Tokyo Drift Arc (4)

Tokyo Drift Arc (4)

After hearing Ameko's words, Zhang Heng did not immediately look away. He was thinking about how to get involved in the main quest when, unexpectedly, an opportunity presented itself the very next moment.

These people known as Bōsōzoku were clearly all modified-car enthusiasts. If he could blend into their circle, he should soon be able to get in touch with all sorts of underground races. If he got on good terms with one or two of them, perhaps they might even teach him some street-racing skills.

But there was one problem.

He could sense Ameko's aversion toward these people, and without Ameko to translate, he had no way of communicating with them at all.

So should he try to persuade Ameko to help, or simply drag her into this?

Zhang Heng did not have much time to hesitate. Just before the bandana-wearing man's gaze turned in his direction, he lowered his head, avoiding eye contact. The surrounding customers did much the same. The Bōsōzoku seemed to derive a certain satisfaction from feeling superior to ordinary people, whistling and laughing as they headed toward the empty tables at the back.

Zhang Heng's decision to give up at the last moment had nothing to do with Ameko. It was purely because this bunch was too goddamn stupid. To deal with them, he would first have to lower his IQ to roughly their level.

Zhang Heng had no masochistic tendencies, so after thinking it over, he ultimately gave up. He did not believe this was the only way to access underground car races, nor did he think he could learn anything useful from those guys.

Over the next two weeks, Zhang Heng spent his time studying Japanese Language and working at the Western restaurant. There was no progress on the racing front, but his relationship with Ameko grew increasingly close. They worked together, Zhang Heng helped Ameko correct her Chinese pronunciation, and in return, Ameko tutored him in Japanese. Besides that, Zhang Heng also noticed that Ameko had become increasingly fond of texting him.

The longer he knew her, the more he realized that Ameko was indeed an incredibly chatty girl. From the peaches at home to stray dogs on the street, discounted boxed meals at the supermarket—she could send him a message about everything she saw.

During Japanese class, Zhang Heng would receive texts from Ameko. "Ah, our Japanese teacher wore an unbelievably cute floral dress today that was totally inappropriate for her age! Everyone was so shocked."

While eating, he would receive texts from Ameko. "Breaking news!!! This is unbelievable, did you know that Matsuko, the dog at school, is actually male?!"

Or before bed: "Zhang-san, do you think the world would become terrible if there were no cats?"

And almost every day, there would be: "Oh no, do I send too many random messages? You don't hate me, do you? Do you? You don't, right?"

"No. I was just reviewing what I learned today." Zhang Heng put down his ballpoint pen and rubbed his eyes. Although he had yet to find the underground races hidden in the night, he had not been idle lately either. He felt as though he had returned to his senior year of high school. In order to master Japanese as quickly as possible—at least enough to understand the simplest everyday conversations—he was practically working himself to death.

He had cut his sleep down to five hours and practiced Japanese almost every waking moment. Even when he played piano at the restaurant, he kept a basic Japanese textbook beside him. Zhang Heng felt like he had not come here to play a game, but to attend cram school.

"Zhang-san, you're so diligent. Compared to you, I feel like I'm completely wasting my life," Ameko said with admiration.

"I'm only doing what I have to do." Zhang Heng gave a wry smile. He was not particularly interested in language learning, but on the evening of his second day here, he had received a prompt from that mysterious voice.

It confirmed that his return time this round had indeed been extended to 420 days, meaning some things could be planned in advance. With so much time, he could not rely on Ameko as a translation machine forever. Besides, she was applying to be an exchange student in China, and she would most likely be gone next school year. Zhang Heng still decided that it was better to rely on himself.

An overseas study environment lasting fourteen months was not easy to come by. With conditions like these, not taking the opportunity to practice the local language would be a bit of a waste.

Zhang Heng had an ominous feeling that if this game continued, he might end up learning every major language in the world first.

Although Ameko was still rambling on about trivial things in her messages, after being bombarded by her texts for a week, Zhang Heng could tell from between the lines that she seemed somewhat down today.

So he typed, "What's wrong?" But just before sending it, he deleted the message and called her directly. "Ameko, did you run into some trouble?"

Ameko was a little surprised to receive the call. Her voice was hoarse, as if she had cried not long ago, and she was still sniffling. "Zhang-san, sorry for making you worry. It's actually nothing serious. It's just my own family matter. No, it can't really be considered a family matter. That person left us six years ago."

"You'll feel better if you talk about it. If you're willing, you can tell me. I can keep it a secret. After all, other than you, no one here can understand what I'm saying anyway."

Ameko, who had been crying on the other end of the line, laughed at that. Then she told Zhang Heng her story. Her biological father had become addicted to horse-race betting when she was young and gambled away all the family's money. Her mother could not endure it, so the two later divorced and cut off all contact. Her mother then remarried her current stepfather and had a younger brother with him. Their family now got along very well.

However, after she started university, her father somehow found her contact information and got in touch with her again. The first thing he did was borrow money. At first, he said he was having trouble with his business and needed funds to tide him over, but after the first time came a second. After several times, Ameko finally became suspicious and learned that he was not only gambling, but had also developed a drinking problem.

The father and daughter had a huge fight over it and went several months without speaking. Then, an hour earlier that afternoon, Ameko received another call from him. He said debt collectors had beaten him up and that he had no money to see a doctor. But having learned from past experience, Ameko did not immediately transfer over the money she had earned from working. Her biological father then cursed her as an ungrateful wretch and declared that he did not have a daughter like her.

Ameko could not help bursting into tears. She asked Zhang Heng on the other end of the phone, "Zhang-san, am I cold-blooded?"

"Uh, I think your father is the one more in the wrong. Though there's a ninety percent chance he's just lying, if you're worried about him, I can go with you tomorrow."

"Really? But isn't it too much to make you go out of your way because of my family problems?" Ameko felt a little embarrassed.

"Not at all. I'm about at my limit lately too. I'm either studying Japanese or playing Bandari at the restaurant. Going out for some fresh air would be nice." That was also what Zhang Heng genuinely felt. Just looking at kana syllables now made him feel like throwing up.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, so let's go together after work in the morning."

"Okay."

"Thank you, Zhang-san."

"You're welcome."

Ameko's situation was only a minor interlude, and Zhang Heng did not dwell on it too much. After hanging up, he began thinking once more about how to improve his driving skills. Fifteen days had passed since the second round of the game began, and he still had not started the main quest. Any other player would probably have been panicking by now.

Zhang Heng was not in such a hurry because he had fourteen months to complete the quest, but he could not drag this out indefinitely either. He had set himself a deadline: if he still could not find a way to improve his driving skills after one month, he would have no choice but to try getting in touch with those Bōsōzoku.

Thank you, everyone, for the tips and recommendations, and an early Mid-Autumn Festival to you all~ (????)