The Gods Are Fighting Over Me - Chapter 26

The subway was crowded with people. The stuffy air mixed with various smells rushed at her. Lin Jianyue hugged her single-shoulder bag with one hand, and her other shoulder was pressed against the cold handrail.

She was holding her phone, her thumb swiping across the screen from time to time.

Yesterday, she had posted a manga called Mobile Unit Police Story on a website called ico. So far, only one chapter has been released.

She had synced the manga updates to her Twitter and posted the main character’s character design.

The main character was tall, with captivating downturned eyes. Aside from a different hairstyle, the character was completely modeled after Kenji Hagiwara.

It had been more than ten hours since the first chapter was posted, but it had only received a few scattered comments and likes. The numbers were pitifully low.

Thankfully, the comments were all praises, saying that her art style was beautiful and that the main character had an incredibly charming face. Especially his eyes. Just looking at them made people feel like they were being captivated.

Lin Jianyue’s mouth couldn’t help but curve into a smile as she looked at the comments. She liked every single comment that praised the male lead.

The subway’s arrival announcement cut through the noise. She followed the crowd and walked toward Tama Art University. Sunlight passed through the gaps in the trees on the street and landed on the ground, making her eyes dizzy.

It had been a week since the murder of the teacher. This was the first time Lin Jianyue had met her teacher at school.

The other party clearly paused when she saw her. Her lips moved, as if she were considering what expression to make. Finally, she spoke in an intimate, slightly apologetic tone. “Morning, Jianyue.”

“Good morning, Teacher,” Lin Jianyue bowed properly.

She had never liked the complicated formalities of Japan, but she respected this particular teacher from the bottom of her heart.

By the way, her teacher’s name was Saitou Kiriko. She was a career woman in her early thirties.

Today’s class was no different from usual. She listened to the lecture, did some practice, and wrote down her homework. She quickly ate a few bites of lunch at the cafeteria and then spent the afternoon in the art room.

Just as school was about to end, Lin Jianyue was packing up to leave when Saitou Kiriko suddenly called out to her. The female teacher kept pursing her lips. Her lipstick had already blurred into a messy smudge, clearly indicating that she had been mentally preparing herself for a long time.

“Jianyue,” her voice was a little deep, “come with me to a banquet the day after tomorrow.”

“Huh?” Lin Jianyue’s eyes widened in surprise. She had thought Saitou Kiriko would continue to maintain her strict, almost inhumane persona, never easily giving her students any resources.

For this perfectionist, actively lifting a student whose skills she considered not yet mature was probably like forcing an introverted person to do a goofy dance with a megaphone in the busiest part of Beika Street. Just thinking about it made her feel exhausted.

“But don’t get too happy,” Saitou Kiriko avoided her gaze, her tone a little stiff. “The host of the banquet is a master architect, Teiji Moriya. If you follow the architecture world, you’ve definitely heard of his name.”

She paused, as if she had finally convinced herself. “I’m not sure how many people from the illustration world will be there, but you should still come with me to see the world. At the very least, it will let people know that you’re a disciple I think highly of.”

Lin Jianyue’s eyes darkened. She knew that her teacher was repaying her life-saving kindness.

Her initial plea for help was an unconscious act, but since her teacher was willing to lift her up, there was no reason for her to refuse.

She bowed deeply, a sincere excitement on her face. “Yes, thank you, Teacher.”

Saitou Kiriko let out a long sigh, as if she had just finished a long, mentally draining battle.

She patted the back of Lin Jianyue’s hand, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Remember to wear a proper dress. Don’t be too casual, but don’t be too flashy either. Being decent is the most important thing.”

When Lin Jianyue agreed, she already had a plan in mind. She went back to her apartment, opened the box at the bottom of her closet, and took out a light apricot-colored dress. Her father had bought it for her years ago for occasions like concerts.

The dress was made of soft silk, and the skirt was embroidered with intricate dark patterns. It wasn’t too formal, but it was elegant enough. When she came to Japan, she had casually thrown it into her suitcase, just in case she might need it. She never expected it to actually come in handy.

The banquet was held in a villa with a large Western-style garden.

The afternoon sun shone on the ancient Greek-style statue fountain. The water droplets refracted the light, making it hard to open one’s eyes.

Lin Jianyue followed Saitou Kiriko, quietly accompanying her as she met a lot of unfamiliar faces.

Two days had passed, and Saitou Kiriko still hadn’t fully adjusted to the role of “recommending a student.” Her tone was always a little stiff when she introduced Lin Jianyue.

But even so, she seriously introduced Lin Jianyue to the presidents of the two companies that were related to the art and illustration industry.

One of them was the president of ICO, the company where Lin Jianyue had just published her manga a few days ago.

As they were talking, a tall, but somewhat thin man, walked over.

He had a slightly bald head, and his hairline was ridiculously high, making people wonder if he had overworked his brain.

The mustache above his lip was neatly trimmed and curled up slightly. It was obvious he had spent a lot of time grooming it.

Lin Jianyue stared at the man’s mustache for two seconds, her expression a little blank. She really couldn’t understand this kind of aesthetic.

Or rather, she couldn’t understand any kind of mustache aesthetic, including Hiromitsu Morofushi’s stubble.

The man enthusiastically extended his hand to Saitou Kiriko. With a few words, he revealed that he was the host of the banquet, he was Teiji Moriya, the one who had invited Saitou Kiriko.

Even though one was an architect and the other was an illustrator, the two of them bonded over “perfectionism” and chatted happily.

“Jianyue, come and meet Mr. Teiji Moriya.”

Saitou Kiriko’s eyes sparkled, a kind of excitement that was similar to meeting an old friend in a foreign land. “Mr. Moriya is just like me. He pursues extreme perfection in his work. If a line is half a millimeter off, he’ll tear it down and start over.”

Lin Jianyue shook hands with Teiji Moriya stiffly while listening to her teacher’s nonstop introduction. “It’s precisely because of this that we have been able to build a solid reputation in our industries and reach a height that many people will never be able to climb to in their entire lives.”

Saitou Kiriko looked at Lin Jianyue earnestly. “Jianyue, you must learn from Mr. Moriya. You can’t be lax with your demands on yourself.”

Teiji Moriya also smiled and agreed, but his eyes strangely darkened. “Young architects today lack a sense of aesthetics and aren’t responsible for their own work. Miss Lin, I hope you will be like your teacher and pursue extreme perfection.”

Lin Jianyue smiled and agreed to a few things, not daring to say too much.

In that brief moment of eye contact, she had caught a hint of obsessive emotion in Teiji Moriya’s eyes.

Both geniuses and perfectionists have obsessive tendencies, but for some reason, the obsession that Teiji Moriya showed made her feel uneasy, as if there was a rapid drumbeat chasing her.

Just as Lin Jianyue was thinking, a familiar loud voice suddenly boomed behind her. “Well, Miss Jianyue, you’re here too?”

Lin Jianyue’s back instantly stiffened. Bl00d rushed to her head.

She mechanically turned around and, as expected, saw Kogoro Mouri standing not far away with a wine glass. His tie was askew. His daughter, Ran Mouri, and the eternal grade-school detective, Conan, were with him.

Ran Mouri was awkwardly pulling on her father’s arm, smiling timidly. When she met Lin Jianyue’s gaze, she quickly bowed.

Teiji Moriya, who had just finished shaking hands with Lin Jianyue, was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the Mouri family. Then he suddenly realized and walked forward with a smile. “You must be the famous Kogoro Mouri.”

Lin Jianyue was frozen in place. A familiar ache started to throb in her temples.

She hadn’t rested well yesterday and hadn’t felt anything, but the moment she saw Conan Edogawa, that familiar dull ache suddenly appeared, throbbing along with her heartbeat.

She quickly looked around, countless scenes from the manga flashing through her mind uncontrollably:

A banquet, famous people, exquisite food. This was the perfect stage for a murder case.

Lin Jianyue had already thought of the motive for the murder. It was either the teacher stealing the student’s work and taking it as their own, or the teacher suppressing the student, leading to a revenge killing.

The victim would most likely be the obsessive architect in front of her, Teiji Moriya.

Lin Jianyue forced a smile and gave a look of apology to Teacher Saitou. “Teacher, I’m going to the restroom.”

Saitou Kiriko’s interest in socializing was clearly disrupted by Kogoro Mouri’s loud voice. She waved at Lin Jianyue and turned to walk toward a round table with a white tablecloth.

After getting permission, Lin Jianyue turned and walked away with long strides. The heels of her shoes made a hurried sound on the marble floor.

In the last stall of the women’s restroom, she sat on the toilet lid and opened the manga she had secretly hidden in her bag.

Nothing.

The manga was completely blank.

The story stopped at the end of the previous chapter’s murder case. There was no scene from today at all.

Lin Jianyue froze, frowning in confusion, then she gave a self-deprecating smile.

The manga in her hands would automatically filter out the daily routines that it considered irrelevant. Since it wasn’t recorded, it meant that there wouldn’t be a murder case here.

She was probably just a little jumpy from all the cases she had been involved in.

Even though the manga hadn’t shown today’s scene, Lin Jianyue still looked around from time to time after she left the restroom, carefully observing her surroundings.

Teacher Saitou was initially nervous and looked around with her, but after a while, she got annoyed. She patiently and sympathetically patted Lin Jianyue’s shoulder. “Jianyue, I know you’ve been scared by all the consecutive murder cases, but don’t worry. Tokyo is very safe. There aren’t that many violent crimes.”

The banquet ended peacefully, and no one was hurt or killed.

When they were leaving, Teacher Saitou specifically found Lin Jianyue and patted her on the shoulder, telling her to rest well. “Jianyue, you can take tomorrow off, too. You don’t have to come to the studio.”

She thought for a moment and added, “There’s an art exhibit tomorrow on the top floor of the Beika City Building cinema. Go and take a look, take some pictures, gain some experience, and relax.”

“The Beika City Building is also one of Mr. Teiji Moriya’s masterpieces.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Lin Jianyue had barely eaten anything today. She endured the hunger coming from her stomach and gave Teacher Saitou a polite smile, watching her leave.

After the car carrying her teacher disappeared around the corner, Lin Jianyue felt as if all her muscles had been drained.

She rubbed her stomach twice, her thoughts preoccupied.

Behind her, Conan Edogawa had already squeezed into the back seat of Kogoro Mouri’s car, waving his hands and protesting to Kogoro Mouri. The distance was too far. Lin Jianyue could only vaguely hear Conan’s voice, as if he were a child whining and acting spoiled, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

A feeling of unease, like an invisible snake, was subtly wrapping itself around her.

“Jianyue-chan~” A sweet voice pulled Lin Jianyue out of her thoughts. The slightly raised end of his sentence revealed the owner’s cheerful mood.

Lin Jianyue looked in the direction of the voice. Kenji Hagiwara had already parked his white car at the side of the road.

He was leaning sideways, his hand resting on the passenger seat. His fluffy head poked out of the passenger window. His violet eyes were sparkling, just like a Samoyed’s, sticking its head out of a car window, waiting for its owner to come home.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Little Jinpei couldn’t make it, so he asked me to come and get you,” he said with a smile, using the excuse they had already planned out. He continued to act as a “messenger who was picking up his childhood friend’s girlfriend.”

Lin Jianyue’s mouth curved into a smile as she opened the car door and got in.

“So are you going to drop me off with Jinpei?” she asked, intentionally teasing him as she buckled her seatbelt.

“No way,” Kenji Hagiwara slowly started the car and turned his head to wink at her. “How about we have a secret affair behind his back?”

As the car drove out of the parking lot, the evening rush hour traffic moved like solidified magma. Kenji Hagiwara rolled down the window. The evening breeze, carrying the scent of grilled meat from a nearby izakaya, rushed in, blowing away the last bit of fatigue from his face.

“How was the banquet today?” He rested one hand on the steering wheel, his fingertips tapping along to the rhythm of the music. The light from the streetlights was reflected in his violet eyes.

Lin Jianyue was taking off her earrings in the mirror. When she heard him, she turned her head. “It was pretty strange. I met Conan today, and I thought a murder case was going to happen, but we actually got through the whole day safely.”

Kenji Hagiwara chuckled softly. “That’s a good thing. It proves that not every place Conan appears has a murder case.”

The car was stopped by a red light at an intersection. Kenji Hagiwara grabbed a paper bag from the back seat. “For you.”

Inside was a box of freshly made taiyaki. The red bean filling was still steaming.

“I bought it when I passed by the station,” he said with a playful smile, a look of wanting praise in his downturned eyes. “I thought you might not have had enough to eat.”

Lin Jianyue took a bite, and the hot red bean paste scalded her tongue. She quickly spat it out, blowing on it. Next to her, Kenji Hagiwara was frantically apologizing.

“Just focus on driving,” Lin Jianyue said. She blew on the taiyaki she had bitten into and took another bite.

The sweet, sticky red bean paste melted on her tongue, warming her like his concerned gaze.

It was so sweet.

Sweeter than any red bean paste she had ever had. It was sweet right to her heart.

They talked casually until the car slowly stopped in front of Lin Jianyue’s apartment building.

She lowered her head to unbuckle her seatbelt, thinking about whether she should invite Kenji Hagiwara upstairs to sit for a while. When she looked up, she met a pair of eyes filled with love.

Kenji Hagiwara had already put on the handbrake. He had his hands crossed on the steering wheel, and his head was lazily resting on his arms.

The sunset filled his eyes, pulling a sticky red thread in the depths of his eyes. The other end of the thread was connected to Lin Jianyue.

He was smiling, his eyes so gentle they could melt Lin Jianyue.

But underneath the gentleness, there was a hint of fatigue. It was the vulnerability he only showed to people he trusted after completely taking off his mask.

Lin Jianyue’s heart suddenly trembled. She completely forgot that in the four years she had dreamt of him, Kenji Hagiwara had long since evolved from a thoughtful and charming gentleman to a sweet-talking carnivore.

Her heart softened completely. Well, we’re already dating, she thought. Even if it’s a secret.

So she blurted out, “Want to come up and sit for a while?”