I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

Furukawa abruptly turned his head, glaring fiercely at Kawabata Yoko, his eyes like knives piercing her. He then turned to look at Nozawa, his face ashen, veins throbbing on his forehead. Nozawa hurriedly stood up and, forcing himself to translate Li Jing'an's original words.

Upon hearing this, Guhe slammed his wine glass on the table with a "bang," splashing wine all over the table. He stood up abruptly, pointed at Yoko, and launched into a tirade of Japanese, speaking at a machine-gun-like pace, his finger almost poking Yoko's nose. His face turned bright red, and the veins on his neck bulged.

"Alright, alright, alright—" Li Jing'an raised his hand to stop them, frowning. "Don't do this in front of me, I don't like watching it. If you have something to say, go outside and talk, don't put on a show for me."

Gu He immediately shut up, bowed three times to Li Jing'an, then grabbed Yoko's wrist and pulled her out: "You! Come out!"

Yoko stumbled a few steps as he pulled her, tears streaming down her face, but she dared not break free. Nozawa watched the two leave, clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and followed them out.

In the corridor, Furukawa released Kawabata Yoko's wrist, turned around, and slapped the wall, making it vibrate. Pointing at Yoko's nose, his face almost touching hers, he roared, enunciating each word clearly, "Baka! You idiot! Who do you think you are? You dare refuse Minister Li? Do you even care about the company?!"

Yoko Kawabata huddled in the corner: "I'm sorry... President... Please... I really can't... Before, I would have given everything for the company, but now..."

"You have no other way!" Gu He's voice was low, but even more sinister, like a viper flicking its tongue. "You only have one path now—go in, apologize to Minister Li, and make him satisfied! Otherwise…" He narrowed his eyes, his gaze icy, "You know the consequences. You should know that I have connections with those people."

The words "those people" pierced Yoko's ears like knives, and also Nozawa's ears, who had followed them out. Furukawa's connections with the yakuza were no secret within the company. In this era, Japanese gangsters were capable of anything; large and small conglomerates all needed their dirty work.

Yoko's face turned pale instantly.

Guhe caught sight of Nozawa, turned around, and pointed at him: "Nozawa—she's in your group, you handle this. It's Minister Li's order. If something goes wrong because of her…" He paused, his gaze chillingly cold, "You know the consequences."

After saying that, Guhe straightened his tie, pushed open the door and went back into the private room, slamming the door shut in the corridor, leaving Nozawa and Yoko behind.

The slamming of the door was like a heavy hammer blow. Yoko trembled, lunged forward, and grabbed Nozawa's arm, burying her face in his embrace, sobbing uncontrollably, "Nozawa-kun... what should I do...?"

Nozawa froze, looking down at the trembling woman in his arms. He raised his hand, hovering in mid-air, hesitated for a long while, and finally lowered it, tightly embracing Yoko's shoulders.

Kawabata Yoko's sobs muffled his breath, her tears soaking his shirt. Nozawa opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing laboredly, before finally speaking, his voice hoarse: "Yoko... this client, Minister Li... isn't just an opportunity for Furukawa, it's an opportunity for both of us. With this deal, our future will be much easier..."

Yoko lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes blurred with tears as she looked at him, her lips trembling: "Then... Nozawa-kun means... to let me in?"

Nozawa looked at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. He removed his hand from her shoulder, instead cupping her face in his hands, gently wiping away the tears on her cheeks with his thumb. Looking into her red eyes, he said, word by word, "Yoko, I think... you should go. Not just for the company... but also for me, for our future."

Yoko Kawabata stared at him blankly, tears streaming silently down her face.

"Nozawa-kun... will you be good to me from now on?"

Nozawa pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and nodded vigorously: "Yes. Of course we will. In the future, we'll get promotions and raises, buy a house in Tokyo, and have our own home. We'll become upper class—this is just the beginning for us."

He released her, took her cold hands in his own, squeezed them, then clenched his fists and waved them in front of her, forcing a somewhat forced smile: "Good luck."

Yoko took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, glanced at him again, and turned to push open the door to the private room.

Nozawa didn't go in. He leaned against the wall by the door.

Not long after, President Furukawa emerged with his executives. He patted Nozawa on the shoulder, a smile finally appearing on his face: "Very good, Nozawa. The deal is done, and the company will reward you handsomely."

"Hi! Thank you, President!" Nozawa stood up straight and bowed as if by reflex.

A moment later, sounds came from the private room.

At first, there were faint sobs, like suppressed cries or pleas. Gradually, it turned into a broken chant, the melody rising and falling, sometimes near and sometimes far, coming from every corner of the private room.

Nozawa recognized it—it was "Ode to the Goose." Yoko's voice drifted in and out, sometimes seeming to come from the sofa, sometimes from close to the wall.

The men outside the door were involuntarily drawn to the sound, all straining to listen. Some swallowed hard, while others unconsciously took a half-step forward.

"Bang!"

The door was suddenly slammed from the inside, shaking the frame. Those outside, caught off guard, gasped and jumped back in unison.

Immediately afterwards, Yoko's voice came from behind the door, pressed against the door panel—sharp, high-pitched, almost piercing the eardrums, as if she were shouting out all the strength in her throat:

"Nozawa-kun—Nozawa! I love you! Nozawa-kun—!!"

All eyes immediately turned to Nozawa. Nozawa stared intently at the door, his eyes red-rimmed, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. He gritted his teeth and suddenly growled in a low voice, "Go for it! Yoko! Go for it!"

The others were taken aback at first, but then, as if infected by the chant, they all half-squatted down, clenched their fists, and shouted in unison at the door, "Go! Go! Go!!"

Several passing waiters stopped and looked at each other, watching the group of men in suits acting like lunatics around a door, their expressions ferocious, veins bulging, shouting "Go for it!" to whoever it was. They shrugged blankly and walked away.

The sounds from inside the door seemed to respond, rising in waves, sharp, long, and intermittent, lasting for a very long time.

More than half an hour later, the noise finally subsided. A dozen minutes later, the door was opened a crack from the inside.

Li Jing'an emerged from inside, his face flushed and sweaty, belt in hand. His clothes were slightly disheveled, the hem of his shirt half-tucked in, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He glanced at the men still half-squatting outside, then burst out laughing. He walked over, put his arm around Gu He's shoulder, and patted his chest: "Hahaha! You guys have worked hard! Come on, let's go to another private room and continue drinking—this one's a bit messy, a bit muddy, the taste's not right!"

Gu He immediately bowed and smiled broadly, pointing to another private room: "This way, please! This way, please!" A group of executives surrounded Li Jing'an and Gu He, and walked in a grand procession to the next room.

Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Nozawa abruptly pushed open the door to the private room and rushed inside.

The private room was a mess—several bottles of liquor were overturned on the coffee table, cushions and empty glasses were scattered on the carpet, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and sweat. Yoko was curled up in a corner of the sofa, struggling to put on a dress. Her hair was disheveled and wet, clinging to her cheeks, and sweat still clung to her forehead. Her lips were slightly swollen and damp.

Hearing the door open, Yoko jumped in fright and instinctively covered her chest with her skirt. When she saw that it was Nozawa, she went limp as if all her strength had been drained, and her shoulders slumped.

Nozawa rushed to the sofa and knelt down, grabbing a tissue and wiping her mouth with trembling hands. Looking at her haggard face, swollen lips, and disheveled hair, his voice was hoarse and strained: "Yoko...that's great...that's great...Minister Li is in a better mood, and the deal is done...it's all thanks to you..."

"Nozawa-kun... as long as... as long as I can help you... I'm willing to do anything..." Yoko leaned into his arms, her voice weak, but with a hint of a smile.

Nozawa was stunned by her words. He cupped Yoko's face in his hands, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, staring into her red, tear-filled eyes. His throat felt like it was blocked by a stone, and it took him a long time to finally manage to squeeze out, "Yoko... I love you."

"Nozawa-kun... I love you too." Yoko looked up, tears sliding into the corners of her mouth, tasting salty.

Nozawa could no longer restrain himself and leaned down to kiss her lips fiercely. Yoko let out a sob and opened her arms to wrap them around his neck.

The two fell onto the muddy sofa, kissing passionately, their tongues intertwining, melting all their bitterness, guilt, repression, and desire into the kiss.

This was Nozawa's first kiss.

He was somewhat confused and infatuated.

Is this what love tastes like? Hmm... it tastes a little strange.