You Will Regret This Ichinose! [204]

Outside, the snowfall had stopped at some point. The thick clouds had dispersed, and moonlight bathed the snowy landscape in a soft, dreamlike glow.

Click—

The door to the room creaked open.

Uesugi Gen stepped in quietly, switched his shoes at the entryway, and walked over to the bed. Sitting down, he gazed silently at the peaceful sleeping face of Ichinose Honami.

It’s over…

He let out a long sigh.

This Christmas date mission—despite the changes in plans midway—had still ended as originally intended. He had successfully gone on a date with everyone and avoided the worst-case scenario involving kitchen knives.

But honestly, Uesugi Gen didn’t feel happy.

Or rather, there was nothing to be happy about in the first place.

He took off his jacket, lifted the blanket, and was immediately enveloped by a faint, comforting fragrance.

Pulling the warm, bare body beside him into his arms, he whispered,

“When did you wake up?”

The girl in his embrace stiffened slightly. Her springwater-like blue eyes fluttered open, and she hugged him back, pouting.

“When did you notice? I thought I did a pretty good job pretending.”

“Your heartbeat sped up.”

“Ugh… Why didn’t I think of using that trick to check if you were asleep earlier?”

Ichinose muttered in frustration.

“About that, I—”

Uesugi Gen was about to apologize, but she raised a smooth, fair arm and covered his mouth before he could.

Looking into his eyes, she spoke seriously.

“There’s no need to apologize. There’s nothing to apologize for between us. Besides, didn’t I do the same thing to you?”

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she groaned in regret.

“Ugh, I totally didn’t expect you to be faking! If I’d known, I would’ve done that first!”

Saying this, she pressed a soft kiss to his chest, making up for lost time.

“Don’t touch there.”

Uesugi Gen looked down at her beautiful head and warned her in advance.

Ichinose’s snow-white body was still covered in the marks he had left on her. Her body hadn’t fully recovered yet—if she kept provoking him, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back.

“Mm!”

She let out a cute sound of protest, burying her face into his chest.

So unfair!

Uesugi Gen chuckled, running his fingers through her long, silky hair.

“You seem really fixated on this side of me, huh?”

“That’s because you are too tempting!”

Ichinose looked up, her face flushed.

“Every time I see you, I want to hug you and kiss you! Not just three times—thirty times!”

“Is that so…”

Uesugi Gen smiled.

Then, he suddenly fell silent.

Ichinose seemed to sense something as well. She looked up, waiting for him to speak.

“Honami… Don’t you blame me? For getting involved with so many other girls… and for ruining our Christmas?”

“Hmm…”

Ichinose tilted her head adorably.

“At first, just a little bit.”

Then, puffing up her cheeks, she complained,

“Why do you like so many girls? It’s so unfair! There are things you haven’t even told me yet!”

“But… there’s nothing I can do about it.”

She reached up and gently touched his face.

“Because the person I love is you, Uesugi Gen.

“I can’t bear to hit you or yell at you. And I definitely can’t live without you. So the only thing I can do is stop you from getting too close to those other bad women.”

I can’t keep going like this…

Uesugi Gen took a deep breath.

Tightening his arms around her, he murmured,

“I’m sorry, Honami. Let’s talk—properly. You, me… and them.”

“That’s fine,” Ichinose nodded without hesitation.

“But I won’t back down. I’ll never let go of you.”

She clenched her tiny fists confidently.

“And I definitely don’t want to share your love with them.”

…Yeah.

Uesugi Gen sighed internally.

If it were that easy, they wouldn’t be them.

And he wouldn’t love them the way he did.

Even so—he wasn’t letting go, either.

No matter what it took.

In the depths of his pupils, a flicker of dark gold flashed momentarily.

“But let’s save that for later,” Ichinose murmured, hugging him tightly and closing her eyes.

“There are still a few hours until dawn. You should sleep, Gen. You must be exhausted.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll watch you sleep.”

She cupped her cheeks, looking utterly blissful.

“Uh… There’s really nothing interesting about watching me sleep.”

“As long as I think it’s interesting, that’s all that matters. Now hurry up, or else I’ll start telling you bedtime stories.”

Uesugi Gen broke into a cold sweat and quickly caved.

“Alright, alright, I’m sleeping now.”

“Mm-hmm, go to sleep.”

Ichinose snuggled out of his embrace, then gently pulled him into hers, softly stroking his hair.

…

“Uesugi-kun, can I ask you a question?”

A sickeningly sweet voice rang out.

“Hm? What question?”

Uesugi Gen picked up a cup of hot milk from the table and held it up to Kushida Kikyo’s lips.

Her big, bright eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“If Horikita Suzune and I both fell into a river, who would you save first?”

Uesugi Gen froze.

Then, expressionless, he glanced at her.

You’re just looking for trouble, aren’t you?

“Answer me!”

Kushida’s smile disappeared in an instant, and she demanded,

“Say it! Say you’d save me first! Leave that woman in the river and laugh at her with me as she struggles to swim to shore!”

And then let her climb up, soaking wet, and beat both of us up?

Accomplice, do you realize this kind of behavior makes you the classic evil side character in a romance drama?

Meanwhile, I would be the piece-of-shit protagonist who ditches his main girl for the seductive villainess.

And then, three years later, when Suzune makes her dramatic return as some overpowered badass, we’d both get our asses kicked and end up in jail.

“What are you thinking about?!”

Kushida urged again.

“Who would you save first?!”

“I’d save you. You. You, okay?”

Uesugi Gen sighed in defeat.

“Now drink your milk. My arm’s getting sore.”

Kushida took a sip, then smugly asked,

“Why?”

She fully intended to brag about this to Horikita Suzune later.

“Well…”

Uesugi Gen hesitated.

“Come on, come on! Tell me!”

Kushida practically vibrated with excitement.

“Rationally speaking, Suzune is physically stronger than you and a better swimmer. She wouldn’t drown right away. You, on the other hand, have a much higher chance of drowning.”

Uesugi Gen said this with utmost seriousness.

Kushida: “…”

A long silence followed.

Then, an enraged shriek erupted through the dormitory.

“GO TO HELL, UESUGI GEN!!!”

—

T/N: he’s not wrong though…ALSO LORE i used to be a competitive swimmer :3

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!