In the early morning, Gao Sijin suddenly sat up, feeling soreness all over his body. He had visited the gym before, but never had he trained so systematically.
Beside the pillow, Tsukiyuki Rio was sleeping on her side, looking incredibly cute, like an angel.
Sometimes, Gao Sijin pondered a question: why did she feel so at ease sleeping next to him?
Didn’t she worry that he might strangle her?
He always felt that when she slept with him, her expression radiated a profound sense of security. And Gao Sijin felt that even though she had kidnapped him, he could never harden his heart to hurt her. She was his reader, deeply in love with his book. Her confinement of him was entirely born from love and admiration, not hatred.
“Rio…”
Gao Sijin gently caressed her cheek with his hand, feeling its incredible smoothness.
If possible, the ideal scenario would be for her to change her terrifying desire for control, to become like a normal girl. The two of them could start over, meeting, dating, getting married, and growing old together like true lovers.
But changing her seemed as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Gao Sijin felt he should try to hate her, yet he couldn’t hate her completely. Sometimes, he wanted to accept his ugly, miserable current situation and stop struggling, but his heart still yearned for freedom, longing to escape Tsukiyuki Rio’s birdcage.
This feeling of being stuck in limbo, neither truly committing nor letting go, tormented him.
He quietly got out of bed, walked to the window, and drew back the blackout curtains of the French window.
It was two in the morning. Standing on the thirtieth floor, Gao Sijin could take in the entire bustling, clamorous view of Shinjuku Kabukicho 1-chome without obstruction. Although the crowd was somewhat thinner than around ten o’clock, it could still be described as an endless stream. From here, he could see swaying drunks, heavily made-up women, and ordinary backpackers.
Actually, the public security here was not as bad as the rumors suggested. Precisely because such red-light districts were prone to becoming high-risk areas, the local authorities had long installed omnidirectional surveillance cameras everywhere and increased police patrols.
“Gao-kun, why are you awake?”
“Nothing. I just suddenly wanted to see the glittering nightscape.”
“Sleep early, Gao-kun.” Tsukiyuki Rio gently held Gao Sijin’s hand and said softly, “Tomorrow we still have to select an artist. I believe Gao-kun’s work will certainly meet a sufficiently outstanding artist.”
“I hope so.”
Her cold, snow-white hand held Gao Sijin’s. Even now, Gao Sijin still lacked a sense of reality.
A month ago, he was just an ordinary corporate slave.
But one month later, his life had undergone such a drastic change: he was kidnapped by a girl four years his junior and taken to a foreign land, and his work—once stagnant as a pool of dead water—was revitalized because of this girl.
“Let’s sleep.”
Gao Sijin closed his eyes, gazing at Tsukiyuki Rio’s face as they drifted into dreamland together.
The next day, the eight o’clock alarm roused Gao Sijin. Tsukiyuki Rio had already changed into her usual kimono. She seemed to really love this traditional attire, and her hairstyle, along with her manner of speaking Japanese, carried a kind of ancient elegance.
“Good morning, Rio.”
“Good morning to you too, Gao-kun.”
Gao Sijin was led by the hand out of bed.
After washing up and changing clothes, the two took the elevator to the eighth-floor dining lounge for breakfast.
Today was the day to select the artist.
“Gao-kun, today I absolutely will not interfere with your work. Which artist we choose today is entirely up to your own preferences. Whichever artist you like, we’ll pick them.”
“Thank you, Rio.”
On one hand, he wanted to escape; on the other, Tsukiyuki Rio was helping him realize his longtime dream in this manner.
This feeling was truly indescribably strange.
After finishing breakfast with Tsukiyuki Rio, they went down together to the underground garage and boarded the Mercedes-Benz driven by Yu Qingxue.
The distance to the Dengeki Bunko Editorial Department was not far.
On the way, Tsukiyuki Rio lay sideways in Gao Sijin’s arms like a cat. Her occasionally unintentional displays of cuteness made his heart race. How he wanted to openly tell Tsukiyuki Rio to stop imprisoning him, to make their relationship one of mutual respect and equality. But Gao Sijin knew that for an obstinate confinement-type yandere girl, this was like casting pearls before swine.
She loved Gao Sijin, and at the same time, she loved the feeling of dominating Gao Sijin.
“Rio, I have my own hometown too.”
But as soon as Gao Sijin began to speak, Tsukiyuki Rio sealed his lips with a soul-seeking kiss, making it impossible for him to say another word.
Faced with this Tsukiyuki Rio, Gao Sijin could do nothing but feel lost.
He let her kiss him in a daze, not even having the courage to bite her tongue.
In front of the Dengeki Bunko Editorial Department building, Gao Sijin’s responsible editor Mishima Kaoru was dressed in a sharp office lady suit. It seemed that yesterday’s bunny girl outfit was at most just a uniquely striking self-introduction.
“Good morning, Miss Mishima.” Using the Japanese he had learned while exercising yesterday, Gao Sijin proactively greeted Mishima Kaoru.
Mishima Kaoru was momentarily taken aback, then quickly flashed a radiant smile and said in extremely standard and warm Japanese:
“Good morning, Teacher Gao Sijin.”
That “Teacher” made Gao Sijin feel both ashamed and a little thrilled.
Afterward, Mishima Kaoru led the group towards the editorial department headquarters building. In a corridor filled with anime character illustrations, Editor Mishima introduced everyone to the several artists who had come to illustrate Gao Sijin’s work. Many of them were quite renowned figures in the industry. It seemed Tsukiyuki Rio had secretly used her financial power again behind his back.
Pushing open the meeting room door, several artists with very distinctive personalities were already seated, looking as if they had been waiting for quite some time.
From left to right, the artists that entered Gao Sijin’s sight numbered three women and one man. The three girls all looked very young and energetic, none appearing to be over twenty-five. Their personal temperaments were completely different: one was obedient and shy, one was cheerful and lively, and another was somewhat gloomy and sinister.
As for the sole remaining male, he looked somewhat wild and unrestrained. His highlighted golden bangs hinted at an unconventional approach to work. His eyes were sharp, reminiscent of the delinquents often seen in Japanese dramas. Beside the table stood a metal baseball bat, and the tip of the bat seemed to still have traces of blood that hadn’t been wiped clean.
“Uh…”
That was really far too idiosyncratic.
“Teacher Gao Sijin, hello!”
The female artists greeted Gao Sijin in turn, even proactively shaking his hand, appearing very enthusiastic.
When Gao Sijin walked up to the blond delinquent, the young man merely shot Gao Sijin a glance. Even when Gao Sijin proactively extended his hand, the guy showed no intention of shaking it.
