The sun was warm as a luxury car drove smoothly toward the Suzuki Family's grand Mansion.
Inside the car, Sonoko sat close to Kanjuro, her face flushed with a mixture of excitement, shyness, and a nearly rebellious thrill. From time to time, she stole glances at the peerlessly handsome Kanjuro, her fingers nervously twisting her skirt.
She had been completely won over by Kanjuro, her body and soul filled with obsession and dependence on him. What gave her an even more twisted sense of excitement was that she already knew the truth—that Kanjuro was her biological father. This immoral relationship, instead of making her shrink back, had turned into a secret, forbidden bond belonging only to the two of them under Kanjuro's guidance.
"Brother Kanjuro," in the potential sight of outsiders, she still used this title, her voice sweet and cloying. "We'll see Mom and Dad soon. I... I'm so nervous, but also a little expectant!" She looked forward to "announcing" her relationship with Kanjuro to her family, especially to her older sister Ayako, who always restricted her, despite the shocking secret hidden behind this relationship. Privately, she had long grown accustomed to and obsessed with that controlling "Papa Kanjuro."
Kanjuro glanced at her sideways, the corner of his mouth curling into an understanding yet slightly mocking arc. He reached out and gently smoothed a stray lock of hair on her forehead, his movement intimate and natural.
"What's there to be nervous about? I'm here." His tone was flat, yet it carried a power that made people feel at ease—or rather, a magic that made people follow blindly.
The car drove into the Suzuki Family gate and stopped in front of the main residence.
Hearing the sound, Tomoko Suzuki was the first to come out to greet them. Seeing Kanjuro, her eyes instantly burst with irrepressible joy and tenderness, but noticing Sonoko, who was following closely with an intimate demeanor, and her husband Shiro Suzuki coming out behind her, she quickly suppressed her outward emotions. She only showed Mr. Kanjuro a proper and warm smile:
"Mr. Kanjuro, you're here. Please, come in." Her gaze briefly met Kanjuro's, conveying complex emotions understood only by the two of them.
However, Shiro Suzuki, standing behind Tomoko, did not look pleased. His gaze toward Kanjuro was filled with obvious scrutiny and a hint of coldness, even solemnity.
"Mr. Kanjuro." Shiro Suzuki's voice was much deeper and more serious than usual.
Kanjuro keenly sensed this unusual atmosphere, but he still maintained a composed smile on his face, bowing slightly: "Uncle Suzuki, Auntie, sorry to disturb you."
Sonoko also greeted them obediently, but her excitement was dampened significantly by her father's serious expression, and she subconsciously moved even closer to Kanjuro.
Everyone entered the spacious living room, and the atmosphere was momentarily heavy. Tomoko Suzuki tried to liven up the atmosphere, smiling at Sonoko: "Sonoko, why did you think of coming back with Mr. Kanjuro today?"
Sonoko was about to speak, but Shiro Suzuki raised his hand to interrupt her. He looked sharply at Kanjuro and said in a heavy voice:
"Mr. Kanjuro, before you arrived, there happened to be guests at home." He paused, his tone carrying suppressed dissatisfaction. "It was Chairman Tomizawa of the Tomizawa Group and his son, Tomizawa Yuzo."
Kanjuro's eyebrows rose slightly; he already understood.
Shiro Suzuki continued, his tone becoming heavier: "Yuzo and his father came to complain to me. They claim that your relationship with Ayako is too... ambiguous. Not only did you go to the movies alone together, but you also laid hands on Yuzo in a public place and injured him. Mr. Kanjuro, what exactly is going on?"
As his words fell, the air in the living room seemed to freeze. Sonoko covered her mouth in surprise and looked at Kanjuro. Tomoko's eyes also flashed with a hint of worry, but more so an unconditional trust in Kanjuro.
The spearhead was instantly pointed at Mr. Kanjuro, who had just entered. The pressure from the Tomizawa Family clearly made Shiro Suzuki, who valued family reputation and business relationships, feel great displeasure and difficulty.
Faced with Shiro Suzuki's questioning and Sonoko's nervous gaze from the side, Kanjuro only smiled indifferently, as if what he heard was just a trivial matter. A storm regarding his entanglement with the two daughters of the Suzuki Family had quietly begun in this magnificent living room. Before Shiro Suzuki could even finish speaking, Tomizawa Yuzo, who had long been unable to restrain himself, suddenly jumped up from the guest sofa. His face was ashen, and he pointed at Kanjuro and the silent, head-bowed Suzuki Ayako, his voice shrill and distorted with rage:
"Adulterers! Uncle Suzuki, you saw it with your own eyes! It's this Kanjuro—he seduced my fiancée! They were dating behind my back, and when I caught them, he even dared to hit me! Now, now he actually dares to... in front of your face...!" He looked at Kanjuro tightly holding Ayako's hand, shaking all over with anger. "You must give our Tomizawa Family an explanation! Otherwise, the cooperation between our two families, as well as the marriage alliance, is over!"
He attempted to use business interests to apply pressure, his tone full of threats.
Faced with these harsh insults and accusations, Kanjuro acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. He didn't even spare a glance at Tomizawa Yuzo, but instead turned slightly, gazing more intently at Suzuki Ayako beside him, whose cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and tension, her body trembling slightly.
He squeezed her hand slightly, the warm and firm touch seemingly transmitting an invisible strength. His voice wasn't loud, but it rang out clearly in the oppressive living room, carrying an unquestionable earnestness that directly pierced through Ayako's panicked defenses:
"Ayako, look into my eyes."
Ayako was forced to look up, meeting his eyes that were as deep as a sea of stars. There was no mockery, no levity, only a calm, heart-pounding determination.
"Tell me, and tell everyone here."
"Do you, Suzuki Ayako, wish to cast aside this so-called engagement, cast aside the shackles of your family, and sincerely choose to be with me, Kanjuro?"
This sudden, public declaration that was almost like a marriage proposal left everyone stunned!
Suzuki Ayako felt her brain go 'buzz,' and all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her face. She had never experienced such a direct, such a bold confession, especially in front of her father, mother, sister, and the aggressive Tomizawa father and son! A massive sense of shame and a panic like being pushed to the edge of a cliff made her want to flee immediately.
However, when she saw the unwavering trust and the reassuringly powerful aura in Kanjuro's eyes, when she remembered him striking Tomizawa Yuzo without hesitation to protect her, and when she remembered the heart-throbs and warmth he brought her that were so different from her arranged life... a surge of unprecedented courage, mixed with total trust in the man before her, welled up from her heart.
She couldn't back down! She couldn't let him face all of this alone!
She took a deep breath, and though her voice still carried a shy tremor, she responded with extraordinary clarity, even with a sense of desperate determination:
"I... I do! Mr. Kanjuro, I choose to be with you!"
"Sister!" Sonoko couldn't help but whisper from the side, her hands over her heart and little stars shining in her eyes, filled with infinite admiration for Kanjuro's 'manly' behavior. (Daddy Kanjuro is so handsome!)
Even Tomoko Suzuki covered her mouth, a flash of surprise and complex emotion crossing her eyes. She knew Kanjuro was extraordinary, but she hadn't expected him to dare to claim his sovereignty so forcefully and directly in such a disadvantageous situation. This boldness and sense of responsibility far exceeded common imagination. Only she vaguely knew that Kanjuro possessed power enough to overturn common perception.
As for Suzuki Ayako, she currently had no idea how terrifying Kanjuro's true strength and abilities were; she was simply moved by his courage and his stance of taking on the whole world for her, and she was willing to face it together with him.
"You... you... Adulterers! Shameless!" Seeing this scene, Tomizawa Yuzo flew into a complete rage, shouting indiscriminately, "Kanjuro! You scum! You beast! You'd even steal someone else's fiancée! Uncle Suzuki! You saw it with your own eyes! How can such a shameless person be worthy of your daughter! Are you just going to let him humiliate our Tomizawa Family and humiliate Ayako like this?!"
Shiro Suzuki's face was already so dark it looked like it could drip ink. His daughter publicly breaking her engagement and 'pledging her life' to some kid of unknown origin who had even struck her betrothed—this was practically trampling the Suzuki Family's face and reputation into the ground! The pressure from the Tomizawa Family and the varying gazes of those around him made him feel that his authority was being challenged like never before.
In a fit of rage, Shiro Suzuki slammed the table, pointed at Kanjuro, and shouted sternly, his voice trembling with extreme anger:
"Kanjuro! Get out! Get out of the Suzuki Family home immediately!"
His gaze swept over the determined Ayako and the star-struck Sonoko, making him even angrier as he roared at Kanjuro:
"Who do you think you are? Just an arrogant brat with a few tricks! You are not worthy of my daughter at all! The Suzuki Family does not welcome you! Get out—!"
That "Get out" exploded in the living room like a thunderclap. A triumphant, cruel smile appeared on Tomizawa Yuzo's face. Tomoko Suzuki looked at Kanjuro with concern. Sonoko nervously grabbed the hem of Kanjuro's clothes. Ayako's face turned pale, and she subconsciously gripped Kanjuro's hand tighter, prepared to bear her father's wrath with him.
However, facing Shiro Suzuki's rage and expulsion, Kanjuro didn't get angry. Instead, an extremely cold, almost mocking smile with a hint of pity appeared on his face.
He didn't "get out." Instead, he slowly raised his head, meeting Shiro Suzuki's fuming eyes with a calm gaze. An invisible yet vast and terrifying aura began to spread silently with him as the center, like a sleeping dragon opening its cold, vertical pupils.
"Not worthy?" he repeated softly, the chill in his tone causing the temperature in the entire living room to drop suddenly. Shiro Suzuki, worthy of being an old fox who had weathered many storms in the business world, immediately changed his strategy upon seeing that forceful expulsion was ineffective. His angry expression softened slightly, replaced by a look that seemed earnest but was actually full of calculation, as he turned his gaze toward the pale Suzuki Ayako.
"Ayako," his voice slowed, carrying a deliberately crafted weight, "you are the eldest daughter of the Suzuki Family. You should understand that our Suzuki Family stands firm not by acting on impulse, but through intricate networks of power and solid alliances."
He raised his hand slightly, gesturing toward Tomizawa Yuzo, whose face was still unsightly, and continued: "Behind the Tomizawa Family stand how many prominent figures in Japan? In the political and business worlds, touching one part affects the whole. For the sake of one Kanjuro, are you not only going to destroy the alliance between our two families, but also offend how many unimaginable powers at the same time?"
His words were like cold needles, piercing one by one into Ayako's already wavering heart. He accurately grasped Ayako's weakness of being kind-hearted and not fully understanding Kanjuro's background.
"Mr. Kanjuro may be somewhat... special," Shiro Suzuki's wording seemed 'fair,' but his eyes held contempt, "but in the end, he stands alone. Have you ever thought that if you insist on being with him, how much trouble it will bring him, or even... a fatal disaster?"
He finally revealed his true intentions, using his final trump card with a tone of hypocritical 'concern':
"Ayako, if you are truly doing this for Kanjuro's own good and don't want to see him fall into a situation beyond redemption because of you, then... break up with him. That is the best protection for him."
These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Suzuki Ayako's heart. She suddenly looked up at Kanjuro, her eyes full of struggle and pain.
At this moment, Kanjuro's reaction exceeded everyone's expectations. He wasn't angry and didn't defend himself; instead, he stared intently at Ayako with an almost excited, burning gaze, as if anticipating her reaction, anticipating her final choice under this extreme pressure. That gaze was like he was admiring a cruel experiment on human nature and loyalty led by him.
"Not good!" Tomoko Suzuki's expression changed drastically. She knew her eldest daughter's character too well—kind and easily softened. Without knowing what terrifying power Kanjuro possessed, in order to protect him, she would likely... "Father! How can you threaten Sister like that!" Sonoko, however, was looking at Kanjuro with excitement. (Daddy Kanjuro is so handsome! He's still so calm at a time like this! When will you take me away like this too, taking on the whole world!)
"Tomoko! Shut up! This is no place for you to speak!" Shiro Suzuki sternly silenced his wife who wanted to intervene.
Suzuki Ayako felt like her heart was about to be torn apart. On one side were the terrible consequences for Kanjuro that her father described—the bloody images made her shudder; on the other side was Kanjuro's burning gaze, full of trust and expectation, and the heart-throbs and protection he had once given her.
(I can't... I can't be so selfish...)
(If being with me will harm Mr. Kanjuro...)
(I would rather... rather suffer myself...)
She looked at Kanjuro. That smile on the corner of his mouth that seemed to see through everything and even carry a hint of encouragement now seemed to her like a form of helpless strength, causing the guilt and pain in her heart to reach a peak.
Tears finally burst forth. She suddenly lowered her head and, using all her strength, her voice broken but carrying a desperate finality, she sobbed:
"I'm sorry... Kanjuro..."
"I... I can't... be with you..."
"I'm very... sorry..."
"You... you should go..."
After saying those last few words, she seemed to be drained of all her strength. Her body swayed, and tears rolled down like broken strings of pearls. She chose to sacrifice her own feelings to trade for what she believed was "protection" for Kanjuro.
A triumphant, winner's smile appeared on Tomizawa Yuzo's face.
Shiro Suzuki secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had regained control of the situation.
Tomoko Suzuki closed her eyes in heartache.
Sonoko pouted in disappointment.
As for Kanjuro, upon hearing Ayako's final choice, the excited, burning light on his face gradually faded, replaced by a bottomless, icy calm. He didn't look at the breaking Ayako again, nor did he pay any mind to the triumphant Tomizawa father and son; he simply slowly and elegantly adjusted his collar.
He wasn't angry, he didn't question, and he didn't even show the slightest hint of dejection.
It was as if all of this had long been within his expectations.
Or rather, this was exactly what he wanted—the experimental results of yet another test of human hearts and "rules."
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