Chapter 134: Dream

Naoko had a very strange dream.

She dreamed that her whole body was soaking in a hot spring, and she felt warm all over. It was like the feeling she had just before waking up every morning—she knew she was in a dream. But this feeling was so warm and comfortable, it made her feel incredibly familiar and at ease.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Seeing the man sitting in front of her, she smiled.

This is great, he’s come to see me again.

“Lei, don’t go anymore, okay? Why do you always leave so quickly? Do you know? Every time I wake up and find I’m all alone, it really hurts. Please, can you let this dream last a little longer?” Naoko said, holding him tightly and speaking slowly.

“I promise, I won’t leave anymore.”

A voice that was incredibly familiar to her rang in her ears.

“Lei, you’re so kind.” Naoko, feeling deeply content, closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt so tired, so very tired.

After a while, hearing her steady breathing, Lei Yin knew she had fallen asleep. He gently laid her flat on the bed and covered her with the blanket. Looking at her pale, exhausted face, he felt a deep pain in his heart.

“I’m sorry for making you suffer,” Lei Yin whispered softly, then placed her left hand on his face, gently rubbing it.

After leaving the ICU, Lei Yin saw not only the Hasegawa family but also Naoko’s attending doctor. However, it seemed like he had been “detained” by the four men while doing his rounds, as he looked extremely frightened, with sweat beading on his forehead.

“Doctor, please go in and check on her. She woke up for a bit just now, but she’s fallen asleep again.”

“Okay,” the doctor said, terrified, and hurried inside.

“Sorry, I offended you earlier because the situation was so urgent,” Lei Yin turned to the Hasegawa family and said.

“How is Naoko now?” Hasegawa Masao looked at him and asked.

They had all seen that Naoko did wake up for a short while after Lei Yin entered the room over an hour ago.

“Can we wait for the doctor to finish checking her before we talk?” Lei Yin said, not knowing how to explain his treatment methods to them.

“If anything happens to my sister, I won’t let you off the hook,” Hasegawa Kenji said, still upset over what had happened earlier.

Lei Yin ignored him and turned to look at Naoko in the room.

Seeing him like this, Hasegawa Kenji grew angrier, glaring at his back.

Aiko, on the other hand, looked at him with an extremely complex expression.

It had been more than a year since they last met. He seemed to have grown a bit taller. He looked much thinner than a year ago, but there was a more mature air about him.

Though she didn’t know where he had been during the past year, Aiko felt like he hadn’t had it easy. Perhaps, as her sister said, he had his own unavoidable struggles.

Who were the other four men? They carried guns with them. Even stranger was how they seemed to show him great respect and obedience. Sigh… how many more secrets does this guy have?

After a while, the doctor came out, looking astonished.

“How is my daughter?” Hasegawa Kyouko immediately asked, and the others anxiously waited for the results of his examination.

“It’s really strange. Her heartbeat suddenly returned to normal, even her breathing. Normally, given her condition, even if she did wake up, it wouldn’t be possible for her heart rate to return to normal so quickly. May I ask, what exactly did you do to the patient?” The doctor asked, visibly agitated, as he approached the young man.

“Thank you, doctor.” Hearing the doctor’s response, Lei Yin finally let out a sigh of relief.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to the Hasegawa family and said, “Naoko should wake up soon. I’ll stay here with her. I apologize again for any offense caused earlier.” With that, he walked back into the room.

Having overexerted himself with his internal energy just now, Lei Yin felt a little fatigued and wasn’t in the mood to continue the pleasantries with them.

The Hasegawa family watched him enter the room, uncertain, but no one made any move to stop him.

“Doctor, how is my daughter really doing?” Hasegawa Masao asked, wanting to confirm again.

“Her condition has stabilized. If we keep this up, she should wake up by tomorrow,” the doctor explained.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces brightened with joy.

At this moment, Aiko turned her head and stared at the man sitting quietly by her sister’s bedside. Then, she sighed quietly in her heart.

***

It felt like she had slept for a long, long time. Naoko thought this was the best sleep she had had in over a year.

She vaguely remembered dreaming about him last night. A little sadly, she sat up.

Where is this? Naoko was surprised to see the entirely white room around her.

Soon, she realized it must be a hospital room, and she must have had another episode.

How much longer could she wait for him? Thinking about this, Naoko’s heart felt a twinge of sadness.

At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and someone entered with a takeout box.

Her vision was blurred by tears, so she couldn’t make out who it was. After wiping her tears with her sleeve, she finally saw the person’s face.

She froze.

The person walked to her bedside, gently placing his right hand on her left cheek. Lei Yin gazed at her with deep affection. “Naoko, I’m back.”

***

Watching the two of them hugging tightly, Hasegawa Kento stood awkwardly at the door. It seemed he had arrived at an inopportune moment.

“Naoko, your brother is here.” Lei Yin whispered in her ear.

Naoko blushed and quickly let go of him.

“Good morning, big brother.” Realizing that her brother had witnessed her hugging Lei Yin so passionately just now, Naoko’s face turned bright red.

“I’m glad you’re awake. We were all so worried about you,” Hasegawa Kento said with a smile.

“Sorry, big brother. I made you worry,” Naoko said apologetically.

“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. Father and mom stayed with you until morning before leaving. If they knew you were awake, they’d be so happy,” Hasegawa Kento said, omitting the part about how Hasegawa Kyouko had fainted due to the stress, so Naoko wouldn’t worry.

“I feel really bad for making them worry so much. You too, big brother. You look so tired. Please, go rest for a while,” Naoko said to Hasegawa Kento.

“Your condition has just stabilized. You still need someone to keep watch. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine,” Hasegawa Kento reassured her.

Just as Naoko was about to insist again, Lei Yin spoke up, addressing him, “Hasegawa-san, I’ll stay here with Naoko. You should go rest for now. If anything happens, I’ll notify you immediately.”

Hasegawa Kento felt uneasy being called “Hasegawa-san” by this young man with a somewhat mysterious air about him. He wasn’t entirely comfortable, but judging from Lei Yin’s behavior last night, it seemed he genuinely cared for Naoko. Looking into his eyes, Hasegawa Kento hesitated.

“Big brother, please go rest,” Naoko urged again.

“Alright then. I’ll come back tonight. Mr. Gennai, please let me know if anything happens,” Hasegawa Kento finally nodded.

“Rest assured, I’ll take good care of Naoko.”

After one last glance at his sister, Hasegawa Kento left the room.

Once Hasegawa Kento had left, Lei Yin opened the takeout box and took out a steaming bowl of porridge.

“You’re still very weak, so you can only have some liquid food for now.” Sitting by her bedside, Lei Yin scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to her lips.

“I… I can do it myself.” Naoko blushed immediately when she saw he was about to feed her.

“Be good, listen to me.”

Glancing at him, Naoko finally opened her lips, cheeks flushed.

***

From a distance, Lei Yin gazed at the house, unsure whether he should enter.

It had been over a year since he had last been here, and he wondered what kind of reaction they would have.

He had forgotten the phone number of Maeda, otherwise, it would’ve been easier to make up a lie together. Otherwise, if they asked where he had been for the past year, he wouldn’t know how to answer.

Standing at the door, Lei Yin hesitated for a moment before finally pressing the doorbell.

After a while, the door opened, and a man stepped out.

It was a stroke of luck—the man who opened the door was Maeda.

“Masashi… is that you?” Maeda stared at him as if he had seen a ghost.

Lei Yin found Maeda’s surprised expression rather amusing. However, there was no time to laugh. He quickly pulled Maeda outside to the street.

Maeda Ryutaro, looking somewhat foolish, was dragged into a corner by Lei Yin before he stopped.

“Masashi, is that really you?” Maeda tightly grasped his arm, still unable to believe that this person, who had been missing for over a year, had suddenly appeared before him.

“I know you’re shocked, but there’s no time to reminisce. We need to get our story straight,” Lei Yin said.

“Story? What story?” Maeda Ryutaro, a well-trained police officer, quickly regained his composure.

Once he had calmed down, Lei Yin immediately explained his plan to him.

After a round of discussion, Maeda Ryutaro reluctantly said, “Alright, I’ll say it like you told me. But you’re asking me to lie as soon as you come back. Don’t make me do this kind of thing again.”

“Actually, not everything I’m saying is a lie. A lot of it is the truth. I’ll explain more when I have time. By the way, how did you end up at my house? Were you here for a meal?” After Maeda agreed, Lei Yin casually asked.

“Masashi, actually… I’ve married Rumiko,” Maeda Ryutaro said hesitantly.

“When did that happen?” Lei Yin asked, both surprised and delighted.

“Three months ago,” Maeda replied.

“Great, I didn’t expect you to have finally figured it out. I was worried you’d be talking about love with my mom for the rest of your life,” Lei Yin said, patting Maeda’s shoulder in approval.

Maeda smiled silently.

“Alright, enough with the silly smiles. Hurry up and get ready. I’ll wait for you here,” Lei Yin said.

“Okay, I’ll drive over right away.” With that, Maeda went back inside.

When he returned to the living room, Rumiko had just finished her bath and walked out.

“I think I just heard the doorbell. Did someone come?” Rumiko asked.

“It was one of my subordinates. Rumiko, listen carefully. He said they’ve found Masashi,” Maeda said, trying to feign excitement.

“What? Say that again!” Rumiko couldn’t believe her ears.

“The police station just informed me that they’ve found Masashi.” Maeda repeated.

“Is it true? Are you really telling the truth?” Rumiko said excitedly, grabbing his hand.

“It’s true. I’ll go pick him up right now,” Maeda said as he put on his jacket.

“I’ll go with you,” Rumiko quickly replied, rushing to her room to change clothes.

“No, stay here and wait for us to return. I’m leaving now,” Maeda said before she could protest, walking out the door.

“Come back quickly,” Rumiko called out to him at the door, her voice full of concern.

“I will,” Maeda replied as he drove off.

Once Maeda was gone, Rumiko paced restlessly, her heart filled with both anxiety and anticipation.

That’s right, Rumi probably doesn’t know about this yet. Thinking of this, Rumiko hurried to Rumi’s room and knocked on the door.

When the door opened, Rumiko saw Rumi, who was deeply focused on doing practice problems, unaware of the knocking.

“Rumi,” Rumiko called gently.

The kendo girl finally heard the call and looked up, seeing Rumiko standing there.

“Oh, Aunt Rumiko, what’s the matter?” Rumi asked, standing up.

“Rumi, Ryutaro said they’ve found Masashi,” Rumiko said, tears streaming down her face.

“What?” Rumi’s pen dropped to the floor.

“Aunt, are you serious? They really found him?” Rumi asked, running to her side with excitement.

“It’s true. Ryutaro went to pick him up, and they’ll be back together soon,” Rumiko said, her voice breaking into sobs.

At this moment, Rumi’s mind went blank. She couldn’t believe that the thing she had been hoping and praying for day and night had come so suddenly.

As the two women anxiously waited for Lei Yin’s return, Maeda Ryutaro was driving around the neighborhood, killing time to balance the journey.

“It’s about time. Let’s head back,” Maeda said, glancing at his watch.

“Yeah, let’s go back. Sigh, it’s been more than a year since I last saw them. I wonder how they’re doing now,” Lei Yin sighed.

“They miss you every day. If it weren’t for knowing that you had no choice in the matter, I’d want to beat you up myself,” Maeda said as he flicked the cigarette butt out of the window.

Lei Yin was silent for a moment before responding, “Let’s go back. I really want to see them too.”

Maeda immediately turned the car around and headed back.

When they reached the door again, Lei Yin saw Rumiko and Rumi standing at the door, looking in their direction.

Getting out of the car, Lei Yin and Maeda walked slowly toward the door.

Seeing the tears in the eyes of the two women, Lei Yin didn’t know what to say at first. After a moment, he said in a hoarse voice, “Mom, Rumi, I’m back.”

The two women at the door immediately rushed to him, embracing him tightly.