Chapter 13
Jesse believes that anyone would feel that the relationship between the brother and sister is very good.
From what he'd seen and heard, Noble and Xiaohua were close, which was one reason. Noble's initial assault on the factory, despite being beaten by a dozen men, was another. Noble's decision to take down Doubt was undoubtedly motivated in part by Xiaohua. As for Xiaohua, Jesse still couldn't forget her calm expression as she greeted him. It was truly terrifying, but it also proved they were headed in the same boat.
So, Jesse really thinks it’s bullshit to say that Noble hates Xiaohua.
/
But Noble didn't lie to him.
Sakurai Minami really doesn't like her sister.
Sakurai Minami had never been satisfied with anything since she was born. Even her milk was fed at a strict time; crying was useless. As she grew older, her toys were also limited in time, and everything else had strict requirements.
What time should she play with toys, what time should she read picture books, and what time should she learn some knowledge? These are not up to Sakurai Minami's own wishes.
When Sakurai Minami was in kindergarten, she grabbed a toy and the classmate next to her burst into tears. That night, she was punished to kneel down and the next day she was taken to the door to apologize.
On the surface, the Sakurai couple's requirement for their eldest daughter is just to be a "good person", but in their view, good academic performance, good sports, good interpersonal relationships, and a few good specialties are what children should be born with. They are the basics of the basics and they don't need to require them.
If they had imposed this requirement on all their children, Sakurai Minami might have constrained herself with it for the rest of her life. It wasn't until Ichika was born that she realized just how outrageous parental favoritism could be. The only thing the Sakurai couple demanded of Ichika was "goodness"!
When the little girl brought home a snack from kindergarten hidden in her clothes and presented it to her mother, she was warmly praised. Although her physical motor development and math learning were just average in the class, who cares? The Sakurai family only required their children to be "good."
Noble never tells Xiaohua a bedtime story because Sakurai Minami's mother never told her one.
/
"Then why did you go to so much trouble to save her before?" Jesse had a thousand or ten thousand reasons in his eyes to prove that Noble and Xiaohua had a good relationship.
"Because she's weak and would die without me." Noble obviously didn't want to listen to Jesse's desperate attempts to prove his point, so he simply covered Jesse's mouth with his hand. Jesse was still trying to say something, but when he opened his mouth, hot air sprayed onto his palm. Noble blinked, thinking it was a little itchy.
Noble said, "Stop making noise. I'm leaving now."
As soon as he let go, Jesse asked, "Where are you going? ...Won't you stay a while?"
"It's already daybreak, and there's nothing else to do until everyone gets up," Noble said, "Or, do you want to go with me?" There was a hint of teasing in his tone, and he was obviously remembering Jesse's "polite refusal" earlier.
How could that be possible? Jesse almost opened his mouth to argue, but before he could speak, he suddenly remembered that his home was indeed being targeted by Doubt, and he wasn't sure if it was still safe. He could only say, "I have a safe house."
"Okay," Noble agreed. "Come see me if you need anything. I'll at least save a couch for you. Take care, Jesse."
"the same as you."
"I know—oh, by the way, remember to practice your drinking before we meet next time. Honestly, I'm afraid the next time we drink, I'll have to carry you after I finish." Noble laughed. He didn't know when the sun rose, perhaps while they were listening to music, perhaps while Noble was telling a story, or perhaps during that argument that didn't feel like an argument. The light shone through the glass door onto Noble's face, and his eyebrows curved.
"Get lost!"
They laughed for a while, and Noble waved his hand: "Let's go."
Then came the separation.
/
When the atmosphere is high, people often enthusiastically promise to meet “next time”, but most of the time they are just being polite.
Doubt was indeed bogged down by Katsuya's group, no longer having the time to deal with these "small fry." So, there was no reason for him to continue interacting with Jesse. Little Asia wasn't big, so they'd occasionally run into each other, a tacit greeting, a brief exchange to confirm their goals and avoid conflict, and sometimes even collaboration. Perhaps they were already friends, but Jesse wasn't willing to say it outright.
Bernie and ICE gradually became acquainted with each other because of their hobbies, and Noble would occasionally run into him when he went to Bernie's store.
Noble sometimes thinks back to the story he told Jesse. Rather than making up a fairy tale, it's more like Noble was making up a beautiful future for himself.
If a man has no close friends.
He had no close friends to whom he could entrust the baby girl. He could not seek revenge because the child could not survive without him.
The real story should be that the man insists on raising the girl to adulthood, watching her life get on track, and then suddenly disappears one day.
The villain is too strong, he might die together with him.
But it is also possible that... in his earlier, uneasy and stable life, he completely lost his fighting spirit and never tried for revenge again.
Most people take tit-for-tat for granted, but simply staying alive now consumes most of Noble's energy. Noble wonders when his final moments of liberation will finally arrive. Until now, Noble only knew the incident was connected to the Kowloon Group, as the "Fujimori Group" mentioned in their conversation belonged to Kowloon. But Kowloon has so many organizations under its purview, and he doesn't know who was behind the attack.
It might sound easy to target Kowloon directly, but the Kowloon Group was like a snake lurking in Japan, spitting out its core. How could Noble possibly deal with such a behemoth? Even the Katsuya Group itself was too much for Noble to face directly.
If there were a button placed before Noble that, if pressed, would destroy Kowloon, he would press it without hesitation. However, in reality, there was no such lucky opportunity. Noble could only continue to wonder, and then continue to be disappointed.
Sometimes he would wake up from a nightmare and find his back covered in cold sweat. He would turn sideways to look at Xiaohua's profile and then recall the nightmare he had.
Sometimes it was his father who questioned him why he didn't take good care of Xiaohua, and sometimes it was his mother who questioned him why he didn't avenge them.
Noble knew that these were all dreams, and these words did not come from his parents' mouths. On the contrary, it was just his inner heart scolding him through his parents' mouths.
Before his mother died, she told him not to look back. Perhaps their last wish was just for them both to survive.
But Noble couldn't help but wonder, what if he could do better?
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