Chapter 108: Winning the Lottery

“Sayaka, this is my cousin, Gennai Masashi. Like you, he’s a high school student, but his grades are much worse than yours. Masashi, this is Tomoko’s younger sister, Yamaguchi Sayaka. I’m not wrong, right? Sayaka’s really pretty, isn’t she? You fool, hurry up and greet her,” Kurata Ryoko said as she gave Masashi’s shoulder a forceful slap.

With Ryoko’s actions, it almost felt like an arranged meeting. Masashi shot her an irritated glance.

“Ah, it’s you?” To everyone’s surprise, after clearly seeing his face, Yamaguchi Sayaka suddenly exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.

“Sayaka, do you know my cousin?” Ryoko asked, her tone curious, noticing Sayaka’s astonishment.

The other two girls also looked confused, while Masashi himself was puzzled. He couldn’t remember where he had met this girl.

Suddenly, Sayaka covered her mouth, and a single tear fell from her eye.

“What did you do to Sayaka?” Seeing her suddenly tear up, Ryoko grabbed Masashi by his collar and shouted.

“I really don’t know her,” Masashi said, utterly bewildered.

“Then why is Sayaka crying? You must have done something bad to her! Tell the truth!” Ryoko didn’t believe him and, still gripping his collar, began to squeeze his neck.

“Sayaka, what’s going on?” Yamaguchi Tomoko, after glancing at Masashi, anxiously pulled Sayaka’s hand and asked.

Seeing Masashi being “interrogated” by Ryoko, Sayaka quickly wiped her tears and smiled, saying, “Sis Ryoko, you misunderstood, he really doesn’t know me.”

“Then why did you cry?” Ryoko was taken aback, loosening her grip on Masashi’s neck.

“It’s nothing,” Sayaka stuck out her tongue and smiled.

“Sayaka, if this guy really bullied you, just tell me. I’ll make sure to teach him a good lesson,” Ryoko said as she tried to grab Masashi’s neck again, but the boy quickly stepped aside.

Sayaka didn’t respond to her. Instead, she whispered something in her sister’s ear.

After hearing her sister, Tomoko looked at her with confusion. Finally, after seeing the pleading look in Sayaka’s eyes, she nodded.

Seeing her sister’s approval, Sayaka instantly smiled happily.

While the others were still puzzled, Tomoko turned to Ryoko and Tachibana Sui, saying, “Sayaka suddenly really wants to read a shoujo manga. Let’s go buy some for her. Ryoko, can you leave Masashi here to keep her company?”

“It’s fine, but why?” Ryoko asked, though she was a bit noisy and impulsive, she wasn’t foolish. She quickly realized that Tomoko’s request was likely to get them out of the room.

“Don’t ask, let’s go. Otherwise, Sayaka might get upset,” Tachibana Sui said, clearly enjoying the situation. Despite her curiosity, she still tugged at Ryoko to leave.

“If you need anything, just call my phone,” Tomoko gently touched Sayaka’s face and then gave Masashi a glance before leaving the room.

Once the three girls left, the room was left with just the two high school students. With no one speaking, the hospital room quickly became very quiet and slightly awkward.

“P-please, sit down,” Sayaka stammered after a while.

Seeing the nervous girl, Masashi smiled.

He casually pulled a chair over and sat by her bed. “Your name is Sayaka, right? Can you tell me what you need from me?”

Since Masashi was sitting so close, Sayaka could clearly see his eyes, causing her face to flush slightly.

“S-sorry, I lost my composure earlier and scared you,” she said after a while, finally managing to speak.

“To be accurate, it was only those three who were scared,” Masashi said with a smile.

Hearing this, Sayaka felt much more at ease.

“Would you like an apple?” Flustered, she quickly grabbed a fruit from the basket and offered it to him.

“I think that’s a pear,” Masashi remarked, eyeing the fruit in her hand.

“Sorry, I’ll get you another one,” Sayaka apologized, but Masashi waved it off.

“It’s fine, I don’t like apples,” Masashi said as he took the pear from her hand.

When his fingers accidentally brushed against her palm, Sayaka’s face turned even redder.

“Alright, now can you tell me?” Masashi asked as he began peeling the pear.

Taking a deep breath, Sayaka quietly spoke, “I… I know you’re the person who hit a home run at the baseball field that day.”

Masashi looked up in surprise.

“Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean,” he said nonchalantly after a moment, then lowered his head to continue peeling the pear.

“I really do know. I’m also a student at Kawaki High, and coincidentally, I was in the nurse’s office that day,” Sayaka explained, watching him.

Hearing this, Masashi silently chuckled to himself. That day when he had gone to the nurse’s office to ask for a mask, he vaguely remembered seeing a girl there but didn’t pay attention to her at the time. He hadn’t expected it to be her.

“Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to do anything. I just didn’t expect to see you here, and I… I’m really happy,” Sayaka quickly explained.

“Actually, it’s no big deal. I just didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I didn’t want others to know. So, could you keep it a secret for me?” Masashi asked, looking up at her again.

“I-I will definitely keep your secret,” Sayaka said, her voice filled with excitement.

“Here, this is your hush money,” Masashi smiled as he handed her the peeled pear.

“Thank you,” Sayaka said awkwardly as she took the pear. It wasn’t until she took a bite that she realized it was the one he had peeled for himself.

“I’m sorry, I’ll peel one for you right away.”

“I’ll do it myself. Since you even ate the hush money, let’s call it settled,” Masashi said as he picked another pear from the fruit basket.

“U-um, may I call you by your name?” After a while, Sayaka asked softly.

“Whatever you want.”

Upon hearing his answer, Sayaka beamed with a radiant smile.

“Do you know? I’ve had poor health since I was young and often had to go to the hospital, so I really admire people who are good at sports. Among all the sports, baseball is my favorite. It’s the most exhilarating sport, and sometimes when I see players crying after winning or losing a game, I can’t help but cry with them.

When I was in middle school, I worked as the manager of the baseball team, but I had to quit halfway due to health reasons. I was really sad at the time.

When I saw you hit two home runs that day, I was so excited.

At that time, only I knew you were the mysterious batter. But aside from knowing you were from Asakura High and remembering your face, I knew nothing else, so I’ve been searching for you for a long time. I never expected to see you here. I’m really so happy,” she said, tears welling up as she spoke.

Seeing her emotional, Masashi still couldn’t understand why Japanese people were so passionate about baseball. Maybe it was because, at his core, he was still Chinese.

Although he had changed nationalities and even races countless times over the centuries, he still considered himself fundamentally Chinese. Perhaps that was because, before he was struck by lightning and transformed into an immortal spirit, he was already a mature, stable adult. The saying, “a leopard can’t change its spots,” seemed made for him.

“Dry your tears. Otherwise, when they come back, they’ll think I’m bullying you,” Masashi said, handing her a tissue.

“Thank you,” Sayaka whispered in thanks.

When Tomoko and the others returned, they were surprised to find Sayaka chatting and laughing with Masashi.

“You…” Ryoko looked at them and asked.

“Sis Ryoko, did you bring me my manga?” Before she could finish, Sayaka quickly interrupted her.

“Looks like we came back too soon,” Tachibana Sui said with a smile.

Seeing her shy sister, whose head nearly hung down to her chest, Tomoko smiled and placed a bag of manga in front of Sayaka. “Here, I bought it for you. See if you like it.”

“Thank you, sister,” Sayaka said, feeling grateful for her sister’s help.

“You’re such an oddball,” Ryoko said as she sat down.

“Hey, Masashi, come with us for dinner. Call Auntie and tell her not to make dinner for you,” Ryoko said again.

“I’ll eat at home.”

“No, it’s rare we get to meet, so it’s settled,” Ryoko insisted. She found being around Masashi quite comfortable and didn’t want to let him go so soon.

“Has anyone ever told you that this bad habit of making decisions for others is hard to fix, and if you don’t change it, you’ll have trouble getting married?”

As soon as Masashi finished speaking, the other three girls immediately burst into laughter.

Ryoko, however, wasn’t bothered. “Go ahead, I don’t care about those self-righteous, arrogant men who just buzz around pretty girls like flies. It’s annoying.”

Tachibana Sui laughed and said to Masashi, “Don’t take her seriously. Actually, she’s very popular with the boys at school. Maybe the boys like girls like her who are outgoing and lively.”

“Seems like there are quite a few people with masochistic tendencies these days,” Masashi said with a mischievous grin.

“Go die,” Ryoko snapped, unable to take it anymore, and smacked him.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Tachibana Sui glanced at the time and said, “It’s getting late. We’ll come back tomorrow.”

When Sayaka heard they were leaving, she looked a bit downcast.

“Don’t look like that. We’ll come back in a few days. Besides, the doctor said you’ll be discharged soon. Once you’re out, you can come see us whenever you like,” Tomoko reassured her sister.

“Yeah, come on, smile,” Ryoko said, tugging at the corners of Sayaka’s mouth with her hands.

“Stop it, Sis Ryoko,” Sayaka smiled and playfully slapped her hand away.

The others laughed too, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.

“Will… will you still come see me?” Sayaka asked softly, her face turning bright red as she looked at Masashi.

Not expecting this sudden question, Masashi didn’t know how to respond.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring this guy with me next time,” Ryoko quickly said, grabbing Masashi’s shoulder and speaking to Sayaka.

“Will you really come next time?” Sayaka looked at Masashi, asking.

Feeling like a messenger for a sick call, Masashi weakly nodded.

Sayaka smiled like a rainbow after the rain.

※※※

Finally, they left. Watching the now quiet room, Sayaka let out a soft sigh. Feeling a bit bored, she took a manga from the bag and began flipping through it.

She had barely read ten pages when the door to the hospital room suddenly burst open. It was Tomoko and the others who had just left.

“Sis, why did you come back? Did you forget something?” Sayaka asked in surprise.

Then she realized something was off. The three girls didn’t answer her. They were panting heavily.

Suddenly, Tomoko covered her mouth and rushed into the hospital room’s restroom.

Sayaka clearly heard the sound of her sister vomiting inside.

“What should we do now?” Ryoko asked in a panic. Tachibana Sui looked pale and at a loss.

“Excuse me, what happened?” Feeling the strange atmosphere, Sayaka asked timidly.

Masashi glanced at her and smiled wryly. “You’ve won the lottery.”

※※※

“Masashi, when did you first meet Sayaka?” After the four girls left Sayaka’s room, Ryoko eagerly asked.

This question immediately caught the attention of Tomoko and Tachibana Sui.

“During the school festival at their school last time,” Masashi answered simply. Technically, it was when Sayaka had met him, but he didn’t know her then.

“But why did you say at first that you didn’t know her?” Ryoko pressed.

“Uh, that’s a bit complicated. You’d better ask her yourself,” Masashi decided to pass the problem back to the person who started it all.

“No, you must answer this question,” Ryoko insisted, not letting him off so easily.

“Well, looks like there’s someone important in that hospital room,” Masashi suddenly said, glancing at the intensive care unit in front of them.

The other three girls, distracted by his comment, looked over in the direction he was looking.

There, in front of the ICU, stood two armed police officers.

Why would they need police protection for someone in that room?

Seeing the girls’ curiosity, Masashi smiled faintly. The best way to avoid answering questions you don’t want to address is to divert the questioner’s attention.

At that moment, a wheeled hospital bed quickly passed by them.

On the bed lay a man, his head wrapped in bandages, his entire body covered in a white sheet. A doctor and a nurse were walking alongside the bed.

“Excuse me, please move,” Seeing two policemen standing in the corridor, the doctor called out loudly as he walked behind the bed.

The police officers, instinctively stepping aside to let the bed pass, didn’t expect what happened next.

Without warning, the man lying on the bed suddenly threw off the sheet covering him, which he used to cover one of the police officers’ heads. Then, the man, looking nothing like a patient, swiftly slashed a knife across the officer’s throat.

Without a sound, the sheet covering the officer turned red with blood, and the redness spread quickly.

Tomoko, with her sharp eyes, could even see the white trachea and red tissue exposed through the tear in the sheet.

But the action didn’t stop with the “patient.” As the man sprang up from the bed, the doctor had already inserted a knife into another officer’s chest. The officer looked in disbelief at the dark-skinned “doctor” before collapsing to the floor.

All of this happened within a matter of seconds. The three girls stood frozen, dazed and speechless, as the horrific scene unfolded before them.

The “female nurse” then picked up a gun from the bed and glanced toward them.

Masashi immediately grabbed the three girls and ran back…

※※※

“What were those people trying to do?” Tomoko, who had just come out of the restroom, asked, her face pale.

Ryoko and Tachibana Sui also looked distressed, still in disbelief as if they were dreaming. They were just ordinary girls living in Tokyo, not like the doctors or police officers who were used to seeing corpses. The only time they usually encountered death was at funerals or occasionally witnessing a traffic accident.

To witness the brutal murder of two people right in front of them—alive moments ago—was an image they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

“It seems they wanted to kidnap the person in that room,” Masashi said after a pause.

“So what do we do now?” Tachibana Sui asked.

“Do nothing. If their target is just that person, logically they’ll leave as soon as they’ve succeeded. So, we just wait here until they leave,” Masashi said.

Hearing this, the girls calmed down a bit.

Though they were reassured by his words, Masashi was secretly worried about another possible scenario.

“Don’t worry, Sayaka. Nothing will happen to you.” Seeing the worried look on her face, Tomoko immediately sat beside her and hugged her.

Feeling the slight tremble in her sister’s body, Sayaka tightly grasped her hand.

Minutes passed, and Tomoko glanced at the clock on the table. It had been more than ten minutes. It seemed like nothing was happening. The three girls slowly began to relax.

However, the sudden sound of a scream and an ear-piercing gunshot shattered their optimism.

Masashi sighed inwardly. It seemed he had won the grand prize this time.