Shiro felt a slight toothache the moment he heard her stupid question. After all, if he didn't answer it properly, trouble could very easily arise.
However, before that, judging by her naive behavior, he felt that he could tease her a little first.
"Yui, ah~"
"I can tell you the answer to that, but before that, I hope you can agree to one small request of mine."
Yui Yuigahama, seeing Shiro's mysterious expression, immediately took the bait.
"Shiro, what is your request?"
Yui Yuigahama looked at him right away with a curious expression, asking with a trace of suspicion.
Shiro, seeing that the plan was going smoothly, spoke in a mysterious tone:
"I can tell you, but in return, this Yui must belong to me forever."
Yui Yuigahama blinked when she heard this, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Shiro, what does that mean? Am I some kind of object or something like that?"
Yui Yuigahama still didn't understand the meaning, so she asked that extremely naive question.
However, Shiro didn't answer her. Instead, he looked at her with a smile.
At that moment, Yui kept tilting her head back and forth, realizing that no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out the meaning of his words.
"Shiro, can you give me a hint?"
Yui Yuigahama decisively resorted to acting cute, hugging Shiro's arm and pouting her lips.
Shiro wanted to say, "The answer is right in front of you, idiot."
However, obviously, he couldn't say that. After all, if she had willingly walked into his trap herself, then he didn't mind teasing her a little.
"No. If you want the answer, you have to agree to my request."
Yui looked at Shiro, who refused to give in, and couldn't help but frown.
Then, realizing that she couldn't figure it out no matter how much she racked her brain, she immediately gave up.
"Alright, Shiro, I agree, is that enough? Come on, tell me the answer quickly. I've been thinking about this for so long and still haven't figured it out."
Yui Yuigahama decisively made a gesture of surrender. After all, she really couldn't figure out the answer. As for agreeing to his condition, she didn't think it would harm her, so she didn't care.
Shiro didn't expect her to fall for it so easily. Still, before officially tightening the trap, he deliberately emphasized it once more.
"Are you sure you won't go back on your word? Because if you agree, I'll really hold on tightly and won't let go."
Based on her understanding of Shiro, Yui Yuigahama knew very well that he wasn't joking. At that moment, she hesitated a little.
Although she didn't know what exactly it was about, for some reason she felt that this answer was quite important, but she still decided to follow her heart.
"Shiro, tell me. I definitely won't go back on my word."
Seeing her like this, Shiro had no objection to telling her. Even if she went back on her word, it wouldn't matter, because that was quite common. He could always use it to tease her later.
"Yui, don't you think that what's in front of you doesn't look like anything other than a dumpling? One big dumpling."
Yui Yuigahama subconsciously looked toward the front of her body after hearing that, and then, seeing what she was looking at and connecting it with what Shiro had said, she finally understood.
After understanding everything, she remembered the bet with Shiro, and her face instantly turned red.
Their bet was herself, and he would hold onto her tightly and never let go.
This… wasn't this too embarrassing?
Yui Yuigahama's brain momentarily shut down and entered a state of overheating.
"Sh-Shiro, this… this bet from earlier, you were joking, right?"
Yui Yuigahama could only stammer, looking at Shiro with a strange expression.
Shiro felt a mix of nervousness, embarrassment, and various other emotions, along with a trace of anticipation, as if she was expecting something.
Shiro successfully caught that trace of anticipation. He thought that this time, he had to make a move.
To be honest, even he himself wasn't completely sure about Yui; whether he truly liked her or just considered her his childhood friend was something he couldn't clearly sort out himself.
However, after catching those hints of anticipation, he was no longer an idiot; he knew what he needed to do.
"Yui, do I look like someone who's joking? I decided long ago that this Yui can belong only to me, to no one else."
"Only I can touch her. If anyone else dares, whoever stretches out their hands, I'll cut them off."
This time, Shiro pressed harder, speaking in a dominant tone.
Yui Yuigahama, seeing Shiro suddenly become so assertive, was forced into a corner and then stammered:
"Shiro, w-what are you saying?"
"I'm just stating the facts."
Yui Yuigahama's voice was still trembling after hearing that.
"Y-You… are you confessing to me?"
Yui Yuigahama still asked that question, because she felt that this moment was crucial. If he said no, she felt like something precious would shatter.
Of course, the answer was still unknown.
After hearing that, Shiro knew that if he said he was joking, he would definitely cause trouble for himself, because she was different from the others.
One had to know that although Yui appeared optimistic and cheerful on the surface, she actually understood very well the complexity and malice of human hearts and was also very afraid of loss.
Therefore, if Shiro made a mistake at this moment, she would have many negative thoughts, and such a situation was absolutely not allowed.
Looking at her confused but slightly expectant expression, Shiro nodded.
"Yes. You can consider it a confession, or even a proposal. After all, ever since we were little, I've wanted to marry you when we grew up."
Yui Yuigahama's head finally started to smoke after hearing that.
Because she didn't expect Shiro to be so direct.
One had to know that he didn't just call it a confession, but even a proposal.
Such a thing was simply too much, completely beyond the limits.
While Yui Yuigahama was completely at a loss and didn't know what to do, Shiro suddenly sighed, putting on a sad expression.
"I thought you already knew all this and felt the same way. It seems I was too full of myself."
Shiro's master-level acting came into play as he put on a dejected expression.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Yui reacted, immediately grabbing Shiro's arm and speaking in an anxious tone:
"Shiro, that's not it!"
Shiro stopped and halted his turning motion when he heard that, then looked at her with curious eyes.
Yui was the first to start explaining.
"I like you too, Shiro, and I have for a long time. But I didn't know whether you liked me. After all, I'm just an ordinary girl. Even though it was fine before, about two years ago Shoko suddenly appeared by your side, and then one girl after another came along, and they were all so outstanding and beautiful."
"So I didn't think I had any advantage over them, nor did I think you could like an ordinary girl like me when you already have them."
Yui directly spoke out the thoughts she had long suppressed in her heart.
Shiro himself was stunned after hearing this, because he didn't expect her to have developed an inferiority complex. However, after thinking about it a bit, he realized that she really did have such a personality.
She was a little insecure about herself, especially when comparing herself to others, and always regarded herself as just an ordinary girl, completely unaware of her own beauty and charm.
Simply put, she was so used to being by others' sides and pleasing them that she didn't realize how much she actually made people want to swallow her whole.