It’s Not Okay to Kiss Me as Soon as We Meet (ABO) - Chapter 15

Lin Huaiyi’s face darkened, but Yamamoto Daisuke showed no sign of stopping and continued talking to himself. “This Tsuna Yamamoto kid is an S-level alpha—he seems just about worthy of Miss Shen. Miss Shen, why not give it some serious thought.”

Yamamoto Daisuke wore the kindest smile on his face, yet his words were the hardest. What he implied was that if Shen Li didn’t agree to their marriage proposal, the Yamamoto family certainly wouldn’t help her. It was like kicking someone when they were down.

After hearing Yamamoto Daisuke’s words, Lin Huaiyi’s face turned completely overcast. She didn’t translate that offensive remark in real time to Shen Li. Shen Li had never seen Lin Huaiyi’s dark side before and turned to her with concern. “What are they saying?”

Looking at the previously harmonious atmosphere, Shen Li thought the authorization matter could be settled right away, so her mood had lightened up a bit. Although that Tsuna Yamamoto had kept staring at her with strange eyes, making her feel uncomfortable all over, she figured that once she left Japan, she probably wouldn’t see the Yamamoto family people again in her lifetime, so she didn’t take it too much to heart.

For a girl like Shen Li, who had been beautiful from childhood, growing up meant enduring covetous gazes from others, and Tsuna Yamamoto’s look wasn’t enough to throw her off balance.

Lin Huaiyi took a deep breath and found the current situation absurdly ridiculous. If this were her own affair, she would really want to slam the documents on the Yamamoto father and son’s faces and storm off. But she was here helping Shen Li, and Shen Li’s goal was to get this authorization. So she held back, gave a rough translation of what the Yamamoto father and son had just said to Shen Li.

Sure enough, the ease on Shen Li’s face vanished in an instant. She hadn’t expected that despite her full sincerity and willingness to offer such a big sweet deal with the chip authorization, Yamamoto still wouldn’t take the good and leave it at that—he still wanted to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Indeed, human greed was a bottomless pit.

Shen Li paused for a moment, shook her head, and said, “Lin Huaiyi, I won’t consider marriage. I see no need to continue this talk. Let’s go.”

It was the time, the luck, the fate. Shen Li believed she had done all she could. The Yamamoto family’s marriage demand didn’t seem like a proposal to her—it felt more like an insult.

Shen Li had outstanding looks from childhood and strong abilities, making her the perfect daughter-in-law in the eyes of many prestigious families. From young to old, various people had surrounded her for different reasons, and she knew all too well what was in their minds.

It was nothing more than eyeing Shen Corporation’s wealth and technology, and Shen Li’s beauty and capability—marrying her home would be a surefire profitable deal.

If she, Shen Li, were willing to take shortcuts to secure the Shen Corporation successor position, she wouldn’t have to work this hard now. Besides, even if she wanted to gain resources through marriage, the Yamamoto family wouldn’t even be in the running.

Seeing the talks about to fall apart, Shen Li didn’t even want to say goodbye. She stood up and pulled Lin Huaiyi to leave. The Yamamoto father and son hadn’t expected Shen Li to refuse so bluntly—seeing a fat piece of meat about to slip from their mouths, they couldn’t help but panic.

Tsuna Yamamoto stepped forward and blocked Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li.

Lin Huaiyi looked at him coldly, her tone no longer as polite as before. “Does Young Master Yamamoto have any more brilliant ideas? I thought I made it clear just now. Is my Japanese not standard enough—do I need to repeat it in English?”

Tsuna Yamamoto tugged at the corner of his mouth in a fawning smile, but because his face was so oddly shaped, the two sides were extremely asymmetrical—probably from years of gloom and repression, not smiling much—this forced grin only made him look more repulsive.

Tsuna Yamamoto: “You two ladies, don’t rush off. If you leave now, Shen Corporation won’t get Yamamoto’s authorization, and Yamamoto won’t get Shen Corporation’s chip technology. Why let outsiders laugh at us? In business, haggling is the most normal thing. Since you two ladies find the previous proposal unacceptable, we can just switch to another one.”

Tsuna Yamamoto forced another smile, thinking it made him look suave and refined. Seeing that Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li hadn’t continued walking forward, he grew bold and said, “Our Japan values martial prowess. Miss Shen Li wants to refuse my proposal of marriage—it’s just that she hasn’t seen my strength yet. Here’s an idea: within today, Miss Shen can have any alpha by her side compete with me. If the one Miss Shen sends wins, she can take the Yamamoto patent authorization document today—Yamamoto will give you that patent technology for free. If she loses, Miss Shen marries into the Yamamoto family. Of course, then it’s all one family—no need for two sets of words—and Shen Corporation can still use Yamamoto’s technology patents. However you look at it, my proposal won’t leave Miss Shen at a loss. What do you say, Miss Shen?”

Lin Huaiyi continued as translator and informed Shen Li of Tsuna Yamamoto’s proposal. Neither of them could make sense of Tsuna Yamamoto’s idea. This was clearly a business negotiation, yet the Yamamoto family first demanded marriage, then a fight—none of it looked like normal talks. The marriage thing, Shen Li could never agree to no matter what. But as for a fight, it seemed like there might be some room for maneuver.

On the day Lin Huaiyi marked Shen Li, Shen Li had learned that Lin Huaiyi’s level was at least S-grade or above. And Tsuna Yamamoto was an S-level alpha—between alphas of different levels, a fight would be like hitting from a higher dimension, so Lin Huaiyi had a big chance of winning.

Shen Li’s thoughts wavered. She looked at Lin Huaiyi. “Lin Huaiyi, can you fight for me?”

Lin Huaiyi frowned, looking exasperated like she was dealing with a hopeless case, her words carrying some anger. “Shen Li, he’s using you as a bet—it’s not worth it no matter the reason!”

Shen Li looked at Lin Huaiyi with a desperate gaze. “I have no better way. I believe in you—you’ll definitely win.”

Faced with Shen Li’s slightly pleading eyes, Lin Huaiyi had no defense. The bit of anger in her heart was aimed at the Yamamoto father and son anyway. Since Shen Li was willing to trust her, this battle had to be fought no matter what.

Lin Huaiyi finally confirmed with Shen Li one last time. “You’re sure you want to agree, right?”

Shen Li’s voice rang clear. “Mm, I’m sure.”

If it were up to Lin Huaiyi, no matter how sure she felt of winning against Tsuna Yamamoto, she wouldn’t want Shen Li to serve as a bet. But she also understood that with Shen Li’s proud personality, agreeing to this was because she wanted the Yamamoto authorization no matter what. She had already become a qualified merchant—a true merchant wouldn’t let emotions sway her judgment.

Lin Huaiyi turned back to Tsuna Yamamoto, her eyes unable to hide the killing intent. “We accept the challenge. The opponent you’ll face is me.”

Tsuna Yamamoto looked Lin Huaiyi up and down with an exaggerated expression. “You? Hahaha, looks like Miss Shen isn’t against marrying into our Yamamoto family after all. Tell Miss Shen that once she marries in, I’ll treat her well.”

Lin Huaiyi was already fed up with talking to Tsuna Yamamoto. She sneered and tossed out impatient words. “Save that garbage talk for when you actually have a shot at winning—otherwise, the clown will be you.”

Tsuna Yamamoto reined in his smile upon hearing this. “Look at those skinny arms and legs—if I didn’t look closely, I’d think you were an omega. What a shame—otherwise, if you begged me, I’d agree to let you and Shen Li both marry in.”

A maid from the Yamamoto family led Lin Huaiyi to the changing room to put on a set of loose clothes suitable for exercise. The rules for the fight between Lin Huaiyi and Tsuna Yamamoto were very simple: no weapons allowed, and no pheromone attacks. This set of rules applied to most duels in this world.

Before going on stage, Shen Li cautioned Lin Huaiyi. “Lin Huaiyi, though I have a lot of confidence in you, if something unexpected happens, don’t push yourself—I don’t want you hurt. Even if I have to leave Shen Corporation, you can’t get hurt. Promise me first.”

Lin Huaiyi gave Shen Li a light smile. Seeing Shen Li so serious like a little kid, she followed her heart’s call for the first time and reached out to ruffle Shen Li’s hair whorl, contentedly watching a few little cowlicks pop up on Shen Li’s head.

“Alright, I promise you.” Lin Huaiyi replied solemnly.

The Yamamoto family’s dueling ground was very professional—fully the size of a standard sports field. The dueling ground was surrounded by barriers over a person’s height to prevent harming the audience. Behind the barriers were two tiers of seats for spectators.

A girl sat down beside Shen Li, and a slightly immature, crisp voice rang out.

“My brother is really handsome, right?”

After coming to Japan, Shen Li had rarely heard anyone speak English, so suddenly hearing it now felt a bit unfamiliar. She looked to the side in some surprise.

Beside her was a youthful girl who looked no older than 18, with a round, rosy face that seemed full of energy.

Shen Li: “Who are you?”

The girl smiled at Shen Li. “Hello, sister. Nice to meet you—please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Mieko Yamamoto. My father is Yamamoto Daisuke, and my brother is Tsuna Yamamoto.”

Shen Li’s expression turned cool upon hearing it was another Yamamoto family member. Her impression of the Yamamoto family had already hit rock bottom. She was icy to begin with, and now her demeanor was even more unfriendly, but this didn’t scare off the girl beside her.

Mieko Yamamoto stared excitedly into the arena and exclaimed, gesturing with her hands. “Wow! They’re fighting! Wow wow! That female alpha looks all skinny and weak, but she fights pretty well!”

When Tsuna Yamamoto stood in the dueling ground, he clearly showed a completely different temperament from his earlier nonstop blabbering. As soon as Lin Huaiyi took her position, Tsuna Yamamoto whipped out a leg strike. Lin Huaiyi saw it coming and called out, “Good one!”

In her previous life, Lin Huaiyi had been all alone, spinning through the business world, so she had to learn some hand-to-hand combat to protect herself.

But limited by women’s physiological conditions, no matter how much she trained, she couldn’t match men in strength. Against a brute who used raw power to overwhelm skill, Lin Huaiyi’s bit of fighting know-how still fell short. Martial arts were all tied to strength, after all.

But now Lin Huaiyi was different—she had differentiated into an SSS-level alpha, with top-tier stats across the board in her body. She wanted to test the power of this body.

Facing Tsuna Yamamoto’s full-force strike, she neither dodged nor evaded but met it head-on with a proper leg whip of her own.

Tsuna Yamamoto saw Lin Huaiyi not dodging and sneered viciously. “Truly striking a stone with an egg.”

The Yamamoto family’s ancestors were samurai, and the family had always revered the bushido spirit, emphasizing in battle a “death without regret, death without hesitation, death without second thoughts.” All the Yamamoto heirs received training from childhood, so Tsuna Yamamoto had a good sense of his leg’s power.

Mieko Yamamoto cheered from the sidelines. “Ah, brother once kicked right through a steel plate with one foot—she’s meeting it head-on like that, her leg will break!”

Clearly, the siblings were of one mind, and Tsuna Yamamoto thought the same—he put all his strength into it, planning to cripple Lin Huaiyi with one kick.