Chapter 156: Long Hair

“Rumi? What are you doing here?” Lei Yin looked at the long-haired girl in front of him with some surprise.

“I came to a concert with a classmate tonight. When I saw you from the car just now, I thought I’d mistaken someone else for you, but it’s really you, Senpai. What are you doing here?”

“Nothing much, just accompanied a couple of classmates to a boring party. It just ended, and I was about to head back.”

“Are you returning to school now?”

“Yes.”

“But it’s already so late. Why don’t you rest at home for the night and return to school tomorrow?”

Lei Yin glanced at the time and realized it was already past 11 PM.

“Alright, let’s go back together,” Lei Yin thought for a moment and nodded.

Rumi was overjoyed and took his hand, leading him toward the taxi parked by the roadside.

In the car, Lei Yin noticed another short-haired girl sitting inside—she must have been Rumi’s classmate.

“Senpai, this is my classmate, Suseki Kagemi. Kagemi, this is Gennai Masashi Senpai, whom I’ve mentioned to you before. He’s currently a first-year student at Teikyo University,” Rumi introduced.

“Hello.” Lei Yin smiled and greeted the girl.

“H-Hello,” Suseki Kagemi replied softly, her face slightly red.

“Rumi, I actually don’t mind if you—” Lei Yin started to say, but his phone suddenly rang.

As soon as he picked up, Takeda’s loud voice came through the line.

“Masashi, you idiot! Where the hell did you go? And why was your phone off earlier? I thought you were dead!”

Since it was nothing but a string of pointless complaints, Lei Yin moved the phone a foot away from his ear and let him rant.

After a while, when he heard the “Hello? Hello?” from the phone, Lei Yin brought it back to his ear.

“I’m fine. I’m about to head home. Where are you?”

“I just left the hotel. What a disaster! My brand-new suit is soaked through…”

“Alright, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Lei Yin cut him off, not wanting to hear any more, and hung up immediately.

“Senpai, was that your classmate just now?” Rumi asked.

“Yes, a very annoying guy.”

“What were you about to say to me just now?”

“Ahem. While being interrupted mid-lecture diminishes its authority, bear with me for being a little naggy. It’s normal for girls to attend concerts or movies in your free time, but don’t stay out so late next time, alright?”

“I’m sorry, Senpai,” Rumi said, lowering her head.

“Silly, I’m not blaming you. I’m just worried about your safety.” Knowing how earnest Rumi was, Lei Yin was careful with his words to avoid sounding too harsh.

“Gennai-senpai, it’s actually my fault. I dragged Rumi along. Please don’t blame her. We couldn’t get a taxi after the concert ended, which is why it got so late,” Suseki Kagemi explained timidly.

“Looks like I’ve become the annoying dorm supervisor uncle. Alright, next time you can’t get a taxi, give me a call. I’ll come and pick you up.”

“Thank you, Senpai,” Rumi said, staring at him with unblinking eyes.

Suseki Kagemi watched them with a curious expression.

Since the nearby road was completely jammed, the taxi had to take a longer detour.

“Senpai, I heard a hotel caught fire up ahead. Luckily, you weren’t there,” Rumi said thoughtfully as she looked at the congested traffic outside.

“Sorry to disappoint you. I was just there. The hotel that caught fire was the Keio Hotel. I was attending a party there with classmates. That’s why I ran out when it happened.”

“Were you hurt?” Rumi asked anxiously, grabbing his hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Actually, the classmate who just called me was also there, but he’s safely back now.”

Hearing Lei Yin’s response, Rumi finally felt relieved.

Half an hour later, after dropping Suseki Kagemi off at her doorstep, Rumi, noticing their house wasn’t far away, suddenly suggested walking the rest of the way.

“Hey, it’s already late,” Lei Yin reminded her.

“I haven’t had a proper chat with you in ages, Senpai. Just this once, please?” Rumi pleaded, her large eyes full of hope.

“You’re impossible to refuse.” Lei Yin sighed, then walked toward the taxi driver to pay the fare.

“Alright, let’s go.” After paying, he turned back to her.

Rumi happily ran over and clung to his arm.

“I thought you’d grown up a little, but you’re still just a kid,” Lei Yin teased, affectionately pinching her cheek.

“Senpai, that’s so mean! You always treat me like a child,” Rumi said, her face turning red.

“You are still a little kid. But honestly, I can’t quite imagine what you’ll be like when you grow up,” Lei Yin said, scratching his chin.

Hearing his tone, which sounded like a father speaking, Rumi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Senpai, this is the first time I’ve seen you in a suit,” the kendo girl suddenly said, staring at him in a daze.

“I had no choice. I thought about just wearing a T-shirt, but I didn’t want to scare anyone,” Lei Yin replied, explaining his long-standing aversion to wearing suits.

“But it looks great on you,” Rumi murmured, her voice almost inaudible as she lowered her head.

The kendo girl’s emotions were complicated. It had already been almost two weeks since she last saw him, and it was such a surprise to run into him here. But now, seeing his tall figure dressed in a suit, she suddenly felt like he was becoming more and more distant.

Senpai was different from all the boys she knew. He had always been so composed and graceful. But now, dressed in a suit, he looked even more like a mature man.

Even though they were only a year apart, she felt like in his eyes, she would always be just a little girl who could never grow up.

She had worked so hard to get into the same university as him, just so she could keep up with his pace.

But could she really keep up? A sudden feeling of panic surged within her.

“What’s wrong?” Lei Yin asked, noticing that Rumi had stopped walking.

Rumi didn’t speak at first. After a while, she slowly looked up.

Lei Yin was taken aback when he saw that her eyes were filled with tears.

“Rumi, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you?” Lei Yin tried to keep his voice calm.

She shook her head, then slowly leaned into his arms, hugging his waist tightly.

“Rumi, tell me what happened?” Lei Yin gently stroked her long hair and whispered.

She shook her head again and softly said, “Senpai, I’m fine.”

“Are you really alright?”

“Yeah… I just missed you,” she said, looking up at him with a smile.

Looking at her beautiful face, with tears like petals, Lei Yin was momentarily lost in thought. He hadn’t realized when it had happened, but the little girl had grown into such a graceful young woman.

“You almost scared me to death.” Coming to his senses, Lei Yin raised his hand and gently wiped the tear from the corner of her eye.

The girl playfully stuck out her tongue before resting her head on his chest.

As long as she could stay close to Senpai, it was enough. Sweet feelings filled her heart. This was the first time in a long while that she had been so intimately close to him, and it felt like a treasure.

“Uh, Rumi, your hair seems to have grown a lot since the last time. Isn’t it troublesome to take care of it?”

Feeling a bit awkward compared to the girl’s happiness, Lei Yin couldn’t push her away, so he tried to ease the mood with a casual remark.

“No, I’m used to it. The only thing is, I go through shampoo really quickly. I have to buy a new bottle every couple of weeks,” she replied innocently, still resting in his arms.

“I see,” Lei Yin said, feeling a strange sense of discomfort for the first time.

“Senpai, do you prefer girls with long hair?” she suddenly asked, posing an odd question.

“Not necessarily. It’s like how people dress. Some people wear clothes so extravagantly that it looks like they’re trying to carry their whole life on them, while others can wear just a shirt and look perfectly natural. So the length of hair is also like that—it really depends on the person.”

“But you didn’t say that before,” Rumi pouted, clearly upset.

“What did I say before?” Lei Yin asked, slightly confused.

Senpai could be so annoying sometimes, always forgetting what he had said. He must have forgotten that he once said long-haired girls looked better, which was why I had grown my hair long. But now he was saying things like this. She fumed inwardly.

“Then, how about I cut my hair short tomorrow?” she asked, testing him.

“Do whatever you want. But from my perspective, it would be a bit of a shame. Actually, I think it looks really nice like this,” Lei Yin said, twisting a strand of her long hair around his finger.

“I’m just kidding! I worked so hard to grow it out, there’s no way I’m cutting it!” she suddenly beamed and made a playful face at him.

Lei Yin still didn’t quite understand why she had cried earlier, only to be so happy now. Looking at her cute expression, he found it more and more difficult to figure out what these little ones were thinking. But oh well, if he couldn’t understand it, he decided not to think about it. That was always his way of dealing with things.

“Uh, Rumi, it’s really late now. Let’s head back.”

“Mm,” she lazily responded, like a cat.

After a while, seeing that the girl still didn’t seem to want to let go of him, Lei Yin let out a helpless smile.

***

“Last night was a huge loss, especially that new Armani suit. I wonder if the dry cleaning will be able to save it,” Takeda sighed heavily.

“Since you love that suit so much, when your funeral happens, I’ll talk to your family and tell them to bury you with it,” Yoshikawa sneered.

“You bastard, dare you say that again?” Takeda jumped up in anger.

“Hey, you two are really loud,” Lei Yin said as he looked up from his book.

“It’s all this guy’s fault,” Takeda grumbled, still agitated.

Lei Yin glanced at Yoshikawa, noticing his red-rimmed eyes, as though he hadn’t slept all night.

“Yoshikawa, there are some things you can’t force. Think it through carefully,” Lei Yin said calmly.

Yoshikawa looked at him, then smiled. “You’re right, but I just can’t give up. Am I pathetic? The more someone doesn’t want something, the more I want to give it to them. It feels like I’m a bad salesperson,” he laughed, though the sound was bitter.

“Though I’d love to sympathize with you, I can’t help but feel like you’re speaking like a scorned woman.”

Yoshikawa couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

“What’s up with him today? He seems a bit weird,” Takeda whispered to Shiraishi Akira, sitting beside him.

“It’s nothing, just a temporary surge of hormones,” Shiraishi Akira replied without changing his expression.

“What do you mean?” Takeda pressed on.

“If a woman shows these symptoms, it’s called ‘spring fever,’ and if a man has it, it’s called ‘sexual desire,’” Shiraishi Akira said calmly.

Takeda almost burst out laughing but quickly covered his mouth, looking very funny.

As they were talking, Lei Yin’s phone suddenly rang.

Less than a minute later, Lei Yin finished the call and hung up.

“I’m going out for a bit. Remember to lock the door when you leave,” Lei Yin said while putting on his shoes at the entrance.

“You think we’re idiots? You even need to remind us about this?” Takeda grumbled.

“You guys are worse than idiots. At least idiots don’t fight in other people’s houses,” Lei Yin replied, recalling the time when Takeda and Yoshikawa fought over Seimura Haruko and ended up making his apartment look like a typhoon had passed through.

“Get lost, you boring guy,” Takeda flipped him off.

With Lei Yin driving, the heavy motorcycle weaved through traffic like a snake, overtaking vehicles at high speed. After almost an hour and a half of driving, Lei Yin arrived at a secluded place on the outskirts.

Finally, he parked in front of a somewhat old wooden house.

Behind the house, there was a black Honda parked there.

Although the house was old, it still had common amenities like a doorbell and a peephole.

After pressing the doorbell a few times, a young man in casual clothes opened the door. He was one of the men who had come to pick up Lei Yin the previous night.

“Hello, Mr. Gennai,” the man bowed respectfully.

“Take me to see that kid,” Lei Yin said.

“Yes, sir,” the young man replied, closing the door behind them as he led Lei Yin inside.

Inside the house, the other man from last night was there, though his left hand was wrapped in white bandages.

Lei Yin walked over to the bed and carefully looked at the Nepalese boy who was hiding under the covers. He then turned to the man with the bandaged hand. “What happened?”

“Mr. Gennai, I’m not entirely sure. When I brought the food in at noon today, the boy suddenly went wild, like he lost his mind. He desperately tried to escape, scratching and biting everything. I got bitten in the process. In the end, we had no choice but to knock him out,” the man with the bandaged hand explained.

“Describe what he was like when he went wild,” Lei Yin said, his mind racing. This might be related to why Chiyama Genjiro was after him.

The man with the injured hand spoke with a hint of fear. “It was strange. His eyes turned very red, and he became very aggressive. Even though his nails weren’t long, we still got scratched several times. He looked like a wild animal.”

“Anything else?” Lei Yin asked.

“There’s one more thing. When we were helping him adjust his clothes earlier, we noticed…”

After a while, when the man finished speaking, Lei Yin fell into deep thought.

It seemed that by chance, he had stumbled upon something he hadn’t planned to get involved with.