Exactly one hour later, the VIP hospital room door burst open.
The atmosphere inside instantly became thick and serious. Kibe walked in alongside the familiar lawyer, their faces extremely tense. Kazuya sat leaning against the headboard, the silver USB drive resting on the glass table like a ticking time bomb.
After hearing him recount the entire brief visit from Night Owl, Kibe cursed under his breath, rubbing his temples. Meanwhile, Kazuya handed the USB to the lawyer, asking him to inspect it.
"Please check this damn thing for me," his voice dropped, carrying high alert. "Things are never this easy, especially coming from a guy who made an exposure video about me just weeks ago. A fame hungry idiot like him could never acquire this kind of information on his own. Unless someone deliberately leaked it to him, using his hands to kill."
The lawyer nodded in agreement. He pulled a specialized laptop from his briefcase, one completely disconnected from all networks, plugged the USB in, and began running deep scan software. The whole room held its breath, waiting.
About fifteen minutes later, the typing stopped. The lawyer pushed up his glasses, letting out a chilling sigh of relief.
"You guessed correctly, Kinoshita," he pointed at the screen displaying glowing red code. "There is real evidence. A few PDF bank statements and a short audio recording are sitting in the outermost folder as a superficial cover. But hidden right beneath that is an incredibly sophisticated combination of ransomware and a Trojan horse designed to hijack control. If you had plugged this into your personal, internet connected computer, all your data would be encrypted, and every piece of evidence you used to protect Ms. Ichinose the other day would be wiped without a trace. They could even implant fake evidence into your machine."
Kazuya leaned back fully, letting out a long sigh of relief. A drop of cold sweat beaded on his temple. He muttered curses under his breath. If he had let his anger override his rationality and acted recklessly earlier, all of his and Chizuru's hard work would have gone down the drain, and he might have even landed himself in jail.
"We cannot sit still and wait to die," the lawyer closed the laptop, his expression steely. "With the surface files obtained from this USB, plus Night Owl's testimony if the police catch him at the airport, we have enough grounds. I will contact the prosecutors immediately. They are always hungry for clues related to Yakuza money laundering networks. At the same time, I will request the local police to set up a secret protection line for your family and Ms. Ichinose."
As the lawyer stepped out to the lobby to make calls, the tense atmosphere in the room eased slightly. But that brief relief was immediately shattered by an incident unrelated to the Yakuza.
The room door opened again. Kuribayashi, arriving late, walked in scratching his head awkwardly and stood to the side. From behind him, a petite figure with a familiar blue ribbon stepped in.
Sarashina Ruka.
She did not look at Kazuya with the crazy or hateful eyes from last time. Instead, Ruka proactively hooked her arm around Kuribayashi's, declaring loudly with a radiant smile, "Hello, Kinoshita. I am visiting you today as Kuri's official girlfriend!"
The air in the hospital room froze.
Kibe's jaw dropped, the unlit cigarette falling from his mouth to the floor. Chizuru, standing in the corner, also widened her eyes in surprise.
And Kazuya? His pupils dilated to their maximum. He looked at Kuribayashi, then at Ruka's chubby face, taking exactly five seconds for his brain to load this absurd reality.
He shot up, ignoring the pain from his casted arm, glaring at his best friend as if looking at an alien, and blurted out a harsh curse that echoed through the room.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Kuri?! This brat is not even eighteen yet!"
"K-Kazuya! Calm down!" Kuribayashi frantically waved his hands, his face bright red. "We have talked things through! Ruka realized the person she really needs is someone who will always be by her side taking care of her, not a delusion. And I am willing to wait until she comes of age!"
Kazuya was speechless. He held his forehead, exhaling a long breath. This world truly always knew how to operate according to the craziest scripts. Kuribayashi getting back with Ruka and accepting reality was a step forward, but the prospect of his best friend hugging an underage ticking time bomb still left Kazuya drained of words. He could only shake his head, waving his hand implicitly saying, "Do whatever you want, I am out of this."
…
But Kazuya's troubles for that day did not stop there.
About fifteen minutes after his friends left to avoid bothering the patient, Kazuya's primary physician walked in. He held the latest medical records, his face dark.
He looked at Kazuya sitting on the bed, then turned to look at Chizuru, who was awkwardly cleaning up the dining table, and cleared his throat softly.
"Mr. Kinoshita, Ms. Ichinose," the doctor tapped his pen on the chart. "I need to inform you about the results of your blood test this morning."
Kazuya frowned. "Is something wrong, doctor? Are the cancer cells spreading?"
"No," the doctor sighed, looking at him with a reprimanding, exasperated gaze. "The cancer cells are being controlled by the chemotherapy. But your platelet count is plummeting. Furthermore, your white blood cell count indicates you have signs of a mild infection."
Chizuru turned pale, hurriedly stepping forward. "Why is that? He was fine yesterday!"
"As for why, you two should know best!" The doctor hardened his face, snapping mildly. "A blood cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, with zero immune system, who just survived acute pneumonia. Yet you two dared to engage in physical activities exceeding physiological limits throughout the entire night?! Mr. Kinoshita, the exhaustion during your intimacy overloaded your body. A respiratory infection or even a scratch right now could take your life at any moment!"
Chizuru's face turned as red as an erupting volcano. She stammered, unable to speak, covering her face tightly with both hands, wishing for a hole to hide in.
Kazuya also froze. He clicked his tongue, turning his face away to hide the blazing embarrassment on his ears.
"From now until the end of the first phase of the chemotherapy regimen and your immune system stabilizes," the doctor delivered his final verdict, "I strictly forbid any sexual intercourse or overly intimate behavior. In addition, you are suffering from severe nervous stress, so I am also confiscating your laptop and phone privileges. Absolute rest. Is that clear?"
"What?! My laptops?!" Kazuya cried out, forgetting his embarrassment. "I still have to work."
"Do you want to work or do you want to die?" The doctor shot him a sharp glare, then turned and walked straight out the door, leaving Kazuya petrified on the hospital bed.
In the following days, hospital room 203 at the central general hospital fell into a bizarre atmosphere.
Kazuya had been somewhat relieved of the burden named Mami upon knowing undercover cops were monitoring their every move. However, his paranoid nature and PTSD meant he could never fully let go of his insecurity.
Ironically, being stripped of his electronic devices, and grounded from bedroom activities just as the fire of youthful lust had been ignited that night, Kazuya fell into an incredibly restless state. He could not relieve it through work, nor could he relieve it through physiological needs.
As a result, the man who always acted cold, distant, and cursed at the whole world suddenly turned into a tail stuck firmly to Chizuru.
Whenever Chizuru stood up, intending to go to the hallway to get water or buy things, he would reach out with his uncasted arm and grab the hem of her shirt tightly.
"Where are you going?" His voice was deep and hoarse, carrying unconcealed whining.
"I am just going to the vending machine to buy some juice," Chizuru laughed, patting the back of his hand. "I will be back in five minutes."
"You cannot go alone. Ask the nurse to buy it. What if something happens out there?" He frowned, pulling her down to sit back on the edge of the bed, decisively wrapping his arms around her waist, nuzzling his head against his girlfriend's stomach like a child.
Every time Kibe or Kuribayashi visited and saw Kazuya resting his head on Chizuru's lap, his hand gripping her shirt hem tightly, the whole gang burst out laughing. They completely misunderstood, thinking Kazuya was overly worried about Chizuru's safety in the face of the Yakuza's threats.
The truth was, he was worried, but 80% of the reason he stuck to her like glue was that he was truly too childish around the woman he loved, and mostly because he was horny but couldn't do anything about it.
Every time he caught a whiff of her faint scent, or saw her curves when she leaned over to change his bandages, the blood in his veins boiled, but then he had to grit his teeth and suppress it because of the doctor's orders.
To kill time and divert his focus, Chizuru bought him a sketchbook and some pencils.
Without a computer, Kazuya reluctantly used his right hand to doodle aimlessly. At first, Chizuru just thought he was scribbling out of boredom. Until one afternoon, when she walked into the room after meeting with the doctor, she saw him passionately moving the pencil across the paper, his expression intensely focused.
Curious, Chizuru stepped lightly closer, peeking over his shoulder.
And she froze on the spot.
On the white page, incredibly skilled quick sketches, with perfect blocking and shading, emerged. Kazuya truly had remarkable artistic talent. But the problem was the content of the drawing.
He was drawing her. But not Chizuru in her normal clothes. It was Chizuru in a semi nude state, in incredibly provocative poses, with flirtatious eyes and sensitive details meticulously depicted based on his excellent memory from their night of intimacy, intertwined with blushing erotic fantasies.
"KAZUYA!"
Chizuru shrieked, snatching the sketchbook from his hands. Her face erupted in fire, burning red from her neck to her ears. "What. What kind of perverted thing are you drawing?!"
Kazuya jumped. The pencil clattered to the floor. Upon realizing he had just been caught red handed drawing hot scenes of his girlfriend, his usually arrogant, smug face instantly collapsed. His face flushed bright red, his hands waving frantically.
"No! Wait! This is just…an anatomy study! I am researching pelvic proportions."
"An anatomy study that draws the mole in…that spot?!" Chizuru was so embarrassed she wanted to smoke, rolling up the sketchbook and smacking him on the head. "You idiot with a brain full of perversion!"
In reality, Chizuru wasn't angry. On the contrary, deep down, she felt mostly embarrassed and shy, mixed with a bit of amusement at her lover's suppressed desires. But she intentionally acted cold, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at him with a sharp look.
Seeing that Chizuru seemed genuinely angry, Kazuya panicked. He shrank back, sitting obediently on the bed, his head bowed, not daring to utter a word. Throughout that entire evening, he was strangely obedient. He ate when she told him to eat, took medicine when she told him to take medicine, his eyes constantly sneaking peeks at her expressions like a large puppy afraid of being chased away by its owner. That absolute submission made Chizuru bite her lip hard to keep from laughing out loud, because this side of him with her was both cute and funny…
…
While a peaceful, sweet, and slightly comical atmosphere enveloped hospital room 203, in another development, a dark and slimy patch was still silently operating.
Inside a luxurious but tightly curtained penthouse in Roppongi, the air was suffocating with cigarette smoke and a nauseating, burnt chemical smell.
Mami sat on the red velvet sofa, her once large, innocent eyes now cloudy, cold, and filled with cruelty. She took a sip of red wine, her gaze glancing at her phone screen.
Reports from her underlings indicated the YouTuber Night Owl had fled to South Korea, and the plan to use malware to attack Kazuya's computer had completely failed. Moreover, local police had begun increasing undercover patrols around the central general hospital.
Kazuya was one step ahead of her. He was too smart, too cautious.
"What a persistent piece of trash," Mami hissed through her teeth, her fingernails lightly scratching the sofa's upholstery.
But a narcissist who had sunk deep into darkness like her never knew when to stop. The more Kazuya resisted, the more she wanted to smash his pride. If she couldn't hit him directly through technology or the media, she would hit the things he tried to protect.
Undercover cops? They could only protect the hospital. What about his family? The traditional liquor store in his hometown? Or that girl Chizuru whenever she left the hospital? There would always be loopholes.
Mami smiled, a sick smile. She plotted an incredibly dangerous plan, a perfectly staged accident that couldn't be traced, to stab a fatal knife into the Kinoshita family. She wanted to see Kazuya on his knees, crying and begging her.
Right beside Mami, on the King size bed with pristine white sheets, her boyfriend, the young master masquerading as a businessman, lay curled up. He was completely unconscious, his breathing sporadic and heavy. Scattered around were pipes, lighters, and tarnished pieces of tin foil.
He was lying on his side carefully. Mami had personally pushed him onto his side after he got high. She was knowledgeable enough to learn from experience that when using heroin in large doses, an addict must never be allowed to lie on their back. If nausea hit while unconscious, vomit would aspirate into the windpipe, causing him to choke to death right on his own bed.
Mami looked at the man drowning in drug hallucinations, without a single ripple of pity in her heart. To her, he was just a tool, a front, and an endless supply of dirty money for her to satisfy her manipulative power.
"Get some rest, baby," Mami muttered, reaching out to gently stroke his sweat matted hair. Her gaze returned to the phone screen displaying the location of the Tokyo central hospital. "In a few days, I will need to use a few of your guys who don't value their lives."