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Chapter 135 - 134: I’m the Prey After All

Everything's a mess.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

Utaha no longer had her composed demeanor from just moments ago.

Now, the blush on her cheeks was real. The shame and irritation in her eyes were real too.

She truly hadn't expected Makoto to kiss her.

Not that she hated it—after all, in her plan, her first kiss was meant to be given to him eventually.

But not now. Now everything has gone out of order.

She hadn't even "conquered" him yet, and she'd already lost the upper hand.

In Utaha's script, she was supposed to be the leading lady who held all the cards. From there, she'd naturally probe into who her rivals were.

But now, she realized she was playing the role of the throwaway love interest...

She had watched countless romantic dramas and imagined countless times how her book's leads would kiss.

But now that she was the one being kissed, she realized—she could imagine the scene, but not the feeling of a first kiss.

Her mind truly went blank.

Like dizziness—or like her emotional defenses had shattered and now her brain was overwhelmed.

Her hands clutched his shoulders tightly at first, but then quietly loosened... clearly not resisting at all.

Just when the dizziness of her first kiss was starting to take over her entire being—

Makoto suddenly let go.

Utaha's gaze was nearly trailing wisps as she stared, and yet she still absurdly found herself thinking—He actually stopped?

Then Makoto's voice followed smoothly:

"Senpai, what should I do next?"

Next…?

Utaha finally snapped back to reality and quickly pulled herself out of his embrace.

She took several steps back until her back pressed against the desk, then she stared at Makoto's face again.

And he just asked, "What's wrong?"

That one question almost sent Utaha into overheat mode.

She wasn't stupid. Things had progressed this far—of course she realized now. He had definitely seen through her intentions!

But Makoto didn't call her out. Instead, he simply asked, "What's wrong?"

To Utaha's ears, the implication behind those words was painfully clear—and loaded with teasing.

"You did it on purpose," she hissed through gritted teeth.

Not only was her temperature soaring, she was mortified.

"Why would you say that, Senpai?" Makoto continued.

"You kissed me out of nowhere. Don't tell me that wasn't intentional?"

"But the thing is, Senpai—you said I could improvise."

"…!"

She couldn't refute that.

Not only had she said it, she'd said it twice.

But if she didn't push back, she'd be stuck not just embarrassed, but humiliated by her own trap.

Worse yet, she had lost the initiative—she couldn't dig for information now.

If she wanted her "early strike" strategy to succeed, she needed to first identify her competitors.

And to do that, she'd either have to meet those girls head-on, or subtly pry it out of Makoto.

And clearly, the second method was more practical.

But now? Everything had exploded.

Forget initiative—she could barely keep her thoughts straight.

Utaha took several deep breaths before she finally calmed down, muttering to herself, "I underestimated him…"

"That's not quite right," Makoto said.

Utaha didn't reply, just looked at him with her beautiful crimson eyes.

"You needed to simulate a scene between the male and female lead so you could grasp more subtle details and feelings you weren't aware of before."

Utaha could already guess where he was going. "That's enough. You don't need to finish that sentence."

He was obviously going to talk about what it feels like to kiss when emotions erupt.

And… she had experienced it.

She'd gotten all the details.

But it wasn't the outcome she wanted.

Given the situation, Utaha forced herself to stay calm and decided to seize the opportunity to gather intel. 

"By the way, now that your filming is done, where's that Ichika girl who always likes to cling to you? Didn't she come looking for you today?"

Makoto replied with admiration, "I'm impressed, Senpai. You bounced back so fast, and you're already interrogating me. That's amazing."

"…?"

Wait. Just how well does he know me?

She kept her expression steady. "I don't really know what you mean, but you're probably reading too much into it."

"Am I, really? I was actually about to talk to you about Ichika."

"…"

"Why so quiet, Senpai? Or is it that the person you really want to know about isn't Ichika, but Yukinoshita?"

"I wasn't thinking that at all," she stubbornly denied.

"Really not?" Makoto put on a surprised face.

"I! Was! Not!"

"You're kind of cute, Senpai."

Out of nowhere, she was called cute—but Utaha wasn't pleased.

She'd finally come to understand that Makoto's level was probably way above hers.

She couldn't win.

The best way to handle this situation was to change the topic, giving herself enough time to reset emotionally.

She returned to the desk and picked up her tablet. "I think it's time we actually get back to the main topic."

"Sure."

Surprisingly, Makoto agreed right away and even walked over to her side.

Then he said calmly, "The momentum from our short film's promo is still strong. I'm guessing we'll gain another wave of followers on social media. 

I'll keep managing the account to ensure we don't lose too many fans. That way, when your new book comes out, more people will know about it."

Utaha lifted her head in shock. Her emotions were written all over her face.

Makoto continued as if he hadn't noticed. 

"There's a saying in Chinese: 'Good wine fears the deep alley.' It means that no matter how good your book is, without the right promotion, it might still get buried."

"Hold on."

Utaha couldn't help interrupting him. "Did you just come up with all this now?"

"Not exactly. It's not your first time visiting, and I could tell you're really invested in your new book—maybe even anxious about it not being out yet," Makoto said with a shake of his head.

"So… you've thought that far ahead already?"

"You have to plan ahead. I happen to have the right platform, so you can focus purely on writing…"

As he spoke, he noticed that Utaha had gone completely silent.

He looked down—and saw her beautiful face gazing up at him with a soft smile.

"What? Is there something on my face? Is that why you're not complimenting me? You're killing the vibe here," he joked.

Utaha's eyes sparkled, her smile unhidden. 

"You've already considered the future and come up with a plan for me. Should I take that to mean you've had feelings for me for a while now?"

Makoto: "Senpai, I'm starting to think you're not just a little cute—you're also a bit delusional."

Her smile didn't change as she calmly suppressed her rising emotions. "No wonder you improvised earlier—you've clearly been planning this."

"You did say I could make a move. So I did," Makoto replied with a hint of reason.

Where else are you planning to move?

Utaha resisted the urge to glare at him.

She'd finally realized—this guy not only had the upper hand, but also understood her far too well. 

He could hit her weakest points and throw her off-balance instantly.

Which meant he completely controlled the rhythm of their conversation.

Utaha hated that.

She still wanted to be the leading lady—not some forgettable side character.

"I've memorized the feeling from earlier. I can make sure to capture all the details during my writing process…"

As she spoke, she stood up, her long hair swaying slightly with the motion, adding an irresistible charm to her presence.

"So?" Makoto played along.

Her smile carried a different undertone now. "What if I said I needed to reinforce that feeling? What would you do?"

Makoto answered simply, "Easy."

"Easy?"

Utaha crossed her arms, which only made her already full chest more noticeable.

She was about to continue when she saw Makoto spread his arms wide—and suddenly pull her into his embrace.

While enjoying the softness in his arms, he met her surprised gaze and asked, "Want me to keep improvising?"

Improvising…?

Wait, that's not the point right now!

The point is—why is he making a move again?!

The emotional balance Utaha had just regained started to wobble again.

She had wanted to regain control and continue her plan.

But before she could even play her next card, Makoto had already flipped the whole table.

Wrapped in that unfamiliar but warm embrace, her breathing quickened. "Wait—at least let me finish what I was going to say first…"

But Makoto interrupted her, "You're the one who started it."

Utaha froze.

Makoto leaned in closer, his warm breath brushing against her delicate ear. He watched as her ears turned a lovely pink, and her pale neck gradually flushed red.

Adorable.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

Utaha was already flustered from his breath—especially the heat teasing the inside of her ear, making her body tense up involuntarily. 

Even her full thighs beneath her skirt trembled slightly.

Now, hearing his chuckle, she felt as though she had fallen into his trap—and was sinking deeper and deeper, soon to hit the very center.

When Makoto's hand cupped her cheek, the warmth of his palm was clear and comforting. Though the touch was gentle, it was enough to dissolve the last of her defenses.

Then, he repeated what he had said earlier: 

"You're the one who started it. And now you're telling me to stop? Do you think that's fair?"

He held her blushing face in his hands and stared into her eyes.

That was the moment Utaha realized—

The so-called "hunter" she thought she was… was actually the prey falling into his snare.

Without a doubt—she had been caught.

Today's skirmish: Utaha, defeated.

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