As long as he told her the answer, she would do such things anyway; why did he have to be so mysterious...
Thinking this, Hanatemari Kazura didn't resist. She gave him a resentful look and obediently knelt down...
...A moment later.
"Cough, cough..."
Hanatemari Kazura had her throat choked by the sudden influx, coughed in some distress, and under Ayanokouji Kiyohira's gaze, swallowed it.
"Can you answer me now?" Hanatemari Kazura sat down beside Ayanokoji and, feeling somewhat shy and annoyed, punched his thigh.
Although they had done this many times, Hanatemari was still not quite used to it.
Moreover, previously she had done it while bending over, but this time she was kneeling, and her every move was under Ayanokoji's gaze, which made her very shy.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira smiled and hugged Hanatemari's slender waist, but amidst her expectant gaze, he said, "I still can't tell you the specific reasons, but you just need to know that, from Midari's perspective, there are things more important than caring about these tedious formalities."
"For the sake of that goal, she is willing to abandon her original habits and accept things she once refused to accept."
"Is that all?" Hanatemari Kazura suddenly felt she had been tricked and angrily began pounding Ayanokoji's shoulder with her fists. "You haven't said anything at all?!"
Ayanokouji Kiyohira pulled her into his arms, not letting her continue hitting him, and said helplessly, "I've already explained it very clearly, and besides, you have that kind of goal too."
"...What goal?" Hanatemari looked up in surprise.
"'Meari.' Have you forgotten? From the very beginning, you were only willing to stay by my side for Meari's sake," Ayanokoji said.
Meari... Indeed, she was only willing to sacrifice herself for Meari's sake, and she had chosen Ayanokouji Kiyohira as the object of her "transaction."
She had always remembered this point.
But...
"Is this enough?" Hanatemari asked somewhat uncertainly, "Can I really make Meari my 'target'?"
Clearly, she was most worried about Meari finding out about her relationship with Ayanokoji, yet Ayanokoji said that for Meari's sake, she could ignore her status as the 'third party'... Wasn't that contradictory?
Hanatemari Kazura had truly tied herself in knots...
Ayanokouji Kiyohira shook his head speechlessly, placed his hands on Hanatemari Kazura's shoulders to make her face him, and said seriously, "Hanatemari, you must remember, we are not in some illicit, secretive relationship."
"Don't forget, I am currently just a regular friend to Meari, while you are the one who has been intimate with me. If we have to put a label on it, Meari is the one who is the 'third party'."
"Meari is not a third party! Meari liked you first!" Hanatemari retorted loudly.
"I know Meari likes me, and I like her too, but if we're talking about who came first, you are definitely not the last one."
"I know that for Meari's sake, you are willing to sacrifice your own position and relegate yourself to the shadows, and I understand your actions... but you should understand that our relationship is absolutely not something that cannot be seen by others."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira patted Hanatemari's smooth back and encouraged her with a serious look in his eyes, "Lift your head, look up, there is nothing to be afraid of. You are not a third party!"
Ayanokouji Kiyohira's words had a bit of an overbearing CEO vibe, but for someone like Hanatemari Kazura who lacked assertiveness, it was quite effective.
She had always been insecure, placing herself in the position of a mistress and believing that only Meari was qualified to be Ayanokouji Kiyohira's girlfriend.
She had almost forgotten that Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Meari were still just close friends; his position for an official girlfriend was still vacant, and she had no reason to feel inferior.
One could even say... she was the one who came first, she was Ayanokouji Kiyohira's legitimate girlfriend.
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