Putting aside the facts, aren't you at fault at all?

"Stop moving around, it will be done in a second."

"It hurts!"

"Just bear with it for a moment, it'll be over soon."

"Then hurry up even more!"

The orange-red sunset hung on the edge of the sky, casting a rosy glow across the living room floor and the edge of the young woman's fair, slender, yet slightly fleshy thighs.

Ayakoji Sayaka, sitting on the sofa, gritted her teeth, letting the thick, pure white liquid trickle down her knees.

Because the scraped area was quite large, Tsuno Haruya had simply poured the hydrogen peroxide from the Matsumoto Kiyoshi drugstore directly onto both of her knees, and then slowly dabbed and rolled it with a cotton swab, trying his best not to let the liquid spill anywhere else.

Hydrogen peroxide is different from iodophor.

If the skin damage is significant, the oxygen ions released when hydrogen peroxide comes into contact with the nerves cause a strong irritation to the local tissue nerves.

However, one gradually grows accustomed to it.

Therefore, Ayakoji Sayaka, who had been gritting her teeth and crying out in pain just moments ago, stopped shouting as time passed.

The room quickly grew quiet.

Ayakoji Sayaka came from a prestigious family and had been pampered since childhood. Her black athletic sweatpants, specially worn to conceal her figure, were rolled up above her thighs, revealing cold, white, tender, and flawless calves. Only her knees showed abrasions on both sides, which strangely added a touch of tragic beauty, making one wish to hold and cherish them for seven or eight years.

Looking at the jade-white legs before him, even Tsuno Haruya, a master tea connoisseur, couldn't help stealing a few extra glances. After all, beautiful things naturally attract the gaze.

Moreover, his perspective was quite unique.

Because he needed to apply medicine to Ayakoji Sayaka, he was squatting directly in front of her on the floor. If he wanted to, Tsuno Haruya's line of sight could travel all the way up from her dainty feet. Unfortunately, she was wearing sweatpants today instead of a professional body-hugging skirt, so he couldn't see the forbidden absolute territory, only the fair flesh indented by the tight cuffs of her pants.

"What are you looking at?!"

"The wound."

Hearing the cold reprimand from above, Tsuno Haruya put away the cotton swab without a blush or a change in breath, picked up the medicines in the iron tray, and stood up. After tidying them away, he poured a cup of warm water at the coffee table, tested the temperature with the back of his hand, and handed it to her face: "The scrape is relatively shallow, so it shouldn't leave a scar. I apologize for what happened just now; I didn't figure things out beforehand."

After all, kicking someone without understanding the situation—acting arbitrarily just because he saw the sensitive-skinned young girl next door kneeling on the ground and crying her eyes out—was not a good habit.

Although Tsuno Haruya knew that Ayakoji Sayaka was not someone who took things in stride and playing along wouldn't win him any favors, right now she was injured, and this wasn't the time to put on a melodramatic performance where a doctor helps transfer an ectopic pregnancy back to the uterus for an overbearing miracle.

Ayakoji Sayaka's face remained icy, but seeing Tsuno Haruya both apologize and serve her water, more than half of her anger dissipated. However, the lingering frustration in her chest still prevented her from sparing him any harsh words: "You beat me up and then apologize? Then how are you any different from those domestic abusers?"

"There is a difference. We are not married."

Tsuno Haruya answered objectively and impartially.

Ayakoji Sayaka's expression stiffened, followed instantly by a wave of embarrassment and annoyance, and she couldn't help turning her head away to glare at him.

She wasn't used to having her pants rolled up, feeling a general sense of discomfort. But if she pulled them down, they would brush against the freshly medicated wounds. Seeing this, Tsuno Haruya instantly understood. He pulled two sanitary pads from a nearby drawer to cover the wounds, then gently rolled her pants back down, and placed a small stool under her feet to rest them on.

Seeing him show such considerate care, Ayakoji Sayaka's expression softened slightly while a sweet feeling welled up in her heart. Yet, thinking of what had just happened, her graceful cheeks tightened up again: "That female college student just now, what on earth is going on?"

Ten minutes or so ago, Tsuno Haruya, attacked from both sides by the two women, had forcefully pulled them apart, clapped a hand directly over Ayakoji Sayaka's mouth, and told Shigeeda Sio to go back home.

Ayakoji Sayaka's lungs had felt fit to burst with anger at that moment.

Yet when Tsuno Haruya forcefully pulled her into his arms and carried her back home over his shoulder, her mind had gone completely blank.

Then, hearing him say there was a good reason, that the rumor of her being kept was completely groundless, and explaining in detail within two minutes the entire sequence of events—from meeting Shigeeda Sio to cajoling and frightening her into accepting the money—she had gradually calmed down.

However, Ayakoji Sayaka wasn't stupid; she certainly wasn't going to believe him that easily, no matter how logical his explanation sounded.

A man's heart is as deep as the ocean floor!

He was simply as rotten to the core as they come!

"Didn't I already tell you? That was just a well-intentioned lie. She's a girl who refuses to accept unearned charity, so I had no choice but to resort to such desperate measures."

"Are you sure it was a last resort? Or did you plan to use another method to seduce that child? Like pretending to keep her and giving her money without touching her body, then intentionally getting discovered, so that the ungrateful child falls in love with you and voluntarily gives you her body?" Ayakoji Sayaka stared at him and asked with a sneer.

"...You've thought this through quite thoroughly."

Tsuno Haruya actually felt that what she said made a lot of sense.

Seeing that he didn't even refute it, Ayakoji Sayaka's pretty face instantly darkened: "I asked you if that was the process?!"

"Of course not. If you want her to know my intentions, you can go tell her right now. In reality, I was simply doing a good deed with a clear conscience; I helped when I saw someone in need, and if I really couldn't help, then so be it."

"How kind!" Seeing him put on that same solemn and serious expression he had when she caught him on a date with Hoshino Ruka last time, Ayakoji Sayaka couldn't help asking in a mocking tone: "You only know how to help a pretty female college student with a sick father—why don't you go sponsor some of the countless poor children in the countryside?"

"You're right. I'll look into relevant charitable funds later and make regular contributions."

Tsuno Haruya thought about it and replied with a straight face.

He wasn't putting on an act here.

Although he had always subscribed to Xunzi's theory of inherent human evil, that didn't mean he lacked compassion.

Money was merely a utility.

The reason spending money brings pleasure is essentially that it satisfies human desires, whether by providing material satisfaction or fulfilling psychological needs.

The reason many people donate money and goods, or even abandon their normal lives to help the impoverished in rural mountains, isn't because they possess a masochistic tendency and prefer hardship over a good life. Rather, the act of helping others and satisfying one's own empathy is simply more gratifying, bringing a greater sense of achievement in fulfilling spiritual desires.

Furthermore, this was a good deed to begin with.

Even if there were some gossip, it wouldn't matter, because the underlying reason for doing such things was to satisfy oneself.

"I say a couple of words to you and you're already getting full of yourself again?!"

Ayakoji Sayaka couldn't help kicking him.

***

She didn't kick hard, so Tsuno Haruya caught her foot effortlessly. Holding her soft little foot—separated only by a pure cotton sock—in his palm, he smiled and said, "I was being serious and you wouldn't believe me. Should a good person be met with malicious speculation just for doing good?"

Feeling the scorching heat radiating from her sole, Ayakoji Sayaka's face gradually grew hot, and her voice softened: "Who knows if you're lying? Not a single word out of your mouth is true."

Hesitating for a full several seconds, she added in a small voice:

"And... let go!"

Tsuno Haruya obediently released his hand. He didn't have a fetish for continually kneading a foot that was encased in a sock and most likely had sweaty soles today, but he kindly reminded her, "Alright, alright, drink some water. Look, your lips are turning white."

"Isn't that because of you?"

This time Ayakoji Sayaka didn't dare kick him, fearing she would be caught again, so she merely glared at him.

Yet she was indeed thirsty.

After all, she had been staking out the place since this morning, waiting three whole days without seeing anyone, until she finally lost her patience and came over to knock on the door herself, all without drinking a drop of water. Just now, her heart had been burning like a raging fire with anger. Holding the cup, Ayakoji Sayaka began to sip it in tiny swallows, and her dry, pale lips gradually moistened.

Actually, she wanted to open her mouth a bit wider and drink a little faster, but she was afraid that would ruin Tsuno Haruya's impression of her appearance and poise, so she had no choice but to drink this way.

Meanwhile, Tsuno Haruya quietly watched her.

To be honest, Ayakoji Sayaka was very pretty, exuding a faint, pleasant fragrance. Even though she wore loose athletic clothes, the voluptuous and majestic contours of her chest were faintly discernible. Paired with her flawless face that resembled a glacier, she was absolute boyfriend-material—no, the ultimate ascetic beauty that men adore.

Especially since Tsuno Haruya knew that beneath her icy exterior lay a heart as scorching as molten lava.

This sense of contrast, coupled with her stalking and aggressively pursuing him—even knowing full well that if he stepped on two or more boats this woman would transform into Saionji Sekai—was something almost no man could resist.

Even Tsuno Haruya, alone in a room with her at this moment, couldn't help a fleeting thought of throwing her onto the bed and bullying her ruthlessly.

Yet, she even dared to stalk and track him now!

If things went on like this, wouldn't she be chopping his head into seven or eight pieces in the future?!

With his thoughts in turmoil, Tsuno Haruya suddenly recalled something he had learned just yesterday. Shifting his gaze back to Ayakoji Sayaka, who was still sipping her water, he asked, "I heard an old woman made a scene at the ward office a while ago, seemingly because of basic medical insurance. Were you injured anywhere?"

This expression of concern, if directed at a normal person, should have elicited a grateful and appreciative response.

Yet Ayakoji Sayaka did not.

Clutching the empty cup, she fixed her almond-shaped eyes intently on Tsuno Haruya's face. Her peerlessly beautiful face turned completely expressionless, and only after a long moment did she ask in a cold, sharp tone:

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Hiraga Genji." Tsuno Haruya's heart skipped a beat as he instantly registered the danger, but he replied with an unblemished expression:

"Hiraga left for training in Fukuoka three days ago."

"He told me over a video call." Tsuno Haruya's acting skills had improved lately; he could tell one lie after another without even batting an eye. "He said he heard it from Takizawa Ryota."

"The two of them went together."

Ayakoji Sayaka's complexion turned terrifically dark.

"..." Tsuno Haruya coughed twice, a thoughtful look appearing on his face as he attempted to muddle through: "Then I must have misheard? I've been so busy these past few days I haven't even gone home. Ah, what Hiraga actually said at the time must have been Chiba..."

"It was Hoshino Ruka who told you, wasn't it?"

Ayakoji Sayaka blurted out flatly.

"No."

Tsuno Haruya immediately denied it point-blank.

"It was her!" Ayakoji Sayaka slammed the cup she was holding fiercely down onto the coffee table with a crisp crash, shouting in a rage, "I never expected that despite my repeated warnings not to have anything to do with her, the two of you are still sneaking around behind my back!"

"Sneaking around..."

Hearing this phrase, Tsuno Haruya was momentarily left speechless.

Sighing, Tsuno Haruya put on a puzzled expression and said, "Leaving aside whether I heard it from her or not, even if I am with her, by what right do you claim that our relationship is 'sneaking around'?"

"Of course, by..." Ayakoji Sayaka instinctively wanted to retort, but in that split second, she remembered that she seemed to have no relationship with him whatsoever, and her voice instantly died away.

Yet the volcanic rage erupting in her chest had nowhere to go, and failing to find a reason made her look foolish.

So she could only grit her teeth and demand:

"What do you think?"

"I'm asking for your enlightenment," Tsuno Haruya said with a smile.

Ayakoji Sayaka sat on the sofa racking her brain for a long time without coming up with a legitimate excuse to pick a fight. Pushed to the brink of fury, she threw all reason to the wind and shouted in resentful anger:

"Ask me for what?! Haven't you already done it? Even if the two of us have no relationship, leaving aside the facts, aren't you at fault at all?!"

Tsuno Haruya was rendered utterly speechless by these words.

Good grief, you're a Tier 0 in the meta too!

Reason won't work, and you won't step down even when given a ladder.

Fine!

Then I have no choice but to open my cheats!

As his thoughts stirred slightly, the light red interface of the Malice List instantly unfolded, targeting Ayakoji Sayaka as the subject of malice, and several pieces of information immediately emerged.

【Malice Subject: Ayakoji Sayaka】

【Malice List as follows】

【1. May Hoshino Ruka drop dead immediately (Purple)】

【2. May Tsuno Haruya drop dead immediately (Purple)】

【3. If Tsuno Haruya promises to love only me and kisses my feet, I will forgive him (Blue)】

Seeing this, Tsuno Haruya couldn't help but let his face darken.

Weren't you supposed to have a masochistic streak?

Why are you suddenly playing the role of the aggressor?

And can you please stop keeping thoughts of dying and living in your mind? You're only in your twenties, and besides, you're pushing thirty and heading for forty—it's about time you calmed down.

Ayakoji Sayaka's malice showed a different tendency than before, which Tsuno Haruya could actually understand.

After all, previously she had just wanted a thrill; though angry, she hadn't taken it too seriously. But now she was in a state of blazing fury, clearly adopting the attitude of someone utterly intolerant of a husband's betrayal and infidelity.

However.

Tsuno Haruya wasn't her husband either!

That was the tricky part.

He had originally thought this iceberg-turned-lava would gradually cast him aside as time passed, but now it appeared she probably had never experienced this kind of obsession before. Otherwise, the lingering aftertaste of this persistent pursuit of a man wouldn't have been greater than he had imagined.

Judging by the malice offered by the Malice List, breaking the deadlock naturally ruled out the first two items.

So that left kissing her feet?

At this thought, Tsuno Haruya's gaze drifted downward.

It finally landed on her feet.

The snug fit of the pure white cotton socks outlined the shape of Ayakoji Sayaka's arches perfectly. If one were to press a flat palm against them, probably only the tips of her toes would show; purely in terms of shape, they were indeed flawless.

If her toes were just a bit fairer and more tender, it would probably be difficult not to harbor the urge to grip her arches and lift them up.

Yet, at this very moment in Tsuno Haruya's field of vision—perhaps because July in Tokyo was simply too hot, or perhaps because Ayakoji Sayaka had been standing for too long, or a combination of both—sweaty feet were hardly a surprise.

Therefore, the cotton socks that should have been as pure white as snow now had soles that were faintly yellowish. Even if it was just a trace, it was enough to make one imagine just how authentic that raw fragrance must be.

Yellowed socks were caused by foot sweat.

And foot sweat came from the inside out.

So even if she took off the socks, the scent would still be there.

Furthermore, after being trapped inside cotton socks all day long, there was a good chance that this raw aroma would be even more concentrated.

So these feet...

Who would dare kiss them?

Tsuno Haruya glanced at the Malice List once more, fell silent for a brief moment, and with a mental nudge, withdrew the interface. He then glanced at Ayakoji Sayaka, who was still staring at him with a furious, do-or-die expression, decided to dispense with further nonsense, and instantly grabbed her right foot, yanking it up firmly.

"What are you doing?!" Ayakoji Sayaka, who was still trying to think of how to retort, was terrified out of her wits by the sudden action.

"Kissing you," Tsuno Haruya answered straightforwardly.

Hearing this, Ayakoji Sayaka's pupils dilated in shock, her brain instantly short-circuiting. It took her a long while to recover, and when she did, she felt that Tsuno Haruya was even more...

Even more overbearing and perverted than she had originally imagined.

Besides, could this possibly be called kissing me?

This was clearly kissing my feet...

A mix of shame and stimulation battered Ayakoji Sayaka's heart frantically. She instinctively wanted to refuse and kick him away, but her legs refused to obey, turning weak and limp. In the end, she could only suppress the shyness in her heart and put on a facade of disdain: "I never took you for a man with such a fetish!"

"Don't you like it? When I was massaging your foot just now, I seemed to notice you blushing." Tsuno Haruya kneaded her foot; even though it was tensed up, it was full of flesh.

"Y-You, which eye saw that?"

Ayakoji Sayaka blustered defensively, feeling a guilty conscience.

Tsuno Haruya simply ignored her.

Looking at her bashful expression, which resembled someone buffeted to the peak by wind and waves, he knew the Malice List was entirely accurate. This woman's contrast was even more extreme than he had anticipated, though it also gave him an even bigger headache.

As he thought, he began to peel off her socks.

With a few nimble flicks and turns, the two pure white cotton socks were stripped right off Ayakoji Sayaka's ankles.

Yet before he could lean down to kiss them.

Ayakoji Sayaka abruptly stopped him.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" Tsuno Haruya raised his head again.

Ayakoji Sayaka bit her pearly whites hard. Her previously shy gaze suddenly shifted into something else entirely.

Her almond-shaped, beautiful eyes were filled with fury.

She yanked her fair, delicate foot—now freed from its sock—back, staring into Tsuno Haruya's face as if looking at an mortal enemy, and finally forced a sentence out between her teeth:

"You seem awfully practiced at this..."