Eighteen

For Tomie, it seemed as if nothing had happened. Yet, Su Bai Ming had no intention of letting her off so easily.

Once home, he firmly pressed Tomie down into a seat, then sat silently opposite her, his expression clearly displeased as he stared at the youth.

Faced with Su Bai Ming’s obvious unhappiness, Tomie adopted an innocent look, her delicate and beautiful form leaning forward slightly, her tone sweet yet puzzled. “Why so serious? Did someone upset you?”

Su Bai Ming remained silent. Seeing this, Tomie rose and naturally moved behind him, her pale arms wrapping around him softly like white serpents.

She embraced him intimately, pressing herself against Su Bai Ming, who was caught off guard and stiffened, sitting frozen in his chair, afraid to move.

“Get up.” He cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice, scolding the overly bold youth.

Tomie pouted in displeasure. “I won’t. You’re my boyfriend—why won’t you let me touch you? Teacher Su Bai, being too shy isn’t good, you know.”

Su Bai Ming could feel the youth’s tender cheek brush against his ear, even the vibrations of her voice transmitting vividly to his skin.

Her body temperature was cool; being wrapped by her felt like being entwined by a cold-blooded python, a chilling presence that seeped into his bones.

From the start, Su Bai Ming had noticed Tomie’s unusually low body temperature; otherwise, he wouldn’t have initially thought she was a corpse come to life.

Grasping her wrist firmly, he slowly and firmly pulled Tomie from behind him. “Explain yourself.”

“You hurt me!” Tomie screamed, violently shaking off his hand. Her exquisite and handsome face became even more striking in her anger.

Her jet-black eyes flashed with irritation, and the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye seemed almost alive, drawing attention irresistibly.

Seeing the furious Tomie, Su Bai Ming smiled bitterly to himself—he had indeed angered this one again, though he had no idea what the consequences would be.

Taking a deep breath, Su Bai Ming removed his glasses. “Where were you during the time you disappeared?” His emerald eyes locked with hers.

Tomie rubbed her wrist disdainfully and raised her chin. “That’s none of your business, Teacher Su Bai. You’re just my boyfriend; don’t try to control me.”

Who said I’m trying to control you?

Suppressing his growing exasperation, Su Bai Ming’s expression grew colder. “Is that so? As your boyfriend, I don’t even have the right to know?”

“Besides, when did I agree to date you?” Since things had come this far, Su Bai Ming no longer cared. He tore apart the fragile facade of peace between them.

Hearing this, Tomie’s face changed drastically. She looked at him incredulously; her handsome features twisted. “You actually want to break up with me!”

For the first time in front of Su Bai Ming, Tomie lost her composure. Her sharp voice pierced his ears, but more surprising was the look in her eyes.

Her beautiful eyes were bloodshot and wild, staring directly at Su Bai Ming with a twisted expression—anger, disbelief, as if she might devour him alive.

To be honest, Su Bai Ming was startled by the uncontrollable rage before him.

Steeling himself, he tried to reason with the seemingly on-edge Tomie. “Calm down. I’m just concerned about you.”

“You want to break up with me! How dare you break up with me!” Tomie wouldn’t listen at all, pointing at him as if he were a faithless villain.

Su Bai Ming was silent for a moment, then raised his hand innocently. “Listen, that’s not what I meant. I just want to know what you were doing.”

“I love you so much, and yet you want to abandon me! Not what you meant? You’re breaking up with me, and you still care about these trivial things?” Tomie’s voice was full of angry disbelief.

“This isn’t trivial!”

“It is! Just because of these things, you want to break up with me! You really want to abandon me!” Tomie shouted, then finally, unable to hold back, burst into tears.

Su Bai Ming wanted to say something, but Tomie wouldn’t give him the chance. She grabbed the cup of water he had poured for her and splashed it into his face, then ran off crying.

The loud slam of the door startled Su Bai Ming, who stood drenched and bewildered, utterly confused by how things had escalated.

What was his initial intention? Oh, right—he just wanted to know if Tomie had encountered any danger during her disappearance.

So why had it come to this damned point? Which step had he missed in following Tomie’s thoughts?

Wiping the water from his face in frustration, Su Bai Ming cursed softly, grabbed his coat, and chased after her.

At this late hour, with Yokohama in such chaos, how could he let Tomie roam alone? Whether she had many copies or this was her original, to Su Bai Ming, she was a living, breathing being.

By the time Su Bai Ming caught up, Tomie had vanished. Barefoot and hastily dressed, he began searching for her along the way.

The streets were deserted in the early morning, with only a few street lamps casting faint light. Not knowing which way she had gone, Su Bai Ming braced himself and picked a direction to search.

Fortunately, the night wasn’t cold. A gentle breeze carried the scent of the sea as Su Bai Ming called her name softly, scanning his surroundings.

Soon, he arrived at a port where a massive cargo ship was docked. From afar, he could see the silhouettes of several cars.

He hesitated about approaching. What legitimate business operated unloading cargo in the dead of night?

As he hesitated, several figures appeared in his view, seemingly heading toward him.

Thinking, ‘This is bad,’ Su Bai Ming stood his ground, waiting for them to approach.

“Hey, who are you? What are you doing here so late?” The leader called out coldly, stopping a short distance away.

Su Bai Ming took in the man’s appearance—orange hair, a top hat, short stature, clad in a black trench coat, radiating an aura of danger.

“Sorry to disturb. I’m looking for someone—my child ran away from home. I’m here to find him. Have you seen a boy around here?” Su Bai Ming didn’t intend to lie. He smiled wryly and gestured to his own outfit. “It’s sudden; I apologize.”

Nakahara Chuya scrutinized him. Su Bai Ming showed no sign of training, his steps unsteady, no scent of blood—just an ordinary person who happened to wander here.

His cobalt eyes studied Su Bai Ming for a moment. Su Bai Ming allowed it, knowing that with his attire, location, and time, the young man before him was no ordinary figure.

“No one’s been around here. You’d better leave quickly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, Nakahara Chuya left with his companions.

Su Bai Ming breathed a sigh of relief and turned away from the port.