Chapter 189: Pond

Although Amy had autism, she was an intelligent child and, naturally, had the ability to sense other people’s emotions and preferences, making her very understanding. This caused her to appear quieter and more obedient than her peers. Even when she was stranded on a deserted island without food or water, she never cried or threw a tantrum. It seemed that she knew the person was trying to find a solution to their problems and didn’t want to add to his burden.

But now, she was crying. Lei Yin, whose hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people, was the first to hear her sobs. In his impression, Amy was not the type of child to cry easily, so he sprinted toward her location at an astonishing speed, worried that something had happened to her.

When he reached the koi pond in the garden, he saw a scene that made him extremely angry.

A boy, around fourteen or fifteen years old, was pointing at Amy and laughing loudly. The reason he was mocking her was because her face had been covered with large, blue circles and patterns. Takeda’s younger cousins, who had been playing with Amy, stood back nervously, watching the scene without daring to say anything.

Seeing the boy holding a blue marker in his right hand, Lei Yin was furious. Without a word, he walked over, picked the boy up, and threw him into the koi pond before the boy could react.

“Splash!” The boy was thrown into the pond with such force that he splashed into the water almost flatly. Although the water level of the koi pond only reached about waist height, the boy struggled and shouted as if he were drowning, gasping for air in panic.

“Wah!” Amy, seeing Lei Yin coming toward her, pouted and ran into his arms, crying loudly.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s okay now,” Lei Yin said, gently comforting her as he held her.

“What are you doing?” At that moment, a furious voice rang out behind them. Soon after, Hayama Akiji’s tall figure appeared by the koi pond, pulling his younger brother out of the water.

The boy, now drenched and coughing up water, looked like a real drowning victim, gasping for air and appearing utterly disheveled.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Hayama Akiji shouted, storming toward Lei Yin.

“It’s obvious I wasn’t feeding the fish,” Lei Yin replied indifferently.

“You bastard!” Hayama Akiji clenched his fists tightly, looking as if he was ready to fight.

Seeing the tension, Takeda stepped in between them to break up the confrontation. “Let’s talk this out calmly and not act impulsively.”

Considering Takeda’s presence, Lei Yin gave a cold glare to the boy, whose face mirrored his brother’s angry expression. Then he turned and walked back toward his room.

“Coward, trying to run away?” Hayama Akiji thought he was backing down and quickly blocked Lei Yin’s path.

“What do you want?” Lei Yin looked at him coldly.

“I want you to apologize to my brother,” Hayama Akiji said loudly.

A playful smile appeared in Lei Yin’s eyes. “What if I say no?”

Takeda recognized the dangerous look in Masashi’s eyes and rushed to intervene, blocking the angry Hayama Akiji once more.

“Cousin Hayama, this was also partly your brother’s fault. After all, he was the one who started bullying Amy, and he wasn’t hurt. Let it go for now. Take him to the guest room to change his clothes, or he’ll catch a cold.”

“Eishun, are you serious? You’re siding with an outsider and not with me?” Hearing Takeda’s words, Hayama Akiji’s anger flared even more.

“It’s not about taking sides. This is just a minor incident. There’s no need to escalate it. Let’s leave it at that.”

“What do you mean, ‘minor incident’? That guy threw Akihito into the pond, nearly drowning him—does that count as a minor incident? Hey, don’t think you can just leave. Akiyama, Shogo, stop him—don’t let him get away!” Hayama Akiji’s last words were directed at his classmates as he saw Lei Yin trying to walk away and urgently called for them to stop him.

His classmates looked at each other and then ran in front of Lei Yin to try to block him.

Yoshikawa stepped in front of them and said, “This is Takeda’s family matter. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t interfere.”

Both Takeda and Yoshikawa knew that angering Masashi would lead to serious consequences, and since he hadn’t pursued the matter further, Yoshikawa didn’t want to escalate things, especially since he was somewhat familiar with Hayama Akiji.

Seeing this, Hayama Akiji tried to push past, but Takeda quickly grabbed him and said loudly, “Don’t make a scene. He’s my good friend and a guest I invited. Just let it go as a favor to me.”

“Eishun, if you don’t let go, I’ll get serious,” Hayama Akiji said, growing impatient as his cousin blocked him.

Just then, a man’s voice suddenly called out from the front, “What are you all shouting about?”

Everyone turned to see Takeda Yoshiro standing there, with Takeda Kurashi and Takeda Nadeshiko behind him, along with two middle-aged men and women. [TN: idk who this Kurashi(仓史) is. It has a different character from Kuraya(仓矢)]

Seeing Akihito’s wet clothes, the middle-aged woman in a kimono gasped and ran over, “Akihito, how did you end up like this?”

The boy pointed at Lei Yin and said, “He just threw me into the pond.”

The woman, hearing this, stood up and confronted Lei Yin, “Why did you do that?”

“Ask your son for the details. I know that no matter what I say, you won’t believe me,” Lei Yin said, knowing that arguing with a woman of this age was almost impossible and not worth the effort.

“What do you mean by that?” she glared at him angrily.

Yoshikawa stepped forward and said, “Aunt Hayama, here’s what happened. Akihito was drawing on the little girl’s face, and my friend acted impulsively in response. Please, don’t be angry.”

Although she could see the drawings on the little girl’s face, Hayama Akihito’s mother still shouted, “Who can prove that Akihito did this? And even if he did, it’s just children playing around. As an adult, you threw a child into the pond—don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Although the legal consequences for juveniles are lighter than for adults, the results for the victim and their family are no different. There has been a continuous rise in juvenile crime in Japan in recent years, as reported in the news. It seems that a lack of proper upbringing is indeed a major reason,” Lei Yin said, adopting the tone of a social commentator.

Hayama Akihito’s mother yelled as if she had been stepped on, “What do you mean by that? Are you implying that my Akihito has no upbringing?”

Seeing the slight twitch at Lei Yin’s mouth, Yoshikawa knew that he was about to say something unpleasant and quickly interjected, “Aunt Hayama, there’s fault on both sides, and with the Gion Festival going on, it’s best to let this go.”

At this moment, Takeda Yoshiro spoke up, “Yoshikawa is right. It’s the Gion Festival, and there’s no need to make a big fuss. Just let it go. Akihito, go change into some dry clothes.”

“But, brother…”

Takeda Yoshiro waved his hand and said, “Go now, or Akihito might catch a cold, and that would be troublesome.”

Hayama Akihito’s mother glared at Lei Yin for a moment before pulling her son away.

Takeda Yoshiro gave Lei Yin a glance with an unfriendly expression before turning and heading back to the hall.

Lei Yin sneered inwardly at his departure: Who do you think you are? When I was running the streets, your grandfather’s grandfather probably hadn’t even grown his first hair.

As he was leaving, Hayama Akiji glared at Lei Yin and said, “You’re lucky. You’d better hope you don’t run into me on the streets.”

Lei Yin didn’t even spare him a glance and walked past him as if he didn’t exist, holding Amy in his arms.

Feeling completely disregarded, Hayama Akiji was seething with rage and wanted to charge at him, but Takeda quickly grabbed him and restrained him.

In the end, Takeda and Yoshikawa took Hayama Akiji and his classmates to a side room to prevent further conflict.

Back in the room, Naoko immediately brought a basin of water from the bathroom.

After settling Amy down, Lei Yin wet a towel from the basin and gently began wiping the marks on her face.

However, because the drawings were made with an oil-based marker, Lei Yin couldn’t remove them after several attempts. He sighed and said to Naoko, “Go get some warm water and bring a bar of soap too.”

“Understood.”

Because Amy’s skin was so delicate, Lei Yin didn’t dare use chemical solvents and opted to use a towel and warm water instead.

It took almost an hour, but Lei Yin carefully removed the drawings from her face, little by little.

Once clean, he noticed that the towel had made her skin red, and he felt a pang of guilt. He regretted only throwing that kid into the pond instead of a worse place.

“Little one, does your face hurt?”

The little girl shook her head and then quietly leaned her head against his chest.

Lei Yin gently stroked her hair with his right hand.

Naoko, sitting quietly nearby, looked at them with a tender expression.

After a while, there was a knock at the door. Naoko opened it and found Takeda’s sister, Takeda Nadeshiko, standing outside.

Takeda Nadeshiko was a serious and stern-looking young woman. Takeda had mentioned that she was taking extra courses during the summer, so even though she had been staying here for a few days, Lei Yin and the others had rarely had a chance to see her.

Like Takeda, she was wearing a kimono at home. After entering, she bowed to Naoko and then addressed Lei Yin. “I wonder if Gennai-san has time to talk for a moment.”

Lei Yin nodded.

Kneeling in front of Lei Yin, Takeda Nadeshiko said earnestly, “I came here to apologize on behalf of my cousin, Akihito, for his prank. I sincerely apologize for his behavior.”

Although Lei Yin found her offering an apology on behalf of someone else a bit excessive, he still replied, “That’s kind of you.”

Just as she was about to say more, Takeda’s voice called out from outside, “Masashi, are you in there?”

Naoko quickly stood up to open the door.

When Takeda entered and saw his sister was there, he looked a bit surprised.

Takeda Nadeshiko addressed Lei Yin, “Gennai-san, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now.”

After she left, Takeda asked Lei Yin, “What did my sister come for?”

Lei Yin answered, “It was just to apologize for your cousin.”

“Ah, I see. No wonder I saw my brother speaking to her in low tones earlier. It was about this. How is Amy doing? Did you get the marks off?”

“They’re all clean now,” Lei Yin said, reaching over to pat the little girl’s head.

Seeing the red marks on Amy’s face, Takeda looked apologetic. “Masashi, I’m really sorry. I never thought Akihito would do something so excessive.”

“This has nothing to do with you. Besides, we’ve been here for quite some time, and it’s about time we head back to Tokyo. I plan to fly back tomorrow,” Lei Yin replied.

Takeda immediately stood up, visibly agitated. “No, you can’t leave. You did nothing wrong, and you can’t leave because of this.”

“It’s not just about this. We’ve been here for several days already, and it’s time for us to go back.”

“No, absolutely not.”

Seeing how resolute Takeda was, Lei Yin shrugged and said, “Listen, I’m thinking of you here. I’ve offended your aunt, cousin, and almost your entire family. Staying here would only make things difficult for you.”

“I don’t care about that. I don’t even listen to the old man’s words, let alone theirs. If you insist on leaving, then I’ll run away with you. When we get to Tokyo, you can support me with food, shelter, and fun.”

With that rogue-like attitude, Lei Yin knew it was pointless to argue further and shrugged. “Whatever you say, I’m just an outsider. Even if your old man scolds someone, it’ll only be you.”

When Takeda saw that Lei Yin was willing to stay, he immediately broke into a smile.

At Yoshikawa’s suggestion, everyone decided to attend the festival being held at a nearby temple or shrine that evening.

In Japan, there are many festivals celebrated at temples, each unique to different regions. However, the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto is particularly famous. From July 1st, for an entire month, there is essentially a festival held every night at various temples or shrines.

Although many modern festivals have lost their original religious significance and have become mere tourist attractions, Kyoto, being Japan’s ancient capital, still upholds these traditions more rigorously than other places.

That night, everyone in the Takeda family, except Lei Yin, put on their kimonos and prepared to attend the festival, including Takeda himself.

To prevent Hayama Akiji from causing more trouble, Takeda and the others left for the shrine where the festival was being held.

By the time they arrived, the festival was already underway. People in kimonos were walking around everywhere.

While the original purpose of the festival was to pray for prosperity at the shrine, young people who just wanted to join in the fun walked around aimlessly without much reverence, treating it more like an evening entertainment.

Amy, who had never attended a festival before, looked extremely excited and was fascinated by the various stalls lining the streets with snacks and games.

Worried she might get a stomach ache, Lei Yin only allowed her to eat squid, avoiding all other snacks.

In front of the classic goldfish scooping stall, Lei Yin watched as she wanted to try catching a goldfish. Instead of doing it for her, he let her try herself. Even after several attempts, she didn’t catch any goldfish, but she had fun playing.

Takeda, growing a bit impatient, tried to help her and ended up breaking three paper scoops without catching a single fish. When he saw Amy laughing at him, his face turned red with embarrassment, and he squatted down to keep trying, determined not to leave without catching one.

“So, I wasn’t wrong when I said that guy hadn’t even graduated from kindergarten,” Yoshikawa said, fanning himself as he spoke to Lei Yin.

“Are you jealous?” Lei Yin asked with a smile.

“Go away, who’d be jealous of him?” Yoshikawa retorted.

After leaving the goldfish stall, Takeda, still puffed up with pride, said, “Did you see that? I told you I’m a goldfish-scooping expert.”

“Give it a rest. After all that time, you only caught two fish, and you still dare to call yourself an expert?” Yoshikawa scoffed.

Takeda shouted back, “I was just rusty from not doing it for so long! If you’re brave enough, try competing with me…”

Before he could finish, a familiar voice came from behind, “Eishun, so this is where you are.”

The group turned around to see who spoke. It was Takeda’s elder brother, accompanied by Hayama Akiji, his classmates, and Hayama Akihito. There were also two young women, seemingly Hayama’s classmates as well. All of them were dressed in traditional Japanese yukata.

Takeda and Yoshikawa exchanged wry smiles, realizing they had run into them after all.

“Did the old man, Aunt, and Uncle come too?” Takeda asked his brother.

“Father, Aunt, and Uncle said it would be too crowded, so they decided not to come,” his brother replied.

Hearing this, Takeda visibly relaxed. He had no desire to spend his evening out worrying about his father’s disapproving gaze.

As Takeda Kurashi scanned the group, his eyes quickly locked onto Naoko, who was dressed in a light red yukata. His gaze, like a magnet, seemed fixed on her, and he wasn’t the only one. The others were equally spellbound, staring at the stunning beauty. Meanwhile, the two young women’s eyes were filled with unmistakable hostility. [TN. looks like the author really change the brother’s name]

Feeling the intensity of their stares, Naoko uneasily stepped slightly behind Lei Yin for cover.

When Lei Yin’s body blocked their view, the men snapped out of their trance. Hayama Akiji and his classmates looked at Lei Yin with both jealousy and resentment.

Clearing his throat, Takeda Kurashi addressed his brother, “Since we’ve run into each other, why not stick together?”

With his elder brother making the suggestion, Takeda had no choice but to agree.

When they arrived at a shooting stall, Hayama Akiji turned to Lei Yin and said, “How about a little competition?”

Lei Yin gave a small cough at the juvenile suggestion and replied, “Sorry, but I stopped playing games like these when I was three.”

“You…” Hayama Akiji was infuriated.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he noticed a punching power machine nearby.

Pointing at it, he said, “You didn’t stop playing with this at three, did you? How about a bet? Whoever scores higher wins. The loser has to take off their clothes and walk around here.” Originally, he intended to say “take off their pants,” but he knew Takeda Kurashi would stop him, so he changed his phrasing.

Takeda Kurashi frowned. “Hayama, this is meaningless.”

“Cousin, this is between me and him. Please don’t interfere,” Hayama Akiji said. He knew exactly why he wanted to challenge Lei Yin. Beyond the incident with his younger brother, the stunning beauty at Lei Yin’s side was a major factor. He wanted to humiliate Lei Yin publicly.

“Fine, but make it quick. I don’t have all night,” Lei Yin unexpectedly agreed, catching Hayama off guard.

With a sneer, Hayama Akiji walked over to the machine and assumed a proper karate striking stance.

His classmates grinned smugly, confident in Hayama Akiji’s skills as a university karate club member.

“Ha!” With a loud shout, Hayama Akiji delivered a strong punch to the padded target. The machine’s meter shot up to a score of 85.

Feeling proud, he turned to Lei Yin. “Your turn.”

Lei Yin walked over to the stall owner and asked, “If I break it, do I have to pay for it?”

The owner chuckled. “If you can break it, I won’t charge you.”

“Remember, you said that.” Lei Yin walked up to the machine, made no stance, and casually threw a punch.

Bang! Crack! The padded target flew off the machine with a loud noise.

Everyone present—except Naoko, Takeda, and Yoshikawa—was left utterly dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.