Chapter 137: Clearance

“Kazumi, you seem so much happier lately. Did something good happen?” After class, Takeshima Shinobu asked Kazumi as she packed up her things.

“How did you notice?” Kazumi asked in return.

“Your smile is so much brighter these days. Did you get a boyfriend?” Shinobu teased, leaning in with a grin.

Glancing at the girl who had stuck close to her since the semester began, Kazumi shook her head. “No, it’s because my brother finally came back.”

“What do you mean? Does your brother work away from home?” Shinobu asked, puzzled.

“It’s a bit complicated. I’ll tell you later. Let’s go,” Kazumi replied as she finished packing her textbooks and notebooks.

As they walked outside the building, Shinobu grumbled, “I really hate that old Tanimura’s classes. They’re so boring and long-winded, they always make me want to fall asleep. Nakano’s classes are way better—just watching a handsome guy like him teach is a pleasure in itself.”

“When are you ever going to stop judging people by their looks? Men like him are clearly no good. He’s always flirting with the pretty female students during class—it’s disgusting to watch,” Kazumi said with disdain.

“You’re biased. He’s just making eye contact with them, that’s all. Are you saying every good-looking man is a bad guy?” Shinobu protested.

“It’s one of Pavlov’s biological theories,” Kazumi began with mock seriousness. “Good-looking men often have a psychological advantage. This smug confidence makes them think they’re irresistible to women. As a result, they’re rarely loyal to one woman, because they believe plenty of other attractive women are waiting for them. These types are commonly known as playboys. So, the conclusion is that good-looking men are rarely good people. By the way, you know who Pavlov is, right? The biologist who trained dogs to drool at the sound of a bell. It’s just like those men who drool uncontrollably when they see a pretty woman.”

“Is that true?” Shinobu asked, half-believing her, especially after Kazumi invoked Pavlov’s name.

“What do you think?”

Seeing the mischievous glint in Kazumi’s eyes, Shinobu immediately realized she’d been fooled.

“You little trickster!” Shinobu laughed and lunged at her, ready to dish out some playful revenge.

“Miss, please mind your image,” Kazumi said calmly, unfazed.

True to form, Shinobu stopped abruptly to check her surroundings, then glared at Kazumi fiercely.

Watching Kazumi’s smile, Shinobu couldn’t help but laugh too.

She really was much happier now. Kazumi had always been so serious before, but it was clear how much she valued her brother.

Come to think of it, meeting Kazumi had been a stroke of fate.

Shinobu still remembered the day she had gone to register for school. She had been harassed by a pervert on the train, but because it was so crowded, she felt too embarrassed to call for help. At her most uncomfortable moment, a girl suddenly kicked the guy away and loudly berated him. Shinobu had never seen such a cool girl before. She stood there dumbfounded as the pervert fled in disgrace, utterly humiliated by the girl’s scolding. In that moment, Shinobu had instantly idolized her.

Afterward, Shinobu tracked the girl down and discovered they were both new students at Teikyo. She was overjoyed. Later, when she found out they were in the same major, she felt it was truly a fateful encounter.

Since Teikyo University does not provide dormitories for students, Kazumi, who originally preferred to live alone in peace, was finally persuaded by the persistent Takeshima Shinobu to share an apartment with her.

As they reached the administrative building, Kazumi suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Hey, why aren’t you moving?” Shinobu asked, confused.

Kazumi didn’t reply. Instead, she suddenly ran toward a man standing at the building’s entrance.

Shinobu had never seen Kazumi act like this before and quickly followed her.

When Kazumi was about 50 meters away from the man, he turned his head and looked in her direction. Seeing the girl running toward him, a smile crossed his face.

“So, it really is you, big brother! I thought I might’ve mistaken someone else for you just now,” Kazumi said excitedly when she reached him.

“I didn’t expect us to meet this soon. I was planning to surprise you,” Lei Yin replied with a smile.

“Did you come here specifically to see me?” Kazumi asked.

“That’s part of the reason. Actually, I’m here to take the entrance exam for this university.”

“What entrance exam?” Hearing this, Kazumi had a sense that something big was going on.

“Kazumi, is this your brother?” Shinobu arrived and asked.

“Yes, this is my brother, Gennai Masashi. Brother, this is my classmate and roommate, Takeshima Shinobu,” Kazumi introduced them.

“Hello, and thank you for always looking out for my little sister.”

“You’re too kind—it’s really her taking care of me,” Shinobu said while shaking his hand, then subtly studied him.

Once the introductions were done, Kazumi turned back to her brother. “Brother, what’s this about the entrance exam? Can you explain more clearly?”

“Mom wants me to continue my studies. It just so happens that I know someone whose father is on Teikyo’s board of directors. He helped me pull some strings. As long as I pass the entrance exam, I’ll be able to enroll here,” Lei Yin explained.

“Is that true? You can really stay here and study at this university?” Kazumi excitedly grabbed his hand.

“Back in high school, being in the same grade as you was already humiliating enough for me as your older brother. Do you really want me to retake classes for another year and become your junior?” Lei Yin said with a laugh.

“How did you do on the exam?” Kazumi asked eagerly.

“All pass. From now on, we’re classmates. Please take care of me, Kazumi,” Lei Yin said with a smile.

Kazumi could no longer hold back her emotions. She threw her arms around him, overwhelmed with joy.

“Why didn’t you tell me about something this big?” she complained, half-laughing and half-crying as she hugged him tightly.

“If I had told you earlier, where would the surprise be? Let’s head home for dinner tonight—Mom’s waiting for us,” Lei Yin said.

Kazumi, still nestled in his arms, nodded.

Shinobu, watching from the side, couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy as she looked at the siblings’ bond.

***

“Lei, will you wear a suit tomorrow?” Naoko asked while preparing clothes for Lei Yin’s first day of school at the villa in Shinagawa.

“No need. I’ll just wear my usual clothes. It’s just classes—there’s no need to make it too formal,” Lei Yin replied.

“But Teikyo is a prestigious university. It’s your first day of class tomorrow, and I think dressing more formally would be better,” Naoko insisted.

Lei Yin walked over, picked her up, and placed her on his lap. “Silly girl, you’re overthinking it. At the end of the day, I’m just going to be a student. If I dress too formally, people might mistake me for a salesman.”

Naoko laughed, feeling completely at ease as she rested her head against his chest, listening to the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat.

“Is your father still forcing you to meet that Hachimiya guy or whatever his name is?” Lei Yin asked as he toyed with her slender fingers.

“My father hasn’t mentioned it again. It seems like he’s finally dropped the idea,” Naoko replied.

“I can understand your father’s worries, after all, no father would feel comfortable handing his precious daughter over to a high school student who hasn’t even finished growing up. Here’s what I’ll do: since the money in the bank is just sitting there doing nothing, I’ll start some trading company or something when I have the time. That way your father will see that his son-in-law isn’t some good-for-nothing. He should feel a little more at ease then.”

“Do you really want to start a company?” Naoko lifted her head and asked.

“That’s the idea, I have plenty of time in university. You can be my beautiful secretary and sit on my lap while I work every day,” Lei Yin said with a teasing smile at the end.

“Disgusting!” Naoko blushed and lightly punched his chest.

Lei Yin felt a spark and pulled her tightly into his embrace, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her.

The mature and beautiful woman gently nestled in his arms, letting him do as he pleased.

After a moment of tenderness, Lei Yin suddenly asked, “How’s that brat Aiko doing lately?”

Naoko pouted, “You still call her a brat? She’s already in university now. As soon as she enrolled, all the boys started chasing her. Now she gets phone calls from them every day.”

“With her covering for us, your old man should be too busy to care about us. As they say, ‘A girl grows up fast,’ looks like he’s going to have a headache again,” Lei Yin said with a mischievous smile.

“Although there are many boys chasing her, she doesn’t seem very interested in them. Lei, I think Aiko might still like you,” Naoko said, a little worried.

“Don’t overthink it, maybe she just hasn’t met the right person yet. Four years of university is a long time, let her take it slow,” Lei Yin reassured her.

“Mm.” Naoko nestled her head back against his chest.

***

“Class, let me introduce to you, this is the new student, Gennai Masashi. Due to some special circumstances, he has come a little late. I hope you all get along with him from now on.” As soon as class started, the teacher, Mr. Moriyama, introduced the transfer student standing at the podium.

As soon as Mr. Moriyama finished speaking, the students below began to whisper to each other.

The semester had already started nearly two months ago, so it was quite odd for a new student to show up now.

Seeing the students’ murmurs, Mr. Moriyama cleared his throat and said loudly, “Gennai, as per the usual tradition, please introduce yourself.”

Lei Yin hated self-introductions, but since Mr. Moriyama called him up, he had no choice but to walk to the center of the stage and say, “Hello, everyone. I’m Gennai Masashi. Please take care of me from now on.” After that, he returned to his spot.

Seeing him say just a few words and be done with it, not only the students below, but even Mr. Moriyama was caught off guard.

“Uh, Gennai, are you finished?”

“Yes.”

“Then, please return to your seat.”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, let’s begin the lesson.” Once Lei Yin had returned to his seat, Mr. Moriyama immediately started the class.

Just as Lei Yin was about to find a seat at the back, a tall, thin student suddenly spoke to him quietly, “Hello, my name is Takeda Eishun. You’re Gennai Masashi, right? Come sit here, there’s a spot next to me.” (Eishun can mean intelligent, handsome and vigorous)

Hearing his name, Lei Yin couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. After glancing at him, he finally sat next to Takeda.

After sitting down, Lei Yin noticed that the guy’s jeans were covered with deliberate holes, and the T-shirt he was wearing had two large English words printed on it: *FuckMe*.

Although Lei Yin wasn’t exactly a moralist, he really couldn’t compliment such a tasteless outfit. He now regretted impulsively sitting down earlier.

The guy noticed Lei Yin eyeing his pants and proudly said, “How do you like it? Pretty cool, huh? I actually wanted to cut two big holes on my butt too, but my sister said if I really did that, she’d immediately sever ties with me. So I held back a little.”

His words reminded Lei Yin of Lei Li when he was a child. When Lei Li was six, he insisted on wearing split-crotch pants because he thought it was more convenient for going to the bathroom. At that time, Lei Yin didn’t care since it wasn’t his problem.

Years later, whenever Lei Li thought back to how confidently he wore those pants, even with his thick skin, he felt embarrassed. He even began to complain about why his master didn’t stop him back then, letting him be laughed at for so many years. But after Lei Yin beat him up, claiming it was for training, Lei Li never brought it up again, only lamenting his poor fate in his heart.

“Is your family from Tokyo?” the young man, Takeda Eishun, asked.

“Yes, it’s not too far from here,” Lei Yin replied.

“That’s great, you can go back anytime. My family is from Kyoto. I entered with my sister, but she’s one year ahead of me. Do you know who my sister is? Oh, right, you’re new here, so you probably don’t. She’s in the student council. She’s impressive, isn’t she? She’s only a second-year, and she’s already a member of the student council. It won’t be long before she becomes the president. Also, she was the campus belle among the freshmen last year. There are so many guys chasing her, they’re like flies.”

Lei Yin just listened as Takeda, clearly infatuated with his sister, rambled on about her, and he couldn’t get a word in.

“Takeda Eishun, you’re still in class, so shut up,” a girl wearing gold-rimmed glasses turned around and glared at him.

“Shut up, it’s none of your business,” Takeda muttered under his breath.

“Say that again, and I’ll report you to the teacher,” the girl retorted defiantly.

“You…” Takeda sulked and fell silent.

Lei Yin watched them bicker with interest. Although they were university students, they were still first-year students who had only just graduated from high school. There was a clear difference from the seniors about to graduate, and they still carried a strong high school vibe.

“This annoying girl is Yumo Haruko. She’s a busybody. You should be careful around her. She often reports things to the teachers,” Takeda whispered to Lei Yin.

Lei Yin smiled and said nothing, then pulled out a novel from his bag and started reading.

Takeda watched him for a while before saying, “Gennai, you have a girlfriend, right?”

Lei Yin looked at him strangely.

Takeda pointed at the ring on his hand and added, “It’s good that you already have a girlfriend.”

Lei Yin didn’t understand what he meant, nor did he care to think about it. He just lowered his head and continued reading his book.