Chapter 491: The Powerlessness of Growth
“Which… Shinomiyai?”
“Sorry. There’s just one thing I can’t agree to. I already have a girlfriend, and my relationship with Kazumi is strong. I can’t do anything that would betray her.”
The words the girl threw out again made Sato Zhenyi realize this wasn’t a joke. He straightened up seriously, shook his head, and refused earnestly.
“And if I can accept that?”
Sato Zhenyi’s refusal inexplicably brought a trace of a smile to Mai Shinomiyai’s face. Her pale eyes seemed to captivate the soul as she stared directly at the young boy before her.
“Hoo—”
The girl’s almost indecent words made Sato Zhenyi’s breath hitch for a moment. Recovering his senses, the young boy quickly shook his head with all his might, his cheeks flushed as he avoided Mai Shinomiyai’s gaze, not daring to look directly at her.
“N-No…”
To be honest, Sato Zhenyi had a good impression of Mai Shinomiyai. She was generous and poised. Although she still carried a bit of the distance that came from a prominent family interacting with commoners, once they became friends, he could feel her kindness towards her close friends.
Moreover, for a girl of the same age, who excelled in appearance, figure, and family background, to speak so humbly, any normal man would be momentarily stunned.
“Shinomiyai, if you consider Kazumi and me friends, then don’t bring this up again. And if I were to just agree to you, what would be the difference between me and that guy you hated the most before?”
Taking a deep breath, Sato Zhenyi cleared his mind, no longer entertaining any strange thoughts. The girl before him was beautiful, and her request was one that ordinary men couldn’t refuse. However, Sato Zhenyi had his own principles when it came to relationships. Perhaps, by many standards, Kazumi lagged behind Mai Shinomiyai in various aspects, but in his heart, his girlfriend, Shimizu Kazumi, was the most gentle, beautiful, and understanding girl in the world.
This was something that would never change, no matter what happened. The relationship between him and Kazumi would absolutely not be affected by such trivial matters.
“Eh, I understand.”
The young boy’s firm refusal shattered Mai Shinomiyai’s last unrealistic wish, making her truly accept that this was just her being willful. Furthermore, as Sato Zhenyi had said, if the man before her, who had a romantic partner, could so easily accept her request, then all the excellent qualities she admired in him would cease to exist, and he would turn into the scumbag she despised the most.
“I’m sorry, Sato. I’ve caused you trouble.”
Having completely understood now, a sliver of clarity returned to Mai Shinomiyai’s eyes. She bowed respectfully towards the boy in front of her and apologized sincerely.
“No, no. It’s not like this was something you wanted to happen. I’ll help you call the old man. There’s definitely a solution.”
Waving his hand to show he didn’t mind, the young boy, having understood the reason behind the matter, completely empathized with the girl’s predicament. After all, she was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl with little dating experience. Experiencing such a significant impact due to family changes, it was normal to have such thoughts.
“Shinomiyai… Can you, uh, could you step out for a moment?”
“What are you…”
Sato Zhenyi was about to offer further comfort to the girl before him, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by her words.
“No matter what, this is my first confession and my first rejection. For me, this is a very embarrassing thing.”
The girl raised her head, a faint smile on her face. The smile was as dignified and polite as always, yet it carried an irremovable sadness. Her emerald eyes blinked playfully, as if everything that had just happened was merely a casual joke between friends, something that would vanish with a change of topic.
“Let me be alone for a while, okay?”
Gently closing the door to the reception hall, Sato Zhenyi rested his right hand on the wooden door frame, listening to the faint sobbing sound that reached his ears. At this moment, the young boy’s feelings were too complex to describe. He tried hard to shut off his extraordinary hearing, but the girl’s tears seemed to fall directly into his heart, impossible to erase.
Did Sato Zhenyi do something wrong? No. Given the young boy’s personality, it was impossible for him to accept anyone’s feelings while already in a relationship, even if it was a very good friend, and even if it was just for the sake of preserving the family business.
Did Mai Shinomiyai do something wrong? No. The girl was simply trapped in a dilemma. She didn’t want to marry someone she didn’t like, someone with flaws in their character, but she also didn’t want to lose what her parents had sacrificed their lives for. She was just an innocent girl who had just experienced a failed relationship, a setback. Perhaps she still yearned for beautiful love, but now she had to cruelly face a choice between self-interest and family survival. The girl knew that her desperate gamble now meant the destruction of another friendship, but she had no choice. It was like falling off a cliff, and the rope in her hand was about to snap. Even though she knew the rope couldn’t hold her, she couldn’t just watch this last sliver of false hope disappear. What if she caught it? Sato Zhenyi understood topics like family and responsibility better than anyone. As Bin Ye’s disciple, although he didn’t know what significant power the old man always talked about, the power to change this era, Sato Zhenyi knew that when the old man could fully recognize him, when he could truly take on the burden from him, that would be his responsibility. He placed his right hand on the door, wanting to knock again, but his hand, suspended in mid-air, couldn’t move. Finally, it slowly fell with gravity, resting by his pant leg. Only now did the young boy profoundly feel that his always confident strength, his determination that he could change everything with effort, seemed to be utterly useless at times. “Eh…”
