Chapter 187: Kyoto

The next morning, under the organization of several mentors, all the students who were healthy and well gathered at the airport.

For this school trip that would be unforgettable for a lifetime, the students weren’t in the mood to reflect on it deeply; they were all eager to go home.

After sending Kazumi and Takeshima Shinobu off on their flight, Lei Yin, following the original plan, took Naoko and Amy, along with Takeda and Yoshikawa, to catch another flight to Takeda’s home.

Both Takeda’s and Yoshikawa’s families lived in the southern part of Kyoto, Japan.

Kyoto is located 500 kilometers southwest of Tokyo and 41 kilometers east of Osaka. It is known as “Japan’s ancient capital” and has a population of approximately 1.47 million. Kyoto was built based on the architectural model of the Tang dynasty’s Chang’an and served as Japan’s capital from 794 to 1868. The city still preserves numerous shrines, temples, palaces, and meticulously designed gardens, making it a place that embodies the richest aspects of traditional Japanese culture.

Takeda’s family had been in the tea ceremony business for generations, operating tea houses in Kyoto as well as in Kobe, Nara, and other locations. While not considered a wealthy family by Tokyo standards, they were regarded as influential and affluent in the local area. Yoshikawa’s family, on the other hand, was involved in the tea trade, so naturally, they had a close relationship with the Takeda family. The two families’ main residences were not far apart, so Takeda and Yoshikawa had essentially grown up together.

Takeda walked up to the bright red front gate and pressed the doorbell a few times.

After a while, an elderly man dressed in a deep black kimono and wooden clogs opened the door.

Seeing Takeda, the elderly man smiled warmly, “Ah, it’s Young Master Eishun who has returned.” [Eishun can mean intelligent, handsome and energetic]

Noticing the slight twitching at the corners of Lei Yin and Naoko’s mouths, Takeda cleared his throat and said, “Ikejima, you can call me the second young master from now on. These are my friends; they’ll be staying here for a while.”

The elderly butler, Mr. Ikejima, immediately bowed to Lei Yin and Naoko. “Thank you both for taking care of our young master.”

“You’re too kind,” Naoko said, bowing in return.

“Alright, enough pleasantries. Please come in. By the way, is my sister inside?” Takeda asked.

“Miss Nadeshiko has come back as soon as the holiday started. She’s in the study reading. Also, Master Kuraya is back as well.”

“Even my elder brother is back—everyone’s here,” Takeda said, leading Lei Yin and the others inside.

As they entered the house, Lei Yin took in the surroundings while walking.

It was a typical traditional Japanese house spanning about 300 tatami mats, designed with a courtyard layout apart from the living quarters. The house featured a large koi pond and an expansive space filled with bamboo and various flowers.

The main house, located at the center, was quite spacious, with traditional wooden hallways and sliding paper doors. Lei Yin began to believe what Takeda had said earlier—that this house was perfect for filming an Edo-period drama.

Takeda turned to Lei Yin and said, “Now you understand why I wanted to go to a university outside of Kyoto, right? Living in an old house that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years doesn’t feel like a place for someone like me. That’s why, since high school, I never dared to bring classmates or friends here.”

After showing Lei Yin to a spacious guest room where he could put down his luggage, Takeda asked, “Would you like to see my old man?”

Lei Yin nodded. “Since we’re guests, it’s polite to pay our respects.”

Takeda patted his shoulder. “My old man’s a stubborn one. Just pretend he’s talking nonsense, no matter what he says.”

Naoko, who was nearby, couldn’t help but laugh.

As they reached the hallway, Lei Yin and the others saw three kids, about the same age as Amy, playing by the pond. One of them was holding a GameBoy.

“Are these your siblings?” Lei Yin asked.

“No, they’re the children of my two uncles. Whether due to family rules or other reasons, since my great-grandfather’s generation, our family has been used to living together. It gets noisy, especially after the kids come along. That’s another reason why I’m eager to move out. Just imagine, one day you’re in your room watching an adult video, and suddenly one of your younger cousins bursts in and asks what you’re doing—how would you explain that?”

Lei Yin smirked. “I don’t know whether to feel sorry for you or to pity you.”

At that moment, the three kids spotted Takeda and ran over, shouting excitedly.

“Brother Eishun, when did you come back?”

“You’re back! You promised to take me for a drive when you came back.”

“I want to go too,” a child said while sucking on their finger.

The rebellious youth in the center of their attention sighed and said, “I know, I know. I’m busy right now. I’ll take you out when I have time.” With that, he seized the opportunity to run away.

Lei Yin chuckled. “It looks like you should consider becoming a babysitter; you have a talent for it.”

“Don’t joke around. I’d go crazy if I had to be with them for an hour. If only they were as well-behaved and quiet as Amy,” Takeda said, glancing at the little girl holding Lei Yin’s right hand. She was watching his three younger cousins.

When they reached the main part of the house, Takeda suddenly stopped, smoothed his slightly tousled hair with his hand, then checked his clothes. After making sure everything was in order, he knocked on the door.

After a few knocks, a deep, slightly hoarse male voice called from inside, “Come in.”

Takeda winked at Lei Yin as if playing a prank, then pushed open the door.

“Father, I’m home. I see my older brother is here too; I was just about to look for you,” Takeda greeted the two men kneeling in the living room.

One of the men in the living room, wearing an elegant dark gray kimono and with his hair neatly styled, was in his early fifties. Despite his age, he appeared very energetic. He looked at Takeda for a moment and said, “When did you get back?”

“Just now,” Takeda replied.

Takeda Yoshiro, having carefully scrutinized his youngest son, who he hadn’t seen in six months, finally said, “Did you cause any trouble in Tokyo?”

“Of course not. You can ask my sister if you don’t believe me.”

“Hmph. You always said that in high school, but you still managed to get into plenty of trouble. I don’t expect you to do anything good for the family, just don’t cause any more trouble.”

Takeda pouted in disinterest.

Takeda Yoshiro noticed that there were other people behind his son and looked up.

There was a young man, around Takeda’s age, standing with a little girl, and next to him was an impressively beautiful woman.

“Eishun. Who are these people?” Takeda Yoshiro asked his son.

Takeda put his arm around Lei Yin’s shoulder and said, “This is Gennai Masashi, my college classmate and good friend. This lady is his girlfriend, Hasegawa Naoko. Oh, and I almost forgot, this little girl is a distant relative of his; he’s temporarily taking care of her.”

After listening to the introduction, Takeda Yoshiro coldly said, “Since he’s your friend, make sure you take good care of them.”

Although his son’s so-called friend wasn’t dressed in strange clothes or wearing odd accessories with bizarrely dyed hair, Takeda Yoshiro still mentally classified him as an unambitious youth, especially considering that he was dating a girl in his first year of college.

Takeda didn’t mind his father’s indifference and smiled, saying, “I’ll take good care of them. Older brother, when did you return?”

After a while, Takeda Yoshiro did not hear his eldest son respond. He turned to see that his eldest son was staring intently at the beautiful woman, seemingly oblivious to his younger brother’s question.

Takeda Yoshiro cleared his throat heavily. Takeda Kuraya immediately snapped out of it and awkwardly changed the subject, saying to his brother, “I saw on the news that the school trip to Teikyo encountered a storm and some students had to go to the hospital. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Luckily, our ship docked at Yakushima before the storm hit, so we didn’t experience it. But the last ship in our group did, although thankfully no one was injured,” Takeda replied.

“Glad to hear that.”

Not wanting to stay any longer, Takeda told his father and older brother, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now.”

Takeda Yoshiro nodded.

As they walked out of the living room, Takeda Yoshiro noticed his eldest son still staring at the back of the beautiful woman, lost in thought.

It seems it’s time to find him a wife, Takeda Yoshiro thought to himself.

Once outside, Takeda took the earring he had removed before entering the living room from his pocket and put it back in his left ear.

“Every time I see my father, it feels like I’m back in high school facing the disciplinary director. You heard what he said just now, right? ‘I don’t expect you to do anything good for the family, just don’t cause any trouble.’ Sometimes I really wonder if I was picked up by him from the toilet.”

Lei Yin looked at him seriously before saying, “Maybe so. No wonder I always feel like you have a strange odor about you.”

“Jerk,” Takeda said, flipping him the middle finger.

As they neared the garden, Takeda pulled out his phone and dialed Yoshikawa.

After hanging up, he turned to Lei Yin. “That guy will be here soon. Tonight, I’ll take you to the best restaurant in Kyoto, and tomorrow we’ll go for a spin in my prized car. Kyoto has plenty of fun places to visit.”

Suddenly, Takeda noticed someone trimming the bushes among the flowerbeds and muttered to himself, “Who’s that guy? I’ve never seen him before.”

Lei Yin and Naoko followed his gaze. Near the bamboo grove, a tall figure was using large shears to cut away the weeds nearby.

At that moment, Ikejima, the butler, approached from the front. Takeda called him over to ask about the man.

Ikejima said, “Young Master Eishun, that’s a new handyman your father recently hired. I heard he saved Miss Nadeshiko once, and she asked your father to keep him. He doesn’t talk much and came here on his first day wearing tattered clothes, looking like an illegal immigrant. I can’t understand why your father would allow someone of such dubious background to stay. I imagine it’s because he saved Miss Nadeshiko.”

The butler added, “By the way, Young Master, if I’m not mistaken, he’s definitely not Japanese. I once heard him speak, and his accent was odd—completely unlike a native Japanese speaker. I suspect he might indeed be an illegal immigrant. Also—”

Knowing that Ikejima could ramble on forever, Takeda interrupted, “Got it. What’s his name?”

“He said his name is Bryn. See, even his name doesn’t sound Japanese. Young Master, I really think we should call the police. If he is an illegal immigrant, who knows what he might do?” The butler looked worried.

“I’ll ask my sister for the details first. You don’t need to worry about it. Just prepare lunch for us. We’ll head out after we eat.”

“Understood,” the butler reluctantly agreed and left.

After the butler left, Takeda noticed Lei Yin staring at the new handyman with an unusual expression.

“Masashi, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Lei Yin replied, slowly turning his gaze away.

That evening, Takeda and Yoshikawa hosted Lei Yin and Naoko at a luxurious restaurant near Arashiyama, indulging in a lavish meal.

After dinner, Takeda enthusiastically suggested a joyride.

Lei Yin, still full from dinner, wasn’t keen but couldn’t bear to dampen his friend’s excitement, so he agreed.

Naoko, mildly prone to motion sickness, chose to stay behind and rest.

For the ride, Lei Yin and Yoshikawa sat in Takeda’s prized car—a Lamborghini convertible worth $215,000, gifted by his elder brother as a reward for getting into Teikyo University.

“What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?” Takeda asked smugly after driving a kilometer.

Lei Yin commented, “This car’s only benefit is that after washing your hair, you can sit in it for a while, and your hair will air-dry. Or you could use it to blow-dry freshly washed clothes.”

Takeda scowled at the underwhelming feedback. “It’s a convertible. The thrill is in driving with the wind in your face!”

Yoshikawa added, “This guy practically worships this car. If he could, he’d light incense and pray to it every day.”

“You’re asking for it!” Takeda suddenly accelerated, and the intense wind blasted their hair straight back.

“Ahh, this feels amazing!” Takeda shouted like a madman.

Lei Yin felt relieved Naoko hadn’t joined them. Women sometimes did have foresight.

After about half an hour of driving, Takeda abruptly stopped the car.

“What’s up?” Yoshikawa asked.

“Too much water. Need to let some out,” Takeda said, running toward a roadside thicket.

A few minutes after he disappeared into the trees, a piercing scream rang out.

Lei Yin and Yoshikawa’s expressions changed instantly—they recognized it as Takeda’s voice.

Lei Yin leaped out of the car and sprinted toward the source of the sound.