Nine Summers of Divine Punishment

AU: The Heiress and The Bodyguard Part 5

The assistant hurried back with news, turning to Wakako: “I’ve confirmed with the hospital – the VIP room is ready. We’ll arrange for a driver to take you there now.”

“Let’s go.” Lin Lin moved to help her.

But Wakako firmly shook her head: “It’s just a minor injury. A little bandaging will do.”

Earlier, someone from the conference room had brought over a first-aid kit from the company, and Wakako had already treated the wound herself. She’d used tweezers to remove embedded fragments, disinfected with iodine, and wrapped the wounds in gauze.

Unfortunately, her tailored suit pants were shredded below the knee.

“Minor injury?” The assistant was shocked. “How is this minor?”

That chandelier was so heavy that broken bones would have been unsurprising. While Wakako didn’t seem to have any fractures, the wound was deep, and the blood had soaked the carpet below her.

Wakako glanced down and smiled. “It’s fine. I don’t feel pain.”

She had always been different, with an unusually high pain tolerance. Combined with her ferocity in a fight, it made her well-suited for this line of work.

To prove her point, she stood and took a few steps. Apart from the bulky bandages wrapped around her leg, she moved as if nothing had happened.

The assistant glanced at Miki, who remained silent: “Alright, if you insist.”

The conference room was a mess and unusable, but work couldn’t wait. Everyone quickly composed themselves and moved to another room to continue the meeting.

On Miki’s instructions, the driver took Wakako home to rest and arranged for a doctor to visit her there. Lin Lin stayed behind at the company.

Over the next two hours, the assistant noticed the heiress seemed… distracted.

Normally meticulous to the point of obsession, Miki never missed the tiniest mistake. Today, however, she was uncharacteristically lenient.

She was clearly preoccupied.

Suddenly, the assistant’s phone vibrated with a message: “Ask her what she wants as compensation. Whatever it costs, we’ll cover it.”

At the end of the conference table, Miki’s fingers tapped lightly on her screen.

A thick stack of meeting materials lay in front of her. She had memorized them last night, but now, she couldn’t focus on a single word.

Miki lifted her head slightly, looking at each executive and partners present, subtly listening to their thoughts.

— It’s so exhausting, pretending to be subservient to Miss Miki every day…

— Is she in a good mood today? She’s not nitpicking for once. Last time, I got one number wrong, and she made a point of correcting me in front of everyone. I’m at least fifteen years older than her. Can’t she give me some respect?

— That chandelier almost hit me. I hope this cursed company goes bankrupt soon. Why did that bodyguard save her? She should have let her die. Then Saburo could take over. A young girl like her can manage the company for a short time, but in the long run, no one will take her seriously.

— Wonder who the insurance beneficiary is if she dies…

— Marrying her would be hitting the jackpot – she’s sickly, probably won’t live long. Just wait for her to die, take the money, and fight for control of the company.

Every thought was filthier than sewer rats.

Yet when Miki looked up, all she saw were faces wearing polite, insincere smiles. They bowed and scraped, feigning courtesy and respect. Not a single trace of their inner thoughts surfaced.

She often wondered if they even had hearts beating in their chests.

If so, how rotten must those hearts be to require such a facade?

Even her seemingly eager assistant often thought…

— So tired. I don’t want to serve the heiress anymore, no salary is worth this…

But Miki was used to it.

These thoughts didn’t even affect her anymore – she’d heard far worse thousands of times.

Like the countless men who swore they wanted to marry her, praising her beauty to her face while privately criticizing her figure, speculating about her ability to bear children, or… she didn’t want to remember.

At first, she had been furious, ordering them to be beaten black and blue. But over time, she couldn’t even be bothered.

Everyone in the world was a hypocrite, without exception.

Miki told herself she didn’t need to care what others thought, only use this special ability to achieve her goals.

“Two percent. Let me be clear, there’s no room for negotiation.”

Like now, seeing straight through their bottom line, striking decisively, leaving no room for bargaining.

But…

She couldn’t help seeing that girl’s smiling face saying she was fine, biting through gauze and expertly bandaging herself.

Even after being struck so badly, she harbored no resentment. Instead, her mind was filled with silly thoughts:

— Miss Miki keeps looking at me. I’m so shy, but I have to stay calm… Oh no, the bandage looks messy, what if she thinks I’m clumsy?

— I’m not lying, it really doesn’t hurt at all. With Miss Miki standing here, I’m too busy stealing glances at her to care about the wound.

— I’m glad it wasn’t her who got hurt…

A place deep in Miki’s heart, one she had never touched before, suddenly felt as though it had been pressed, catching her off guard.

When Wakako had shielded her, they were so close, and Miki was much weaker – if Wakako had wanted to hold on tighter, or do anything else, it would have been easy.

But that girl…

Her mind screamed at her to hold on, but her body pulled back with restraint.

Not a second longer.

Could someone really be that silly?

Miki’s gaze was filled with confusion.

Each time she blinked, Wakako’s dimpled smile appeared in her mind, lingering like an unshakable memory.

She wasn’t familiar with these emotions, this strange, uncontrollable feeling that brought a touch of irritation.

A moment later, the assistant replied.

“Miss Wakako says her pay is already enough, she doesn’t need extra money. However, she’d like to change rooms.”

“Such a small matter – just have someone handle it.”

Miki’s fingers left the screen.

Change rooms? Was something wrong with her current room? Why hadn’t she heard these thoughts?

***

That night, Lin Lin asked the same question: “Why change rooms? They’re all the same.”

Wakako sat on a small stool on the balcony. She rarely saw doctors, but she followed their instructions diligently. The doctor had told her to rest that afternoon, so she sat obediently, letting her wounds heal.

She turned back to answer Lin Lin’s question: “There is a difference. From this balcony, I can see Miss Miki reading at night more clearly.”

Lin Lin: … Seriously?’

She really didn’t want to admit this love-struck fool was her shijie.

Could you stop grinning stupidly while watching Miss Miki? Doesn’t your face hurt?

As the sun set, Wakako rested her chin in her hand, quietly watching the figure on the golf course.

Black hair cascading over white dress, her posture like something out of a painting. No, even more exquisite than that. No words, no matter how flowery, could do her justice.

Besides, Wakako wasn’t good with flowery words.

She just watched, thinking Miss Miki was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen.

The mansion’s shelves were filled with books that Miki often read, but Wakako couldn’t even understand the titles.

— Miss Miki is not only beautiful but also smart and well-educated… Unlike me, I never went to school. Even if I recognized the words, I wouldn’t understand their meaning.

She looked on with envy.

— If only Miss Miki would sit a little closer to this side…

Wakako didn’t know that Miki had been staring at the same page for five minutes.

…So noisy.

What was so interesting about watching her read? This fool had been staring for dozens of minutes without getting bored…

— I want to be closer to her. Just a little closer.

I can’t take it anymore.

Finally, Miki placed a bookmark in her book and snapped it shut, turning to the butler: “I’d like to sit somewhere else.”

She didn’t even notice the unusual emotion in her voice.

…After all, the girl had risked her life to save her today and refused any reward. So fulfilling this small wish could count as compensation.

As a generous employer, this was perfectly normal.

The butler moved the parasol and chair. “Will this do, Miss?”

Miki was about to agree when she heard…

— Ahhh! Seriously?! My heart’s going to explode! Can she come any closer?! Please, just a little!

On the balcony, Wakako buried her burning face in her hands, only daring to peek through her fingers.

— Please, God! I’ll trade a whole year of good luck for this…

Miki’s lips twitched.

…How stupid. Trading a year of luck for something so small? What if you’re unlucky for the rest of the year—would you still be happy?

Her initial response turned into: “Let’s sit downstairs.”

Fine, might as well go all the way.

“Of course. Right against the building?”

“There.” Miki indicated.

From above, that spot offered the clearest view.

Surely, she won’t complain now?

Miki finally resumed reading her book, and this time Wakako didn’t mentally scream or think strange thoughts.

At least she knows how to behave.

As evening fell, the setting sun was replaced by the bright lights of the golf course. Miki reached the end of her chapter.

A faint shadow fell from above, so subtle it would be missed without careful attention.

The girl was still there, sitting on the balcony.

Miki glanced up, her eyes meeting Wakako’s directly.

In that moment, Wakako’s face turned bright red in an instant. She quickly covered it with her hands and darted back into her room, refusing to come out again.

Miki didn’t notice the gentle smile that had appeared on her own lips.

Hopeless.