Chapter 235: Half-Drunk

“Damn it, is this supposed to be alcohol? It tastes worse than piss. Get me something decent.”

Hearing his carefully crafted cocktail insulted like that, the young bartender glared angrily at the man.

“What? Want to fight? I’m always up for it,” the man said with a mocking smirk.

The bartender quickly averted his gaze, unwilling to provoke him further. He turned and grabbed a bottle of flammable vodka from the shelf, clearly intending to get this jerk drunk out of his mind.

The man grabbed the bottle, skipped the glass entirely, and took a swig directly.

“This is more like it. You should’ve brought this out earlier.”

As the man tilted his head back to drink, the bartender shot him a furious glare.

Just wait until you’re drunk out of your mind. I’ll deal with you then, he thought coldly.

Watching the man drink like it was water, Tani Akiko’s lips twitched slightly. She hadn’t expected to encounter a drunkard of this caliber.

Shifting her gaze back to her own drink, she lifted her glass and took a slow, elegant sip.

At that moment, a man in his thirties approached her.

As he came closer, he looked at her with a suggestive gleam in his eyes. “Miss, care to join me for a drink?”

With one glance at his expression, Tani Akiko could tell what he was after. On a normal day, she might have played along, but tonight her mood was far too sour to entertain such pests. She replied coldly, “Sorry, I prefer to drink alone. Please leave.”

Ignoring her, the man sat down in the chair opposite her. “Drinking alone isn’t too lonely? You might find we have a lot in common,” he said, his eyes shamelessly roaming over her ample chest and long legs clad in black, seductive stockings.

Too disgusted to bother with him, Tani Akiko turned her head toward the bar, refusing to look at him again.

Undeterred, the man leaned closer. “The perfume you’re wearing smells amazing. Come have some fun with me. I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself,” he said, his hand moving to her thigh and stroking it lightly.

Without warning, Tani Akiko flung her drink in his face and shouted, “Go home and grope your mother! Get lost!”

Caught completely off guard, the man found himself drenched in alcohol. Never having suffered such humiliation, he grew furious, veins bulging on his forehead as he prepared to confront this “bitch.”

But before he could act, loud laughter erupted from the side, accompanied by the sound of someone slapping the bar.

Turning toward the source, he saw a rugged-looking man in his thirties laughing uproariously, pounding the bar as he watched.

“I’ve seen plenty of dogs in heat, but this is the first time I’ve seen one as desperate as you,” the rugged man said, still chuckling as he took another swig from his vodka bottle.

“You dare say that again?” The drenched man was now angrier at this cocky stranger than at Tani Akiko.

“Didn’t catch it? Fine, I’ll do my good deed for the day and repeat myself. I said you’re the most desperate dog I’ve ever seen. Need me to say it a third time?” the rugged man mocked.

Unable to contain himself any longer, the drenched man swung a fist at him.

With a crisp crack, a scream followed. The other patrons turned to look and saw the rugged man sitting casually, holding the drenched man’s arm in a firm reverse grip. The latter was wailing in pain.

Looking at his opponent, the rugged man sneered. “It’s just a dislocated arm. Stop squealing like a pig being slaughtered. Now scram, you’re ruining my mood.” With that, he released his grip and shoved the man away.

“You’ll regret this! I won’t let you off!” the drenched man spat venomously, cradling his arm as he stumbled out.

The rugged man smirked coldly and turned back to his drink. The spectators, realizing the show was over, began to disperse.

After hesitating briefly, Tani Akiko said to the man, “Thank you for earlier.”

The man turned to look at her, and after a moment, he replied in a sarcastic tone, “You think I did it for you?”

“You—” Tani Akiko’s face flushed with anger and humiliation.

The man continued, unfazed, “Let me tell you something. Besides pigs like that guy just now who only think with their lower halves, the type I hate most are women like you—always chasing after men like fools.”

“Shut up, you drunkard!” Tani Akiko shouted furiously.

The man sneered. “Hmph, am I wrong? If you were a decent woman, what would you be doing in a place like this, flirting with men? Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing? Back in the day, I got kicked out by my master because of women like you. Help you? Maybe in your next life.”

Unable to hold back anymore, Tani Akiko swung her hand at him, aiming to slap him across the face.

But the man easily caught her hand mid-swing.

He glanced at her with disdain, released her hand, and turned back to his drink, ignoring her completely.

That man was none other than Crazy Blade.

Compared to Tani Akiko, his mood wasn’t any better. Though his injuries had fully healed, he had accidentally lost the business card and credit card Lei Yin had given him. Now, he had no way to find Lei Yin.

It wasn’t that he was desperate to meet Lei Yin. Rather, he was worried that if he lost contact with him this time, he might never get the chance to settle their score with a duel. After all, Japan was neither too big nor too small, but with its population, finding someone wasn’t an easy task.

Because of the murder case tied to his previous body, his face had already been added to the police’s wanted list. He had been forced to use stolen money to get minor cosmetic surgery at a back-alley clinic. The procedure had kept him stuck in Nagoya for several days. Afterward, he had even dared to visit a police station to search for Lei Yin. However, he only knew Lei Yin’s original name, not the alias he was currently using, so he found nothing.

With nowhere to go that day, he randomly wandered into a bar to drink.

Tani Akiko didn’t try to hit him again. She glared at him one last time, stood up, and headed to the counter to pay her bill.

At that moment, a group of more than ten men stormed into the bar. Leading them was the man Crazy Blade had humiliated earlier.

Spotting Tani Akiko at the counter, the man immediately pointed at her and shouted, “Grab that woman and take her with us later.” Then, he turned toward the bar and, sure enough, saw Crazy Blade still sitting there, drinking.

“That’s the bastard! Beat him to death!” he barked to the men behind him.

“Let go of me! What are you doing? I’ll call the police!” Tani Akiko yelled as one of the men grabbed her, struggling to free herself.

All eyes in the bar turned to the scene. Some onlookers had expressions that practically begged for more chaos, and no one seemed inclined to call the police.

Sensing the killing intent behind him, Crazy Blade, already somewhat drunk, slowly turned his body around.

“Do you remember me?” the man sneered at him.

Crazy Blade crossed one leg over the other and replied, “Sorry, I usually don’t bother remembering the names of beasts. What? You want a fight?” His eyes flashed with excitement.

The man’s face turned crimson with rage. “Don’t hold back! Break him for me!”

However, the group of men didn’t immediately charge at Crazy Blade. One of them spoke up, “Who do you think you are, ordering us around? If it weren’t for Nakata-san, we wouldn’t even acknowledge you.”

The man realized he had overstepped. Quickly, he walked up to another man in the group and whispered, “Sato-san, please forgive me. I got too carried away just now.”

Sato glanced at him coldly, then gave a slight nod to three of his men.

The three men immediately began walking toward Crazy Blade.

Tani Akiko, now thoroughly frightened, regretted not leaving the bar earlier. She didn’t even want to imagine what these apparent gangsters might do to her.

As the three men closed in, Crazy Blade suddenly chuckled. He took another swig of his drink, set the bottle down on the bar, and turned to the bartender, who was watching with a schadenfreude-filled grin.

“Put the cap back on the bottle. Don’t you dare spill my drink,” Crazy Blade said.

The bartender sneered but said nothing.

Everyone in the bar was waiting for the inevitable beating. Some women even covered their eyes, unable to bear watching what would happen next.

At that moment, the man leading the group decided not to waste time and aimed a kick at Crazy Blade. But just as his foot moved, Crazy Blade struck first, his kick landing on the man’s knee.

With a loud “crack,” the man didn’t even have time to scream before collapsing face-first onto the floor. Before he could fully hit the ground, Crazy Blade delivered a powerful knee strike, sending him flying backward.

The sequence of events occurred in a flash—barely a second. The others could only see the man suddenly fall toward Crazy Blade and then be violently thrown back.

The remaining two men, seeing this, charged at Crazy Blade together.

With two sharp snapping sounds, Crazy Blade caught their attacking arms mid-air and immediately twisted them.

“Ah!” One of them, whose arm was now bent at an unnatural 90-degree angle, fainted from the pain. The other let out an ear-piercing scream, like a pig being slaughtered.

Stepping over the fallen bodies, Crazy Blade gestured for the remaining men to come forward.

What followed was a scene more exaggerated than anything from an action movie. Encircled by over ten men, Crazy Blade’s punches and kicks were unstoppable. Every move resulted in someone screaming or collapsing. It was as if the men surrounding him weren’t fearsome gangsters but rather a herd of sheep dressed as wolves. Crazy Blade, meanwhile, was the lion charging through them.

In just two minutes, all ten men were down, writhing on the floor in agony. Watching Crazy Blade’s unmatched ferocity, the man who had been holding Tani Akiko immediately released her and fled as fast as he could. Excited by the chase, Crazy Blade roared and pursued him.

As Crazy Blade stormed out, the other patrons in the bar were left frozen in shock. The bartender, trembling, quickly capped the vodka bottle, fearing the man might return to settle accounts. Remembering his earlier rude attitude, cold sweat dripped down his face. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. Finally, he tore off his uniform and fled through the back door.

After a while, Tani Akiko snapped out of her daze. Casting a fearful glance at the men groaning on the floor, she hurried out of the bar, silently vowing never to step foot in that place again.

Outside, she quickened her pace toward her sports car.

But when she reached it, she nearly screamed. The man who had just taken down over ten others was lying in the back seat of her convertible, seemingly asleep.

Wasn’t this guy chasing someone? How did he end up in my car? Tani Akiko stared at the terrifying man, both shocked and apprehensive.

The truth was, Crazy Blade had indeed chased after the fleeing man. But after running a short distance, his drunkenness suddenly hit him, leaving him dizzy and light-headed. Spotting an open convertible nearby, he instinctively climbed in and promptly fell asleep. Unbeknownst to him, his current body couldn’t handle alcohol like his previous one, leaving him utterly intoxicated.

While Crazy Blade was sleeping soundly, Tani Akiko was left with a pounding headache.

※※※

“Finally, I’ve found you,” Kazumi suddenly blurted out as Ashiro Hideyuki walked into the bookstore.

The comment caught not just Ashiro Hideyuki off guard but also Ogata Yasuda, who immediately looked tense.

“Oh, I’m truly honored,” Ashiro Hideyuki said with a smile.

Kazumi said nothing further and instead walked over to the counter. She retrieved a beautifully wrapped gift box from one of the shelves and returned with it.

Seeing the gift in Kazumi’s hands, Yasuda’s expression darkened. He never imagined that Kazumi would give a gift to Ashiro Hideyuki.

Stopping in front of Ashiro Hideyuki, Kazumi handed him the gift. Her voice was icy as she said, “Please don’t send me things like this anymore. I’d be much happier if you disappeared from my life altogether.”

Ashiro Hideyuki’s smile faded as he looked at her. “Do you even know what’s inside?” he asked.

“I didn’t open it because I didn’t want to waste time on something so trivial. But if you’re concerned, feel free to open it and check right here,” Kazumi said as she shoved the gift into Ashiro Hideyuki’s hands and walked away to resume her work.

So that’s how it is. Yasuda breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but smile. If a mere gift could win this woman over, he wouldn’t have to work so hard chasing after her.

As he passed by Ashiro Hideyuki, Yasuda spoke slowly, “I recall someone once telling me, ‘I hope I don’t make it too easy for you to win; otherwise, it’d be no fun.’ Honestly, I find your method of throwing money at women to get them into bed rather disgusting. If it’s just a matter of money, I might have more than a certain second son who likely won’t inherit the family estate. After all, having an older brother can be quite troublesome when it comes to splitting the inheritance. Don’t you agree?”

With that, he turned and walked toward Kazumi.

Ashiro Hideyuki’s eyes darkened as he glared at Yasuda’s back, as if trying to pierce through him.

Looking down at the gift in his hand, Hideyuki let out a cold snort and tossed it into the nearest trash can before leaving the bookstore.

Around 4 PM, Yasuda noticed that Kazumi, now dressed in casual clothes and holding a bag, had emerged from the staff locker room.

“Shinobu, I’m heading out,” Kazumi said to Takeshima Shinobu as she left the bookstore.

“Alright, got it,” Shinobu replied.

“Kazumi, where are you going?” Yasuda asked, surprised to see her leaving early for the first time.

“None of your business.” Without stopping, Kazumi quickly walked out of the store.

Unable to stop her, Yasuda approached Takeshima Shinobu and asked, “Shinobu, where is Kazumi going?”

“It’s a secret… a secret, so I can’t tell you,” Shinobu replied with a mischievous smile.

※※※

“Take out all your dirty clothes right now!” Kazumi shouted as soon as she stepped inside.

Lei Yin, who was reading a book and snacking at the same time, casually replied, “They’re all on the bed.”

Kazumi walked over, grabbed the bag of snacks from him, ate a piece, and declared, “Confiscated.”

“Hey, at least leave me a little!” Lei Yin protested, feeling restless without something to munch on.

“No way. It’s because you always eat snacks on the carpet that we end up attracting cockroaches.”

“If I remember correctly, you’re the one who stocked the fridge with snacks. I didn’t even eat this stuff before.”

“Those snacks were for me, not for you. You sneak some and then act so self-righteous about it,” Kazumi retorted confidently.

“My bad. I shouldn’t have eaten from my own fridge. I’m guilty,” Lei Yin said, feigning repentance.

“Good, at least you know,” Kazumi said with a triumphant smile.

Kazumi emerged from Lei Yin’s room carrying a heap of dirty clothes.

Placing them in the basket by the washing machine, she complained, “Brother, you’re getting lazier by the day. Have you seriously not done laundry since coming back from Nagoya?”

“Well, since I have such a caring and hardworking little sister, how could I bear to take her job away?”

“Exactly! Who wouldn’t love being a free maid?” Kazumi replied sarcastically.

“Hey, I was just joking last time! I can’t believe you’re still holding on to that. Women’s potential for grudges is terrifying.”

“Alright, enough about that. Do you know what day it is today?” Kazumi asked.

Lei Yin thought for a moment and said, “Aside from it being Sunday, I can’t think of anything special. Oh, weren’t you supposed to work a part-time shift today? Why are you home so early?”

“Idiot,” Kazumi muttered under her breath before beginning to load the dirty clothes into the washing machine. She then started up the vacuum cleaner and began tidying up.

Lei Yin knew she would eventually tell him the reason, so he didn’t ask further and continued reading his book.

Half an hour later, after Kazumi had thoroughly cleaned the apartment and hung up the laundry, she said to Lei Yin, “I’m borrowing your room for a bit.” With that, she grabbed the bag she had brought and walked into his room, closing the door behind her.

A short while later, Kazumi came out of the room and approached Lei Yin. She softly called out to him.

“Brother.”

Lei Yin looked up and saw a graceful young girl standing in front of him, dressed in a light moon-white knee-length dress. She was smiling at him.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Kazumi, who rarely wore dresses, voluntarily dressed up. Standing up, he looked at her with approval, admiring her dress as he said, “Could today actually be a special occasion? Special enough for a stubborn person like you to put on a dress?”

“Do I look strange wearing this?” Kazumi asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“Silly girl, you actually look very nice in a dress. This one doesn’t seem like one of the ones I bought for you. Did you get it yourself?”

“Yes… Are you sure it doesn’t look strange?”

“I guarantee it; it looks great.” To reassure her, Lei Yin spoke with absolute certainty.

Kazumi finally smiled in relief. “I bought this dress with my first month’s part-time salary. I wanted to wear it just for you. Don’t you really know what day it is today?”

Lei Yin thought for a moment. “It’s not your birthday—your birthday hasn’t come yet. I give up; I have no idea.”

Kazumi smiled and said, “Silly, today is your birthday. This is my gift for you.” She brought out a wrapped present from behind her and handed it to him.

Lei Yin thought for a moment and realized that today was indeed the birthday of this body. Over the past few years, too many things had happened, and he had disappeared for more than two years, so he hadn’t celebrated a birthday in a long time. Birthdays weren’t something he paid attention to. If Kazumi hadn’t reminded him, he wouldn’t have remembered at all.

At that moment, Kazumi suddenly hugged him gently, resting her head on his chest as she softly said, “Happy birthday, brother.”

Lei Yin was touched. Technically speaking, his “birthday” should have been the day he reincarnated into this body, or perhaps the original Lei Yin’s birthday. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such details. What mattered most was that someone genuinely felt joy for his existence.

“Brother, Mom, Uncle Maeda, and Rumi are all waiting for you at home. Let’s go,” she said.

“Alright, let’s head back now.”

As they stepped outside and were about to hail a cab, a luxury sports car suddenly stopped not far from them.

“Kazumi!” Takeshima Shinobu got out of the car, followed by Ogata Yasuda, who had been driving.

“You’re finally here. I was just about to call your phone. Wait, why is that guy here too?” Kazumi asked, glaring at him with disapproval.

“Because… I forgot my wallet, so I had to ask Ogata-senpai to give me a ride,” Takeshima Shinobu said with a sheepish smile.

“I knew you couldn’t keep a secret,” Kazumi said, rolling her eyes at her.

“I was wrong! Let’s hurry up and go.”

“Just so you know, I’m not inviting that guy to come along.”

“I know, I know. I only asked him to drive me here.”

As the two girls talked, Ogata Yasuda watched Kazumi in her radiant dress with a complex expression.

This was the second time he had seen her wearing a dress. She looked stunning, captivating enough to make anyone stop and take notice. Unfortunately, neither time had been for him. He wondered when she would ever wear a dress for him out of genuine affection.

At that thought, Ogata Yasuda couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.