Why are all the heroines falling for me, the villain?

Tachibana Mamiya's beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened suddenly. Riki thought she was going to get angry, but...

"Why didn't you say so sooner? You made me worry all the way here. I knew you still cared about me and that I was still in your heart."

After saying that, she shyly punched Li Zhu's chest, her face beaming with a blush of happiness.

Seeing the sweet look on Tachibana Mamiya's face, Riki wanted to slap herself twice.

WYF! What did I just say?!

But deep down, a voice inside him said, "Well done!"

Perhaps this is just the inherent weakness of men; they can never bear to drive away a beautiful woman with whom they have an intimate relationship.

But Li Zhu is still being stubborn, refusing to acknowledge the value of the unexpected gift.

Li Zhu pushed away her head that was pressing against him, but Tachibana Mamiya pressed his hand down and then snuggled up to him again, looking beautiful.

"Designer, look at her! Does a female lead like her even need a strategy? She's the one who's trying to win me over!"

A perfectly good harem strategy game has been turned into a reverse romance game.

Does reverse reasoning count as a strategy?

No, reason tells him that having three girlfriends could really kill him.

Li Zhu has extensive experience of failing at playing the game of juggling multiple relationships, and it's a game where trying to juggle multiple relationships rarely ends well.

In all these years, he has never seen anyone completely complete the game with all the harem endings.

But now, it's probably going to be very difficult to shake off this woman using ordinary methods.

Let's lay everything out in the open and take a gamble; if she wants to turn on us, so be it.

"Hey, don't get too excited yet. I already have a girlfriend, and I already have someone else in my heart. There's no room for you." Li Zhu poured cold water on me again.

“I don’t care.” Tachibana Mamiya shook her head.

"And he has two girlfriends."

"I don't care."

"Then what do you care about?" Li Zhu asked, puzzled.

"I only care about you," Tachibana Mamiya said tenderly.

In his heart, he thought, "Ha~ So what if she's my girlfriend? I'm Zhu's fiancée and childhood sweetheart. Tell me, how are those philanderers going to win?"

"Don't you care that there are three people?" Li Zhu asked, somewhat shocked.

Has this woman changed her gender?

He believes that a woman with the potential to turn to the dark side would never share her beloved with anyone else.

Unless it's the kind of dismemberment.

"I believe I will become the most important person in Zhu's heart," Tachibana Mamiya said sincerely, wrapping her arms around Ri Zhu's neck.

Ha, I'll go back and investigate thoroughly to find out who's seducing my Zhu!

"Well, I'll take you up the mountain," Li Zhu changed the subject.

Li Zhu's heart was in turmoil; he still didn't know how to respond to this sincere affection.

There were worries about the future, timidity about new things, and also the joy of having a vague feeling of affection from my memory reciprocated—all sorts of complex emotions mixed together.

Being a time traveler isn't so easy; there's a whole host of romantic entanglements you can't escape.

"What are you doing?" Li Zhu asked when she still wouldn't let go.

She smacked her lips, looking a little awkward, "I... I need a kiss to get up, otherwise I won't walk."

That's it? I thought there was more to it.

Li Zhu, like a woodpecker, skillfully and swiftly tapped her cheek.

Tachibana Mamiya released his grip, subconsciously touching the violated spot on his face, his heart pounding wildly.

"Let's go, what are you waiting for?" Li Zhu picked up her suitcase without thinking.

"Oh, I, I'm coming right now." Tachibana Mamiya stood up, not daring to look at Riki, her cheeks belatedly flushed with a light pink.

She followed obediently behind like a wronged little wife.

I wandered off in a daze.

"Ahhhhh, how could I have said such shameless things!" Her head felt like a boiling kettle, overwhelmed by a mixture of shame and elation.

But she doesn't regret it.

Can you understand the frustration of liking someone from childhood to adulthood, but only being able to remain at the friendship stage?

Even now, as I've grown up, this kiss feels like a sign of a change in the nature of our relationship—or rather, a qualitative change.

Her relationship with Li Zhu was like a runaway train, breaking free of the shackles of friendship and rushing headlong towards the final destination called love!

……

"Hehehe~" Tachibana Mamiya chuckled foolishly the whole way.

"What are you thinking about, grinning like an idiot?" Li Zhu smiled.

"I won't tell you." She walked up the steps one by one, her hands behind her back.

I never thought the scenery of White Fox Mountain was that beautiful before, but today I have seen it for myself.

The warm winter sun hangs high, and the lush forest below the mountain is like an unfolded scroll. The stream flows along the foot of the mountain, dividing the small village where my grandfather lived in two.

Unlike the steel jungle of the city, this is the pleasant scenery of the countryside.

When the two were almost at the top of the mountain.

"I'm asking you, am I the first woman you've ever kissed?" Tachibana Mai asked casually.

"No." Li Zhu replied without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Tachibana no Mamiya's smile froze instantly.

"So, what number am I?" she asked with a dangerous smile.

Li Zhu remained silent; he needed to consider this question for a moment.

"Well done, Riyu! No wonder you're so skilled! You! You big jerk!" Tachibana Mamiya felt like she was being cuckolded, and her mood plummeted.

Has Li Zhu already tasted countless women's lipsticks?

As she thought about it, her gaze toward Li Zhu grew increasingly hostile.

"Hey, don't overthink it. I'm not as skilled as you think. Besides my girlfriend, you're the most affectionate person I've ever met. No, I just think you're very cute, that's why I agreed to your request." In her haste, Li Zhu blurted out all sorts of nice things.

"Really? Am I really that good-looking? You can't resist?" Tachibana Mamiya squinted, pretending not to believe it.

But the involuntary upward curve of her lips betrayed her.

"Everything I said is true!"

“Alright then, the White Fox Shrine isn’t far ahead. Come with me and make an oath.” Tachibana Mamiya smiled, like a mischievous little witch.

……

Encounter 170 (5)

The White Fox Shrine is quite large, occupying an entire hilltop.

The rustic courtyard is well-arranged and looks like it has been through a long period of time. Most of the houses are white wooden buildings, with a striking tall black torii gate standing at the entrance of the shrine.

Li Zhu's eyes lit up, and she nodded. "This is really nice. This shrine looks really nice. I feel much more at ease with you staying here. Well, I'll leave you here for today. I'll head back now..."

Before he could finish speaking, he had already released his hand from the suitcase and turned to leave with complete ease.

"Huh? What? I can't hear you. Can you say it again?" Tachibana Mamiya grabbed Riyu's ear.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! I was wrong, I was wrong! Please let go of my hand. What I meant was that I'll go to the White Fox Shrine right now and swear that I'm the most honest, steady, and model student at Ouran High School Host Club. You have to believe me."

As soon as she said those words, Li Zhu realized something was wrong. They seemed like old friends who got along very well.

"Hmph~" Tachibana Mamiya flashed her fangs, wrinkled her pretty nose, and gave Riyu a cold snort.

Li Zhu saluted and nodded, perhaps understanding the threat in her eyes.

Tachibana Mamiya chuckled at Riki's comical expression. What was that? Every time this girl made her angry since she was a child, she only ever had this pitiful look on her face.

That's wonderful; time can't erase our feelings.

"Hey, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and swear, my mom's calling me home for dinner." Li Zhu pouted.

Looking at the tranquil shrine, he took a few hesitant steps, muttering to himself, "There shouldn't be any gods in this world, and even if there are, they probably can't read minds."

"A god who can see through whether someone is lying, do you think you're the god of Kiyono...?"

"Hey, wait a minute, don't rush to cross the torii gate. There's a purifying fountain over here; you need to do a simple cleansing before entering the shrine." She quickly called out to Riki.

"Purify body and mind?" Li Zhu asked, puzzled.

"Yes, after crossing the torii gate, the place where the gods reside is inside. We need to purify our minds and bodies before we can enter."

Then I watched her go through a series of complicated procedures for a simple set of actions. In short, it was just washing hands and rinsing mouth.

"Washing hands and rinsing mouth upon entering is quite a nice touch."

Li Zhu took it as a matter of following local customs and washed her hands, well, after cleansing her body and mind, she followed her inside.

"Don't walk right in the middle of the approach and the torii gate; that's the path the gods take. Let's go to the main hall first." After entering the shrine, Tachibana no Makoto's voice became much softer, and he looked devout, as if he was worried about disturbing something.

"Okay, I understand." Li Zhu nodded, unconsciously lowering her voice.

Entering the courtyard, we followed the main path to the main hall.

Tachibana no Makoto swung the rope to ring the bell, and his pleasant voice explained why he did so: "The sound of the bell has two functions, one is to tell the gods that someone has come to worship, and the other is to drive away evil spirits for the worshipper."

"Be careful not to use too much force when swinging the rope."

Li Zhu nodded and gently shook the rope twice.

"Put the incense money into the donation box." As she spoke, she took out two coins, put one in, and handed the other to Li Zhu.

Then, they bowed twice to the shrine and clapped twice.

"My wish is to be with Rikazuchi forever. We'll get married and have about eight children, then grow old together. And, even in death, we'll be buried together." Tachibana Mamiya clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and blurted out all her heartfelt words.

"Is this girl really an idiot? Her wishes won't come true if she says them out loud." Li Zhu chuckled to herself. This incredibly cute girl didn't seem to be very bright.

"By the way, if Li Zhu ever wrongs me after we get married, don't blame me for using some extreme measures. It's something I have to do for our relationship..."

How could such obscene words as dungeon, bondage, and SM come out of that soft, pink mouth?

"???"

Li Zhu, who was listening nearby, felt something was off. Was she making a wish or describing the crime?

She quickly opened her eyes and saw that Tachibana no Mamiya was still making a wish with her eyes closed, a kind smile unconsciously appearing on her face.

It was like the whisper of an evil god.

Shut up! Shut up now! The White Fox God will not grant such a terrible wish!

With one last bow, the two concluded their worship.

After recounting her wish for ten minutes, the girl asked contentedly, "Lizhu, what did you wish for?"

"Uh, my wish is for everyone around me to be healthy and safe." Li Zhu's expression was a little unnatural.

Okay, actually, his wish is that Tachibana Mamiya's ridiculously long wish will never come true.

Tachibana Mamiya was unusually pleased to hear what Riki said. In her opinion, weren't the people around Riki talking about her indirectly?

I'm so happy that Rin-ki made a blessing for me at the shrine.

“Oh, I forgot to swear an oath,” Riyu said. “By the White Fox, Miss Tachibana is one of the most adorable people I have ever met.”

"Hey, you, you, you! This is a shrine! What nonsense are you talking about? And I'm not as good as you say!" Tachibana Mamiya's face flushed red, and her hands waved wildly like flapping wings.

“I’m not lying. In my opinion, you are indeed very cute and have a great figure. There’s no need to be so modest,” Li Zhu said, thinking that she was feeling inferior.

Upon hearing this, Tachibana Mamiya was both shy and delighted. She covered her face with her hands, too embarrassed to show her face. Being praised by her beloved made her overjoyed, but it was also accompanied by immense shyness.

"Thank you, thank you." It took a while before her voice, barely audible, came out as she expressed her gratitude.

By this time, Li Zhu had already walked quite a distance from the main hall.