Chapter 174: Guilt

After leaving the mall, Takeshima Shinobu repeatedly apologized to Lei Yin.

“Kazumi’s brother, it’s my fault. Please forgive me. I promise this won’t happen again. No, there definitely won’t be a next time. Please, forgive me, okay?”

When Lei Yin didn’t respond, she immediately put on a pitiful expression. “Don’t stay silent! You can even scold me if you want. I really know I was wrong. I’m begging you, just say something!”

Lei Yin whispered something softly to Amy, then turned to the overly talkative girl. “Hold Amy for me. I’m going to buy a bottle of water.”

“O-Okay!” Takeshima Shinobu was overjoyed as she eagerly took the little girl into her arms.

Gently patting Amy’s face, Lei Yin walked toward a convenience store on the right side of the square.

As she watched Lei Yin walk farther away, Takeshima Shinobu whispered to her friend, “Honestly, your brother isn’t that bad. I used to think he was scary.”

Kazumi smiled. “You can admire him, but don’t fall for him. He’s already spoken for.”

“You’re crazy. Why are you suddenly bringing that up?” Takeshima Shinobu said irritably, then turned to Amy and apologized in English.

Amy, confused as to why she was being apologized to, looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Seeing the little girl’s reaction, Takeshima Shinobu didn’t know how to explain. Her English wasn’t good enough to articulate the reason for her apology.

Watching this from the side, Kazumi couldn’t help but laugh.

When Lei Yin came out of the store holding a bottle of water, he suddenly pulled out a black wallet from his pocket.

Flipping through it, he found a driver’s license. Staring at the photo of the middle-aged man on it, Lei Yin’s smile turned chilling.

Taking out the driver’s license, he threw the wallet into a nearby trash can.

While escorting them back, Takeshima Shinobu noticed the bag in Kazumi’s hand and asked, “Kazumi, what did you buy?”

“Just a few swimsuits.”

“Swimsuits? Didn’t I help you buy two yesterday? Why buy more?” Takeshima Shinobu asked, puzzled.

“I told someone already, but he didn’t believe me and insisted on buying me more,” Kazumi said, giving someone a half-smiling glance.

But that “someone” had thicker skin than she anticipated. At that moment, he was staring at the sky with intense focus, as if completely undisturbed.

“The weather’s nice today,” that “someone” concluded solemnly.

※※※

At 10 PM, Lei Yin, sitting cross-legged on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

A moment later, there was a soft knock on the door.

When Lei Yin opened the door, he saw Amy standing there, hugging a pillow.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“Lei, can I sleep with you?” Amy looked up at him.

“Can’t sleep?” Lei Yin reached out and smoothed down her slightly messy hair.

“Yeah, I want to sleep with you. Can I?” The little girl looked at him with a pleading gaze once again.

If it were under normal circumstances, Lei Yin might have refused. But thinking about how frightened she had been earlier, his heart softened, and he nodded.

Seeing his agreement, the little girl was overjoyed and immediately jumped onto his bed, hugging her cartoon-patterned pillow.

Watching her so happy, Lei Yin couldn’t help but smile.

As Lei Yin lay down, the little girl snuggled into his arms.

After tucking the blanket over her, Lei Yin gently stroked her soft hair.

Amy pressed her head tightly against his chest.

After a while, she suddenly whispered, “Lei, Amy was so scared.”

Lei Yin fell silent.

He still felt a lingering sense of fear from earlier that day. If it had merely been a case of her getting lost, that would have been one thing. But if that man had succeeded in taking her out of the mall, it could have been days before Lei Yin tracked down his location. By then, even tearing that man to shreds wouldn’t undo the damage.

With deep guilt, Lei Yin said, “Kid, I’m sorry.”

The little girl shook her head. “Amy knew Lei would come to save me. I always thought that.”

Hearing her words, Lei Yin felt a lump in his chest that made it hard to speak. He could only hold her small body tightly in his arms.

※※※

For most students, exams were a source of stress.

Though Yoshikawa always acted like a carefree playboy, his academic performance was surprisingly excellent.

Meanwhile, Shiraishi Akira, who rarely spoke, turned out to be a top student as well.

When Takeda found out their scores after the exams, he sulked for several days.

As for Takeda himself, just as he had predicted, while getting high marks was unlikely, he managed to scrape by with passing grades in every subject.

Lei Yin, who disliked drawing attention, passed easily with average scores—not too high, not too low.

After the incident in the history class, Takeda realized how much Lei Yin loathed the content of modern Japanese history as presented in the textbooks. Thankfully, their economics major didn’t require modern history courses. Otherwise, Takeda couldn’t imagine what kind of commotion Lei Yin might have caused.

With exams over, all that was left was waiting for the results to be announced. By then, most of the required classes were done, and everyone seemed unusually relaxed. Many had started planning their summer activities.

One quiet afternoon, an unexpected visitor interrupted Lei Yin’s peace.

“Can I talk to you?”

In the university library, a figure who drew every student’s attention approached Lei Yin’s table.

After looking at the person for a moment, Lei Yin sighed and nodded reluctantly.

“Borrow these books for me on your way out,” he said, pushing a few books toward Takeda.

Outside the library, a coldly beautiful woman was waiting, turning heads wherever she stood. Takeda, practically buzzing with excitement, grabbed Lei Yin and asked, “Who is that stunning woman?”

“Someone I’d rather not see. Nothing good ever comes from meeting her.”

“That’s impossible! A beauty of her caliber is rare even in Teikyo University. How many incredible women do you know? This is outrageous. I can’t even meet one!”

“Go home. You don’t need to wait for me,” Lei Yin said, unwilling to continue the conversation. He gently carried the already sleeping Amy in his arms as he headed out.

“Choosing beauty over friendship!” Takeda muttered jealously from behind.