Immortal Days

A few dozen minutes later, the gas was turned on again, and Yoshie finally settled down to cook properly.

Around eleven o'clock, the two sat at the small table they had used the night before, eating.

"Does it taste good?" Yoshie stared at Su Yang, her face full of anticipation.

Su Yang nodded as he ate. "Very good!"

"In that case, you can have this fish too. I haven't touched it, and I can't eat much."

"I can't eat much in the morning either. Go ahead and eat. You're not fat, so have some more."

"Alright."

A simple Japanese brunch was soon finished.

Yoshie took the used dishes back to the kitchen to wash them.

Su Yang sat on the floor, blowing smoke rings. "This is practically paradise. How amazing!"

[Ding, host detected to be extremely relaxed and enjoying. Reward: 3 million.]

"Whoosh~" He exhaled a puff of smoke.

"It would be perfect if I could have a coffee right now."

As he spoke, Su Yang got up and sat down by the floor-to-ceiling window. Because the courtyard wall blocked the view, he could only see the road outside through the iron gate. At the moment, the road was deserted except for the rain hammering against the ground.

"There's no way I'm stuck here again today, is there? Even though staying here is really nice, it's not a long-term solution. The longer I stay, the harder it'll be to leave."

"I hope it stops this afternoon. Oh, right, damn, my clothes probably aren't dry yet." Su Yang suddenly remembered his clothes. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, got up, and walked toward where the clothes were drying.

Yesterday, Yoshie had washed his clothes and hung them on a drying rack near the bathroom.

Su Yang walked up to the rack and touched them. The clothes and pants were still damp. Mainly because it was rainy weather and not very hot, plus the clothes were hanging indoors without much ventilation, they were drying slowly.

"Whether they're dry or not, I'll have to put them on and leave once the rain stops."

Just as he said that, Yoshie came out of the kitchen. Seeing Su Yang standing by the clothes, she asked, "Su-san, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just checking if my clothes are dry."

Yoshie walked over and looked at Su Yang. "Are you thinking about leaving?"

"That's not what I meant. I just came over to check on the clothes."

Yoshie wasn't stupid. She understood Su Yang's thoughts. She lowered her head and said, "It's okay, Su-san. Once the typhoon passes, I'll take you to leave. Don't worry, I won't stop you from going."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Yang walked over, took Yoshie's hand, and led her back to the living room. "It's not that I'm in a hurry to go. I was just thinking that if the rain really stops and I have to leave, I need something to wear. I can't exactly walk out in just a towel, can I?"

"Mm-hmm, but the rain is still heavy. Based on my experience, a typhoon of this level won't end quickly. It probably won't stop all day today."

"So for now, let's not worry about other things. Come on, let's sit and chat."

"Alright."

Yoshie brought out some snacks, and the two sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, eating and continuing to chat as they watched the heavy rain outside.

Through his conversations with Yoshie, Su Yang became more familiar with some aspects of Japanese culture.

Since he was bored anyway, he asked every question that came to mind.

Time unknowingly passed into the afternoon. The wind outside was still howling. It looked like he still couldn't leave today.

Since he couldn't go anywhere for now, Su Yang stopped overthinking and just focused on enjoying the moment.

...

On the other side, Meng Wenzhou and the others had also finished lunch and were sitting in the living room chatting.

Last night, the Kawashima sisters had invited Tang Ziyun and Lu Yun to stay in their room, while the others spent the night in the living room.

Meng Wenzhou and Liu Bo slept at the far end of the living room, with the girls in the middle. Even though the floor was hard, they at least got some rest.

They had thought the typhoon would be over when they woke up, but it was still going strong at two in the afternoon, only slightly weaker, dropping from last night's maximum of level 15 to level 14.

"Ugh, when is this wind going to stop!" Liu Bo lay on the floor, staring longingly out the window.

"Keep a calm mindset. What can you do if it doesn't stop?" Meng Wenzhou said flatly.

"I want a cigarette!" Liu Bo said, looking lifeless.

"Who doesn't! Hey, by the way, Meixiang, does your father usually smoke?" Meng Wenzhou turned to Meixiang, his face full of hope.

Meixiang shook her head. "My dad doesn't smoke. He only drinks."

"Alright then. The last hope is gone." Meng Wenzhou sighed helplessly.

"You won't die from going a day or two without a smoke." Meng Qianyu retorted.

"Oh? Don't mess with me right now, little miss. I'm already annoyed!" Meng Wenzhou deliberately glared at Meng Qianyu.

Meng Qianyu made a face at Meng Wenzhou, then turned to chat with Ren Lingxi.

"Meixiang, how long do typhoons of this type usually last?" Pan Ning asked, looking at Meixiang.

Meixiang thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's hard to say. Sometimes they stop in a day or two, but there are also times when they last seven or eight days, even ten days."

"No way?!" Hearing this, Meng Wenzhou threw himself back and lay flat on the floor.

"I want to cry!!" He stared at the ceiling, on the verge of tears.

Liu Bo lay by the window without moving, echoing, "I want to die."

"For our trip to Japan... we're not going to spend the remaining ten-plus days stuck here, are we?" Su Qingci said weakly.

"Impossible!! Susu, don't say things like that. Sometimes casual words can come true." Zhuang Mengli turned to Su Qingci and said.

"Exactly! Yesterday, wasn't it Yang-ge who said the typhoon would come halfway through the drive, and sure enough!" Liu Bo said, his face full of pain.

Everyone thought back to last night when they were about to head back to Dongjin. Su Yang had indeed said something like that.

"Let's not talk about it. I'm really scared." Zhuang Mengli rested her face on her hands and said flatly.

"I hope it stops later. At the very least, it can stop tomorrow!" Liu Bo muttered to himself.

"I said, stop talking!" Meng Wenzhou turned around and glared at Liu Bo.

"I said stop!"

"Don't say anything. Just wait for it to stop on its own."

"Alright..."

"By the way, Meixiang, Meixia, are your parents at the company?" Zhuang Mengli looked at the two and asked.

"Mm-hmm." The two sisters nodded.

"Did you talk to them on the phone yesterday? With the signal out all the time, they're probably really worried."

Meixia looked at Zhuang Mengli and said, "They called us last night when the signal was still there to check on us. It's fine."

"Oh, that's good. Don't let your parents worry."

"No worries."

"Well, since we're all free now, how about we play some games?" Jiang Xiaotang suggested.

"Sounds good. It's way too boring here." Su Qingci nodded in agreement.

The two tour guides and the two drivers also showed interest. Meixia found a deck of cards, and everyone sat in a circle, playing games to pass the boring time.

...

Over at Su Yang's place, he and Yoshie were lying by the floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor, chatting.

Without electricity or signal, besides talking and interacting, there really wasn't anything else to do.

Su Yang could keep the conversation going. He had plenty of energy. But Yoshie was just an ordinary person. Even though she was pretty tough by normal standards, she still had her limits.

For Su Yang, who had cheated, this was not quite possible.

So they couldn’t keep chatting endlessly—they had to let each other rest, sipping drinks and catching their breath.

At 2:40 in the afternoon, after talking until their mouths ran dry, the two of them lay down on the floor and took a nap. When they woke up, it was already 4 o'clock.

Since it was still a bit early for dinner, Su Yang suggested playing games.

Just like with Meng Wenzhou, they grabbed a deck of cards and started playing.

The winner got to ask a question or demand a punishment.

The games had a risqué undertone, so the details weren’t openly discussed.

After two hours of play, the sky outside had darkened. Yoshie lit a candle and got up to prepare dinner in the kitchen.

Su Yang followed her into the kitchen. Glancing at the ingredients, he smiled and said, “Yoshie, how about I cook dinner for you tonight?”

“Su-san, you know how to cook?”

“I do. Let me show you what I’ve got.”

“Great, I didn’t know you were so talented. Then I’ll leave it to you,” Yoshie said with a bow.

“Hey, no need to be so formal. Go wait outside, I’ll handle it.”

“Okay!”

An hour and a half later, Su Yang used some ingredients from Yoshie’s home to whip up a simple Chinese meal: three dishes and a soup.

Yoshie had eaten Chinese food at Chinese restaurants before, but it had never been authentic, leading her to believe that Chinese cuisine wasn’t any good.

After tasting Su Yang’s cooking, though, she was absolutely blown away.

Excited, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

After the meal, they sat in the living room again, drinking and playing games.

The night slipped by quickly. In the middle of it all, they couldn’t resist upping the stakes and playing a few rounds of hide-and-seek, not heading to bed until 2 in the morning.

The next day at 10 a.m., the first thing Su Yang did upon waking was glance out the window. It was still raining, and the wind hadn’t let up.

“What the heck! Stop blowing already! Seriously, knock it off!”

He got up, ate a simple breakfast, and then the two of them sat by the window again, staring out at the dreary weather.

At 12:30 noon, the rain finally started to let up a bit.

Watching the rain gradually ease, Yoshie knew their brief encounter was drawing to a close.

Before Su Yang could say anything, she turned and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him.

After a few seconds, she pulled back slightly, looked into his eyes, and said, “Su-san, the rain is almost over. I think the typhoon will be gone by today. These past two days have been the happiest of my life. Even though I don’t want this to end, I know that all good things must come to an end. Before you leave...”

......