Chapter 248: Meeting

The girl had long, graceful hair that reached her waist, and among her delicate and charming features, the most striking were her eyes—clear and bright like morning dew, and the cheerful smile that often appeared at the corners of her lips.

She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her hair was simply tied up with a yellow hairband, yet there was an indescribable natural beauty about her. Words like “sexy” or “seductive” were not fitting for her; everyone who saw her would think of simple, pure words like “clean” and “innocent.” She looked as clean as a white shirt that had just been washed and hung out to dry in the yard, still carrying a faint, pleasant scent. She was as pure as a lily flower that had just been watered in the morning sun, its petals still glistening with dew.

On their way to tour the campus, the girl was frequently noticed by people, both from afar and up close, but she was completely unaware of it. She simply walked along, smiling, holding Kazumi’s hand, chatting with them, and strolling casually.

“So, Rumi has always been staying at your house?” Takeda asked Lei Yin.

“Yes,” Lei Yin nodded.

Hearing his answer, Takeda felt a surge of frustration. How could this guy not introduce such a beautiful girl to him? At the same time, he regretted that he had spent more than a year hanging out with this guy and never once visited his house. Who knew how many beautiful girls were hidden there?

When Takeda suddenly shot him an angry look, Lei Yin felt a little confused but didn’t bother to care.

Since Takeshima Shinobu had previously visited Kazumi’s house during Lei Yin’s birthday, she also knew Rumi. Now that Rumi had officially become Kazumi and Lei Yin’s junior, she was eagerly acting as a guide, showing Rumi around the campus. Yoshikawa was also enthusiastically helping along the way.

After walking through most of the campus, Kazumi asked the kendo girl, “Are you hungry? How about we go eat?”

Rumi nodded and, with a slight blush, replied, “Actually, I’ve been hungry since the opening ceremony, but I didn’t want to say anything earlier. I skipped breakfast this morning because I was worried about being late and rushed here.”

Kazumi gave her a playful look. “You fool, we can visit anytime. Brother, let’s go eat.”

Lei Yin smiled and nodded.

Seeing his familiar and kind smile, Rumi’s face suddenly turned red, and she quickly turned her head away, not daring to look at him.

After they sat down in a corner of the school cafeteria, Takeshima Shinobu turned to Kazumi and asked, “Kazumi, is Rumi going to live with us?”

Kazumi nodded and replied, “Yes, both brother and I don’t feel comfortable with her living alone outside.”

Takeshima Shinobu realized, “No wonder you emptied that room in the apartment a while ago. It was specifically for Rumi.”

Kazumi affectionately looked at the kendo girl and said, “I knew she would come. Rumi, your bed, wardrobe, and other furniture have already been delivered. You can move in today. As for your luggage and other things, we can go get them tomorrow afternoon.”

“Kazumi…” Rumi’s eyes began to redden.

But at that moment, she suddenly felt a tap on her head. Turning around, she saw that it was Lei Yin who had just knocked her.

“Come on, crying doesn’t suit your personality at all. Now, take a look at the menu. Don’t you love shrimp? The fried shrimp here is pretty good. Want to try a portion?” Lei Yin said as he pushed the menu toward her.

Rumi pouted slightly in dissatisfaction, “Senior, you’re so cruel, always ruining the atmosphere.”

“What kind of atmosphere is this? It’s just ruining my appetite. Stop talking, hurry up and choose. Not just you, I’m a bit hungry too. Ever since you got here, Kazumi has been busy tidying up your room. She hasn’t cooked for me in days, and it made me too lazy to cook, so I just made instant noodles for myself.”

Hearing his words, Rumi didn’t complain at all. Instead, her eyes lit up as she excitedly said, “How about I cook for you?”

“Uh, no need. Kazumi should be free soon to come back and help.”

“Sorry, I’ve been a little busy lately,” Kazumi suddenly said indifferently.

“Hey.”

“It’s fine, senpai, I can come help cook,” Rumi said with a smile.

“This is exactly what I’m worried about,” Lei Yin muttered quietly.

“What did you say, senpai?” the spirited girl didn’t quite catch his words.

“Nothing, just hurry and choose your dish,” Lei Yin said, hoping the girl would quickly forget about it.

The innocent kendo girl didn’t think much about it, and immediately lowered her head to focus on the menu.

After everyone ordered, Lei Yin turned to Yoshikawa and asked, “What about Akira? Wasn’t he with you just before?”

Yoshikawa replied, “He was watching the opening ceremony with me, but because it was too crowded, we didn’t stay. He said he was going to check out the Kendo club, so he left. I just called him, and he’ll be here soon. That guy is just obsessed with Kendo, I’m used to it.”

Hearing “Kendo club,” Rumi immediately turned to Yoshikawa with excitement and asked, “Yoshikawa-kun, is there a Kendo club here too?”

Not wanting the innocent girl to interact too much with this young man, who looked like a playboy despite being a friend of her brother’s, Kazumi interrupted, “Of course there is. Actually, most universities have all sorts of clubs, just like in high school. But compared to high school clubs, university clubs are more diverse and professional. So, do you want to join the Kendo club?”

“Mm,” Rumi nodded.

“Do you practice Kendo too, Rumi?” Takeda asked, looking at her with curiosity.

“A little bit,” Rumi humbly replied.

Takeda didn’t think too much of it. In his eyes, even if a beautiful girl didn’t know anything, her looks and figure alone would make most men fall for her.

It was rare to meet such a beautiful girl who wasn’t already taken, and with Kazumi’s indifference, Takeda’s enthusiasm, which had been doused, reignited. He started trying to find opportunities to talk to Rumi.

But after only a few words, Takeshima Shinobu kept interrupting their conversation. After this happened several times, Takeda realized that this violent girl was doing it on purpose. He glared at her angrily, but Takeshima Shinobu responded by glaring back at him defiantly.

Even Takeshima Shinobu herself didn’t understand why, whenever she saw him trying to charm Rumi, she felt so angry and instinctively wanted to sabotage his attempts. After rationalizing it as her desire to protect Kazumi’s younger sister from this guy, she felt justified in her actions.

Seeing the standoff between the two, Rumi looked at Kazumi with concern and whispered, “Kazumi, what’s going on with them?”

Kazumi casually replied, “Don’t mind them. You’ll get used to it. And when we go back later, remember to remind me to buy a new toothbrush and towel for you.”

“Oh, but Kazumi, can I sleep with you tonight?”

Kazumi smiled and said, “Sure, you can, but my bed is a bit small, so it might be a little cramped with two people.”

“It’s okay, I’m so happy. It feels a bit like camping,” the Kendo girl said excitedly.

Lei Yin flicked the girl’s forehead with his hand and smiled, “Kazumi, you’ve worked hard. From now on, take care of this stubborn little brat.”

Hearing his words, Rumi, clearly upset, said, “Senpai, you’re always putting me down. The last time I wanted to cook something, you said the same thing. You can ask Kazumi, I’ve gotten much better at cooking now.”

“Just listen for now. Who told you to have so many past failures?”

“Damn it. Fine, I’ve decided. Tomorrow, I’ll cook for you and show you my true skills.” The kendo girl said, her voice filled with determination.

“Uh, sorry, I have something to do tomorrow and will be out.”

“No excuses.”

“Then I take back what I just said. Can you let me off the hook now?”

“Senpai!”

While they were chatting and laughing, Shiraishi Akira slowly walked over from the restaurant door.

Yoshikawa, noticing him, said, “Oh. You made it? Glad you’re just in time, we just ordered our food.”

But he quickly noticed that his usually quiet friend was staring blankly with strange eyes at Rumi, who was talking to Lei Yin and hadn’t noticed him approaching.

Lei Yin turned around and introduced, “Akira, let me introduce you. This is Nagakawa Rumi, a relative of mine, and she’s a freshman at Teikyo this year. Rumi, this is my friend Shiraishi Akira. He’s also in the same major as Yoshikawa.”

However, before he finished, Rumi suddenly stood up and said, “So it really is Shiraishi-kun. I thought I might have mistaken you. I didn’t expect to see you here. Hello!” She then bowed to Shiraishi Akira.

After taking a long look at her, Shiraishi Akira returned her bow before replying, “I’m also surprised. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Seeing this, Yoshikawa said, a little surprised, “So you two know each other?”

Shiraishi Akira slowly sat down and said, “Nagakawa-san is the national high school kendo competition women’s champion. I happened to participate in that competition too, so we met.”

Upon hearing this, everyone, except Lei Yin and Kazumi, looked at the slender kendo girl in disbelief. Takeda, in particular, stared at her like he had seen a ghost, thinking of the “kendo beauty” who “only knew a bit of the basics.”

Feeling the astonished gazes from everyone, Rumi awkwardly lowered her head and after a moment, shyly said, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. Shiraishi-san was the runner-up in the men’s category.”

Seeing Rumi’s embarrassed state, Kazumi deliberately changed the topic, “Shinobu, can you ask the manager to give me a leave for tonight? I want to take Rumi out to buy something.”

“I understand.” Takeshima Shinobu finally snapped back to reality.

※※※

“Do you like this room?” Kazumi opened the window and then turned to Rumi, asking.

“Mm.” The kendo girl sat on the freshly laid mattress, happily testing its bounce.

Seeing her childish actions, Kazumi couldn’t help but chuckle.

Just then, Lei Yin, who had just finished moving the furniture and washing his hands, walked into the room and asked, “Kazumi, do you have any beer here?”

“Idiot, I never drink that stuff, and neither does Shinobu. How could we have any? Have some soda, I’ll get it. Rumi, you want some too?”

“Yes.” Rumi immediately replied.

Lei Yin said, “Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to pick up your things from home, and we can have dinner together with the whole family. After you start school, the person who will miss you the most will probably be mom. Luckily, Maeda is there to keep her company. But it’s also good. At least it gives that couple a little time alone.”

While he was speaking, Rumi kept her head lowered. Lei Yin didn’t notice, but the girl’s face was flushed red, and she had completely lost her train of thought due to the casual mention of “the whole family.”

“Are you feeling unwell?” Noticing that she kept her head down, Lei Yin curiously reached out to touch her forehead.

As soon as his hand touched her skin, she shuddered involuntarily. Then, almost instinctively, she suddenly hugged him tightly.

With a firm grasp, the girl used all her strength to cling to him.

After a moment, Lei Yin asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Senpai, I… I’m really happy,” the girl said, burying her face in his chest, tears streaming down as her voice trembled.

Thinking she was still happy about successfully being accepted into Teikyo, Lei Yin smiled and said, “Really? I’m happy too.”

Upon hearing this, the girl tightened her embrace around his waist even more.

※※※

After finishing his training, Kuang Dao, wearing only a pair of shorts, walked out of the bathroom while drinking beer.

At that moment, the nanny Rie, who had just come out of the kitchen, saw him like this and immediately said, “Kuang Dao-san, could you please put on some clothes? If madam sees you walking around like this again, she’ll definitely scold you.”

Kuang Dao scoffed and said, “Go away, who cares what she says? Besides, I’m not even without pants. Anyway, no one’s looking at those two things on a man’s chest.”

Rie, seeing she couldn’t persuade him, shook her head and gave up.

Kuang Dao walked into the living room and saw Baby playing a game.

“Hey, little brat, stop playing and let me watch the news, okay?”

“No, I’m about to clear the level, just wait a bit.” Baby said, fully focused on the game screen.

From past experience, Kuang Dao knew he’d have to wait until at least ten o’clock for her to finish. Smiling, he quietly walked over and, when he reached the little girl’s back, suddenly covered her eyes with both hands.

“Ah, let go!” Baby immediately screamed. But since her hands were controlling the joystick, she didn’t dare let go. 

“This is the tragic consequence of not letting me watch the news. Accept your fate, little brat. Oh, looks like your character is about to be killed by that monster.”

“Please, let go quickly! Please, Kuang Dao-ojisan. Rie, come save me!” Baby pleaded louder as she became more desperate.

Kuang Dao ignored her and continued describing the situation of the game, as if he were broadcasting live, narrating how the character she was controlling was being drained of health by the monster.

Baby, nearly going mad, screamed louder and louder, eventually yelling for help, but Kuang Dao still didn’t respond.

At the first scream, Rie had already rushed out to see what was going on. Seeing the scene of the two of them messing around, she couldn’t help but feel both angry and amused. She was too lazy to deal with them, so she went back to her room to continue cleaning.

“Dammit, I was so close to clearing the level, but you got it killed! You’ll have to pay me back!” Baby glared angrily at Kuang Dao, who was casually watching TV.

Kuang Dao glanced at her and said, “Pay you back? How?”

“I don’t care, you have to pay me back!” Baby climbed up onto his lap like a monkey.

“You’re so annoying, I don’t even play games, how could I pay you back? Besides, it’s your fault for not letting me watch the news, so you brought this upon yourself.”

“It’s your fault, it’s your fault. I don’t care, you have to pay me back!” Baby shook him desperately.

“You’re so loud.”

Suddenly, Baby’s eyes twinkled and she said, “How about this: unless you agree to one thing, I’ll let this go.”

“What thing?” Kuang Dao asked, looking at her.

Baby leaned in close to his ear and whispered something.

After she finished, Kuang Dao shook his head and said, “No way, go talk to your mom about that.”

Baby, becoming anxious, said, “I’m asking you because I don’t want mom to know. I don’t care, since you didn’t let me clear the level, you have to help me with this.”

“I said no.”

“No, you have to agree!” Seeing him so firm, Baby resorted to Plan B, tightly hugging his neck and shaking it non-stop.

Kuang Dao pretended not to care, but after a while, he couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “Fine, I give up, I’ll do it. You’re really annoying, damn it. Who the hell said kids are cute? I’ll challenge him to a fight.”

Baby couldn’t help but laugh triumphantly.