"Let's go, Machida-nee."
Seeing Machida Sonoko frozen in place, Lin watched her with a smile playing on his lips.
"Ah, oh!"
Machida Sonoko quickly responded.
She walked past Lin, feigning composure.
It wasn't that she disliked Lin or didn't want him to come over.
It was just that from their chat yesterday, she'd noticed Lin had changed a little.
He seemed more... aggressive.
She had a faint feeling that if she let Lin come over, something was very likely to happen.
But things had already come to this point; she could only take it one step at a time.
The two took the elevator to the twelfth floor.
Machida Sonoko lived in room 1202.
Click. She opened the door.
"Please, come in."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Lin stepped into the entryway, and Machida Sonoko closed the door behind him, then took out a new, unopened pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet.
He changed into the slippers and went into the living room.
Machida Sonoko looked at Lin and asked with a gentle smile, "I only have barley tea and water here. Would you like something to drink?"
"I'll have a barley tea."
Lin made his choice.
"Alright, one moment."
Machida Sonoko headed to the kitchen area.
Lin sat down on the living room sofa and looked around.
There weren't many things in the living room.
It was arranged quite neatly.
This showed that Machida Sonoko was quite tidy at home.
A short while later, Machida Sonoko returned with two glasses of barley tea.
"Here."
She handed one glass to Lin while sitting down beside him.
Sitting next to Lin, her gaze drifted uncontrollably to his face, especially to his eyes, which seemed to hold the light of hidden stars.
Calm and deep, bright and captivating.
Her heartbeat quickened a little.
She suddenly remembered her thoughts from yesterday.
Back then, when she'd thought about having a boyfriend, Lin's image had surfaced.
'If Lin were my boyfriend...'
The thought suddenly appeared in Machida Sonoko's mind.
"Machida-nee..."
Just then, Lin, having taken a sip of barley tea, looked at her and spoke up.
"Ah, what is it?"
Machida Sonoko snapped back to reality, guiltily averting her gaze from where she had been staring at Lin.
She had almost been lost in staring at him again.
Machida Sonoko, oh Machida Sonoko, what is wrong with you?
Lin is thirteen years younger than you!
Machida Sonoko felt a little ashamed of her own thoughts.
Her fair cheeks grew slightly hot.
The blush from the alcohol hadn't faded yet, so it wasn't obvious.
Watching the fidgety Machida Sonoko, Lin narrowed his eyes slightly:
"Do you like me~!!"
"Ah!!!"
Machida Sonoko's eyes widened.
A look of disbelief appeared on her face.
"What did you just say?"
She wondered if she had misheard.
Lin smiled faintly. "I asked, Machida-nee, do you like me?"
"!!!"
After confirming she hadn't misheard, ripples spread through Machida Sonoko's wide blue eyes. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
She never expected Lin to ask something like that.
What did he mean by 'like'? There are many kinds of 'like'.
Just then, Lin continued, "Machida-nee, I like you."
"Huh!!!"
Her pupils seemed to quake.
Machida Sonoko couldn't help but gasp and jump to her feet.
Her eyes were as wide as saucers.
Lin's straightforward, sudden confession had caught her completely off guard.
Standing up, Lin looked at Machida Sonoko.
He smiled faintly and said again, "So I want to know, Machida-nee, do you like me or not?"
"I want to hear the truth."
"I..."
Machida Sonoko was flustered, unsure how to answer.
Her face was bright red, and her eyes darted about.
She didn't dare meet Lin's gaze.
It wasn't as if no one had confessed to her back when she was a student.
It was just that she had no feelings for them.
But Lin was different.
She had already faintly realized she had that kind of good feeling toward him.
But Lin was thirteen years younger than her.
The age gap was too big.
In ten years, Lin will be twenty-six, and I'll be almost forty.
I can't hold Lin back.
Besides, when I'm old and faded, will Lin still like me?
Thinking this, Machida Sonoko took a deep breath to calm herself. Meeting Lin's gaze, she said with a gentle smile, "Xiao Bai, I admit I have some good feelings for you, but I haven't thought about developing them in that way."
"The age gap is too big."
"We're thirteen years apart. In ten years, you'll only be twenty-five or twenty-six, while I'll be an old aunty of almost forty."
"I know you're in your teens right now, Xiao Bai, a time when emotions can be more sensitive and intense."
"You might be mistaking a momentary impulse for so-called love."
"But we're not right for each other."
"I mostly see you as a younger brother."
"Besides, you and Xiao Shi are a better match."
"I can tell that Xiao Shi actually has quite strong feelings for you."
"Do you understand, Xiao Bai?"
Her hands behind her back were clenched into gentle fists. Machida Sonoko spoke her heart, eighty percent truth and twenty percent lies.
She had always been trying to set Lin up with Kasumigaoka Utaha.
And she could tell that they actually had feelings for each other.
That's why she said what she did.
"'Not right for each other?' I don't understand."
However, in response to her heartfelt words, Lin just smiled, shook his head, and met Machida Sonoko's eyes.
Machida Sonoko said helplessly, "You..."
Lin looked at her and continued, "My feelings for you, Machida-nee, aren't some so-called adolescent impulse."
"I won't deny that part of the reason I like you is your looks and your figure."
"But that's only part of it."
"In the two years we've known each other, you've helped me a lot, and I've kept it all in my heart."
"As for the thirteen-year age gap you mentioned, I just want to say that it's not a problem at all. I don't care."
"Besides, you look very young, Machida-nee. Without makeup, you could pass for a college freshman."
"If we went out together wearing matching couple's outfits, passersby would think we're a perfect match."
"!!!"
Listening to Lin's confession, Machida Sonoko's eyes slowly widened, and she froze once more.
Her heart beat faster and faster.
It was that feeling of butterflies in her stomach, as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
Happiness, panic, hesitation...
A mix of complex emotions swirled within her.
Her racing heart was the impulse of her desire.
Her hesitation was the restraint of her reason.
She was no longer a teenager in her teens or twenties.
She was an adult who had entered the workforce.
Teenagers can throw everything away for love, but as an adult, there are many more things to consider.
"Since you have those kinds of feelings for me, Machida-nee, then all I need to know is that you like me."
As Lin spoke, he took a step forward, gradually closing the distance to Machida Sonoko.
"What are you doing?"
Faintly sensing what was about to happen, Machida Sonoko's heart pounded in panic.
Although reason told her to stop Lin immediately, a part of her was filled with anticipation.
Lin reached out, grabbed Machida Sonoko's arm, and pulled her into his embrace.
His left arm wrapped around her waist, while his right hand gently lifted her chin.
He lowered his head and captured her alluring red lips.
"Mmph!!!"
Pulled into Lin's embrace, Machida Sonoko's entire body went stiff.
When her lips were taken, her eyes flew wide open.
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