Chapter 73 Please say you like me while I can still pretend to be innocent...
"Give."
Risa took the photo album and flipped through it from back to front.
"Wait a moment--"
His reminder came too late.
On the last page, on the back of the photograph, the penmanship is slender yet powerful.
Like his winning shot on the field, it hits right in the heart.
Breathing is sluggish.
"Bang!" The photo album was slammed shut.
Risa stood frozen in place, her eardrums pounding with the sound of her own heartbeat.
Yukimura, however, seemed to have expected this. He slumped lazily into the sofa, his bangs falling over his forehead, his purple eyes shimmering with the golden glow of the fluorescent light, like a satisfied cat.
"Not watching anymore?" His voice was tinged with laughter, his gaze lingering on me with a tenderness that sent shivers down my spine.
"Let's go back and check again..."
Risa's throat tightened. She grabbed a handful of orange juice and gulped it down, but the icy liquid did nothing to quell the restlessness beneath her skin.
Yukimura's lips curled slightly, his eyes filled with a chilling depth.
"I...I'm leaving now."
She put the cup back and hurriedly got up.
"So eager?" He chuckled, his sharply angled neck disappearing into the shadow of his shirt.
In a daze, Risa recalled his feints that confused his opponents on the field.
"I have an appointment this afternoon..." She hurriedly walked around to the entrance.
The silver bracelet jingled.
Yukimura knelt down to block his way.
Risa froze, her ear tips instantly turning red.
"Are you really leaving?" His voice was gentle, yet laced with pressure. "Leave now, and I'll take it as you agreeing to my request."
Risa's breath hitched.
—What's this?
A gentle yet forceful hunt. He could have stopped her forcefully, but instead, he used the softest methods to make her willingly admit defeat.
She took a deep breath and tried to pull her hand away: "I'm sorry, something really has come up..."
Yukimura tightened his grip on the bracelet, loosely encircling her wrist: "Matsuno-kun, running away isn't your style."
The air condensed.
His gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing through all pretense.
The unspoken hesitation and longing were laid bare before those purple eyes.
"...Do you really have to leave?" he asked again.
Risa's fingertips curled up, but she finally nodded.
"Okay." He released his hand, and the veins on his wrist were faintly visible.
In the instant her fingertips curled up, Risa had already escaped to the entrance.
The corridor lights stretched her shadow long, gradually pulling her out of his sight.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly stood up, went to the corridor, and then abruptly stopped.
Leaning against the wall, his wrist bones bulged beneath his shirt cuffs, with visible veins.
Beneath his high brow bones, a dark undercurrent surged in his eyes, like the sea before a storm. But the next second, his eyelashes concealed his gaze, and when he looked up again, the sharpness had completely vanished.
Risa changed her shoes and turned around, only to be met with his forlorn gaze—like a small animal drenched in rain, both aggrieved and stubborn.
My heart tightened sharply.
Why are you looking at her like that?
It's as if... she's a heartless person who starts something and then abandons it.
"The Umihara Festival will be after school starts," she said, almost as if possessed.
"Hmm," he replied briefly, his gaze fixed on her.
Like the tide washing over the beach, it seeps into her inch by inch.
The air was so thick it was suffocating.
She forced a smile: "Go for it, I'm waiting for you to dominate the World Cup."
"Okay." His voice was hoarse.
Risa's hand had just touched the doorknob—
"Risa".
He called her by her full name, his voice low and hoarse, unlike his usual self.
She froze, and before she could react, hurried footsteps approached from behind.
The next second, her wrist was suddenly grabbed and she was pulled around.
Yukimura's face was inches away, his breath hot. The mist in his purple eyes dissipated, leaving only a scorching dark fire.
“…I’m sorry.” He gasped, his knuckles tightening. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Before he finished speaking, he pulled her into his arms.
The photo album and paper bag fell from her hands and crashed to the ground with a clatter.
"Risa, you know perfectly well... I never do anything I'm not sure about."
His breath was damp and hot, like the sultry air before a summer downpour, pressing heavily against her ear.
“33 days.” His voice was hoarse. “During those 33 days, Sanada said I was always looking at my phone. Yanagi said my serve error rate increased by 2.3%.”
"...I didn't want to care."
His fingers slid down her wrist bone, forcefully squeezing between her fingers, pressing firmly against the door, leaving her no room to break free.
Risa's breathing faltered.
For the past thirty-odd days, he hasn't been in a good state—at least not as calm and collected as he appears on the surface. He always replies to her messages instantly, constantly waiting for her response, yet he restrains himself from appearing clingy or persistent.
“I check my phone every morning before training,” he said softly. “During lunch break, I scroll through unread messages several times, refreshing Line more frequently than Liu recorded in his training data.”
Before going to sleep at night... I wonder if you, even for a second today, felt the same way I did.
He paused, looked up at her, and a storm raged in the depths of his purple eyes.
"Risa, you're disrupting my training." His voice was low and husky. "How are you going to take responsibility?"
Risa's pupils dilated slightly, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.
She was trapped between him and the door, unable to move. The boy's usually cool and aloof aura was now scorching hot, like an impenetrable net, completely enveloping her.
The elegant and composed Yukimura Seiichi, and the pitiful and obedient Yukimura Seiichi, have all vanished at this moment.
Instead, a sharp and aggressive predator emerged on the field.
"Yukimura-kun..." she tried to remain calm, but her voice trembled, "Please calm down..."
The boy's body stiffened slightly.
A moment later, he slowly stepped back half a step, his eyelashes drooping to conceal his gaze. As he released her, his index finger brushed lightly across her palm, like a restrained sigh.
"I'm sorry," he said in a low, hoarse voice, "I lost my composure."
Risa adjusted her collar, adopting a more mature tone: "I understand, sometimes too much pressure can..."
"Bang!"
The solid wood door panel suddenly trembled and made a muffled sound.
—The hand that had been so restrained and polite just moments before was now pressed heavily against her ear, the taut wrist bones turning bluish-white.
“But Risa,” he suddenly leaned in, his nose almost touching hers, “only now do you remember to act like an adult…”
She slammed her head against the door, and her silver bracelet jingled.
"—Don't you think it's too late?"
Blood surged, rushing to the top of his head in an instant.
Risa rarely saw Yukimura with a cold expression—his gentleness completely gone, his purple eyes dark and his voice devoid of warmth.
"That night, when you leaned on my shoulder, touched my hand, and snuggled into my arms... why didn't you say you needed to calm down?"
"You...!" Her ears burned red. "You clearly promised to pretend nothing happened!"
"I don't remember making such a promise to you." He braced himself against the door with one hand and gently stroked her cheek with the other, his thumb and forefinger gripping her chin, forcing her to look directly at him.
This contradictory gentleness is more unsettling than direct forcefulness.
"If we're going to talk like adults, then you should understand that adults are responsible for their own actions, right?"
He deliberately slowed his speech, emphasizing the last two words—
"......elder sister?"
It felt both like a provocation and a caress, sending a jolt of electric shock through Risa's spine.
She was deceived.
This person is frighteningly cunning.
He was clearly very concerned and angry, but he pretended nothing was wrong and chatted with her on Line for a whole month about the weather, tennis, and even potted plants. He used the most innocent expression to lure her here.
"You started it first..."
"You were the one who provoked me first."
"Time and time again."
"But after I fell in love, they turned a blind eye to my feelings."
"Avoiding me. Pushing me away. Toying with me..."
With each word he spoke, he moved an inch closer, until her back was pressed against the door panel, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.
"Does my sister know how I've been these past few days?"
Risa's eyelashes trembled violently.
His burning body temperature was in front of her, while the cold door panel was behind her. It was a stark contrast of hot and cold, and even her fingertips were numb.
"Whether I'm training or resting, you're all I can think about."
"Every time my phone vibrates, I think it's a message from you."
"Knowing full well that I shouldn't have any expectations..."
He enunciated clearly, each word sounding like a list of her crimes.
Risa's throat was dry, and she managed to squeeze out a voice: "I...I'm just too busy..."
“Lying isn’t good, sister.” He moved closer, his hair brushing against her cheek. “You weren’t like this at the hotel that night.”
With her back pressed against the door, Li Sha had nowhere left to retreat.
The boy, however, pressed his advantage, pressing down on him with his tall, slender figure, compressing the already cramped space to its limit.
"Sister, what happened that night at the festival wasn't something you did in a moment of impulse or loss of control. You were perfectly sober, yet you still chose to get close to me, right?"
His voice was extremely low and his tone was very slow, as if he were peeling an onion, slowly dissecting her disguise.
My heart was gripped by an invisible hand.
She was indeed awake. Awake as she watched herself sink into the light of the festival, awake as she let her fingertips dig into his, awake as... as he leaned down, she slowly closed her eyes.
But she wouldn't tell him, she would never admit it.
Yukimura gazed at her trembling pupils and suddenly chuckled, "It seems I was right. But my sister won't admit it."
Risa bit her lower lip.
Yukimura stared at her bright red earlobes and suddenly chuckled.
"Sister's expression right now..." He leaned down, his thin lips almost touching her earlobe, his voice seductive, "Just like in my dream that night, it makes me want to cry..."
He tilted his head, nodded slightly, and took her earlobe into his mouth.
"!"
A jolt of electricity coursed through her body. Risa pushed him away, pressing her chest against his, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her over his head.
"Why are you hiding?" He admired the look of shock in her eyes, and smiled innocently. "Your reaction... isn't unpleasant at all."
"You bastard..." she knelt in protest, but he held her down.
Having failed to struggle, he simply closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
“…Do you know?” His warm breath brushed against her eyelashes, “The way my sister closed her eyes…it looked like she was asking for a kiss.”
Risa's palms were clenched so tightly they turned white.
Shame, anger, and a host of other complex emotions welled up inside me, and my eyes stung with tears.
Seeing that she was about to cry, Yukimura's eyes widened slightly. He loosened his grip, and his tone suddenly softened:
"I'm sorry, sister. Did I hurt you?"
— He acted like a polite gentleman, as if the person who had been pressing him so aggressively just moments before was not him at all.
Risa's legs went weak and she almost knelt on the ground, but he caught her quickly.
"Is my sister alright?" he asked innocently.
"..." She was so angry that she couldn't speak.
That bastard...
He was the one who drove her to this point, yet now he's pretending to be so innocent.
Yukimura chuckled as he looked at her angry and annoyed expression, his fingertips brushing against the corner of her lips.
"Sister, please tell me you like me, okay?" He lowered his tone, his voice soft, "Right now... while I can still pretend to be good."
Risa's throat was dry, and she couldn't make a sound.
She was doing something utterly outrageous, yet she acted like a child begging for candy. The contrast between her stubbornness and her show of vulnerability sent shivers down her spine.
He lowered his eyes to gaze at her, and sighed softly.
"It seems my sister doesn't like me pretending to be well-behaved."
Before he could finish speaking, his soft lips covered her neck.
"Ugh...!"
It was hotter than she had imagined, as if he wanted to make up for the unfinished passion of the festival night all at once. His eyelashes brushed against her skin, and as his lips moved, the restrained yet greedy force was clearly conveyed to her.
"Yukimura, you—!"
"Hmm?" He raised his head slightly, his thin, dark purple eyes misty and alluring under the overhead light.
He chuckled softly: "I'm listening."
The damp, warm residue, like spilled wine, spread a blush across her snow-white skin.
He admired the red plum blossom that had bloomed because of him, and raised his eyes with satisfaction.
"Sister, please don't make things difficult for me, okay?"
They nuzzled noses affectionately, and he revealed an angelic, pure smile: "As long as you say you like me... I'll let you go."
Risa's eyelashes trembled as she saw the three words gleaming in his eyes—
"Just kidding."
"......"
Risa's lips trembled slightly before she finally bit down, leaving deep teeth marks.
Yukimura gazed at her silently, a turbulent undercurrent in his eyes, which finally dissipated into a soft sigh.
“Sister’s silence…” Yukimura lowered his eyes, his fingertips tracing the hollow of her collarbone. “Is she waiting for me to continue?”
Before she could finish speaking, a feather-like kiss landed on her neck.
Risa's knees buckled, and she almost couldn't stand up as he held her tightly by the waist and pressed her against him.
"It's so hot..." he murmured hoarsely, "My sister's skin... is about to burn me."
The air was stuffy, sticky, and suffocating.
Reason evaporated in the scorching heat, squeezing out fragmented sentences before collapsing:
"Yukimura Seiichi...!"
Yukimura paused for a moment, then stopped moving.
Do you know what you're doing?
He slightly raised his purple eyes and his gaze fell on her face.
What should have been an angry rebuke was instead broken and incoherent, clinging to his heart in a sticky, mushy way.
She was glaring at him angrily, but the corners of her eyes were red. Like a frightened fawn, her wet, dark eyes held no intimidation whatsoever.
The hand pressed against his chest curled up and clutched his collar, her fingertips turning pink from the force, as if she wanted to push him away, or perhaps... she was afraid he would really leave.
It's incredibly contradictory.
It's incredibly alluring.
“Of course I know.” He narrowed his eyes dangerously. “But my sister, she clearly knows better than anyone what I want… yet she’s been pretending not to know.”
Risa was speechless.
"Was my sister angry just now?" He smiled innocently, his eyes crinkling. "But..."
After a brief pause, the smile turned malicious.
"I'm just teaching you... honesty."
The sound of his heartbeat was deafening.
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Author's Note: The pacing of this chapter was indeed a bit slow. Based on reader feedback, this chapter will be slightly rewritten. [Heart emoji] Those who have purchased this chapter, please refresh after 8 PM to read it. [Hug emoji]
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The next chapter will be updated about half an hour later; I'm still scrolling through my keyboard, lol.
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