Girls have their way of chatting with girls.
Married women have their way of getting along with married women.
The advantage of the latter is that they can clearly know where the line between jokes and sincere words lies.
So after a round of verbal sparring, neither Hayato nor Yayoi took the conversation to heart.
After a few more playful remarks, Yayoi, sipping from her beer can, saw Hayato to the door.
"Oh, right, wait a moment."
Yayoi seemed to remember something and turned back.
Hayato stood at her doorstep, enjoying the spring breeze and gazing at the starry sky.
Speaking of which, it felt like early summer was approaching.
He thought idly.
Then footsteps sounded, but not from Yayoi's house, but from the apartment building on Hayato's side.
Hayato looked over and saw a light blue figure emerge from the apartment, her face flushed, hurrying along.
It was Yukino Fuyumi.
Hayato glanced at her.
She also looked towards Hayato.
Their gazes met.
"Hmph~~" She turned her face away, a sense of awkwardness naturally arising, as if to say, "Even though I saw you, I'm going to pretend I didn't."
—"Wow."
After Yukino Fuyumi passed Hayato, a head popped out from behind his shoulder. It was Yayoi, who had returned, "Is this your Romance again?"
"There's a small misunderstanding," Hayato said, "It's not what you think."
Ah, come to think of it, because he was controlled by the 'ring' earlier, he seemed to have said some rather inappropriate things to Yukino Fuyumi.
Although saying "I don't like you" was relatively better than saying "I like you," it was indeed quite impolite to say such things for no reason.
Then, both of them noticed.
Yukino Fuyumi had stopped walking while they were talking, pausing to look at them, and her puffed-out cheeks seemed to hold a suppressed breath.
Yayoi thought for a moment.
Then she linked her arm through Hayato's.
Hayato: …
On that end, Yukino Fuyumi's cheeks visibly puffed out even more.
Yayoi then pressed her face against Hayato's.
Hayato: ...
Yukino Fuyumi's cheeks were not only puffed up like a hamster's, but also flushed crimson with shame.
"It's exactly as I thought."
Yayoi patted Hayato's shoulder, then let go.
His arm finally breathed a sigh of relief from the pressure of the two fleshy mounds.
Yayoi waved at Yukino Fuyumi and said loudly:
"Little sister, don't overthink it, he and I are just like siblings!"
Only then did Yukino Fuyumi realize that she had been observing too obviously. She quickly turned her head and left with a huff, refusing to answer a single word.
"Still saying it's not a romantic encounter?" Yayoi said.
"...It's a calamity," Hayato said. To be honest, he really couldn't figure out what this snow woman was thinking.
"Alright, who told you you're so handsome and unmatched? It's only natural to be fancied."
Yayoi said, handing the plastic bag in her hand to Hayato. It felt heavy, full of cans: "Drink less. Seriously, a School nurse buying alcohol for a student to drink..."
Hayato was overjoyed: "Thank you."
Yayoi chuckled: "Who told you I'm your older sister~~?"
Having lost twice today, she intended to turn the tables with an ethical joke.
Hayato smiled, his eyes curving: "Auntie~~~?"
"Scram!" Yayoi lifted her foot to kick him.
Her foot was only 0.01 centimeters from Hayato's butt, but she stopped her movement when her vision suddenly went dark.
Truly, her vision went dark.
Because another black man walked out of the apartment.
It was Mike.
He seemed not to have expected to meet Hayato at this time and place. He first hastily averted his gaze, seemingly not intending to have any contact with the latter.
But then he was attracted by Aiya Yayoi's graceful figure. He stared at her several times, even swallowing his saliva during that time.
Yayoi stopped making a fuss. She uncharacteristically adopted a demure posture, hiding behind Hayato.
As for Hayato, he glanced at Yayoi out of the corner of his eye, not speaking.
It wasn't until Mike left that Yayoi finally relaxed again.
"That guy has a dark complexion," she said. "...So disgusting. I never knew someone's gaze could be so repulsive."
Logically speaking, given Yayoi's looks, being stared at by men with ill intentions on the street was not a rare occurrence.
But this guy—she didn't know how to describe it. Yayoi thought for a moment and said:
"It's like being targeted by a wild animal, like an ape or something?"
"Apes don't deserve such an insult," Hayato said.
"Your apartment still has this kind of thing living there?" Yayoi asked curiously.
"Not only lives there, but lives right next door to me," Hayato said.
"Then you must be careful and not get involved with such a person," Yayoi warned.
"Understood."
Hayato said with a smile, and after waving goodbye to Yayoi.
He followed the black man, carrying a bag full of beer.
Hayato pushed his black-rimmed glasses with his middle finger.
He activated the X-ray vision function.
Shikenjaya wasn't lively at night, and this street only had the three of them walking.
And the target was quite clear, just as Hayato had expected.
Mike was following Yukino Fuyumi.
And he was following Mike.
Yukino Fuyumi had no anti-surveillance skills, so she didn't notice someone following behind her.
But Mike was clearly a seasoned offender. He seemed to keenly sense Hayato's presence.
However, he definitely didn't expect Hayato to be wearing a pair of glasses that could see through everything.
Hayato saw Mike cautiously squatting at a corner, waiting for him to walk into the trap.
—But after Hayato saw all this, he stopped walking forward as soon as the other party stopped.
When Mike's experimental ambush failed, he could only wonder if his nerves were too sensitive.
He scratched his head and continued to follow Yukino Fuyumi.
Yukino Fuyumi's final destination was a convenience store not far from here. With a troubled frown, she bought a few cans of cheap beer and paid at the cashier.
She had just left the convenience store entrance when she sensed someone following her.
But this time, it wasn't because Mike had exposed himself as a rival, but because he did it on purpose.
As soon as Yukino Fuyumi turned around, something hard and sharp pressed against her waist.
She froze, then slowly realized it must be a sharp object like a dagger.
"Madam."
Then she heard that disgusting person's sickeningly sweet laugh: "I've caught you~~~ If you'd be so kind as to come with me, otherwise, this knife won't just stab into your Madam's kidney area, but it might even stab into your Madam's... pressure points, you know."
Upon hearing this, Yukino Fuyumi's eyes immediately turned cold, looking back with an icy gaze like winter shards.
But Mike was completely unaware, only feeling that he had succeeded!!
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