*Chapter 366: Blood-Stained Rag (4/10)*

Bang!

Yui-chan ran back to her bedroom, closed the door, and slowly sat down on the floor with her back against it. Her knees were drawn in, and she was panting heavily.

When she went upstairs, she turned around and secretly glanced back. What she saw was Link-san embracing Shi-chan, kissing passionately.

It was like a French kiss, intense and heated. Just one look made her blush, and she didn’t dare to look again.

Even though Yui-chan hadn’t experienced adult things, she had secretly watched a small movie once, encouraged by her roommate Ishida Mirai-chan, and it made her feel very embarrassed.

Now, Link-san and Shi-chan were probably doing those kinds of embarrassing things too.

Yui-chan held her burning cheeks, and strange images started to pop into her head.

Thump, thump!

After some time, Yui-chan heard footsteps coming down the hallway on the second floor, approaching her room. The steps were heavy, not like Shi-chan’s light ones.

Yui-chan’s heart tightened. Was it Link-san coming up? Wasn’t he downstairs getting cozy with Shi-chan? Why would he come up now?

Could he be looking for her?

Thud, thud!

The footsteps stopped in front of her door, the heavy steps making the person outside seem like a beast, with audible breathing.

Yui-chan nervously stood up, holding her breath and pressing down on her wildly beating heart. Link was a world champion boxer, very strong, and with a powerful body. If he broke in and tried to bully her, how could she resist?

“Link-san, my room is over there. This is Yui-chan’s room.”

Shi-chan’s soft voice came from outside the door.

Thud, thud!

The footsteps moved away, and soon the door to the next room opened and was slammed shut.

Yui-chan breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the carpet. There were only Link-san’s footsteps outside, but she could hear Shi-chan talking. Yui-chan could imagine the scene outside—Shi-chan must have been in Link-san’s arms or on his back.

‘She must be in his arms. Link-san is so strong; he could probably lift Shi-chan with one hand.’

Thinking of this, Yui-chan quickly shook her head. How could she be daydreaming at a time like this? She opened her door and peeked outside. There was no one there, but she could hear strange noises coming from the next bedroom. It sounded a lot like the small movie she had watched, but the sounds were more intense.

Yui-chan’s cheeks grew hot as she listened for a while. She quickly closed her door, but even in the quiet, she could still hear a bit. Covering her ears, she lay down on the bed. After a while, she quietly opened the door again and sneaked downstairs to the small living room.

But when she saw the scene in the small living room, Yui-chan couldn’t help but cover her mouth. The once tidy room was in complete disarray. One of the folding screens had fallen to the floor, and the fruit platter and booklets on the low table had been knocked over.

On the floor were Shi-chan’s small suit, half-length skirt, black stockings, and white T-shirt.

By now, most of them had turned into shredded pieces of fabric.

Link-san’s shirt and jeans were also casually thrown on the floor.

Seeing these things, Yui-chan couldn’t help but imagine a brutal home invasion crime scene in her mind—Link-san was the brutal criminal, and Shi-chan was the victim.

But then she remembered that Shi-chan was doing this to get a sample, and Link-san unknowingly became the victim.

Yui-chan felt that labeling Link-san as the criminal wasn’t right. She shook her head, knelt on the carpet, and began picking up the fruit platter and booklets, also gathering Link’s clothes, folding them neatly, and placing them on the sofa.

Seeing Shi-chan’s torn battle outfit, Yui-chan felt a bit sad. Shi-chan did this for the sake of the country and the nation, and she hoped that Shi-chan’s sacrifice was worth it. But as she was tidying up the shredded pieces of Shi-chan’s white skirt, she was surprised to find a rose-colored stain on it.

Yui-chan held the piece of cloth like a flag, staring at it for a while. She had heard that when a girl becomes a woman, this pattern might appear. Was Shi-chan still a girl before?

Yui-chan couldn’t believe it. Shi-chan seemed so flirtatious, with hips that swayed as she walked, and her makeup and fashion style was mature and sexy. How could she still be a girl?

She didn’t know why, but she felt that this piece of cloth must be very important to Shi-chan. So she used a dryer to blow it dry, carefully folded it, and put it away.

Thinking about what Shi-chan said earlier about cooking, Yui-chan worried that the two of them might be hungry when they came out. So she found some ingredients in the kitchen and made some sushi, a pot of miso soup, and a plate of fried pork cutlets.

Since Shi-chan had just lost her virginity, Yui-chan thought she might need some nourishment. She pulled out her phone and looked up suitable foods online. Then she called the apartment's housekeeper and asked her to buy some ingredients.

The servant took almost an hour to deliver the ingredients to the apartment. Yui-chan initially thought that Link and Shi-chan would come down from upstairs earlier, but they didn’t. It wasn’t until she finished preparing all the food that Link-san came down, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt.

“Yui-sensei, thank you for your help,” Link said as he looked at the neatly folded clothes on the sofa.

Yui-chan glanced at him, blushing as she shook her head. At this moment, she should have been blaming Link for bullying Shi-chan and being a bad person, but then she remembered that Shi-chan was the one stealing from him and that she was an accomplice. This made her feel a bit guilty.

“Link-san, I made some Japanese food. Would you like to try it?”

“Sure, Yui-sensei. You are truly an excellent woman. Not only are you a great actress, but you also make wonderful Japanese cuisine. Whoever marries you will surely be very happy,” Link said as he sat at the low table, praising the dinner Yui-chan had prepared.

“It’s not that amazing. I only know how to make a few dishes, and they don’t taste that great,” Yui-chan replied humbly.

Link smiled lightly and chatted with Yui-chan about her work while eating. Ever since New Heng Yui and Sasaki Nozomi had arrived, Link had been cautious and didn’t intend to get too close to them. He only planned to learn Japanese from them, perform in Japan, and then part ways, never to meet again.

However, earlier, through the surveillance camera, he overheard part of their conversation. Since they were speaking in Japanese, he could only understand a few words, like “steal,” “seed,” and “fall in love with him.”

Their conversation piqued his curiosity.

To figure out Yasunari Tahara’s intentions as soon as possible, Link had taken the risk of pushing Sasaki Nozomi down, resulting in some unexpected discoveries.

First, despite Sasaki Nozomi’s mature and sexy appearance, her body was actually quite inexperienced, like a green peach with a red-dyed exterior.

The second discovery was the true purpose behind Yasunari Tahara sending them.

Initially, Sasaki Nozomi didn’t want to confess, but under his “interrogation,” she finally revealed everything. It turned out that Japan had its eye on his strong body and wanted to borrow some of his genes.

He thought back to the boxing match in June, when the Japanese organizers arranged for more than ten girls to bathe him, which was probably for the same reason.

He didn’t mind the situation. Even though illegitimate children might have some inheritance rights, as long as he and his legitimate descendants were around, he didn’t worry about anyone dividing his property. Additionally, since his future assets would be substantial, having more offspring to share them wasn’t a bad thing.

Moreover, if he were strong, his descendants would likely be strong as well, becoming a powerful human group. So why not have more children while he’s young?

Having hundreds of strong children might even give them a chance to unite the world in the future.

After Sasaki Nozomi confessed, she also asked him not to tell Yui-chan or Yasunari Tahara about this. If Yui-chan found out, she would probably be too embarrassed to face him.

Link agreed to her request.

But after leaving the room, he thought about it carefully and felt that Yasunari Tahara’s scheme might not be as simple as borrowing genes. There might be a deeper purpose. Although he didn’t know if they were plotting against Link Music, being cautious around the Japanese was always wise.

“Yui-sensei, I’ve finished eating. Thank you for the delicious meal. I have a night scene to shoot, so I can’t stay any longer,” Link said politely, putting down his chopsticks.

Yui-chan noticed the five empty plates and food containers on the low table. She was slightly surprised. This was the food she had prepared for three people, but Link had eaten it all in less than ten minutes, leaving nothing behind.

Yui-chan was happy that he had finished the food she made, which was a great compliment. However, his enormous appetite left her a bit astonished.

“Link-san, are you leaving?” Yui-chan asked as she saw Link stand up.

“Yes, we’re filming at the Bund these days. Since we’re on a tight schedule, we have to shoot several scenes in one day.”

“Oh! I wish you success with your filming, Link-san,” Yui-chan said as she took his coat from the coat rack and handed it to him.

“Thank you! I will,” Link replied in Japanese. As he reached the door, he told Yui-chan that Shi-chan was very tired and would probably sleep for a while before waking up. He asked Yui-chan to take care of her when she woke up since he wouldn’t be able to come back until tomorrow.

Yui-chan didn’t understand why Shi-chan was so tired, but when she heard his request, she quickly agreed, saying that Shi-chan was her companion and that it was her duty to take care of her.

They said their goodbyes at the door.

After closing the door, Yui-chan let out a sigh of relief.

Link was a good man, but she had come to him to steal from him. Stealing from a good person made her feel guilty every time she thought about it, and she found it difficult to face him.

Back in the small living room, Yui-chan saw the empty plates and heard her stomach growl. She had no choice but to make another meal. Fortunately, in China, vegetables and fruits were abundant and much cheaper than in Japan, making cooking convenient.

While cooking, she went upstairs to check on Shi-chan. Sure enough, Shi-chan was sleeping. The bedroom was messy, and Shi-chan’s hair, which had been neatly tied up, was now scattered. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she had just finished a sauna, and her eyebrows, eyes, and nose seemed even more beautiful.

Yui-chan stood by the bed and stared at her face for a while, filled with admiration. Shi-chan was like a true samurai from ancient times, brave and fearless, not afraid of sacrifice—much stronger than someone as selfish as herself.

Yui-chan brushed her bangs aside and returned to the dining room to eat, browsing through the landscape paintings that Link-san had brought, wondering what she could give him as a return gift.

As it was getting dark, she went to the second floor to check if Shi-chan had woken up. If she was awake, Yui-chan would bring her dinner.

But when she reached the door, she heard Shi-chan on the phone.

“...Director Tahara, I’ve done what you asked. I hope you’ll keep your promise and help my father with his loan shark problem... I know he owes a lot of money and will probably gamble again in the future, but he’s my father... I heard the government is encouraging people to immigrate to Brazil. Can you help my father apply for a spot?”

“...I passed out, so I don’t know if I’ll get pregnant. But Link-san said he likes me and will take care of me. I think I still have a chance to have his child.”

“...Director Tahara, I’m counting on you for my father’s matter. Arigato.”

Hearing the conversation inside, Yui-chan covered her mouth, unsure whether to go in or leave.

“Yui-san, come in,” Sasaki Nozomi said in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Shi-chan, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your phone call,” Yui-chan said, blushing as she stood at the door.

Sasaki Nozomi, leaning against the headboard, glanced at her.

“You heard everything?”

“Yes, I heard a little. Shi-chan, you were forced to take on this mission because of your father, right? I was too. They said my father was corrupt and was going to be sentenced, but then Director Tahara approached me and said that if I agreed to be Link-san’s teacher, he would help solve my father’s problem. Did your father get into debt with the loan sharks because of this? Could it be that they’re setting us up? Should we report this to the police?” Yui-chan said angrily.

“When I was little, my father worked at a bank. We had a villa in Shibuya. But after my father’s investment failed, he lost his job and later became addicted to gambling. The villa and car were sold off, and he ended up owing more than 100 million yen to loan sharks. In recent years, I’ve been working outside to earn money to pay off his debt. This isn’t something that just happened recently. I think your father’s financial problems at work probably didn’t start recently either,” Sasaki Nozomi explained.

Yui-chan thought for a moment. Shi-chan seemed to be right. After her father was arrested, her mother had complained on the phone that her father shouldn’t have embezzled such a small amount of money.

So it really wasn’t Director Tahara’s fault.

“Shi-chan, I made some lamb’s blood soup. Would you like to eat now? I’ll bring it up for you. Oh, and here, this is for you,” Yui-chan said as she took the bloodstained cloth from her pocket and placed it on the bedside table, giving Shi-chan a sweet smile before leaving the bedroom and closing the door.

Sasaki Nozomi picked up the cloth on the table, looked at it quietly, and then carefully placed it under her pillow.