Chapter 236: Entrustment

“Hic…” Kurata Ryoko, reeking of alcohol, staggered as she hiccupped loudly.

Seeing her in such a state, Tachibana Sui, whose hair only reached her ears, pursed her lips and said, “Seriously, you drank like a complete drunkard all night. Will you die if you drink less?”

Kurata Ryoko glared at her and said, “You’ve got some nerve saying that. When those seniors came over to toast, you barely drank a thing, leaving me to drink for the both of us. Where’s your sense of camaraderie?”

Tachibana Sui retorted, “You could’ve turned them down, you know. Nobody forced you to drink.”

“But those seniors are about to graduate. Wouldn’t it be heartless not to drink with them now?”

“Whatever. Hey, where’s Tomoko?” Tachibana Sui noticed that someone was missing.

“She’s probably at the back,” Kurata Ryoko replied. Turning around, she saw their friend, Yamaguchi Tomoko, crouched on the ground, throwing up.

“Tomoko, are you okay?” Tachibana Sui immediately ran over to check on her.

“Sui, I… I feel terrible,” Yamaguchi Tomoko said weakly as she struggled to stand with her friend’s help.

“Tomoko, you’re such a lightweight. Do you have any idea how funny you looked when you were drunk just now? It was like watching someone down medicine,” Kurata Ryoko said, laughing without an ounce of sympathy.

Tachibana Sui shot them both a disapproving look. One acted like a reckless tomboy, drinking every time someone offered, while the other was a pushover, too polite to refuse. That said, Kurata Ryoko’s outgoing personality often got her dragged into drinking sessions, giving her a far better tolerance than most women—and even some men.

Just as Kurata Ryoko was laughing boisterously, a figure suddenly ran past her at high speed, knocking her to the ground. The person also fell over.

“Who the hell just hit me?” Kurata Ryoko yelled angrily as she slowly got up.

“Ryoko, are you alright?” Tachibana Sui asked as she supported Yamaguchi Tomoko and came over.

Kurata Ryoko then noticed that the person who had knocked her over was a portly middle-aged man. Judging by his hair and skin tone, he was a foreigner.

The man clutched his stomach in pain as he stood up. In his other hand, he held a briefcase. Glancing nervously behind him, he quickly tried to continue running.

However, Kurata Ryoko grabbed his sleeve and shouted, “You bastard! You knocked me over and didn’t even apologize. Where do you think you’re going?”

Tachibana Sui sighed in frustration. Here she goes again. She’s already so unladylike normally, and when drunk, it’s even worse.

“Let… let go of me,” the man said in heavily accented Japanese, struggling to break free.

“You’re… Mr. Andrei?” Kurata Ryoko hesitated, staring at him.

“Who… who are you? How do you know my name?” The man’s face turned pale with shock.

“So you really are Mr. Andrei. I’m Kurata Ryoko, a student in the Journalism Department at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Six months ago, I interned at Hizuno Shimbun, and I accompanied Amuro-san to interview you. Back then, you said I looked like the daughter of a friend of yours. Do you remember me?” Kurata Ryoko, sobering up quickly, switched to a more respectful tone.

“You’re really a student in the Journalism Department at Tokyo Institute of Technology?” Andrei scrutinized her carefully.

“Yes,” she replied.

Andrei stared at her deeply for a moment before seeming to make up his mind. He suddenly handed her the briefcase and said, “There’s something very important inside this. Please deliver it to a man named Murata at Apartment 38 on Heian Street in Shinjuku on the evening of the 20th next month. I beg you to do this for me.”

“I can, but… why don’t you deliver it to him yourself, Mr. Andrei?” Kurata Ryoko asked, puzzled.

“I don’t have time to explain. Please, just do as I say. Also, you all need to leave here immediately. Make sure no one sees what you’re carrying. Stop asking questions and go!”

Startled by the urgency in his expression, the three girls had no choice but to leave with a growing sense of unease.

Once they were far enough away, Andrei clutched his stomach and continued running forward.

“Ryoko, what do we do now? Are we really going to do what that Andrei guy said?” Tachibana Sui asked.

“Of course, it’s just a small favor.”

Tachibana Sui said with some doubt, “Don’t you think he looked really flustered? Maybe there are bad things inside the box. By the way, who is this Andrei?”

“You’ve been reading too many detective novels. Mr. Andrei is an important person. He is… Tomoko, are you alright?” Seeing Yamaguchi Tomoko struggling to stay on her feet, Kurata Ryoko quickly set the briefcase down and rushed to support her.

Tachibana Sui shook her head and walked over to Ryoko, picking up the briefcase.

It felt heavy in her hands, and out of curiosity, she tried to open it, but soon realized it was locked. She gave up and used her other hand to help Tomoko walk toward a place with taxis.

※※※

“Damn, finally done with the exam,” Takeda said as he threw his textbook down forcefully.

Just as Lei Yin was about to tease him, his phone rang.

“Yes, the exam is over. Let’s meet at the school cafeteria.”

After hanging up, Lei Yin turned to Takeda and said, “Kazumi and I agreed to meet at the cafeteria. Are you coming?”

“Is Takeshima Shinobu going too?” Takeda asked reflexively.

“Probably. Why?”

“Nothing.”

When Lei Yin and the others arrived at the cafeteria, they found Kazumi and Takeshima Shinobu already sitting there waiting.

After sitting down, Lei Yin noticed Kazumi’s face looked pale, and Takeshima Shinobu appeared to have lost a lot of weight.

“You guys really pushed yourselves, didn’t you? It’s just an exam; passing is enough.” Although he said this, he knew they wouldn’t listen. In Japanese society, companies not only consider which school a student graduated from but also look at their exam scores each year. In such an environment, many students, even if they get into prestigious schools, don’t find it easy. Kazumi wasn’t driven by this reason, but as a student used to being a good student, she was very serious about her exam results each semester.

Kazumi smiled and said, “Brother, the holidays are coming. How do you plan to spend them?”

“How else? Just eating and waiting for death.”

“Will you go anywhere else?”

“I don’t have any plans to do so. What about you? Still working part-time?”

Since Swiss elementary school vacations don’t align with those in Japan, they only had about half a month to spend together. Additionally, the time it takes to fly to Switzerland meant their time together with Amy wouldn’t be long. He also didn’t want Naoko to endure a long-haul flight for too long, so he wasn’t planning to visit Amy in Switzerland this winter break.

“Rumi is about to take her entrance exams, so I want to help her study during the last bit of the holidays. It would be great if you didn’t go anywhere else so you could stay and keep us company.”

In general, there are two rounds of college entrance exams in Japan.

The first round is the “National Common First Academic Exam,” which is a nationwide standardized test. It takes place on the weekends of late January. The test is created by the University Entrance Examination Center based on the Ministry of Education’s High School Teaching Guidelines. The results are released ten days after the exam, and students can then decide which schools and majors to apply to based on their scores.

The second round of exams is conducted by individual universities, usually in February or March. The format of the exams is determined by each school, and as long as the students pass, they can enroll in that university.

Some universities, however, have adopted a new system where they use the “University Entrance Examination Center Exam” in place of the “National Common First Academic Exam.” The subjects include Japanese, mathematics, foreign language, geography, history, civics, and science, with 31 optional courses available. Universities that use this system can choose how many subjects to include.

While the two of them were talking, the atmosphere on the other side was very different.

Takeda sat awkwardly, like a child who had just been caught breaking a neighbor’s window, head lowered and not daring to make a sound, while Takeshima Shinobu sat across from him, staring at him with an expression that was hard to tell if it was anger or resentment.

Feeling the glare from the violent girl across the table, Takeda couldn’t sit still, shifting uncomfortably.

Luckily, at that moment, his phone rang, and Takeda quickly pulled it out and answered as if relieved from a dire situation.

“Yoshikawa? Masashi and I are in the cafeteria. Hurry up and come over, don’t ask questions, just come now.” His tone was urgent, like he was putting out a fire.

Lei Yin, a bit puzzled, asked, “Is there an emergency?”

“Not really. I just wanted to ask how he did on the exam,” Takeda said, his eyes shifting nervously.

Although Lei Yin could tell there was something off about this guy, he couldn’t be bothered and turned back to talk to Kazumi.

After finishing the call, Takeda felt the intense, piercing gaze directed at him and lowered his head, pretending to drink water.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t last long. After a while, Yoshikawa and Shiraishi Akira walked over slowly. Takeda let out a sigh of relief.

“Masashi, do you have any interest in visiting Akira’s hometown, Morioka, during the break? I’m planning to go see him. I heard there’s a big ski resort nearby, and it would be great to go skiing,” Yoshikawa said after sitting down.

“Your hometown is Morioka?” Lei Yin asked Shiraishi Akira.

“Yes, would you be interested in visiting?” Shiraishi Akira smiled.

Lei Yin shook his head. “I’ve been to too many places recently. I’d rather stay home and enjoy the New Year in peace.”

Kazumi’s face lit up with a happy smile at her brother’s words.

“Is that so? Well, we can try again another time.”

“Skiing? Then I’ll go too,” Takeda chimed in, who had been silent until now.

“Can you ski? Be careful not to fall and die without anyone knowing,” came a sarcastic voice, not from Yoshikawa but from Takeshima Shinobu, who had been mostly quiet until then.

“I can ski, and I learned when I was young. If you don’t believe me, ask Yoshikawa,” Takeda retorted.

“Hmph, Yoshikawa is your best friend, so of course, he’ll speak well of you. You’re useless and have bad grades, so it’s no wonder you can’t find a girlfriend.”

“You violent girl, I’ve put up with you for long enough. Don’t go too far.”

“I’ve put up with you for longer. You bastard, I haven’t forgotten what happened last time.” Takeshima Shinobu stood up in anger.

“Th-that last time was just an accident. And… anyway, we both have some responsibility for it,” Takeda said, his confidence faltering as the incident was brought up.

Before Takeshima Shinobu could continue yelling, Yoshikawa suddenly said with a smile, “I just realized you two would make a perfect pair. By the way, what was the incident you’re talking about? I’m very curious to know.”

Takeshima Shinobu’s face turned slightly red as she shouted, “What business is it of yours? Don’t make wild assumptions. There’s no way I’d be compatible with this guy.”

Yoshikawa tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You’re so flustered. Now I’m even more interested in what happened between you two.”

“Nothing happened. Don’t jump to conclusions,” Takeshima Shinobu quickly defended.

“Yeah, nothing happened at all,” Takeda added.

Hearing this, Takeshima Shinobu glared at him, “Shut up!”

Watching the two acting like elementary school kids, Yoshikawa’s smile became even more mischievous.

※※※

“Goodbye, Senpai.”

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Senpai.”

“Goodbye.”

When the kendo hall was left with just one male student who was responsible for cleaning, he walked up to the girl in a school uniform, who wasn’t wearing the kendo outfit, and said, “Senpai, we can handle this. You should go home.”

“It’s fine. I’m just putting on some oil. It won’t take long.” Rumi said as she lifted one of the bamboo swords and began to rub olive oil on it with a cloth.

Watching the senpai carefully apply oil to the bamboo sword, the kendo club member suddenly felt a sense of peace and comfort.

“Ah,” Rumi suddenly called out softly.

“What is it, Senpai?” the member asked.

“There are some areas on this bamboo sword that are damaged. Could you please bring me some fine sandpaper?” Rumi said while running her fingers over the damaged areas of the sword.

The member quickly brought the sandpaper over.

Rumi picked up a piece of sandpaper and carefully started to polish the damaged area.

After smoothing out the damage, she said to the member, “Never underestimate these small scratches. Over time, they can cause the bamboo sword to break easily. So, if you find any small scratches on the sword, make sure to sand them down until they are undetectable by touch. Also, when using the bamboo sword, be sure to use the four strips of bamboo evenly. If the striking surface has been used for four to five practice sessions, switch to the other side. This way, the sword will last longer.”

“I understand, Senpai.”

After placing the bamboo sword back, Rumi smiled at the member. “Alright, it’s getting late. I’m heading home now. Make sure to finish cleaning and head home soon, too.”

“Take care, Senpai,” the member bowed to her.

“Goodbye.” Rumi returned the bow and left the kendo hall.

The member watched her leave, dazed. But just as she stepped outside the hall, he was surprised to see her suddenly throw herself into the arms of a stranger standing outside the dojo.

For a moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He never imagined that this usually polite, dignified senpai would embrace a man so eagerly, especially one who was ordinary-looking.

“Senpai, what are you doing here?” Rumi, still holding Lei Yin, asked excitedly like a child.

Lei Yin smiled. “Kazumi and I just started our break and got back home. I noticed you hadn’t come back yet, so I came to pick you up.”

“Ah, Kazumi, you’re here too,” the kendo girl said as she noticed Kazumi smiling beside her.

Kazumi lightly tapped her on the head and joked, “All you see is your senpai. You wouldn’t even notice me.”

The kendo girl’s face turned red, and she quickly reached out to hold Kazumi’s hand. “That’s not true.”

Lei Yin teased her, “So our little girl has reached the point where she can teach others. Time really flies.”

Rumi blushed even more and pouted, “No, senpai, you’re so mean, always making fun of me.”

Lei Yin pinched her cheek before saying, “Alright, let’s go home. There’ll be a big dinner tonight. I hope Maeda comes back soon.”

Rumi’s eyes lit up. “Then let’s hurry back. I’m going to help Auntie cook. Watch, senpai, my cooking skills have improved dramatically.”

Seeing her confident expression, Lei Yin turned to Kazumi. “Do we have any medicine for stomach aches at home? If not, it’s better to pick some up on the way back, just in case.”

Kazumi covered her mouth and laughed.

“Senpai, you’re so mean. Just wait, I’ll make you look at me with new eyes,” Rumi said loudly, almost like making an oath.

“You can cook if you want, but just know that I won’t be the first to eat it.”

“You… well, in that case, I’ll let Kazumi eat first.”

“Uh…”

“Kazumi, you don’t trust me either?”

“Of course not. I trust Rumi. Fine, if I have to, I’ll eat first.”

“You’re the best, Kazumi.”

“Kazumi, you’re a big help.”

“Senpai!”