Love is nothing short of a battle!

The door of the sleek black luxury sedan was pulled open by a suit-clad thug, and a slender, fair leg extended elegantly to the ground. Chiyo Asayo stepped out, followed by a rather ordinary-looking—well, perhaps somewhat handsome—male high schooler.

This was the second time Chen Shang had come to the Tokugawa Corporation’s Longmen District branch. The first time, he’d been brought here by force; this time, he was following Chiyo at her invitation.

Though, calling it an invitation was generous—coming from Chiyo’s domineering, tsundere mouth, it was no more than an order with no room for refusal.

Fortunately, Chen Shang was free today, and Nayuta would be at a commercial shoot until late, so she wouldn’t be home to cook. He agreed to Chiyo’s “invitation,” curious to see what tricks this young lady had up her sleeve.

After all, her affection level was already an impressive eighty-three; what harm could she possibly have in mind?

Welcomed by the yakuza thugs, Chen Shang followed Chiyo into a private study.

The room was at least thirty square meters, the flooring and furniture crafted from high-grade wood that glowed with a reddish hue under the lights. Beyond that, there was a kendo training room next door, separated by a glass door. Through it, Chen Shang could see various kendo training equipment and a massive set of dark gold samurai armor.

“This is my usual office,” Chiyo said offhandedly as she entered.

Chen Shang sat on the sofa in the corner and, after taking in his surroundings, joked, “Your house is pretty big. Mind if I just sleep here?”

A faint blush colored her elegant features, and she forced herself to sound calm. “If you want to stay, I’ll have a guest room prepared for you.”

“No need. If I don’t go home, my little sister will come looking for me with a knife,” Chen Shang replied, resuming his serious demeanor.

Chiyo huffed, a trace of disappointment in her eyes as she turned away and walked over to the kendo room, sliding open the glass door. “Come in,” she said, slipping off her shoes and entering barefoot.

“You said you wanted to train me—are you serious?” Chen Shang followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

In the original game, one of Chiyo Asayo’s affection events did indeed involve “combat training.” As the prospective son-in-law of a yakuza boss and the heiress of a financial conglomerate, it would be unreasonable for him to lack even basic self-defense skills.

Chen Shang, feet chilled by the floor, walked over to inspect the suit of dark gold armor. It was clearly meant for a tall adult; Chiyo’s petite frame, even fully grown, would never fit inside.

Suddenly, he sensed a rush of air behind him. Reaching back, he caught a slim bamboo sword just as it was thrust toward him.

“The Asayo family is meant to have two sons each generation—the elder inherits the family, the younger inherits the family’s criminal enterprise and protects the clan from the shadows,” Chiyo said, approaching him with a bamboo sword in hand. “But in this generation, my father had only one son. The rest of us are women.”

Chen Shang nodded thoughtfully. “So this armor is tied to your family’s traditions?”

“This black armor is for the second son. It’s a mark of honor,” Chiyo explained. “But until my father has a second son, I’m filling the position.”

“You’re not doing this out of some ridiculous sense of duty,” Chen Shang said, twirling the bamboo sword in his hands. “You’re doing it to gain access to your family’s resources. Am I right?”

“Nothing escapes your notice, does it?” Chiyo sighed. “Daughters of the Asayo family may live in comfort and luxury, but they’re never valued or cultivated. To the family, daughters are just tools for political or business marriages. If I want to escape that fate, I need to take control of my own strength.”

Chen Shang gripped the bamboo sword, flipping it around to hold it like a fire poker, finding the standard grip awkward.

He wasn’t surprised by Chiyo’s frankness. Chiyo Asayo was a ruthless woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. To break free from her gilded cage, she willingly bore crushing pressure from a young age, navigating the underworld and life-or-death situations.

In fact, if a player pursued her by normal means in the game, the early part of her storyline consisted of running errands for her. Only after doing a mountain of unpaid work for the Tokugawa Corporation and earning her trust could you get close to her.

—And now, thanks to me, her character arc is totally derailed... Ha... Hahaha... Don’t laugh!

Suppressing a smile, Chen Shang cleared his throat. “After all that, are you planning to fight me?”

“I have no interest in fighting a weakling like you. I just want to train you,” Chiyo replied, uncharacteristically straightforward. “I don’t want to see your corpse on the tournament stage.”

“That’s a pretty flimsy excuse. My death has nothing to do with you, does it?” Chen Shang replied with a casual laugh.

In the next instant, Chiyo’s eyes flashed with killing intent. She closed the distance in two strides, swinging her sword at him.

“You’re not kidding?” Chen Shang raised his bamboo sword like a club and swung at her.

Smack! Chiyo’s sword landed hard on his shoulder, making him suck in a sharp breath. At the same time, his own sword struck her at the waist, making her flinch.

“Your strength has improved since last time,” Chiyo said, stepping back and lowering her sword. “But with your suicidal fighting style, you won’t last a moment in the arena.”

“So why are you so concerned about my survival? Am I your property?” Chen Shang replied with feigned ignorance, a smile on his face.

He found this kind of tsundere behavior infuriating; talking to someone who only spoke in riddles made his blood pressure rise.

“You...!” Chiyo clenched her teeth, then fell silent for a moment before saying, “Are you really going to keep playing dumb?”

She didn’t believe Chen Shang was the oblivious romantic lead often found in Japanese light novels, immune to such obvious hints.

She spun her bamboo sword, her figure blurring like mist as she attacked.

Faced with such a threatening assault, Chen Shang took a deep breath and, with the help of his calming hormones, tracked her movements.

Smack! Chen Shang managed to parry her sword with his own, but Chiyo’s strength prevailed, knocking his weapon from his grasp.

She immediately pressed her advantage, swinging her bamboo sword at his throat.

The blow made his vision flash with stars. It felt as if the air in his lungs was vacuumed out.

“You’re really not holding back...” he muttered, dazed, clutching his throat as he slumped to the floor.

In the next moment, Chiyo showed no mercy, pinning him down and twisting his arm in a judo chokehold.

“If you insist on playing dumb, then I’ll just say it outright.” Chiyo fought to control her excitement, keeping her breath steady. “I want you to be my subordinate—not Tokugawa’s, but mine. And if possible, I want you to take the Asayo name.”

Chen Shang could feel her heart racing through her chest pressed against his back, a lock of her hair brushing his nose, the delicate scent of the girl flooding his senses.

“What if I don’t want to be your subordinate or take on such a strange name as ‘Asayo Shang’?” Chen Shang said as sensation returned to his limbs, laughing as he replied.

“Break free first, then talk big! If this were the real tournament, you’d have died ten thousand times already,” Chiyo snorted, threatening, “Of course, you can try grabbing my ankle, if you think that’ll work in the ring.”

“Do you really think I only rely on tricks?” Chen Shang retorted with a grin.

At the moment, one of his arms was locked behind his back. Forcing his way out would mean a dislocated joint and a broken bone. Even a professional fighter would surrender here. But...

Crack!

A jarring pain shot through his shoulder as the joint popped out of place. If not for the lingering effects of his calming hormones, Chen Shang never would have dared.

“What?!” Chiyo exclaimed in disbelief.

By sacrificing his arm to a dislocation, Chen Shang twisted free from her hold and quickly reversed their positions, pressing her to the ground with his weight.

Realizing she was now the one being pinned, Chiyo’s cheek pressed against the floor as she sneered, “You’d rather both of us get hurt than accept me? Is that your choice?”

“Who said we’re both hurt?” Chen Shang smiled, and a faint green glow appeared on his chest.

“Final Recovery” activated. He felt a tingling sensation in his shoulder and arm as bone and joint realigned, as if time itself had rewound.

He got to his feet and helped Chiyo up as well.

After her defeat, Chiyo’s expression darkened, and she hesitated before speaking.

“You really don’t hold back, do you?” Chen Shang sighed. “But you’re right—I’m not ready for the tournament as I am now.”

“So you’re just going to refuse me outright?” Chiyo said, her face clouded.

“I won’t be your subordinate, nor will I change my name. But for your sake, I’ll do my best to survive in the ring.” Chen Shang extended his hand to her. “As you wish—please continue training me, Chiyo-senpai.”

Their scuffle had triggered his [Grappling] and [Arms] skills, and both had gained a significant boost in proficiency.

In this game, training under an expert was far more effective than practicing alone—skills improved much faster. Chiyo was a master of all forms of martial arts and firearms, and Chen Shang was more than happy to take advantage and hone his combat abilities under her guidance.

“For my sake...?” Chiyo’s eyes widened, a blush threatening to betray her composure.

Without warning, she grabbed Chen Shang’s hand and threw him over her shoulder in a perfect judo toss.

“Don’t say stuff like that!” she muttered, her face returning to its usual coldness. “I have nothing else to do tonight, so you’ll be training with me until you drop!”