Chapter 119: Indulgence

“Sorry, Aiko, for making you wait,” Lei Yin said, holding a tray with fruit and tea cups in his left hand while opening the door with his right.

After shutting the door behind him, he set the tray down and said, “There’s no one else here now. If you need to talk, just say it.”

Aiko, stiff as a robot, slowly turned toward him and asked in a dry, raspy voice, “Where did this scarf come from?”

“Hey, Aiko, what’s wrong?” Lei Yin asked, noticing her strange tone as he moved closer.

“I asked you—where did you get this scarf?” Aiko suddenly threw the scarf at him with force.

He caught the scarf and gently stroked it.

This scarf had been hand-woven by Naoko for him. Strictly speaking, it was a failed project. Naoko felt it wasn’t woven well enough, so she put it aside instead of giving it to him. Later, when he noticed it, he casually took it as a memento. She had said that she wanted to make one she was truly satisfied with before giving it to him.

“It seems you’ve figured it out. Yes, this scarf was hand-woven by your sister. We didn’t mean to hide it from you—it’s just that she wanted to find the right moment to tell you herself,” Lei Yin said slowly.

“So, my sister’s boyfriend is you.”

Suddenly, Lei Yin saw two tears fall from Aiko’s lowered face, running down her chin and splashing onto the floor, leaving two small water stains.

“Aiko, you…”

“You bastards!” Aiko raised her tear-streaked face and yelled angrily. She shoved him away and ran to the door, yanking it open and rushing out.

Seeing Aiko run out without saying another word, Murashima immediately followed her.

“What’s going on, brother?” Kazumi asked, looking confused.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be out for a while, you don’t need to wait for me tonight,” Lei Yin replied, heading toward the backyard to roll his motorcycle to the front door.

“Be careful senpai, don’t drive too fast,” Rumi cautioned from the side.

Lei Yin nodded, starting the motorcycle and riding off.

Seeing the worried look on Rumi’s face, Kazumi squeezed her small hand reassuringly and said, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

Rumi nodded but continued to watch him ride away.

Lei Yin rode his motorcycle to Naoko’s apartment. As soon as he stopped, he saw Naoko standing anxiously at the door.

As soon as she saw Lei Yin, Naoko rushed over, saying, “Lei, as soon as Aiko came back, she got really upset and started throwing things. What happened?”

“Where is she now?” Lei Yin asked.

“I don’t know. After throwing things, she ran out. Why is she acting like this?” Naoko asked, frantic.

“She knows about us now. That’s why she’s acting like this. Don’t worry, as long as Murashima is with her, she’ll be fine. Let’s go inside for now,” Lei Yin reassured her.

Naoko nodded, though still worried.

The inside of the apartment was a mess. Items were smashed everywhere, and the living room looked like a storm had passed through.

Lei Yin smiled bitterly, “That girl really has a temper.”

He walked in and cleared some things off the couch, then gently lifted Naoko and placed her on it. “There’s a lot of glass on the floor. It’s dangerous with your slippers. Let me clean up. Just sit here and stay put. Understood?”

Naoko’s eyes were red, but she nodded obediently.

“Good girl.” Lei Yin kissed her cheek before heading over to the balcony to grab a broom and dustpan.

Naoko sat hugging her knees, her eyes fixed on him as he cleaned the living room.

Lei Yin wasn’t the type to clean often. Since there were three very diligent women at home, he rarely had to do it himself. It took him almost an hour to clean up the mess and restore the living room to its original state.

After washing his hands, he walked over to Naoko, lifted her up, and sat down on the couch, placing her on his lap.

Holding her soft body, Lei Yin said, “It’s probably best to let that girl cool down for a while. If she hasn’t come back by midnight, I’ll go find her. Don’t worry too much.”

Looking into his eyes—deeper and more inscrutable than the purest black gemstones—Naoko sighed softly and said, “I should have known. The boy she likes is you. She always mentions your name without realizing it. As her sister, I didn’t even notice.”

Seeing the self-blame in her eyes, Lei Yin comforted her, “I only just figured it out from her reaction. Don’t overthink it. At her age, it’s normal for her to develop feelings for someone close to her. When she matures a little, she’ll realize that there are plenty of men in the world.”

“I hope so. I’m just worried she might do something rash,” Naoko said, her voice filled with concern.

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry. If you’re tired, you can go rest in your room.”

“No, I want to wait here.” Naoko rested her head on his chest as she spoke.

At 11:30 PM, Lei Yin’s phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number.

“Hello, who is this?” He pressed the answer button.

“Gennai, this is Murashima Mami. Hurry up and come, Aiko’s in trouble!” Mami’s urgent voice came through the phone.

“Tell me the address quickly.”

“What happened? Is Aiko in trouble?” Naoko asked, her face tense, after Lei Yin hung up.

“It’s nothing. I’ll go get her now. Stay here and wait for me.” He patted her face gently before heading out.

Naoko stood by the door, watching him drive away.

***

Aiko, stop drinking. Let’s go.” Mami urged again.

“I… don’t want to. I don’t want to go back. I hate that place!” Aiko shouted loudly.

“If you don’t want to go back, we’ll stay with you.” A young man wearing earrings, who had been sitting next to them, smiled and added.

“You guys are really kind. You’re a thousand times—no, a million times better than… that bastard.” Aiko finished, downing the rest of her beer.

“If you want to drink, you can come to my place. Let’s go.” Mami said, ignoring Aiko’s protest as she tried to pull her up.

“Hey, miss, your friend already said she doesn’t want to go back. Why are you forcing her?” Another young man with bleached hair stood in front of Mami.

Mami, her face expressionless, looked at the three men who had been following them since they entered the bar and said, “What do you want? Move out of the way, or I’ll call the police.”

“Miss, don’t misunderstand. We just want to have a little fun with you two.” The third young man, wearing ripped jeans, grinned and said.

“I’ll say it again—move aside, or I’ll call the police.” Mami’s tone was firm as she resolved to leave.

Seeing that their opportunity might slip away, the three men exchanged glances.

“Alright, I won’t force you. Just drink this one glass of beer, and we’ll let you go. If you refuse, well… this place is loud enough that if something happens, no one will notice.” The young man with dyed hair spoke up, holding out the glass of beer.

Mami hesitated, staring at the beer for a moment, not sure what to do.

Seeing her hesitation, the young man continued, “It’s just one beer. You won’t even get drunk. Miss, don’t test my patience.” He then took out a small knife and began to idly play with it.

Mami’s face changed as she watched the knife, but she said, “If I drink this, you’ll let us leave immediately?”

“Of course.” The young man slipped the knife back into his pocket.

“Fine, I’ll drink.” Mami reached out and took the glass of beer.

As she brought the beer to her lips, a lazy voice suddenly spoke from beside her. “Idiot. If you drink that, you’ll never leave this bar. It’s spiked.”

“Gennai!” Mami looked toward the voice in surprise.

“Who are you?” The three young men stared, surprised, at the man who had appeared behind them.

“How’s Aiko?” Lei Yin ignored them and walked straight to Mami, asking.

“She’s drunk.” Mami replied.

“What a troublesome kid. Let’s go.” Lei Yin said, turning and heading toward the door.

“This has nothing to do with you. Get lost.” The young man with the dyed hair pulled out his knife and waved it in front of Lei Yin.

“This world is full of garbage.” Before the young man could react, Lei Yin grabbed his knife-wielding right hand, twisted it, and drove the blade into the young man’s thigh.

“Ah…” The young man hadn’t even screamed before Lei Yin knocked him out with a single punch.

As the dyed-haired youth had said, with all the noise in the bar, no one would notice anything that happened.

“You saw it yourselves, he stabbed himself. Hurry up and take him to the hospital. Losing too much blood could kill him.” Lei Yin said flatly.

The other two young men shuddered as they saw the cold look in his eyes. They quickly dragged the unconscious man out of the bar.

“Alright, let’s go. Her sister’s still waiting for her at home.” Lei Yin picked Aiko up and started walking toward the exit.

Staring at his back, Mami finally snapped out of her daze and hurried to follow him.