Strictly speaking, Asaka Ochi cannot be considered a ‘full-fledged’ wife, but she’s still meticulous when it comes to taking care of others. Perhaps this was because she had been taking care of Kohei Koizumi. She had swiftly prepared a triangle swimwear for him based on his physique.
When Su Tao tried to fit in it, the size was right, but it was a little too small around his crotch, which made him feel unsafe.
After Su Tao changed and entered the hot spring, the water was somewhat hot, yet comfortable. He soon felt relieved of his exhaustion as a surge of warm current travel through his muscles. As footsteps sounded behind him, Su Tao immediately turned around and was somewhat disappointed. Asaka Ochi wore a bathrobe, and she did not wear a swimsuit as he had anticipated.
Asaka Ochi bent down and threw a medicinal bag into the hot spring that soon permeated with a medicinal fragrance. Su Tao could roughly analysed the herbs in it. They’re precious herbs for easing the mind. At the market price, a bag like this would cost at least ¥2,000-3,000, which made him exclaim at the lavish bath.
As Asaka Ochi tested the temperature, she chuckled. “It’s a little hot!”
Thereafter, she walked to the corner and turned on the valve to add cold water into the hot spring.
“It’s perfect now.” Su Tao reminded before Asaka Ochi turned the valve off and returned.
“You’re not coming in?” Su Tao asked.
“It’s fine!” Asaka Ochi’s gaze fell on Su Tao’s body. He did not have a muscular build, but his lines were defined, making her blush from looking at him. She naturally knew how ambiguous it was for her to bathe with a man together, not to mention that she’s already married.
It was just that she had made a mistake in her words earlier when she was talking to Su Tao.
“Wouldn’t it be boring for you to stay on the side?” Su Tao smiled as he inwardly cursed. Women were, indeed, liars. The saying about women who were more beautiful was more proficient in lying made sense now.
“I’m only here to throw the medicinal bag in and adjust the temperature. If you’d like someone to accompany you, why don’t I get my father over?” Asaka Ochi tried her best to explain.
Immediately waving his hand, Su Tao rejected with an awkward smile. “Thanks, but no thanks! How troublesome would that be? I’ll be fine alone!”
Asaka Ochi smiled with her lips pursed as she looked at Su Tao with a complicated gaze. They’re both adults, and they’re both familiar with the matter between men and women. Although she still retained her most important thing as a woman, she had a deep knowledge of the deed between men and women since she had studied medicine at a young age.
Japan was more open-minded than China, so everyone knew about the deed between men and women. However, Asaka Ochi was a conservative woman, and she’s extremely obstinate.
She felt that the most precious thing as a woman should be left for her second half, but Kohei Koizumi was too sick, so they haven't consummated their marriage.
Asaka Ochi had been enduring and was unconcerned about it. This was a woman who pursued purity.
After Asaka Ochi left, Su Tao started to use a ladle to pour water down from his head, soaking himself in the warm water. But a few minutes later, Asaka Ochi reappeared with a tray and sake as she smiled. “It’s more relaxing this way!”
There were two ways to drink sake. One would be boiling it, and the second would be putting ice cubes in it.
Since it’s in the summer, Asaka Ochi prepared chilled sake for Su Tao. When Su Tao took a sip, he felt that the taste was great since there was a flowery fragrance in it.
“I won’t be staying here tomorrow!” Su Tao smiled as he placed down the exquisite porcelain cup.
“Why?” Asaka Ochi was somewhat shocked.
“Firstly, I don’t want to trouble you. Secondly, my partner, Ni Jingqiu, will be arriving in Kyoto tomorrow, so I will be moving to a hotel with her.” Su Tao explained with a smile.
After a brief pondering, Asaka Ochi suggested, “If Ms. Ni doesn’t mind, you can invite her over to my house as a guest. As you can tell, we have many rooms available here, and my father is a friendly person. He definitely won’t mind having another guest at home!”
Shaking his head, Su Tao smiled as he refused, “It’s fine. No one likes to be restricted, and I wish to enjoy the culture and environment of Japan alone. If I stay here, I would feel like a caged bird instead.”
“Alright, we’ll do it your way!” Asaka Ochi could naturally tell that Su Tao had already made up his mind and no longer tried to persuade him.
“What’s the itinerary tomorrow?” Su Tao smiled as he saw Asaka Ochi dazing off.
“My father will bring you to the Iwata Chinese Medicine Research Facility tomorrow!” Asaka Ochi replied.
Looking at Asaka Ochi with a complicated expression, Su Tao sighed, “Why aren’t you bringing me to see Mr. Koizumi first? Did something happen?”
Su Tao already suspected something when Asaka Ochi brought him to her father’s house and not to meet Kohei Koizumi. He guessed that something must have happened between them.
“My husband was taken away by his children, and I still have to communicate with them to see him.” Asaka Ochi explained since she knew that she couldn’t hide it from Su Tao.
Su Tao was briefly stunned since he instantly realised that Asaka Ochi was having trouble. Kohei Koizumi’s children weren’t pushovers, so would she be able to stand her ground as a stepmother whose age is even younger than them?
Even Asaka Ochi no longer spoke and her brows were locked together. Although she knew that Kohei Koizumi’s children wouldn’t mess around with their father’s health, she was still worried about him since it had been a long time since she talked to Kohei Koizumi.
However, Kohei Koizumi’s children were afraid that she might fight for the inheritance with them, and this was the reason why they forcefully sent their father away.
In order to prevent Kohei Koizumi from being agitated, which might lead to his condition worsening, Asaka Ochi has been enduring and taking a step back. At the same time, she personally made a trip to China for Su Tao to calm Kohei Koizumi down.
Nodding his head, Su Tao solemnly replied, “Let me know if you need my help. I will definitely do my best!”
As Asaka Ochi stood up, she nodded her head at Su Tao before she left.
When she turned around, Su Tao noticed that her leg was revealed through the loose bathrobe and his heart fluctuated, to which he immediately suppressed the raging fire in his heart.
It didn’t mean that a naked woman was sexy, but even those careless graces were charming as well.
Although he only caught sight of one of her legs, he still felt as if his nose was about to bleed.
But thinking about it right now, it might be due to the sake that he drank.
Then again, Asaka Ochi was truly a charming woman!
At this moment, Su Tao finally realised why Lin Kun was so stubborn in chasing this woman who’s already married.
The next morning, Su Tao started his exercise when he woke up. Hearing the commotion, Chiaki Ochi came out and watched as Su Tao practised a weird technique. After Su Tao was done with his Pulse Art, Chiaki Ochi came over and asked, “I’ve studied Five Animals Fists and Taiji Fists. But the one that you just practised doesn’t seem like either one!”
“This is my unique martial art. It doesn’t have any artistic appreciation, and this is the reason why it wasn’t widely spread. But it’s extremely beneficial to nurture internal Qi and sort out the channels. I can teach you if you’re interested.” Su Tao smiled.
He wasn’t blindly praising his own martial arts, but he saw that Chiaki Ochi seemed to be pretty interested in the Pulse Art and had been mimicking him.
“Sure!” Chiaki Ochi said in excitement, “I want to study it as well!”
Su Tao proceeded to show the moves to Chiaki Ochi along with explanations. Although Chiaki Ochi was in his fifties, his comprehension was decent, and he had some foundation with martial arts. Hence, he swiftly picked it up. In just an hour, Chiaki Ochi could follow the movements and complete an entire set. But for him to comprehend the essence, he would have to practise for months and years.
The Pulse Art might be beneficial to the body, but the movements were dull. It’s unlike the Five Animals Fists or Taiji Fists that had an artistic appreciation in it. Not only was the Pulse Art hard to promote, but it’s even harder to persevere in training it.
Although all the employees in the Three Flavour Hall were required to practise the Pulse Art, those that managed to cross the basic threshold were only his three disciples. As for Mo Sui’er, she only managed to learn the form of it and still hasn’t gained any insight into it.
After Asaka Ochi finished her shower and saw her father practising martial arts with Su Tao, she stood to the side and watched for a long time with a smile on her face. She could tell that her father genuinely liked this young divine physician from China.
This was also considered love the house, love its crow!
Her father has spent his entire life studying TCM, and this was the reason why he would feel a sense of closeness with the Chinese. Furthermore, it’s rare for him to see such an outstanding young man, so he naturally had a favorable impression of Su Tao. Perhaps in the eyes of many, Chiaki Ochi was a difficult person to interact with, but Su Tao couldn’t feel any of it, and this was the charm of TCM.
When they’re done with their breakfast, the doorbell rang, so Eiko Fujino went to take a look and returned with her brows furrowed. “It’s Lin Kun-san!”
Chiaki Ochi unhappily glanced at his daughter and seemed to be blaming his daughter for having an inexplicable relationship with that Chinese man despite being a married woman. Even Asaka Ochi looked helpless since Lin Kun was too stubborn. She had already hinted to him numerous times not to bother her, but she never expected that he would be increasingly stubborn.
At this moment, Asaka Ochi felt endless regret through her heart. Perhaps she had given him a misunderstanding when she chose to contact him in Hanzhou City and even stayed in the hotel he owned.
Lin Kun naturally did not sense that he’s not welcomed and walked into the house as he smiled. “Considering that my friend, Su Tao, is here in Japan for the first time, I’ve decided to follow him to act as his guide and translator. What do you guys think?”
