Isshiki Iroha's sharp senses caught the peculiar look Lin Ye was giving her, and that gaze stirred a flurry of inexplicable feelings inside her.
Her eyes flicked sideways and she spoke up. "Senpai, you don't believe me?"
"I'm wondering whether you're about to introduce yourself to me."
Lin Ye said it out loud.
Just as Senpai had predicted — Isshiki Iroha had brought up the 'introducing a girlfriend' business again.
On the side, Mai Sakurajima had finally gotten the line out of Lin Ye that she had been nudging him toward this whole time. During lunch earlier, the two of them had made a bet: if Isshiki Iroha brought up 'guaranteed success' again, Lin Ye would ask her directly, point-blank.
She'd been right. This outgoing, bubbly kouhai was absolutely going to ask that question over the course of their shared buffet time together.
Right now, she very much wanted to see how this kouhai would react.
Isshiki Iroha froze on the spot as if she'd been zapped by an electric shock. The chopsticks in her hand went still, and she had absolutely no idea what to do with them.
What — what was that?
What had Senpai just said?
It sounded like... 'whether you're about to introduce yourself' — that was it, right?
"Senpai, why would you think that?! That's impossible! How could I possibly introduce myself?"
"Oh, well, that's a relief. I didn't know how I'd let you down gently without breaking your heart."
Isshiki Iroha: "..."
The adorable little kouhai very nearly lost her composure entirely.
She felt, deep in her bones, the profound and deliberate malice radiating from the senpai sitting across from her.
She was absolutely certain Lin Ye had done that on purpose. If this wasn't deliberate, then she, Isshiki Iroha, would change her surname — she'd never go by Isshiki again.
"As my most, most, most adorable kouhai — the very thought of you introducing yourself to me, I just don't know what I'd do with myself."
Senpai, stop mimicking the way I talk!
Isshiki Iroha fumed internally.
"I already have a girl I like. Isshiki, you're a great person, but we're just not compatible. We really, truly aren't."
Isshiki Iroha exploded.
All her life, when it came to confessions and being confessed to, she had always been the one turning boys down, the one handing out the 'you're a great person' speech. But now — now she, Isshiki Iroha, was on the receiving end of a rejection from another guy.
What even was this.
Isshiki Iroha could not wrap her head around it. This was one of the great humiliations of her life!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
Mai Sakurajima watched the whole thing play out from the side. All she could say was that she was impressed — genuinely, thoroughly impressed with Lin Ye.
This man truly had no feel for romance. With her, he'd flirt and take little liberties every now and then — teasing her, poking fun at her.
But with this kouhai, Mai Sakurajima could only describe the feeling as 'bullying.'
Yes — she got the distinct sense that Lin Ye was deliberately picking on this girl.
Probably, in Lin Ye's eyes, Isshiki Iroha existed for the sole purpose of being teased. That was her role, her designated value.
"If anything, I'm the one letting you down gently, Senpai. We're not compatible. I would never date a dense, emotionally clueless straight-man like you — not the slightest bit interesting."
She let out a huff and crossed her arms, making her displeasure perfectly clear. "Anyway — I'm the one rejecting you, not the other way around."
"You're fooling yourself."
"..."
There was literally nothing she could say to that.
Isshiki Iroha was so mad she was almost in tears.
"The girl I want to introduce you to is someone else. I'm confident I can guarantee success, so Senpai…"
"No need. Don't trouble yourself, Isshiki-kouhai."
Isshiki Iroha kept trying to persuade him, but Lin Ye held the line without the slightest crack — not a single sign of wavering. It made her not want to give up, yet it seemed like she had no choice but to accept defeat.
If Senpai wasn't willing to say anything, there was truly nothing she could do.
Why was Senpai so stubborn?!
She'd already figured it out — wasn't he going to tell her?
Even if she was a girl, she got curious about unknown things too. She wanted to know more about that other world.
Isshiki Iroha sighed and popped a piece of meat into her mouth.
Even the buffet had suddenly lost its appeal.
One hour later.
Lin Ye walked Isshiki Iroha to the front door of her house.
"Go get some rest."
"Senpai, Senpai."
Isshiki Iroha called out to Lin Ye just as he was turning to leave.
"What is it?"
"Um… do you maybe want to come in for some tea?"
She hesitated slightly — shyness behind it.
"My parents aren't home, so Senpai doesn't need to feel awkward about it."
Somehow that line sounded like it meant something else entirely.
Mai Sakurajima watched from the side as the two locked eyes.
"Just say yes. Say yes, and things that all men enjoy could happen. A cute kouhai — not a bad option at all."
She chimed in helpfully.
"Your parents aren't home, and it's already late in the evening — that makes it even less appropriate for me to come visit. Next time, when the opportunity presents itself, I'll come properly."
"What do you mean 'properly'?! You make it sound so formal. I just want to invite you in for tea and have a little chat. Is that… not okay?"
She stepped forward and tilted her head up slightly — thirty degrees, just enough to show off her most adorable angle.
"I'm scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared it's drugged tea. Scared I'll wake up missing a kidney."
Isshiki Iroha went blank. Her expression stiffened — then, flustered and embarrassed, she burst out, "Who wants your kidney?! What would I even do with it — it's not like I'm going to sell it!"
"That makes me even more scared."
Lin Ye backed up several steps, putting proper distance between himself and Isshiki Iroha.
"Get some rest, Isshiki-kouhai."
"Senpai, miss this chance and there won't be a next one!"
She stamped her foot and declared this with great indignation.
Lin Ye simply waved goodbye to Isshiki Iroha and left her with only his retreating back.
"Why didn't you say yes?"
"Too much trouble."
"Oh? You actually thought she was serious about keeping you the night?"
"Her parents really aren't home."
Mai Sakurajima blinked, then quickly understood. Lin Ye had his special ability — checking through the wall whether Isshiki Iroha's parents were in was trivially easy for him.
"But I also know Isshiki was just joking around, deliberately teasing me, pulling my leg. Given that — what would be the point of going in? Just wasting time."
The rhetorical question made Mai Sakurajima think of something. "So if Isshiki Iroha had been serious — would you have accepted?"
Lin Ye smiled but gave no direct answer.
The two of them made their way back to Lin Ye's apartment.
After washing up,
Mai Sakurajima changed into a loose sleep outfit and climbed into bed, while Lin Ye, as before, lay down on the floor mat.
The lights went out.
Outside the window, silver moonlight filtered in, casting a cool, quiet glow across the small room.
John had already curled up and closed his eyes to rest.
Before long, the small apartment held nothing but the softest, nearly imperceptible rhythm of breathing.
For Lin Ye, tonight was a sleepless night.
He couldn't sleep. The moment he did, he'd wake up the next morning to the same memory loss he'd been experiencing these past few days — or worse, forget Mai Sakurajima entirely.
He had also prepared other backup methods to remind himself, just in case.
In the end, it all came down to how far the interference of the Puberty Syndrome could reach.
Time passed, second by second.
Lin Ye thought, retracing everything that had happened since he crossed over into this world — every little moment.
Only a little over a month, yet it felt like so much had happened.
The density of events alone could put several years of his previous life to shame.
His previous life had been far too mundane.
Looking back on it now, there were precious few things that had left a lasting impression on him.
Nothing like this new world after crossing over, where every single week brought something exciting and stimulating.
And he'd met so many girls.
He was even 'living together' right now with the famous star Mai Sakurajima.
In his previous life, that would have been utterly impossible — something he wouldn't have even dared to dream about.
In certain ways, being a transmigrator really did mean being favored by the heavens.
His superpower — without it, he'd probably still be quietly muddling along, and when a Strange event eventually found him, he'd have become just another name among the many who had died.
He still needed to keep learning and pushing himself, keep raising his own strength.
Even if someday the ability to 'refresh superpowers every week' disappeared, he would be able to survive on his own merits.
Lin Ye silently made that resolution.
Rustle, rustle…
Suddenly,
A quiet shuffling sound.
It was coming from the bed.
Lin Ye's gaze shifted over — and he saw Mai Sakurajima throw back the covers, swing her legs over the side, and sit up.
Was she going to the bathroom?
But the next moment, he rejected that thought.
Because the first thing Mai Sakurajima did after getting out of bed was take one step and crouch down right beside his floor mat.
Lin Ye didn't move. He closed his eyes and played dead, keeping himself perfectly calm.
He wanted to see what Mai Sakurajima was going to do.
Very soon, he felt fingertips brush against his cheek — soft, gentle fingertips.
Mai Sakurajima's fingers. Tender, smooth, and silky to the touch. Lin Ye's heart quietly sang their praises.
You're always accusing me of taking advantage of you, Senpai — and here you are sneaking over while I'm asleep to take advantage of me. That's a bit much, don't you think?
I am absolutely going to get payback for this.
You are not getting away with taking advantage of me.
Lin Ye continued playing asleep.
After a while, the touch disappeared.
Lin Ye counted the time — about one minute. He decided he'd need at least two to call it even.
But then he felt a corner of his blanket being lifted. A gentle rustling sound, and a warm, feverishly soft figure slipped in under the covers beside him.
What—
Senpai had just crawled into his bedding. She was actually warming the bed for real.
Something like this had happened before, but back then he'd already been asleep, so the impact hadn't quite registered. Right now, though — feeling Senpai slip into the covers beside him — the shock of it was something else entirely.
Even his body reacted, just a little. His heartbeat sped up on its own.
There was no scene of Senpai proactively snuggling up to hold his arm. She had simply slipped in and lay down beside him. There was occasional light contact between them, but not much.
Lin Ye couldn't say for certain why Senpai had done this, but he felt sure it was connected to the memory loss he'd been waking up with each morning.
This time,
It was probably because of how he'd reacted that morning — that she was now using every method available to her to hold onto his memories.
Not nearly enough.
This level of stimulation — it was nowhere close to enough.
Lin Ye thought this quietly to himself, breathing in the faint, sweet fragrance drifting from the girl beside him.
Time slipped by.
The girl beside him had fallen asleep. Her slow, steady breathing was the unmistakable sign of deep, peaceful sleep.
Only then did Lin Ye slowly open his eyes, and gently turned his head to look at the girl beside him. Through the thin thread of moonlight filtering in from the window, he could just make out the sleeping profile of her face.
Staying up all night like this.
It was terribly boring.
Time had no intention of passing quickly.
Lin Ye held on for two hours before quietly getting up and leaving the apartment with John.
A walk outside, some fresh air, kill some time.
If he kept lying on the floor mat, once the drowsiness really hit, he might actually fall asleep.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
John sprinted ahead at full speed, his powerful frame flying down the side of the street.
Lin Ye followed after him.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
John barked back at Lin Ye, urging him to keep up.
"You."
Lin Ye laughed.
"Weren't you just out on a walk a few hours ago? How do you still have this much energy?"
He shook his head in admiration.
John bounded on happily.
The moon sank.
The sun rose.
The first light of morning crept through the window.
Stirred by the light, Mai Sakurajima slowly opened her eyes. Her cloudy thoughts gradually sharpened, and the ceiling came into focus.
The apartment was completely quiet.
Her sluggish mind slowly rebooted. She pushed herself up on one hand and looked — the apartment was empty.
"Student Lin…"
No response whatsoever.
Lin Ye wasn't in the apartment.
"John?"
But even the German Shepherd, who always reacted first, was nowhere to be found.
In an instant,
Mai Sakurajima felt her heart plunge into ice water.
Gone. Both of them gone. Lin Ye and John had left.
She was probably going to have to face this bleak and lonely future all by herself.
Click…
The front door opened.
Lin Ye walked in carrying a bag of breakfast he'd just bought.
"Senpai, good morning!"
At that moment,
Mai Sakurajima's face lit up with relief and surprise.
Just now, when she had heard the door open, she had already steeled herself for the possibility that Lin Ye had forgotten her and left for good — never to see her again.
"You were out this early?"
Her voice carried a trace of unhappiness.
In the moment she had realized Lin Ye might have completely forgotten her and left on his own, her whole being had sunk into low spirits.
"John started getting restless, and I didn't want him waking you up — so I had to take him out for a walk first, burn off some of that energy."
John blinked.
He felt this wasn't quite right. It was clearly his owner who had wanted to go out, and he had simply been dragged along.
"Mm."
"I got breakfast. Go wash up and we can eat."
Convenience store breakfast again.
Japan didn't have dedicated breakfast shops the way other places did. Aside from making it yourself, the only option was the nearest convenience store — which, in fairness, had a fairly solid spread of choices.
Mai Sakurajima hugged her change of clothes and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Lin Ye took the milk out of the fridge and put it in the microwave.
Hum hum hum…
The microwave hummed to life.
By the time Mai Sakurajima finished washing up,
Lin Ye had everything ready.
One boy, one girl, and one dog.
The small apartment felt, somehow, a little warm.
"Senpai, today…"
"I'm coming to Sobu High with you."
"Mm."
He figured Senpai wouldn't want to be left alone in the apartment anyway.
Unlike yesterday,
Someone in Class J was absent today.
The empty seat happened to be the one directly in front of Lin Ye.
This meant that once Mai Sakurajima noticed, she claimed that desk for herself — which put her right next to Yukino Yukinoshita.
But not a single student paid any attention to the seating anomaly.
Everyone instinctively overlooked what should have been an obvious irregularity.
Only Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been quietly paying attention to Lin Ye, caught a slight something — but what she noticed wasn't the seating. It was Lin Ye's condition.
Today's Lin Ye
Seemed to be fighting serious drowsiness.
She had caught him yawning more than once already.
Bad night's sleep?
Could it have been with Isshiki…
That thought surfaced, and Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head immediately, dismissing it.
Even if Isshiki Iroha was forward and enthusiastic, things would never have gone that far between her and Lin Ye.
Surely this guy wouldn't actually get involved with other girls while he had a quasi-fiancée — would he?
Yukino Yukinoshita felt a quiet unease.
She'd just have to check on Isshiki Iroha's end of things at lunch.
Mai Sakurajima watched Yukino Yukinoshita's subtle reactions, and it only strengthened her belief in her own suspicion.
Those two — their relationship had long since gone further than either of them let on.
Two hearts, drawing closer.
Lunchtime.
This time, one more girl was part of the group — though she was an existence no one else could see or acknowledge.
The Service Club,
Same as always.
Yukino Yukinoshita slid her homemade bento across to Lin Ye.
Yui Yuigahama arrived, and today she'd brought Isshiki Iroha along with her.
"Yukino, Lin Ye-kun, good afternoon!"
"Senpais, good afternoon!"
And with that,
Isshiki Iroha let out a big yawn.
"I'm dead tired."
That instantly caught Yukino Yukinoshita's attention.
She spoke up. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
This proactive gesture went well beyond her usual behavior pattern.
Ordinarily, she would never have asked outright.
But today, she simply couldn't hold it back.
"I did! It's just that Senpai made me unhappy when he walked me home — he went against my wishes, and that's absolutely inexcusable! How could Senpai go against a girl's wishes?! That is absolutely, completely not okay!"
Isshiki Iroha made a big X with both hands.
The vague and ambiguous phrasing immediately deepened Yukino Yukinoshita's suspicions even further.
Walked her home. Went against her wishes. Exhausted.
This really might be true!
Isshiki had made a move right under her nose.
Miserable. Irritating. In a thoroughly bad mood.
Yukino Yukinoshita's expression dropped.
"I simply declined to come inside for a visit. Please don't phrase things in a way that invites misunderstanding."
Lin Ye stepped in to clarify at that moment.
If he didn't explain, Yukino and Yui Yuigahama were going to get completely the wrong idea.
He had already noticed Yukino's sinking mood and Yui Yuigahama's wide-eyed, stunned expression.
It was obvious — both of them had been led down entirely the wrong path of thinking.
"But… I didn't say anything wrong! Senpai refusing to come over to my house — isn't that going against my wishes as his kouhai?"
Even Lin Ye had to laugh at that.
Yukino Yukinoshita was speechless.
"I understand now."
Mai Sakurajima watched this kouhai with a faint smile, and remarked, "No wonder you didn't want to get too entangled with her. She really is an impossible handful."
If those two got any closer, Lin Ye's future would be one long, unbroken ordeal.
Just imagining it, Mai Sakurajima already knew Lin Ye would spend every day sighing and suffering in exasperated helplessness.
A lifetime of misery.
Lin Ye's reluctance to get too close to Isshiki, it turned out, had its reasons after all.
"If you forced me to go, wouldn't that also be going against my wishes as your senpai?"
"..."
Isshiki Iroha planted both hands on her hips and shot back immediately. "That's different! I'm a girl!"
"These days, equality between men and women is a thing, you know?"
"It absolutely is not. Society is nowhere near equal — inequality exists everywhere. Just because of gender, inequality exists in every area."
What equality? Isshiki Iroha didn't believe a word of it. This world was full of injustice, across every dimension — gender-based inequality included. She knew that perfectly well, which was exactly why she refused to accept Lin Ye's argument.
Lin Ye was actually a little surprised. Shouldn't a high school student at Isshiki Iroha's age be at the stage of life where they yearn for ideals like equality, fairness, and justice?
How did she land on 'absolute fairness doesn't exist'?
Well,
Lin Ye knew this world held no such thing as absolute fairness either — only relative fairness, at best.
Like the Gourmet Sports Meet from before — that had been deeply unfair to a portion of the players.
The first round's Rice Bucket, the second round's Brisk Walking, the third round's Hunting — the skill levels between players varied enormously, yet the demands placed on them were identical.
Unlike the real world, the unfairness in the Strange instance game carried life-and-death stakes. Fail, and you paid with your life.
"Hmph. Senpai doesn't even believe in equality either — you were just brushing me off. That's so mean."
"Relative fairness still exists."
"So — boys and girls are different in some ways, aren't they?"
Isshiki Iroha smiled and turned the question back on him.
Lin Ye stopped arguing with Isshiki Iroha.
He started eating Yukino's bento.
"Senpai's bento looks so delicious. I'm genuinely so envious that Senpai gets to eat a home-cooked bento from Senpai every single day. So jealous!"
After taking her seat, Isshiki Iroha dug into her own lunch while gazing admiringly at Lin Ye's bento.
She genuinely wanted to taste it — a bento made by Yukino Yukinoshita's own hands. How curiosity-inducing, what an experience it would be. If word got out and every boy at Sobu High learned about this, Lin Ye would have no idea how many guys would be green with envy.
Becoming the sworn enemy of every male student at Sobu High wasn't out of the question.
Lin Ye ate quickly.
When he was done, he tidied everything up at once and said his goodbyes to Yukino and the others before leaving.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama had grown used to it by now. This time, after Lin Ye left, they didn't even discuss the matter — neither of them knew the reason.
"Senpai leaving this early — he must have something going on."
Actually,
Isshiki Iroha could probably guess. This time, Senpai was definitely going off to chat with some invisible someone beside that flower bed, same as always — or wherever it was now.
The location might have changed,
Since she had already told Senpai what she had discovered about him.
"Do you two Senpais know?"
She asked them.
"No idea! Lin Ye-kun has been leaving right after lunch every day recently, and nobody knows what he's doing. Could he be sneaking off to meet someone?"
Up until yesterday, Yui Yuigahama had still been suspecting that Lin Ye was slipping out to meet Isshiki Iroha in secret — since Isshiki Iroha hadn't been coming to the Service Club at lunch for the past couple of days.
And Lin Ye kept leaving early in an unusual way. She had connected the two things together.
But today Isshiki Iroha had shown up, and Lin Ye still left — which made Yui Yuigahama realize her previous guess had probably been wrong again.
So she had even less of an idea why Lin Ye was leaving early at lunch.
Could it be that he found the current atmosphere of the Service Club unpleasant?
Yui Yuigahama started to worry. The club used to be just Lin Ye and Yukino alone together, but now her own arrival had broken that up, and the two of them couldn't spend time alone anymore. No matter how she thought about it, that was her fault, wasn't it?
Yui Yuigahama swallowed, suddenly feeling rather guilty about it.
"That's actually pretty possible!"
Hearing Yui Yuigahama's theory, Isshiki Iroha rubbed her chin, eyes bright and lively, a little curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
"Whoever it is — there's nobody at Sobu High who can compare to Yukinoshita-senpai. Senpai's taste surely hasn't gotten worse."
After hearing that, Yukino Yukinoshita gave Isshiki Iroha a cool, brief glance, then looked away again. She had her own read on this particular kouhai — and her own way of handling her.
"People have different tastes."
She looked at Isshiki Iroha. "I think Isshiki-kouhai is quite something herself."
"Ahh, Senpai complimenting me like that — I don't know what to do with myself. Heh heh heh."
Isshiki Iroha covered her mouth and giggled goofily.
But the faint glimmer of cunning in her eyes told the real story of her character.
She was absolutely not some scatter-brained, giggly innocent.
...
Drowsy.
Lin Ye had clearly started to feel the sleepiness building up.
To deal with the afternoon drowsiness, he drank a cup of coffee.
Mai Sakurajima noticed but didn't think much of it.
Feeling sleepy in the afternoon was fairly normal, especially now that it was May in Chiba and the temperature had climbed — heat always made people drowsy.
The end-of-day bell rang.
Once the other students had filed out, the cool girl with long straight black hair stood up, walked over to Lin Ye, and looking at his clearly exhausted expression, said quietly, "There's no activity in the Service Club today either. Go home and rest early."
"Mm."
Lin Ye supported himself with one hand and rose slowly — the sluggishness of the motion stirred a flicker of worry in Yukino Yukinoshita.
"I'll walk you back."
She was worried he might have an accident on the way home.
"No need, I'm fine on my own."
"Or you could sleep for half an hour in the Service Club. It's still early."
Yukino proposed an alternative.
Even a short nap could restore a lot of energy and clear the head considerably.
"It's fine. I'll rest when I get back."
Lin Ye turned her down again.
But this time, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't accept that. "I am your quasi-fiancée. I have a responsibility to look after you and ensure you're safe."
Under that reasoning, Yukino Yukinoshita accompanied Lin Ye all the way back to the apartment.
The moment the door opened,
German Shepherd John shot into the doorway in a flash,
Startling Yukino Yukinoshita into stumbling back two steps, quickly putting distance between herself and the dog.
When it came to small dogs, she was already not great — let alone a breed the size of a German Shepherd.
"Woof, woof, woof…"
His barks were welcoming ones.
His tail wagged furiously, expressing all his enthusiasm and happiness.
But Yukino Yukinoshita still kept herself at a careful, wary distance.
No major reaction — that was already the result of her doing everything she could to suppress her instincts.
"John, back."
At Lin Ye's command, John turned around and trudged back to his spot, visibly dejected. He flopped down, rested his chin on the floor, and rolled his eyes upward to watch the people coming in.
"I'll make you some dinner. Eat, then you can sleep. Wait a moment."
"Yukino, I'm not tired anymore. You should head home."
Yukino Yukinoshita had already stepped toward the fridge. She turned and looked at Lin Ye — and faintly sensed that Lin Ye very much wanted her to leave first.
Like he was trying to get rid of her.
She didn't think that was just her imagination.
"Is there something I can help with?"
This time, she switched to a more direct approach.
Lin Ye inwardly acknowledged that Yukino's sixth sense was as sharp as ever.
"No need. I'll have it sorted out soon — I can explain everything to you next week."
Haruno Yukinoshita had sent him a message that afternoon — tomorrow was when the plan would begin.
The preliminary preparations were finally more or less in place.
The arrangements, the people to contact, the behind-the-scenes online PR campaign — everything had been taken care of.
Just waiting for tomorrow.
"Alright. But are you sure you don't need someone here?"
"Really not. I'm in good shape right now. Let me walk you back."
"No need — I'm fine on my own."
"I was actually planning to head out and pick up a few things while I'm at it."
Since Lin Ye framed it that way, Yukino Yukinoshita had no further grounds to decline.
He saw Yukino Yukinoshita to her apartment, then stopped by the large supermarket nearby to buy coffee, tea, peppermint candies, and several other items.
Coffee was effective for staying awake,
And on top of that, thanks to the Superpower: Devour, the stimulating effect was slightly enhanced.
But by now he'd gone over forty hours without sleep, and the exhaustion was accumulating fast.
Lin Ye was going to need something with a stronger kick.
At the very least, he couldn't sleep tonight.
Mai Sakurajima took in all of this, and she now understood why Lin Ye's drowsiness had been so intense.
No wonder there hadn't been any 'memory loss' today.
This guy.
How could he do this to himself.
Mai Sakurajima felt her heart ache for him.
Back at the apartment,
Mai Sakurajima reached over and took the shopping bag from him. "I'll make the tea."
"No need, Senpai."
"My tea-making isn't as good as Yukinoshita-san's, but it's perfectly drinkable."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
Lin Ye smiled lightly and didn't let go of the bag.
"What is it then?"
"Worried you'll brew me drugged tea."
Mai Sakurajima understood. She looked at him steadily, lips pressed together.
Both of them now knew what the other was thinking. They just hadn't said it out loud.
"Senpai — tomorrow. Just one more day, and it'll be done."
After a long moment,
Mai Sakurajima let out a soft sound of agreement.
Things had gotten to this point.
How could she not trust Lin Ye now?
...
...
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