Yuto Miyazawa noticed that Blaine Jackson didn't seem the least bit surprised. Curious, he walked over.
"Director Jackson, you seem to already know what I'm about to say?"
Blaine didn't answer directly but instead countered with a question. "President Miyazawa, you seem to care about her quite a bit."
Yuto glanced sideways at Chloe Grace, the corners of his perfectly sculpted lips curling into a faint smile before he shook his head. However, just as Blaine began to relax, Yuto suddenly added, "Perhaps my feelings for Chloe aren't as simple as mere concern."
"Huh?" Chloe was dumbfounded. She couldn't quite grasp the true intent behind his words.
"President Miyazawa, I agreed to come to Senrui today for work, not for idle chatter," Blaine said calmly while packing up his makeup tools. "If there are no other models left, I'll take my leave."
"Director Jackson, is Chloe your girlfriend?" Yuto asked suddenly.
"…President Miyazawa?" Chloe blinked in shock, completely caught off guard.
Blaine glanced at her, then wordlessly took the contour brush and concealer from her hands, tidily storing them in his makeup case before finally turning to face Yuto. "What exactly do you mean by that question?"
"I just want to clarify something. If Chloe isn't your girlfriend, then I won't let this opportunity pass me by," Yuto said, his gaze unwavering with determination.
Chloe let out a small gasp and turned to Blaine, her fingers instinctively gripping his arm. She looked at him earnestly, fearing the words he might say next would shatter her expectations. "Blaine?" Would he deny their relationship again, just like last time? Even though she was only his "temporary" girlfriend, she was terrified of hearing him reject her outright.
"What's with the nerves? Afraid I'll sell you off?" Blaine pried her hands away, placed the makeup case in her arms, and affectionately ruffled her hair with a sigh. "It seems I've done a terrible job as your boyfriend if I've made you feel this insecure." There was still more than half a month left in their agreed timeframe, yet he was already realizing—he liked her.
"Wait… boyfriend?" Chloe blinked rapidly, her heart bursting with joy. "Did you just admit you're my boyfriend?" Was she dreaming?
"What? Are you saying you don't want to be my girlfriend anymore?" Blaine raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not! I just thought I was imagining things…" Oh god, he really admitted it! "So, does that mean you like me?" That was the most important part.
"Could you be any more clueless?" He rolled his eyes. He had just admitted they were together, and she was still asking dumb questions.
Their unfiltered conversation played out in front of Yuto, and even without an explicit response from Blaine, he already knew the answer.
"Director Jackson, you really went to great lengths to deceive me. Chloe is the first girl I've ever had feelings for," Yuto admitted with a melancholic tone. He didn't mind confessing his failed affection in front of them. Though disappointment lingered in his heart, he didn't feel ashamed to have lost to Blaine.
"President Miyazawa…" Chloe looked at him with surprise, unable to believe he had liked her.
"Chloe, you tricked me too. From the start, you two have been hiding your feelings for each other." Yuto deliberately feigned a pitiful expression, hoping to stir some guilt in her. "I'm really heartbroken right now. What do you think I should do?"
"…What should I do?" Chloe stammered. How was she supposed to answer that?
"President Miyazawa, would you like a comforting hug to ease your heartbreak?" Blaine's cold voice sliced through the air.
Damn it! Was Yuto treating him as if he were invisible? Saying things like that right in front of his girlfriend!
Yuto caught the underlying threat in his tone and exhaled with a small smirk. "If the hug is from Chloe, I wouldn't refuse. But if it's from you, I'll have to pass—I wouldn't want my employees getting the wrong idea. Also, just to clarify, my orientation is completely normal."
Blaine shot him a glare and decided he wasn't worth his time. Without another word, he grabbed Chloe's hand and led her toward the exit.
"Blaine, shouldn't we at least say goodbye?" Chloe hesitated, feeling it would be impolite to just walk away.
"He's not blind. He can see we're leaving, so there's no need to say it aloud," Blaine replied with an unmistakable sourness in his voice.
"Oh…" She suddenly realized something. His hostility toward Yuto was crystal clear. Annie was right—Blaine was jealous!
This revelation made her inexplicably happy. It turned out he hadn't been indifferent to her all along. See? A man she set her eyes on couldn't possibly be so blind.
"Why are you grinning? What's making you so happy?" Blaine took the makeup case from her hands and glanced at her dimples, unable to resist poking at them with his finger.
"Hey, we haven't even left Senrui yet—there are so many people around!" His sudden intimate gesture made her heart flutter.
"Tell me, what were you smiling about just now?" After a pause, he added suspiciously, "It wasn't because of Yuto, was it?"
"Ugh, you're so ridiculous!" She rolled her eyes at him. "I was just thinking—"
"Chloe, did you even understand what I meant earlier?" He interrupted, his tone serious. "I wasn't jealous. I was talking about the fact that he likes you."
"Oh." She nodded, then tilted her head and asked, "But I don't like him. So what's there to be happy about?" If anything, she should feel guilty about unintentionally breaking Yuto's heart.
"Honestly, I noticed it the night he insisted I take you to that celebration gala."
"So that's why you were acting weird afterward, ignoring me all the time." He had refused to admit it even then.
"Was it that obvious?" he asked, puzzled.
After unlocking the car, Blaine was just about to start the engine when two slender arms suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind.
"Chloe, if you want to ambush me, at least wait until we're home." A moment ago, she had been acting all shy about public displays of affection, and now she was the one making a move?
"Who said I was ambushing you? I just wanted to ask a question."
"Save it for home. Your questions are always tough to answer. Once we're in bed, you can ask me anything you want." With a mischievous glint in his eye, he winked at her before pressing a quick kiss on her lips.
Chloe sat there, stunned, her mind unable to process what had just happened.
It was the first time he had kissed her without her having to seduce him first.