The female traffic officer handled computer tasks with a cold expression, ignoring the three of them the whole time. Not only did Itsuki feel she had a strong presence, but even Takumi felt a bit like retreating.
Takeuchi Itsuki whispered to Fujiwara Takumi, "How strange. This officer sister seems to be in a really bad mood. I'm too scared to even take a step closer, but how is that guy A-Yao so completely unfazed?"
"Uh... I'm not sure either, but can I not sign up for now? You and A-Yao should just learn first..."
Fujiwara Takumi began to get cold feet, preparing to turn around and slip away.
"Don't run away! We're already here. If you're a man, don't back down!"
Itsuki grabbed Fujiwara Takumi, and the two of them engaged in a silent tug-of-war, unable to move forward or backward for a moment.
The female traffic officer suddenly glanced at them and asked coldly, "Do you two have something else to do?"
The two of them immediately felt a sense of life-threatening danger and quickly became honest, saying simultaneously, "We... are here to sign up for the driver's license exam..."
After the three filled out all the forms and paid the fees, the policewoman led them into the interior of the training center. It was very spacious, featuring not only a large training and exam area but also a waiting area and even a dining area.
Not only that, but they also offered training for two-wheeled motorcycles in addition to car driving. Next to the wire fence, there was a group of people, mostly taking the exam for 400cc displacement motorcycles. Besides male students, some female students were also seen getting familiar with driving.
"Classes and training here are divided into morning from 8:00 to 12:00, afternoon from 2:00 to 5:00, and evening from 7:00 to 11:00. There are no breaks here; you can come for classes and training any day. You can buy bento boxes here for lunch. Is that clear, you three little brothers?"
The short-haired female officer leading the way stood straight and dignified, giving instructions as she walked, though her attitude remained very cold.
"We understand."
Chen Yao and the other two nodded.
After the female officer brought them to the traffic regulations classroom, she turned and left. That overwhelming pressure dissipated instantly, letting Takumi and Itsuki breathe a sigh of relief.
Chen Yao asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you two? You looked so scared just now."
"I was about to ask you, A-Yao! Aren't you afraid? That officer sister seemed to have a really bad temper just now, like she was about to explode with a bang."
Takeuchi Itsuki asked, completely baffled.
Chen Yao paused for a moment, glanced at the departing female officer, and murmured, "Not really, she felt pretty average. Compared to that Yukinoshita Yukino in my class, she's already considered kind and approachable..."
Hearing Chen Yao's description, Takumi and Itsuki's faces turned even paler. Just what kind of holy terror was that legendary beauty Yukinoshita Yukino... "Anyway, the first step to becoming a racer is about to begin. Alright, Takumi, A-Yao, let's learn the fastest start on Mount Akina here..."
Itsuki seemed to still be deep in his fantasy of becoming a first-class street racer one day. While he was speaking passionately in front of Chen Yao and Fujiwara Takumi, they suddenly heard a loud "thud" of a bike crashing, which startled the three of them into looking over.
As it turned out, on the motorcycle training ground, a female rider in racing gear had crashed her training bike. She slammed heavily into a pillar and lay on the ground without a sound... Chapter 25: NTL Curse, An Incredible Ability
"Oh no, there's been an accident!"
Seeing this, the three of them rushed over to check.
"Are you okay?"
Just as Chen Yao, Takumi, and the others arrived and were about to attempt a rescue, the girl in the riding suit suddenly leaped up, startling the people who had come to help.
"Damn it, the tires on the instructor bike don't have enough grip."
The female rider muttered, taking off her helmet. Revealed to everyone was a high school girl around sixteen years old. She had blonde twin tails and a cute, youthful face that contrasted with her proud figure accentuated by the tight suit.
Takeuchi Itsuki asked in surprise, "Miss, you're actually okay?"
Seeing strange, helpful people rushing over, the female rider was momentarily stunned, then bowed and apologized, "No, it's fine. Because I'm wearing this riding suit, the protection is very high, so I won't get hurt. Besides, crashing a motorcycle is a common occurrence."
Seeing her somewhat embarrassing but particularly sturdy riding suit, the three felt it indeed looked very expensive. They had heard that high-quality riding suits could cost more than a motorcycle; she was likely the daughter of a wealthy family or something... The female rider saw that the three of them all looked like high schoolers and asked, "You're high school students too, right? Are you here to practice motorcycles for the first time today? Nice to meet you, my name is Suzunoki Rin, a first-year student at Okanoue Girls' High School."
Seeing such a cute underclassman-type girl, Takeuchi Itsuki immediately introduced himself excitedly: "Nice to meet you! I'm Takeuchi Itsuki, a second-year student at Gunma Prefecture's Prefectural High School. This is my friend Fujiwara Takumi, and this is Chen Yao, a Chinese international student studying in the second-year department of Chiba Prefecture Sobu High School. The three of us are new students who just signed up to take the car driver's license exam today."
"Oh, so it's for the car license. I've heard that getting a car license can be very difficult, but thank you all for your concern. I crash all the time; others are already used to it, so please don't worry about me."
The female rider, Suzunoki Rin, holding her helmet in one hand, thanked them again. After that, she picked up the fallen motorcycle and, after some effort, threw herself back into training.
"That's amazing. She says she's fine after a crash like that. Riding a motorcycle really is dangerous," Itsuki said, feeling some admiration for these female riders.
"Riding a motorcycle provides a different driving experience from a car. I've heard it's like flying; the playability and convenience are high, but it's more dangerous and involves exposure to wind and sun. Also, beginners can only take the 400cc license at most; it takes several years before you can take the heavy motorcycle license, and the difficulty is extremely high..."
Hearing Fujiwara Takumi start to explain motorcycle knowledge, Chen Yao was a bit surprised. He didn't expect him to have some understanding of motorcycles as well.
~·~·~·~·~·~·
At night, Fujiwara Takumi and Takeuchi Itsuki were both in the classroom reviewing their traffic knowledge manuals, while Chen Yao, after working overtime to draw a few pages of manga, followed the other traffic violators to the 8:00 PM traffic law class.
After attending the class until 10:00 PM, he felt somewhat exhausted and wanted to go to the restroom to wash his face and wake up.
At this time, very few people remained in the classroom for extra hours. The entire hallway was empty, somewhat dark and eerie.
"I'll head back at 11:00 PM. It's been quite peaceful lately, which is great. I hope days like this can continue..."
Chen Yao wiped his face with a tissue, patted his cheeks, and thought to himself.
However, just as he was heading out, he faintly heard the sound of a woman crying.
"Uh, why do I hear a woman crying?"
Chen Yao's face turned a bit pale. It was quite creepy in the middle of the night, and the sound was very close... In his confusion, he followed the sound and looked over, only to find a girl crying on the rooftop at the end of the hallway.
Chen Yao walked onto the rooftop and saw a policewoman squatting on the ground, crying secretly, seemingly holding a phone in one hand. Looking closely, he realized it was the receptionist policewoman with the seemingly bad temper from the afternoon.
"Who is it?"
Hearing footsteps, the policewoman turned her head and looked over.
As it turned out, she saw the handsome international student who had been fined quite a bit earlier. Her brow immediately furrowed, and she wiped her tears, asking, "Little brother, is something the matter?"
Chen Yao asked, "Officer, did you encounter some problem? Do you need help?"
"If nothing is wrong, please go back to class..."
The female officer tried to drive him away in a bad tone, but soon, she received a text message. She took a look, and her already clouded face darkened even more. She immediately cursed, "That heartbreaker! If I'd known, I would have kicked him away long ago!"
Wiping her tears, she immediately stood up and stayed by the railing without leaving, her emotions appearing very unstable.
——[Beep beep beep. Detected Officer Fujiwara Akako's relationship is breaking down. There is a 60% chance she will jump.]
Suddenly, the [NTL System] in Chen Yao's mind seemed to sense something and transmitted an extremely dangerous message to him.
"A 60% chance she'll jump?"
Chen Yao was stunned. Looking at the policewoman in front of him, what was going on?
That voice just now was a prompt from the curse, which suddenly had an active reaction to this policewoman. Chen Yao seemed to remember Sophie saying that the [NTL] curse was more likely to be activated when the woman's boyfriend was caught two-timing.
"Little brother, why are you still here? Can you please not peek into other people's privacy?"
The policewoman turned back to look at him and asked in a dissatisfied voice.
Although Chen Yao didn't intend to intervene after hearing the curse warning, the thought that she might jump—even if it was only the second floor, he couldn't guarantee she wouldn't land on her head—worried him.
"Officer, are you alright emotionally? If you are, I can listen to you. Can you step away from the railing first?"
The soft-hearted Chen Yao eventually decided to try and persuade her first, to prevent her from doing anything foolish.
"...Little brother, what are you thinking? You don't think that just because a policewoman is sad, a high school brat like you can take advantage of the situation, do you? That kind of thing only happens in manga."
The policewoman said this, but her eyes were filled with sad tears.
"I didn't mean it that way, Officer Fujiwara. Although I don't know what happened... please don't be sad over that kind of man. I—I can be your listener..."
Chen Yao was at a loss for words, not knowing how to comfort a sad girl, so he could only offer this kind of encouragement to get her away from the railing.
"..."
These words undoubtedly earned high marks with the grieving policewoman. Her stubborn expression gradually turned into one of grievance.
"Little brother, are you willing to hear what's in my heart?"
"I am."
"That man, my boyfriend... a few days ago, he actually went shopping with another woman..."
"He's simply not human."
...After finishing their classes, Fujiwara Takumi and Takeuchi Itsuki went to the violator class to find Chen Yao and go back together, but found he wasn't there.
"How strange. Where did A-Yao go?"
Fujiwara Takumi asked in confusion.
"That student seems to have gone to the restroom," an office worker near the door kindly informed them.
"Oh, thank you very much."
Itsuki and Takumi went to the restroom at the end of the second-floor hallway to look for Chen Yao.
Itsuki glanced at the motorcycle training ground below, thought of that female rider, and then of Sakayanagi Arisu in her red school uniform, and wondered aloud, "I say, will a guy like A-Yao ever get a girlfriend in high school?"
"Hmm... maybe. A-Yao is a pretty good person," Fujiwara Takumi replied after thinking about it.
"Please, A-Yao might look decent, but with his personality of nitpicking over everything, it'll be hard for him to find a girlfriend...If you know a cute girl, you should take the initiative.,But he's just so stubborn...."
Itsuki grumbled and criticized as he walked.
However, the two of them heard the sound of people talking over by the balcony.
"My colleagues and the public also say that although I have a pretty face, I have a terrible temper..."
"I don't think Officer Fujiwara has a bad temper."
"My boyfriend isn't actually good to me either. Because I'm from Akita and quite conservative, he says I don't love him and stuff. We've had many arguments already."
"...In China, being conservative is a traditional virtue..."
As a result, Takumi and Itsuki watched open-mouthed as the beautiful policewoman with the terrible temper from this morning was now embracing Chen Yao on the rooftop. Like an older sister holding her younger brother in her arms, she was grievance-filledly telling him her troubles. Chen Yao looked at the two of them with a helpless expression; he hadn't known the situation would turn out like this either.
——[Beep beep beep. It has been confirmed that the host has completed this curse.]
This was the power of the NTL Curse on him; it really wasn't just normally dangerous... Chapter 26: Service Club: A Request from Takahashi Ryosuke
The so-called NTL is the act of someone actively taking over another person's girlfriend or boyfriend. This is a very popular term for "falling into depravity" in Japan, and it's especially taboo in front of "Pure Love Warriors."
"So you're saying it's because that policewoman had suicidal thoughts that you took the initiative to persuade her?"
On the way home, Takeuchi Itsuki held out both hands, his fingers trembling incessantly as he said angrily, "That explanation of yours is clearly a classic opening for an NTL game! Do you think you're an 18+ male protagonist? You despicable social parasite! You just met that beautiful officer sister this morning, and you've already won her over in half a day. You're too much!"
Chen Yao looked at the envious and hateful Takeuchi Itsuki and said helplessly, "That's really how it was. I never thought of breaking up any couples."
"You still say you didn't? Look at that officer's expression; she's clearly surrendered, okay? How did you do it? Are you a human incubus?"
Itsuki was completely baffled. He felt that the policewoman was only about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing a crisp suit-style police uniform, mature and serious yet with a youthful air—exactly the type of girlfriend he dreamed of. And she was won over just like that by a guy with a quirky personality?
"Alright, Itsuki. Since A-Yao was saving someone, we shouldn't over-interpret it. I believe A-Yao," Takumi persuaded Itsuki for a while, getting him to quiet down.
Despite this, Chen Yao still felt quite helpless in his heart. His NTL Curse did indeed exist, and saving the person was also true, but when the two combined, he became a sinner. Just like the Black Ring Curse, he was a man of sin.
More importantly, now that his NTL Curse had achieved an accomplishment, how was he going to deal with the effects of this curse next?
~·~·~·~·~
The next afternoon, Chen Yao and the Takumi trio came to the public Driving School again. Fujiwara Akako, who was on duty, was still there.
When she saw Takeuchi Itsuki come forward to register, her gaze held a chill, like a lightning strike that made his voice tremble: "H-hello, I'm here for training..."
Immediately after, she saw Takumi take out his student ID. Although her gaze was still full of alertness, it softened slightly. Takumi also said, "I'm Fujiwara Takumi, I'm also here for training."
But when it was Chen Yao's turn at the end, he stepped forward and handed over his student ID, saying, "I'm here for the traffic regulations class..."
As a result, the policewoman cleared her throat twice, then took Chen Yao's student ID first to register him. Her expression was serious and calm. After registering Chen Yao, she said, "Mr. Chen Yao, you must study hard today."
Seeing that Officer Fujiwara wasn't acting any differently, Chen Yao immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had been overthinking. He replied, "Okay, thank you for your help."