The Gods Are Fighting Over Me - Chapter 16

As Kenji Hagiwara got up to walk toward Lin Jianyue, she had already moved to the edge of the bed and sat down.

Kenji Hagiwara’s eyes darkened slightly, but he didn’t say anything. He rummaged through the medical kit for the necessary tools and gently wiped the cuts on Lin Jianyue’s arm with povidone-iodine.

But compared to her arm, her knees were the most severely injured. When she had jumped to cover her mentor, her knees had scraped against the ground, leaving behind a layer of scuffed skin, with red bl00d droplets mixed with tiny grains of sand that were painfully clear to see.

Kenji Hagiwara knelt, his brows furrowing as he saw the wounds under her skirt.

Saline poured from the bottle, washing away the large grains of sand. Then came a moist cotton swab dipped in povidone-iodine.

As the slightly rough cotton swab touched the scrape, Lin Jianyue’s leg instinctively flinched and pulled back.

“Sorry, I’ll be gentler,” Kenji Hagiwara said, his voice soft and cool, like the moon after a rainstorm.

The cotton swab landed again with an extremely light touch. As he reached the deepest cut, he suddenly leaned in and gently blew on the wound.

Lin Jianyue flinched like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instinctively trying to pull away. But Kenji Hagiwara held her foot, still in her shoe, and made her rest it on his thigh.

“Just be a good girl. It’ll be over soon.” He moved a few more centimeters closer to her knee. His warm, minty breath brushed against her skin. It tickled.

Blowing on a wound had no pain-relieving effect whatsoever, but since the third grade, no one had gently blown on Lin Jianyue’s wounds.

Lin Jianyue knew better than to feel relief from Kenji Hagiwara’s breath on her wound, but her attention was successfully diverted. It was like walking through a field of blooming rapeseed flowers after the rain. The new leaves, still wet with clean dew, brushed against her skin.

It was an itch.

But it was also accompanied by a warm, indescribable, burning feeling.

A tingling sensation traveled from her knee straight to her spine.

Her slender fingers with a few thin calluses nervously clenched her skirt. Lin Jianyue couldn’t describe the feeling. She stared at the back of Kenji Hagiwara’s head and forced herself to change the subject. “How are you here?”

Kenji Hagiwara looked up and smiled. Sunlight streamed through the white lace curtains, landing on his face, making him look pure and radiant. “It’s a rare day off, so I thought I’d come and see your grad school.”

“I meant here, the infirmary.”

Kenji Hagiwara curved his lips. “I heard there was a commotion in the cafeteria. On my way there, I ran into Conan. He said a ‘big sister’ he knew got a few scrapes and went to the infirmary. I guessed it was you, so I came.”

Lin Jianyue frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be chasing the culprit? That guy almost killed my mentor.”

At the mention of that, the smile on Kenji Hagiwara’s face became forced, and his eyebrows knotted together.

It was as if he were recalling something shocking. He let out a few single syllables from his throat before slowly saying, “When I got there, Conan was kicking a flowerpot on the side of the road. That thing hit the back of the suspect’s head, 500 meters away, at a speed I can’t even comprehend, and knocked him out.”

“Are you surprised?”

“Of course, I am. I thought there was no one more gorilla-like than little Zero and little Jinpei. But I guess…” He let out a helpless laugh and marveled, “That kid has a bright future ahead of him.”

“The person with the bright future isn’t him. It’s Professor Agasa, who caused an explosion in his own backyard when you went to inspect his place last time,” Lin Jianyue said flatly. “Conan achieved his gorilla-like feat with the help of the shoes the professor invented.”

As soon as she said it, Lin Jianyue suddenly remembered the movie where Conan not only used a giant soccer ball to stop a high-speed maglev train but also defied inertia with his mortal body, pulling off a move that would make both Newton and Darwin turn in their graves.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly changed her mind. “That kid truly has a bright future.”

“Huh?” Kenji Hagiwara was stunned, and he didn’t press for the reason for her change of heart.

Although he was praised by everyone for his sharp insight, he never liked to pry too much into others’ business. He always knew how to maintain the perfect social distance.

His purple eyes looked up, reflecting Lin Jianyue’s thoughtful, frowning face.

But Lin Jianyue was the exception. He wanted to know everything about her, from her past to her future, until he could possess her entirely.

When Lin Jianyue pulled herself out of her messy thoughts, Kenji Hagiwara had already lowered his head and continued to treat the wound on her right knee.

The gentle, Kenji Hagiwara-scented breeze brushed over her lips, lightly landing on her skin. The itchiness once again rippled out in all directions.

Lin Jianyue was sitting on the edge of the bed, one foot naturally dangling and the other resting on Kenji Hagiwara’s bent thigh.

The leg on Kenji Hagiwara’s body was slightly elevated, revealing a sliver of her pale thigh.

But Kenji Hagiwara kept his head down the entire time, his eyelashes lowered, as he focused on gently treating the wound on her knee.

His fingertip would occasionally brush against Lin Jianyue’s calf. Each time it happened, Lin Jianyue’s muscles would twitch as if she had been burned, and her foot would slide half an inch on Kenji Hagiwara’s thigh.

Maybe half a minute passed, or maybe it was only ten seconds. In any case, for Lin Jianyue, time seemed to stretch out at that moment.

When Kenji Hagiwara gently placed her foot down, her ears were already a little red.

Lin Jianyue had done much more audacious things to Kenji Hagiwara in her dreams, but the sense of being in control and being brazen was a completely different experience from being unknowingly teased and having Kenji Hagiwara in control.

After wrapping the last piece of gauze, he looked up at her, his eyes full of concern, like a pitiful, rain-soaked puppy. “Something so dangerous happened. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I already called the police.”

“But you could have called me.”

“But I thought…” Lin Jianyue paused. “Even if I did, I should have called Matsuda.”

Kenji Hagiwara immediately puffed out his cheeks in mock anger, but a dark look flashed in his eyes, like a moon covered by a dark cloud. “I’m a police officer, too. It would have been the same to call me. I wouldn’t have shown up as your boyfriend, but as an officer of justice.”

As he spoke, he was careful to smooth out the hem of Lin Jianyue’s skirt, then he stood up.

Lin Jianyue didn’t respond. She just quietly looked into Kenji Hagiwara’s eyes. She didn’t know why she hadn’t called him. Maybe it was because she was a stubborn and indecisive person when it came to relationships.

She wanted to be a femme fatale and enjoy Kenji Hagiwara’s kindness without any shame, but she couldn’t be a heartbreaker and trample on his affection.

Ding-dong.

A series of phone rings broke the increasingly awkward atmosphere between them. Lin Jianyue pulled her phone out of her bag and looked at the screen.

It was her mentor.

She pressed the accept button, and her mentor’s slightly weak voice came through the receiver.

“Jianyue, they’ve already caught the culprit. I’m safe.”

Although she had expected this outcome, hearing her mentor’s voice telling her she was safe still made her feel emotional. She sniffled hard and let out a long breath. “Mentor, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end, as if she was collecting herself. “Jianyue, the promotional art you did for the travel company got a great response. Besides your pay, they also gave me a two-person island trip package for tomorrow.”

“Everything’s free. You can just use the black diamond card they gave me for all the expenses on the island. The flight tickets and hotels are also covered.”

Lin Jianyue responded with a smile. “Congratulations, Mentor. It’s a great opportunity for you to get out and clear your head.”

She didn’t notice that the man who had been standing in front of her had sat down on the bed beside her. His large hand, a man’s hand, was like a sneaky thief, inching closer to her hand, which was resting on the edge of the bed, completely silent.

Her mentor’s voice continued. “I had originally planned to take my husband, but I just want to go home and rest for a few days. I’m going to postpone the trip and my work.”

Her hand was lightly touched.

“It would be a waste not to use the package. If you have time, you can have it.”

Kenji Hagiwara’s fingers tentatively slipped between hers. His movements were so gentle, as if he were afraid of scaring away a butterfly. The feeling of their fingers being intertwined was so familiar from her dreams that Lin Jianyue didn’t even notice anything was amiss.

“Don’t worry about work. I’ve already talked to my collaborators. You won’t have to deal with any work for the next three days, and your assignments can be postponed.”

Lin Jianyue understood the gratitude hidden in her mentor’s weary tone. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be happy about her mentor’s special favor or the fact that she could go on a trip.

She had been in Japan for almost half a year, and all she had done was work on drafts or catch up on sleep. She hadn’t even been to any tourist spots besides the Tokyo Tower.

A two-person island trip, leaving tomorrow, with no work.

It sounded amazing.

After thanking her profusely, Lin Jianyue hung up the phone. Her eyes curved into crescents of happiness, and as she looked up, she met Kenji Hagiwara’s gaze.

The man was sitting right beside her, his upper body leaning slightly toward her, his eyes filled with a perfect amount of curiosity. “Who was that on the phone?”

“My mentor. She gave me a two-person travel package that the travel company gave her. I’m thinking of.”

Lin Jianyue suddenly stopped. She lifted her left hand and, with it, lifted Kenji Hagiwara’s right hand, which was intertwined with hers.

His fingertips were slightly callused, and a burning heat traveled through her skin.

Lin Jianyue stared at their clasped hands for a few seconds, then slowly looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?” Kenji Hagiwara blinked innocently, his eyes shining like a simple, large dog. But his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously in his throat, revealing the hidden tension under the sun.

Lin Jianyue stared at Kenji Hagiwara’s face and suddenly remembered a Japanese variety show she had watched in college. When people were focused on a phone call, they would subconsciously take whatever was handed to them.

To prove this theory, the TV crew even gave a brand new pink women’s bra and a morning star to a random man who was in the middle of a phone call.

Lin Jianyue had never thought she would be the one being messed with, that someone would take advantage of her being on the phone to give her something dangerous; they gave her Kenji Hagiwara himself.

Lin Jianyue silently pulled her hand away.

The moment their fingertips separated, she clearly saw the light in Kenji Hagiwara’s face dim. The corners of his mouth drooped, and his back subtly tensed.

“It’s a shame you’re not wearing a suit today,” Lin Jianyue suddenly said.

“It’s my day off, so I’m dressed casually.” He was stunned, but he immediately replied, “If you like it, I can wear one every day.”

“No need,” her gaze swept over his exposed collarbone. “It just makes it difficult for me to pull your tie.”

“Huh? Why would you want to pull?”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Lin Jianyue suddenly cupped his face and pulled him toward her.

There was a soft touch on his forehead, like a feather landing.

Kenji Hagiwara’s pupils contracted. His heart was violently pounding against his chest as if it wanted to escape.

Lin Jianyue briefly kissed Kenji Hagiwara’s forehead, then let go and leaned back.

But the distance between her and Kenji Hagiwara didn’t increase; it decreased.

He had somehow regained his composure and silently leaned in. His tall frame blocked the light, casting a large shadow on Lin Jianyue’s face.

Kenji Hagiwara was a silhouette against the light, his expression unclear, but his eyes were deep, like there was a vortex swirling inside, trying to pull her in.

He rested his hands on the edge of the bed, creating a space around her. His face was inches from hers, and their breaths were about to mingle, but then he stopped, his lips only half an inch away.

Lin Jianyue held her breath like a startled deer, her heart pounding. She stared at the man so close to her, and a voice inside her urged her to lean in and kiss him on the lips.

But her intuition told her she shouldn’t be the one to do it this time. One step further would cross an invisible line.

“I thought you didn’t want any physical contact with me,” Kenji Hagiwara said, his voice a little hoarse, with a hint of cautious probing. “You didn’t even want me to hug you at the door.”

No, I don’t hate it. On the contrary, I like it very much.

But those words could be the button that opened the floodgates and released a monster. Lin Jianyue pursed her lips and swallowed the words that were almost out.

Silence spread between them.

Kenji Hagiwara stared at Lin Jianyue for a few seconds, then sighed. He gently pecked her on the cheek instead. He straightened up and pulled away, a big smile back on his face, his tone back to normal. “A two-person island trip. Who are you planning to go with?”

Lin Jianyue hesitated, wondering if she should invite Kenji Hagiwara. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Officer Sato, who had finished her work, walking past downstairs.

She suddenly remembered the relationship curse between the police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department.

“Kenji, did you ever meet anyone unforgettable when you were a kid?” Lin Jianyue asked.

“Why the sudden question?”

“I want to know about your past,” Lin Jianyue said, swinging her foot and avoiding his gaze. “Was there anyone or anything unforgettable? I want to know.”

Especially if there was a sudden “white moonlight” from the past.

Kenji Hagiwara’s eyes instantly lit up. He sat down close to Lin Jianyue and began to recall his past seriously.

Kenji Hagiwara was a gentle and thoughtful person. He could easily remember a lot of small things that had touched him, even if they had happened years ago.

He talked about his past to Lin Jianyue with a big smile, from elementary school to middle school and high school. The main characters of the stories were both male and female, and every story had a warmth to it.

But as he was talking, he suddenly stopped carefully. Although she didn’t understand, Lin Jianyue’s look at him was not right. It was a little like… scorn?

Kenji Hagiwara was stunned. He quickly went through everything he had said in his mind.

He hadn’t done anything morally corrupt… right?

But in the next second, Lin Jianyue picked up her phone and said casually, but with a hint of gritted teeth, “Officer Matsuda, will you come on a trip with me tomorrow?”

Kenji Hagiwara and the curly-haired police officer on the other end of the phone both said in unison, “Huh?”