Chapter 232: Crying

In the dead of night, Naoko was awakened by a faint, intermittent sound of crying while she was asleep.

Half-asleep, she initially thought she might have misheard, but gradually, she distinctly heard the sound of a child crying.

Sitting up slowly, Naoko looked down at Lei Yin, who was sleeping beside her, and a tender smile crept across her lips.

After putting on her robe, Naoko stood up carefully and moved quietly towards the door.

Once outside on the wooden corridor, under the hazy, silver moonlight, Naoko vaguely saw a little girl in a kimono sitting under the cherry tree in the courtyard, her head buried in her knees, crying pitifully.

Seeing this, Naoko felt an illusion that this little girl was her younger self.

As a child, due to her heart condition, Naoko was always forbidden by her parents from going outside and could only play at home.

Although she couldn’t enjoy the freedom of playing like other children, she didn’t feel too lonely because her two older brothers were there. 

However, after both brothers started school, Naoko often found herself alone, with only a nanny to watch over her, but what a child really needs are playmates of similar age, not just caregivers.

This situation continued until her health stabilized a few years later, and she began attending school.

Now, seeing this little girl crying alone under the cherry tree, Naoko felt an indescribable emotion. At that moment, she really wanted to comfort her.

So, Naoko walked slowly towards her.

“Naoko,” Lei Yin’s deep voice suddenly came from behind as she was about to reach the girl.

Naoko turned around to see Lei Yin, also in a robe, approaching with a jacket in hand.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Naoko said apologetically.

“It’s not your fault,” Lei Yin replied, draping the jacket over her.

After helping her with the jacket, Lei Yin said softly, “It’s a bit chilly at night, be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Lei…” Naoko hugged him tightly, pressing her body close to him in excitement.

Gently stroking her hair, Lei Yin said, “Let’s go back to the room.”

Just as Naoko was about to agree, she remembered the crying girl and said, “Lei, this little girl has been crying here, I want to see what’s wrong.”

“What little girl?” Lei Yin asked.

Naoko turned back, saying, “The one crying under the cherry tree. Huh, where did she go?” She noticed that the little girl was no longer under the tree.

“She was just here.” Naoko scanned the courtyard with her eyes.

“Maybe it’s the innkeeper’s child. No need to look for her; let’s go back.”

“Okay.” Naoko then nodded and withdrew her gaze.

Lei Yin kissed her cheek, then scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the room.

Naoko, lying in his embrace, gazed tenderly at her lover’s face.

※※※

The next morning, they continued their sightseeing in Nagoya as they had the day before.

After having lunch outside, Lei Yin asked Naoko to show him her old high school. Naoko was almost ecstatic to agree to this suggestion.

Naoko’s former school was a girls’ high school located in the southern part of Nagoya. Renowned within the city for its strict and dignified academic atmosphere, it was a prestigious institution for female students. Its towering walls and thick, historical brickwork shielded it from prying eyes. Despite being a school composed entirely of female students and predominantly female teachers, with only a handful of male staff, it remained a place of fascination, especially for young men.

The only time this girls’ high school opened its doors to outsiders was during the annual school festival held on the day of its anniversary. The school invited teachers and students from nearby schools to participate, but to limit attendance, only teachers were freely admitted. Other students needed a ticket to enter, distributed for free but in limited quantities.

As a result, the festival tickets became highly coveted each year. Male students with ulterior motives would scramble to get their hands on them. Some people even sold the originally free tickets for a profit, with prices soaring higher each year. Regardless of the price, the tickets were always sold out, as everyone shared the same goal: to enter this fabled girls’ sanctuary and try to meet a beautiful girl.

After a car ride of about an hour, Lei Yin and Naoko got off near the entrance of the girls’ high school.

In the quiet corridor outside the guest room, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed. Shortly after, the footsteps reached the door of the guest room. The door was forcefully opened, and a young woman with short hair that just touched her ears walked in.

When the woman saw the female figure sitting on the sofa, she suddenly cheered and ran over.

“It really is Naoko-senpai! You really came!” The woman excitedly grabbed Naoko’s hands and started jumping and shouting.

“You… are you Koharu?” Naoko hesitantly studied the woman in front of her.

“It’s me! I’m Ikehara Koharu. Naoko-senpai, you still remember me—I’m so happy!”

“What are you doing here?” Naoko asked, delighted to see her former junior.

“After I graduated from university, I came here to work as a teacher. I never expected to see you here, Naoko-senpai!” Koharu became increasingly animated as she spoke.

At that moment, a cough came from behind, followed by a middle-aged woman’s voice: “Ms. Ikehara, please remember that you are a teacher. Acting so flustered—what kind of example is that for the students?”

Koharu made a playful face at Naoko and then turned to the middle-aged woman, saying, “I’m sorry, Director. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Naoko looked over and saw a middle-aged woman with a somewhat stern expression—clearly someone who rarely smiled. Recognizing her, Naoko immediately walked over, bowed, and greeted her, “Kishiyama-sensei, hello.”

Kishiyama Ayumi smiled at her for a moment before saying, “Naoko, it’s been a long time.”

“Yes, ever since I graduated from high school, I haven’t seen you in years. How have you been?”

“I’m well. And you?”

“Thank you for asking, I’m doing well too.”

Naoko then introduced Lei Yin to both of them.

When Koharu learned that this unassuming man was Naoko’s fiancé, she couldn’t help but give him a curious once-over.

After a brief conversation, Kishiyama Ayumi excused herself, saying she had other matters to attend to. Before leaving, she instructed Koharu to take good care of their guests. Koharu readily agreed.

Once Kishiyama Ayumi left the guest room, Koharu let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness she’s finally gone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to speak.”

Naoko laughed. “Koharu, you’re still as scared of Kishiyama-sensei as you were when you were a student.”

Ikehara Koharu smiled wryly and said, “You know how serious she is. Back in school, she used to scold me all the time. Now that we’re working together, she keeps pointing out what’s wrong with this or that. Even if I laugh a little too loudly, she’ll tell me I’m ruining the image of a teacher.”

Naoko smiled. “I never thought you’d become a teacher, let alone work at our old high school.”

Ikehara Koharu replied, “I didn’t expect it either. After graduating from university, I worked at a bank for over a year, but I just couldn’t stand the dull environment, so I quit. After that, I tried two other jobs, but neither of them suited me. By chance, I took the teacher qualification exam, and to my surprise, I passed. The funniest thing was that I was assigned here. When I reported for duty, Kishiyama-sensei spotted me among the new teachers. Her expression at that moment still makes me laugh whenever I think about it.” She covered her mouth, laughing as she spoke.

Seeing that her carefree personality had hardly changed since high school, Naoko couldn’t help but laugh as well.

After exchanging stories about their school and work experiences, Ikehara Koharu took them on a tour of the campus.

This all-girls high school occupied a vast area, complete with a standard sports field, several tennis courts, basketball courts, and even an indoor swimming pool, along with other well-equipped facilities.

As they strolled down tree-lined paths, watching students in gym class nearby, Naoko felt as if time had rewound to her own high school days.

Ikehara Koharu explained as they walked, “Since we graduated, the school has expanded quite a bit. Those tennis courts and the gymnastics hall were built later. It’s such a pity we didn’t have these facilities when we were students.”

Looking at a few passing students, Naoko asked, “Have the uniforms changed?”

“They have. The uniforms are different now, and the skirts are much shorter. I’m sure the person who designed them was a pervy man,” Ikehara Koharu remarked confidently.

Naoko burst out laughing at her comment.

At that moment, Lei Yin suddenly turned to Ikehara Koharu and asked, “What was Naoko like as a student?”

Hearing the question, Ikehara Koharu’s excitement surged. “Naoko-senpai was very famous. From her first year to her third year, she was the school beauty. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had such a great personality, so everyone liked her. The funniest thing was that underclassmen often wrote her love letters. Do you know what she did when she received them? She actually met with those girls, returned the letters to them, and thanked them! But after she did that, they only became more obsessed. Some even waited outside her classroom door to see her after class. It got to the point where she had to dodge them every day like she was escaping from a siege.”

Naoko blushed and scolded, “That’s enough, Koharu. Stop talking about it. It’s all your fault for bringing it up.”

Hearing her playful tone, Lei Yin felt his heart skip a beat. Smiling, he reached out and held one of her slender hands.

“Lei…” Seeing him act so affectionately in front of Koharu, Naoko was overwhelmed with embarrassment. After struggling a few times and failing to free herself, she gave up and let him hold her hand, lowering her head. However, the blush on her face only deepened.

Ikehara Koharu watched them with a cheerful smile.