Tokyo Drift Arc (6)

Tokyo Drift Arc (6)

Being driven back to where he lived by a girl every time made Zhang Heng feel a little awkward. His phone had navigation; he could have found his way back on his own. But Ameko insisted on taking him all the way back to school.

As thanks, Zhang Heng could only treat her to dinner at the cafeteria. Ever since he started working at the Western restaurant, his pressing financial troubles had been resolved. He now earned around 70,000 Japanese yen a month.

That money was enough to keep him alive in the city, but no more than that. Saving up to buy a car this way was far too unrealistic. Zhang Heng had yet to find a solution, but he had made some progress on improving his driving skills.

On the way back, Zhang Heng asked Ameko for her father's name. He opened his phone and entered the four characters for Takeda Tetsuya. Every result that came up was related to Takeda Fisheries.

Everything looked perfectly normal.

Afterward, he used an image-editing tool to crop out the man in the photo, enlarged his face, and uploaded it to Facesearch. It was a facial search engine built on the Google API that could pull up similar images from the internet.

The results were average at best, and the margin of error could be quite large. Forget searching for Wang Luodan with a photo of Bai Baihe—sometimes, even using Takeshi Kaneshiro's picture could return Zhao Benshan.

Looking at the massive number of search images that popped up before him, Zhang Heng knew he had something to do tonight.

The next morning, Zhang Heng slept in for once. He had no classes and no work that morning, so he did not get out of bed until ten. Still, he did not forget to make up for his morning run afterward.

After breakfast—which was also lunch—Zhang Heng received two more messages from Ameko. One read, "Thanks for yesterday." The other said, "Momo seems to have drunk too much toilet water and has diarrhea. I'm taking it to the vet."

Using the Japanese he had just learned, Zhang Heng replied, "Be careful on the way," then set Takeda Fisheries as his navigation destination.

This was the first time he had gone somewhere far without Ameko accompanying him. Fortunately, with the map and his memories from before, he still managed to find the place he had left yesterday an hour and a half later.

This time, the stubbled man was not sleeping in. Still, he looked like he had only just gotten up. Wearing slippers and boxer shorts under a bathrobe, he stood outside inspecting a batch of scallops.

When he turned and saw Zhang Heng, he jumped in fright. Shouting things Zhang Heng could not understand, he backed away while feeling around for a weapon. Seeing that Zhang Heng had no intention of stopping, he pulled out his phone and made as if to dial 110.

"Ameko told me you can understand English, sir?" Zhang Heng asked in English.

"So what if I can?" The stubbled man grabbed a mop and clutched it tightly, like a drowning man grasping a lifeline. "Hey, kid, I'm warning you. Even if you're Ameko's boyfriend, you have no right to meddle in our family affairs. If you don't leave, I'm calling the police."

"I'm not here because of yesterday." Zhang Heng shook his head. "Can we talk inside?"

"D-Don't move! Don't think you can get close to me with a trick like that. The same move won't work on a Saint Seiya twice!" the stubbled man shouted, putting on a brave front. It seemed yesterday's fall had left quite a psychological shadow on him.

Since they were speaking English, Zhang Heng did not have to worry about anyone nearby overhearing. He did not insist on going inside and simply said, "Then I'll be direct. I want you to teach me how to race in underground street races."

"..."

The man froze. "You want a seafood shop owner to teach you how to race? Is your English that bad, or is there something wrong with my hearing? What is this, some new Easter joke?"

After a pause, he continued, "Didn't Ameko tell you? I can't drive at all. Otherwise, after the delivery guy at the shop quit, I wouldn't have so many orders piling up." The stubbled man pointed at the heap of seafood waiting to be packed beside him, looking helpless.

Zhang Heng remained unmoved. "For a self-taught person, your English is a little too good. Takeda Tetsuya—or should I call you Tsuchiya Yosuke?"

"A prodigious racer who became famous young. After graduating high school, you went to Europe, where your exceptional driving caught the attention of sponsors and got you into the FIA GT Grand Prix. Your best result was second place at the New York round, but you ultimately had to return home after offending a team executive. Seventeen years ago, you won the tandem race at the Tokyo round of D1 GRAND PRIX. That same year, you began challenging for the DK title. Underground racers from twenty-two of Tokyo's twenty-three wards lost to you, but you gave up at the very end and vanished without a trace afterward," Zhang Heng said unhurriedly.

"I don't know who you're talking about." The stubbled man pulled a straight face. "Kid, if you want to play at racing, go race somewhere else. Don't stand in front of my seafood shop and interfere with my business."

Though he tried his best to look calm, Zhang Heng had been watching his face the whole time. When he heard the name Tsuchiya Yosuke, his pupils had abruptly contracted. Zhang Heng was ninety percent certain he had found the right man.

"Why did you quit? And why did you change your name to Takeda Tetsuya? You didn't want anyone to find you?"

The stubbled man's expression finally changed. "Kid, are you threatening me?"

"So you finally admit it, Mr. Tsuchiya?"

"I haven't admitted anything," the stubbled man said warily.

Zhang Heng did not press him any further. He only wanted to confirm the stubbled man's identity. Though the guy gave off the air of someone who would not behave unless he was put in his place, Zhang Heng decided to let him off this time because of Ameko. He had no intention of using exposure as leverage, but neither did he explicitly deny it.

"Isn't your shop short a delivery worker? What do you think of me? I'll make deliveries for you without pay. In exchange, you teach me how to race."

The words "without pay" visibly brightened the stubbled man's eyes. He quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, chiefly the consequences of refusing someone. A moment later, his eyes shifted, and Zhang Heng knew he was tempted. But the instincts of a profiteer made Takeda Tetsuya unable to resist asking one more question. "I teach you how to race, and you help me make deliveries while also paying me tuition?"

"..."

"I got a little carried away. Fine, forget about the tuition." Seeing Zhang Heng's expression turn unpleasant, the stubbled man hurriedly changed his tune. "But let's make this clear first. We'll agree to three rules. First, don't mention the name Tsuchiya Yosuke again. There is no such person here. Second, we are not master and disciple. I'm your boss, and you're my delivery worker. I'm only giving you a few pointers because I'm afraid you'll make deliveries too slowly and delay business. How much you learn is up to you. Third, Ameko must not find out about this."

"One more rule. You're not allowed to ask Ameko for money again," Zhang Heng added.

"...Fine." The stubbled man thought it over and reluctantly agreed.

Sorry, this update was a little late.