Chapter 118 The Jealous King Arrives in Melbourne: A "Punishment" Flying In...
Her suitcase was covered with baggage tags, she had a tennis bag slung over her shoulder, and her dark blue hair was slightly ruffled by the night wind, with a few strands of sweat clinging to her forehead.
He stood there, in the languid night, his eyes fixed on her, gazing at her intently and deeply.
"...Oichi?"
Before she could finish speaking, he had already stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind him with a bang. The tennis bag slipped to the floor with a dull thud.
Risa took a few steps back, her back pressed against the wall between the entryway and the living room. His warm chest was before her, offering no respite.
He pressed closer, cupping her face in one hand and gripping her waist tightly with the other. His movements were urgent, filled with undisguised desire, and he lowered his head to kiss her.
"Wait...!" Risa was caught off guard and instinctively turned her head to dodge.
She placed her hands on his chest, trying to push him away forcefully.
It all happened so suddenly. She couldn't even be sure if this was yet another overly realistic prank.
Her resistance only fueled something. His kiss was irresistible, forcing open her lips. Deep, entangled, with an intense possessiveness.
It was as if this kiss was meant to fill all the emptiness of separation.
That familiar scent, carrying the cool fragrance of orange blossoms, mingled with the smell of a weary night.
It was him.
It really is him.
It's not an illusion, it's not a disguise.
The moment she confirmed it, her hand, which had been pressed against his chest, suddenly went limp. Her body went limp. All her strength crumbled instantly. Her hand, which had been pushing him away, slowly climbed up his shoulder, responding awkwardly yet tenderly.
The pent-up grievances, longing, loneliness, and exhaustion collapsed at this moment. Tears rolled down, sliding from the corners of their half-closed eyes, seeping into their tightly pressed lips, filling the air with a salty bitterness.
Sensing her tears and submission, his movements suddenly softened. He continued his circling caresses, taking advantage of the gaps in her flustered breathing to slip inside her.
Just as she was indulging in this plunder, a sound suddenly came from the living room:
"Risa-nee, is that you back?"
Kirihara Akaya's voice grew louder as he approached, his footsteps clearly echoing as he walked towards the entrance.
Risa snapped out of her daze and tried to push away the person in front of her in a panic, but Yukimura held her chin in his hand, not allowing her to get distracted and back away.
He released his hand from her waist and closed the door, which had just been slightly ajar.
Kirihara, inside the door, only caught a glimpse of a man's shoulder; the man appeared to be taller than him, but he couldn't make out his face.
How dare he act so recklessly, taking advantage of Risa's illness and vulnerability?! I'll break this guy's legs!
Kirihara was furious. He grabbed the doorknob and roared, "Open the door! You bastard—how dare you bully Risa-nee!"
Risa was startled and quickly placed her hand on Yukimura's chest, turning her head towards the door. The pounding on the door was deafening.
"You care about him more than me, don't you?" Yukimura stepped back slightly, his voice low and hoarse, his tone revealing obvious displeasure.
After saying that, he released his grip on the doorknob.
Little did anyone know that Kirihara behind the door was pulling it inward with all his might—
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, the door swung open inwards. Kirihara lost his balance and slammed into the wall behind the door.
"Ouch!" Kirihara cried out in pain, his nose stinging from the impact, but ignoring the pain, he swung his fist to strike the "lecher" outside the door—
But when he saw the other person's face clearly, he froze on the spot.
"Yukimura-senpai...?!"
The warm light softly illuminated Yukimura Seiichi's sharply defined face. A lingering shadow remained in his eyes, and his lips glistened with a few drops of water.
Risa, who was being shielded by him, had an unnatural flush on her cheeks, her wet eyelashes trembling slightly, and she seemed to want to shrink into his presence. Anyone who saw this would understand what had just happened.
Yukimura looked at his stunned junior, a slight smile playing on his lips, his tone remaining as gentle as ever:
"Long time no see, Akaya."
"Long time no see, Yukimura-senpai!" Kirihara stood up straight almost instinctively, his hand awkwardly grasping at the air as it hung in mid-air.
His mind went blank for several seconds before he suddenly realized, "I...I suddenly remembered I have something urgent at school! It's very urgent! I...I have to go now!"
He was about to run away, but then he rushed back to the living room in a panic, grabbed the tennis bag from the floor, and ran out as if fleeing, leaving only a gust of wind passing through the entrance hall.
The door closed gently, and all was quiet again.
Yukimura lowered his eyes and gently wiped away the remaining moisture from the corners of her eyes.
"Now, can we continue, sister?" He lowered his voice slightly, as if realizing that his tone had been a bit harsh, and tried to coax her.
Risa was already very shy, and when she heard him call her that, her ears burned even more. She unconsciously looked towards the door, as if Kirihara's shocked and almost shattered eyes were still floating before her.
She playfully punched him, her voice tinged with reproach: "You still dare to say that... Akaya saw everything..."
"So what if I see it?" Yukimura said dismissively, gently taking her wrist as she pounded on his hand and pulling her back into his arms.
He lowered his head and placed a comforting kiss on her forehead, his tone matter-of-fact: "Do I need to report to anyone when I kiss my own girlfriend?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell once more on her moist lips, his eyes deepening, and he was about to move closer again—
"Wait!" Risa raised her hand and pressed it against his lips, looking at him seriously. "Shouldn't you be in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open? It starts next week, why did you suddenly come back?"
Yukimura paused, sighed softly, as if he couldn't do anything about her, yet couldn't hide his longing for her.
"After seeing those negative news reports and being unable to contact you, I had to ask the team for leave at the last minute."
He cupped her face in his hands, his gaze deep: "Knowing you're alright is more important than me winning ten games."
Risa's heart trembled, and she felt incredibly weak and sore.
"I'm sorry for making you worry," she whispered, burying her face in his chest. "I'm fine. Ms. Morikawa and the studio will handle those rumors."
“I know you can handle it,” Yukimura’s voice came from her hair, “but I still need to see it with my own eyes to feel at ease.” He paused for a moment, then added in a low voice, “Besides, I miss you very much.”
That last sentence made Risa's heart skip a beat again.
"Then... what about the Australian Open?" She looked up, her eyes filled with worry. "That's a very important tournament for you..."
"The official start of the competition is next Monday." He lowered his head and found her lips again. "So, we still have a little time."
Their warm breaths mingled, and in the brief but lingering intervals of their kisses, he whispered hoarsely:
"Enough for me to carefully and thoroughly confirm... whether my girlfriend is really as good as she says."
-
[Ms. Morikawa: The mastermind behind this has been identified; it's one of your rival teams that debuted around the same time and had extremely fierce competition for resources.]
[Ms. Morikawa: They accidentally discovered old photos and negative comments about you from your high school days, and then used this as an excuse to hire a professional online troll company to spread them.]
[Ms. Morikawa: As the situation escalated, they bribed fringe insiders to fabricate so-called "insider information" and, in conjunction with several unscrupulous media outlets, orchestrated this media offensive with the intention of ruining your reputation.]
Risa carefully read the detailed investigation report sent by Morikawa, her eyes gradually darkening.
"As originally planned, we will bring lawsuits against all of these people," she replied.
Subsequently, the long article that had already been edited was officially published through the work account.
-
The series of negative comments triggered by "Risa's plastic surgery" have been fermenting online for several days.
Just when everyone thought she had admitted to the evidence, the official account of "Risa_Risa" posted a long article late at night, officially responding to the controversy surrounding her "plastic surgery" and the subsequent events.
The title, though only one line long, carries immense weight: "That's not a dark history, that's the path I came from."
The article begins without evasion or ambiguity.
She frankly admitted:
"Yes, that blurry old photo that was maliciously circulated is indeed of me in high school. But that's all."
Behind this photo is not an inspirational story of "plastic surgery comeback," but a gray memory of being isolated, ridiculed, and maliciously watched.
It doesn't record ugliness, but rather the school bullying I personally experienced.
Those seemingly lighthearted "jokes" have, years later, once again been used by those with malicious intent as a poisoned blade to stab my heart.
I write this not to elicit sympathy, but to solemnly condemn the evil of school bullying and denounce the poison of spreading rumors at zero cost.
The internet is not a lawless place; every word and action has a price.
My studio and I hereby solemnly declare: We have identified the individuals spreading these rumors and will initiate legal proceedings to hold all original rumor-mongers and any organizations or individuals maliciously involved in disseminating and hyping these events accountable. We will not compromise or tolerate such actions.
At the end of the article, she wrote the following:
May every adolescent soul walk in the sunlight, free from the constraints of appearance and the shame of body shape, and embrace all that is real within themselves.
May school bullying one day disappear from the world, and may the punishment for every perpetrator, though delayed, come eventually, so that they may live the rest of their lives in constant fear.
May every rumor-monger be nailed to the cross of morality, eternally repenting for their sins, so that they may never again easily use lies to hurt others.
That wasn't a dark history to be erased, but rather the path I traversed, cutting through thorns and wading through darkness. And this path leads to a tomorrow free of gloom, a path from which there is no turning back—to me.
The publication of this article was like a drop of cold water falling into a boiling oil pan, and public opinion instantly erupted into a raging fire.
Support and criticism surged in like a tsunami.
-
In the bedroom late at night, a faint light strip was on.
Risa leaned against the headboard, the cold light from her phone screen illuminating her profile. Public opinion data fluctuated rapidly, yet she seemed detached from it, her eyes calm and unwavering.
She heard a rustling sound beside her, and a pair of warm arms wrapped around her from behind.
"What are you looking at?" Yukimura rested his chin on her shoulder, his voice still heavy with sleepiness.
Risa turned off the screen, put her phone aside, turned around and buried herself in his warm embrace, whispering, "It's nothing."
He didn't ask any more questions, but simply tightened his arms and pulled her into a deeper embrace.
The two embraced in the quiet night, with scattered lights outside the window. All the noise, disputes, and malice were irrelevant to them at that moment.
-
During the three days that Yukimura returned from his leave, Risa hardly had a moment of peace.
He was no longer the gentle and refined lover, but rather an insatiable demander. His embraces were so tight they felt like imprisonment, his kisses so fierce they felt like branding, as if he wanted to dismantle her and devour her, to merge her into one with him.
He tirelessly pushed her to the brink of losing control time and time again. He relentlessly pressed her for those blush-inducing words of love and promises when she was emotionally overwhelmed and at her weakest point, his voice low and seductive, his coercion leaving no room for argument.
"Tell me, whose are you?"
"...It's yours..."
"forever?"
"forever……"
It was as if only in this way could he truly confirm her existence and confirm that he completely possessed her.
Later, Risa pieced together the truth from his occasional whispers tinged with coldness—it turned out that he had seen Niou Masaharu embrace her that day and clearly heard his confession.
He rationally believed her rejection, but his emotions, that unfathomable possessiveness, could not tolerate even the slightest "possibility".
Those seemingly "punishing" tender moments were nothing more than this consistently proud man clumsily yet forcefully venting his unspeakable unease.
During a brief pause, he stroked her sweat-dampened hair, his voice so gentle it was chilling, "Risa, you are mine. My territory is absolutely safe, and belongs solely to me. No one is allowed to intrude."
She was never short of temptations and admirers. And he, in the end, could not remain at ease forever.
He imprinted his mark on her from head to toe, from body to soul, so that her most instinctive reactions would only remember him, only adapt to him, and only crave him.
-
The rumor-mongers never expected that after Risa published a long article and resolutely pursued accountability, those so-called "financial backers" and famous directors who were innocently dragged into the mess, and those high-ranking figures who held the power in the industry, would not hesitate to personally join forces to fight back.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the other party finally panicked and made numerous attempts to reach an agreement, humbly pleading for reconciliation.
Europe, Luxembourg.
The aroma of coffee wafted through the independent actors' lounge on the set of "Meridian Mist".
Risa had just finished a major scene that was extremely emotionally draining, and she hadn't even changed out of her costume yet.
After relaying the other party's request for peace, Assistant Morikawa asked softly, "Risa, what do you plan to do?"
Risa flipped through the script, her expression calm and composed: "What else can I do? Sue them, go through legal proceedings, demand that they bear full legal responsibility and compensate me for all my losses."
With fame comes trouble. Similar things have happened before, and most of the time Risa chose to be soft-hearted and turn a blind eye.
Unexpectedly, this tolerance became a "broken window effect" in the eyes of others, ultimately turning into a sharp blade that pierced him.
This time, she was determined to make an example of someone to show everyone that she was not someone to be easily manipulated.
"How much are you demanding in compensation?" Morikawa pressed.
Risa looked up at her, her gaze clear and calm: "Based on my current commercial value and the substantial damage this incident has caused to my personal reputation, what do you think it should be?"
Morikawa was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
That would be a truly astronomical price, enough to bankrupt the other party.
-
Meanwhile, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne is basking in the summer heat.
Yukimura Seiichi stood in the center of the court. Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the dazzling flashes of the cameras, he raised the heavy trophy high.
Golden paper rained down for him.
Through the countless flickering lenses, he seemed to see into the eyes of the person staring at him on the screen.
“This trophy,” he said in fluent English, “is a tribute to all those who have been in darkness but will eventually walk into the light.”
The sun will eventually dispel the gloom, and they will each reach the summit and share the clear sky.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Both the previous and this chapters will include an extra chapter. Logically speaking, neither the corrupted Yukimura nor Niou's confession is out of character (OOC). However, everyone has their own interpretation, so please use your own understanding. [shrug]
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