They ended up staying for three days. Kintaro seemed to be waiting for something and was in no hurry to leave.
Meanwhile, after three days of lecturing about Buddhism, Taoism, and the philosophy of life, Tetsuhiro was nearing his limit. At last, Reiko reached hers too.
That night, under cover of darkness, she actually slipped out in a taxi.
Tetsuhiro sensed her leaving, woke Naoko and Noriko, and took a car with them, trailing her from a distance.
On the way, he spotted Kintaro pedaling his bicycle, apparently giving chase just like him.
Tetsuhiro thought, I knew there was a reason you stayed up on the mountain so long. You were waiting for Reiko.
Keep pedaling, buddy. I'll be going on ahead.
The Stretch Lincoln sped away, leaving Kintaro far behind in its dust.
Before long, the taxi stopped outside an abandoned factory. Unfazed, the driver collected his fare and drove away.
Clearly, he was already used to the Yamadera family's young mistress making these strange late-night trips here.
Once Reiko entered the pitch-black factory building,
Tetsuhiro and the two women followed her inside.
Naoko was intensely curious. "Big Brother, what do you think she's doing in such a creepy place this late at night? Don't tell me she's here for a hookup?"
"Huh?"
"Or maybe she's planning to... ack." Naoko drew a finger across her throat.
"Don't scare me! I'm really frightened." Beside him, Noriko nervously clung to Tetsuhiro's arm, pressing her whole body against him.
Squashed flat.
Tetsuhiro stroked her hair reassuringly. "Don't listen to her nonsense. She's deliberately trying to scare you."
Smack!
Tetsuhiro casually gave Naoko a slap.
Boing, boing. So springy and bouncy.
"I'm only like this with you. Nobody else stands a chance."
"All right, you're the sweetest."
"Big Brother Li, I... actually, I