Chapter 199: Goal

“Shinobu, are you free tonight?”

“Yeah, why?”

Ogata Yasuda smiled. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to invite you to a movie.”

Takeshima Shinobu’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “You… you mean you want to ask me out?”

“Of course. Who else would it be?”

“But you’re….”

“What, you don’t want to go?” Yasuda’s expression showed a hint of disappointment.

Shinobu glanced at Kazumi, who was standing at the far end of the bookstore, working, and finally lowered her head and said, “No, I do want to go.”

“That’s great. Tomorrow at eight, I’ll come pick you up. By the way, I don’t know where you live. What should we do about that?”

“Can I draw you a map?”

“You’re such a smart girl.”

Shinobu’s face turned bright red. “It’s nothing.”

Yasuda turned his head slightly and glanced at the woman. He noticed her expression had indeed turned sour, which secretly pleased him. This was the new plan he had been thinking about for a night a few days ago. He had noticed that while the woman usually appeared cold and indifferent, she was always kind to Takeshima Shinobu. So, instead of using his usual methods to deal with women, he decided to try approaching her through Shinobu’s friendship to find an opening.

This strategy proved to be even more effective than he had anticipated. Ever since he started pursuing Shinobu, the woman’s expression had grown darker day by day, bringing Yasuda immense satisfaction and a sense of revenge. He found playing mind games with her far more enjoyable than fooling around with other women.

After work, in the bookstore staff locker room, Kazumi and Takeshima Shinobu were changing out of their uniforms and into their clothes.

Watching Shinobu hum a song with a smile on her face, Kazumi paused for a moment before speaking. “Shinobu.”

“What is it?” Shinobu asked casually.

“Ogata Yasuda is not a good person. Don’t let him fool you.”

Shinobu paused in her movements, then looked down and said quietly, “I thought Kazumi would be happy for me.”

Kazumi grew anxious. “Shinobu, you saw how he dumped that girl last time. He’s just a playboy who enjoys playing with people’s feelings, and you—”

“Enough!” Shinobu shouted loudly.

After the outburst, the locker room fell silent, the air seeming to freeze in that moment.

After fastening the last button in silence, Shinobu slowly lifted her tear-streaked face to look at Kazumi. “Kazumi, you’re going too far.” With that, she rushed to the door, opened it, and stormed out of the locker room.

Do all women in love become this foolish? Kazumi watched the door slam shut and bitterly smiled.

After a moment, she remembered Yasuda’s triumphant expression, and a surge of anger rose within her.

Bastard!

※※※

The next afternoon, as Ogata Yasuda walked out of the academic building, a person appeared in front of him who, while expected, still surprised him.

She had come, but much earlier than he had anticipated.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Kazumi looked at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

“Who are you?” The beautiful girl holding Yasuda’s right arm glared at her with hostility.

Kazumi ignored her and focused on the man. “I’m waiting for your answer.”

Yasuda looked at her with an unreadable smile. “Do you need something from me?”

“Has anyone ever told you that your pretentious expressions are disgusting?”

A spark of irritation flickered in Yasuda’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it. This woman always had a way of getting under his skin.

He dropped the pretense. “But it seems I’m the one in the dominant position now, so you should speak more politely. After all, you’re the one who came to me.”

“You remind me of those thugs who hold children and women hostage and extort their families.”

“Like business, I only care about the end result, not the process.”

“What an admirable viewpoint. Now I understand where the phrase ‘beastly’ comes from.”

The girl could not tolerate it any longer and yelled angrily, “Are you a first-year student? What do you want? Don’t make me say it. You must have been dumped by Yasuda, so now you’re here causing trouble. Go home and look in the mirror; Yasuda could never like a woman like you.”

Kazumi looked at her impassively. “You’re noisy. Can you close your mouth?”

“What… what did you just say?” The girl’s face turned pale with rage.

“If you keep making noise, this playboy might cut your rejection period short. Also, the man you see as your prince is, in my eyes, not even worth a pile of dog crap.”

With that, she turned back to Yasuda. “If you’re too scared to come, forget it. Forcing a cowardly man to meet an unarmed woman is quite unreasonable.”

Yasuda’s eyes glistened with interest. “Although I could refuse your request, I’ve decided to accept your invitation. Let’s set a time.”

“Tonight at seven, at the café across from the school.”

“The time is fine, but I’m not happy with the location. How about we meet at the restaurant next to the cinema where I’m taking Shinobu? After we talk, I can go with Shinobu to the movie.” He deliberately mentioned Takeshima Shinobu’s name to see her reaction.

This time, Kazumi’s expression didn’t change. She just coldly said, “Fine.” With that, she turned and left.

“Wait.” Yasuda suddenly called out to her.

“Are you changing your mind?” Kazumi looked back at him.

“Of course not, but I do have an additional request.”

“What is it?”

“When you come, I want you to wear a skirt, and it must be a short dress.”

Kazumi frowned. “Your so-called additional request has nothing to do with this matter. I refuse.”

“This request may not be related, but if you don’t accept it, I won’t meet you. And even if I do, I’ll leave immediately. Think it over.”

“You’re even more tedious than I imagined.” Kazumi didn’t want to look at him again and walked away.

Ogata Yasuda looked at her retreating figure with a very smug expression in his eyes.

“Yasuda, why are you doing this? Didn’t you say you only liked me?” The girl felt things weren’t as simple as she thought and quickly questioned him.

Ogata Yasuda looked at her with a cold gaze, “She was right, you are very noisy.” With that, he removed her hands from his arms and walked forward.

The girl looked at him in disbelief, then shouted at his back, “Yasuda, what did I do wrong?”

After opening the door, Lei Yin saw Professor Sasako, dressed in a moon-white mini skirt, smiling at him from the doorway.

It was still quite bright outside, and the white mini skirt seemed almost translucent; through the light, one could faintly see the outline and color of her underwear beneath the skirt.

It was somewhat of a miracle that she hadn’t encountered any perverts dressed like that on her way here.

“Welcome?” Professor Sasako said with a smile.

“Please come in.” Lei Yin had no choice but to open the door and let her in.

Placing a can of soda on the table in front of her, Lei Yin asked, “Is there something you need, Professor Sasako?”

Professor Sasako countered, “Can’t I visit if there’s nothing specific?”

“I didn’t mean it that way, please don’t misunderstand.”

Professor Sasako thought for a moment before saying, “I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I feel like you’ve been avoiding me during this festival. Am I right, Masashi?”

“That must be your imagination. I have no reason to avoid you, Professor Sasako.”

“Is that so? That’s good. I wouldn’t want to be a woman people dislike.” As she spoke, Professor Sasako stood up, seemingly to inspect the room.

After a while, when she sat down again, she sat next to Lei Yin as if by accident, and Lei Yin immediately caught a whiff of her perfume, Shalimar, subtle yet distinct.

Then, Professor Sasako suddenly said, “Masashi, do you remember what I told you a few days ago?”

“What did you say?”

Professor Sasako giggled, “Still playing dumb.” Here, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “I said I like you.”

“Sensei, that’s not something an educator should say.”

“Don’t lie to me. I can see in your eyes that you don’t see me as a teacher at all.”

“Maybe you’re seeing things wrong.”

“Do you know what I like most about you?”

“I don’t think there’s much about me that you’d like.”

“No, I love that look in your eyes, like nothing matters. I’ve told you mine, now it’s your turn. What do you like most about me?”

“That’s a very abstract question.”

“Not at all.” As she spoke, she suddenly grabbed Lei Yin’s right hand and placed it on her waist.

After a moment, she slowly moved his hand to her left breast and pressed it gently.

At the same time, she whispered into Lei Yin’s ear, “Do you like this? During class, this is what the boys love to look at, but only you get to touch it. Mmm…” She continued to press his hand against her, moaning softly.

Then, she pulled his left hand over to her smooth thigh, rubbing it gently, and in a breathless voice, said, “And here, not just the boys, sometimes even the male teachers stare at my legs like they want to devour me, Masashi, I’m really scared.” As she spoke, she guided his hand further inward along her thigh.

After an unknown amount of time, when she finally let go, she noticed that Lei Yin hadn’t released his grip but continued to explore her two areas gently. She was quite satisfied with this response.

Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Professor Sasako leaned into his ear, breathing heavily, “Masashi, do you know? These past few nights, I’ve only been able to sleep by thinking of you. Do you know what a woman does when she thinks of a man at night?” As she spoke, she slowly moved her right hand downwards.

Just then, she felt her hand being grabbed and immobilized, and her other hand was also pinned back. Suddenly, she couldn’t move at all.

Looking up, she saw the boy she thought was overcome by lust looking at her with a playful expression.

“Masashi, you…”

“Even though I don’t know what your real intentions are, from a personal hygiene standpoint, I wouldn’t engage in such activities with a woman of unknown origins.”

Hearing this, Professor Sasako looked heartbroken and cried out, “What do you take me for? I’m doing this because I like you, but you treat me like this.”

Ignoring her gushing tears, Lei Yin just smirked, “Are you still going to keep up the act? You’re not Myojin Sasako at all.”

Professor Sasako stopped crying and looked at him, “What do you mean by that?”

Lei Yin looked at her and said, “While there is indeed a person named Myojin Sasako, and her profile matches yours perfectly, it’s impossible to completely impersonate someone else. You can forge documents, but people who have lived or interacted with the real person for a long time can easily tell the difference.

From the beginning, when I saved you from those perverts, and you mentioned having an ex-boyfriend who looked a lot like me, it seemed natural for you to develop feelings for me. Honestly, I didn’t see any flaws in your story, but the lack of flaws was the biggest flaw because everything was too coincidental.

To investigate your background, aside from routine file checks, I had someone conduct a detailed investigation at Myojin Sasako’s university and residence. From her mentors, friends, and neighbors, I learned that Myojin Sasako is a very introverted woman, completely unlike you in personality. Though you resemble her, you’re not as beautiful as she is.

While appearance can be altered through plastic surgery, and personality might change over time, there’s one thing you didn’t know: Myojin Sasako has a very small birthmark on the inside of her thigh, which is invisible from the outside. I got this information from her ex-boyfriend. By the way, her ex-boyfriend isn’t the man in the photo. You could argue you’ve had several boyfriends, but regardless, I’m certain you are not Myojin Sasako. I’ve answered your question; now, out of courtesy, you should answer mine. First, who are you really?”