Iwanaga Kotoko's voice trailed off.
Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.
He looked at her and smiled faintly:
"That would be close enough."
"But we're not."
He took in the change in Iwanaga Kotoko's expression and attitude.
A guess formed in Lin's mind.
Could she actually like me?
He felt the odds of this being one of life's great delusions were very low.
Making a girl fall in love at first sight.
It was just a normal part of his daily life.
Iwanaga Kotoko blinked gently:
"I suppose that's true."
Her gaze flickered slightly.
After a moment of silence, she asked again:
"So, do you have a girlfriend?"
Before the words were even out, and without waiting for Lin to speak, she added with a smile:
"Someone as handsome as you must have a girlfriend already..."
She said it in a joking tone.
Hearing this, the corners of Lin's mouth lifted. "Congratulations, you guessed right."
"Ah..."
Iwanaga Kotoko froze.
Wait, he really does?!
She had actually assumed he didn't.
After all, who says a handsome guy is guaranteed to have a girlfriend?
Couldn't it be that he just hadn't found someone he liked yet?
Of course, there were other possibilities.
But all of those were just stereotypes.
Just like how some people would subconsciously assume that someone as pretty as her had a boyfriend, when in reality, she didn't at all.
She just hadn't expected Lin to actually have one.
She couldn't help but feel a little sad.
The first time she'd ever felt her heart flutter with love at first sight for someone, it turned out he was already taken.
Is this romance over before it even began?
The thought made her feel a little unwilling to give up.
Her eyes flickered, and she looked at Lin, asking with feigned nonchalance:
"So, Lin... you and your girlfriend must have a good relationship, right?"
Lin glanced at her, the corners of his mouth lifting as he said, "That's right. My wives and I have a very good relationship."
"I see... Huh, wait a minute!?"
Hearing his words, Iwanaga Kotoko's expression darkened, a trace of disappointment in her eyes.
But then she suddenly realized something was wrong.
What had Lin just said?
Wives?
The plural marker?
He definitely used the plural marker, right?!
Iwanaga Kotoko froze for a second, her eyes widening slightly, a look of disbelief on her face:
"You said 'wives'!"
"You have more than one girlfriend?"
Could Lin be a total playboy?
She'd finally found someone who made her heart race...
"That's right, wives."
Lin affirmed, popping the other half of the fried shrimp into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Delicious.
"..."
Iwanaga Kotoko was instantly silent.
To think that the person she'd finally fallen for was a player.
Though calling him a player didn't feel quite right.
After all, her impression of Lin wasn't that of an irresponsible, promiscuous scumbag; it seemed more like he simply loved more than one person.
Besides, in this kind of situation...
...if Lin were a scumbag, he wouldn't have admitted it just now, let alone said he had multiple girlfriends.
The normal response would be 'no'.
Then he'd try to trick the new 'fish' into his pond.
Lin hadn't been evasive.
On the contrary, he'd been very honest about it.
She watched Lin, who was currently enjoying his meal, her gaze flickering.
She just watched him in silence.
It was unclear what she was thinking.
Being stared at, Lin glanced at her but couldn't be bothered to guess what was on her mind, focusing instead on the food before him.
After a little while...
Iwanaga Kotoko spoke with slight hesitation:
"Um, Lin, could I be bold and ask you one more question?"
"Go ahead."
Lin nodded lightly.
Iwanaga Kotoko: "Is there any possibility of you and your girlfriend—uh, your girlfriends—breaking up?"
She stared straight into Lin's eyes.
As if trying to see through to his very soul.
"Absolutely not."
Lin didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Breaking up was impossible.
"..."
Seeing Lin give such an instantaneous, decisive answer, Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes flickered, ripples stirring within them.
She fell silent once again.
A moment later, she asked another question:
"If you don't mind my asking, how many girlfriends do you have?"
"..."
This time, Lin didn't answer right away. Instead, he put down his chopsticks, looked at Iwanaga Kotoko, and smiled faintly.
"You know, Ms. Iwanaga, you've been the one asking all the questions. That doesn't seem quite fair. Shouldn't it be my turn to ask you something?"
"...Alright, go ahead and ask."
Iwanaga Kotoko was taken aback for a moment before nodding lightly.
Lin smiled and asked:
"You keep asking about my girlfriends. I'm guessing it's not just for gossip, so what's the reason?"
"Remember to tell the truth."
"I'll decide what to think next based on your answer."
He said this with a deliberately serious expression.
"Eh..."
Iwanaga Kotoko was stunned again.
Their eyes met, and she tried to figure out what he was thinking.
After hesitating in thought for a moment, she finally chose to be honest:
"I'm asking because... I fell in love with you at first sight."
As the words left her mouth...
...she couldn't help but blush slightly.
She felt a bit shy about it.
"Very honest. I like that."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's answer, which matched his own guess, Lin's lips curled into another smile.
This smile seemed rather meaningful.
Iwanaga Kotoko's face grew redder.
She feigned composure and changed the subject:
"Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"Of course."
Lin nodded lightly and asked another question:
"What do you think my thoughts about you are right now?"
"Your thoughts about me..."
Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes narrowed as her mind started racing.
She stared intently at Lin.
As if trying to read something from his face.
But beyond his handsomeness, she could glean nothing.
Lin's expression was calm, his eyes deep, betraying none of his emotions.
Memories of their encounter from the beginning until now surfaced in her mind as she tried to find a clue, her slender brows knitting together.
Just then, Lin said, "Should I just tell you the answer?"
"Fine, tell me."
Iwanaga Kotoko blinked and gave up thinking about it.
Lin smiled slightly. "The moment you said you fell in love with me at first sight, an idea popped into my head."
"And that is to take you home with me."
"Eh!!!"
Faced with Lin's unabashed declaration of his thoughts, Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes flew wide open.
She immediately felt her cheeks grow warm.
This counts as a confession, right?
If so, does that mean she and Lin just confessed to each other?!
The thought made her both shy and pleasantly surprised.
But when she remembered that Lin had multiple girlfriends, some of her shyness and surprise faded.
Why does he have to have girlfriends already...
If I had been the first one, I definitely would have tried to have him all to myself.
Noticing the change in her expression, Lin grew thoughtful.
From what he understood, Iwanaga Kotoko was actually quite the jealous type.
But that wasn't a major problem.
Looking at Iwanaga Kotoko, who had lowered her head slightly, Lin spoke again:
"Given our current situation, I'll start by satisfying your curiosity about my identity."
Iwanaga Kotoko looked up at him.
Curiosity surfaced in her eyes.
This was the main reason she had come here today.
Falling in love at first sight had been an accident.
Lin smiled faintly at her:
"If you like, you can think of me as a 'god'."
"A god??!!"
Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes widened.
________________________________________
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