Chapter 59 Betrayal: She truly betrayed Rum
A bunch of scumbags!
Chinatsu Takanashi wasn't blinded by their honey trap; these people didn't genuinely like her, they just wanted to gain more benefits through her.
They're all such scumbags!
“Okay, I’ll pick.” Takanashi Chika gritted her teeth and asked the sales assistant to take out the ugliest and biggest black sunglasses in the store, three sets of them, and hand them to them one by one.
Bourbon's lips twitched noticeably.
Scotland hesitated, then said, "China, this..."
Lai immediately turned his head to cut his losses: "I suddenly feel that ignoring my girlfriend's opinion is not a good thing. I'm sorry, China, I can't listen to you this time."
Rye's escape drew the ire of Bourbon and Scotland.
"What's wrong? This is my aesthetic, you guys don't like it, do you?" Takanashi Chinatsu stared intently at Bourbon and Scotland, letting Rae off the hook for Akemi's sake.
“How could that be? Chika has great taste.” Bourbon reluctantly took the sunglasses, then suddenly said with some regret, “It’s a pity that although these sunglasses are fashionable, they are too eye-catching. I’m afraid I won’t have many opportunities to wear them.”
Scotland carefully held the sunglasses in her hands and said earnestly, "Of course I will cherish the sunglasses that Qiannai chose for me. I will cherish them for the rest of my life."
Takanashi Chika snorted coldly, "What a hypocrite."
When vying for favor, it's inevitable to trip each other up, especially since Lai has such an obvious weakness.
"I'm so envious of Ray. He already has a girlfriend, and they seem to have a great relationship." Scotland gave Ray an envious look.
Lai and Mingmei were picking out sunglasses when they heard this, they paused, and glanced indifferently at Scotland.
Bourbon then took the opportunity to grab Takanashi Chinatsu's hand and gently stroked it with both of his own, his eyes innocent like a little rabbit's. "Chinatsu-chan, shall we go to the dessert shop later? I really love desserts, but it's really weird for a grown man to go into a dessert shop. It would be completely different if Chinatsu-chan came along."
“We don’t have to go to the dessert shop, China, my desserts are delicious too, would you like to try some?” Scotland immediately agreed.
Bourbon and Scotland locked eyes, their gazes clashing and sparking countless flashes of light.
A hand suddenly reached out and forcefully pulled China's hand away from Bourbon's. Curaçao remained indifferent, ignoring the three dramatic men, and quickly pulled China aside.
"Not choosing sunglasses anymore?" Takanashi Chinatsu asked, somewhat surprised.
"I'm not going to be picky anymore," Curaçao said indifferently.
Bourbon and Scotland were about to follow almost immediately, and even Rye tried to catch up but was stopped by Miyano Akemi.
The group watched helplessly as Curaçao pulled Chizuru along faster and faster until they finally left the mall and quickly crossed the road, where a truck abruptly stopped them.
After the truck drove past, Curaçao and China were no longer visible on the other side.
"Damn it." Bourbon clenched his fists in frustration.
Scotland's expression was also not good, but he didn't say anything.
They sped along at first, and while Takanashi Chika was able to keep up, she was almost dragged along by Curaçao, and eventually she was simply carried in Curaçao's arms.
It's strange. Although she looks like a petite girl, Curaçao has a lot of muscle density. She can easily carry her through streets big and small and even do parkour on walls.
A light and graceful figure, agile steps.
Her long, flowing hair was very eye-catching. Takanashi Chika tried to pluck a strand with her little finger and slowly rubbed it between her fingers.
Although they look almost identical, Curaçao's hair is finer when twisted than Gin's, yet it is extremely resilient and shines with a satin-like luster under the sunlight.
Having finally shaken off her little tagalong, Curaçao stopped and put Takanashi Chika down.
The feeling of being grounded made Chinatsu Takanashi breathe a sigh of relief. Although she knew that Curaçao wouldn't fall down, the sensation of just taking flight still made her heart flutter.
"Why did you suddenly avoid them?" Chinatsu Takanashi asked with a smile, tossing her hair.
Curaçao did not respond, but instead reached out and stroked Chinatsu Takanashi's long golden hair. The hair slipped through her fingers, like shimmering golden sand on a beach.
"No matter what you do, I will help you." Curaçao's eyes finally lit up with determination.
Chika Takanashi was still smiling, but she felt a little stifled inside.
Here we go again, lying to her again.
Like the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, he spoke these deceptive words to her time and time again, tempting her to cross the line.
Some things are not worth trying, and Chinatsu Takanashi would never gamble her life on a trust.
"Then I want to go and smash Rum's head in!" Chinatsu Takanashi grabbed Curaçao's hands with both hands, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Do you know where Rum is? How about we go and beat him up?"
Curaçao was clearly taken aback, obviously not expecting things to develop this way.
But soon, she nodded and said, "Okay."
I agree!
Chinatsu Takanashi was also somewhat surprised, after all, Curaçao was sent by Rum, yet she was willing to go with her to cause trouble for Rum? This time, Rum really went all out to trick her.
Curaçao is Rum's confidante, and a confidante on par with Bacardi. Bourbon has only seen Rum a few times, but Curaçao sees him frequently. It's not surprising that Takanashi Chika knows where Rum is.
As night fell, Curaçao drove Takanashi Chika quietly to a suburban property.
"Shh." Curaçao put a finger to her lips, carefully walked to the combination lock, and entered the password.
The password is correct.
The moment the door opened, Takanashi Chika tensed up.
Is it a trap?
It's normal for Curaçao to know where Rum is, and it's also not inexplicable that she knows the password, but why did Curaçao take her in so easily?
If she were Curaçao, she would never have gotten the password right, which would both prove that she had indeed betrayed Rum and allow her to avoid this embarrassing situation.
But the password turned out to be correct, which made it even harder for Takanashi Chinatsu to figure out Curaçao's stance.
Based on the current situation, Rum hasn't even changed the password. Curaçao must have been sent out on purpose to lure him in. But why would Curaçao really take her to prank Rum?
She followed cautiously, sending her location to Gin as she watched Curaçao leading the way with increasing vigilance.
One door after another opened, and Curaçao led Takanashi Chinatsu to Rum's bedroom door, the last one.
"Knock knock," Curaçao knocked directly on the door.
"who?"
“It is I, Lord Rum,” Curaçao said in a normal tone.
Rum seemed genuinely unsuspecting of Curaçao, quickly opening the door. "Why are you back now? Weren't you going to..."
The words came to an abrupt halt.
Then came a sharp cry: "Black Cherry!"
Chinatsu Takanashi gave Rum a bright smile while clenching her fists. Whether it was a trap or not, she'd just fight first!
Without hesitation, she lunged at Rum like a facehugger, punching him squarely in the nose.
A thick, foul-smelling nosebleed started flowing out. Rum grabbed her by the shoulder, trying to throw her off, but Takanashi Chika could only cling tightly to his waist and bite his other arm hard.
Rum screamed again, but not because he had been bitten, "Curaçao, what are you doing?"
Takanashi Chika turned around in confusion and saw that Curaçao had already firmly restrained Rum and was giving her an encouraging look.
How strange, really strange.
Chizuru Takanashi was bewildered, but she still seized the opportunity and, while Curaçao was holding Rum down, swung her fists and punched him.
"Hey ha!"
"Heave-ho!"
"Bang Bang Bang"
Rum is clearly not young, but he is so strong that Curaçao and Takanashi Chinatsu almost couldn't hold him down.
Like a struggling pig, Rum finally broke free, even kicking Curaçao away.
Seeing Curaçao fall against the wall, clutching her stomach in a sorry state, Chinatsu Takanashi was instantly enraged. She unleashed a streak of light at Rum, but Rum swiftly dodged it.
The utility knife barely grazed the other person's ear, and blood dripped down. Rum was furious.
"You're asking for it!" Enraged, he had completely forgotten Takanashi Chika's special identity. He pulled a gun from the bedside table drawer and was about to fire when a black leather shoe kicked his wrist.
The gun flew high into the air and slammed heavily onto the floor.
All was silent.
Gin seemed to have a built-in mute mode. The moment his eyes met Rum's, Rum felt as if he had been doused in cold water and instantly calmed down.
Chinatsu Takanashi stopped making a fuss and hid behind Gin like a quail, even helping Curaçao hide behind Gin as well.
"Gin, Black Cherry ambushed me in the middle of the night..."
"Were you just trying to kill her in the chaos?" Gin interrupted Rum, his voice icy. "The dead are never as good as the living. If you had acted first and informed him later, even if the master was unhappy, he wouldn't have done anything to you."
Rum's face darkened.
“Black Cherry didn’t come tonight, and you didn’t intend to kill her.”
Rum roared, "You expect me to just let her go like this?"
“I can also tell you the truth, sir, that she wanted to hit you, and that you wanted to kill her.” Gin’s tone was calm, as if he wasn’t worried at all that Rum would disagree.
Sure enough, after holding it in for a long time, Rum finally managed to utter only one sentence: "Get out! Get out! All of you, get out!"
Takanashi Chika breathed a sigh of relief. Great, it looks like she's made it through tonight.
Gin grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.
"Kuku!" Takanashi Chinatsu called out to Curaçao.
"Curaçao, you stay." That was Rum's order.
Chinatsu's eyes widened, and she instinctively cried out, "No, Kuku, you're coming with me!"
But Curacao didn't move.
She stood there, in front of Rum, but her gaze was fixed on Takanashi Chika.
The gentleness in her eyes that she only showed when facing Takanashi Chinatsu gradually disappeared as Takanashi Chinatsu moved further and further away from her.
"Kuku!" Takanashi Chika tried to pull her away, but Gin hoisted her onto his back and carried her away.
Gin's actions were unquestionable, but not too rough. He simply put her in the car, locked the doors, and drove away.
"Gin, Curaçao is still there!"
"Um."
"We can't abandon her, Rum will kill her!"
"Are you an idiot?" Gin's voice was chilling, barely concealing his anger. "This is a setup. Curaçao and Rum are in cahoots."
Chinatsu Kotori subconsciously pursed her lips.
“Curaçao brought you back on purpose only to create an opportunity for Rum to kill you. If you hadn’t had some brains and contacted me, I would have only seen your corpse tomorrow.” Gin seemed somewhat frightened; he spoke quickly, urgently, and angrily.
Chizuru, realizing her mistake, stammered and couldn't utter a word.
"I already warned you that Curaçao has a problem, so why did you still come with her?"
Yes, why is that?
Chika thought for a moment and realized that it might be because Curaçao's eyes always lit up when he looked at her, and whenever she did something, Curaçao would be watching her intently, his heart and eyes filled with her.
That was something truly deceptive, gradually eroding her guard.
“It’s not your fault.” Gin suddenly sighed and said, “Intelligence personnel are specially trained. If they want to get along with someone, it’s hard for anyone to really refuse.”
"Actually, I don't think Curaçao intended to harm me." Although Takanashi Chinatsu contacted Gin, she still didn't quite believe that Curaçao would harm her.
"Her purpose in getting close to you is to harm you."
“We’ve met before, back then…”
“Recalling the past with people you’ve met before is also a way to get closer to someone; it’s a routine process.”
Takanashi Chika stopped talking. Her brother was probably right. Although she tried to be more vigilant, the people in the organization always had a thousand ways to get close to her and gain her favor. It was really hard for her to guard against them.
“Curaçao is completely exposed to you. Rum won’t let her out again, but he might have a backup plan,” Gin warned.
Chinatsu Takanashi sighed heavily. Curaçao would never appear again.
Strangely enough, Takanashi Chinatsu actually felt reluctant to part with someone who was trying to scheme against her, even though it was all a deception.
Some things you can fool others about, but you can't fool yourself about.
In the dark basement, Curaçao was hanging from a wooden frame, her body covered in whip marks that gradually spread across her entire body.
"Betray me, Curaçao, how dare you betray me!" Rum roared furiously, each lash of the whip heavier than the last.
Curaçao did not respond, nor did she defend herself.
There's really no point in arguing; she did betray Rum.
She had kept that bank card since she was a child, and what she could recall in her mind was either Takanashi Chinatsu's clear eyes or her bright smile.
A person in darkness cannot see the light, just as a vampire cannot embrace the sun; that light is a deadly poison to her.
She didn't want to test Black Cherry, but Rum insisted on ordering her to do so.
She didn't want to investigate the people around Black Cherry, but Rum insisted on giving her this task.
Of course she wouldn't refuse; the word "refusal" didn't exist in her world. She was born to obey orders.
Conflict, full of resistance.
Resistance, an increasingly intense resistance.
She liked to go shopping with Black Cherry, liked to go shopping with Black Cherry, and liked to watch Black Cherry when she was happy. Even just seeing her smile made her feel warm and swollen in her chest.
She was willing to give everything for Black Cherry.
It wasn't an order, it wasn't a task, but rather the only initiative that Curaçao felt.
Curaçao is willing to help Black Cherry with anything she wants.
When she decided to bring Black Cherry to raid Rum at night, she no longer cared about whether she would live or die.
"I saved you, Curaçao! I was the one who spoke up and saved you when you were about to be destroyed by the organization!" Rum roared, punching Curaçao hard in the face several times.
Her face ached dully, a pain quite different from the burning sensation on her body; it was a more oppressive, dizzying, and death-like agony.
“Since you’ve decided to betray me, it seems I can’t let you live.” Rum grabbed Curaçao’s neck with a ferocious expression.
A violent feeling of suffocation washed over her, and Curaçao twisted her body in discomfort, but she was tightly bound to the rack and unable to struggle.
Unable to breathe, oxygen slowly draining away, her cells began to scream, and all the muscles in her body tensed up.
But she had nothing to regret, nothing to struggle about; it was just her body's instinctive self-preservation.
She was already a walking corpse when she was very, very young.
A "ding" sounded, indicating a new email.
Rum temporarily released his grip and took out Curaçao's phone to check it.
[Be on standby at Research Institute No. 11 within half an hour.]
Rum frowned deeply. The master's order? The master usually doesn't issue orders directly; they are usually relayed up the chain of command. Why would he contact Curaçao directly this time?
"Have you seen the gentleman recently?" Rum stared at Curaçao with a sinister look in his eyes.
Curaçao was breathing heavily, but her voice remained emotionless: "No."
Why would this gentleman contact you directly?
Curaçao fell silent, unsure how to respond.
Rum's gaze at Curaçao grew increasingly hostile, but he did not make any further moves. Since the master wanted to see her, he certainly could not kill Curaçao directly, as that would be a provocation to the master.
However, this also intensified his murderous intent. If his "good subordinate" were promoted by his master again, he might not be able to return to his side in the future.
Curaçao knows so many of his secrets that it's impossible for anyone to sleep soundly.
Chinatsu Takanashi beat up Rum, but Rum never pursued the matter, and Curaçao disappeared, and life became quite peaceful.
The calmer things were, the more wary Takanashi Chika became.
Would someone as petty as Rum let her off so easily? He's been keeping quiet all this time; he must be plotting something!
The summer heat gradually fades, the leaves turn yellow, the maple leaves turn redder, and the autumn wind brings a desolate scene.
Chinatsu Takanashi has successfully taken a leave of absence from school and hasn't been back for a long time. She has also moved from the stretching phase to formal training.
Gin taught her everything he knew about fighting techniques, from how to throw punches and kicks to how to dodge with his head turned. He didn't know which style or school it belonged to, but he simply taught her as many fighting techniques as he could.
Bourbon has completely gotten rid of his wheelchair and has been extremely busy lately, seemingly trying to prove his worth in front of her.
Scotland still feeds him delicious food every day. He has a warm smile and looks like a kind older brother next door, but he is actually a black sesame-filled dumpling, not as harmless as he appears.
And whether it was Takanashi Chika's imagination or not, Bourbon and Scotland seemed to have a lot of work lately, and they both looked noticeably haggard.
She's definitely not as good as her brother. Gin can work non-stop for three days straight and still be full of energy to complete the mission.
The biggest change was actually in Lai when autumn arrived. Thanks to Chika's tireless efforts, he and Akemi were finally separated.
They should have broken up in the first place. He's an undercover agent, his job is precarious, and he's still dating? What's the point of having a boyfriend who will implicate his girlfriend if he's exposed?
Of course, their breakup wasn't solely due to China's efforts. The main reason was that Lai's relationship with his mother had become closer than before, and then he inadvertently heard that he had an aunt, and then inadvertently heard that his aunt had married and had two daughters.
Coincidentally, his aunt's daughters are also named Miyano Akemi and Miyano Shiho.
Anyway, when Takanashi Chinatsu found out about this, she laughed until her stomach hurt. What goes around comes around! This is the consequence of Rai's blatant extortion and exploitation of girls' feelings!
Half of the leaves on the sycamore tree at the entrance had already fallen. The cold air came earlier this year. Takanashi Chinatsu was wearing a cream-colored sweatshirt and had a light purple scarf wrapped around her neck.
Half-lying on the coffee table, Chika Takanashi stared listlessly at the cute cloud-shaped milk foam on top of her hot coffee. With a gentle shake, the cloud tilted to one side.
Bourbon, Scotland, and Rye each occupied one of the other three sides of the square table, each ordering a cup of coffee and sipping it slowly.
It's always like this.
Chinatsu Takanashi was exasperated. The three of them had been completely obsessed lately, always surrounding her whenever they had free time. And whenever they were around her, it was always the three of them. If one of them couldn't come, the other two would also be unable to get close to her for various reasons.
Unity, she wants unity!
This is terrible. She hasn't even told the three of them about her grand ambitions, nor has she tested Bourbon and Scotland's character and attitude, and these three have already turned it into a three-way war.
“Winter is almost here, let’s have a warm winter activity.” Takanashi Chinatsu sat up straight. If they could have a team-building activity, maybe it could thaw the relationship between the three of them.
"OK."
"Can."
"I'll do whatever you say, Chinatsuba-chan~"
Chizuru Takanashi pondered for a moment, hesitating between making rum and going on a hot spring trip, when a cute little strawberry cake appeared before her.
"This is for you, Chika-chan." The male waiter spoke in a seductive female voice.
Takanashi Chinatsu murmured unconsciously, "Vermouth?"
"The sir needs to speak with you." Vermouth, disguised as a waitress, smiled, glanced at the other three, and said, "He needs to speak with you too. Come with me after you finish eating."
Bourbon raised his coffee cup to Vermouth, his tone relaxed: "Are you entrusting us with important responsibilities? We will certainly not let you down, sir."
Vermouth blinked, her smile masking a chill in her low voice: "Eat as much as you like; this might be your last meal."
Chinatsu took a bite of the strawberry on top of the cake and started typing rapidly on her phone, but Vermouth grabbed her wrist.
For a moment, Takanashi Chika's mind went blank. She looked up in a daze and saw Vermouth's helpless smile.
"This time won't work, Chinatsu-chan."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com