Confession
Because of seasickness, Yuko could only stay on the shore. Emma wanted to stay with her, but Yuko refused. Knowing that Yuko was an overly kind person who felt guilty if she bothered others, Emma didn't insist.
Although Emma was considerate, Mikey wasn't someone who could be easily dismissed. He sat next to Yuko, and Yuko didn't dare to shoo him away. What if he was just resting because he was tired from playing? It was better not to presume that he was keeping her company.
Thinking about it this way, she couldn't help but recall the horrific dream she had on the plane.
It doesn't feel real at all, and doesn't he have a girlfriend? (Yuko hasn't forgotten the incident where Mikey was slapped by Hinata Tachibana, and still mistakenly thinks they are boyfriend and girlfriend.)
Yuko, who had been poisoned by melodramatic TV dramas for many years, suddenly realized: Could it be that I shamelessly interfered in someone else's relationship?
Yuko shook her head frantically. No, no, I would never do such a thing. Yuko was confident in this aspect of herself.
Could it be that they broke up after that? Did I take advantage of Sano-kun's vulnerability after he was dumped? If so, I would be a truly despicable person!
Perhaps there's some misunderstanding here?
Yuko was engrossed in her analysis when she couldn't help but steal a glance at Mikey.
The boy leaned lazily on the sand, his body relaxed, his eyes fixed on the children playing in the distance. The sea breeze ruffled his soft hair, and Yuko's eyes, automatically filtered through her lens, focused on his profile, finding it flawlessly perfect. Her gaze then drifted downwards to his bare upper body, revealing muscles honed through exercise. She suddenly remembered touching his bare back when he had lifted her up, and how, because of the fixed position, he had hugged her thigh… Yuko's face slowly flushed crimson, as if she were being steamed.
What are you reminiscing about?! Are you a pervert? Yuko cursed herself inwardly, holding her face.
Just thinking about that terrible future is like a bucket of cold water being poured over me.
Yuko calmed down instantly.
This is not allowed.
You must not let your heart flutter.
Yuko took a deep breath, then hugged her knees, her fingers unconsciously tracing patterns in the sand.
In my dream, I committed suicide in the future...
Dad and my brother will be very sad.
So what about Emma? Was Emma saved?
She seemed unafraid of her own death, but instead worried about her friends' safety. Knowing she would commit suicide, she decided to make all the necessary arrangements before she died.
She hopes that Emma and Ye Ye can grow up happily.
I hope that everyone in Dongwan can continue to laugh and have fun as happily as they do now in the future.
And the person next to him...
Yuko thought she liked him, but her feelings would bring him misfortune.
But what could she do? She could try to control herself, but she couldn't stop others. Besides, she doubted whether it was true, since he hadn't shown much liking for her yet.
You can't just tell someone directly, "Don't like me, we'd better keep our distance."
That's far too presumptuous...
Yes.
Yuko had a sudden inspiration. She cleared her throat and asked, "Sano-kun, that... it's... it's..."
Mikey looked over, and the girl hesitated, unsure of what to say. It took a while before she finally heard him.
"What kind of woman do you dislike, Sano-kun?"
"All I need to do is make him hate me," Yuko thought, believing she had come up with a brilliant idea.
Mikey: ...
He had noticed Yuko's subtle movements earlier and thought she was about to say something. "What a stupid question!"
Yuko immediately backed down: "It's nothing, I was just asking, you don't need to answer."
Just when she thought the conversation was about to end, Mikey spoke up: "Rude, doesn't use honorifics, short hair, and things like that."
Yuko was taken aback for a moment, not expecting him to answer.
She thought to herself, "I could learn to be a bit rough, but short hair? Does that mean I have to cut my hair off?" Yuko touched her waist-length hair and thought that Hinata Tachibana's shoulder-length hair wasn't that long either. Would she have to cut it even shorter than that?! She nervously asked, "About how short?" afraid that he would answer with a buzz cut.
"Who knows?" Mikey seemed unwilling to say more, and instead asked, "You've asked so many questions, it's my turn now. What kind of person do you dislike?"
A perfect opportunity! Yuko immediately realized this was a good time to make a suggestion. So she deliberately said, "Probably blonde, unreasonable, and with a weird name."
Upon hearing this, Mikey had a look of sudden realization: "So you don't like Jianzai's type."
Yuko was dumbfounded. This person had absolutely no self-awareness!
Indeed, what she said was rather general. The stage name "Draken" is quite strange, and this statement is quite fitting for "Draken".
But does he never think about himself at all?
Yuko really wanted to add another short person, but she didn't dare say so for her own safety. Yuko regretted it inwardly; she should have risked her life to say it.
"Yuko~" Nono, soaking wet, ran over from the sea. Her half-black, half-red hair was tied in a ponytail, and because it was wet, the ends of her hair stuck to her neck. Her two-piece swimsuit revealed a large area of her honey-colored skin.
"Don't just sit here like an idiot, let's go play in the water!" Because of the sun and the exercise, Ye Ye's face was flushed, and she looked like she was having a great time.
Yuko looked at her with some difficulty: "But I think I feel seasick..."
"That's easy, just close your eyes and don't look. You can swim, right? Just go play in the sea and you'll be fine."
Yuko listened and thought it made sense, so she was half-heartedly pulled along. Yuko closed her eyes, held onto Nono's arm tightly, and waded across the water, stopping when the water reached her thighs.
“Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s start dividing into groups,” Draken said.
Yuko opened her eyes and looked around; she was no longer seasick. She also noticed that not only had Apa, who had been buried in the sand, been dug out, but Mikey had also come with them. Ten people were gathered, but Yuko still didn't understand what Draken meant by dividing them into groups.
"Waterborne horseback riding battle! Two people per team, the person who falls off the horse loses." Nono and Yuko explained the rules of the game.
With his hands behind his head, Yi Hu laughed and said, "Playing like this isn't fun enough. There should be some stakes involved."
"Then the loser will be the winner's slave during their time in Okinawa," Nono casually made a huge bet.
"That sounds interesting."
"Suddenly I feel motivated!"
No one objected, and Yuko felt too embarrassed to offer any suggestions.
After a simple grouping process, the five teams were spaced out. The roles of horse and general were decided within each team, and the final team assignments are as follows.
Nono (General) Field (Horse)
One tiger (general) and three valleys (horses)
Mikey (will) Appa (horse)
Emma (will) draken (horse)
Yuko (Sho) Haru Chiya (Horse)
Even though Haru Chiya didn't like Yuko, he wouldn't make a girl carry him, so he obediently carried Yuko on his back.
Yuko didn't cling tightly to his back; to make it easier to react to different situations, she positioned herself higher up, with her legs tucked under his armpits.
"I definitely won't let you lose, Haru Chiya." Since she's involved, she must strive for victory. Yuko's competitive spirit is surprisingly strong.
Haru Chiya chuckled and said, "Is that so? Then I'll wait and see."
At a command, the five teams began fighting.
In the wilderness, they faced off directly against Emma Draken. The two girls, riding on their teammates' backs, showed no mercy and fought fiercely.
"Ye Ye, you're actually serious?!" Emma pinched Ye Ye's cheek.
"You are the one! Just how much do you want me to be your slave!" Nono pinched Emma's cheek.
The field and Draken weren't idle either, wrestling with their shoulders, when suddenly their hair was grabbed.
"Ye Ye, how dare you grab Draken's hair! That's despicable!" Emma cursed angrily, also grabbing Draken's hair in her hand.
"We're in the same boat, okay? Xiao Gui, hang in there, I'll get her down right away!" Ye Ye used one hand to pry open the ground for leverage.
The two men, acting as horses, were carrying their own general on their backs, a situation they couldn't express their grievances about.
Yuko told Haru Chiya to stay away from the battle zone, and they quietly retreated. However, when they retreated to deeper water, they bumped into another team from behind.
Clearly, Mitani Kazutora shared the same idea as them, intending to stay away from the fierce battle zone and reap the benefits.
The four people from both teams looked at each other in chest-deep water and smiled sheepishly.
"Why don't you join in, Yuko? I'd like to see how girls fight in a group!" Yihu teased.
“It’s already lively enough…” Yuko didn’t expect her two friends, who usually seemed so refined, to have this side to them.
"The outcome will be decided soon, won't it?" Mitani said.
"I feel that Ye Ye and Chang Ji are stronger," Yi Hu commented on the battle. "Oh, draken and Chang Ji are about to go berserk."
"Do you have time to chat here now?" Haru Chiyo reminded them.
Not far away, Apa, carrying Mikey on his back, roared like a tank at sea, "You guys better admit defeat!" and charged towards them at top speed.
"Oh no!" Mitani immediately became alert and tried to run away.
"Take care, Yuuko~" Yihu waved happily to them.
"You want us to be bait?" Yuko grabbed Ichiko's hand with lightning speed.
But then, Apa arrived like a cannonball, and the huge splash it created blinded Yuko. She relaxed her grip and let go.
A pair of hands reached out to her from within the water curtain.
Yuko dodged backward in time, and her opponent, having missed their attack, also took a step back. With a great effort, Yuko used her core strength to pull herself back and leaned on Haru Chiya's shoulder.
"You've got some skills," Mikey said with a smile.
Yuko felt slighted and a little annoyed. She leaned down and whispered in Haru Chiya's ear, "Haru Chiya, Haru Chiya, keep your distance."
Sanzu Haru Chiya remained motionless, and not only that, he raised his hands in surrender. Yuko hadn't expected him to do that, and almost slid off him.
He actually wants to surrender without a fight!
Yuko gripped Haru Chiya's waist tightly, raising her voice angrily, "You! This is betrayal!"
Haru Chiya didn't take her accusations to heart at all, and stated, "What a lovely young lady. What betrayal? I have always been loyal to Mikey from the beginning, and he will definitely be the final winner of this game."
Yuko knew that everyone in Touman revolved around Mikey, like planets orbiting the sun. She just hadn't expected that even though it was just a game, Santu would actually carry this belief through to the end.
Mikey, who was mentioned, sat steadily on Apa's back like a king, and he even had the leisure to provoke: "Are you fighting amongst yourselves? Do you want to wait until you're done arguing before you start?"
Yuko's anger level rose, and she thought angrily: Haru Chiya-kun, since you are so ruthless, don't blame me for being ruthless in return!
She placed her hands on Santu's shoulders and nimbly climbed up from behind him onto his shoulders, sitting on his shoulders with her legs on either side. To maintain her balance, she grabbed Santu's head with both hands.
"Hey!" Santu tried to pull her off his shoulder.
"Just admit defeat." Mikey and Apa moved closer again.
We are truly besieged on all sides, facing both internal and external troubles.
"I'm sorry!" Yuko apologized loudly, but her behavior was anything but virtuous. With the intention of taking Mikey down with her, she lunged at Mikey. Mikey gave up resisting the moment she landed in his arms. Due to his weight and inertia, Mikey and Yuko, who were being held by the neck, both fell into the water.
It took Yuko two seconds to adjust underwater.
The sea in Okinawa is like emerald, crystal clear.
She looked up and met a pair of eyes like black pearls. They held their breath and looked at each other across the water, the noise of the water hitting their eardrums seemingly isolating them from the world.
You shouldn't look at me like that. Yuko thought to herself.
Perhaps because he was shielded from the gaze of others, Sano Manjiro was able to openly express his feelings in his eyes.
Looking into those eyes, how could she deceive herself and continue to naively believe that he could never like her?
But I can't.
Knowing that such a future exists, how can I let you bear that burden again?
Don't like me.
Don't be sad because of me.
If my ties will cause you pain, then let me sever them.
Yuko silently said "I'm sorry," and she let go of his hand to leave, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly.
Mikey saw the fear and sadness in her eyes; her silent apology seemed like a rejection.
For the first time in his life, Mikey felt wronged. He was so proud, yet so vulnerable.
How can you not like me?
What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid of me?
Mikey hugged her tightly, wanting to tell her.
Come to me, do not be afraid of me.
One struggled, the other remained motionless; the two were locked in a stalemate.
Even the best swimmers still need to surface to breathe. Yuko took a deep breath, and before she could catch her breath, she heard Mikey, who was also panting, say something in her ear.
"Let's date, Yuko."
Santu, who had been waiting outside for a long time, was utterly shocked to hear this. What angered him even more was Yuko's reply.
"Sano-kun, we can't date."
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