Chapter 214: Contradictions

Sitting in the taxi, Takeshima Shinobu felt conflicted.

She didn’t understand why she was doing this. She knew full well that it wouldn’t make any difference, but she had come anyway.

“Miss, we’ve arrived at the cinema.”

Takeshima Shinobu was startled by the taxi driver’s voice. Looking out the window, she saw that they had indeed arrived.

After paying the fare and stepping out of the car, she stared at the cinema in front of her in a daze. Although she had never set foot inside this cinema, it was filled with too many bad memories for her to ignore.

Tokyo’s nightlife was vibrant; even though it was already past midnight, the bright lights and the shops still open made it feel like it was no late hour at all.

She walked slowly toward the restaurant next to the cinema, her mind occupied with thoughts of whether that man would really be there.

The restaurant was large and had an elegant European-style décor that made it seem very upscale. Even though it was late, the restaurant was still operating as usual, and through the glass from the outside, she could see that there weren’t many customers inside.

“Welcome. How many people?” A waitress approached as Takeshima Shinobu walked in.

“Just me.” Takeshima Shinobu answered as she cast a glance toward a corner of the restaurant.

“Please sit here.” The waitress led her to a nearby table.

“I’d like to sit over there.”

“Of course, please follow me.”

The closer she got, the faster Takeshima Shinobu’s heart beat. Finally, in a quiet corner, she saw a man in a suit sitting there.

He really was waiting for her. A faint sourness welled up in Takeshima Shinobu’s heart.

“I’ll sit here,” she said to the waitress, pointing to a nearby table.

After casually ordering a cup of coffee, Takeshima Shinobu quietly watched the man waiting in the dim light for someone.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she turned back to take a sip of her coffee and realized that what was once warm had already cooled. The now-cold coffee seemed more bitter and difficult to drink than usual.

She remembered that she never used to drink coffee, but at some point, she had grown accustomed to the slightly bitter drink, perhaps influenced by her friend who lived with her.

Thinking of her friend, Takeshima Shinobu couldn’t help but smile. Kazumi was always so mature and composed. Maybe only a drink like coffee, with its bitter taste, suited her. Except when she was around her strange brother, she usually had a cool expression. It wasn’t a pretentious, arrogant aloofness, but rather a carefree, individualistic attitude. Takeshima Shinobu had never met a girl like that before.

Though Kazumi was so indifferent and calm, her unique charm naturally drew everyone she interacted with toward her. Maybe, he was one of them.

Since learning the truth, she had always hated that man. She thought she would be able to forget him quickly, but seeing him come to the bookstore almost every day looking for Kazumi kept her restless. It even drove her to come and see for herself if he was really waiting for her when she heard he would be here.

Ogata Yasuda had no idea that a young woman was watching him quietly from afar.

Having waited from the agreed time of 8 PM until nearly 1 AM, he felt his whole body go numb. He couldn’t remember how many cups of coffee he had had, but now he realized that drinking too much coffee made it taste bitter.

The woman had not come, and from the cold look in her eyes earlier, he had known this would be the outcome. Still sitting there now, he began to doubt if he had a masochistic tendency.

At this point, the only customers left in the restaurant were a young man and a young woman. Apart from the soft background music, the place was silent.

After what felt like an eternity, the waitress approached Takeshima Shinobu and said, “Sorry, ma’am, we’re closing soon. Could you please come back tomorrow?”

Takeshima Shinobu glanced at her watch and realized it was already 2 AM. She stood up quickly and said, “Sorry, I’ll leave now.” She stole a last glance at Ogata Yasuda before walking toward the counter.

While paying, she heard the man’s voice, “Call your manager over. I want to book this restaurant.”

The waitress looked flustered and replied, “Sir, we really are closing. Could you come back tomorrow?”

Ogata Yasuda spoke with irritation, “I said I want to book the restaurant. Bring the manager here now.”

With no other option, the waitress hurried to find the manager.

Hearing this, Takeshima Shinobu sighed softly to herself and left the restaurant.

“Damn it, how did they find out we were here?” Lei Li muttered under his breath as he loaded bullets into his submachine gun.

When they had planned to sneak up behind the enemies, they had not expected to fall into an ambush, surrounded by dozens of men in black, with the five espers waiting for them as well. Fortunately, they acted quickly, throwing a flashbang into the eastern woods during the confusion.

They had managed to run away temporarily, but because the eastern woods were small, they were quickly surrounded again by the black-clad men.

At that moment, they heard the twins’ voices from outside, instructing the men in black, “Kill everyone on the spot except for Lei Li and the man who killed Robert. We’ll take our time killing that guy.”

“Sir, I’ll draw their attention. You all break through to the left,” Chang’an said quietly to Lei Yin.

Lei Yin shook his head. “It’s no use. Their firepower is too strong, and with the espers in there, a few people won’t be enough to make a difference.”

“What do we do now, Master?”

“Do we still have any grenades?” Lei Yin asked.

Lei Li counted the grenades on his person and replied, “Twenty left.”

Lei Yin thought for a moment. “That should be enough. We’ll use the grenades to make a path. If we run fast enough, we should be able to reach the outer perimeter where our people are. It should be safer there. I’ll lead the way at the front, Little Lei and Chang’an will cover the sides, and the rest will handle the rear. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

With the plan set, they were about to execute it when suddenly, without warning, Lei Li rose into the air.

“It’s an esper, open fire!” Lei Yin grabbed Lei Li’s left leg to prevent him from rising further, while his right hand kept firing ahead. Chang’an and the other team members also continued shooting forward.

Due to the immense force of Lei Li’s body rising, Lei Yin could not let go and had to stand firm, reinforcing his internal power to pull Lei Li down. Lei Li, being pulled up and down by two powerful forces, felt as if his left leg was about to be torn off, but he gritted his teeth in agony, not daring to make a sound for fear of affecting his master.

At that moment, Chang’an saw a man in black on the left side firing four shots at Lei Yin’s chest. With the sound of gunfire, four bullets flew straight at Lei Yin.

Without thinking, Chang’an lunged in front of Lei Yin.

“Bang, bang,” the bullets struck Chang’an’s chest.

“Master, I’m fine…” Before he could finish, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Although the bulletproof vest he was wearing blocked the fatal shot, the close range of the attack left him with internal injuries from the impact of three bullets.

After quickly shooting down the man in black who had fired, Lei Yin immediately started sweeping the area with his gun.

“You killed Robert; we will never let you get away with this. I want you to watch them die one by one in front of you.” At that moment, the voice of the twins, filled with resentment, came from ahead.

Seeing Chang’an, who was gasping for breath after coughing up blood, and Lei Li’s suppressed groan in mid-air, Lei Yin’s expression changed.

“Master…” Chang’an, who was the first to notice the change in Lei Yin’s demeanor, felt that something was wrong.

“Since they want to play, I’ll play with them to the end.” As Lei Yin spoke, he threw away his submachine gun.

“Master, don’t…” Chang’an, who seemed to know what Lei Yin was planning, quickly tried to stop him.

“Help me hold onto Little Black.” As he spoke, Lei Yin’s body suddenly emitted a strange, faint glow that Chang’an had seen only once before.

“Master!” Chang’an called out with red-rimmed eyes and then grabbed onto Lei Li, who was floating in mid-air.

After letting go of Lei Li’s left leg, Lei Yin drew a dagger from his waist.

Then, he suddenly disappeared in front of Chang’an, as if he were a breeze passing by.

Hearing the sound of the water stop in the bathroom, Takeshima Shinobu knew Kazumi was about to come out, and she suddenly felt anxious.

Sure enough, a short while later, Kazumi emerged from the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe with her hair still slightly damp.

Sitting on the couch, Kazumi wiped her hair dry with a towel.

“Kazumi…” Takeshima Shinobu called out softly.

“What is it?” Kazumi turned to look at her.

“I… I need to tell you something.”

Seeing her hesitant expression, Kazumi set down the towel. “What is it, Shinobu?”

Takeshima Shinobu lowered her head and said, “It’s just that, that person is still waiting for you in the restaurant.”

“That person? Are you talking about Ogata Yasuda?”

“Yes, he waited for you all night last night, and he’s still in the restaurant waiting for you now.” Takeshima Shinobu looked up at her.

Kazumi frowned, “How do you know he waited all night? Did you go see him?”

“Yes, I went both last night and in the afternoon,” Takeshima Shinobu answered quietly.

“Shinobu, you really don’t need to pay attention to that kind of person. He’s just putting on an act.”

“It’s not like that. I can tell that he’s truly sincere this time. Would you go see him?” Takeshima Shinobu pleaded.

“I’m not going. That person has nothing to do with me,” Kazumi said as she stood up and walked toward her room.

Takeshima Shinobu immediately grabbed her hand, her voice shaking with emotion. “Please, Kazumi. Would you go meet him? If you don’t, he might keep waiting indefinitely.”

Seeing the tears welling up in the girl’s eyes, Kazumi paused, taken aback. It was only now that she truly understood just how deep Takeshima Shinobu’s feelings for Ogata Yasuda were.

“Please, Kazumi… I beg you to go meet him,” Takeshima Shinobu said, now crying so hard she could barely speak, but her hands still clung tightly to Kazumi’s.

Sighing, Kazumi lifted Takeshima Shinobu’s face and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with the towel in her hand. “Stop crying. I promise I’ll go, just this once.”

Takeshima Shinobu’s eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, “Really?”

Kazumi nodded and said firmly, “Only this one time. No more after that.”

“Thank you, Kazumi.” Takeshima Shinobu hugged her, overjoyed.

Looking at the slightly pale face in the mirror, Ogata Yasuda smiled bitterly. The man in the reflection also wore a rueful smile.

I must be crazy. I must be crazy. He had never waited more than ten minutes for anyone before, yet he had spent a whole day and night here, just waiting for a woman who was unlikely to show up. Perhaps the only thing keeping him going was his numb body and the self-torturing emotion inside him.

After coming out of the bathroom, Yasuda returned to his seat. The coffee on the table had been replaced with plain water. He felt that if he continued drinking, he might actually suffer caffeine poisoning.

He glanced at the clock; it was already 10 PM. But for him, 10 PM was no different from 10 AM. What he was waiting for now was not just the woman but also the thought of giving up that might come at any moment.

At that moment, someone walked over. Thinking it was a waiter coming to refill his water, he kept his eyes shut, too tired to look.

After a moment, he realized he hadn’t heard the sound of water being poured. When he opened his eyes, he saw a woman with a cold expression standing by the table, watching him.

“Kazumi!” he said. Ogata Yasuda stood up, his face full of disbelief.

Slowly pulling out the chair opposite him, Kazumi sat down.

Ogata Yasuda, still in shock, sat back down as well.

Seeing his slightly disheveled suit and the slight mess of his hair, Kazumi started to believe that he had really been waiting here for a whole day and night.

“What would you like?” a waitress came over and asked. As she spoke, she secretly sized up Kazumi, trying to see what kind of woman would make this handsome man wait for a day and a night.

“No need, thank you,” Kazumi replied.

The waitress glanced at the handsome man, only to find that he was just staring at the woman in front of him, as if he hadn’t heard her. Feeling snubbed, she walked away in frustration.

“Kazumi, you finally came,” Ogata Yasuda said with a dry cough.

“What do you want from me?” Kazumi asked coldly.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look really beautiful in a dress?” After a brief silence, Ogata Yasuda suddenly made an out-of-the-blue remark.

Kazumi frowned. “Did you ask me to come here just to say such pointless things?”

“Kazumi, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?” Ogata Yasuda abruptly grabbed her right hand as he spoke.

Kazumi, angered, forcefully pulled her hand away. She stood up and prepared to leave.

Yasuda quickly stepped in front of her. “Kazumi, I’m serious! Please, give me a chance.”

“I told you, I don’t want to waste my time playing these stupid games. Move,” Kazumi said coldly, glaring at him.

Yasuda, desperate, held her shoulders and said, “This isn’t a game. I really like you.”

“If you don’t let go right now, I won’t be polite about it.”

Seeing the anger in her eyes grow stronger, Yasuda immediately released her. “Kazumi, please, just let me finish,” he pleaded.

Looking at his earnest expression, Kazumi hesitated for a moment before slowly returning to her seat.

Yasuda was overjoyed. He quickly sat down, composed himself, and said, “I can swear on my honor, this is not a game. I admit, at first I pursued you out of revenge. But over time, I realized I truly fell for you. Kazumi, please give me a chance. I’m sincere.”

Kazumi remained silent, simply staring at him. In the tense silence, Ogata Yasuda felt an unprecedented level of anxiety.

After a while, Kazumi finally spoke. “I refuse.”

Yasuda’s expression changed. “I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend right away. I’m just asking you to try and accept me. Is that too much?”

Kazumi replied calmly, “To be honest, I still don’t believe someone like you would change for an ordinary woman like me. But even if it’s true, I won’t accept you. So, please don’t seek me out again in the future.”

“Why?” Yasuda asked, his emotions flaring up again.

“Not every question has an answer. Also, let me tell you something. The only reason I came was because Shinobu cried and begged me to. She secretly came to see you twice, even after everything terrible you’ve done to her. She still cares about you this much. Do you even realize how deeply you’ve hurt such an incredible girl?” With that, Kazumi stood and headed toward the door.

This time, Yasuda didn’t stop her. He simply stared blankly as she left.

After a moment, he suddenly shouted at her retreating figure, “I won’t give up!”

Kazumi walked out of the restaurant as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Once she was completely gone, Ogata Yasuda slumped into his seat, feeling utterly drained.