In short: even if she pitied the other women Lin Ye treated coldly, when he turned that coldness on her, would those women pity her?
The first person Yukino Yukinoshita thought of was Mai Sakurajima.
She had always ranked that superstar as her number one rival, and this was far from the first time she'd spent time around Mai Sakurajima.
They had met in person and talked online many times.
Every one of those encounters had been a clash of blades, especially since Mai Sakurajima had gone out of her way to show off in front of her.
To show off that she and Lin Ye already had a real, physical relationship.
Yukino Yukinoshita remembered that scene, and the many like it, vividly. There was no chance she'd ever forget.
She and Mai Sakurajima were love rivals, thoroughly and completely.
The understanding they'd reached was only temporary. Sooner or later, one of them would have to leave the stage.
Neither her pride nor Mai Sakurajima's would ever let the other stay at Lin Ye's side for the long run. They simply wouldn't allow it.
Who could tolerate her man having other women?
Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't accept it, and neither could Mai Sakurajima. They kept this calm, quiet truce only because the circumstances bound them.
So, watching Rui Tachibana get treated this way, Yukino Yukinoshita knew she shouldn't carry any burden or pity.
Someday, if Lin Ye stopped liking her, he'd treat her just as coldly and use every means to make her leave.
And by then, his new favorite wouldn't necessarily pity her.
Yukino Yukinoshita let out a faint breath and settled her heart.
She couldn't afford any pity.
She reminded herself of that.
Breakfast ended.
By the end, the mood was oppressive, closed out by Rui Tachibana's silence and a faint air of sorrow.
Rui Tachibana was hurt and miserable. After her first time, she'd already been carrying a vague, hard-to-name melancholy, and under Lin Ye's coldness that feeling only grew stronger.
She even wanted to find some empty place, crouch down, and let herself ache properly.
Crying had already crossed her mind.
She felt that if she could just have a good cry, she could probably release this powerful, dark feeling.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't bring herself to, at least not here. She didn't want to show her weak side.
Because she knew that even if she were weak enough to shed tears, Lin Ye wouldn't soften. He would keep that cold, hard attitude, keep treating her this way, and ignore the state she was in.
So,
to keep a little of her dignity, Rui Tachibana knew she had to hold on. She had to swallow the sourness in her chest.
Yukino Yukinoshita stayed silent throughout.
She'd told herself not to pity her, but honestly, she was a kind girl, and Rui Tachibana had left an excellent impression on her.
The two of them were now friends, at least in name.
She hadn't refused that friendship. She'd accepted it.
But even so,
what had to be done would still be done.
Lin Ye didn't leave. He stayed in the room and chatted with the girls for a while.
He wasn't deliberately avoiding talking to Rui Tachibana, and he answered ordinary conversation as usual.
But anything intimate, he still didn't answer.
And Rui Tachibana didn't try to sit down next to Lin Ye, either.
The morning passed in light conversation among the three of them.
"Student Tachibana, let me take you home first!"
Rui Tachibana's whole body was sore, and her movements were still a little stiff, so Lin Ye felt he should see her home to make sure nothing happened to her on the way alone.
"I… don't want to go back today."
But her answer left both Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita in a brief silence.
Didn't want to go back?
What did she plan to do out here?
Before Lin Ye could ask, Yukino Yukinoshita spoke first. "Is something worrying you, Student Tachibana?"
"Yes."
Rui Tachibana nodded. "My body hasn't fully recovered. If I go home, my sister will definitely notice something's wrong when we're together. So I'd like to stay out today and see how I feel tomorrow."
"Fine."
Lin Ye didn't refuse. "I'll book the hotel room for another night. No, two nights."
"No, no, no, I'll find a room myself."
Hotels in Japan were expensive. This was Chiba, not Tokyo, but a hotel this luxurious had a price Rui Tachibana didn't need to check to know was out of reach.
It was just for one night. There was no need to stay somewhere this nice.
She didn't want to waste the money.
And besides, accepting a room from Lin Ye made her feel like she was beneath him somehow.
She didn't like that feeling.
"It's fine. Don't worry about the money, Student Tachibana."
"It isn't about the money," Rui Tachibana stressed.
It really wasn't about the money. It was about how she felt inside.
"Come to my place!"
Yukino suddenly spoke up.
She understood how Rui Tachibana felt, and what she was bothered by.
So,
it was better to have her stay at her own place.
"My apartment has a side bedroom. You can stay a few days with no problem, Student Tachibana."
"But…"
Rui Tachibana was tempted, but she still didn't say what she really thought. She still had a few small worries and hesitations.
Something about it just didn't feel quite right.
"No buts. It's decided. You protected me last night, so a few days in my apartment is nothing."
Yukino Yukinoshita's tone was firm and left Rui Tachibana no room to refuse.
But she could see a trace of hesitation still lingering in Rui Tachibana, a few unspoken feelings, so she added, "We're friends."
In that instant,
a smile bloomed on Rui Tachibana's face.
She nodded. "Okay."
She agreed without a moment's hesitation.
That reaction made Yukino Yukinoshita realize that Rui Tachibana had been waiting for her to give exactly that reason.
Rui Tachibana had been working hard to get her to accept Rui Tachibana as a friend.
Wonderful.
What else could you call it but wonderful?
Yukino Yukinoshita had actually walked right into a trap.
Yet she couldn't feel angry in the slightest.
That was right.
Yukino Yukinoshita felt no anger at all, and she was even a little happy.
She'd been played, yes, but it also showed her how much Rui Tachibana cared about this relationship.
The Rui Tachibana of last night had been serious.
They really were both love rivals and friends now.
"Student Lin, take us to my apartment, please."
Yukino Yukinoshita turned to Lin Ye.
How to put it…
Rui Tachibana thought Yukinoshita's way of addressing Lin Ye was still so stiff and distant.
They'd slept together, and had probably done all sorts of things last night, yet Yukinoshita still held such a clearly distant attitude toward Lin Ye.
It was probably to deal with outsiders.
Otherwise, she couldn't think of any other explanation.
Then,
after Lin Ye agreed, the three of them gathered their things and got ready to head out.
Rui Tachibana walked with a slight limp, so Yukino Yukinoshita helped support her.
Even so, the hotel lobby drew some attention.
"Miss, if you've been hurt at our hotel…"
"I'm fine."
"Shall we arrange a car to take you to the hospital?"
The staff were worried. They were afraid Rui Tachibana really was hurt and might hold the hotel responsible, so arranging and settling everything quickly was the best choice.
"It's fine. We can go to the hospital ourselves. Please don't worry."
After that firm answer, the staff finally stopped asking. They simply apologized, and even offered a discount on their next stay.
In the end,
the hotel provided a car to take Lin Ye and the girls to their destination, which was Yukinoshita's apartment.
Stepping out of the car and looking at the apartment building, Rui Tachibana realized the Yukinoshita home really was wealthy.
In Japan, only the rich could afford to live in an apartment like this.
"Are you marveling at how rich the Yukinoshita home is, Student Tachibana?"
Lin Ye said suddenly.
That left Rui Tachibana a little embarrassed, while Yukino Yukinoshita rolled her eyes at Lin Ye, mildly displeased.
"A little."
"You think Yukinoshita just lives here?"
"Yes."
"Actually…"
Lin Ye said, "the whole building belongs to the Yukinoshita family."
Rui Tachibana: ???
Only then did she truly grasp the wealth of the Yukinoshita family.
It was beyond anything her ordinary imagination could hold.
The Yukinoshita family's fortune went far past anything she'd pictured.
"Lin-kun, you'll be set for life."
In the end,
that was all Rui Tachibana could manage to say.
The meaning was simple: if Lin Ye ended up with Yukinoshita, he'd never have to worry about food or clothing again, and he could skip at least twenty years of struggle.
No,
it was more than twenty years. It was probably fifty.
"Ha ha."
Lin Ye laughed.
He could hardly say that the money was his own, could he?
Yukinoshita opened the building's entrance, the three of them went inside, and they took the elevator up to the right floor.
Soon they walked into the apartment.
"Make yourself at home, Student Tachibana."
With that,
Yukino Yukinoshita went to the kitchen and began boiling water for tea.
Lin Ye, out of habit, walked over to the balcony and looked down at the view outside.
"This isn't your first time here, is it, Lin-kun?"
Rui Tachibana felt unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable. But Lin Ye seemed far too relaxed, without the slightest reaction.
Either that was simply his personality, or he'd been here before and was already used to the place, with no unease about unfamiliar surroundings.
"No, it isn't."
"How many times?"
"You've stumped me. I never kept count."
But those words made Rui Tachibana realize a harsh fact.
Whatever was between Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita, it was far from simple.
"Stayed over…"
She asked tentatively, in a very small voice.
Lin Ye chose to ignore it and acted as if he hadn't heard.
Rui Tachibana knew a lot already, but that was something that, if it was going to be said, should come from Yukinoshita and not from him. That was how Lin Ye saw it.
Rui Tachibana's heart raced, but when Lin Ye didn't answer, she looked up at him. He was gazing at Yukino Yukinoshita in the kitchen as though he hadn't heard a word.
Rui Tachibana breathed out in relief, though she couldn't help being even more curious.
Still,
she didn't ask again.
"Tea."
Yukino Yukinoshita took out cups, set them on the table, and poured hot water for the two of them.
"I've already ordered lunch. It'll be here soon."
Lin Ye said.
Yukino Yukinoshita nodded.
She'd originally planned to cook, but since Lin Ye had already ordered lunch to be delivered, there was nothing more to say.
Rui Tachibana silently watched the exchange between the two. At their easy, ordinary way of being together, a look of envy crossed her face.
Yes,
Rui Tachibana was envious. She longed, a little, for the day she and Lin Ye might get along like that.
Of course,
she knew it would be very, very hard.
But even so,
she hoped for it all the same.
The feeling in her heart kept spreading and welling up, unlike anything she'd felt before.
She guessed… this was probably what being in love felt like.
She seemed to understand a little about love now.
But
that feeling was soaked in bitterness.
Rui Tachibana grew sadder still.
Half an hour later,
lunch arrived.
Sushi.
Simple food.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana began to eat.
"Any ideas for this afternoon?"
She wasn't sure what they could do this afternoon.
She didn't know what Lin Ye had in mind, either.
Lin Ye had no particular ideas.
There wasn't much fun to be had at Yukino Yukinoshita's place, and no entertainment either.
"Do you have playing cards?"
"Yes."
"Let's play cards this afternoon. Three people works."
"Sure."
Rui Tachibana agreed,
and Yukino Yukinoshita said she had no objection.
"Um, wouldn't it be better to bet on something?"
Rui Tachibana suddenly said.
Just playing cards seemed kind of boring.
"Sure, anything's fine with me."
Lin Ye agreed.
Her gaze rested on Yukino Yukinoshita.
"If you two are fine with it, then I'm fine too."
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't object either.
"As long as the stakes aren't lewd, there's no problem."
As she said it, Yukino Yukinoshita deliberately glanced at Lin Ye, as if she had very little faith in him.
Lin Ye got a headache.
Why didn't anyone trust him?
"I've already seen every inch of you both. Why would I need that?"
"You don't want to?"
Hit with that question, Lin Ye felt a flicker of temptation.
He really did want to.
After all, strip poker was thrilling.
…
…
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