dmims Chapter 176 Oh! Could it be that we've been drawn into the battle for the throne?
Chapter 176 Oh! Could it be that we've been drawn into the battle for the throne?
Lu Mingfei, who was engrossed in slurping his noodles, subconsciously glanced at the food when he heard someone else order.
That glance almost made him choke on the noodles in his mouth!
I am!
This...this face...
How come he looks so much like Genjiro?!
His heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped his chopsticks.
Fortunately, the other person's voice was different from Genji's calm and authoritative tone; it was more clear and gentle.
Upon closer inspection, although his face bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to the prince of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, his features were softer, his brows and eyes lacked some of the fortitude, and he possessed a more elusive and gloomy air, and his complexion also appeared slightly pale.
The reason for such a strong reaction is not that he was afraid of Genjiro or anything like that.
Although the opponent is a Japanese mixed-race yakuza prince with extraordinary strength.
The main reason is... I feel guilty!
He had just glimpsed a missing person poster on the street. The girl in the photo, wearing a kimono and with a serene expression, was now sitting next to him, wearing a fashionable pinafore dress, eating ramen in tiny, obedient bites!
How to explain this?
"Hey, your sister came out with me to experience the hardships of ordinary people!"
Or is it "she ran away from home and I just happened to find her"?
No matter how you look at it, it reeks of a guilty conscience, like someone trying to abduct another family's young lady; even jumping into Tokyo Bay wouldn't clear his name.
But given their striking resemblance, they must be either Genjiro himself or a very close relative... This is troublesome.
Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, unconsciously lowering the volume of his slurping noodles to try and minimize his presence.
"Lu Jun."
However, what are you afraid of?
The young man who had just sat down and resembled Yuan Zhisheng spoke up. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Lu Mingfei's ears.
Lu Mingfei stiffened almost imperceptibly and looked up at him.
The other person nodded slightly to him and said in a whisper that only the two of them could hear, "I am Genjiro. The second son of the Genji family, Genjiro is my brother."
The voice was calm, yet it was like a small pebble thrown into Lu Mingfei's heart.
"oh oh……"
Lu Mingfei forced himself to remain calm, picked up another mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, and mumbled an answer, trying to play dumb.
"Did your brother send you to find me? I just came out for a stroll and grabbed a bowl of noodles. Why is he so worried? Don't worry, I'll go back on my own after I've had my fun... uh, I'll go back on my own after I'm done."
Almost spilled the beans.
"I……"
Just as Yuan Zhinv was about to say something more, Lu Mingfei interrupted her with rapid words:
"Honestly, this noodle dish is really delicious!"
Lu Mingfei raised his voice a few decibels, his tone filled with exaggerated admiration, attempting to drown out the other person with empty words.
"This master chef has been running his stall here for sixty years! A true ramen master! Just smell the broth, look at the marbling of the char siu... Take a bite of his noodles, and you'll feel your soul being elevated, practically ascending to heaven! Let me tell you, the secret to this delicious food lies in..."
He started rambling on and on, from the history of ramen to the 72 hours the broth is simmered, and from the bowl of noodles in front of him to the snowmelt from Mount Fuji and the wheat from Hokkaido. The topic kept veering off course, and he talked on and on, his spittle almost spraying onto Genji's face.
Yuan Zhinv clearly hadn't expected Lu Mingfei to be like this. Listening to his nonsensical and rambling nonsense, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
He tried to speak several times, but was silenced by Lu Mingfei's barrage of words.
It wasn't until Lu Mingfei choked slightly because he spoke too fast, pausing for half a second to catch his breath, that things started to get going.
"Lu Jun!"
Yuan Zhinu seized this fleeting opening, raised her voice slightly, and finally managed to forcefully interrupt Lu Mingfei's food lecture.
He took a deep breath, looked directly at Lu Mingfei, and his tone became direct:
"My brother and I... are not on the same side."
"Ok?"
Lu Mingfei was picking up his soup bowl to drink when he heard this, he paused, his playful smile vanished instantly, and his eyes sharpened.
"What do you mean?"
This sentence contains a lot of information.
The second son of the Yuan family claims that he is not on the same side as his elder brother, who is the young master.
Does this involve a power struggle within the Snake Clan?
Or perhaps the Snake Clan has split up, leading to a struggle for succession?
"In other words," Yuan Zhinu said, seeing that Lu Mingfei was finally listening to her seriously, her speech was steady and clear.
“We can work together. I can help you find out everything you want to know—about that case, about the Snake Clan, and even… something deeper.”
"Oh?"
Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow, finished the rest of the noodle soup in one gulp, let out a satisfied sigh, then slowly wiped his mouth with a tissue, looked back at Yuan Zhinv, his tone revealing no emotion.
"How do you want to cooperate?"
"Didn't you come to Japan to investigate a case?"
Instead of answering directly, Yuan Zhinü threw out a question and then continued talking to herself.
“I can provide you with any information you want about the world of Japanese mixed-race people, including some things that my brother might not tell you, or that he himself may not be fully aware of.”
Lu Mingfei looked the young man in front of him up and down, who called himself Yuan Zhinu.
He is indeed handsome, even possessing a more effeminate beauty than Genjiro. Such looks would definitely make him a top star in the entertainment industry, able to make a living solely based on his appearance.
But at this moment, his pale face, slightly complicated eyes, and the information revealed in his words made Lu Mingfei wary.
"You're not from the Snake-Headed Eight Family?"
Lu Mingfei asked the key question directly.
If he and Genjiro are not in the same camp, then what is his stance?
Genji did not give a direct answer of yes or no.
He silently took out a plain white envelope from his pocket. The envelope was of delicate texture and gleamed softly under the dim light of the ramen stall.
On the front of the envelope was a peculiar emblem printed in vermilion. The emblem's design was ancient and ferocious, set against a rich vermilion background, with a single Chinese character written in delicate yet chilling handwriting...
"ghost".
He gently pushed the envelope in front of Lu Mingfei.
"Here you have everything you most want to know: about the ship, about the people, about their motives, and... their connections with certain forces within the Snake Clan."
Yuan Zhinv lowered her voice even further, with a seductive tone, "After you've seen it, you can decide whether or not to cooperate with me."
Finally, he bowed slightly to Lu Mingfei again, showing perfect manners.
Then, his gaze seemed to shift almost unintentionally and very briefly, landing beside Lu Mingfei.
Erii, who had been quietly eating her noodles, was now staring at him with wide, curious eyes.
The moment his gaze met Erii's, it became extremely complex and difficult to decipher.
There was scrutiny, resentment, and perhaps even a faint hint of... jealousy?
Or perhaps some other emotion.
Erii seemed to sense his gaze, tilted her head, and then held up the small writing board that had been resting on her lap. On it was the question she had just written down, her handwriting neat and tidy:
Are you the older brother's younger brother?
Yuan Zhinv stared at the board and remained silent for a few seconds.
He didn't answer Erii's question, but instead turned his gaze back to Lu Mingfei's face. However, his tone had clearly turned cold, no longer displaying the politeness he had shown when discussing cooperation. Instead, it carried a sense of detachment and an indescribable sharpness.
"The young lady from the Uesugi family?"
He referred to the Uesugi family, not Erii, and certainly not his younger sister.
This title instantly drew a clear line between himself and Erii.