Before this, Kaoru Hoshitani had only met his half-sister, Rika Kawasaki, twice in total, and each time had been shrouded in immense humiliation and chaos.
Therefore, regarding this girl named Chinatsu Ayase, he knew almost nothing, aside from her impressive face and those gray eyes that were identical to Rika Kawasaki’s.
More importantly, he knew clearly that this Chinatsu Ayase obviously did not understand the twisted and dark true relationship between him and her yellow-haired sister.
From how she had naturally called him “Brother-in-law” in the restaurant yesterday, and Rika Kawasaki’s silent, even slightly satisfied attitude, Chinatsu Ayase undoubtedly believed Rika Kawasaki’s claim that they were a “real” couple.
Moreover, the moment he stepped into the private room, Kaoru Hoshitani’s gaze collided directly with those gray eyes looking over.
He clearly captured a flash of unconcealed surprise in the other party’s eyes.
This undoubtedly confirmed his suspicion: Chinatsu Ayase had no idea he would appear here, arriving hand-in-hand with her “senior benefactor,” Aina Saiten.
Thus, in Kaoru Hoshitani’s mind, currently gripped by fear, logic deduced a most terrifying scenario:
An unknowing Chinatsu Ayase might, after her surprise, blurt out something like “Brother-in-law? Why are you here? And with another woman… does Sister know?” — such shocking words that could ignite everything in an instant.
At that time, the filthy secret between him and Rika Kawasaki, and the stormy waves beneath his seemingly calm life with Aina, would be irrevocably exposed to the light of day, completely torn open and crushed.
At the thought that Aina would know he had been completely defiled and violated by another woman, looking at him with that expression he feared most — a mix of shock, collapse, disgust, and even contempt — Kaoru Hoshitani felt a wave of overwhelming despair, as if the floor beneath his feet were collapsing, falling into a bottomless abyss.
He could almost imagine Aina’s world collapsing, and he himself would become the sinner who pushed everything down with his own hands.
‘What should I do… what kind of expression, what kind of words should I use to face Aina… if she finds out… if she…’
Cold despair, like countless thin needles, pricked his heart and nerves.
However, just as Kaoru Hoshitani’s whole body went cold, feeling that everything was going to be completely finished and beyond redemption —
Chinatsu Ayase, sitting opposite him, stood up elegantly from her chair.
That initial hint of surprise on her face had long since vanished, replaced by a polite, pleasantly surprised smile.
She looked at Aina Saiten, her voice clear and melodious like a silver bell:
“Senior Aina, you’re finally here. It must have been a hard journey.”
Her gaze then politely, with a hint of well-timed curiosity, turned to Kaoru Hoshitani, who was close beside Aina Saiten, her smile deepening slightly.
“This… must be the boyfriend Senior often mentions and cherishes so much? Meeting for the first time, you are indeed as outstanding as I imagined.”
Originally, Aina Saiten felt an indescribable sourness and slight displeasure because her boyfriend had stared straight at Chinatsu Ayase the moment he entered, looking as if he were “stunned” by the other’s beauty.
But Chinatsu Ayase’s proper and natural opening remarks instantly pulled her attention back.
She quickly suppressed that bit of strangeness in her heart, and her face piled up with smiles again as she responded:
“Sorry, sorry, we were delayed a bit on the road. I’ve kept you waiting, Junior Chinatsu.”
Her tone was apologetic, while she subconsciously, with a hint of claiming sovereignty, gripped Kaoru Hoshitani’s cold and slightly stiff small hand more firmly, her fingertips gently squeezing his palm as if reminding him to snap out of it, and also as a way of comforting herself.
Then, she turned slightly, looking up at her pale boyfriend beside her, softening her voice even more with a trace of unnoticeable pride mixed with subtle jealousy as she introduced him softly:
“Akane, this is Junior Chinatsu, whom I often tell you about; she helped me a lot at the company. How is she? Isn’t she even… better looking than you imagined?”
This sentence sounded like a compliment to Chinatsu Ayase, but the slight upward tilt at the end and the deliberate pause allowed Kaoru Hoshitani, who knew her well, to clearly hear the hidden, sour jealousy within.
“Not at all, Senior Aina thinks too highly of me.”
Chinatsu Ayase immediately waved her hand humbly, her smile impeccable.
She cast her gaze toward Kaoru Hoshitani again, her deep gray eyes filled with sincere admiration, her tone natural and warm:
“On the contrary, Mr. Hoshitani, when you walked in just now, I was truly dazed. Senior Aina hid you so well; I didn’t expect such breathtaking beauty.”
Her tone was so sincere it was hard to doubt.
Then, she bowed slightly, formally greeting Kaoru Hoshitani, her voice clear and polite:
“Mr. Hoshitani, meeting formally for the first time, I am Chinatsu Ayase. It is an honor to finally meet you in person. Please take care of me.”
“Ah…”
Kaoru Hoshitani listened blankly to her string of smooth, natural social pleasantries, as if the two were truly meeting for the first time; his brain couldn’t quite process it for a moment.
The stormy waves in his heart had not subsided, and he was made even more confused by this completely unexpected reaction.
‘Is she… is she… helping me hide it? Pretending not to know me? Why? What is her purpose?’
Countless questions surged in his confused mind like boiling bubbles.
But his remaining rationality told him that no matter what the other party’s purpose was, this was undoubtedly a life-saving straw at the moment, a precarious foothold suddenly appearing on the edge of a cliff.
He also realized that his behavior — standing frozen and speechless since entering — was far too rude and suspicious.
After Chinatsu Ayase proactively gave him an out, he finally managed to find his voice, though it was still dry and trembling slightly.
He lowered his head, not daring to meet Chinatsu Ayase’s gray eyes that seemed able to see through everything, and mechanically spoke the polite words of gratitude for her looking after his girlfriend that he had prepared before coming:
“Th—thank you… I am Kaoru Hoshitani. Thank you… very much for helping Aina in many ways during this time. Truly… thank you very much.”
His words were halting, his voice very soft, carrying a sense of weakness after a narrow escape.
“Mr. Hoshitani is too polite.”
Chinatsu Ayase followed his lead, her smile still perfect, as she lightheartedly pushed the credit back.
“Being able to help is also because Senior Aina herself is outstanding and trustworthy. To be honest, I still have many things to learn from Senior Aina.”
She skillfully shifted the focus to Aina Saiten, resolving Kaoru Hoshitani’s embarrassment and soothing any subtle emotions Aina might have.
Then, she naturally gestured toward the empty seats and said briskly:
“Everyone, don’t just stand there; please sit down. Let’s look at the menu and order some food. I actually just arrived not long ago and haven’t even had time to look at the menu carefully.”
This wasn’t entirely a pretext.
To arrive before Aina Saiten and Kaoru Hoshitani, she had jogged all the way from the subway station and hurriedly changed into this carefully selected suit in her car, entering the private room exactly 1 minute before the two arrived.
Because this private room had a small square layout, and the dining table was a standard square table rather than a large round one, Aina Saiten naturally led Kaoru Hoshitani to sit in the two seats opposite Chinatsu Ayase.
The physical distance between the three was very close; the width of the square table made any subtle expression or movement difficult to hide completely.
During the following time, after the waiter handed over the exquisite menu and orders were placed, Aina Saiten and Chinatsu Ayase began a seemingly relaxed chat.
The topics mostly revolved around interesting things at the company, industry trends, and occasionally memories of university life.
Chinatsu Ayase appeared talkative and proper, always able to join in or throw out new topics; she controlled the atmosphere to be quite harmonious and pleasant, at least on the surface.
However, Kaoru Hoshitani, sitting beside Aina Saiten, remained like a refined and silent ornament.
He kept his eyelashes lowered, his gaze lingering for a long time on the patterns of the tableware or tablecloth in front of him, almost never taking the initiative to speak.
Even when asked, he only replied with the shortest words, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
His body maintained a stiff posture throughout, his knuckles slightly white from gripping the water glass.
Although Aina Saiten felt some doubt and worry about her boyfriend’s unusual silence, she then thought that Akane was naturally introverted and shy, not used to eating with strangers, so feeling nervous and uncomfortable was understandable.
She could only quietly hold his hand under the table, conveying a bit of silent comfort.
The gathering neared its end in an atmosphere of surface harmony.
Just as everyone had finished eating and the waiter cleared the main plates to ask if they wanted dessert, Aina Saiten’s phone on the table suddenly buzzed and vibrated, the screen lighting up.
The ringtone sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet private room.
She picked up the phone and saw the caller was actually the head of the accounting department.
Aina Saiten couldn’t help but be startled, doubt rising in her heart — it was the weekend; why would the department head suddenly call?
But she didn’t dare neglect work matters and immediately gave Chinatsu Ayase an apologetic smile:
“Sorry, Junior Chinatsu, I need to take this call.”
“Please, go ahead, Senior.”
Chinatsu Ayase nodded with a smile, gesturing for her to do as she pleased.
Aina Saiten patted the back of Kaoru Hoshitani’s hand reassuringly, then stood up, took the still-ringing phone, and quickly walked out of the private room, gently closing the door to answer in the relatively quiet corridor.
Thus, the space originally maintained by the subtle balance of three people suddenly became a secret room with only Kaoru Hoshitani and Chinatsu Ayase.
The air in the private room seemed to freeze instantly.
The warm yellow light was still soft, yet it inexplicably carried a layer of suffocating pressure.
The faint restaurant background music seemed exceptionally distant at this moment.
Kaoru Hoshitani felt a surge of helpless panic.
He could almost feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.
What made him feel even more uneasy was that he could clearly feel that the gaze from across him was no longer a polite, socially distanced one, but had turned into an unconcealed, calm, and direct scrutiny, locked firmly onto him.
He waited nervously, waiting for the other party to expose everything, waiting for the expected interrogation or mockery.
However, as minutes and seconds passed, the expected voice did not sound.
Chinatsu Ayase just looked at him quietly, a faint, lingering curve at the corner of her mouth, her deep gray eyes unfathomable, as if appreciating his current embarrassment and suffering.
The private room fell into a weird, extremely unsettling silence.
This silence was more oppressive than any words; every second it stretched felt like it was slicing through Kaoru Hoshitani’s tense nerves.
His hand on his lap unconsciously gripped the napkin, his knuckles turning white.
After this suffocating silence lasted for about 1 minute, and Kaoru Hoshitani was almost unable to bear this silent mental torture, the door of the private room was pushed open.
Aina Saiten walked in and sat back down beside Kaoru Hoshitani.
But the expression on her face was clearly different from when she left; her brow was furrowed, carrying obvious trouble and a hint of helplessness.
“What’s wrong, Senior Aina? Is it an emergency at work?”
Chinatsu Ayase spoke at the right time, her tone carrying a well-timed concern, as if that long, oppressive silence from just now had never existed.
“Sigh…”
Aina Saiten let out a heavy sigh, put her phone on the table, and tiredly rubbed her brow, explaining:
“The department head just called and said there’s a temporary issue with an important contract, involving some data and clauses from our accounting department, and I need to go to the company right away.”
Her tone was full of apology and annoyance; after all, a rare weekend dinner had been interrupted.
Having said that, she immediately turned her head, looking at Kaoru Hoshitani beside her, her eyes full of guilt and worry:
“Sorry, Akane, plans changed. I might not be able to accompany you home later; you’ll have to go back by yourself. How about… you take a taxi? It’s safer.”
She remembered what happened on the subway earlier and really didn’t feel at ease letting him squeeze onto the subway alone again.
“It—it’s okay, Aina. Your work is more important.”
Kaoru Hoshitani quickly shook his head, trying to make his voice sound steady. “I’ll just… take the subway back later. It’s fine.”
He subconsciously chose the more economical mode of transport, even though he felt a shadow over the subway in his heart.
“But…”
Aina Saiten’s worry did not decrease; the unpleasant experience on the subway made it impossible for her to feel at ease.
Just then, Chinatsu Ayase, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke. Her voice was clear, carrying a crispness for solving problems:
“Senior Aina, you don’t need to worry about that. I happened to drive here today. I’ll drop Mr. Hoshitani off later and guarantee he’s delivered home safely. You can go handle the company matters with peace of mind.”
“This…”