The asphalt roads in this foreign land were spotless and orderly. Earlier that day, Feng Xiaohe had taken Feng Xiaona’s small hand and led her to Tokyo Disneyland in Chiba Prefecture. The Victorian-era castle was breathtakingly beautiful, and within this fairy-tale-like, romantic park, Feng Xiaona’s face was constantly lit up with an innocent smile.
During the parent-teacher conference before final exams, the homeroom teacher had spoken to Feng Xiaohe:
“That child Xiaona is great in every way, but she’s simply too serious. She’s like a little adult. There are many cliques in the class, and Xiaona seems like she could be friends with anyone, yet she’s never had a tight-knit circle of her own. From what I understand, it’s not the other classmates rejecting Xiaona, but rather Xiaona rejecting them. She’s too mature—so mature it’s a little frightening.”
The math teacher had also said to Feng Xiaohe:
“You are Xiaona’s older sister, correct? I feel children at this age are at a watershed moment. Being overly childish or overly mature is not necessarily good for her development. You no longer need to worry about Xiaona’s grades at all, but I hope you can pay more attention to her mental state. Don’t neglect your younger sister’s growth because of work and cause her to lose the youthful years that should rightfully belong to her.”
It was precisely because of the teachers’ advice during that parent-teacher conference that Feng Xiaohe always hoped her younger sister would learn to relax instead of studying obsessively. At Disneyland, they watched the performance shows of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and also visited DisneySea, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Monsters, Inc., and the Little Bear attraction.
While riding the roller coaster, Feng Xiaohe, despite being an adult, turned pale with fright, but Feng Xiaona showed no sign of fear—she even giggled.
“Did you have fun today?”
“I had a blast!”
Sometimes, Feng Xiaohe felt like Xiaona was deliberately playing the role of an obedient little sister. This perfect little sister was so ideal she almost seemed idealized.
And Xiaona knew everything.
Feng Xiaohe was certain that her sister knew about the feelings she kept buried deep in her heart. She knew about her wish for a chance encounter with Gao Sijin on the streets of Tokyo. Even though the odds were pitifully small, Feng Xiaohe’s legs still carried her onward, walking of their own accord.
No kiss and no embrace would be fine. She just wanted to meet Gao Sijin for a moment, say a few trivial things, and then leave behind the sight of each other’s departing backs. That would be enough.
“Xiaona, what do you feel like eating tonight?”
Feng Xiaohe bent down and asked softly.
“I want okonomiyaki!”
“Alright, then let’s go get some okonomiyaki together.”
The two sisters walked hand in hand, searching for a place that looked like it might sell okonomiyaki.
Who knew—maybe at that very restaurant, Gao Sijin would be sitting at the table next to theirs. Anything bizarre was possible in this world.
Feng Xiaohe secretly held onto that hope.
Following the navigation, the two unknowingly wandered onto a sparsely populated side street. The lights flickered dimly, like a prelude to a haunting.
Walking along such a nighttime path, Feng Xiaohe couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She tightened her grip on Feng Xiaona’s hand, and their pace gradually quickened.
Just then, several young men with bizarre hairstyles approached them. Their outfits were equally eccentric, strange jackets depicting skeleton patterns. One of them sported a rare mohawk, giving off a kind of wasteland vibe—just seeing them made anyone want to keep their distance.
Out of a big sister’s instinct, Feng Xiaohe subconsciously pulled her sister’s body behind her, shielding her in front.
Suddenly, she saw a flicker of white light.
The men were carrying knives, and their faces twisted into savage expressions, glaring in the Feng sisters’ direction.
Were they planning to kill her?
“Help—!”
Feng Xiaohe screamed as if expelling all the air from her lungs, but deep down, she didn’t hold out much hope. After all, who would risk death to save a foreign tourist?
That was how it should have been. But in the very next second, Feng Xiaohe heard a loud Thwack! and everything seemed to happen in an instant.
The burliest man in the lead was sent flying by a baseball bat. You could clearly see the fat and muscle on his face distort and cave in upon impact. Mucus and blood sprayed through the air, splattering against the wall.
The man wielding the bat was a youth with bleached blond hair. The swing he’d just executed resembled a baseball player hitting a home run in a match.
For some reason, Feng Xiaohe felt that this blond man, who also looked like a delinquent, wasn’t scary at all. His eyes lacked any color of brutality.
“Hello, everyone~ This is humanity’s best friend, Katakura Hayabusa.”
The handful of delinquents saw their boss get knocked away by a single swing and their legs instinctively began to tremble.
Their boss had a massive build. Even compared to a sumo wrestler, he wouldn’t have been outmatched.
And yet, just now, their boss had been sent flying so effortlessly?
Getting hit with that kind of force would kill a person, wouldn’t it?
Or rather, he was already dead.
“Are you alright?”
Katakura Hayabusa turned his head and asked.
“We’re fine.” Feng Xiaona answered in her sister’s place, as the latter didn’t speak Japanese. “But you, you might have just killed someone. Is that okay?”
“That’s self-defense, little girl. You can’t wait for the snake to bite you before you strike back, right?” Katakura Hayabusa grinned broadly, his gleaming blond hair making him look like a lion on the African savanna.
The delinquents wanted to turn and run, but for some reason, their brains felt as if they were being controlled. Flailing their knives wildly, they charged in the direction of the Feng sisters.
Katakura Hayabusa just continued swinging his bat with a relaxed expression, knocking down one would-be murderer after another.
The metal baseball bat was stained with blood, looking rather sinister and terrifying. Seeming to realize that killing the pair of sisters was impossible without dealing with Katakura Hayabusa first, the delinquents all switched their attack targets to him.
But even facing the attacks of multiple delinquents, Katakura Hayabusa remained flippant, as if what they held in their hands weren’t life-taking knives but laughable toys.
“That kind of halfhearted attack can’t hurt anyone—except yourselves!”
The air screeched with sharp friction as the bat took down a few more delinquents. The vicious force behind it showed not the slightest hint of mercy.
“Haaaaah!”
With another sweeping blow, the last five delinquents were also knocked to the ground. They lay sprawled in a messy heap on the street, death or survival unknown.
For Katakura Hayabusa, doing good deeds was an instinct he relied on for survival.
He glanced at the pair of sisters. He had to admit, they were indeed the type of beauties who might drive a man to crime.
“Take it from me, beauties like you shouldn’t be wandering through deserted places at night. I’ve got things to do. Farewell.”
“Wait.”
Feng Xiaohe hadn’t understood what he said. It was Feng Xiaona who spoke up, calling out to Katakura Hayabusa.
“Is there something else, little miss?”
“Thank you for your help.”
“How boring.”
