I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"sorry, I……"

Just as he was about to make an excuse to leave, a hand casually landed on his shoulder, something soft and warm against his arm, and a cheerful, light voice rang in his ear.

The temperature and distance felt familiar.

"What's wrong? Did another girl hit on you?"

She clung lazily to him, her tone intimate and natural.

He froze for less than half a second, taking advantage of the moment when the two girls turned their gaze away from him, Tenkuji Yu closed his eyes to hide his obvious unease and astonishment, and then replied helplessly:

"It wasn't a flirting attempt, I was just helping someone take a photo."

"Really? You've always had such good luck with women, who knows if she's just using taking pictures as an excuse to chat you up!"

With a smile, the woman, as warm and gentle as sunshine, ruffled his hair, like an older sister teasing a younger brother.

The playful gesture, however, revealed an indescribable tenderness.

The two girls witnessed this scene, and before they could recover from their shock and confusion, a kind gaze locked onto them amidst the swaying of their short hair.

"What, haven't you finished taking photos yet? Let me take some for you! My photography skills are pretty good, you know~"

Yukinoshita smiled.

"Alas--"

Despite her voice being as cheerful and gentle as a spring breeze, the high school girls felt as if they had suddenly fallen into the dead of winter. Their faces turned pale and they began to tremble amidst her beautiful smile.

"No, no need! Thank you!"

After bowing deeply and speaking, the girls turned and fled, leaving the man and woman still standing in front of the huge stone tablet.

The arm was still draped over his shoulder; the touch, both strange and familiar, plunged the air into silence for a long while.

"Ugh……"

Suddenly sighing, Tenkuji Yu moved his shoulder and broke free from her grasp.

"I'm very grateful that you helped me deal with the guy who hit on me, but Ms. Haruno, was it necessary to scare him like that? I could have handled it myself."

"I didn't scare them. I was very nice to them the whole time. They ran away because they were shy."

Yukino blinked innocently, her bright eyes rippling slightly as she gazed at him, who had distanced himself from her.

For some reason, a smile curved her beautiful lips once again.

"Well, I just happened to be visiting Kyoto and happened to witness you being approached by someone. There are all sorts of coincidences in this world~"

"Yes, after all, Japan is so small."

Tenkuji Yu chuckled along with her.

She just happened to be in Kyoto, just happened to be at Shimogamo Shrine, and just happened to appear when he was alone...

Even Yui Yuigahama wouldn't believe this was just a simple coincidence.

Moreover, Yuuki Tenkuji is probably more aware of Yukino's habit of lying than she is of it herself.

The subtlety lies in the difference between "the scene where you happen to be hit on" and "the scene where you happen to meet someone."

She was always so cunning and clever, just like him, adept at using lies that were seven parts truth and three parts falsehood to fool others and play word traps.

That's why Tenkuji Yu realized that the person in front of him had undoubtedly come specifically to find him.

The only coincidence was that of the two poor high school girls who were attracted by his handsomeness but scared away by his imposing presence.

—But why?

Her memory shouldn't have returned. What did she recall from that wooden comb?

'Damn system, please give me one more guarantee—the target who has lost their memory really won't remember anything from the past?'

While questioning the system in his mind, Yuuki Tenkuji smiled and nodded at Yukino Yukinoshita, then turned around without hesitation.

"That's settled then, I'm going to find my girlfriend now. Have fun."

The implication is that you shouldn't follow me or come with me to visit the Shimogaku Shrine.

He has no feelings for Yukinoshita Haruno other than nostalgia, and the person he likes right now is Natsukawa Masuzu, so Tenkuji Yu naturally can't continue to entangle with her, even if he's a little cold towards her.

Without looking at her expression, Tenkuji Yuuki walked towards the depths of the shrine, towards the Red Leaf Bridge.

Chapter 120 Does having a crush on young boys give you a reason to be a fan?

The red maple leaves have not yet faded. In front of the lush "Tadasu no Mori" (Forest of Tajikisaki), the Red Leaf Bridge, as its name suggests, is as if all the color of fallen maple leaves has fallen onto the bridge, a desolate yet beautiful red.

After crossing the Takimi River and passing the red maple bridge, you will find the Kawai Shrine in front of you. There is also a towering torii gate in front of the gate, and people come and go in peace and quiet, creating a serene and solemn atmosphere.

As a branch of Shimogamo Shrine, it is similar to a company branch. The deity enshrined here is Tamayori-hime-no-Mikoto, the mother of Japan's first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, and one of the two main enshrined deities of Shimogamo Shrine. Moreover, it has its own subsidiary shrine within its grounds, which shows its status and importance.

It's a place to pray for women's safe childbirth, childbirth, and finding a partner; it's really not a good place for single men to come.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Tenkuji Yuu's steps toward the torii gate suddenly halted, and he turned to look to his side.

With her hands behind her back, Yukinoshita, who had been casually strolling around beside him, also stopped, turned her head, and blinked her big, innocent eyes.

"what's wrong?"

"...If I said, 'Stop following me,' would you reply, 'We just happen to be going the same way; you're overestimating yourself'?"

"People who say things like that are just overly self-conscious, aren't they?" She chuckled mischievously, raising a finger. "But, bingo~ I really do say that, you really know me, Tenkuji~"

They used to add "君" (jun, meaning gentleman/gentleman) to his name, but now they just use his surname directly.

I guess it won't be long before it becomes that familiar name, right?

Yuu Tenkuji sighed inwardly, ignoring her probing question, and took out her phone directly.

—In his memory, Yukino Yukinoshita really wanted to do something, and she would do it no matter what the cost; unfortunately, she had the drive and ability to achieve those things, like a hyena that had caught its prey. In a sense, Yuuto Tenkuji was almost eaten by her.

Knowing this, and seeing that she was determined to pester him for no apparent reason, Tenkuji Yu could only react in a few ways.

First, confront her directly and threaten her that if she doesn't disappear from his sight immediately, he won't be polite even if she's a woman.

Although it's just a memory, Yuu Tenkuji would never actually do something like beating up his ex-girlfriend.

Secondly, running away. If we can't afford to mess with them, can't we at least avoid them? Although it's a bit cowardly, it's a good way to avoid trouble. If the Second Brother can do it, why can't he?

But thinking about it carefully, aside from the fact that he was very unhappy about being forced to change his itinerary and being restricted at every turn—if he could escape this time, could he escape next time?

Based on his understanding of Yukinoshita Haruno, if she really was following him here, she probably knew where he was going to stay for the next few days before even setting foot on Kyoto soil, and went to stay with him.

Thinking about it, could it be that the somewhat familiar laughter I vaguely heard in the room not long ago was...

Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but shudder twice—how terrifying, she's just as good at chasing after people as I am!

Thirdly, [Secret Technique: Call your parents!]

Call Yukino Yukinoshita over. Since you won't let me be alone, then I'll let your whole family reunite in Kyoto. It's a despicable tactic that could be described as mutual destruction. It brings back memories of my childhood when I would lie on the ground screaming and begging the teacher to come and beat me up when I couldn't win a fight.

This approach isn't unusable; if the goal is to resolve the issue of Yukino Yukinoshita, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the optimal solution.

However, for some reason, Yuu Tenkuji chose the fourth option.

"beep--"

The busy signal rang for about ten seconds before being answered on the other end.

Apart from her breathing, there was only a heavy silence through the microphone; she seemed to have no intention of speaking.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't seem to mind. Her expression softened unconsciously, but her tone remained as calm as if she were giving a business report: "Suke, I'm at Shimogamo Shrine right now. I just ran into a female friend who wants to go for a walk with me. Do you think I should say yes?"

"..."

The silence lasted only a few seconds.

The second time, he was hung up on silently, even more decisively than before.

Without much change in expression, Yuu Tenkuji put away his phone and walked towards the torii gate, saying without turning his head, "Follow me if you want. If you have something to say to me, you can say it now."

Too lazy to probe or beat around the bush any further, he delivered his ultimatum bluntly, leaving Yukino Yukino alone in place, his indifferent gaze lingering on the scenery and decorations within the shrine grounds.

Unsurprisingly, she caught up soon after, maintaining a respectful distance.

"Haha~ Even when you're arguing, do you still need your girlfriend's permission before you're willing to spend time with someone of the opposite sex?"

Hearing the slightly teasing voice, Tenkuji Yu casually replied, "Isn't that obvious? So many couples argue because of a lack of transparency, and even after some explanations, misunderstandings can leave scars. I'm not stupid enough to do something like that."

"Oh, you really know a lot!" Yukinoshita Haruno nodded approvingly.

The next moment, a deep and dangerous voice suddenly entered his ears.

"You dare to use me as a bargaining chip to provoke your girlfriend in front of me, you high school student."

Compared to Yukino Yukinoshita's icy and chilling voice, her voice was still warm and gentle, yet it gave people a feeling of coldness that could freeze their soul at any moment.

Tenkuji Yu glanced at her; his pure black, alluring eyes seemed to hold a black hole, deep and indifferent, devoid of any warmth.

It was a genuinely angry expression.

But he didn't need to comfort her, nor was he afraid of her taking any revenge, so Yuu Tenkuji simply turned his gaze back and continued to casually admire the scenery around him.

"If you don't like it, you can go shopping somewhere else, Ms. Haruno."

"Honestly, I didn't say I didn't like it." Yukinoshita Haruno immediately put on a smile and shrugged noncommittally. "I always feel like you know me very well, but you're wrong about this one thing—being used as a bargaining chip by you actually makes me quite happy."

"Why? Is it related to why you came to see me?"

"Well... whether it's related or not, I'm not sure." Yukinoshita touched the corner of her soft lips, pondered seriously for a few seconds, and said uncertainly, "Maybe it was on the day of the autumn performance that I was captivated by your gorgeous and handsome performance, and accidentally fell in love with you?"

"To a high school student?" Yuu Tenkuji found it somewhat amusing.

"What? Are college boys only allowed to date younger women, but college girls aren't allowed to date younger men?" Yukinoshita poked his shoulder angrily and said indignantly, "I'm only three years younger than you at most, right? After you graduate, is it strange for a 21-year-old girl to like an 18-year-old boy?"

"That's right, so it's okay for a 20-year-old boy to like a 12-year-old girl, because it's not strange for a 28-year-old boy to like a 20-year-old girl."

"Isn't this just pure, simplistic lolicon logic...?"

"Does having a thing for young boys give you a reason to be in love?"

"...Pfft! You're really funny~"

Chapter 121 How about you comb my hair?