With his hands on his thighs, showing no intention of reaching for chopsticks or drinking, Sasaki's conflicted expression was clearly seen by Yukari.
Because of what she had done...
She subconsciously felt that he was wary of her.
She felt perplexed and sad because of this.
She was perplexed as to how he had discovered her 'ulterior motives'; after all, all her actions had been very careful.
She was sad that her 'lover' was actually afraid she would harm him; she had never had any intention of hurting him.
Facing her 'lover's' unyielding behavior, although Yukari didn't want to resort to extreme measures, if he continued like this, she couldn't be blamed.
She had told him that disobedient children would be punished.
She urgently wanted to subdue her 'lover' and make him understand who he truly loved in his heart.
Thinking about it, Yukari took a bite of food, then leaned forward, appearing as if she intended to stand up.
However, just as she made a move, Sasaki, with a conflicted expression, suddenly asked. "Yukari has always been single; don't you ever feel lonely? Have you never thought about finding a partner?"
The softness that had lifted from her heels settled back down as
Sasaki's unexpected question caused her surprise.
While Yukari was surprised, her eyes, moist and direct, stared at his face as she said with a smile. "Lonely, huh... Of course, there's a little bit of that, but if the person I like isn't by my side, there's nothing I can do."
She didn't say it directly, and Sasaki didn't say it directly either...
If he were to directly confess that he still had feelings for her, and then reveal that he had other lovers, wouldn't that make him a complete scumbag who changed partners constantly?
While that was the truth,
Sasaki wasn't truly shameless...
If he could be a bit more subtle, he wouldn't appear so much like a scumbag.
As long as he played dumb, waiting for Yukari to first express her feelings and say she still remembered him, then he would say he had a girlfriend and couldn't betray her... and then Yukari would be a bit more forceful, and things would work out.
He would perfectly transform from a scumbag into an innocent victim.
Hmm... the prerequisite was that Yukari wouldn't react too dramatically after knowing he had a lover.
Otherwise, he really would become a victim.
The delicate balance in this situation needed to be carefully managed.
Thinking about it, his conflicted expression suddenly turned surprised as his eyes widened slightly, asking in astonishment. "Does Yukari have someone she likes now?"
Meanwhile, Yukari was very pleased with his small expression of surprise mixed with a hint of disappointment and sadness when he learned she had someone in her heart.
To answer his question, she smoothed her brows, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at him, resting her elbow on the low table and propping her chin in her hand. "Of course! After all, I'm this age, how could I not have someone I like?"
As her words fell, the boy's expression changed from subtle disappointment and sadness to gradual relief.
In the end, he let out a soft sigh, his tone slightly regretful. "Yes, that's true."
"Does that person know Yukari likes him? Why aren't you together? Teacher Yukari is so beautiful, so gentle."
Yukari tapped her cheek with a slender, pale fingertip, saying with a troubled expression. "Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't... I can't guess what he's thinking."
"Why aren't we together... I really want to know that too~"
As she spoke, her gaze, which had naturally lowered due to her troubled confusion, returned to Sasaki's face.
She smiled and leaned forward a little:
"Beautiful... gentle. So that's how I am in Fuyumi's eyes. Then, Fuyumi, do you like me?"
"This..."
If he said he didn't like her, she would probably break down on the spot...
That was very dangerous.
Not to mention, she was his first love and he did like her a lot.
Her being a yandere did nothing to dismiss that, in fact, the fact that she didn't get a man and waited for so long for him, made him unable to refuse, so he truthfully said:
"I like you, but..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Yukari, whose longing heart was ignited by his words "I like you," clapped her hands happily:
"Is that so? It seems Fuyumi remembers the promise, I'm so happy~"
Meeting her wine-red eyes, which burned and flickered like fire,
Sasaki couldn't bear the intensity of her gaze and shifted his eyes away.
"The promise... is it that... Yukari has always remembered it?"
Hearing his words, Yukari knew he truly remembered the promise.
So, she moved off the cushion, sitting face to face with him, reaching out to caress his cheek and guiding his averted gaze back to her.
"Yes! I've always kept that promise in my heart. Just now, Fuyumi asked me about the person I like, didn't you?... Now, do you know who he is?"
The shimmering moisture in her wine-red eyes was like boiling water in a red-hot iron pot; merely meeting them, merely touching them, one would feel a burning sting.
Sasaki knew what the eyes of someone in love looked like, because he had many lovers... but facing such intense and passionate eyes was a first for him.
It was as if she wanted to devour him... It was frightening.
Any ordinary boy would have panicked and been afraid because of her gaze, then quickly excused himself.
If Sasaki hadn't been mentally prepared...uh it was still quite overwhelming.
He calmed his heart, which had instinctively started beating faster from facing such a gaze for the first time, then reached out and covered Yukari's soft but somewhat cool hand, saying with both joy and emotion:
"...So it was me..."
"Yes, yes!"
Having received an active response, Yukari further closed the already small distance between them until it disappeared.
Not only that, she cupped her lover's face in her hands, as their foreheads met, she looked at her lover, whose eyes were filled only with her, and said joyfully. "It's always been you. I've wanted to see you for so long, and now... I've finally seen you."
"I've been so anxious wondering if Fuyumi still remembered the promise... Now, I'm truly so happy. Fuyumi feels the same, right?"
For some reason, Yukari didn't give him a chance to answer.
The moment her words fell, her thin, soft lips, tasting of sweet cola, met Sasaki's lips, which had parted to reply.
"Mmm~"
As she stood on tiptoe, her soft, pinkish heels lifting off the slipper soles, Yukari reached out a wet, cool hand and covered Sasaki's eyes.
Even though she was being extremely passionate and proactive, the young man didn't respond at all, yet she clung to him like an octopus, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him.
Yukari was gorgeous, soft, and fragrant, exuding an intoxicating, soul-stirring charm.
However, Sasaki couldn't just drown himself in her unreserved affection!
The very moment she reached for her weapon, he abruptly tilted his head away, cutting off the heat of her advances.
Fortunately, Sasaki hadn't eaten or drunk anything yet... otherwise, even with the will to resist, he would have been completely powerless to fight back.
?
Never expecting him to reject her intimacy, Yukari froze in a daze for a split second.
Noticing that she had subconsciously already climbed onto his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck, and assuming she was holding him too tightly and making him uncomfortable, she eased up slightly and smiled apologetically.
"Did I hug you too tightly? I just like you so much... I couldn't really control myself...
If Fuyumi feels uncomfortable, you can always take it out on me and get your payback~ You can bully me however you want~"
"After all, we're husband and wife~"
To have such a dignified and virtuous face, yet make such an utterly discordant, seductive expression that set a man's heart ablaze—it was truly...
He couldn't control himself, nor did he want to.
Sasaki wrapped his arms around her slightly plump waist, buried his face into the dazzlingly fair, soft, and smooth snow of her skin, and gently rubbed against it.
Delighted that he was showing such affectionate fondness for her,
Yukari cradled her lover's head, gently stroking the hair at the nape of his neck with her soft, delicate hands while smiling with deep emotion.
"Hehe~ You're still just as clingy as before. You're all mine—every bit of you belongs to me~"
"Come on, say ah~"
Refusing to accept the sweet little dumpling she was trying to feed him,
Sasaki raised his head to meet her drooping, doting eyes, pressed his lips together in silence, and began to push her away in resistance.
Uncomprehending why he suddenly started acting up, Yukari's smile faded as she quickly asked. "What's wrong?"
"I like Yukari..."
His straightforward confession made Yukari think it was nothing serious...and the smile bloomed on her face once more.
"Honestly, even if you didn't say it, I already knew."
"Look~ Little Fuyumi has already told me."
"..."
Only when faced with feminine charms does one realize just how difficult it is to resist them.
Pretending he hadn't seen her eyes or heard that remark, Sasaki went straight to the point. "Yukari... it's been so long since we last saw each other, and I already have a girlfriend. It's really not right for us to be like this."
Hearing the words, the momentum she was gathering to cheer him on came to an abrupt halt.
However, because she had mentally prepared herself, and considering his previous declaration of love, Yukari didn't throw a tantrum or display a breaking expression.
She simply let out a soft chuckle and wrapped her arms around his neck once more.
"She's just a girlfriend. We're the ones who are supposed to get married, and besides, you like me too. Just break up with her."
"No... mmph~"
Before he could even finish the first word of his refusal, his lips were blocked once more.
Sasaki tried to fight back... but this seemed to only provoke Yukari, causing her grip around him to suddenly tighten until he couldn't bear it and collapsed backward onto the floor.
"Mmh~ hmph~"
Seemingly determined to force him to take back his words and change his mind through sheer persistence, her grew even more proactive and passionate than before.
And this time... it wasn't just talk.
It wasn't until she had worn Sasaki down to the point where he stopped resisting and she herself was growing short of breath that Yukari slowly lifted herself up.
She shifted her posture slightly to confirm he wouldn't try to fight back anymore, then settled down, lying sideways across his chest, with the fair, glowing legs beneath her short skirt hooked over his body like a sickle, she looked ready to harvest wheat.
Glancing down at the side, Yukari looked at the look of pained endurance plastered across her lover's face and smiled softly: "You clearly like me too, so why try to resist? You're not being a good boy~"
Swallowing hard, Sasaki opened his eyes and shook his head. "Really, I really can't do this. It wouldn't be fair to them, and it wouldn't be fair to you."
?
Catching the phrasing he used... wondering if he had misspoke or meant something else, Yukari blinked in surprise and tilted her head.
She... them?
She knew full well there were plenty of girls around her lover.
But when it came to a girlfriend, shouldn't there only be one?
Why... use the plural?
The blazing love in her eyes clouded over with confusion as Yukari stared at him quietly, waiting for an explanation.
"Well... my parents..."
First, he explained his family situation, making it clear that there was only one adult who had any say over him.
Then, Sasaki told her about Kyoka's decision regarding her company's affairs.
By this point, Yukari fully understood what he was trying to convey.
In short, his family expected him to have multiple wives and concubines, and his hands were tied.
Yukari desperately wanted to tell him to ignore his family's wishes and just focus on being with her.
Whatever those other girls could do for him, she would double it!
However... remembering what he had said earlier about his parents passing away, she found it awkward to voice such thoughts.
If her lover wanted to take multiple partners purely out of his own selfish desires, she would find her own way to snap him out of it.
But the demand came from the only surviving elder in his family...
She could afford to be selfish for her own sake, but she couldn't force others to be selfish.
She couldn't let her own selfish cravings cause a permanent rift between him and his family.
Yet, if she couldn't make him split up with them, what was she supposed to do?
According to what he said, those girls weren't just ordinary girlfriends... they held the exact same status as her; they were prospective brides!
If they were just girlfriends, she wouldn't care all that much, but as marriage candidates, the threat they posed was simply too massive.
She couldn't force Fuyumi to break up with them... but giving him up was completely out of the question either!
Having never entertained the thought of sharing him from the very beginning... Yukari's mind slowly drifted toward an extreme resolution.
If she couldn't let Fuyumi be the bad guy, then she would gladly play the villain.
Since Fuyumi's parents were no longer around, there weren't many people left in this world worth holding onto or missing anyway.
So why couldn't she just keep him locked away by her side forever?
She would take care of him, feed him, as long as he never left this place!
He might hate her for it, he might curse her out... but once she made him truly fall in love with her, he would slowly come to accept it.
With her mind made up, Yukari straddled his stomach, twisted around, and reached out to grab the beverage bottle sitting on the low table.
Without the slightest hesitation, she tilted back her slender neck and took a mouthful of the drink, filling the better part of her mouth.
Then, she suddenly leaned down and transferred every last drop of the liquid directly into Sasaki's mouth.
And Sasaki looked at the drink, unable to comprehend.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that after such a long silence, she would pull a stunt like this.
He didn't want to swallow it, but not knowing what she was trying to pull and given the small amount of liquid she fed him, he hesitated and offered no resistance.
"Gulp!"
Planting both hands firmly on her lover's solid chest, Yukari smiled brightly as she wiped a stray droplet of liquid from the corner of his mouth. "Such a good boy~"
Meanwhile, Sasaki looked up apologetically and said. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't say things like that. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."
"I just hope you won't hate me after this."
A yandere's thought process is truly impossible to predict; Sasaki had no clue why she would say something like that.
Based on everything she had shown so far... Yukari surely wouldn't carve him up and turn him into a museum specimen.
If she wasn't going to hurt him... then why on earth would he ever end up hating her?
Unable to figure it out on the spot,
Sasaki let the wave of drowsiness creeping up his eyelids take over and slowly closed his eyes.
Because the drug's potency wasn't high enough to force him into instant unconsciousness, he was only pretending to sleep.
The moment his eyes shut, he could clearly feel Yukari hooking her arm beneath his and pulling him up.
Then she dragged him... looking like she was hauling him off toward the bedroom?
.
.
.