Faced with Rei Ao's sudden confession—which was close to a perverse declaration, Yuisuki's heartbeat surged so wildly that she could hardly stand it.
Fortunately, she remained rational, not letting her mind be overwhelmed just because a young body had granted her boundless pleasure for that brief moment.
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, her brows knitting with a mix of struggle and complexity.
Had this expression appeared on her own body, Rei Ao would probably have been unable to resist pushing her down on the spot.
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "Rei Ao-kun, you know that I'm Yui's…"
Rei Ao: "You're not her birth mother, right?"
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "???"
She'd planned to use that as an excuse to block Rei Ao's intentions, but the words stopped her in her tracks. A while later, she recovered, still full of confusion.
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "You…how do you know that?"
She couldn't recall ever telling anyone.
Rei Ao: "So it's true."
A corner of Rei Ao's mouth curled up. He thought to himself: "Chat group, I'm guessing this still has something to do with me?"
[…]
As usual, no answer from the chat group, but Rei Ao had encountered such things multiple times before and had long since spotted the pattern.
If it wasn't going to deny it, he'd just treat its silence as admission. Since this possibly involved him, he had no reason to hold back.
"Rei Ao-kun, is…is this okay?"
Two silly little heads looked back at him bashfully. Rei Ao gave a big grin.
"Of course. You two look even cuter that way—so cute that it makes me want to…"
They went on with their silly fun, but Rei Ao hadn't forgotten about Yuisuki. As for her question, though, it truly wasn't easy for him to answer.
Rei Ao: "You can consider that my guess."
A vague reply would suffice, and indeed he was just guessing.
Rei Ao: "But if you're asking me that, it means you've basically admitted it."
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "…"
Yes. That single question was effectively a confession in itself. The secret she'd kept for over ten years was revealed in front of others. Aside from not having used her own body to be fully open with Rei Ao, she felt she'd exposed every last part of herself to him.
So bare, no more secrets left.
Simultaneously, she lost the strongest shield she had against Rei Ao's aggressive advances.
Morality would no longer keep Rei Ao in check. And…her own bottom line was no longer impregnable.
Rei Ao: "So, Yuisuki, you don't have to bottle up your real thoughts because of Yui."
Rei Ao: "At that moment, you put up no resistance at all—meaning you wanted it too, right? You wanted me, didn't you?"
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "…"
Rei Ao: "Why not try giving me a direct answer?"
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "…Mm, I didn't dislike you, but I shouldn't…"
Seeing her respond, Rei Ao—who was pouring everything into the moment—couldn't help letting a smile spread across his face.
Even across worlds, it was clear Yuisuki's words had become softer. She was wavering. After all, it was only a short while ago that they'd had that profound contact, so Rei Ao's presence couldn't vanish from her mind and body so quickly.
Not to mention, his actions kept sinking deeper and deeper into her thoughts.
Key point: he indeed possessed the power to comfort a body and soul that had endured over thirty years of loneliness—an average person likely couldn't manage such a thing.
Rei Ao: "Don't say it 'shouldn't be.'"
Rei Ao: "You've already come into contact with things that ordinary people can't. For the time being, put aside those ordinary beliefs and constraints—try looking at it from a different angle."
Yuigahama Yuisuki: "I…"
Yuisuki couldn't even describe how she felt. Her worldview had been broken down layer by layer.
Everything started with the body swap involving Yui, and the one constant pushing it further and further had been Rei Ao.
Rei Ao: "Under normal circumstances, seeing my near-legendary womanizing in the chat group, no one would do anything but despise and reject me."
That was an ironclad truth. If you randomly grabbed a woman off the street and told her, "I basically sleep with different partners almost daily, and sometimes more than one at a time," you'd probably get slapped and called all sorts of names.
Of course, certain insatiable older ladies might find the idea exciting, but those were exceptions. In Rei Ao's eyes, Yuisuki was still far from that kind of extreme—though last night, she'd acted quite unlike her usual self.
Rei Ao: "Those who can accept it all eventually become mine. Yuisuki, have you ever considered why you're able to accept me?"
"!"
A tremor passed through Yuisuki's chest. Following his words, she began step by step facing her own heart. Recalling her impressions of Rei Ao at first—she thought he was handsome and was surprised to learn he was Yui's boyfriend.
But after that single kiss while swapped into Yui's body, she'd felt an uncanny budding reaction toward him. As she continued learning more about the many secrets he held, her curiosity likewise grew.
She'd even once sighed that if she weren't so old, and had met him a few years earlier, she'd definitely have gone after him. Looking back now, that undoubtedly meant that she'd begun seeing him as a man, one who attracted her in many different ways.
That very reason seemed to explain why she offered nearly no resistance last night.
"Did…did I envy Yui?!"
Yuisuki was stunned by the conclusion. She'd actually been envious that Yui had a boyfriend like Rei Ao!
This… She couldn't believe it. Turned out her mindset had been messed up long ago. She just hadn't realized it because of that final barrier of "being Yui's mother," which kept her from fully awakening.
But now, that identity was invalid. Yuisuki discovered she was just another woman, capable of envy for Yui.
She fell into a confusion so overwhelming that she didn't respond to Rei Ao for a long while. Being a quick study, Rei Ao merely guided her toward confronting her own heart and desires, aware that it was quite a shock. Eventually, he sent a final message:
Rei Ao: "Yuisuki, I suspect you don't need me to tell you who you are at heart."
Rei Ao: "Anyway, I'm honest with myself—and I'm honest with you."
Rei Ao: "It doesn't matter if you can't answer right now. I'm certainly not giving up."
Rei Ao: "Rest well."
"… …"
Staring at those words, which seemed to see straight through her while also giving her a way out, Yuisuki remained in a daze for a long time, biting her pale lip. Eventually, a faint whisper filled the silence of the room:
"Rei Ao-kun…that's just too unfair…"
~~~
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