Chapter 7

A series of knocking sounds came from outside the window. At first, there were a few rapid knocks, then a pause, and then the knocking continued in a regular pattern, as if it were some kind of pre-arranged code.

Azhi looked up at the sound of the voice, exchanged a glance with Tomioka Giyu, and then ran over to open the window, a simple joy appearing in her eyes.

There was no wind tonight, and under the bright moonlight stood a young man wearing a fox mask to ward off disasters. His face was not visible. Although his aura was calm and not aggressive, a stranger would probably still be frightened and scream if he saw him.

The girl clearly recognized him, and was quite familiar with him. She smiled and stepped aside, making room for him to pass.

The young man still carried the dew of his nighttime journey. He leaned against the window frame, braced himself with one hand, and nimbly leaped inside.

Azhi followed him, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Sabito, we've been waiting for you for so long, this time you're too slow!"

The room was brightly lit. Sarutobi arrived in a hurry, and to speed things up, he took a quieter, more secluded path.

Therefore, Sabito's eyes, which had been accustomed to the darkness, were momentarily blinded by the light upon entering. It wasn't until he was free from the double vision that Sabito could truly see what Ori looked like.

--very beautiful.

The first thought that flashed through Sabito's mind was that the girl was wearing makeup, not heavy but just right, her jet-black hair and snow-white skin blending together, revealing a section of her fair and smooth neck.

It's like an ancient painting that captivates the eye.

After a brief moment of admiration, Sabito immediately realized something was amiss. He lowered his gaze to the girl's face, his expression subtly darkening as he frowned: "Did the landlady send you to 'entertain' customers?"

Azhi dislikes wearing her hair up. Her hair is naturally thick and long, and it's fine when it's down, but if it's completely tied up, she feels that her head is a bit cumbersome. She also doesn't really like wearing makeup.

Sometimes when she needs to play the piano, she will simply tie her hair up without wearing makeup, but today, the girl is dressed like this, and Sabito noticed the difference from usual almost the instant he realized it.

This appearance is far too formal.

In addition, there was a very strong smell of alcohol on Azhi. Although it wasn't unpleasant, it smelled strange when mixed with her other fragrances.

"How did you know?" Azhi was shocked. She paused for a moment, her round eyes widening as if she couldn't understand it at all.

Giyu happened to stumble upon it, while Sabito had just arrived.

But no one was willing to explain her doubts, so Azhi pressed on, asking with great concern, "Sabito, how did you know?"

Is this the key point?

The two young men sat facing each other, one on the left and one on the right, with Azhi in the middle. Because they were not far apart, the tall men completely blocked Azhi from view.

The size difference was so obvious that if someone wanted to do something wrong, they could simply reach out and the girl wouldn't even have time to cry for help.

It's good that A-Zhi doesn't guard up because she trusts them so much, but she also easily gives her trust to the boss's wife, who is just a business partner.

That's too reckless. She doesn't seem to have a clear understanding of her own weakness. How dare Azhi, who is so weak, step out of the designated safe area to "receive customers"?

This behavior can only be described as foolish.

Sabito looked at the oblivious Aori and swallowed his sharp words. Seeing that the girl seemed to want to continue, he chose to listen.

"This is a misunderstanding."

Azhi recounted the story from beginning to end, explaining that she mentioned the landlady's instructions and the name "Junichi Takahashi".

However, after she finished speaking, Aori did not notice that the expressions on the two people's faces did not ease at all, and in fact, Yoshiyuki Tomioka's expression was even more gloomy than before.

Yoshiyuki Tomioka initially thought that Ori was just helping out as usual by playing the piano out of kindness, and that today's incident was purely accidental.

Unexpectedly, the truth was that she knew in advance that she was going to meet the guests, but she still went and put herself in danger—although A-Zhi's original intention was to show the guests that she refused them.

But how exactly should we meet?

Should we chat briefly after it's over, or wait until everyone else has left before having a private chat?

What kind of personality do the guests have?

This was something the proprietress should have handled beforehand; she had broken her initial agreement with them. But now, under these circumstances, Giyu Tomioka and Sabito inevitably transferred some of their anger to Sabito.

Ah Zhi is always like this; she can't see the situation clearly, and she can't guess what others are thinking. Such a delicate person should always be vigilant and careful.

But she easily puts herself in danger, and what's even more infuriating is that she's unaware of just how dangerous she is.

"He even said he'd help me buy my freedom." Azhi recounted the whole story as if she were sharing someone else's tale, speaking in a lighthearted tone. "He's a bit dense, you know, he insisted on being refused to my face."

It completely missed the point!

Upon hearing the word "redemption" from Aori's mouth for the second time, Giyu Tomioka suddenly clenched his fingers. He frowned and added to Sabito, "When I arrived, she was being bullied."

“I wasn’t bullied.” Azhi immediately slammed her hand on the table to retort, pursing her lips somewhat embarrassed. “I was just unlucky and fell down.”

When she gets emotional, her cheeks flush slightly, her brows furrow, and her eyes stare straight at the other person, but she doesn't have much of an aura. Sometimes, even though she's the one who starts it, she acts as if she's been bullied.

Ah Zhi attributed today's problems to her bad luck.

This isn't just bad luck!

It was a little better earlier, but in recent years A-Zhi has grown more and more beautiful. Even though she has always kept a low profile at Tokitoya, she has inevitably been noticed by some people.

Most of these people were easy to deal with, but there were some who persisted relentlessly, but they were dealt with privately without the girl knowing.

In retrospect, it seems that letting Azhi stay in a comfortable environment for too long was not a good thing.

Giyu Tomioka and Sabito exchanged a glance, and saw a flickering fire in each other's eyes.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Azhi sensed a dangerous aura. She swallowed hard and subconsciously took a slow step back.

But clearly, this flash of danger warning in her little head did not serve any purpose in avoiding the danger.

The black-haired swordsman suddenly attacked, his strong, large hand grabbing the thin shoulder. With almost no force, Azhi was easily pushed down onto the table, not even having time to react.

The coral beads on her slender wrist clattered against the cold tabletop, making a crisp sound, but received no mercy.

"What if he tries to do something bad to you?" Tomioka Giyuu's face was grim. He had reminded Aori many times, but it seemed to be of no use. He frowned and said, "Like now, you have no way to resist!"

Azhi is like a carefully cultivated flower that needs constant care. If she relaxes her guard even slightly, she will be ravaged by even minor storms in nature and will not escape the fate of withering.

An angry voice rang out above her head. Azhi stared blankly at Tomioka Giyuu's constantly opening and closing mouth, her mind a complete blank.

The hands that were holding her captive were calloused, rough and abrasive, causing a slight stinging sensation, and the force of their grip was just right, not too strong.

"—Courage and righteousness!"

A short, sharp sound escaped her lips, and her beautiful eyes were filled with astonishment. Aori simply couldn't understand why Tomioka Giyu would do such a thing.

She was terrified, thinking the black-haired swordsman was joking with her.

However, Yoshiyuki Tomioka's subsequent actions made her fully realize that this was not a joke at all, as she had imagined.

The once spacious room suddenly felt crowded because the two had shortened the distance between them. Moreover, the closer they got, the more clearly Aori could sense the intense anger emanating from Tomioka Giyuu.

Unbeknownst to her, Azhi had fallen into an extremely bad situation. Her legs were pinned down and she could not struggle, hanging limply down, like prey trapped in a net and unable to move.

However, compared to his increasingly rapid breathing, the black-haired swordsman's voice remained strong and steady, his deep, rising tone revealing that he was definitely not in a good mood.

This stark contrast further fueled Azhi's unease, and she finally realized her dangerous situation.

Azhi didn't understand. She was fine just now, so why did she suddenly get angry?

Her throat tightened, and she bit her lip, like prey running frantically through the forest, startled by a wild beast. She asked timidly, "What's wrong?"

No response was received.

The girl's slender wrists were indeed weak, as white as fine porcelain, and also inherited the fragility of porcelain, as if they would break if any more force was applied.

With just one hand, she could completely control Azhi, and even if Azhi tried her best, she couldn't break free.

Sabito was slightly taken aback, then his eyes flickered slightly. Although his original intention was to teach Aori a little "lesson", the current situation seemed a bit strange.

Her tall, muscular body blocked the light, casting a shadow. In front of her stood Yoshiyuki Tomioka, who was questioning her with an expressionless face, while behind her was a cold table.

Aori didn't want to face the unfamiliar Tomioka Giyuu, so she shrank back as if trying to escape, completely forgetting that she had no way to run away anymore.

The wheat-colored arm lying across Azhi's face stood out even more against the girl's fair skin, adding an indescribable allure.

But Yoshiyuki Tomioka had no romantic thoughts in his mind. He only felt a burning fire in his heart, a fire that did not erupt suddenly but spread continuously.

Time keeps passing, but at this moment, every second seems to stretch out several times, making it incredibly agonizing.

Azhi's waist was very flexible, but even so, the cold tabletop behind her made her extremely uncomfortable. She turned her head in a wronged and flustered manner to call out to another person, her eyes filled with tears: "Sabito?"

She grabbed the flesh-haired swordsman's sleeve, and with the force, the bluish-gray veins on the back of her pale hand were clearly visible. Her voice held a hopeful tone: "Help me..."

She was still calling for help from another person present, unaware that Sabito shared the same thoughts as Giyu Tomioka. Otherwise, why would she not have stopped him but instead condoned his actions?

"You really deserve a lesson." The tone was still gentle, but the meaning behind the words was anything but easy, and Sabito sighed.

At that moment, he extinguished all the girl's hopes. The light illuminated half of his face, but it also deepened the shadow on the other half. Looking down at her like this, he displayed his imposing presence to the fullest extent.

Even Sabito, who is usually gentle and never scolds her, doesn't choose to help her. Aori is completely isolated and helpless. Her mind goes blank, and she doesn't know what to do.

Like a child, she cried incredulously, recounting the grievances she had suffered: "I don't like how they are."

Here, 000 rarely saw Azhi so heartbroken, and directly exposed them: "They're all acting."

Although Giyu Tomioka and Sabito acted out of concern, in 000's opinion, their actions were indeed inappropriate.

Azhi, however, was not quite convinced. She couldn't think straight; her lips trembled, and her eyes could no longer hold back her tears. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and didn't want to see them.

Tears streamed down her reddened eyes and soaked into her hair, wetting a patch of her dark hair at her temples.

"…………"

"It seems a bit too stimulating," Sabito thought.

“Alright, Giyu.” Sabito walked over, grabbed the black-haired swordsman’s shoulder with one hand, and patted him gently, signaling Giyu to let go. “If you scare him any more, he won’t be soothed.”

Aori sobbed intermittently, her eyelashes wet and stuck together. She was crying so hard that she didn't even realize what was happening until Giyu Tomioka and Sabito returned to their usual selves and gently helped her up.

Hoping that Giyu Tomioka would come to coax him was out of the question. Sabito bent down slightly, experiencing for the first time the feeling of being flustered and overwhelmed.

He gently rubbed A-Zhi's wet eyes with his fingertip, awkwardly soothing her, "Don't cry, your eyes will get swollen if you cry any more."

Azhi was still unable to recover from the shock she had just experienced. She sobbed, wrinkled her nose, and her soft eyelids were still pitifully red, with a few glistening water droplets clinging to her eyelashes.

She glared weakly at them with tearful eyes, as if she had suffered a great injustice, and her words were pitiful: "You're bullying me..."

A note from the author:

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[Poor thing][Poor thing][Poor thing]