admitting she was too scared, wouldn't it?
"If you want to stop now, there's still time,"
"No need, go ahead. I've already braced myself mentally, do whatever you want,"
"Yukinoshita's out."
"Eh,"
Rui Tachibana's cheeks flushed bright red.
But she still didn't open her eyes, kept them squeezed tightly shut.
Lin Ye gently brushed his fingers along the girl's neck.
With her eyes closed, all her other senses were heightened considerably.
But in the end,
Lin Ye never actually took the towel off her.
Rui Tachibana simply took the whole thing as Lin Ye's idea of fun, some kind of foreplay, nothing more.
A few minutes later,
the water in the bathroom shut off, and Yukino Yukinoshita emerged, wrapped in a towel as well.
At that moment, Rui Tachibana, now fully aware that Yukino Yukinoshita had really come into the room, squinted carefully in her direction.
When their eyes met, Yukino Yukinoshita's expression broke into an amused smile.
This girl—still so nervous.
"You two go ahead. I'll watch. Might as well learn something too,"
"Preparing yourself and me for the future?"
Lin Ye made a joke of it,
showing no restraint whatsoever.
"You can think of it that way if you want. No problem with that either,"
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't back down in the slightest, turning the joke right back around on him.
"Alright then,"
At Lin Ye's gesture, Yukino Yukinoshita walked over slowly.
Lin Ye pulled her straight into his arms.
"You look really beautiful tonight,"
Yukino blinked.
Rui Tachibana blinked too.
Wasn't she supposed to be the one pulled into his arms and thoroughly teased right now?
Lin Ye had gone and grabbed the wrong person!
Rui Tachibana stared at the two of them, utterly stunned.
Lin Ye reached out and switched off the lights.
At once,
the room fell into dimness.
Lin Ye carried the girl to the bed.
He settled in the middle, one girl on each side, holding both of them close.
The room fell quiet, save for the faint sound of breathing.
None of the three of them fell asleep.
Yukino Yukinoshita least of all.
Rui Tachibana's heart was racing, caught between confusion and nervousness.
What on earth was going on?
She genuinely had no idea.
Could Lin Ye explain himself?
"Tonight, this is how it'll be—sleeping with one arm around each of you. Not bad, right?"
At those words, Yukino Yukinoshita understood exactly what Lin Ye had chosen to do.
She'd expected as much, but even so, there was a small pang of disappointment that he really hadn't gone through with it.
Rui Tachibana, meanwhile, felt thoroughly frustrated. She started to say something,
but what came back was Lin Ye's reply.
"This counts as sleeping together too,"
"This is sleeping together too,"
This was sleeping together, sure—but not the kind she'd actually wanted.
Rui Tachibana tried to argue her case, even spelled it out plainly, but this time Lin Ye simply wasn't having any of it.
Rui Tachibana was so frustrated she could scream.
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