A Former Aspiration

Yukino couldn't stand the bitter and salty taste, so she made some water to rinse her mouth and washed her face, as the seawater made her eyes very uncomfortable.

"Yukino, give me some too!"

Upon seeing this, Mai immediately waved her hand.

"Okay, come a little closer and catch it."

Yukino pretended to make water, but actually, after Mai swam over, she plunged her hand into the sea and splashed it forcefully at her.

Seeing Mai's face covered in water, Yukino clenched her fist in victory and flashed a cute smile.

Mai froze for a few seconds, then said angrily:

"Yukino, you attacked first! Take this!"

"No, you hit me first. I won't hold back!"

"That's perfect, I'm going to go all out now."

You can't beat me.

Mai and Yukino splashed water on each other like children.

They didn't use any supernatural abilities, and soon they were all in a sorry state.

Her hairstyle was a complete mess.

These two people showed none of the composure and coldness they displayed in public in front of each other.

This is a side of me that I only show to my close friends.

The two argued for a long time before finally agreeing to go ashore.

Back on the beach, they lay lazily on the sand without any decorum.

"Hahaha, Yukino, what kind of hairstyle is that?"

"Heh, it's Mai who's the real star. Is this what you call a celebrity?"

Mai and Yukino sized each other up and couldn't help but laugh for a long time.

"Yukino, you handle this."

"No problem."

After laughing, Mai said lazily.

Yukino nodded casually, then beckoned with her finger, and the water on their bodies instantly froze into ice, flying back into the sea as she moved her finger.

The two, now dry again, did not get up, but continued to lie side by side, enjoying the sea breeze and gazing at the boundless blue sky above.

If this is what constitutes a yuri story, then that's a gross underestimation of yuri fiction. If word gets out, I'll be torn apart by yuri fans.

Besides, even if it's a yuri relationship between harem members, I don't see it as cuckoldry; on the contrary, I get even more excited... Maybe it's because I've read too many doujinshi and eroge, but I don't think it's a big deal at all.

However, I understand that people can't be generalized. After all, everyone's interests are different. But please read the content carefully before you jump in. My book doesn't contain any yuri elements so far, at most it touches on the edge of light yuri.

In reality, there is a huge difference between light yuri and heavy yuri. Light yuri is not the same as homosexuality. Don't get upset just because girls are being a little intimate; there's really no need to.

But then again, the yuri (lesbian) elements in the harem are definitely exciting...

Section 602, page 560: Past Aspirations

The two lay on the beach, surrounded by a relaxed atmosphere.

Not long after lying down, Yukino brought up a topic:

"Mai, may I ask you a question?"

"What's the question? You ask first, and I'll answer if I can."

Mai replied, not giving a definitive answer.

Why do you like Inoue -kun? Or rather, what do you like about him?

"This kind of question... I didn't expect you, Yukino, to want to talk to me about such a girly, romantic topic."

Mai clicked her tongue in amazement.

She thought for a moment, then decided it wasn't a secret and said, "This goes back many years. I had a crush on Shuya the first time I met him."

Yukino recalled, "I remember Inoue- kun recommended you and got your first job, right?"

Mai nodded. "That's right, it was a children's clothing advertisement... He recommended me, and he took great care of me during my first shoot."

She suddenly smiled, "I was very grateful to him at the time, thinking that he was such a kind guy for being so nice to a stranger like me... But now that I think about it, it was probably just because I'm very cute."

"Inoue -kun does have that side, it's really unbearable."

Yukino could not agree more.

"Whatever the reason, he was indeed kind to me and helped me a lot, and those are facts."

Mai continued, "Then he recommended me for a role in Morning Drama, which was an immense favor. To paraphrase him, it greatly increased my favorability towards him."

"So that's how you fell in love with him?"

"No, not really. At the time, it was simply out of gratitude, though there was some goodwill involved as well."

"So what exactly...?"

Yukino is very curious about Mai's emotional journey.

Mai mentioned another person. "You should know my mother's personality, right?"

"Know."

Yukino Mai's best friend, so it's impossible for her not to know about her mother's legend.

She didn't like her mother, but out of consideration for Mai's feelings, she never discussed her mother's affairs.

Mai said, "My mom purely used Shuya as a tool. After she used him to make me famous, she restricted me from seeing him. You've heard Shuya say this, right?"

"No, he basically never talks about your mother."

"Yeah, he really dislikes my mom, he probably doesn't even want to mention her..."

Mai smiled helplessly and continued, "I think it was around this time that I first realized I liked him."

Yukino thought for a moment and realized that the time Mai was referring to was during the three years when Shuya went to Great Hua to film. At that time, Haruno knew Shuya, but Yukino and he were just strangers.

It was around that time that Mai's mother began trying to gradually help Mai break free from Shuya's influence.

Mai's mother was quite perceptive.

She knew that even though they were still children, given their relationship, there was a high chance they would become a couple when they grew up.

She didn't want this to happen.

Having a boyfriend is a huge blow to a female entertainer's career, and this reason was enough for Mai's mother to prevent the two from meeting.

This is emotionally unacceptable, but logically it makes sense.

But this approach seems to have been a complete failure.

"I only realized how important he was when I couldn't see him. Perhaps this is a common human flaw—we only know how to cherish what we've lost."

Mai gritted her teeth and said, "But that guy really doesn't care about me at all, he's too lazy to even make a few phone calls."

"He probably finds it too much trouble."

Yukino said.

Mai nodded. "Yes, that bastard is exactly that kind of person."

However, Yukino added, "But as far as I know, you haven't called him much either. Doesn't that even things out?"

Mai retorted angrily, "Don't you have any respect for girls? How old was I back then? How could I have the nerve to actively pursue a boy!"

If it were now, she would obviously ignore her mother and go straight to her door, but back then she was just a child and couldn't even go out freely.

"In short, I don't think your resentment towards Inoue- kun is reasonable."

Yukino expressed her feelings honestly.

That's just the kind of person she is; she doesn't know how to say polite things and she's obsessed with being right.

"I don't really blame him!"

"Oh... well, I think I understand now."

Yukino said, "Miss Mai truly fell in love with him when Inoue- kun took over the swimsuit job for you, right?"

Mai didn't answer immediately. She suddenly became shy, her face flushed, and she stammered, "I guess so..."

Yukino didn't look at her, lest she feel even more ashamed.

Mai can be very flirtatious normally, but she gets shy when it comes to the important stuff.

The two remained silent for a moment, with only the sound of the sea remaining in their vicinity.

A few minutes later, Mai's voice rang out. "And you? Why do you like him?"

Yukino: "That's because..."

She stared blankly at the sky.

Several white clouds drifted leisurely in the azure sky, and her heart seemed to ride on those clouds, drifting all the way to the depths of the sky.

Drifting into the depths of memory...

I used to admire him a lot.

Yukino recalled the first time she met him.

They were still elementary school students then.

When we bumped into each other at the shoe cabinet, I heard that someone had skipped school after their indoor shoes were stolen, and strangely, they didn't seem to care about it at all.

Her first impression of him was that he was a free-spirited and eccentric person.

This is the opposite of Yukino; the two are nothing alike.

... In fact, Yukino had always known about Shuya.

Ever since Haruno met Shuya, she has often enthusiastically shared her funny stories about him with Yukino.

These experiences were neither mentioned by Haruno to Shuya, nor did Yukino show them.

Shuya know that Yukino had known him for much longer than he thought.

Yukino spoke up:

"When I was little, I thought my older sister was an amazing person. No matter how strict my mother was, she could always do her best. She could even perfectly balance her studies and work, and she could also perform with ease at social events. Everyone around her had a very high opinion of her; she was practically a perfect superwoman."

"Compared to my older sister, I'm just an ordinary little girl who's exceptionally cute."

"...?"

Mai slowly turned her head to look at Yukino, but seeing how serious she was, she took back her retort.

After all, she wasn't lying; Yukino was just as pretty as her when she was a child.

"Until one day, I learned from my sister that there were actually people in this world she couldn't handle... I immediately became interested in him. Even though I don't usually watch TV series, I started watching his works."

So you used to be a fan of celebrities?

"I'm not a fan of any celebrities, I'm just... browsing casually."

Yukino calmly.

"Oh? Sure, it's fine to just browse around."

Mai nodded ambiguously.

Yukino said, "Inoue- kun was undoubtedly an amazing person back then. He always managed to exceed my expectations, achieving unimaginable feats at such a young age."

"It's undeniable that I once harbored feelings of admiration for him."

You mean... in the past?