The Gods Are Fighting Over Me - Chapter 31

Downstairs at the apartment building, Kenji Hagiwara wearily slumped into the driver’s seat.

The cigarette glowed in the dim, cramped space and was then immediately extinguished by Kenji Hagiwara in the car ashtray.

White smoke spread around his chiseled face like a thin veil, wrapping around his exhausted silhouette before being blown away by the wind coming in from the open window.

He had a slight nicotine addiction, but the bitter taste of nicotine would linger in the folds of his clothes for half an hour before slowly dissipating. So every time he saw Lin Jianyue, he would stop smoking a few hours beforehand.

But he was simply too tired. Fatigue was like rampant seaweed, tightly wrapping around every inch of his muscles.

After ten consecutive hours of high-intensity work, his forearms were as sore as if they were filled with lead, and he couldn’t help but light a cigarette.

His long fingers gently tapped on the steering wheel. The fingertips that had been soaked in sweat were still wrinkled and hadn’t completely recovered.

He looked up. The high-end apartment building where Lin Jianyue lived was right in front of him. Behind the apartment, the lit-up red Tokyo Tower peeked out from the gaps between the buildings, its tip glowing brightly in the darkness.

Luckily, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was quite humane and gave them two days off.

For the next few days, as long as there were no emergencies, all the Mobile Unit police officers who were dispatched today could temporarily take a break from their exhausting work.

He just had to submit the work report on the third day.

Fortunately, I’m not in the Criminal Investigation Department, Kenji Hagiwara couldn’t help but think.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department also wanted to give the Criminal Investigation Department some humanistic care, but the murder rate in Tokyo wouldn’t allow it.

But luckily, the Criminal Investigation Department didn’t have to do much physical work.

Only their department, which was jokingly called the “Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Gorilla Gathering Place,” had to run around in gear that weighed more than ten pounds and take on all the physical work.

Hagiwara sighed softly and pushed the car door open. His leather shoes made a light sound on the asphalt.

He looked up at the luxurious apartment building in front of him, which would take him ten years of working without eating or drinking to save up for a down payment. He pondered for a long time, then he walked into the apartment building’s main entrance, which required facial recognition or a password to enter.

Lin Jianyue’s apartment.

The keypad lock was opened from the outside, and the sensor light in the entryway instantly turned on. When the warm light washed over his feet, the cool air from the living room’s air conditioner rushed over.

No one was in the living room, but the air conditioner was still tirelessly running. It was as if it was waiting for him to come home, wanting to give him a bit of comfort the moment he stepped into the room.

Kenji Hagiwara couldn’t help but smile. As he took off his shoes, the corner of his eye caught the light on in the kitchen.

He followed the light into the kitchen. There was a bright yellow sticky note on the black microwave in the middle of the table.

‘There’s pork rib soup in the microwave. There’s a new men’s bathrobe, towel, and toothbrush in the washing machine. Don’t throw your dirty socks in the washing machine.’

Kenji Hagiwara pulled off the sticky note. His fingertips traced the black words left by the marker, and a low chuckle escaped his throat.

He opened the microwave door. Inside, there was a sturdy paper bowl made of kraft paper, filled with a bowl of pork rib soup piled high with meat and winter melon.

The name of the restaurant was printed on the outside of the paper bowl. Kenji Hagiwara recognized this brand. It was a famous old restaurant in Tokyo, at least nine kilometers away from here.

He lowered his eyes and frowned. His heart felt warm, but he couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t want Lin Jianyue to go out alone late at night just for him.

Ding.

The microwave made a beeping sound, indicating that it had finished.

A rich, meaty aroma wafted out, making his stomach rumble. Kenji Hagiwara picked up the bowl and sniffed it. He couldn’t help but curve his lips. He was really hungry.

While drinking the soup, he noticed that the bedroom door was slightly ajar. The light from the nightlight was leaking out from the crack, casting a long, thin beam of light on the floor.

Is she still waiting for me?

He tilted his head back and finished the soup in the bowl. He then tiptoed toward the bedroom and slowly pushed the door open.

In the bedroom with the nightlight on, Lin Jianyue was lying on her side facing the window. Her back was to Kenji Hagiwara. The silk nightgown was lined with a golden edge from the nightlight, outlining her delicate curves.

She probably wasn’t sleeping soundly, as the thin blanket that was supposed to be covering her had slid down to her thighs, revealing half of her smooth, fair shoulder. Below that was a slender waist that he could wrap his hand around, and even further down was her plump, soft butt that had once sat on his lap.

The hem of the silk dress hung at her upper thigh. She was slightly curled up, and her white cotton panties were faintly visible in the shadow under the hem of her dress.

Kenji Hagiwara suddenly swallowed. The sound of him swallowing was especially clear in the silent room. He lightly closed the door as if he had been burned and fled into the bathroom.

The hot water from the shower fell with a whoosh. He raised his hand and brushed his wet hair back. Water droplets slid down his neck and into his collarbone. His other hand slowly moved down. The scene from his dream uncontrollably flashed through his mind.

In reality, would she, just like in the dream, grab his arm, her voice changing pitch as she called his name, and then tremble and cry non-stop?

“Ha…”

A low gasp came from his throat as his Adam’s apple bobbed.

Beads of sweat on his forehead rolled down his jawline toward his neck, mixing with the hot water as they flowed over his firm chest and converged into a thin stream in the grooves of his abs.

The sound in his throat gradually tightened and then suddenly paused. After a brief moment of silence, he looked down at the water flowing on the floor and gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Seriously, what am I doing…?”

“What a terrible adult.”

Kenji Hagiwara didn’t blow-dry his hair. He was afraid the sound of the hairdryer would wake Lin Jianyue up.

He was wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe, a half-wet towel on his head, and sitting on the sofa. His phone screen was lit up, showing a half-written work report.

His eyelids started to droop. After his body relaxed, the feeling of exhaustion came over him like a wave.

But his hair wasn’t dry. He didn’t mind going to sleep with his hair half-wet, but he was afraid of getting Lin Jianyue’s pillow wet.

Kenji Hagiwara glanced at the text on his phone, which had already started to become grammatically incorrect, and simply turned off the screen. He curled up on the sofa and closed his eyes.

Sleepiness spread throughout his body. In just a few breaths, Kenji Hagiwara relaxed and fell unconscious.

When he opened his eyes again, the room was as black as ink. The blackout curtains completely blocked out the sunlight from outside.

Only the wall lamp leading to the bedroom was on, barely providing enough light for him to walk normally in the darkness without affecting his sleep.

Kenji Hagiwara let out a hoarse grunt from his throat and slowly sat up.

The feeling of exhaustion had completely disappeared in his sleep. As the captain of the Mobile Unit and one of the super geniuses highly regarded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, it seemed that even his recovery ability was on a gorilla level.

No, even a gorilla couldn’t recover like them. It was like a single-player farming game where you automatically recovered all your energy after a good night’s sleep.

“You’re awake,” a familiar female voice said, clear and gentle.

Lin Jianyue was wearing the same nightgown from last night, holding a glass filled with water as she walked toward Kenji Hagiwara. She handed the glass to Kenji Hagiwara. “Want some water?”

Kenji Hagiwara’s face still held the grogginess of just waking up. Instead of taking the water, he leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Lin Jianyue’s waist, and leaned into her arms. He nuzzled her neck affectionately.

“What time is it?” His voice was muffled against her neck, with a hint of a nasal sound, like a large, half-asleep dog whining.

“Four in the afternoon.” Lin Jianyue casually placed the glass on the coffee table and raised her hand to pat the back of his head.

The person in her arms suddenly stopped moving. After a few seconds of silence, he raised his head from Lin Jianyue’s neck in defeat. “It’s so late.”

Lin Jianyue sat down close to him, her shoulder touching his. “Want to sleep a little more?”

Kenji Hagiwara lowered his eyes, his voice sighing with a hint of annoyance. “No, I’ve had enough sleep. Maybe a little too much.”

He seemed to have remembered something and suddenly sat up straight. The collar of his bathrobe slid down a little, revealing half of his collarbone.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Jianyue asked.

Kenji Hagiwara didn’t answer. Instead, he cupped Lin Jianyue’s face and kissed her forehead, then her left cheek, and then her right cheek.

All three kisses were full of cautious affection. The warmth of his lips seeped through her skin. “I’m sorry I couldn’t comfort you right away yesterday.”

“It’s okay,” Lin Jianyue looked up at him, her eyes curved into crescents. The gentle emotion in her eyes was like a slowly flowing river. “And you looked really cool when you were working seriously last night, Kenji.”

She paused, and her voice suddenly lowered, with a hint of sadness. “But why did you sleep on the sofa? When I woke up this morning and didn’t see you, I thought you hadn’t come back, and I almost rushed to the police station in just a jacket.”

“My bad,” he said with a smile, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. “I was afraid of disturbing your sleep.”

Lin Jianyue pursed her lips and didn’t say anything. Her eyelashes lowered, casting a faint shadow underneath them. After a while, she spoke in a muffled voice, as small as a mosquito’s buzzing. “I thought… You didn’t want to sleep with me.”

She turned her head away. “I wouldn’t have sent that text message if I had known.”

Kenji Hagiwara chuckled silently and buried his face in her neck again, his voice filled with a pleading sweetness. “Then next time, I’ll just sleep in bed?”

Lin Jianyue subconsciously started to answer. The moment she raised her head, she met his smiling violet eyes. She swallowed the words that were about to come out. She turned her face away, her ears so red they were almost dripping with bl00d. After a long time, she finally squeezed out a sentence through her teeth. “Who said I wanted you to?”

Kenji Hagiwara laughed out loud. He looked at Lin Jianyue. His eyes became especially serious, with a strange solemnity in his gentleness. “I’m so happy that you’re willing to accept me. So, so happy.”

He obviously knew why Lin Jianyue was being difficult.

His warm breath brushed against her ear, carrying his burning hot temperature. “When I got your invitation, I was too happy to even think about rejecting you. But you were just hurt, and I was afraid that doing that would hurt you.”

When he spoke, his lips were only half an inch away from her earlobe. His warm breath fell on Lin Jianyue’s ear. A tingling sensation spread from her earlobe to her whole body, causing a jolt of electricity to run through her scalp.

Lin Jianyue shrank her neck and pushed Kenji Hagiwara’s shoulder, with a bit of a petulant whine. “Get away from me!”

Just as she used her palm, she heard Kenji Hagiwara let out a gasp. He clutched his shoulder and frowned, his expression looking like he was in pain.

“Did I hurt you?” Lin Jianyue instantly panicked. Her fingertips hovered in the air, afraid to move.

Kenji Hagiwara shook his head with a smile, but the curve of his mouth was a little forced. “I’m fine.”

Lin Jianyue suddenly remembered the scene from last night: the blast of the explosion, the wobbly walls, and the knife-like exposed steel bars. Every single place was filled with life-threatening danger.

Her pupils contracted, and she suddenly grabbed the white bathrobe on Kenji Hagiwara. Her tone was so serious it couldn’t be questioned. “You must be hurt!”

Kenji Hagiwara shook his head to comfort her. “I’m not hurt.”

“I don’t care. You’re definitely lying to me!”

Lin Jianyue’s voice had a hint of stubborn urgency. As she spoke, she reached out to pull at the bathrobe on his shoulder.

“Let me see right now!”

Kenji Hagiwara held down Lin Jianyue’s hand that was trying to tug at his clothes and advised in a low voice, “It’s okay.”

“No, you have to let me see!” Lin Jianyue insisted, adding a little more force to her hand.

Kenji Hagiwara was silent, just quietly looking at Lin Jianyue. After a few seconds, he let out a light sigh and gave in first. “Okay, I’ll let you see.”

He looked at Lin Jianyue with a doting and helpless gaze. He frowned, with a bit of pleading sadness. “But you can’t get mad after you see it, okay?”

Lin Jianyue nodded seriously. “I won’t get mad.”

Kenji Hagiwara’s hand moved away from the back of Lin Jianyue’s hand, with a forgiving smile.

Without the external force holding her back, Lin Jianyue gently pulled down the collar of Kenji Hagiwara’s left shoulder, revealing his solid shoulder.

However, it was as clean as if it had been washed by moonlight. There wasn’t even a red mark, let alone a wound.

Lin Jianyue blinked blankly. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and the confusion in her eyes was almost overflowing.

She stared at his smooth shoulder for two seconds, then suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she climbed onto the sofa with her hands and feet. She knelt and squeezed next to him, craning her head to check his back.

Maybe the wound was on his back.

That’s what Lin Jianyue thought.

But in the next second, her waist suddenly tightened.

Kenji Hagiwara suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around Lin Jianyue’s waist. Amidst her short gasp, he pulled her down onto the sofa with him.

Lin Jianyue was still in shock as she was lying on top of Kenji Hagiwara. Her palms were resting on his half-naked chest. The muscles under her palms were warm and firm, and she could feel the vibration of his heartbeat.

A few seconds later, Lin Jianyue finally realized what had happened. She hit his chest in anger. “Kenji!”

The fist that was hitting Kenji Hagiwara’s chest was held by him. His fingers were long, but his fingertips were covered with a thin layer of calluses.

“You were so good, Jianyue-chan.”

His voice was as deep as a cello, slightly hoarse, and as sexy as a fine wine poured down her throat, seeping into her heart through her eardrums.

“I’ll give you a reward, as always.”

He hooked her hand, half-leading, half-forcing her fingertips to stop at his waist.

The bathrobe’s belt, which was tied in a knot, came undone with a gentle tug. He forced her to untie the belt at his waist.

The fabric that was no longer restrained was like the wrapping paper of a gift box that had been peeled off. It loosely spread to both sides, revealing the breathtaking lines underneath, like an exquisite gift that would make someone scream with excitement.

Kenji Hagiwara had used Lin Jianyue’s toiletries last night. The sweet scent of her usual body wash mixed with his unique scent, coming over her like a warm net, trapping her inside.

“Liar,” she said, glaring at him with a pout. Her voice, however, was soft and trembling at the end.

Her palm was held in his hand and gently caressed. The rough calluses made her heart itch. He pulled her hand and lightly kissed her palm.

“I didn’t lie to you. I said I wasn’t hurt,” his voice was low and hoarse. He nuzzled Lin Jianyue’s palm with his face like a clingy big dog.

“That’s just a lame excuse. Then why did you look like you had a wound when I pulled you?” Lin Jianyue frowned and glared at him, with a hint of sadness.

He laughed softly and flipped her over, pinning her to the sofa. His arm was propped up next to her ear, forming a safe circle.

He leaned in closer. A few strands of his hair fell and brushed against her cheek. It was ticklish.

“Then…” his nose was almost touching hers. His voice was as low as a sigh. “How are you going to punish me?”

Lin Jianyue’s breathing suddenly stopped.

In the dim light, his violet eyes were terrifyingly dark, filled with a beastly desire, yet wrapped in a layer of restrained gentleness, clearly reflecting her flushed cheeks and flustered eyes.

She turned her head, avoiding his fiery gaze. But in the next second, tiny kisses suddenly fell on her face. First on her forehead, then the corner of her eye, and then her earlobe. The light nibbling made her whole body tremble. Finally, he slowly moved down her slender neck.

Just as his kiss was about to land on her collarbone, Lin Jianyue suddenly raised her hand and covered his mouth. Her slender fingers were slightly trembling. Every time Kenji Hagiwara breathed, his warm breath would spray onto her palm, and she would tremble even more.

She opened her mouth and whispered something. Her voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzzing. Kenji Hagiwara didn’t hear her clearly, but she didn’t want to say it again.

Kenji Hagiwara smiled, the tenderness in the corners of his eyes overflowing. He didn’t ask further. He just nuzzled her palm with his nose and suddenly asked, “You’re ready this time, aren’t you, Jianyue-chan?”

Even though it was a question, it had an unquestionable certainty.

“What?” The word that was about to be said was cut off by a gasp.

He grabbed her wrist and pinned it above her head, then he lowered his head and kissed her. Unlike the gentle kisses before, this one was filled with suppressed urgency. It was forceful and impossible to refuse.

His other hand slowly moved up the side of her waist. His fingertips slid over her silk nightgown and caressed her soft waist through the delicate fabric. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he kissed her more and more deeply.

Lin Jianyue subconsciously struggled twice, but her back involuntarily arched, like a vine that longed to climb, getting closer and closer to his burning chest.

“Ken… ji…”

Her voice was squeezed out between her teeth. The words were broken up by him, with a hint of an uncontrollable tremor. The end of her voice was still a little watery.

Kenji Hagiwara smiled and ended the long, wet kiss. He kissed her cheek with a light muah. His voice was hoarse. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Jianyue didn’t say anything. She just turned her head and bit his neck in revenge. It wasn’t hard, like a kitten throwing a tantrum, with a hint of a playful whine.

The moment her tongue brushed against Kenji Hagiwara’s skin on his neck, his muscles suddenly tensed, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

She lowered her voice, and after a long time, she finally squeezed out a confession from her throat like a cat’s meow. “I like you.”