Chapter 308: A Heavy Burden

When he opened the door and saw the people standing outside, he froze for a moment.

“Kuang Dao-ojisan!” The little girl, who was standing outside with her mother, immediately ran over joyfully and hugged his leg.

Kuang Dao remained silent, looking a bit awkward as he glanced at Tani Akiko.

Tani Akiko looked at him for a moment before smiling gently and saying, “The little one has been clamoring to see you, so I brought her along. I hope we’re not disturbing you?”

Her calm and natural smile made Kuang Dao pause, and he quickly said, “No trouble at all. Please, come in and have a seat.” Without realizing it, he had used the word “please”—a word almost nonexistent in the vocabulary of someone as rough around the edges as him.

“So messy!” The little girl exclaimed loudly as she saw the living room littered with empty beer bottles and leftover takeout boxes, unaccustomed to such a dirty environment.

Kuang Dao casually swept the clutter on the coffee table onto the floor and said, “The cleaning lady will come tomorrow to tidy everything up. For now, just sit on the sofa.” With that, he went to the fridge to get drinks.

But when he returned with the drinks, he saw Tani Akiko picking up the trash on the floor and sorting it.

“I’ll do it myself.” Kuang Dao immediately walked over when he saw this.

Tani Akiko looked up at him and said, “Mr. Kuang Dao, could you bring me some bags for combustible and non-combustible trash? I’d like to sort them properly.”

“Uh… sure.” Kuang Dao could only go and fetch the garbage bags.

By the time he managed to find them and bring them over, Tani Akiko had already sorted all the trash into neat piles.

As he handed her the bags, she smiled and nodded before placing the trash into the appropriate bags.

After tying up the garbage bags and putting them outside the door, Tani Akiko picked up a bag of apples and said, “I bought some apples on the way here. May I use your kitchen to wash and slice them?”

“I’ll wash them,” Kuang Dao said, feeling too embarrassed to let her do even more work.

Tani Akiko smiled and replied, “No need, let me do it. Why don’t you sit down and spend some time with the little one? She hasn’t seen you in a long time and keeps saying how much she missed you.” With that, she carried the apples to the kitchen.

“Uncle Kuang Dao, what have you been doing lately? Every time we come, you’re not home!” The little girl complained, tugging on his arm as she pouted.

“I’ve been busy,” Kuang Dao replied, though his gaze unconsciously drifted to the figure in the kitchen.

He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

After what he had done to her, she should at least hate him, if not avoid him entirely. But she acted as if nothing had happened, even going so far as to help him clean up. The more he thought about it, the more incomprehensible women’s thoughts seemed to him.

Maybe I should ask Old Ghost for advice, Kuang Dao thought to himself.

“Uncle Kuang Dao, are you even listening to me?” The little girl was dissatisfied with his distracted look and shook his arm forcefully.

“What?” Kuang Dao finally turned to look at her.

“I was asking you something just now… never mind! To make up for disappearing on me for so long, will you take me to the amusement park tomorrow?” she said, taking the opportunity to press her demand.

“No way. I’ve been busy lately and don’t have time to play with you.” Remembering the torment of their last trip to the amusement park, Kuang Dao refused without a second thought.

The little girl immediately protested, “No! You have to take me, Uncle Kuang Dao. Please, please take me? I promise I’ll be good. If you do, I’ll even treat you to ice cream!”

Kuang Dao waved his hand decisively and said, “I said no, and that’s final.”

Unwilling to give up, the little girl climbed onto him, begging and shaking his arm non-stop.

Just as Kuang Dao was about to lose his patience, Tani Akiko’s voice came from behind him, “Bibi, get down now. Stop bothering Uncle Kuang Dao.”

Hearing her mother’s scolding, the little girl reluctantly climbed down from Kuang Dao.

“I’m sorry for the trouble. Bibi’s being a handful again. The apples are ready—please help yourself,” Tani Akiko said as she placed a plate of sliced apples on the coffee table.

While eating the apples, the little girl still seemed unwilling to give up. She turned to Tani Akiko and said, “Mom, how about we go to the amusement park with Uncle Kuang Dao tomorrow?”

Tani Akiko glanced at him and then said to her daughter, “What a silly idea. Mr. Kuang Dao has work tomorrow; he doesn’t have time to go play with you.”

Hearing this, the little girl looked a bit dejected but quickly perked up. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she tentatively asked, “If tomorrow’s not possible, how about the day after tomorrow? It’s Saturday, so Uncle Kuang Dao shouldn’t have work then, right?”

This time, Tani Akiko didn’t object. Her gaze, like her daughter’s, turned toward him.

Kuang Dao was about to refuse outright, but when he saw the faint hint of expectation in Tani Akiko’s eyes, he found himself unable to say anything.

Noticing his silence, the little girl quickly seized the opportunity. “Uncle Kuang Dao, since you’re not saying no, it’s settled then! No backing out!”

Tani Akiko turned to him and said, “Mr. Kuang Dao, if you don’t want to go, it’s fine. I can take her myself.”

The little girl immediately protested, “No way! Mom, you’re too scared to go on roller coasters. If it’s just you, I won’t be able to go on the fun rides! Besides, Uncle Kuang Dao already said yes.”

Tani Akiko chuckled and said, “Mr. Kuang Dao hasn’t even spoken yet. How do you know he agreed?” Then, she turned back to Kuang Dao and added, “Mr. Kuang Dao, really, it’s okay if you don’t want to go. Don’t worry about it.”

Although her words seemed considerate, Kuang Dao could sense from her expression that she actually hoped he would agree.

After a moment, he finally said, “I’m free the day after tomorrow. I don’t mind going with you.”

The little girl cheered immediately.

“Thank you, Mr. Kuang Dao,” Tani Akiko said softly, looking at him.

Seeing the gratitude in her eyes, along with something else he couldn’t quite decipher, Kuang Dao felt even more convinced that he needed to consult Old Ghost about this.

※※※

“If that pervert were here, he’d definitely be trying to flirt with the flight attendants,” Takeshima Shinobu remarked thoughtfully as she watched the flight attendants walking down the aisle.

“Sounds like you miss him,” someone teased.

“You… you… don’t talk nonsense! Why would I miss that guy? I was just saying…” Takeshima Shinobu stammered, flustered, as she tried to explain.

Kazumi chuckled softly. “Shinobu, you’re not a little kid anymore. Don’t get so flustered over a single comment. The more nervous you are, the more others will suspect something.”

“Who’s nervous?” Takeshima Shinobu retorted sulkily.

Kazumi just smiled silently.

She glanced to the side and saw Rumi, who had been excitedly gazing out the window when they boarded, now fast asleep. It wasn’t surprising—she had been as thrilled as a kid going on a field trip and barely slept the night before.

With a soft laugh, Kazumi turned to look out the window. Below the plane, clusters of clouds, as fluffy as cotton, stretched out endlessly. Bathed in sunlight, the sight was breathtakingly beautiful.

“It doesn’t even look real,” she murmured after a while.

“What?” Takeshima Shinobu, who was flipping through a magazine, thought Kazumi was talking to her and immediately looked up.

Kazumi didn’t reply, her gaze fixed on the sea of clouds outside.

Takeshima Shinobu glanced at her friend curiously. Since returning from home, Kazumi seemed quieter than usual, or so she thought.

When Lei Yin stood up to go to the restroom, Kuang Dao silently followed him.

As soon as they entered the restroom, Kuang Dao glared at Lei Yin. “Why didn’t you tell me Tani Akiko was coming too? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Are you afraid of her?”

“I’m not afraid of her!” Kuang Dao snapped. “It’s just inconvenient to see her. You know what I did to her. The less we meet, the better—it’s less awkward that way.”

Lei Yin smirked faintly. “Old Kuang, you’re no rookie. Even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve definitely seen pigs walk. You should know exactly why she’s acting this way. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘The hardest burden to bear is a beauty’s favor’?”

Kuang Dao flushed and muttered a curse under his breath before turning and walking out.

After he left, Lei Yin’s lips twitched slightly in amusement.

When Lei Yin returned to his seat, he saw that Naoko was already awake.

“Still feeling dizzy?” Lei Yin asked, carefully studying her complexion.

Naoko shook her head. “I’m fine now. Where’s Amy?”

“She went to play with Bibi.”

Naoko rested her head on his shoulder and said softly, “It feels so nostalgic. The first time we came to Okinawa, you were just a first-year high school student, and I was your English teacher. Who would’ve thought we’d end up together? Thinking about it now, it feels almost unbelievable.”

Lei Yin leaned close to her ear and said, “Naoko-sensei, Student Gennai has a question: Would a teacher-student relationship count as a forbidden romance?”

Naoko’s face turned bright red. Seeing the amusement in his eyes, she lightly punched his chest in exasperation.

Lei Yin pressed on, “Naoko-sensei, this isn’t fair. Even if you can’t answer your student’s question, you shouldn’t punish him physically.”

“Enough already! Stop calling me that!” Naoko protested in a small voice, her face flushed red as blood, unable to endure his teasing any longer.

Lei Yin was utterly captivated by her shy expression. Unable to resist, he pulled her into his arms and said, “When we get there, let’s find some time to do what we used to—build a fire and grill some fish. I’ll catch the fish, and you can cook them. How about that?”

“Mm,” Naoko softly replied.

But not long after, she suddenly chuckled and looked at him with a teasing smile. “Back then, when you were grilling fish by the rocks on the beach, do you know how I found you?”

“Tell me.”

Still smiling, Naoko said, “I had been looking for you all over the beach and couldn’t find you. I was worried about where you’d gone. Then, two girls in swimsuits walked by. One of them was complaining, ‘If I see that brat again, I’m definitely going to teach him a lesson. He actually asked me which brand of bug spray I was wearing.’ When I heard that, I immediately knew they were talking about you. So I followed the direction they came from, and sure enough, I found you quickly. You can be so insufferable sometimes.”

Lei Yin thought for a moment and vaguely remembered the incident. After a while, he said, “I think I recall that. Those two women saw me grilling fish on the rocks and thought it was interesting. One of them even came over and tried to flirt with me, which gave me goosebumps. I only said that for my own health as self-defense. But Naoko-sensei, was I too much? I promise I won’t do it again next time.” By the time he finished, he was back to playing the role of an innocent high schooler.

“You’re still calling me that!” Naoko’s face flushed red again.

Lei Yin suddenly leaned close to her ear with a mischievous smile. “Fine, I’ll stop calling you that for now. But tonight, I’ll call you that again. And you better give me a proper lesson, Naoko-sensei.”

Naoko quickly realized the meaning behind his words and immediately lowered her head, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

Seeing even the skin behind her ears turn red, Lei Yin chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around her trembling waist.

As his hand began to slowly stroke her body through her clothes, Naoko, whose body was highly sensitive, found her breathing becoming erratic without even realizing it. Instinctively, she pressed her legs together tightly.

When she looked up at him with pleading eyes, silently asking him to stop, she saw him pretending to be fully engrossed in reading the newspaper. Only occasionally, when he glanced at her reactions, did his true intentions show.

This scoundrel! Though she felt both shy and flustered, Naoko could do nothing about him. She turned her face into his chest, hoping others wouldn’t hear the sound of her labored breaths that she struggled to suppress.

At this moment, he casually spread a few sheets of newspaper over her long, slender legs, which were exposed by her short skirt.

“Sis, do you have any facial cleanser in your bag? I want to wash my face,” Aiko, sitting in the row ahead of them, suddenly turned around and asked Naoko.

Startled, Naoko quickly straightened her posture and tried to appear calm as she asked, “What did you just say?”

Aiko looked at her with some confusion, noticing Naoko’s slightly nervous expression and the unusual redness of her face. “Sis, are you okay? Your face is so red.”

“It’s nothing. I probably just look like this because I just woke up. By the way, what did you need?”

“Facial cleanser. Do you have any in your bag?”

“Yes.” While speaking, she opened the handbag beside her.

Once Aiko had taken the facial cleanser and headed to the restroom, Naoko gave Lei Yin a shy yet annoyed look, her face still flushed.

Lei Yin chuckled and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Scoundrel,” Naoko murmured softly in a tone only he could hear, her voice tinged with a gentle pout.