Chapter Thirty-Three

"Thank you for your kind intention; you are a good friend. But if I were to carry a gun, how would I be any different from a criminal? I do not wish to rely on that to protect my life; I prefer to depend on myself, unless in a genuine emergency when I will come to you." Yu Xingyue expressed his gratitude to Wang Tianqi, thanking her for her offer of protection, but he did not need it at the moment.

Wang Tianqi sighed and said, "When will your thick skull ever clear up? This young lady is even willing to come and protect you, yet you say you don't need it. I think you must have fallen ill to refuse me like this, right?"

"Do you think I am joking with you?" Yu Xingyue said to Wang Tianqi calmly. Looking into his eyes, Wang Tianqi realized he was not joking at all; this was a matter of utmost seriousness.

Yu Xingyue continued, "Right now, Honda Haoyun is watching me from goodness knows where, and I could lose my life at any second. My prerequisite is that I must be prepared whenever I step outside, which is the only way I can reduce the chances of running into Honda Haoyun."

Wang Tianqi slapped her own forehead. "I have truly never met someone as foolish as you. You are terrified of Honda Haoyun; the sight of him makes you so scared you can't even walk. It seems that whenever you go out, this young lady is simply going to have to send bodyguards to protect you."

"I will let you know when I need them. By the way, Wang Tianqi, you've lingered in the internet cafe quite long enough. Now, settle what's between us." With that, he extended his hand toward Wang Tianqi.

Thinking Yu Xingyue wanted a handshake, Wang Tianqi reached hers out, but Yu Xingyue said, "You haven't paid me back for the coffee from earlier. It's time to settle up."

Wang Tianqi was left speechless. How could he still remember that? She had completely forgotten. There was no helping it; whenever money was involved, Yu Xingyue would never forget. Just because someone didn't bring it up didn't mean you didn't have to pay them back.

Wang Tianqi took out her wallet and handed some bills to Yu Xingyue. "Here is forty for the coffee. Don't ask me why it's RMB; using RMB in Japan means your brain is wired wrong." Having said that, Wang Tianqi left.

Watching Wang Tianqi depart, a warmth filled Yu Xingyue's heart. It turned out Wang Tianqi had always cared about him. Yet, he did not want to drag her into danger—a level of danger that was no child's play. Even if he could explain everything clearly and she would still help, pulling his friends into this mess was clearly a bad idea.

Liu Haijiko came down from upstairs and asked Yu Xingyue, "Did you finish talking?"

Yu Xingyue nodded. Liu Haijiko continued, "She still cares about you a lot. Why wouldn't you accept her protection? With the protection of her bodyguards, you would be safe and unharmed."

Yu Xingyue replied calmly, "I can only thank her for her kindness, but I do not wish to rely on a girl's strength to protect me. I am not a useless man. As for protection, I will talk about it when I truly need it. I'm heading back upstairs."

After Yu Xingyue returned to the upper floor, Liu Haijiko received a phone call. Answering it, she said, "Xingyue-kun is in a rather dangerous situation right now and could lose his life at any moment. We must continue to protect him from the shadows."

The person on the other end of the line replied, "Leave this matter to me. He must never find out. His safety is in my hands; I will ensure he does not suffer even the slightest harm over the next two years."

"Then I leave it in your care." After the call ended, Liu Haijiko gazed at the staircase and murmured to herself, "I'm sorry, Xingyue-kun. For your safety, I had no choice but to consult your family. Please forgive my self-will; your safety for the next two years has been entirely entrusted to him."

Having just returned to his room upstairs, Yu Xingyue received a message. Opening his phone, he saw it was from Sakamoto Zhilong—he had even initiated the contact himself. Sakamoto Zhilong wrote, "Our boss very much wants to see you. The meeting is set for tonight at the Vivian Bar. Reply upon seeing this."

If he was going to a meeting tonight, he first had to ask Liu Haijiko for leave. Yu Xingyue replied, "Alright, see you tonight."

"You'd better dress nicely. You're meeting our boss," Sakamoto Zhilong reminded him, advising him to dress up for the evening. It almost felt like going on a blind date, but Yu Xingyue paid it no mind.

As Yu Xingyue left his room, he happened to see Liu Haijiko and said, "Riko, I'm taking leave tonight to meet a friend. You won't say no, will you?"

Worried about his safety, Liu Haijiko asked, "Which friend are you meeting? For all you know, the other person might not be a good person."

"It's one of the customers from last night whose fight I tried to break up. He wants to see me, so he asked to meet tonight." Yu Xingyue did not mention that the boss of the gang wanted to see him. To avoid worrying Liu Haijiko, Yu Xingyue told a small lie; going to a meeting and coming straight back shouldn't be too big of an issue.

Liu Haijiko fell into deep thought before saying, "Alright, I suppose you can go. But you must promise me not to come home alone. It would be best if your friend drops you off at home, understood? I am genuinely terrified that you'll go out and never return."

"Teacher, you can rest easy. I promise to come back alive. If I don't make it back, please say hello to Wang Tianqi for me; she is the only person I'm familiar with in Japan." Yu Xingyue's words carried the heavy tone of a parting between life and death. Annoyed, Liu Haijiko knocked him on the head.

"I've granted this leave, but if you want to ask for time off to go out again after this, your workload will double." With that, Liu Haijiko returned to her room. Yu Xingyue didn't feel panicked; he knew she said that out of concern for his safety. By doubling his workload, Liu Haijiko simply wanted to keep him trapped in the internet cafe so he wouldn't go out, ensuring he stayed put except for meals.

...

Matsugami Ren, who had become Yu Xingyue's friend much like Sakamoto Zhilong had, was currently cooped up at home. After yesterday's argument and suddenly becoming friends with Sakamoto Zhilong, Matsugami Ren had not made any mental preparations for such a sudden turn of events. Yet, the fact that they were friends now could not be changed, and he was currently staying indoors watching anime to pass the time.

He shared another trait with Sakamoto Zhilong: both had been harmed by Honda Haoyun, and both wanted revenge against him. But who could possibly deal with Honda Haoyun? Besides, his own build was frail and he disliked exercise; lifting a bucket full of water could already be considered pushing his limits.

His older brother had gone out to meet a friend he had introduced, and there was no telling when he would return. Deeply immersed in the anime's plot, Matsugami Ren was startled by the sound of his phone, instantly pulled from the fictional world back into reality. Annoyed, Matsugami Ren picked up the phone to look. It was an unknown number, so figuring it was a spam call, he rejected it without answering.

Before he could put it down for long, the phone rang again. Since Matsugami Ren truly didn't recognize the number, he rejected it a second time. To verify whether it was an acquaintance, Matsugami Ren checked his contacts. There was only his brother, Yu Xingyue, and Sakamoto Zhilong; this call clearly wasn't from any of them. Then, the phone rang once more.

"You really think my phone is easy to bully, don't you? Let's see how I handle you since you won't stop calling." Matsugami Ren retrieved a microphone from his room, turned it on, and tested the audio. Satisfied that everything was working properly, he answered the call. The moment the connection went through, he started singing directly into the phone—his favorite song, performed terribly, yet enough to make the person on the other end cover their ears.

Only after the harassing caller hung up did Matsugami Ren finally relax. "The world is finally quiet." Putting down the microphone, he went back to watching his anime. But no sooner had he sat down than the power went out. Speechless, Matsugami Ren felt a fire of inner rage building up.

Just then, Matsugami Ren's older brother returned. Seeing his irritated expression, he asked, "Tell me, Ren, why are you so upset? Why aren't you watching television instead of sitting here fuming?"

Matsugami Ren turned his head to look at him and said, "The power went out, Brother. Did you forget to pay the electricity bill?"

"No way? I paid it just the day before yesterday; it shouldn't cut off this fast. I'll go check the circuit board." With that, he went outside to inspect the circuit board. After taking a look, he reported back to Matsugami Ren, "It's a short circuit. Looks like we'll have to find someone to fix it."

"Can't you fix it?" Matsugami Ren asked.

"I want to be lazy, so forgive me." He headed downstairs to find a repairman. With a helpless sigh, he wondered why his younger brother, who had tried to venture out into the world just yesterday, was once again terrified of leaving the house.

The moment he stepped outside, someone greeted him, "Haicheng, just got back and heading out again?"

The one called Haicheng—Matsuhai Cheng—replied, "The power short-circuited, so I'm going to get a repairman to fix it, otherwise the emperor inside my house is bound to smash the place to pieces."

"Having a brother like that must make life hard for you, huh?" that person asked Matsuhai Cheng. Matsuhai Cheng merely nodded. "This is a punishment for me. I used to bully my younger brother all the time and made him so introverted. That's the biggest failure of my life as an older brother; I'm just trying to make it up to him properly now."