Chapter 20
Amidst the stunned disbelief of the gentleman in the suit, Ye Yihe calmly nodded and pushed another book towards him for him to see.
[Master 3,000 commonly used Japanese words in five weeks].
Explaining it is too troublesome; it's faster to just look at it, so the other party won't keep trying to test him.
This method is indeed very effective; almost no one has ever seen Natsume Soseki so vulnerable, his entire face almost cracking with rage.
He is a powerful superhuman who appears and disappears unpredictably. He was the kidnapping target that the [V] organization had planned in the past, and he is also one of the important witnesses protected by the authorities. He is well-versed in a lot of government-level classified information.
It's only a matter of time before such a well-informed and brilliant person deduces the mastermind from the slightest clues.
The [V] organization is well hidden, but some members are quite conspicuous.
Not to mention that the other party had no intention of running away or hiding his whereabouts at all, and even seemed to be provoking him, sitting in the teahouse he frequented almost every day, ordering the same afternoon tea, and doing nothing but reading.
Almost no one knows that Natsume Soseki's special ability is "I am a cat," which allows him to transform into an ordinary calico cat and move freely in various places.
This teahouse was one of his regular haunts, cough... in the form of a calico cat... after all, the dried fish grilled by the female clerk was truly delicious...
He was unaware that the "distinguished guest" from a foreign land had noticed something, as he had been sitting there for several days in a row, seemingly waiting for him to come to him.
Even though Natsume Soseki never showed up, he wasn't in a hurry. He would always come in the afternoon and leave before sunset, as if he really just enjoyed coming to the teahouse to read.
After observing for several days in the form of a calico cat, Natsume Soseki finally chose to come in human form to test the waters—or rather, to negotiate.
If he continues to remain silent, it's hard to say whether the other side will again direct the [V] organization to launch some other terrorist attack to force him out.
Natsume Soseki felt he was already cautious enough, and he did not let his guard down even with the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in front of him. He chose to start with a friendly greeting as if he were a stranger, and then subtly probed the boy's reaction.
But his opponent was clearly a cut above, delivering a shocking blow that shook his very soul right from the start.
I've been sitting here for days on end, actually reading relatively dry books like Japanese textbooks...?
What does this imply? Is it conveying some kind of code, or is it simply meant to provoke him...?
Natsume Soseki's mind raced through a flurry of thoughts in an instant.
Compared to the silent gentleman in the suit who was racking his brains to keep up with the pace, Ye Yihe, who was looking at him, only had one thought in his mind.
This uncle's hair is surprisingly divided into three distinct shades: black, orange, and white... It's amazing.
—Just as the two were silently facing each other, a clap of thunder suddenly came from outside the window.
The bright sunshine vanished in an instant, and the rapidly increasing raindrops pounded against the glass one after another, producing a familiar, pleasant yet languid white noise.
But Ye Yihe didn't become weary. In fact, the sound of rain reminded him that he and Oda Sakunosuke hadn't taken down the clothes they had hung out to dry in the apartment yet!
Don't be fooled by the fact that he's still wearing that fluffy hat, cape, and cardigan; it's actually a new fluffy thermal suit that Oda Sakunosuke had tailor-made for him, so it's easy to wash and change.
Even Oda Sakunosuke wore the same few shirts and work pants, which was very monotonous and didn't look like a wealthy man with huge assets at all.
Now is not the time to ponder how this uncle managed to perfectly cosplay the calico cat with his hair; we need to hurry back and collect our clothes.
As expected of a coastal city, the weather can change from sunny to rainy in an instant.
Ye Yihe got up, tidied up the book, and put it back under his arm.
He looked at the gentleman in the suit with a small mustache and found that the other man was still silently watching him, as if trying to think of how to smooth things over.
I thought I had met a kindred spirit in literature, but when I lifted the veil of expectation, I found that the other person was actually a Japanese language enthusiast... This kind of disappointment is indeed hard to accept.
Recalling the history of this body having angered its Russian brothers by smiling at them, Ye Yihe's slightly upturned lips immediately flattened out.
"Excuse me."
Speaking in a gentle, low voice the common phrase he had learned from a book, Ye Yihe walked past the middle-aged man with calico hair whose expression had become even more subtle, "I hope we meet again next time."
Your pronunciation is very standard; I give myself a thumbs up.
A hat and a cape can be used as raincoats. Ignoring the stares from behind, Ye Yihe stepped out of the teahouse into the rain without changing his expression and left quickly.
…………
Oda Sakunosuke likes to open doors with wire, but Ye Yihe still needs a key.
So Oda Sakunosuke handed him the only key. Because it hadn't been used for a while, and Yokohama was currently experiencing typhoon season with very humid air, the metal key even developed some rust.
Back in his apartment, Ye Yihe quickly packed up his clothes and took a hot shower to prevent catching a cold.
I threw the clothes I'd taken off into the washing machine, and my study session ended early for the day.
For the rest of the time, Ye Yihe cleaned the apartment thoroughly and did some simple exercises to get some physical activity.
As expected, Oda Sakunosuke did not return all night. Ye Yihe, who was asleep, was only awakened by the slight sound of the door opening and realized from the light outside the window that it was the morning of the next day.
"Good morning."
Because Ye Yihe didn't close the paper sliding door to the bedroom, Oda Sakunosuke could make eye contact with him whenever he passed by.
Unlike before when he returned empty-handed, this time Oda Sakunosuke brought back a book that looked quite old.
Did I wake you up? Sorry.
Oda Sakunosuke came over and placed the book next to Ye Yihe's pillow.
As they got closer, Ye Yihe could even smell the faint scent of gunpowder emanating from him, mixed with a hint of the distinctive stench of blood.
"After taking care of the target, we found this novel on his desk."
"Um?"
In response to Ye Yihe's deliberately proclaimed question, he explained, "I've only glanced at a few pages; the vocabulary and sentence structure aren't particularly profound. Perhaps this is perfect for you to learn Japanese."
Although Ye Yihe wanted to ask why it wouldn't be faster to buy directly from a bookstore, he was happy to accept it because it was a special favor from Oda Sakunosuke.
He decided that no matter how good or bad the novel was, he had to finish reading it.
And when he picked it up, he discovered that the author's name on the novel's cover was actually Natsume Soseki!
This is the Japanese literary giant who topped the list of most subtle expressions of love with just the line "The moon is beautiful." Perhaps most Chinese people haven't read any of his works, but they've certainly all heard of him...
That's true. He's currently in Japan, the hometown of this man, so there's no need to be too surprised that Oda Sakunosuke can casually pull out a work by Natsume Soseki.
Once he's familiar with Japanese, he might even pull out a book by Dazai Osamu or Edogawa Conan... no, Edogawa Ranpo, to read. These are all famous Japanese literary figures that even he knows by heart.
"Odasaku," Ye Yihe paused again, holding the not-so-thick novel, "Zhisuke, aren't you going to read it?"
It's not that he gets stuck here; it's just that the pronunciation of "Oda" is "Oda," while "Sakunosuke" is "Sakunosuke"—the proportion of the two syllables is too different. So when he pronounces such a long name, he subconsciously breaks it down into "Odasaku" and "nosuke," feeling that this is more balanced.
Although Oda Sakunosuke had corrected him, since they were the only two people living together and both were rather taciturn, they rarely called each other by name, which caused Ye Yihe to forget to pause before speaking as soon as he opened his mouth.
"It's Oda."
Oda Sakunosuke patiently corrected Ye Yihe's pronunciation once again, "We usually don't pronounce the whole name. You can call me Oda, or Sakunosuke."
Being allowed to call someone by their name is a privilege reserved for very close relationships, and the fact that he said this to Ye Yihe already carries a lot of meaning.
"...Oda Sakunosuke."
Ye Yihe chose the third path, which sounded more natural to him.
"That's fine too."
After a moment's thought, Oda Sakunosuke generously agreed.
Ye Yihe thought that the other party probably didn't want to make things too difficult for him right now, and that he would naturally correct himself after he learned Japanese well.
"As for novels, I've hardly ever read any before."
Oda Sakunosuke was still wearing a slightly loose black shirt, and the double-shoulder holster he used to hold his pistol was still on.
Two intersecting, two-finger-wide strips of leather outlined a clean, sharp silhouette on his shoulders and back, conveying the extreme contrast and tension unique to the violent aesthetics that embodies the interplay between the indifferent expression of the young man and the cold, efficient killing weapon.
He lived a very dull life in the first half of his life. Apart from shooting to complete his work, he had neither ideals to pursue nor desires for enjoyment.
Having a special talent for killing, he could only rely on that talent to live, which was neither good nor bad.
It seems that life started to become interesting after I was imprisoned and met Fyodor.
"If you find it interesting after reading it, I'll give it a try too."
Oda Sakunosuke concluded by saying this.
Ye Yihe felt that there was no need to force it, after all, he rarely read such world classics before, especially now that it was the original language version.
In short, this novel by a great Japanese writer was given to him by Oda Sakunosuke, and Ye Yihe immediately added it to his list of must-read books when he went to the teahouse.
This time he didn't bother to wrap the cover with newspaper, after all, this was the famous Natsume Soseki, and it was perfectly acceptable to be discovered reading his book.
When the weather cleared up, Ye Yihe took his book and sat down in his usual spot at the teahouse.
The agile calico cat also arrived here, and in a few steps, it lightly leaped onto the windowsill, making its line of sight level with the teahouse table—or even slightly higher, enough for him to see the cover of the book in the other person's hand through the glass.
"Meow"
The calico cat with its fur standing on end lost its footing and fell off the windowsill.
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