Gao Sijin wasn’t a blockhead. He understood perfectly what Tsukiyuki Rio was hinting at. She’d said she wasn’t only looking forward to the cherry blossoms blooming all over the garden—there were other things worth anticipating. Reading between the lines, she wanted to be alone with him.
“Rio, what exactly else are you looking forward to?” Gao Sijin asked, fully aware of the answer.
“Asking that on purpose, Gao-kun… you’re so mean.” A rosy blush spread across Tsukiyuki Rio’s snow-white cheeks. She lowered her head shyly, a bashful smile playing on her lips.
Her dark crimson eyes darted toward him, on the verge of speaking but holding back.
“Alright then, if that’s how it is, I won’t ask.”
“From now on, please never cancel on me again, Gao-kun. Alright? If you rejected me, I’d really be heartbroken. I don’t want you to always shoulder everything alone. I want to be at your side too.”
It wasn’t just her cherry lips—even her eyes seemed to speak volumes.
They were a pair of misty, woefully pitiful eyes. That weighty gaze made Gao Sijin realize just how much this girl needed him. The attachment broke through the last of his gloom and reignited the light inside him.
“Gao-kun…”
Her delicate jade fingers lightly pinched Gao Sijin’s sleeve. The closer one looked at Tsukiyuki Rio, the more she stirred a desire to protect her. Purity and allure found perfect balance within her. Gao Sijin couldn’t escape her love. He only wanted to draw ever nearer. No matter how rough the road ahead, he feared nothing.
“Rio, let’s stick to our plans for today.”
“Yes, Gao-kun.”
Tsukiyuki Rio’s glistening eyes were already growing moist. Her wrists were so slender, so pale and lustrous. The snow-white skin wrapped in the black kimono looked like polished jade, like solidified cream.
To think he’d worried she would despise him for losing his virginity… that had been the greatest prejudice in history. How could a girl as pure, innocent, gentle, and kind as Tsukiyuki Rio possibly be that kind of person?
He had seriously underestimated her.
In the end, it was just his own inferiority complex acting up. Tsukiyuki Rio was, frankly, Gao Sijin’s ideal heroine. How he wanted to shout “I love you” right now! But Gao Sijin knew there was a time and place. A confession only happens once. He couldn’t waste it here in Yu Qingxue’s apartment. If he was going to confess, it had to be in a place where the cherry blossoms were in full, riotous bloom.
“If you actually turned down Junior Tsukiyuki’s date request after all that, I might start to suspect you’re a eunuch.” Yu Qingxue crossed her arms over her chest. “Go on. Go on your date. Staying here and continuing your lovey-dovey display will only make me sick. Go be all intimate somewhere I can’t see.”
Gao Sijin wanted to snap back, “You don’t need to tell me—I was going to anyway.” But he saw the faint trace of loneliness behind Yu Qingxue’s seemingly carefree turn, and the words died on his lips.
For a split second, Gao Sijin genuinely considered asking her to stay, to invite her along to see the cherry blossoms. But Yu Qingxue had openly admitted she liked him. If he and Tsukiyuki Rio really did become a couple, then seeing that up close would be an immense hurt and humiliation for her.
So in that moment, Gao Sijin chose silence.
“Sijin, if you’re not coming home for dinner or staying out overnight, remember to call me.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Don’t walk with strangers on the road, and don’t pick up random things off the ground. Take care of yourself over there. If you run out of money, call home. Know when to put on more clothes if you’re cold or take them off if you’re warm. And don’t just relieve yourself anywhere, got it?”
“What exactly do you take me for?”
“A kid who’s older than me.” Yu Qingxue waved her hand, then sat down in front of the TV and turned on the PS6.
On her days off, Yu Qingxue’s life consisted of video games and street racing.
“That burden is finally gone. Time to climb the ranked ladder. Don’t be jealous.”
“Good luck ranking up.”
He had always been looked after by Yu Qingxue. And in the end, at that dance, he had rejected her confession.
Fortunately, Yu Qingxue was quite broad-minded. At least in Gao Sijin’s eyes, she wasn’t a girl who got discouraged easily.
“Let’s head out quickly, Gao-kun.”
Tsukiyuki Rio giggled as usual, her slender arm gently looping through Gao Sijin’s elbow. With a bit of pushing and pulling, Gao Sijin finally stepped out of the apartment. Whatever happened, he couldn’t give up this incredibly rare opportunity. And yet, he still worried this might cause a rift between him and Yu Qingxue.
“Does Gao-kun think a lot about Senior Qingxue?”
“Yeah. I feel really bad about her. She always took care of me, and in the end, I couldn’t repay her at all.”
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s not Rio’s fault. It’s all because I was indecisive. Forget it. Let’s think about today’s plans, Rio.”
“Alright, Gao-kun.”
Tsukiyuki Rio walked close beside him. Her refreshingly pleasant scent completely conquered Gao Sijin’s sense of smell. The fragrance wasn’t heavy—rather, it was light and faint. Like an orchid, yet not; like musk, yet not. Perhaps this girl clinging so intimately to his arm had already unconsciously started thinking of him as her boyfriend?
He’d heard foreigners were very open-minded, but Tsukiyuki Rio looked like the traditionally inclined type, the very image of a rich young lady who’d grown up sheltered in a boudoir, completely innocent of the world.
He had to become her lover.
“Gao-kun’s eyes look like they’ve gotten all serious. Handsome and cute.”
“That’s because I’ve made up my mind about something.” Gao Sijin paused. “Oh, and Rio… as a man, hearing a girl call him ‘cute’ probably won’t make him particularly happy. It feels a bit weird, actually. ‘Cute’ is a great compliment for girls. It works for small animals, stuffed toys, that sort of thing. But using it for a man is kind of… how do I put it… I’d really rather be the image of a tough, indomitable man in your mind.”
“Gao-kun, the ‘cute’ I’m talking about actually has another meaning, you know.”
“What meaning?”
“I’ll tell you when I have the chance later, Gao-kun. Anyway, Gao-kun is just very cute.”
They took the elevator down to the first floor. Gao Sijin had figured he and Rio would take the Shinkansen together. He hadn’t expected to find a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan already waiting for them downstairs.
The driver stood at the door, wearing a crisp suit and black sunglasses, her movements efficient and precise. Gao Sijin had assumed drivers were mostly men, but this one—who looked more like a butler—was a blonde woman with a smoking-hot figure.
“Young Miss, please get in.”
“Thank you for your hard work today too, Morgana.”
“Morgana?”
Hearing the familiar name, Gao Sijin visibly paused for a moment.
The driver gave a slightly resigned smile, removing her black sunglasses, and beamed at Gao Sijin:
“Lord Sijin, please get in as well. Ride in the back seat with the Young Miss.”
“Don’t call me ‘Lord Sijin.’ Just like before, Sijin is fine… old friend.”
“Calling you Lord Sijin is work. Calling you Sijin is personal. Can’t mix the two up, now can we?” Morgana opened the car door for Gao Sijin, gesturing with a “Please.”
Sitting inside, Gao Sijin was struck by a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he’d sat in Mercedes-Benz sedans countless times before.
Even though, up until this point in his life, he’d only ever been a poor kid.
