Chapter 46: He Already Has a Girlfriend

Back in the green room, the people backstage were as completely dazed as the audience out front. In my heart, I sighed helplessly to Aphrodite, Great, now I’m famous all over again.

"Tee-hee, what is bound to come will come eventually. Don’t worry too much; letting go of yourself will actually make things much easier!" she chuckled.

Call it my lack of refinement, but her ambiguous words flew right over my head. Walking over to the stunned Kakae, I lightly tapped her on the shoulder to bring her back to her senses.

"The show can wrap up now. Don’t just stand here frozen—hurry out to take your final bows!" I said with a laugh.

"Ah... Oh!" Realizing she was still a host, Kakae hastily prepared to dash back onto the main stage. I quickly pulled her back, saying, "I’d better slip away right now. When the evening show ends, meet me by the stone bridge next to the Great Yasuda Auditorium, and we’ll grab dinner together!"

Kakae looked at me as if she had a lot to say, but after a long pause, she simply nodded and ran off to the front stage.

I intended to sneak out through the backstage side door, but to my surprise, Sho Utei blocked my way in an instant. Glaring at me intently, she said with a stubborn edge in her voice, "You got away last time, but no matter what, I won’t let you run off this time!"

Looking at her, I asked in confusion, "Do we know each other?"

Sho Utei nodded vigorously.

"Then how come I don’t remember you? Where did we meet?"

"At the Catis French Restaurant! I heard you play the piano there!"

Only then did I remember who she was. Wasn’t she the girl who had stopped me at the French restaurant back then? Japan really was a small place! I smiled and said, "I remember now! It was you. Did you need something from me?"

Seeing that I remembered her, Sho Utei broke into a bright smile. "Mhm! I want to learn piano and zither from you. You’re just too amazing—not only do you play the piano so well, but your zither playing is unbelievable too. Hearing you play the piano back then crushed my confidence, which is why I didn’t play piano today and switched to the zither instead. Who would have thought your zither skills were also... Was that High Mountains and Flowing Water you played just now?"

"Yeah, it was High Mountains and Flowing Water."

"Then why was it different from the traditional version? Isn’t it usually played as two separate pieces?" Sho Utei asked, bewildered.

"High Mountains and Flowing Water was originally a single piece." Just as I answered her, thunderous applause erupted from the front stage, and I could even faintly hear people calling out my name.

Panic set in, and I hastily told Sho Utei, "Oh no, I have to run, or I’m dead meat! Let me know if there’s another chance in the future!" With that, I bolted toward the side exit.

"What about me learning the instrument from you?!" Sho Utei shouted from behind as she watched me run off again.

How could I possibly worry about her right now? I sprinted straight to the small stone bridge and found a spot to hide.

After about twenty minutes, I saw a few figures walking toward me from a distance. As they drew near, I realized it was Ryu Yu and the others alongside Kakae. Under the night sky, Kakae had already changed out of her evening gown. Seeing me, Ryu Yu immediately charged forward and punched me on the chest, saying excitedly, "Boss, you truly are my boss! Nothing can stump you—that piece was beyond mesmerizing!"

The others joined in to chime their agreement. Now that everyone knew each other, they dropped their reserve and jokingly called me a freak. Am I really that freakish? Definitely not!

I patted Ryu Yu’s shoulder and teased, "So, the outcome is clear now. Shouldn’t a certain someone fulfill his promise? Just make sure you don’t end up streaking!"

Ryu Yu said heroically, "Of course I’ll fulfill my promise! Everyone, let’s head to Fu Ji Hotpot City next to the university—it’s my treat!"

The group responded with a roar of approval, following Ryu Yu as he led the way toward the campus gate. Kakae and I walked at the very back, and whether by coincidence or prior arrangement, no one came to disturb us.

Walking side by side along the quiet campus path, they say the first sentence between people is always small talk, so I started making conversation: "Kakae, where are you from?"

"I’m from Kyoto! Fuitsu, when I first came to Tokyo, my favorite place was the Ginza shopping district—there are so many things to buy!" Kakae said with a light giggle.

"Then next time, I’ll take you through every street and alley here."

"Mhm, sounds great! But you’re covering all the expenses!" Kakae joked.

"That’s no problem at all. Do you live on campus or at home?" I asked with a smile.

"My mom didn’t want me living on campus—she worries about this and that. I actually snuck out today, otherwise someone would have come to pick me up right after the show!"

"Huh? Wouldn’t that worry your family? Why don’t you give them a call?"

"No, I won’t! Let them worry for a bit so they learn not to restrict my going out in the future!" Kakae said with a huff.

Hearing this made me break out in a cold sweat. I really couldn’t read her—turns out she had a rebellious streak beneath that shy exterior!

Without another word along the way, we arrived at Fu Ji Hotpot City and got a private room. Just as we sat down, Ryu Yu asked, "Should we drink liquor or wine?"

I truly wasn’t good at drinking, so I quickly said, "I don’t know how to drink. It’d be bad if I got drunk!"

Hearing this, a guy named Risho chimed in, "That won’t do! Where we come from in the North, a man who can’t drink isn’t a real man! Besides, we have the lovely Kakae sitting right beside you guys. We’ll make an exception today—if you can’t finish your drinks, you can ask her to drink on your behalf. You two can just count as one couple!"

What couple? What on earth are they talking about?!

I looked over at Kakae, who had already lowered her head in sheer embarrassment, her blush spreading all the way to her earlobes. I laughed and scolded, "Stop wagging your tongues! We’re just friends!"

"You can tell at a glance you’re a player. A few days ago, you kissed Professor Shuyan right in front of everyone, and today you wrapped your hand around Senior Kakae’s waist," a girl named Kogoto scoffed, looking at me with disdain upon hearing my reply.

I wanted to explain, but remembering my promise to Professor Shuyan, I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut. Forgetting her shyness, Kakae raised her head and looked at me in utter disbelief, as if trying to find an answer on my face. Seeing that I didn’t deny it, the spark in her vibrant eyes gradually dimmed.

"Kogoto, don’t talk nonsensically if you don’t know the truth! My big brother has nothing going on with the professor—that was just a misunderstanding!" Ryu Yu came to my rescue.

Hearing Ryu Yu say this, Kakae let out a long sigh of relief and flashed me a shy smile.

However, Ryu Yu didn’t notice Kakae’s reaction at all and continued, "My big brother already has a girlfriend back home. I heard she’s a real beauty!"

The smile that had just reappeared on Kakae’s face froze instantly. Her hands began to tremble unconsciously, and her eyes turned slightly red. Grabbing my hand, she murmured softly, "Is what he said true?"

I shot a glare at Ryu Yu, who had only just realized what he had done, and nodded to her. "Yes. We met after the National Exam. Let’s not talk about this anymore—let’s order the food and drinks!"

Only then did the rest of the group notice Kakae’s expression, and they hurriedly chimed in to smooth things over. Ryu Yu stuck out his tongue in sheepishness and rushed out to order food and fetch drinks. Tacitly, everyone changed the topic and began chatting animatedly about military training instead.