You'll get used to it. You'll get used to it.
That was all Yukino Yukinoshita could do to comfort herself.
She knew her elder sister's temperament well enough by now. There was really nothing to be surprised about in such outrageous talk.
Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath and kept calming herself down.
Toward this sister of hers, all she had to do was stay composed. Nothing more was necessary.
Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes and simply acted as though she'd heard nothing.
But that reaction only made Haruno's smile bloom even brighter.
Was there any reaction that could please Haruno more?
"Yukino, your big sis is just so lonely, so…"
She leaned in close to Yukino's ear, her playful words teasing. "Could I borrow your fiancé for a bit?"
Could anything be more provocative than that?
Of course there could.
"I'm your sister, so your fiancé is my fiancé too. We sisters…"
Then Haruno saw that Yukino had opened her eyes, and that her cold gaze was fixed right on her.
"Looks like Yukino agrees, so I'll…"
"Elder Sister, please watch your words and conduct. Some jokes can't be passed off as jokes."
At that, Haruno promptly smiled wider, not minding what Yukino said in the slightest. "Of course I'm not joking. I'm serious. I really want to, I really would. And I think Mother would be very willing too."
If it meant binding Lin Ye to the Yukinoshita family, Haruno felt Mother would gladly hand over both daughters.
As for the inheritance problem, that was simple.
A child that she or Yukino bore in the future could just take the Yukinoshita name.
Haruno had long since found this suitable solution for the family.
Of course, Haruno also knew that, if she had a choice, Mother wouldn't want both sisters to go to Lin Ye. But everything still came down to Lin Ye's wishes.
That was reality.
Yukino naturally knew her sister was telling the truth.
Their mother really would do it, because the value and benefits Lin Ye brought were truly immeasurable.
To bind him to the Yukinoshita family, what were the family's two daughters worth?
He was talent that could make the family leap upward, perhaps even reach the very top.
How could she possibly be willing to let that slip away?
But…
Thinking this far, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't shake a trace of sorrow.
She had long been mentally prepared to give herself up for the family. After all, she was a girl raised on the family's resources. Still, she had always hoped her marriage and love life wouldn't be tangled up with too many interests, that they could be simple and pure.
Of course,
since the person was Lin Ye,
she felt it wasn't unacceptable.
At least Lin Ye hadn't done anything to her just because of the family connection, or because she was within easy reach. Instead, he had exchanged real feelings with her.
Though those feelings weren't entirely pure, they still counted as pure enough.
That was what Yukino Yukinoshita thought.
"So Yukino really does know it all, then."
"I'll get angry, Elder Sister. Please lie down and sleep."
"Oh, don't be like that. Lin-kun might be waiting for me to come on a night raid and keep him company in bed!"
"Impossible."
"Sister Rui might come for a night raid. If we don't go, she'll get ahead of us. And if we get there late, Lin-kun and Sister Rui might already be doing all sorts of lovely things."
Haruno hadn't spelled it out, but Yukino understood exactly what her sister meant.
She couldn't accept that at all.
But…
Lin Ye wouldn't. Other men might lose their composure when a beautiful girl threw herself at them, but Lin Ye wasn't like that.
He hadn't touched Rui Tachibana even when she'd thrown herself at him before, let alone today.
"There's no need for you to worry, Elder Sister."
"I'm worried for you."
"No need. Even if Lin-kun and Student Tachibana did something, I could accept it."
Those words made Haruno think her sister was serious.
But could Sister really accept something like that?
Haruno honestly hadn't expected it.
Every woman had a possessive streak. Who would be willing to share her man with other girls?
Especially a girl like Yukino, proud and high-minded. That made it all the more unlikely. Yet Yukino's tone sounded genuine.
So,
had Yukino already changed?
Changed enough to tolerate Lin Ye being involved with other women?
Yukino was nothing like her!
Haruno stared straight at her sister, waiting for an answer. "Yukino, are you… serious?"
"Yes. So please rest easy, Elder Sister, and don't go out. It wouldn't do to disturb them."
In that moment,
Haruno's heart sank to the bottom.
It seemed Yukino was truly serious.
This was no bluff.
"If you go out, then please don't come back tonight. I need to rest."
If you needed rest, you wouldn't still be awake right now.
Haruno couldn't help adding that thought to herself.
But she also knew Yukino meant it. If she stepped out that door tonight, she could forget about coming back in.
Her sister was giving her a choice between two options.
Haruno thought it over and decided not to go out.
A night raid on Lin Ye would be pointless anyway. He would never accept her.
She couldn't stay in the living room, and she couldn't come back in here, so she'd have to spend the night at Rui Tachibana's place.
Haruno thought that was tolerable, but compared to Yukino's, Rui Tachibana's place was far worse.
Besides,
Lin Ye might come for a night raid himself.
How could she end up spending the night at Rui Tachibana's!
If Lin Ye really came while she was next door, there was no telling what he and Yukino would get up to.
With that thought,
Haruno lay back down, giving Yukino no chance to say anything more.
Seeing her elder sister lie on the bed, Yukino felt a little more at ease.
Tonight,
with Elder Sister here, Lin Ye shouldn't come.
He hadn't come by this hour,
so he truly wouldn't.
"Good night, Yukino."
"Good night."
Yukino Yukinoshita answered too.
The two sisters began to relax a little.
Drowsiness returned.
Before long,
they were drifting toward sleep.
But then,
click.
A faint sound of the door opening.
Yukino Yukinoshita, still half-conscious, only sensed a figure come in through the door and walk softly toward her.
She struggled to open her eyes, her foggy mind stirring a little.
But when her eyes made out the figure's face,
a chill crept up her spine again, and she stared.
It was Lin Ye.
Lin Ye had come.
With Elder Sister right here!
"Shh…"
Lin Ye made a gesture,
and Yukino Yukinoshita fell silent at once.
Then
Lin Ye climbed quietly onto the bed and came to Haruno's side.
Haruno had her eyes closed.
There was no telling whether she was asleep or just pretending.
But for Lin Ye, it hardly mattered.
Propping himself up with one hand, he leaned over her.
Watching from the other side, Yukino thought for a moment that Lin Ye was about to make a move on her sister.
That posture, that motion, looked far too much like it.
If she hadn't known Lin Ye wasn't that kind of man, she would truly have suspected him.
Yukino Yukinoshita made no sound and just watched what he would do next.
She saw Lin Ye lay a hand on her sister's face and gently pull up an eyelid.
Huh?
What was he doing?
The next moment,
the sound that followed told Yukino exactly what Lin Ye was doing.
He was using Hypnosis. He was hypnotizing her sister!
Haruno, sensing the faint movement, showed signs of stirring and instinctively opened her eyes. She saw only Lin Ye, and felt the drowsiness in her mind grow stronger, her body heavier.
"Lin…"
She even tried to speak,
but in the next instant she sank entirely into dark, deep sleep and stopped responding altogether.
Soon,
Haruno's breathing evened out, nothing but a steady rhythm.
She was fast asleep and no longer reacted to anything.
Only then
was Yukino fully awake.
"You, you're…"
"I'm letting Miss Haruno get a good night's sleep."
What are you planning, letting her sleep soundly like that?
Yukino couldn't help thinking, but one idea had already surfaced in her mind. She more or less guessed what Lin Ye had come here to do.
She had thought her sister's presence would make Lin Ye hold back and give up on that idea.
She hadn't expected this man to have no intention of restraining himself at all.
"I'm exhausted."
"The wager."
"Next time."
"The wager."
"Lin Ye, I really…"
"The wager."
Lin Ye repeated it three times, his face utterly serious.
It left Yukino all the more helpless.
It seemed there was no escaping tonight.
"Forget it. If Yukino really doesn't want to, I won't force her."
The brief shift startled Yukino.
He wasn't going to force her? She'd been about to agree!
But Yukino noticed that although he said so, he had no intention of leaving at all.
This guy wasn't giving up. He wanted her to agree, and to agree willingly.
"I'll keep my word."
"Mm. Later."
"Now."
Yukino spoke up.
She didn't want to lose to Lin Ye, or to be looked down on by him.
So the guy wanted it now? Then she'd give it to him now.
"Out. To the living room."
"That would be so embarrassing."
Yukino froze.
What was embarrassing about that?
"Here is fine!"
Yukino: ??
"Don't worry, no one will find out here."
Yukino: ???
With her sister right beside them, there was no need to worry about being found out?
He had to be joking!
But seeing Lin Ye's expression, Yukino knew the scoundrel had made up his mind to do it right here.
Men really did grow greedier and greedier.
Agreeing to a man like this was truly her own misfortune.
Yukino was helpless, but she had no choice except to accept.
Fine, then!
Let's begin!
She accepted it as well.
Then
the air in the room turned intimate.
A faint, unmistakable scent lingered.
…
When Haruno woke the next day,
her head felt dizzy, as if she'd drunk a great deal and was half drunk.
"Ugh, where am I…"
She opened her eyes and, after a while spent staring at the ceiling, slowly came to her senses and realized where she was.
She was at Yukino's place.
Gradually, she remembered.
"Why did I sleep so deeply?"
It felt like a hangover.
Her hands were a little weak, yet there was no trace of alcohol on her body.
She hadn't drunk anything yesterday.
Still, this aftereffect felt exactly like being drunk.
Haruno knew that feeling quite well.
She looked around the room, but saw no one else.
She reached over and touched the other side of the bedding. There was no warmth at all.
Clearly nobody was there anymore.
She fumbled around until she found her phone.
Looking at the time on its screen, she fell silent.
"Eleven in the afternoon."
That was exactly the hour she usually woke after getting drunk.
Yes.
Haruno normally woke from a drunken sleep somewhere between eleven and noon.
"Yukino didn't wake me either. How strange."
Even if she'd really been asleep, Yukino would have at least tried calling her. But she hadn't heard any calling at all.
It was as if Yukino hadn't cared about her in the slightest.
Haruno had no choice but to get up and change her clothes, then step out of the bedroom.
Outside the room it was empty too, without a single figure.
"They've all gone. They just left me here?"
It was true, but Haruno still couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed.
Yes, she was a little annoyed.
None of them cared about her at all!
"Never mind. Let's find something to eat first."
Her stomach gurgled, telling her she was hungry.
She walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and looked at what was inside.
Yukino had already prepared a meal.
"Yukino still cares about me."
Haruno put the food into the microwave.
With a ding, the microwave finished heating. She took out a pair of chopsticks and began to eat.
"Yukino's cooking, familiar as ever, though it can't match the taste of her food fresh from the pan."
She'd honestly believed yesterday that she'd get to eat a breakfast Yukino made herself today. Sleeping until noon had ruined that completely.
While she ate,
something occurred to her.
She hadn't thought of it before, but now she realized her deep sleep last night had been far from ordinary.
"I didn't drink, but I feel like I'm half drunk."
Haruno clenched her fist. Even her arm felt faintly sore and weak.
She knew this feeling.
That meant…
"Lin-kun did something to me."
It was the only explanation.
Only Lin Ye, with his superpower, could have put her into a state like drunkenness.
She couldn't think of any other possibility.
"Then… what was the purpose?"
The moment she asked the question,
one possibility came to her.
It had to be because Lin Ye wanted to do something with Yukino that she wasn't supposed to know about. Otherwise, how could this have happened?
The possibility she'd arrived at struck her as far too outrageous.
Surely Sister wouldn't go that far!
But if Lin Ye asked, Sister might really agree.
This sister of hers was truly walking a road she'd never imagined.
…
…
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