I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Yukinoshita chuckled softly, her cheeks flushed and soft, her slender arms gradually tightening around him, hugging him tightly from behind.

In his drunken ramblings, only pure contentment and happiness remained.

"So, it's really great that you can take me with you and run away."

"So, it's so great to have met you."

"Little Youyou, this is the most serious truth I've ever told you, so you have to listen carefully, okay?"

"..."

Looking at the road ahead, Tenkuji Yu remained silent.

She was dissatisfied; "And an answer?"

"Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."

"Hehe~"

And so, like the darkness finally giving way to dawn, like the rain finally meeting a rainbow.

Like sunlight instantly melting snow, the girl broke into a radiant smile, leaned close to his ear, and spoke confidently and gracefully:

"I like you!!"

—In that instant, it was as if spring had arrived and flowers were in bloom, and the whole world was brightened up because of her.

The girl on his back was as light as a feather.

But that feeling was heavier than the entire summer.

After thinking for a moment, for some reason, Tenkuji Yu laughed.

Gazing at the vast, moonless night sky, he hid all his helplessness and reluctance, responding to her only with a gentle, tender tone, as if with lingering affection:

"Yes, me too."

……

...

"Yukinoshita, your wish has been fulfilled."

Chapter Ninety-Six: In Memory of Lost Youth

After getting off Tenkuji Yu, they took a short walk in the cool breeze.

Yukino showed him her phone screen, which displayed a route on Google Maps.

"The nearest hotel is a kilometer away. Should we walk there, or..."

"Shall I carry you across?" Seeing the meaning in her crescent-shaped eyes, Tenkuji Yu reluctantly squatted down, preparing to become a rickshaw once again.

However, Yang Nai didn't excitedly climb on top of him. Instead, she asked him seriously, "Are you still able to hold on? Don't push yourself if you can't, otherwise you'll fall asleep the moment you hit the bed at the hotel, which will be a problem for me."

"If you want to care about me, then care properly. Don't use this kind of phrasing."

He rolled his eyes, waved his hand behind his back, and said casually, "Come on up. I just rested for a bit and I'm almost fully recovered."

"Then I won't be polite!"

A smile bloomed on her face, and with a soft laugh, she pressed her soft, full upper body against his back, clinging to him tightly like a koala. Her two firm, long legs clamped around his waist, as if she wanted to twist him into a dried-up corpse.

Gently breathing warm air into the boy's ear, Yukinoshita chuckled and whispered, "The sooner we get to the inn, the more adult things I'll teach you~"

“That’s really something to look forward to.” Without the slightest wavering, Yuu Tenkuji said in a monotone tone.

Then he got up and carried her on his back, running through the night once again.

The road was empty, as if the whole world had shrunk to just the two of them, so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats clearly.

Seemingly not wanting to disrupt the tranquility, Yukinoshita Haruno didn't shout or yell excitedly, but simply rested her head lazily on his shoulder, humming a melody overflowing with happiness.

"Hmph, hmph~"

"What song is this?" he couldn't help but ask.

Yuu Tenkuji vaguely remembered that before the system was activated, he had heard her humming this song at a corner near his home.

Back then, she was strong and confident, and her singing voice was full of a free-spirited yet aloof feeling—completely different from now.

"Hmm? Is it nice?" Yukinoshita Haruno squinted and answered him in a seductive voice that sounded half-asleep, "It's nice, that's for sure. I came up with it myself."

"As expected of you, you're really narcissistic." Tenkuji Yu was truly impressed.

"This isn't narcissism, it's confidence." Cheeks pressed together, gently rubbing against each other during exercise.

She turned around and lectured him: "Little Youyou, you need to be more confident in yourself—putting aside your talent, just in terms of looks, there aren't many people I know who can surpass you. How about you be more aware that you're a handsome guy?"

"Looks?"

Yuu Tenkuji didn't feel much about the praise.

After all, people only care about what they lack, and don't pay much attention to what they already have.

"I'm just low-key, that doesn't mean I lack confidence."

Yukino thought about it and realized that it was indeed true, so she decisively changed her words: "Well, confident men are easy to be popular with women. Anyway, you already have me, so it doesn't matter if you're not confident. I can trust you."

"Haha." Tenkuji Yu chuckled twice, then said nothing.

As she ran, Yang felt her phone vibrate.

She took her phone out of her bag, draped it over Tenkuji Yu's chest with both hands, entered the unlock password without hesitation, and opened the chat window with her mother.

Mother: "Are you staying out tonight?"

Yang Nai: "That's right, did you go home? Remember not to let those two bodyguards tell anyone about what happened today."

Mother: "You're home, you don't need to tell me. Besides, aren't you on your period? Staying out like this might upset him and he'll break up with you."

Yang Nai: "Mind your own business. Can't I just chat with him under the covers?"

Mother: Hehe.

"That gossipy old woman who loves her daughter..."

With a disgruntled grumble, Yang Nai, too lazy to continue chatting with her ill-tempered mother, turned off the screen and was about to put her phone back in her bag when her wrist caught something.

A slight cracking sound suddenly rang out.

The beaded bracelet on my left wrist suddenly snapped open, scattering into colorful raindrops in mid-air, which then dripped onto the ground.

"what……"

Yukino Yukinoshita stared wide-eyed in disbelief. The world seemed to slow down for a moment. The gift he had given himself was a beautiful gift, with each bead reflecting a beautiful light in the air, more beautiful than any fireworks she had ever seen.

Then, along with the street scene, it recedes rapidly until it can no longer be seen.

It was just a cheap bracelet that broke, but it felt like a piece of my heart had suddenly ruptured. Pain and suffocation instantly filled my chest, making it hard to breathe.

The cool evening breeze brushed against her face, and she snapped out of her reverie as if startled.

He quickly patted the Sky Temple Yu beneath him and anxiously shouted, "Stop! The bracelet is broken, I need to get it back!"

"..."

Silently, Tenkuji Yu shook his head, without slowing down at all.

"Ninety-odd beads are flying everywhere. You couldn't collect them all even if you tried tomorrow. Just give up."

"I do not care!"

Yang Nai's tone suddenly turned cold. She pressed her hands on his shoulders and began to struggle, trying to jump back to the ground: "That's something you gave me. Now that it's mine, I'm free to do what I want with it! Let me down."

"……Ugh."

Tenkuji Yuu sighed softly—he didn't want to do that to Haruno.

He didn't want her to do something as pointless as picking up that bracelet.

After gathering his emotions for half a second, he tried to make his tone natural and gentle, to the point that Yukino Haruno wouldn't notice, and spoke with a helpless yet gentle tone, as if comforting a child:

"I'll make up another one for you tomorrow, as a way to commemorate our relationship moving to the next stage. Don't pick it up again, okay?"

"Well……"

It was like warm water flowing into my heart, gently soothing my anxious emotions and mending the crack.

The hand on his shoulder tightened slightly, and Yukinoshita looked at the back of his head, slowly calming down.

Her tense body gradually relaxed, and finally, she leaned back onto his back, feeling weak and sad.

"That was a handmade gift you gave me... There was only one in the whole world, and it just disappeared like that..."

Tenkuji Yu smiled and calmly comforted her, "It's because my work wasn't strong enough. I'll make it even prettier and more beautiful next time."

Although she still couldn't let it go, the thought of how her willful and spoiled behavior had probably caused him a lot of trouble, and to avoid annoying him, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed deeply, as if giving up.

"Fine, let's just use it to commemorate our lost single youth."

"With you here, we can have as many bracelets as we want in the future."

Tenkuji Yu's eyebrows twitched: "Hey, do you think I'm a bracelet manufacturing plant?"

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Eternal Night Under the Snow Will Eventually Descend

Before entering the hotel, Yukinoshita Haruno went to the convenience store next door to buy a can of beer.

Because of her previous allergic reaction to shochu, she didn't try to persuade Yuu Tenkuji to drink with her again. Instead, she got him a sports drink and bought a bunch of snacks to go with his drinks.

"Hehe, I won't let you sleep tonight~"

That's what she said, but I guess she just planned to chat with me all night.

As for her health issues, those who know, know... But judging from what she said before, she probably does some unspeakable things to herself, which is why she needs beer to embolden herself.

It was everyone's first time. Even though she usually acted like an experienced older sister, kissing whenever she wanted and telling dirty jokes without hesitation, when they "interacted" on the Ferris wheel, Yuu Tenkuji knew that even she would need a lot of courage to take things further and get more intimate.

Of course, if she really wanted to do it, she could muster as much courage as she needed, right?

After all, the immense happiness one can derive from intimate contact with a loved one—through skin, body temperature, and all five senses—is something that Yuu Tenkuji has come to understand to some extent.

"pity……"