Hearing Chinatsu Ayase’s seamless explanation, Rika Kawasaki’s tightly furrowed brows did not fully relax, and the doubts in her heart did not dissipate.
Her sharp gray eyes fixed intently on her so-called little sister’s seemingly innocent face, trying to spot the slightest flaw.
Work reasons, internship at the Human Resources Department, Store Inspection…
These reasons sounded reasonable and logically consistent.
Given Quansheng Group’s size, with its numerous branches and frequent personnel shifts, it wasn’t impossible for an intern to be dispatched for a Field Survey.
But an almost instinctive intuition, like a serpent slithering in the dark, hissed in her mind, making her feel everything was just a little too coincidental.
Ginza was so vast, with restaurants everywhere—why this one?
Why did she come now, not earlier or later, but precisely when Rika was sitting in this place with Kaoru Hoshitani, placing her order, and then “just so happened” to appear?
Such a coincidence—Rika could not easily accept.
And her intuition was not wrong.
Chinatsu Ayase’s appearance was by no means some twist of fate, but a meticulously planned, long-prepared “chance” encounter.
Earlier that morning, when a Private Investigator sent her a surveillance report and preliminary photos of Rika Kawasaki appearing in Ginza with a mysterious man—acting intimately—she quickly browsed through those not-so-high-resolution, but revealing enough, images.
In those photos, her own sister was either holding the man wearing a mask and hat close, or kissing him inside a car.
A blend of secret-discovering excitement, the thrill of having a theory confirmed, and sheer curiosity toward her “prey” seized her in an instant.
She barely hesitated. She immediately got up and changed into a black dress that was both practical and elegant, then dug out a hat and a mask.
Driving to Ginza, she relied on the investigator’s real-time location updates, stealthily sneaking into the bustling district like a keen-nosed hunting hound.
From afar, extremely cautious, she tailed the two, maintaining a distance close enough not to lose them but far enough not to be discovered.
She watched as Rika Kawasaki clung to that man, in and out of one luxury store after another, watched the attentive service from sales staff, watched the man get pushed into fitting rooms time and again, and each time emerge carrying more shopping bags…
With a telephoto lens, she even managed to catch, faintly, a rare and almost blissful, relaxed expression on Rika Kawasaki’s face.
Although the man’s face was unclear, he didn’t fiercely resist, passively accepting all this, which itself spoke volumes.
And when the two finally paused for a moment in front of a shop window, the man’s slight turn allowed Chinatsu Ayase, through the lens or her own eyes, to finally glimpse more clearly at the face that had been hidden all along.
Even if it was just a fleeting glance, the impact of that pure, peerless beauty took her breath away and made her heart pound.
She finally understood why, even in the PI’s blurry photos, that unique allure was still so palpable.
What convinced her she’d found the “key” was seeing Rika Kawasaki spending money on this man with such casual certainty, not blinking an eye.
The logos and sheer size of those luxury shopping bags silently attested to the extravagant expense. This was not simply “keeping” a plaything.
Rika Kawasaki might not lack for money, but she was never one to squander it recklessly, let alone throw it away for someone else’s pleasure.
For Rika Kawasaki to be so “generous” and genuinely enjoy it—this alone proved how special this man was.
Most crucial of all, during almost two hours of tailing, Chinatsu Ayase almost never saw her sister’s habitual, mocking or impatient curve at the corner of her mouth suppressed!
Rika Kawasaki’s mood was clearly in a rare, sustained, positive state—she might even say… happy?
In Chinatsu Ayase’s memory, this was absolutely unprecedented.
And the cause of all this, without question, was the man beside her now, so beautiful he hardly seemed real!
So, when the two finally entered a ramen shop with the “Quansheng” sign hanging outside, Chinatsu Ayase knew: her chance had come.
The excitement within her bubbled like molten lava, nearly breaking through her cool shell.
She was like a child who’d finally found the treasure map’s final mark—on the verge of reaching her goal, uncovering secrets, and simultaneously able to jab at that always-superior sister—a thrill that made her nearly tremble with anticipation.
She quickly removed her hat and mask, tidied her hair and dress in the reflection of the shop window, ensuring she was in perfect “accidental encounter” form.
A perfect excuse had long been prepared in her heart—as an intern from the Human Resources Department, conducting a Store Inspection.
Perfectly reasonable. Unassailable.
Then, carrying that heady mixture of excitement, curiosity, and malice, she strode straight to the booth where the two sat, right before Rika Kawasaki’s eyes, casting her gaze directly at the one who’d “broken” her sister—Kaoru Hoshitani.
[As expected! I was right! This man is special to my sister! Precious! Just look at the terrifying, vivid expression she’s showing me now! It’s no longer that infuriating indifference!]
Looking at Rika Kawasaki’s face, pale with rage and taut with vigilance, gray eyes swirling with storm, Chinatsu Ayase nearly wanted to scream with delight inside.
She struggled to suppress the smug grin almost reaching her ears, maintaining her outwardly startled and uncertain little sister act, but deep down, that twisted satisfaction and thrill of revenge was growing madly, like vines.
“Forget it…”
Rika Kawasaki ultimately could not find any obvious holes in Chinatsu Ayase’s explanation.
With no proof, she couldn’t blow up, nor did she want to make a scene in public, let alone in front of her cherished little man.
More importantly, a powerful wave of revulsion rose inside her—she didn’t want her inscrutable little sister to look at Kaoru Hoshitani even once more, nor let Kaoru Hoshitani be exposed to that seemingly gentle, but probing and calculating gaze.
That gaze made her feel her territory was being encroached upon, her possession coveted.
Almost roughly, she grabbed Kaoru Hoshitani’s wrist on the table, pulling him from the booth without a word.
The movement was so abrupt it knocked over a teacup, brown liquid splashing onto the cheap plastic tablecloth, spreading a wet stain.
“We’re leaving. Let’s eat somewhere else.”
Her voice was harsh, peremptory, allowing no objection. Without even glancing at Chinatsu Ayase, she pulled the still-confused Kaoru Hoshitani around the table, striding toward the ramen shop’s door.
Her pace was swift, filled with a restless urgency to escape, dragging Kaoru Hoshitani so suddenly that he stumbled, nearly bumping into a server carrying ramen.
“Eh? Sis? Why are you leaving all of a sudden…? Aren’t you going to eat?”
From behind came Chinatsu Ayase’s feigned surprise, the end of her voice lilting with just the right touch of confusion and invitation, but to Rika Kawasaki, it was dripping with falsehood and pretense.
Rika Kawasaki didn’t look back, didn’t answer—she only gripped Kaoru Hoshitani’s wrist tighter, as if to lock him at her side, blocking out all prying eyes and interference.
She could even feel that gaze behind her, clinging like a shadow to her back, and even more so, to Kaoru Hoshitani.
Chinatsu Ayase, sure enough, didn’t follow. She just stood there, watching as the two hurriedly lifted the noren and disappeared into the bustling crowd of Ginza outside.
Not until their figures were completely out of sight did her mask of surprise and innocence slowly fade, replaced by a complex, coldly calculating smile, laced with satisfaction and curiosity.
That smile wasn’t warm—there was even a trace of cruelty—slowly blooming on her beautiful, delicate face, like a poisonous flower blossoming in darkness.
She knew she had cast a stone into the placid waters of her sister’s life, enough to stir up ripples.
No, perhaps not just ripples… She might have found the key to breach her sister’s defenses.
“Why did we leave? That person just now… that girl, is really your sister?”
Dragged by Rika Kawasaki, almost at a run out of the ramen shop, back under the blazing afternoon sun, Kaoru Hoshitani finally managed to gather his scattered wits.
His wrist ached from her grip, his stomach growled with hunger, and above all, he thought Rika Kawasaki’s behavior was simply baffling.
They’d just sat down, menus in hand, and because of a few words from that stunning girl, she insisted on leaving right away?
And that girl… was actually this blonde devil’s sister?
The very idea was so absurd and incongruous, he couldn’t help blurting it out.
He wasn’t thinking about it too deeply—just genuinely surprised, and puzzled by Rika Kawasaki’s sudden anger and decisiveness.
But his innocent, curious question only added fuel to the fire for Rika Kawasaki—already upset by Chinatsu Ayase’s appearance, and now all the more so after catching Kaoru Hoshitani’s brief, dazzled gaze at Chinatsu Ayase.
She stopped abruptly, whirling around, gray eyes flaring with even greater fury and a nearly obsessive possessiveness.
He’s still asking about that woman?
He’s interested in her?
Was he beguiled by that fake, affected exterior?
The thought gnawed at her sanity like a viper.
Rika Kawasaki’s eyes were like blades, mercilessly raking over Kaoru Hoshitani’s innocent, confused face.
Her chest heaved, but she said nothing. Instead, her gaze darted around. At that moment, they stood by a relatively quiet side street next to the ramen shop.
Just a few meters ahead, between two tall commercial buildings, there was a narrow, dimly lit alleyway—likely for deliveries or staff access.
With no hesitation, Rika Kawasaki yanked Kaoru Hoshitani’s wrist harder, nearly dragging him along as she strode into the alley.
“What are you doing?! Let go… mmph!”
Kaoru Hoshitani was startled by her sudden roughness, stumbling after her into the alley.
Inside, the light dimmed abruptly. The air was tinged with the damp, musty smell of mildew and the faint sourness of garbage bins—a stark contrast to the glitz of Ginza outside.
He hadn’t even found his footing, nor taken in his surroundings, when his back slammed into the cold, rough brick wall, making him grunt.
Next, shadow fell over him.
Rika Kawasaki’s tall form had already caged him between the wall and herself, trapping him with no way out.
He didn’t even have time to read her expression before lips burning with anger and the urge to punish crashed down on his, stifling all protest and questions.
This was not a kiss—it was more like a one-sided, violently possessive sentence.
Her teeth mercilessly pressed into his soft lower lip, sharp pain stabbing through him, even as she hungrily drank in his breath, as if to erase any trace the girl in the black dress might have left, branding him anew with the mark of Rika Kawasaki, indisputably hers.
Kaoru Hoshitani was forced to tilt his head, all breath stolen from him, his lungs quickly emptying, mind growing dizzy from lack of oxygen, hands weakly pushing against her strong shoulders—like an ant trying to move a tree.