Progressive Relationships

"Morning, Jingu-san."

"Morning, Jingu-kun!"

"Good morning, Jingu-san!"

The next morning, waiting downstairs at the dormitory, Bai Ye received greetings from his classmates.

He was forced to respond to them one by one.

Fortunately, it was still early, and not many people were up yet.

He waited a while longer.

"Morning, little Yeye, are you waiting for me?"

Hasebe ran to his side, touched and delighted.

"Uh... no."

The girl's expression slumped the very next second:

"I see..."

"Next time—"

Just as Bai Ye was about to offer a word of comfort, the icy figure he had been waiting for appeared right beside them and said without a hint of politeness:

"Could you move aside, Hasebe? The person he is waiting for is me, so please don't get ahead of yourself."

Horikita's arrogant tone made Hasebe frown slightly. Looking at this person who had been defeated by her just a few days ago, she retorted just as sharply:

"How dare you show your face here? Didn't little Yeye reject you already?"

"That was days ago. As for now..."

Right in front of Hasebe, Horikita took his hand and lifted it slightly to make a point. "We are officially in a relationship."

Horikita Suzune was feeling very pleased right now—extremely pleased.

Looking at the stunned expression on Hasebe's face, she had never felt such satisfaction.

The last time she felt this happy was when she got a perfect score and was praised by her brother.

It turned out that life wasn't just about studying; there were so many other interesting things.

For instance, defeating this arrogant, conceited woman right in front of her.

She wouldn't miss the chance to kick someone while they were down:

"Now you know. He was just playing around with you. All I had to do was nod, and he willingly surrendered to me."

"Little Yeye, is this true?" Hasebe asked anxiously.

"Uh..." Meeting Horikita's warning gaze, he hesitated slightly. "We are dating, but I didn't surrender."

"I see."

Even though he said that, Hasebe let her shoulders slump in disappointment. The look she gave him was like that of a puppy abandoned by its owner.

Unable to bear it, he stroked her cheek and sighed softly.

Horikita frowned: "Let's go. What are you doing? Am I invisible to you?"

"Um... let me have a word with her. You go on ahead."

"Why should I?"

"You wouldn't want me to lose my only friend, would you? Can you really live with yourself if you do that?"

"Fine, then." Horikita thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

In her eyes, Hasebe was no longer a threat, so she would treat this as a final farewell.

She still had that much kindness in her.

Once Horikita left, Hasebe grabbed his arm and asked urgently:

"Little Yeye, did she get something on you?"

"No."

"Then why are you dating her... Is it because I haven't talked to you these past two days? But I already told you the reason, I'll make it up to you, please... please don't leave me..."

A faint mist swirled in her eyes, and her eyelids were turning slightly red.

Her beautiful lips were pressed together, trembling slightly to reveal her nervousness.

Bai Ye paused, patted her head with his hand, and said softly:

"What are you thinking? How could I ever leave you? You are, after all..."

He suppressed the shyness in his heart and feigned composure as he said, "My dear sister."

"Eh..."

In an instant, the girl's beautiful eyes sparkled with astonishing radiance. She threw herself into Bai Ye's arms, overjoyed:

"You finally admitted it... sob..."

"..."

Feeling that heart-stoppingly soft body, he stiffened slightly, then pushed her away with immense reluctance:

"Don't do this, someone might come by."

He was the only one who truly knew the real reason.

"Oh... oh."

Hasebe rubbed her eyes and took his hand:

"I get it, you must have been deceived by her beauty, right? You definitely don't like her, do you?"

"Yeah... I don't like her."

"That's good. As long as you don't like her, it's fine. Just dump her once you've had your fun with her, okay?"

"Mm."

Facing Hasebe, he really couldn't bring himself to be cruel; he actually quite liked this girl who looked out for him.

Fortunately, he had finally managed to muddle his way through this situation.

After soothing Hasebe with a few more words, he finally walked out alone.

Horikita glanced at him and took the lead, walking ahead.

On the way, she asked calmly: "Do you like her?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you like her, just say it. I don't mind."

"Then what if I say I do?"

"I don't care, but you aren't allowed to get handsy with her."

"Fine, I promise I won't initiate anything."

"Passive isn't allowed either."

"What a pain. You say you don't even like me, so why do you care so much? I'm a guy, I have urges—are you suggesting I come to you instead?"

Horikita's cheeks flushed slightly: "Coming to me is fine too. Since I've become your girlfriend, I will see it through to the end."

"Are you keeping your word?"

He looked Horikita up and down, making the girl feel a bit uneasy:

"It depends on my mood. I can't satisfy you whenever you want."

"What about now? Is your mood good?"

"Average."

"Then let me tell you a story. Listen up: once upon a time, there was a little Horikita..."

"Change the name."

"No." He continued, "One day, she ran into a big bad wolf..."

When he finished, Horikita rolled her eyes at him:

"Isn't this just the story of Little Red Riding Hood? What's the point of changing the protagonist to me?"

"Of course there's a point. Look at me—do I look like that big bad wolf?"

He stepped in front of Horikita and used his finger to gently lift the girl's chin, meeting those cold, clear eyes.

His gaze shifted, sweeping over her pretty face with intense aggression, lingering on her fresh lips for a long moment before finally locking onto her eyes.

Horikita slightly averted her gaze, looking somewhat flustered:

"You don't."

"Why not?"

"If you really were the big bad wolf, you would have already kissed—mmph..."

The words she hadn't finished were blocked inside her mouth. The girl's body stiffened, then she tremblingly placed her hands on his shoulders.

After pushing lightly and getting no reaction, she let him take liberties with her sweet lips.

A tear track ran down her fair cheek, adding a touch of pitiful charm to her slightly delicate face.

Bai Ye let her go and frowned as he looked at that tear:

"What are you crying for? You're making it look like I'm bullying you."

"It's nothing. That's none of your business."

Horikita wiped her face casually, as if she truly didn't care.

But Bai Ye knew she definitely had something hidden in her heart.

So annoying...

If he had known chasing girls was this much trouble, he would have just jumped into a river and ended it, rather than having this damn system find him.

However, complaining now was useless.

Sighing, he put on what he considered the gentlest expression in history:

"What's wrong, baby? Why are you unhappy~"

"Hm?"

Horikita looked at him in surprise, her eyes momentarily dazed.

After a long while, she said in disbelief:

"Are you crazy?"

"Hey, hey, I was just being a little gentle with you, what do you mean I'm crazy?"

"That's more like you; you're much more normal now."

"..."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he maintained his gentle tone:

"I'm sorry, it's just that you were so beautiful, baby, that I couldn't help but kiss you. Please forgive me, I'm begging you~"

"Don't you feel disgusted talking like that?" Horikita said expressionlessly.

"It is disgusting, even I feel a bit nauseous."

He squatted on the ground and pretended to retch.

"Heh..."

Horikita watched his exaggerated performance and let out a soft chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Bai Ye looked up slightly, gazing at her from below.

Horikita covered her lips and coughed lightly:

"Nothing, I just suddenly found it a bit funny."

At the same time, she felt a warm current sweep through her heart, soft and sweet, just like a marshmallow.

She didn't know where this sweetness came from.

She touched her chest and said, "Stop acting weird, it's not funny at all. You should just be yourself."

Bai Ye shook his head and stood up:

"You misunderstood. That was the real me just now; I wasn't acting."

"Oh?"

"So," Bai Ye spread his arms and smiled, "how about a hug, baby?"

"Where's your shame?" Horikita glared at him in embarrassment, her fingers clenched tight.

"You threw it away, remember?" Bai Ye took a step closer. "Come on, do you want one or not?"

"No."

"Really? My embrace is very warm, you know."

"I don't care if you're warm or not." The young girl glared at him with shy eyes.

This charming, half-angry, half-flustered look made his heart skip a beat.

He stepped forward and took Horikita's hand:

"Then let's hold hands. You don't have any objections to that, right?"

"Do whatever you want."

Since they had already kissed, Horikita didn't see this small request as a big deal.

And so, the two of them walked through the campus holding hands.

The bright spring breeze carried away the chill in the air and brought with it a delicate fragrance.

The scent was pleasant, like a beautiful and serene young girl, her fair hands gently brushing against one's face, kneading and caressing, making one reluctant to leave.

As more and more students appeared around them, Horikita's expression became somewhat unnatural:

"Aren't you going to let go?"

"What are you afraid of? If they want to look, let them look. What does that have to do with me?"

"Then... suit yourself."

Horikita nodded and said no more.