Chapter 557

After a brief moment of astonishment, Lin Ye immediately leaned over and bent down to pick up the book that had fallen to the floor. He dusted it off and placed it on the desk beneath Yukinoshita.

"Here."

"Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you."

Her navy-blue eyes remained quite calm, until Lin Ye moved with lightning speed to quickly pinch her cheek; only then did her expression change.

Yukinoshita hadn't actually seen that flash-like speed, but the skin on her cheek had felt it clearly.

Suppressing the impulse in her heart, she glared at Lin Ye, radiating her dissatisfaction and anger, then adjusted her posture to face forward.

Lin Ye returned to his seat with a smile in his heart.

Based on that reaction, Lin Ye knew Yukino still had feelings for him.

Being angry wasn't a big problem.

He just needed to comfort her properly; girls just needed him to comfort them well.

Class continued as usual.

Lin Ye didn't deliberately strike up a conversation with Yukinoshita to provoke a reaction from the girl.

The morning passed just like any other ordinary day.

At noon,

after the other students had left the classroom, Lin Ye followed the girl toward the club building where the Service Club was located.

Yukinoshita walked with a light and steady pace, ignoring Lin Ye’s presence behind her. She looked straight ahead, her expression natural, as if she had completely ignored the man following her.

A few minutes later,

the two arrived.

At this time, there was no one else in the Service Club; Lin Ye and Yukinoshita were the first to arrive.

Lin Ye entered first and pulled out a chair for the girl. This proactive gesture left Yukinoshita stunned.

Because this was the first time Lin Ye had done this for her, the detail was spot on, but Yukinoshita Yukino instinctively felt something was wrong.

Sudden enthusiasm always hid some kind of problem.

"If you have something to say, say it directly, while Yuigahama-san hasn't arrived yet."

"I don't."

"Time is limited."

Didn't she know Lin Ye?

"I'm caring for my girlfriend, that should be fine, right? Besides, according to what Yukino said, we are already an engaged couple."

The relationship of being an engaged couple was something she had added herself. She was worried Lin Ye would refuse, but at least when her sister was present last night, Lin Ye hadn't denied it and hadn't made her lose face.

"That was just words to deal with my sister; you don't need to take it to heart."

"Ah!"

Lin Ye feigned a look of astonishment.

"To deal with Haruno? Was that real or fake?"

"What do you think!"

Yukinoshita still didn't give Lin Ye a definitive answer.

"I see."

Lin Ye revealed a look of disappointment. "It's real, I know it's real."

After saying that,

Lin Ye took Yukino's hand. This sudden intimate act made the girl subconsciously try to pull her hand back, but she didn't succeed; Lin Ye held it very tightly, giving Yukino no possibility of leaving.

"Let go of me."

"I won't. What's wrong with me holding my fiancée's hand?"

"Let go."

"I won't."

She struggled even harder, very angry, but more than that, she felt shy and helpless.

"Yuigahama-san is coming."

"Isn't that just right?"

"..."

Facing the smile on the corner of Lin Ye's mouth, she let out a light breath and said slowly, "I beg you."

She made a pleading sound.

How could Lin Ye have any reason to refuse a plea from his girlfriend and fiancée?

"Compensate me tonight."

Saying this, without waiting for the girl's agreement, Lin Ye let go.

Yukinoshita Yukino opened her mouth several times, but swallowed back the words she wanted to say.

At this moment,

footsteps sounded outside the Service Club.

*Tap-tap-tap...*

The footsteps were quite fast.

Yuigahama Yui had arrived.

"Yahallo, Yukinon, Lin-kun."

"Yo."

Lin Ye replied.

Less than a minute later, Isshiki Iroha also arrived.

"Senpai, Senior, good afternoon!"

She flashed a bright smile, though there was an inexplicable shyness in her expression as she looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye found it very strange.

Why would she suddenly be shy?

Iroha had already lost the memory of the day before yesterday; she shouldn't be shy seeing him!

He hadn't done anything that would make her shy, nor said anything that would make her shy.

A bit strange.

Isshiki Iroha took her seat and opened her bento.

"Senpai, Senpai, hurry and open your bento, let us see what Yukinoshita-senpai prepared for your lunch today."

She was cheerful, familiar, and didn't care at all.

Lin Ye reached out and opened the bento on the table.

An alluring fragrance filled the air.

Isshiki Iroha’s eyes lit up at the sight, and Yuigahama Yui swallowed. She had eaten the bento Yukinoshita made yesterday, and she still couldn't stop thinking about it; she wanted to taste it again, even thinking at one point that if Lin Ye didn't come to school today, she might be able to taste the lunch bento Yukino made once more.

"Wow! Senpai's skills are really good!"

"I really want to eat some, Senpai, share some with me!"

Isshiki Iroha made her request without any hesitation.

"No."

Lin Ye refused flatly, not giving any opportunity at all.

"Stingy, Senpai has eaten it so many times, yet you're not willing to share even a little bit with me, too stingy."

A resentful voice sounded; Isshiki Iroha was extremely dissatisfied.

"Yeah, I'm very stingy."

Lin Ye just laid back and gave up, admitting it directly, rendering the series of tactics Isshiki Iroha had prepared useless.

So uncomfortable!

Senpai really didn't care about his face at all.

In front of three beautiful girls, Senpai didn't put on an act at all; sigh, too much.

It was enough to make Isshiki Iroha furious.

"Senpai..."

"No."

It was short and decisive,

leaving Isshiki Iroha with no choice but to give up.

Inside the Service Club, the four of them were eating their bento boxes.

A peaceful daily life.

Yukinoshita Yukino watched Lin Ye finish the last grain of rice in his bento box, and her mood improved even more.

Isshiki Iroha ate the fastest; she was already scrolling through her phone, browsing today's trending news.

"Wow!"

An exclamation rang out.

Isshiki Iroha looked at the news displayed on her phone screen, her expression excited.

"Sakurajima Mai-san has come forward!"

"She's already come forward to explain her current situation. How amazing, she didn't choose to let it cool down and wait for the heat to fade, but instead came forward to explain right now. How much courage must that take?"

"I hope there won't be any fan riots at the press conference."

As she spoke,

Isshiki Iroha clicked on the link.

It was a video of the press conference held by Sakurajima Mai's agency. Sakurajima Mai was sitting on the stage, her expression calm and natural. Facing the fans off-stage, she showed no stage fright or fear; instead, she appeared composed and full of confidence.

"Senpai, you're curious too, right!"

Isshiki Iroha noticed the gaze Lin Ye had cast over.

"Since Senpai is curious, I'll be merciful and share it with you so we can watch together."

Yuigahama Yui was also curious and leaned in as well.

They all had phones, but compared to searching for relevant news themselves, it was better to just watch it directly.

Yukinoshita Yukino, who was sitting on the other side, was actually also curious and wanted to watch the video, but her own style of conduct meant she could never actively lean in.

Isshiki Iroha turned on the speaker, "Yukinoshita-senpai, I'm going to turn on the speaker volume, is that okay?"

She asked for Yukinoshita's opinion.

To this, Yukinoshita Yukino nodded directly to indicate her acceptance.

"Thank you, thank you, Yukinoshita-senpai is so nice."

As she spoke,

Isshiki Iroha clicked on the video.

This was an edited video; the live broadcast had already ended.

The initial explanation by the agency's representative was very simple.

The key was handing it over to Sakurajima Mai.

For the agency, how Sakurajima Mai could quell the public opinion, recover the fans she might lose, and retain her qualifications in the entertainment industry was the key.

Japanese actors, especially young actresses, shouldn't have scandalous news, but this time Sakurajima Mai's Akihabara confession incident happened suddenly. Let alone the agency and fans, even Sakurajima Mai herself had only known about Lin Ye's plan a little while in advance.

She actually hadn't held any thoughts of success at the time; she just wanted to cooperate with Lin Ye.

But as a result, Lin Ye succeeded, and her acting career began to face its greatest challenge from fans and public opinion.

If she failed,

her career as an actress and her life in the entertainment industry would come to an end right there.

Looking at the familiar girl in the video, Lin Ye believed she could handle it properly herself, but as her boyfriend, a touch of worry was still inevitable.

If Mai failed, he would help.

At worst, hypnosis.

Hypnotize the whole world—hahaha, although that was an exaggeration, Lin Ye felt that what if it could actually be done!

Yukinoshita Yukino concentrated on listening to the sound coming from the phone screen she couldn't see, while her eyes rested on Lin Ye's cheeks, observing his reactions.

Deep down, she was very concerned about Lin Ye's attitude and feelings toward Sakurajima Mai at this moment.

Sakurajima Mai's sweet voice rang out from the phone.

She stood up and bowed to everyone off-stage first, expressing her politeness and respect.

"Thank you to all the fans and media friends who came to the scene, and thank you to all the many fans who have always supported me. I... am truly grateful for everyone's support for me, Sakurajima Mai."

"Without everyone's support, I wouldn't be where I am today."

A standard opening statement.

But Sakurajima Mai's words were sincere, and her posture was appropriate, making people feel her sincerity.

"Today, I will provide an explanation for what happened in Akihabara the night before last."

This was what the people off-stage and the many fans and curious onlookers watching the video wanted to know most.

Sakurajima Mai's Akihabara confession incident this time could be said to have taken her traffic and fame to another level. If she could properly resolve this public relations crisis, it could be said that this young star, "Sakurajima Mai," would become a first-class star in the true sense.

But if she failed, she would fade away and become a fallen star in the entertainment world.

Many people would feel regret.

"There are many speculations online, among which it was mentioned that it was a scene from my newly released movie."

"There are also netizens who say that I am deliberately hyping it up to gain traffic."

"There are many speculations and many associations, and I won't elaborate on them one by one here."

"What I want to say is that it wasn't acting, nor was it to gain traffic; it was real."

"I accepted his confession and became his girlfriend. We... are officially dating."

One sentence,

completely plunged everyone off-stage into silence, and the expectant eyes turned into astonishment.

No one present had expected Sakurajima Mai to be so decisive, not looking for any excuses or reasons, but first defining the Akihabara confession incident and confirming the facts.

This rendered the many speculations and analyses void.

*Swish!*

A reporter raised their hand.

"Please go ahead."

"Sakurajima Mai-san, aren't you worried that your relationship will affect your acting career?"

Actually, this was a subtle reminder of the unspoken rules of the Japanese entertainment industry; it is very difficult for young stars to announce they are dating, as they will lose a large number of fans.

"I am worried, but when you like someone, you like them, and when you start dating, you start dating. If I miss him, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

Regret it for the rest of her life?

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Especially the men, who opened their eyes wide, their hearts unable to stop wandering; what kind of charm did that man have to be worth such a description from Sakurajima Mai?

They remembered some of the man's circumstances and performance during the Akihabara incident.

Although the man was handsome, very sincere, and had a heart of gold for Sakurajima Mai, these conditions combined still shouldn't be enough for Sakurajima Mai to say, "I will regret it for the rest of my life if I miss him," right!

They found it hard to accept.

"Sakurajima-san, what is good about him? I think our audience here and the countless viewers in front of the cameras are all very curious. Can you share it with us?"

A reporter asked the question everyone wanted to know.

"I... encountered something, a low point in my life. I was unable to walk out of it on my own and could only wander alone. I longed to successfully escape and return to my original life, but I failed."

Sakurajima Mai naturally didn't explicitly state that she had encountered an anomaly that caused her presence to drop to the point of being ignored by everyone.

And to the audience, it seemed Sakurajima Mai had encountered a major problem in her life, whether in her personal life or her career.

"Just when I was about to give up, just when I was about to be completely desperate, he appeared."

"He appeared in front of me, provided help, and tried every possible way to solve the problem I was facing."

"In the end, the problem was solved."

"I returned to my current life, full of hope and passion for the future."

"Facing such a boy who reached out to help me when I was in a desperate situation, how... how could I refuse his confession!"

"I like him. I like him more than any other girl in the world."

At this moment, Sakurajima Mai's eyes were filled with love and a fluttering expression.

This is what love is!