Chapter 200: Attraction

“Masashi, why are you hurting me like this? Is it a crime that I like you?” Sasako-sensei continued to look at him with a face full of grief and indignation.

“Such touching acting, but sorry to disappoint you, I never watch romance movies.” Lei Yin said as he pinned her hands behind her back to prevent any tricks.

“Is this how you treat girls who like you?”

“Congratulations, you’re the first. Honestly, even though I know you’re not Myojin Sasako, I’ve never been able to uncover your true identity or figure out what your real purpose is for approaching me. After all this time and no progress, I’m starting to lose patience. It’s rare for you to come to me so willingly, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t say anything now; my methods of coercion won’t be much worse than your flirting techniques.”

Upon hearing his words, Sasako-sensei suddenly sighed, “You really don’t know how to cherish a woman.” By now, her tears had stopped, and the look of grief on her face had disappeared.

“Oh, the seductress finally shows her true colors. I thought you were going to keep pretending,” Lei Yin said.

Sasako-sensei slowly turned her head and smiled at him, “You know, I’m starting to like you more and more. I admire men who are both intelligent and powerful, and you are exactly that kind of man. Do I really have no appeal to you at all?”

“Wild leopards are beautiful but dangerous, and that’s the impression you give me. Here’s your last chance: if you don’t speak now, I really will resort to coercion,” Lei Yin said, feeling something was off. Even though he had her restrained, this woman was unnervingly calm.

“It looks like this round is mine to lose, but the game isn’t over yet.” Seeing her smile, Lei Yin’s internal alarm bells went off—there was definitely something unusual about her.

Just as he was preparing to free one of his hands to seal her pressure points, an incredibly powerful force unexpectedly lifted him up and sent him crashing toward the ceiling.

As he was about to collide with the ceiling, Lei Yin swung his hand and struck the beam to dissipate the force, landing on the floor with agility.

He watched as Sasako gracefully walked from the sofa to the floor. “Are you an esper?” Lei Yin asked.

Sasako smiled at him, “You could say that, or you could say not.”

Lei Yin frowned, “What do you mean?”

“It’s not time for answers yet.”

Looking up at the deep imprint his hand had left on the beam, Sasako regarded him with an unusual expression. “Such impressive strength. It seems just as I imagined, you really aren’t an ordinary person.”

“Same here. I didn’t expect you to be an esper. Now, I’m more intrigued by your identity than ever,” Lei Yin said, his eyes glinting with danger.

“Looking at me like that will make me blush. I told you, it’s not time for answers yet. Since I lost this round, I’ll step back for now,” she said, turning and walking toward the door.

“If you leave so quickly, people will think I didn’t entertain you properly,” Lei Yin said as he rushed toward her.

“Honestly, it would have been better if you had shown me that enthusiasm earlier.” As she walked in high heels, a shoe rack near the entrance suddenly lifted and flew at Lei Yin, aiming to strike him.

Because the space by the door was so narrow, Lei Yin had nowhere to avoid the oncoming attack. He had no choice but to grab the corner of the shoe rack with a force-dispersing technique and, with a quick turn, threw the entire rack behind him.

In that brief moment, Sasako had already put on her shoes and stepped out the door.

Lei Yin couldn’t afford to pay attention to the loud crash behind him and continued to chase after her.

Suddenly, Lei Yin had a bad premonition. Moments later, he saw the entire door detaching from its frame and heading straight for him.

In the narrow entrance, there was no room to dodge, so he kicked the door with all his strength. The immense force sent the door back, crashing into the frame.

When Lei Yin rushed out of the now-empty doorway, Sasako was already gone.

Could that woman fly? Lei Yin looked around but saw no sign of her. With no results, he had no choice but to return to the apartment.

Back inside, the living room looked like it had been hit by a typhoon followed by a major earthquake. Lei Yin’s anger flared up instantly. That damned woman nearly demolished his house.

With a resigned sigh, he put the door back in the frame haphazardly and sat down on the sofa, lost in thought.

※※※

“Excuse me, are you Miss Gennai?”

“I am.”

“Mr. Ogata instructed us that if we found Miss Gennai, we should take you to him. Please follow me.”

The restaurant server led Kazumi to a quiet corner, where she saw Ogata Yasuda dressed in a sharp, tailored black suit, his hair meticulously styled, looking at her with a peculiar expression.

Ogata Yasuda hadn’t expected that the sight of this woman in a skirt would change so dramatically, leaving him momentarily stunned by her beauty.

She was wearing a white knee-length skirt with subtle pleats at the hem. The precise tailoring and top-quality fabric perfectly showcased her feminine curves. It was only then that he realized her figure was actually quite impressive. Especially beneath the skirt, her long, slender, fair legs attracted the attention of many men in the restaurant.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders without any adornment, and she still wore the thin, silver-framed glasses on her face, but with the skirt, everything seemed completely different from the usual image he had of her. Under the soft, dim lights typical of a romantic restaurant, she exuded a mature, cold elegance that he had never seen in any woman before.

Without even glancing at him, Kazumi quietly sat down on the chair the server had pulled out for her.

“Feel free to order whatever you like. The steak here is quite good; would you like to try it?” Yasuda pushed the menu toward her, his eyes never leaving her.

Kazumi ignored him and turned to the server standing by the table. “Please bring me a glass of water.”

Yasuda asked, “Do you always just drink water when you come to restaurants?”

“Of course not, but I don’t want to dine with someone who might cause indigestion.”

“Can you stop being so defensive like a hedgehog all the time?”

“That’s a good question, but before asking, maybe you should reflect on your own character.”

Hearing her reply, Yasuda experienced a feeling he had never encountered before—a sense of uncertainty. This was the first time in his career with women that he felt at a loss.

With his handsome appearance, prominent family background, and romantic flirting methods, Yasuda could easily win over the hearts of any woman he desired.

But this woman seemed completely immune to those tactics, and he couldn’t even understand what was going on in her mind. It was precisely this frustration that led him to resort to underhanded methods, such as targeting her friend—something that went against his own aesthetic principles. Now, he regretted it. If he hadn’t done that, perhaps she wouldn’t have come to despise him so thoroughly. At this point, pursuing her was no longer the goal; it had turned into a battle of stubbornness, far from his original plans and intentions.

The reason for this shift was perhaps the repeated rejections he faced when pursuing her, each met with her cold indifference, which made him feel a deep sense of defeat. On top of that, her words had angered him, causing him to lose his usual composure and take an action he now considered a failure.

But now that things had reached this point, there was no turning back. He had to follow through with the plan he had set a few days prior.

At that moment, Kazumi glanced at him and suddenly spoke. “You should be well aware of why I’m here. I just want to know, what will it take for you to leave Shinobu alone? Don’t tell me you, a notorious playboy, have suddenly fallen for her.”

Her direct question caught Yasuda off guard, and he didn’t know how to respond at first. After a moment, he said, “How do you know I’m not truly in love with Shinobu?”

Kazumi scoffed. “Considering you dumped nine girls during your two years at Teikyo University, with the longest relationship barely lasting three months and the shortest not even two weeks, how could someone like you, who plays with others’ feelings, be capable of a genuine relationship with an ordinary girl?”

Yasuda smiled. “It seems you’ve done your homework on me.”

“Don’t get me wrong. Your misconduct doesn’t need an investigation. Just ask around, and everyone will know.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Maybe Shinobu is the one I’ve been searching for.”

“What a touching confession. I must have been meddling. Sorry to interrupt your romantic relationship. I won’t get in the way anymore, since this is Shinobu’s choice after all.” With that, she stood up and prepared to leave.

Seeing her actually about to walk away, Yasuda began to panic. He hadn’t expected her to become so heartless and dismissive. If she really felt that way, everything he had done would be for nothing.

Almost instinctively, he called out to her, “Wait.”

Kazumi turned and looked at him but didn’t sit down. “Is there anything else?”

“Can you sit down? I’d like to talk to you properly.”

“There’s nothing left for us to talk about.” She turned to leave again.

Seeing her so resolute, Yasuda’s urgency grew, and he said quickly, “I can let Shinobu go, but you have to agree to be my girlfriend.”

At the sound of those words, Kazumi paused.

Relief washed over Yasuda as he saw her stop.

Slowly, she turned around and walked back to her seat, her eyes cold as she stared at him.

“So, does this mean you’re really just using Shinobu to force me into compliance?”

Yasuda knew continuing the act was pointless, so he nodded and said, “Kazumi, I do care about you. But because you’ve never given me a chance, I was forced to use this method. Honestly, I never wanted to hurt Shinobu.”

Kazumi didn’t speak; she just watched him silently.

In the heavy silence, Yasuda suddenly felt an indescribable sense of nervousness.

After a while, Kazumi spoke up, her voice leisurely. “You really are a professional playboy. No wonder you managed to charm so many women in just two years. But sorry, I have no intention of being one of them. The truth is, you’ve never actually liked anyone. You seem to be pursuing me, but I know it’s only for revenge—revenge for what I said when we first met. Shortly after that day, when you sent me flowers, I knew it was true. Next time you do something like this, try not to make it so obvious. Sorry, but I’m going to hang up now.” With that, she suddenly pulled out a phone.

Yasuda watched her move in confusion as she didn’t press any buttons but instead placed the phone to her ear and said, “Shinobu. Did you hear all that? Silly girl, stop crying. A man like this isn’t worth shedding tears over.”

At that moment, Yasuda understood everything, and his expression changed dramatically.

After hanging up the phone, Kazumi suddenly splashed the water in front of her onto his face.

The unexpected action took Yasuda by surprise, and water splashed all over his face.

The sudden commotion attracted the attention of nearby diners, who looked over with curiosity.

Kazumi stood up and said to him, “Just one last thing, like I said before, you’re really not even worth a pile of dog crap.” Without looking at him again, she turned and walked towards the exit of the restaurant.

Those who had witnessed the scene stared at her, unable to believe what they had just seen.

“Mr. Ogata, are you all right?” A waiter approached him, holding a dry towel.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Yasuda took the towel and wiped his face.

Scenes like this occasionally occurred in couples’ restaurants, and the waiter knew that speaking up would only earn him a scolding, so he remained silent and walked away. The curious onlookers slowly lost interest and went back to their meals. Before long, the restaurant returned to its former tranquility.

Yasuda looked at the chair Kazumi had just occupied and suddenly burst into laughter, so hard that he had to cover his mouth to prevent making any noise.

After a while, when his laughter subsided, he held the cup she had drunk from and that she had splashed him with, turning it slowly in his hands.

※※※

On the bright and spacious street illuminated by streetlights, the figure of a woman attracted the attention of all the men nearby.

She had an astonishing figure that made every man’s blood race. What made her even more irresistible was that she was wearing a white, skin-tight mini dress that was so short that one slight bend would reveal more than intended.

At the neckline, a deep, snow-white cleavage was exposed between her breasts, which were covered by the thin fabric. Her slender waist, perky and shapely hips, and long, beautiful legs that invited impure thoughts all had a deadly allure for any man who walked past her on the street.

“Miss, how about joining us for a drink?” Two young men approached, leering at her figure with predatory eyes.

“Get lost!” The woman looked at them coldly.

For some reason, the two young men, who were clearly seasoned at hitting on women, suddenly fell silent and stared at her with a mix of fear and shock after she looked at them. They watched as she walked away, too intimidated to say anything.

After leaving the two young men behind, the woman muttered impatiently, “Japanese men are really something when it comes to being lecherous.” Including those two men, she had already been approached by passing men a total of seven times.

However, he was an exception. Thinking of him, a strange smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

“So it’s you. What do you need?”

“No need to worry about it; I’ll handle this myself. But I’m starting to believe what you said before—the man really is something else.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, just casual talk.”

“No, you can’t get involved. The higher-ups specifically didn’t want you to take this case because they knew about your past with him. So don’t come near.”

“Alright, I’ll hang up now.”

After ending the call, she looked at her phone and murmured to herself, “What’s the point if you come? I’ll be the one having fun.”

As she passed by a café, she suddenly wanted to go in for a cup of coffee. Just as she was about to enter, she saw a familiar figure walking briskly down the street.

Once she recognized him, excitement flashed in her eyes. It seemed the game was far from over.

※※※

Kazumi was in a rush, worried that the guy might do something foolish.

If it had been a normal breakup between a couple, it would have been easier, but to be used as a tool by that playboy was something no one could face calmly. Especially given his psychological resilience, the chances of him doing something reckless were high.

Remembering that the taxi stand was just around the next corner, Kazumi quickened her pace.

Suddenly, a woman in a short white dress approached her.

At that moment, Kazumi had no time to notice anyone else. She was focused only on getting back to her apartment as quickly as possible.

However, the scantily dressed woman blocked her path and asked, “Are you Gennai Kazumi?”

Kazumi looked up and realized it was the new professor, Myojin Sasako.

“Oh, it’s Professor Myojin. Hello.” Out of politeness, Kazumi greeted her.

“You seem in a hurry, Kazumi. Is something wrong?”

“Yes, I have something urgent to take care of. Excuse me.” Kazumi bowed slightly and tried to pass by.

At that moment, Sasako suddenly grabbed her hand. “Kazumi, don’t rush off. I actually need to talk to you about something too.”

Kazumi’s urgency increased. “I’m sorry, Professor, but I really have to go.”

“What a coincidence, because I also have something urgent to tell you.” Sasako frowned, glanced around, and soon spotted two tall men in casual clothes approaching.

“What an annoying pair of bugs,” she muttered under her breath. Turning to Kazumi, she smiled and said, “Looks like your brother really cares about you.”