At the University of Tokyo’s Komaba Campus, Tsukiyuki Rio’s slender fingers tightened around her phone until her knuckles turned white. The message on the screen made her beautiful dark-crimson eyes look as if they were bleeding tears. Had Yu Qingxue not been right there to stop her, the phone’s screen might already have shattered to pieces.
Normally, in Yu Qingxue’s eyes, Tsukiyuki Rio was a master strategist who stayed cool no matter what. Her most remarkable trait was an almost superhuman composure—nothing ever seemed to provoke her to anger. But now, standing behind Rio, Qingxue could unmistakably feel the towering rage radiating off her. If this fury wasn’t quelled, it would surely spawn an unprecedented disaster.
“Young Miss, may I ask what happened?”
Yu Qingxue leaned forward respectfully, attempting to glance at the message on the phone.
In truth, she hardly needed to ask; she could already guess the gist of it. Whatever had Rio this enraged had to involve Gao Sijin. One hundred percent.
“Qingxue… just now, my Gao-kun was defiled by a beast.”
Rio’s grim crimson eyes were like a bloodthirsty demon sword. If not fed enough lives, she would become a monster that wreaked havoc upon the world.
Tsukiyuki Rio in this state genuinely frightened Yu Qingxue. Heaven forbid Qingxue ever had to stand against her mistress—she’d be forced to withstand that scorching, manic fury.
“Young Miss, who defiled him?”
“Who else? That rat of the future, the one who thought she could outdo me.”
“Master… lost his virginity?”
“His first kiss was stolen from me! His first kiss should have been mine, damn it…”
Tsukiyuki Rio gnashed her teeth.
Long before this, to claim Gao Sijin’s purest, most untainted first love for herself, she’d deliberately erased all of his memories concerning his first crush, Gu Xiarui, from his second year of middle school. Then she had transferred all those sweet, impulsive feelings onto herself. When operating the memory implantation device that day, she’d even blended in memory fragments from other world lines. The result? From the very first glance Gao Sijin cast her way during their “chance” encounter at the library, he became utterly captive to her, with no possibility of ever breaking free.
After that, they were supposed to begin their joyful, blissful time together. According to the script, they would gradually grow closer, becoming each other’s one and only. Then they would embark on dates with tireless enthusiasm—starting with places like movie theaters and amusement parks. There were so many date spots in Tokyo for couples that they could never visit them all. They would take sticker photos together. One day, Rio would casually pull out her phone and let him see her phone case, which was plastered with their sticker pics.
After that, Gao-kun would get the hint. With a bit of playful reluctance, they would share their first kiss under a cherry blossom tree.
Finally, a love hotel.
Such complete happiness should have been as flawless as a sphere.
But because of a momentary lapse in vigilance, that happiness had been warped. Their supposedly romantic story now carried a stain of humiliation.
“Feng Na… I will kill you…”
“I swear it!”
Her heart, unable to calm down, began racing even faster. This hatred couldn’t be resolved by simple death.
“Young Miss, shall we continue classes? I believe there’s still an afternoon lecture.”
“No. Let’s go back.”
“Yes, Young Miss.”
Things like academic credits were naturally of no concern.
The University of Tokyo is a national university. Historically, in terms of finances and personnel, it has been akin to a cog in the state machine, operating on government subsidies. In 2016, the government amended the National University Corporation Act and established the Designated National University Corporation System to break down the three barriers within universities, between universities, and between national borders. The corporation of the University of Tokyo might not bear the name Tsukiyuki, but that family had always been tied to it by countless threads.
In other words, from a certain angle, as a wealthy magnate family that secretly controlled the entire country through money and power, the Tsukiyuki Family could indirectly hold considerable sway over the University of Tokyo.
Even if Tsukiyuki Rio and Yu Qingxue skipped classes every day, they would still graduate smoothly. Besides, to Rio, academic credentials were merely the icing on the cake. Compared to Gao Sijin, even if the entire island nation sank into the sea, it would be utterly insignificant.
After steadying her breathing, Rio once again blossomed into a breathtaking smile. Normally, her smile reminded people of a passionate, alluring rose. Now, this bone-chilling smile only brought to mind a gloomy cluster of red spider lilies.
Rio sat in the back of the BMW. As always, Yu Qingxue served as the driver. Fortunately, the distance between Komaba Campus and Hongo Campus wasn’t far—about three or four kilometers. They would be back at Gao Sijin’s side soon.
“Young Miss, I’m sorry. I failed to protect the Master.”
At the apartment entrance, Emilia stood trembling, having clearly waited a long time. Her tear-brimming eyes flickered with bone-deep remorse and regret.
Among all the maids, Emilia was the only one in the same department as Gao Sijin. Yet she had failed to notice anything off about Feng Na, allowing that lunatic to seize the opportunity and steal their master’s kiss.
Rio walked straight toward the apartment without even glancing at Emilia. Her only desire now was to return to Gao Sijin’s side and completely delete the memory of Feng Na forcing that kiss upon him. In Gao Sijin’s memory, the object of his first kiss could only ever be Tsukiyuki Rio.
Taking the elevator up quickly, Rio first went to the room she was temporarily staying in and retrieved the memory implantation device. Now she would erase the memory of Gao Sijin kissing Feng Na. The violation of her exclusive claim ignited a raging inferno within her.
“Qingxue, go check on Gao-kun’s condition first.”
Yu Qingxue nodded and rushed out of the room, heading next door to find Gao Sijin.
“Morgana. Completely delete the memory of Gao-kun being forcibly kissed today from his mind. Also, recode that woman Feng Na as the person Gao-kun despises most.”
Morgana, who had been waiting in a corner of the room, stepped forward instantly. She connected the memory implantation device to the computer, and several maids proficient in various programming languages immediately began their work.
Rio’s heartbeat could not calm down again.
That rat of the future, Feng Na, had to die.
She had to act soon.
Otherwise, knowing Feng Na’s personality, her next act would be even more outrageous and reckless.
“Gao-kun…”
The woman who had once plunged a cleaver into Gao-kun’s chest would, in this life, be judged by Rio herself.
“Tsukizawa. Asai. Fukagawa.”
As soon as the words left her lips, several shadowy figures dropped from the ceiling into the room.
Their attire somewhat resembled the kunoichi from Taimanin.
“Completely erase Feng Na’s existence. First, strip her of her degree at the University of Tokyo. Then, entangle her in a vicious criminal case. I hear she’s now become the ‘Tokyo Godmother,’ secretly pulling the strings of the yakuza. How convenient—we can finally uproot those gangs that have been an eyesore to me for so long.”
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, why not simply order us to assassinate Feng Na?” Tsukizawa Misaki of the Tsukiyuki Clan’s direct ninja force stepped forward. “If you give the order for an assassination, wouldn’t that be a permanent solution?”
“I must be the one to kill Feng Na. And I won’t let her die easily. I want her to perish slowly, shattered piece by piece in agony, repenting that she ever touched my man.”
Tsukiyuki Rio laughed with a sick, obsessive glee.
After about an hour and some, all the programming for the memory implantation device was ready. On the other end, Gao Sijin had drunk the beverage Yu Qingxue gave him without any suspicion and had fallen into a deep slumber again.
Rio had never wished to erase so many of Gao Sijin’s memories so frequently, but alas, in this world, there were always people intent on sabotaging her pursuit of happiness.
Inside Yu Qingxue’s apartment, traces of Gao-kun’s presence lingered everywhere. Sometimes Rio wondered: why go through all this extra trouble?
Yet she desperately craved a pure, innocent love.
Love shouldn’t be mere domination—there had to be heart-fluttering moments too.
Gao Sijin lay quietly on his bed, completely at Rio’s disposal. Every time she saw him unconscious, Rio couldn’t help but let an expression of doting indulgence spread across her face. She went to the wardrobe and changed into a shrine maiden outfit identical to the one worn by Hakurei Reimu. Standing before Gao Sijin, she said:
“Gao-kun, today’s incident was absolutely not your fault. Something unclean latched onto you. Now, let me perform a ritual to cleanse you of this evil spirit. Don’t worry—it’ll be over soon.”
Rio gently brushed a Misaka charm across Gao Sijin’s forehead. Dressed in the red-and-white miko attire, she lightly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and traced Gao Sijin’s lips with the tip of her soft pink tongue.
“Right here… it’s been contaminated by the evil spirit. My poor Gao-kun. You’ve said before that you really like the Touhou Project, so I dressed up as Hakurei Reimu especially for you. What a shame you’re unconscious right now and can’t see it. Such a pity.”
Seeing her beloved lying quietly before her, the fury that had once consumed Rio gradually subsided into a tranquil calm.
The memory implantation device’s patches, resembling an octopus’s tentacles, were attached to Gao Sijin’s head. Then the tampering of today’s events began. Feng Na’s memory had to be utterly deleted. Even if they happened to meet again in the future due to a momentary slip, Gao-kun would only feel revulsion toward her.
That would settle everything.
Rio sat astride Gao Sijin’s body and whispered softly into his ear:
“Gao-kun, shrine maidens are the wives of gods, you know. It’s said that in ancient times, shrine maidens would have sexual relations with men to convey the gods’ will to them. Since I’m playing a shrine maiden today, I have to follow the local custom. It’s absolutely not because I’m craving Gao-kun’s defenseless body. This is all part of the essential ritual for cleansing evil spirits.”
Saying words she didn’t even believe herself, she undid one button after another on Gao Sijin’s clothes.
“Hey, Gao-kun… come inside me now.”
