My name is Levi, and I work in anime.

He tentatively reached out and gently stroked Ryougi's chin, as if petting a cat. Ryougi didn't resist; instead, she let out a soft, inviting hum.

"Liangyi is such a cute guy."

Li Wei once again expressed this sentiment, indicating that, at least for the time being, neither of them wanted to part from this wonderful and heartwarming atmosphere.

However, the boy felt that today's Yin and Yang were neither the usual style nor the usual weaving, but rather as if a new Yin and Yang had been created.

……

"In short, you are not allowed to hide anything from me if any problems arise in the future, do you understand?"

When the two deeply affectionate siblings parted ways, it was already noon. As if concealing something, Ryougi smoothed the wrinkles in her clothes and said this calmly.

"If you dare to hide anything again, I'll kill you."

The blush on her ears proved that her inner state was far from as calm as her tone suggested.

Moreover, that strange feeling from before had disappeared, and the Yin-Yang symbol had returned to the one Li Wei was familiar with. It turned out that the previous illusion was simply a result of his abnormal state.

"Okay," Li Wei readily agreed.

He was initially worried that Ryougi might get angry with him when she saw the room full of Saeko's things.

As a result, Shi only showed an expression of "Hmph, these are all petty tricks that can't be brought to the table," which made the boy breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that the problems are solved, life should get back on track. Today is school day, and I'll have classes as usual this afternoon, since I can still get a scholarship.

It feels like it's been a long time since I've gone to school with Ryougi, and I'm still a little excited about it.

"Your problem won't relapse, will it?" Shi asked with some concern as they walked downstairs.

"At least for now, I don't have any worldly desires for anyone." Li Wei shook his head seriously.

"Worldly desires?"

“Yes, Mr. Araya and I discussed this kind of thing together. He seems to be a religious believer.” The boy pointed to a tall figure in front of him: “That’s him, the landlord of this apartment building, Mr. Araya Sōren.”

"Hello, Little Li Wei."

At the entrance of Ogawa's apartment, the landlord who greeted Li Wei and Ryougi Shiki, or simply Araya Sōren, greeted them.

He was the new landlord who suddenly replaced the previous landlord some time ago. He was tall and burly, with a serious and rigid personality, and rarely smiled.

He was highly skilled in physical combat and had unique insights into religion. Li Wei had a chat with him, discussing everything from philosophy to medicine to martial arts, and it was generally a pleasant conversation.

The children are all afraid of him, including Ryougi, who is meeting him for the first time today.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like Araya-sensei's gaze wasn't on me today, but rather on Ryougi.

Instinctively, the boy shielded his best friend behind him, using his body to block the other's view.

"Hello, Mr. Araya, what's been going on lately?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just haven't seen you for a while. Have you run into trouble?" The landlord's expression was indifferent, but his words were warm: "You can come to me if you have any problems."

“My problem has been resolved. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Landlord.”

The boy continued to respond politely, and even the most discerning person couldn't find anything wrong with his manners.

Then, maintaining a highly tense and vigilant attitude, he grabbed Liangyi's hand and sped away from the scene.

Only after walking quite a distance and confirming that they could no longer see each other did they both breathe a sigh of relief.

Is that guy your landlord?

Shi's expression wasn't very pleasant: "I always felt that he wasn't a good person."

It's understandable; anyone would feel immense pressure being scrutinized from head to toe by someone with that kind of build for a long time. After all, Ryougi is still just a primary school student.

“Mr. Araya suddenly took over the apartment two months ago,” Li Wei replied thoughtfully. “He said the previous landlord had gone back to his hometown to get married.”

If I remember correctly, the previous landlord of Ogawa Apartments was Nobuyuki Sugo. I heard that he used to be a prominent figure in Tokyo's investment circle, but he eventually went bankrupt due to failed investments and could only live here as a recluse.

He had a bad temper and often bragged about his past with a sour face. Nobody liked him, so many people breathed a sigh of relief after the landlord was suddenly changed.

There are even rumors that Mr. Araya killed Sugo and forcibly seized ownership of the apartment, but of course, this is not very credible.

After all, this is modern society. As students who frequently commit murder know, killing someone is easy, but disposing of the body is quite troublesome. You can't just throw the body away with your bare hands, can you?

Moreover, he presented legitimate identification, so unless he also knows magic tricks like hypnosis, it's impossible.

“I don’t like him.” Ryougi frowned, revealing her opinion: “I feel that guy is dangerous.”

"He seemed pretty normal before, but he's acting strangely today."

"Is this kind of landlord really okay?"

"How about this, I'll look for rental ads this afternoon, and move in as soon as I find a suitable place," Li Wei immediately gave a positive answer.

"Let's look for it together. Once we find it, I'll help you move it."

Li Wei was always a man of action, and Liang Yi was equally adept at making swift and decisive decisions. Almost instantly, the two reached an agreement and finalized their next plan.

A gust of wind blew by, and for some reason, the Xiaochuan Apartment in the distance suddenly looked particularly eerie and terrifying, as if there were no living people there.

The two looked at each other again.

"We need to hurry, Avi."

"Okay, hurry up."

Chapter 37 Yukinoshita's name isn't very pleasant to hear.

Moving can wait. As a student, attending classes is the most important thing right now.

Isn't there an ironclad rule in anime too? Even if the world is about to end, the protagonist, as a student, still has to attend classes. Although Li Wei isn't an anime protagonist, the principle still applies.

Helping the teacher write on the blackboard, actively answering questions in class, passing notes with the twin-tailed devil in his spare time, and in gym class, donning armor, riding a horse, and disarming the opposing general on horseback—Li Wei's day was no different from any other student's; it was very ordinary.

The boy initially thought today would be just like any other day at school, passing by simply. However, as physical education class was nearing its end, his homeroom teacher, Eikichi Onizuka, called him over.

"Someone is looking for me?"

Li Wei was very curious.

"Yes, it seems to be a parent from another class. They seem to have something very important to discuss with you." The blond-haired homeroom teacher, who had unwashed tattoo marks on his body and looked three parts like a teacher, seven parts like a rock singer, and ninety parts like a yakuza member, said, "He's quite mysterious. He wanted to talk to you privately and specifically found an empty office."

At this point, the homeroom teacher gave a strange look: "You haven't been beating up any classmates lately, have you?"

“I am a person who restrains myself with the virtues of a gentleman, how could I possibly do such a thing?” Li Wei replied seriously.

"Hehe, if a group of parents hadn't come to me to complain at the beginning of the year, I might have believed them."

The incident that Ms. Onizuka mentioned was a bullying incident that happened in the next class at the beginning of the year. Someone put a caterpillar in Honda Kazuko's locker, and Li Wei and Ryougi Shiki happened to catch them in the act.

The result was that the two of them beat the chickens and dogs on the other side until they were crawling all over the ground, and forced them to eat all the insects.

By the way, Zhi came to school the next day, saying, "How could you not include me in something so interesting?" Then Li Wei led him to bring back the bullies from yesterday. They made them eat again. Only then was the matter considered closed.

"If you repay evil with kindness, how will you repay kindness? Isn't it the right thing to do to repay evil with justice and win people over with virtue?" The boy's tone became lighter: "Besides, teacher, you support me in doing this, right? People can't only realize that bullying others is wrong after they have been punished by others."

The incident at the beginning of the year caused quite a stir, involving many prominent parents, but in the end, the homeroom teacher, Eikichi Onizuka, managed to suppress it.

Putting aside his appearance, this blond-haired man is certainly worthy of the title of people's teacher.

"Fine, I can't argue with you." The homeroom teacher subconsciously thought of lighting a cigarette, but immediately stopped himself. "I only have one request: if you lose a fight in the future, don't say you're my student. Let's go."

……

That feeling of curiosity lasted until Onizuka-sensei led him to an office. Looking at the mature woman sitting there, dressed in a kimono, probably in her thirties, and bearing at least seven or eight parts resemblance to the two Yukinoshitas, Li Wei immediately guessed her identity.

At least they're not here for revenge.

"Hello, big sister, are you Yukinoshita's mother?"

Looking at the mature, beautiful woman opposite him who had been scrutinizing him from head to toe ever since he entered, Li Wei asked her this question very politely.

As for calling the other person "big sister" or "the other person's child is classmate," the teenager said not to worry too much about these details and that everyone should just do their own thing.

"...Yes, you must be Li Wei."

Upon hearing the young man's address, the dignified and mature woman opposite him raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly quite pleased.

She stood up, put her fingers together, and bowed respectfully to the boy, showing no disrespect for him just because he was a child: "Thank you for your bravery in saving my daughter. I don't know what I would have done if something had really happened to them."

"Not at all, I just did what I thought was right." Li Wei accepted the other party's courtesy with dignity before answering, "And I believe that anyone else in that situation would have made the same choice, it just so happened that I was there at the time."

"You are too modest."

Across from her, Mrs. Yukinoshita maintained her dignified and serious demeanor, completely unlike the lively personality of the larger Yukinoshita, and also quite different from the earnest appearance of the smaller Yukinoshita.

Communicating with someone like that would be very stressful, and the atmosphere wouldn't be lively at all. But Li Wei doesn't dislike them.

In the realm of "etiquette" alone, he doesn't believe anyone in Japan can surpass him.

"This is a small token of appreciation from the Yukinoshita family. We hope you will accept it." With these words, the enormous Yukinoshita took out a check from a box on the side, the amount on it being quite substantial.

"This small gift is of little value and cannot be of any respect to you."

Li Wei accepted the gift with dignity and honor.

The young man had studied the stories of Zilu redeeming people and Zigong receiving cattle more than once. From every perspective, he had a clear conscience about taking the money.

He plans to keep a small portion for his own living expenses, use another portion to help patients who seek his medical treatment but are short of money, and donate the rest to the kindergarten that adopted him.

It must be given to Mr. Fujibayashi and Mr. Aikawa, and absolutely not to some silver-haired, naturally curly-haired person.

Just when Li Wei thought the meeting was over, Lady Yukinoshita called him back.

"So, Lady Yukinoshita, is there anything else?" Li Wei looked at her with some curiosity.

"Before coming here, I often heard Yukino mention your name." The mature and beautiful woman's tone was firm and unwavering. "So, I came here today partly to express my gratitude in person, and partly to see what kind of child Yukino has been so attached to."

Li Wei was somewhat surprised by Lady Yukinoshita's words. He thought he had a bad relationship with the petite Yukinoshita, but he didn't expect her to be so highly regarded.

At the same time, a scream came from outside the door, as if someone had fallen, followed by a series of actions, such as a girl getting up in a panic and her sister covering her mouth.

It would be awkward to say anything at a time like this, so just pretend you didn't hear it.

Are you suggesting that my relationship with your daughter is actually quite ordinary, and that I don't even remember her name?

"Anyway, please take good care of Yukino from now on." The enormous Yukino sighed, "It's all my fault for being too strict with her and spoiling her."

"Not at all, Yukinoshita is a very outstanding person." Li Wei tried to make amends for the small Yukinoshita.

"Also, there is one more thing."

Standing up again, the mature and beautiful woman stood before the young man and said in an unquestionable tone:

"I want to adopt you. Would you like to be a child of the Yukinoshita family?"

Chapter 38 But I refuse

Adoption? Li Wei hadn't heard that word in a while.

When he was in kindergarten, some people wanted to do this, but they always failed for various reasons. As the boy grew up, he became less eager for the family aspect.

If I had to name them, Ryougi and Saeko would be his family, and Hiratsuka-nee would be one of them too.

In Japan, the status of adopted children is completely different from that in China.

Most Chinese people only consider adopting a son when they have no children and no relatives to adopt, or when they urgently need manpower. An example of the former is Guo Wei, the founding emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty, who, after his entire family was killed, had no choice but to adopt Chai Rong, who was also his nephew, thus establishing a kinship. Another example of the latter is Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, who adopted many orphans during his conquest of the empire, with Mu Ying being a prominent example.

The Japanese, on the other hand, are quite different. Even when they have biological children, and a considerable number of them, they still adopt children and don't find it strange at all.

"Excuse me, why do you suddenly want to adopt me?" Li Wei felt a little strange.

"Because you have talent and abilities worth nurturing."

Lady Yukinoshita's answer was unquestionable. Perhaps recognizing Li Wei's precociousness, she did not change her attitude simply because he was a child.

"My husband—your future adoptive father—is a county councilor in our hometown, and his family also owns some businesses. In the eyes of ordinary people, this may seem quite impressive, but all of this is nothing compared to the real elite families."

What's even more troublesome is that there are no male heirs in this generation. The burden of revitalizing the family rests on my two daughters.

If you are willing to be adopted, then the entire Yukinoshita family's resources can be invested in you. You will no longer need to waste time participating in competitions you don't like to earn scholarships for living expenses, nor will you need to find an adult to accompany you when you want to do something. All the trivialities of life will leave you behind.

My two daughters aren't very interested in the family business, and they won't have any conflict with you about it. They might even be glad or grateful to you.

Therefore, I look forward to your reply.