"!!!"
Haruno had only intended to put on a show, but when her eyes met those of the man before her, her heart rate uncontrollably accelerated.
Deep within her eyes, a hint of madness flickered.
"No!"
"Don't do this, please!!"
"Haruno!!!"
Hayato's eyes widened as if they were about to split. He even let out a cry of despair.
However, what Hayato didn't know was that his impotent rage, precisely, became the final push for Haruno.
073 The Hypocritical Lick Dog
Haruno, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family in Chiba Prefecture.
From a young age, she received strict aristocratic education and was groomed as the family heir.
The Hayama served the businesses under the Yukinoshita family for three generations, primarily managing the legal department. They were once even jokingly called the "Yukinoshita family's lackeys" in the industry.
Yet, the Hayama were not ashamed of this. Instead, they were proud.
Hayato's father had even publicly declared the outrageous statement, "I am Yukinoshita Kiyomi's dog"! (Haruno and Yukino's mother)
Since there were no male heirs in the main lineage of the Yukinoshita family this generation, they planned to recruit a son-in-law from outside.
The loyal Hayama became the primary choice.
Under the intentional matchmaking of the elders of both families, Hayato lived with the Haruno and Yukino from a young age, making them childhood sweethearts.
Haruno wasn't particularly fond of Hayato, this little tag-along who was a few years younger than her, but she was very clear about her position.
Free love was purely fantasy, so she tacitly didn't reject the prospect of marrying Hayato in the future.
Until something happened later...
That was when Yukino was in elementary school. Due to her cute appearance and excellent grades, she was ostracized by the entire class, and even the teacher joined in the bullying.
As the class representative, Hayato merely kept telling Yukino to get along well with everyone, to actively integrate into the class, and even said things like "Everyone is rejecting you, it must be your fault" and "If you're being bullied, you need to reflect".
Ultimately, Hayato not only failed to help Yukino but exacerbated her difficult situation of being bullied.
Later when Haruno found out, she thoroughly detested Hayato.
She had subtly discussed with her mother multiple times, hoping to dissolve the engagement with Hayato.
As expected, this move was met with strong opposition from her mother.
In her mother's view, Hayato was a child she had known since he was young, someone whose background was clear.
He was handsome, had excellent grades, and the most important point was loyalty, making him the perfect candidate for a son-in-law.
Furthermore, a family marriage alliance was inherently a cooperation for the benefit of both families, how could it be so easily dissolved?
Haruno couldn't defy her mother's will and could only resort to soft resistance by feigning compliance.
For example, every time she met Hayato, she liked to be sarcastic and deliberately annoy him.
Unfortunately, this strategy had little effect. No matter how much she mocked and ridiculed him, Hayato seemed to relish it.
He was the ultimate simp. He acted like a 'dog' who 'loved' her no matter what, which instead disgusted Haruno.
Getting back to the main point, Haruno deliberately acted close to Tenya, simply wanting to use this opportunity to thoroughly disgust Hayato.
However, human emotions are often the most complex.
While getting close to Tenya, an inexplicable feeling quietly blossomed in Haruno's heart without her realizing it.
This sounds absurd, but this was Haruno's most genuine emotion.
You can also understand it as the first stirrings of youthful infatuation in a naive girl who has never been in love.
What's unreasonable is reasonable!
"No!"
"Don't do this, please!!"
"Haruno!!!"
Listening to Hayato's desperate shouts, Haruno felt a pleasure she had never experienced before.
Like drinking fine wine, her cheeks were flushed, almost dripping, fully displaying the unique charm of a twenty-year-old college student, that lies between naivety and maturity.
She stood on her tiptoes, attempting a further boundary-crossing move.
And then...
"That's enough!"
Yukino's cool voice shattered Haruno's beautiful fantasy.
"Huh?"
A hand had come between the two, who were standing very close.
"Smooch!"
Tenya gave a kiss.
"You!!! What are you doing?!"
Yukino pulled back her hand as if she had been electrocuted.
Looking at the faint watermark left on the back of her hand, her face was filled with shame and indignation.
"That's interest."
"You interrupted Haruno-san from giving me a kiss!" Tenya feigned anger and glared at her.
"Giving... giving a kiss?!"
Hearing such a word, Haruno finally came back to her senses. Her chest kept rising and falling rapidly.
Her expression... could only be described as spectacular.
"Tenya-kun, are you done playing? It's best to stop before things get out of hand." Megumi said casually while playing with her phone.
Other students were gradually starting to notice the commotion on their side.
Especially seeing Hayato prostrate on the ground in such a pathetic state, everyone began to whisper.
"Isn't that Hayama-san? Why is he kneeling on the ground?"
"I heard it seems like he was pursuing that beautiful onee-san, but then she threw herself into Yoshida's arms..."
"Really?! Isn't this a love triangle?"
"Speaking of which, why is it Yoshida again?!"
"He has too many girls around him!!"
Putting aside the other comments, that last part truly resonated with a few of the girls.
"Hmph!"
Hana indignantly said, "Boyfriend-kun is good in every way, except he's too much of a playboy."
Miko retorted, glancing sideways, "If he weren't a playboy, you wouldn't have a chance either, would you?"
"Can that be the same?"
"Miko, we're best friends!"
Hana turned and hugged Miko tightly, trying to use her body to teach the other how to be broad-minded.
Squeezed until her temper flared, Miko pounced on her, flailing, "I'm narrow-minded right now!"
"Let go of Hayama first."
Yukino had no good feelings towards Hayato and didn't care about his pathetic state.
However, if things escalated, the rumors would likely become increasingly exaggerated.
"What are you talking about? When did I tie him up?" Tenya countered.
"Huh?!"
It was then that Hayato realized the invisible pressure on him had disappeared at some point.
He quickly stood up, but having been lying on the ground for too long, his blood flow was sluggish for a moment, causing him to stumble a few steps.
"Haruno...!"
The first words out of his mouth after standing up were actually these.
"Shut up!"
"I don't want to hear your voice right now!"