Watching the girl's sighing expression, Lin Ye felt a pang of reluctance in his heart too.
If even he couldn't make it to the end, then he didn't know what Strange Player could.
"Have a little faith in your man. I really don't want you widowed at such a young age."
Yukino: ???
"Who said anything about being widowed!"
"Yukino, are you planning to abandon me the moment something happens to me?"
But the girl with long black hair pressed a finger to Lin Ye's lips. "You're not allowed to say things like that."
At least when she was talking with Lin Ye, she couldn't say—and didn't want to hear—words like those.
"Since when did Yukino start believing in things like this? In my impression, Yukino was the very model of a realist!"
"No matter how realistic I am, didn't I still run into a miraculous superpower?"
After all, she'd been seen from head to toe.
"Haha,"
"You're still laughing?"
"Mm, mm, all right, I won't laugh anymore."
The atmosphere eased a little.
"From now on, whenever you do something dangerous, you have to tell me in advance."
Lin Ye didn't agree.
Wouldn't that just add to the girl's worries?
"You have to tell me,"
She gripped Lin Ye's hand and squeezed gently, conveying her determination.
"Yukino, can you trust me?"
"I'm your girlfriend and your fiancée. I have that right."
She understood Lin Ye's concerns too. "I want to know. I'll wait patiently, and it won't affect my daily life."
Saying that, even Yukino herself didn't believe it.
Lin Ye, of course, didn't believe it either.
But since the girl had gone this far, he didn't continue to refuse.
"If time allows, I'll send you a message,"
He gave Yukino an answer.
"Mm,"
She gave a soft hum, and then, mustering up her courage, she leaned in and lightly kissed Lin Ye on the cheek. "That's your reward."
A timely reward—
Yukino understood that much.
"Not enough,"
"..."
This guy really was greedy.
Helplessly, she kissed Lin Ye on the lips.
And immediately after, she was pressed down onto the bed, kissed deeply by Lin Ye for a full five minutes.
Until she was once again left panting, nearly unable to catch her breath.
This was the third time.
This guy really was insatiable.
She grew more and more worried about her future life.
"Yukino,"
"Speak,"
"I want to stay overnight here again tonight."
"..."
"Because when I woke up, I didn't even see you, Yukino,"
When she'd woken up, she had gone straight into Haruno's body.
"No,"
She refused without hesitation.
"Who knows whether it'll still be you when you wake up tomorrow morning? Let's talk about it after you've confirmed the drawbacks of this ability of yours."
Hearing that, Lin Ye thought she had a point.
This time it was lucky that it had been Haruno. If it had been someone else, what would they have done then?
"Mm, then next week?"
"Next week's matters can be discussed next week,"
She didn't agree right away, but she didn't refuse right away either.
At least her attitude was good,
And generally speaking, an answer like that meant yes.
Lin Ye knew that.
"I've already taken the day off today—why don't we go out together and walk around!"
Because of this guy, she had taken another day off.
"Sure,"
Yukino agreed.
It wouldn't be appropriate to go to school now anyway,
And more importantly, she was in absolutely no mood to go to school right now.
Since that was the case, she might as well relax and unwind today!
Yukino thought that going out for a stroll and some shopping alone with Lin Ye would be a fine choice.
The only question was whether her sister would tag along.
She figured the odds of her sister Haruno tagging along were quite high.
...
"Ya ya ya, you're going on a date!"
The moment Haruno heard about the two of them, she immediately grew interested.
Her little sister going on a date with Lin Ye—how could she, as the big sister, be absent!
"Lin-kun, do you welcome your Big Sister joining you!"
"No."
Lin Ye answered bluntly and directly, but Haruno acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, continuing to mutter to herself, "Lin-kun really does want a wonderful three-person date with Yukino and me. Boo-hoo-hoo, I'm so happy, big sister is just so happy!"
"Sister, you're not welcome,"
This time Yukino spoke earnestly, raising her voice to make their position clear,
"Wuwa, Yukino welcomes me too. Boo-hoo-hoo, I'm so moved—big sister is just so moved."
She completely ignored the two of them's opinions, determined to go out for a walk and some shopping together with them.
Yukino argued several times, but none of them succeeded.
Unless she knocked her out and tied her up, there was no way to stop her sister from intending to come along.
Yukino cast a pleading glance toward Lin Ye. Lin Ye shrugged, utterly helpless.
With Haruno being like this, should he just hypnotize her?
Let her sleep for a little while.
The Hypnosis skill had limited effect, but making Haruno sleep for a little while was no problem at all.
'Beep, beep, beep...'
Yukino received an inquiry from Lin Ye.
The moment she saw it, her heart stirred.
On one hand, Hypnosis really could help her shake off her sister's pestering; on the other hand, it was even more a sign of Lin Ye's respect for her—he hadn't abused the Hypnosis ability again.
——Never mind, let my sister come along!
After thinking it over and over, she still decided not to have Lin Ye use the Hypnosis ability to solve the problem of her sister.
This ability—she still hoped Lin Ye would use it as little as possible in everyday life. If he used it too much, she feared Lin Ye might start to abuse it.
Of course, Yukino held considerable trust in Lin Ye's character.
After spending all this time together, she had a basic understanding of him.
At the very least, he wouldn't use this ability to do anything despicable.
With any other man—whether it was Hypnosis, perspective, or Invisibility—any of these would be enough to drive them mad, to make them do things just to satisfy their private desires, rather than being like Lin Ye, who had his own principles and bottom lines.
Seeing this message, Lin Ye accepted it too. Since Yukino had said as much, what more could he say?
"Wuwaah! What are you secretly sending on your phone?"
"I want to know too."
"Don't leave me out all alone, okay? I'll feel bad too!"
Putting on an act—Haruno had perfected it to the extreme.
But all the same, Lin Ye and Yukino had already gotten used to this pretense of Haruno's.
"I'll go prepare breakfast."
Before heading out,
Yukino still intended to eat breakfast before setting off.
"Oh oh oh, it's been so long since I've eaten breakfast made by Yukino's own hands. Lin-kun, look forward to it! Yukino's loving breakfast!"
Yukino headed to the kitchen, while Lin Ye was dragged by Haruno over to the living room sofa. By this point Haruno had completely let loose, nestling directly against Lin Ye's side, her hands going straight to wrap around his arm.
To any outsider, the two of them right now looked just like lovers.
And when Yukino in the kitchen glanced over and caught sight of it, a flicker of displeasure passed by in an instant, but she quickly came to accept it as well.
Now, no matter what intimate behavior her sister displayed, she didn't think there was anything wrong with it—why, even if one day her sister slept naked in Lin Ye's bed, she'd consider it normal.
Although Lin Ye kept refusing, Yukino really didn't believe he could keep refusing forever. Unless her sister gave up on her own and stopped throwing herself at him, sooner or later her sister and Lin Ye would end up together.
Just thinking about it made Yukino uncomfortable.
"Wu..."
Looking at the kitchen knife, she had very nearly cut her own finger.
From now on, when chopping vegetables, she really couldn't let her mind wander to other things.
She reined in her drifting thoughts and concentrated on making breakfast.
In the living room,
Haruno, who had always kept part of her attention on Yukino, how could she possibly have missed her little sister's reaction!
The meaning behind her little sister's subtle reaction—she quickly drew her conclusion.
After this morning's events, her little sister's resistance to her intimacy with Lin Ye had greatly diminished.
From that standpoint, it was a good thing.
"Lin-kun, Yukino doesn't object to us anymore,"
She said sweetly, as though stating a fact.
"I don't have any relationship whatsoever with Haruno-senpai,"
"Aww, you're not even going to question my speculation about Yukino? It seems Lin-kun has already figured it out too."
This woman had no shortage of methods and rhetoric to muddy the waters.
"Please take note, Miss Haruno."
"Don't be so distant! Just call me Haruno. Calling me 'darling' is perfectly fine too—I'd quite like that."
She could manage to ignore Lin Ye's personal attitude entirely.
"My patience is limited. I wouldn't mind dishing out some punishment to you, Miss Haruno,"
At the word "punishment," Haruno actually lit up, her bright eyes glittering. "Bring it on, bring it on! Whether it's dripping candle wax, the lash of a whip, or discipline with a rod, none of it is any problem at all."
She, Haruno Yukinoshita, would take it all, with not the slightest thought of refusal or fear—on the contrary, she only grew more eager and delighted.
When a person has no shame, they're invincible under heaven.
Lin Ye found a shameless girl like Haruno the biggest headache.
"Lin-kun, have you made up your mind?"
"Any other man, and you'd be played to death."
"I want to be played to death by Lin-kun—played until my eyes roll back."
This woman really was shameless.
"How about I have Yukino do it!"
"Hmm?"
Haruno was stunned.
"You know it too—I can swap bodies with Yukino, and then have Yukino use my body,"
Haruno: ???
Going from top to bottom?
This—how could this be allowed.
"Of course it's allowed! I'm just afraid Yukino wouldn't be willing—after all, this would be your body, Lin-kun. How could she bear it."
"Then a different person? I'll have someone else come help."
"Eh, hahahaha, would you really be able to bear it, Lin-kun? Me, I, Haruno Yukinoshita! Could you bear it? My heart belongs wholeheartedly to you alone, Lin-kun! You mustn't let down this sincere heart of mine!"
Sincere heart?
There was one,
But it was built upon a foundation of mutual interest.
As long as the interests remained, this sincere heart would remain, and Haruno would absolutely never commit any act of betrayal.
But should one day in the future the interests vanish, Lin Ye dared to guarantee that Haruno would absolutely be the very first to drop him and flee.
Of course, there was nothing to blame her for in that. From the very beginning, the basis of the two of them's connection had already been established.
And in a certain sense, a connection of mutual interest was the most reliable—the least cause for worry that Haruno would do something to wrong her.
For the vast majority of men in the world, to have a woman like Haruno would already be a dream come true that who knew how many people longed for.
But Lin Ye was different. He still only wanted pure feelings, feelings unmixed with too much self-interest.
Whether it was Mai or Yukino, neither came with much in the way of real-world interest,
But Haruno alone was different. From the very start, he and Haruno had an inextricably tangled relationship of interest.
Now, for Haruno to want to play at feelings with him—that was simply impossible.
"At my home there's a German Shepherd."
"Hmm?"
"What it loves to eat most is hearts—the more sincere, the more it loves to eat them."
"Uh."
Haruno understood now: Lin Ye meant he was going to feed her sincere heart to a dog!
Despicable, despicable,
She raised her dainty fists and pounded them against Lin Ye's chest.
In the end, still unsatisfied, she climbed onto Lin Ye and let loose a full barrage.
"Breakfast is ready."
Only when Yukino came out carrying breakfast and coldly delivered that reminder did Haruno finally stop.
Lin Ye had tried to stop her, except this woman Haruno had no intention whatsoever of stopping.
Straightening their disheveled clothes,
Lin Ye and Haruno got up one after another.
This posture, falling into Yukino's eyes, looked just like tidying up after the deed, leaving her thoroughly uncomfortable.
Breakfast was simple:
Fried eggs, milk, shredded cucumber, and tossed noodles.
Simple, yet plenty nutritious.
Lin Ye finished eating in no time.
Yukino felt that Lin Ye probably hadn't eaten enough, so she placed her own fried egg, which she hadn't eaten yet, into Lin Ye's bowl.
"Thank you,"
Lin Ye didn't refuse; on the contrary, he was delighted by it, very pleased.
"Here."
Since the little sister had given hers, the big sister Haruno naturally couldn't fall behind, and she too placed her own fried egg into Lin Ye's bowl.
Except that, compared to her little sister's intact fried egg, this fried egg of Haruno's had a bite taken out of it, leaving two-thirds remaining, and the bite mark and tooth imprints on the egg were still quite obvious.
Lin Ye looked toward Yukino for help.
This fried egg of Haruno's—it definitely wasn't appropriate for him to eat.
Yukino pursed her lips.
Watching the two of them in their conflicted state, Haruno's heart overflowed with amusement.
She just wanted to see Yukino in such a conflicted, uncomfortable state—
This was one of the great joys of her, Haruno Yukinoshita's, life.
"Eat it,"
"Mm."
Lin Ye gave a hum of agreement,
Haruno's smile was radiant. Today was once again a day of victory for her, Haruno Yukinoshita.
Whether Yukino ate it or Lin Ye ate it, in the end the winner was her.
But in the very next second,
Haruno discovered that a fried egg had suddenly appeared inside her own mouth.
"Cough, cough, cough, wuwuwu..."
Her mouth had been covered by Lin Ye.
"Eat it down! Miss Haruno, wasting food is not good,"
When had he—?
But Haruno quickly came to her senses.
Wasn't her very first clash with Lin Ye back then exactly like this?
Approached by Lin Ye without anyone noticing, with not the slightest room to resist in the face of him—this was Lin Ye's strength.
Yukino was dazed too, but she quickly suppressed a smile.
Watching her sister go from delighted to her current miserable, suffering state, that look of getting her comeuppance—she was very pleased.
Let her sister stir up trouble; now look, it was her sister's turn to be dealt with.
Yukino gave Lin Ye's performance today a full ten out of ten.
After swallowing the fried egg, all Haruno had left was resentment.
Sure enough, the way things unfolded had not reached the scene she'd envisioned and imagined.
A few minutes later,
The three of them finished breakfast.
Yukino went to the bedroom first to change clothes, and Haruno, as the big sister, followed her in.
Only Lin Ye was left in the living room.
Waiting for a girl to change clothes and put on makeup was a rather time-consuming affair.
Lin Ye waited patiently.
Inside the bedroom,
Haruno helped Yukino pick out clothes.
"This little dress is nice,"
"Yukino will definitely look gorgeous in it—it'll captivate Lin-kun's very soul, make him want to push you down right then and there."
Yukino shot her a withering look.
"This blue-patterned T-shirt is nice too, it makes Yukino look even more youthful and lively, and Lin-kun would want nothing more than to..."
"Sister,"
"All right, I won't guess at Lin-kun's thoughts anymore,"
In the end,
The two sisters made their choice.
Yukino chose a knee-length dress in a white primary color, light and airy, making her look pure and beautiful—as though, with a pair of wings, she were an angel fallen from heaven down into the mortal world.
Click...
Yukino didn't need to specially put on makeup; with just a simple cleanup and adjustment, she fully displayed her young and lovely side.
"Ta-da..."
Haruno provided the sound effect.
"Gorgeous, right! Lin-kun, my Yukino is gorgeous, right!"
"Very gorgeous, extremely fitting,"
In Lin Ye's eyes the girl was breathtakingly beautiful.
With Yukinoshita going out dressed like this, passersby would probably take three glances back at every step.
This was also the first time Lin Ye had seen Yukinoshita wear this type of outing attire.
"Are you smitten?"
"Of course,"
"Do you want to push Yukino down and bully her something fierce?"
The conversation could always be steered off course by Haruno.
Lin Ye paid Haruno no mind; instead he walked in to stand before Yukino, extending his hand toward her. "Miss Yukino, today I'll be accompanying you."
Romance was in the air, spreading,
With just a single sentence, it touched Yukino's longing, as a girl, for love and romance.
In daily life she was a very rational woman, who also scoffed at those so-called romantic gestures and didn't think she needed such a thing.
But in this moment, faced with this invitation from Lin Ye, her heart was moved.
Her right hand, before her consciousness could even issue the command, had already reached out and been placed into Lin Ye's hand.
"Mm."
She gave a gentle nod in response.
The way her delicate face flushed faintly was utterly adorable.
Haruno saw it all, and felt awful inside.
Her little sister had truly fallen for him, had truly succumbed, had completely immersed herself in the ocean called 'love.'
To make her little sister come ashore
Was harder than ascending to heaven.
Haruno even felt it was impossible for her little sister to get out, unless Lin Ye proactively abandoned her, made her feel grief and despair, only then could her little sister be made to fully let go of this love.
Otherwise, there was absolutely no such possibility.
"Haah!"
In the past, her little sister's cold demeanor had made Haruno feel that, at least during her high school years, she needn't worry about her little sister falling in love—and even if she did, she'd have considerable reason and composure.
But now it seemed all of that had been fake.
Her little sister's true nature was that once she fell in love, she'd be utterly sunk into it. By now she was already at least half a love-brain.
After spending a bit more time with Lin Ye, she'd probably be in a complete and total love-brain state.
The three of them went downstairs.
Haruno saw her family's car.
"Where's Yamada-san!"
"I drove it over myself."
Haruno: ???
Aren't you afraid of getting into a car accident!?
Haruno felt a wave of lingering fear.
If he'd gotten into a car accident, and then she and Lin Ye each returned to their own bodies, did that mean she'd be the one to bear the consequences of the accident?
Wouldn't that be a total loss for her?
"I'll drive."
This time, Haruno took the initiative to take over the responsibility of driving.
She drove far more steadily than Lin Ye.
Today, she'd be the dedicated chauffeur.
Since it was still early,
At Haruno's suggestion, the three of them went to the beach first.
Golden sands, gusts of sea breeze, the azure sky and the deep blue sea, water and sky as one color,
Gazing out, Yukino felt utterly refreshed and at ease.
How long had it been since she'd come to the seaside?
A very long time, surely!
She hadn't done much to unwind.
Now, at her side was Lin Ye,
And what was a pity to her was that her sister was here too, and on Lin Ye's other side at that.
This feeling—
There was a sense of the two sisters accompanying Lin Ye on a stroll by the sea.
It was morning now, and there weren't many passersby on the beach sands, but there were truly quite a few gazes cast toward this combination of the three of them.
Beauties, and especially this combination of two women and one man, were indeed eye-catching enough.
"Lin-kun, sometime, let's go play on a cruise ship!"
"A cruise ship?"
"That's right! A cruise ship—rent a cruise ship, invite all the girls with whom Lin-kun has ambiguous relationships, and throw a grand sea-and-sky feast, letting Lin-kun fully enjoy the blessing of many beauties. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Not nice, not nice at all.
I, Lin Ye, am hardly that kind of person.
Only Haruno would come up with such a terrible idea.
Lin Ye could already feel Yukino's warning gaze.
"Miss Haruno, you go enjoy that yourself! I'll pass."
"How could that be,"
Haruno shook her head. "This is a sea-and-sky feast prepared specially for you. With you, the leading man, absent, how could that possibly do!"
But Lin Ye didn't agree—resolutely refused to agree.
And Yukino, seeing Lin Ye's attitude, had her mood ease somewhat.
She took the initiative to take hold of Lin Ye's hand, expressing her attitude and satisfaction.
This feeling, Lin Ye found quite wonderful.
When he took Yukino's hand, there was always something just slightly lacking,
But when Yukino took his hand on her own initiative, this feeling was maxed out—
This was the kind of display a girl loved to see.
Under the sunlight,
The three of them walked along the golden sands.
In the end, both sisters had taken hold of Lin Ye's hands. Even though Yukino clearly objected, and Lin Ye broke free several times, Haruno displayed her clinging side every time.
In the end, Yukino stopped caring, and Lin Ye let it be too.
Leaving only Haruno alone with an expression brimming with amusement.
"Let's go! Let's go get lunch."
It was already eleven o'clock.
Haruno proposed getting lunch.
By the time they set off from the seaside to the restaurant, it was already close to twelve.
Haruno ordered,
"Yukino, if there are dishes you'd like to order, feel free to add them,"
"This is already enough."
She couldn't eat much, and her sister knew her tastes well, so there was no need to add anything more.
And Lin Ye also indicated there was no need.
Ten minutes later,
The dishes were served.
The place Haruno had brought them to was a Chinese cuisine restaurant.
"How do you find it?"
"It's okay,"
"Seems it's not all that great, then."
"I can only say it's okay—there's a certain difference in taste from what I usually eat,"
"Hahaha..."
Haruno gave a laugh.
"Next time, Lin-kun, take Yukino and me to eat at an authentic Chinese cuisine restaurant!"
"That would mean going back to the home country,"
"Of course that's no problem—we could go back for a whole lifetime, even!"
Haruno started up with her jokes again.
"In any case, we sisters have no other choice besides you."
"Sister,"
"Do you think your big sister has any other choice?"
Faced with Haruno's counter-question, it wasn't that Yukino couldn't understand.
But to affirm it just like that—she couldn't do that either.
"There will be."
In the end, she gave an answer.
As long as her sister wanted to, she could find one.
...
...
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