Chapter Thirty-Three: Cornered

At long last, after numerous revisions, Rena Serizawa’s painting was finally finished.

Sensing that Rena, seated in front of him, had ceased her movements, Anwa let out a sigh of relief. Those past ten minutes had been quite a trial for him as well—after all, a delicate girl was sitting close against him, and she couldn’t help but squirm every now and then. To avoid embarrassing himself, Anwa could only distract himself by chatting with someone on his phone, though the conversation wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Reading a long string of messages from someone saved as "Teacher Ito," Anwa merely raised an eyebrow and casually replied, “So big, so soft, so fragrant, I want to try it again next time,” before putting his phone away, paying it no further mind.

“Rena, are you finished with the painting?”

He lightly patted her on the shoulder. She turned to look at him, nodding her little head with excitement glowing on her face. Seeing this, Anwa glanced at the painting on the table and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “Impressive!”

By now, Rena had stood up and moved aside, so Anwa slid forward and placed her latest work next to the two paintings he had completed earlier. At a glance, it was almost impossible to distinguish any difference between them.

[Hmph! In your previous life, you devoted two and a half years to mastering the art of painting, yet here you are surpassed in mere minutes by a young blonde girl. You marvel at her astonishing talent, but a new thought arises: for someone so accomplished at such a young age, she must not be left unchecked! Unless, of course, she can be made to serve me in the future…]

Let’s hope that “serve” isn’t meant as a verb here.

Anwa inwardly scoffed at the intrusive narration, but outwardly he smiled at Rena and said, “You did an excellent job with your painting, Rena.”

Her reaction was just like a child discovering she’d finally passed her exams—her face was alight with irrepressible joy. Watching her so thrilled, Anwa couldn’t help but smile as well.

At that moment, his phone rang from his pocket. Seeing it was his alarm, Anwa stood up from his chair.

Noticing his movement, Rena seemed to realize something. She hurriedly picked up her sketchbook, scribbled a message, and held it up for him to read.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes,” Anwa replied with a smile, waving his phone as an explanation. “It’s almost time for my part-time job.”

Rena pouted but nodded, only to quickly recall something else. She hastily wrote again and held up the page.

“Will you come again tomorrow?”

Her eyes sparkled with hope as she gazed at Anwa, so full of expectancy that he felt a bit awkward. But remembering that tomorrow was Saturday and he’d already made plans with Eijuu Namihara to go car shopping, he shook his head.

“Not tomorrow, I’m afraid—I’m meeting a friend to go shopping.”

As soon as he spoke, Rena’s expression fell, her disappointment plain to see.

“There, there,”

Anwa reached out and ruffled her hair with a smile, adding, “Don’t worry, though I can’t come tomorrow, I can visit over the weekend.”

The weekend!

Rena’s eyes instantly lit up, her frown transforming into a beaming smile as she scribbled quickly on her board.

“It’s a promise, then! You’ll come on the weekend!”

“Of course,” Anwa replied, ruffling her hair once more. After calling out a goodbye to Yui Serizawa in the next room, he left the Serizawa home.

Downstairs, Anwa instinctively glanced up and, as expected, saw Rena’s little face peeking out from one of the windows. She saw him too and waved both hands vigorously.

Grinning, Anwa waved back before turning to flag down a taxi.

As the car disappeared from sight, Rena finally withdrew her gaze with a sigh.

“My, my, Sis, your beloved is being lured away,” came Yui’s teasing voice, making Rena blush. Yui rolled her eyes good-naturedly but kept up her relentless teasing.

“Some people, you know, only met him twice and they’re already cuddling. Meanwhile, her poor little sister is sick in bed with no one to rely on, wanting something to eat but having to do it herself, and then gets a mouthful of dog food as soon as she’s up…”

Meanwhile—

At Anwa’s apartment.

Just as he took out his keys, the door opened from inside, and Sawu Amamiya appeared, dressed in her school uniform.

“Waiting for me at the door again?” Anwa said, somewhat helplessly. Sawu merely pressed her lips together, offering no explanation.

Knowing this was simply her way, Anwa didn’t push further. He reached out his hand with a smile. “Let’s go, time for work.”

“Mm,” Sawu murmured softly, entwining her fingers with his and unwinding her scarf to drape half of it around his neck.

They walked downstairs side by side, but as soon as they reached the apartment entrance, they were met by a group of flashy young men with hair dyed in every color imaginable, blocking the doorway in an ostentatious circle.

There were more than a dozen of them, completely obstructing the exit. Anwa raised an eyebrow, quietly pulling the somewhat nervous Sawu closer to his side.

The group noticed them as well, and upon seeing Sawu’s looks and figure, several of the men began to whistle.

Scenes from countless novels and movies flashed through Anwa’s mind—where the male and female leads are accosted by street punks, the heroine is harassed, and the hero heroically stands up for her. How terribly clichéd.

Despite this, Anwa couldn’t help but steel himself.

With three master-level martial arts under his belt, he wasn’t at all afraid of this rabble, as long as Sawu ran straight back home if things got rough. Unless, of course, the blue-haired guy in the corner turned out to be Wu Jing.

Anwa gave a few extra glances to the blue-haired fellow with the side-swept bangs lurking by the door.

“All right, that’s enough!”

A sudden shout drew his attention. He turned to see a bald man in a garish floral shirt and sunglasses, presumably the leader, looking straight at him.

Is this the boss? Anwa wondered as the man spoke again, his tone flippant.

“Hey, kid.”

He removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of fierce eyes, which first swept over Anwa, then gestured with his chin at Sawu.

“What’s your relationship with her?”

Anwa disliked his manner, but considering the possibility that this man might soon be beaten to a pulp, he decided to answer politely.

“She’s my girlfriend. Why? She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

He lifted their joined hands for everyone to see.

The bald man’s brows knitted in displeasure, but instead of replying, he turned to Sawu with a frown. “Are you of age?”

Sawu paused for a moment, then nodded. In two months, she’d be eighteen, so she wasn’t really lying.

Upon her answer, the bald man visibly relaxed and, with a wave of his hand, his lackeys immediately parted to clear a path.

The sudden shift left Anwa confused. He glanced at the bald man, who returned his gaze with equal bewilderment.

A few seconds later, the bald man, unable to withstand Anwa’s intense scrutiny, turned away in irritation.

“What are you staring at, kid? Move along already!”

Oddly enough, his cheeks seemed flushed.

Anwa’s expression grew stranger by the moment as his gaze swept over the group of punks. Finally, he couldn’t help but ask,

“Aren’t you supposed to give us trouble or something?”

“Huh?”

The bald man looked at him, baffled. “Your girlfriend isn’t underage, is she? Why would we bother you? Besides, we don’t even know you.”

Anwa and Sawu: …