Compared with the full two-week work schedule, the tasks to be done were pitifully few. On the very first day after Song Nanyin and Liu Zhaoran arrived, they held talks with the partner company, signed the contract, and the work of this business trip was done.

“Looks like Zhang Kai really did want to come here with you himself. The time and place were arranged flawlessly. I wonder if a certain someone is feeling disappointed right now.” On the way back to the hotel from the partner company, Song Nanyin sat in the passenger seat, glanced at Liu Zhaoran beside her, and couldn’t help needling her in a low voice.

Song Nanyin could tell at a glance that this Japan trip had been deliberately arranged by Zhang Kai for her and Liu Zhaoran. Otherwise, such simple work would never have required Liu Zhaoran to come in person, nor would it have been scheduled for fourteen full days.

If Zhang Kai could have come himself, the one sitting in the car with Liu Zhaoran right now would be him. A man and a woman alone together, traveling through a foreign country for two weeks; it went without saying that some special sparks would fly.

The image of Liu Zhaoran and Zhang Kai standing side by side surfaced in Song Nanyin’s mind. How should she put it? In terms of appearance, Zhang Kai could barely measure up to Liu Zhaoran, and their status and position did match well enough.

But for some reason, Song Nanyin found the idea of them together utterly grating. Words like “a handsome man and a beautiful woman” or “a match made in heaven” didn’t apply at all. When Zhang Kai stood next to Liu Zhaoran, the only thing Song Nanyin could think of was a toad lusting after a swan. That Zhang Kai fellow simply wasn’t worthy of Liu Zhaoran.

Remembering that she herself had once had a slight thing for Zhang Kai, Song Nanyin felt a little embarrassed, but she was also glad that Liu Zhaoran’s appearance had “messed up” the matter between her and Zhang Kai.

If she had actually started dating Zhang Kai, she would definitely be kicking herself by now.

“Team Leader Song seems very concerned about this. Let me count. From reaching the airport to now, you’ve mentioned it several times. What’s the matter, so hung up on General Manager Zhang?” Liu Zhaoran glanced at Song Nanyin, somewhat curious about how Song Nanyin regarded Zhang Kai now.

In Liu Zhaoran’s view, Song Nanyin’s brain might not be the sharpest, but her figure and face were first-rate, and since the two of them had already been intimate, Song Nanyin counted as her person.

By all rights, Liu Zhaoran didn’t want Song Nanyin still thinking about a man at Zhang Kai’s level. Even if Song Nanyin was going to find a boyfriend, she should find someone more outstanding and distinguished.

“Why would I care about him? He’s just an ugly, self-important good-for-nothing. Only you could fancy him.” Song Nanyin shot Liu Zhaoran a glare, feeling deeply humiliated that both she and Liu Zhaoran had once been interested in Zhang Kai.

Perhaps sensing what she was thinking, Liu Zhaoran smiled. She thought it best not to tell Song Nanyin the truth. Actually, from beginning to end, she had never once taken a liking to Zhang Kai.

Caring about Zhang Kai in the first place had been only because of Song Nanyin.

“Everything after this is free time. We can have some fun in Japan. Has Team Leader Song been here before? If not, I can take you around. I’m fairly familiar with the place.”

Liu Zhaoran tilted her head, eyes slightly lowered, and gave a faint smile. Watching her smile, Song Nanyin pressed her lips together. She thought Liu Zhaoran’s smile was rather pretty, but she didn’t say it.

“Focus on the road and stop thinking about pointless stuff. This is my first time here.” Song Nanyin leaned back in her seat, took out her phone to check the weather, and quietly closed the travel guides she had looked up last night.

“Is that so? Then I’ll reluctantly serve as Team Leader Song’s tour guide. Tokyo is prosperous, but in my opinion, there aren’t many places for fun. There are plenty of specialty bars, but I imagine Team Leader Song wouldn’t be interested in those.”

“Right. So what good places do you have in mind?”

“If Team Leader Song likes seafood and wants to ski, Hokkaido is of course the first choice. We could also go take a look around Nara and Kyoto. Those places aren’t far, and a day or two is enough to tour them. Kyoto has quite a few hot springs. I think Team Leader Song would like that.”

Liu Zhaoran spoke softly, her tone gentle and calm, and she really did sound a bit like a tour guide. Although Song Nanyin was here for the first time, she wasn’t actually unfamiliar with Japan. She didn’t like going out much on ordinary days. Song Nanyin’s greatest hobby was watching dramas, mostly Japanese dramas.

Song Nanyin didn’t like places that were too lively. Prosperous cities always gave her an overly clamorous feeling, and that kind of excitement meant little to her. Of the places Liu Zhaoran had suggested, the one she most wanted to go to was still the hot spring.

After all, ever since her body had undergone that transformation, Song Nanyin hadn’t properly taken care of herself for a long time, and she hadn’t been to a hot spring in ages.

“Black-Hearted Lotus, are you deliberately trying to anger me? In my condition, if someone at a hot spring saw me, wouldn’t I be dragged off as a pervert?”

Song Nanyin shot Liu Zhaoran a glare. She knew very well that she was a physically and mentally normal woman, but soaking in a hot spring meant wearing a swimsuit, and she was terrified that if her body happened to have some strange “reaction,” how embarrassing it would be if someone noticed.

Liu Zhaoran understood what Song Nanyin meant, but she felt that, given the size of Song Nanyin’s little part, it would never be conspicuous enough to be discovered at all. Of course, she wouldn’t say such a thing outright.

“A friend of mine happens to run a hot spring inn. It’s by the seaside, very quiet, and not many people go there. I can have her prepare a private pool for us. You should like it.”

Liu Zhaoran spoke softly, and her words made Song Nanyin glance at her involuntarily. The two were the same age; by all logic, their life experience should have been the same. But Song Nanyin had to admit that Liu Zhaoran was indeed more impressive than she had imagined.

Not only in work, but even her network of connections was so deep that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

“Sounds good. You really have no shortage of friends.” Song Nanyin muttered quietly. Just then, the car stopped at a red light, and the surroundings were so quiet that Liu Zhaoran heard what she said.

“Connections that work at critical moments are often more useful than money. Me, I like to solve problems in the simplest way. So, in that case, let’s rest a while, have a meal, and take the Shinkansen straight to Kyoto.”

With the plan set, Liu Zhaoran bought the tickets on her phone. Neither of them intended to stay in Tokyo.

There was plenty of time, and the distance wasn’t far, so when the two arrived in Kyoto, the sun hadn’t completely set. Winters in Japan bring snow, but it wasn’t yet the season for snow on the ground.

This was an ancient city, filled with traces left by bygone eras. Unlike Tokyo’s prosperity and clamor, Kyoto had a heritage all its own. It was as if, once you came here, everything around you would grow quiet as well.

There weren’t many high-rises here. Instead, there were old-fashioned wooden bridges and shop fronts, and streets paved with gray-blue flagstones. Occasionally an old person riding a vintage bicycle would pass by, and a few young women in kimonos would walk past.

All of it felt like being in a world apart from the clamor, and Song Nanyin found it very comfortable.

“So how do we get there?”

“The inn is still some distance away. Let’s just walk over. It isn’t far.”

“Sure.”

Song Nanyin agreed with Liu Zhaoran’s suggestion. After all, the two didn’t have much luggage, the atmosphere here was lovely, and walking was clearly a good choice.

“Are all these shops not open yet?” Song Nanyin looked at the small shops on both sides of the road. She wasn’t familiar with Japanese and couldn’t understand what the characters meant. But it was already afternoon, and these shops were still closed.

“It’s the New Year holiday period right now, Japan’s New Year, a nationwide holiday. You can think of it as the same as our Spring Festival. Shops usually close around this time.”

“I see. That’s quite relaxed and carefree, then.”

“Yes. After all, Japan is different from our side. They’re freer and more democratic, and relatively speaking, most people’s lives are a bit more comfortable too.”

Liu Zhaoran and Song Nanyin walked one ahead of the other, chatting as they went, and before long they arrived at the hot spring inn run by Liu Zhaoran’s friend. Song Nanyin watched Liu Zhaoran make a phone call at the entrance, and then a woman in a kimono came out.

The woman was named Sakurano Jiyu. She first introduced herself to Song Nanyin in Chinese, then switched to Japanese to talk with Liu Zhaoran. Song Nanyin could vaguely understand a few sentences. Occasionally the woman would turn back and nod at her with a smile, and Song Nanyin would nod in return. After all… aside from nodding, she had no idea what to say.

“I’ve already reserved a separate hot spring pool with Miss Sakurano. The two of us can go over alone tonight. Across from the inn are the beach and the sea. It would be more crowded in the tourist season, but it’s been very quiet these two days. We can go for a walk tonight.”

Liu Zhaoran led Song Nanyin upstairs, and the two reached their room. When she found that Liu Zhaoran had booked the same room, Song Nanyin gave her a sideways glance but didn’t mention getting a separate room again.

It wasn’t reckless abandon. Song Nanyin simply felt she wasn’t that fussy. Their contract was signed, they had slept together many times, and at home they always slept together.

Song Nanyin realized she seemed to have gotten used to the feeling of sleeping with Liu Zhaoran every night. This dreadful habit couldn’t become second nature, could it?

Dinner was sushi delivered by Sakurano. The ingredients were fresh, and the taste was excellent. After she finished eating, Song Nanyin saw Liu Zhaoran leaning to the side, drinking, and planned to go soak in the hot spring pool first by herself.

Seeing her walk off with her swimsuit, Liu Zhaoran curved her lips into a smile. She rose, opened the suitcase, and took out a bottle of medicine from the very bottom. A few white pills were left inside. Liu Zhaoran thought for a moment, then stopped the motion of unscrewing the cap.

This was a drug she had developed herself. She called it vitamins, but in reality, it was the medicine Liu Zhaoran used to suppress her heat cycles. Its ingredients had a sedative and sleep-inducing effect, and of course, it contained a small amount of anesthetic.

After taking it, her nerves would become slack and weary, similar in effect to sleeping pills, but compared with the heat suppressants from her world, it was far inferior. During the heat cycles of these past few years, Liu Zhaoran had always relied on this medicine to ease the discomfort in her body.

Its efficacy was far less effective than heat suppressants, and it certainly wasn’t free of side effects. But Liu Zhaoran knew exactly how terrifying an Omega’s heat cycle could be. Even she herself had no idea what she might do once she sank into one. Therefore, during her heat cycles, Liu Zhaoran would absolutely never choose to spend them with someone else. She always forced herself to endure them alone.

Perhaps the only saving grace was that her body had gradually gotten used to this world, and the sensations of her heat cycles seemed to grow weaker year by year.

She was in her heightened-sensitivity phase right now, and her heat cycle would probably come within a day or two. In fact, Liu Zhaoran should have taken these suppressants a few days earlier, but she had changed her mind.

With Song Nanyin around, she found herself less willing to take them.

Liu Zhaoran put the medicine away, raised her head, and gently rolled her neck. After rushing around all day, aches and pains were inevitable. Soaking in a hot spring, or doing something even more delightful for body and mind, would feel quite nice.

Conveniently, no one else would come to the hot spring pool.

With that thought, Liu Zhaoran glanced at the swimsuit she had prepared, didn’t take it, and went straight to the hot spring pool wearing only her bathrobe.