After waiting a whole week, it was finally Monday again.
Lin Yuting had gotten off work late, and heavy rain had begun to fall over Hudu City. She caught the subway home, grabbed dinner on the way, and rushed into her apartment.
"Whew, just 7:50." Lin Yuting smiled in relief, anticipation bubbling inside her.
This summer season, between the three major TV stations, there has been a flood of new content — dramas, variety shows, music, and talent programs — all of pretty high quality.
The four big web streaming platforms also released a wave of mid- to low-budget series, covering all sorts of genres: thriller, mystery, horror, psychological, and more.
But to her, the number one show this season was still 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
Maybe it was just what people call "a personal connection," as they say — one person's favorite is another's "meh." Taste is subjective.
Sure, 'Rurouni Kenshin' didn't have a fancy production. The visuals were simple. But love for a show doesn't always need a reason.
Every day, she checked 'Rurouni Kenshin's paid view count, ratings, and online reviews.
She'd even gotten involved in heated comment wars on SakuraNet — especially between fans of 'Rurouni Kenshin' and 'Pure Breeze', which were now direct rivals.
"Alright… What will Episode 3 of 'Rurouni Kenshin' bring?"
She took a deep breath and refreshed the page.
A link popped up:
[Rurouni Kenshin Episode 3 – The Previous Night at the Mountain]
Lin Yuting clicked. Her account auto-paid, the screen flashed…
And she was greeted by a lush, green countryside.
She recognized it instantly — a small, now-abandoned village on the outskirts of the western city. Her company had once done a team-building trip there.
"No way — they actually filmed here?"
The story began with Kenshin chopping wood.
Snow-white-robed Tomoe had her hair tied up and wore lipstick, posing as his wife.
On-screen narration appeared, explaining the backstory:
"After the Kyoto upheaval, Kenshin and Tomoe, under the arrangement of Kenshin's organization, lived in hiding in this mountain village as husband and wife, posing as traveling pharmacists."
Kenshin chopped wood, tilled the land, and grew radishes.
Tomoe cooked, wove cloth, and managed the home.
If you hadn't seen the first two episodes, you'd think they really were a couple.
"So nice…"
No fights. No political conspiracies. No clashing ideologies.
Just lingering glances between Kenshin and Tomoe.
Kenshin's cold gaze began to thaw — he spoke more to her, his eyes softening.
There wasn't a single line of romantic dialogue.
But if you paid attention, the emotional atmosphere said everything.
Yes… just like this. One man, one woman, sharing a home… pretending to be husband and wife? Yeah right.
Lin Yuting's heart fluttered.
But 'Rurouni Kenshin' was never that simple.
Under the moonlight, Tomoe looked up in a light pink kimono, sighing softly:
"I wonder how long we'll have to live like this."
In that moment, the soft romantic tension broke.
Kenshin's gaze also shifted — from warmth back to calm.
"We'll have to stay a while longer. No one can say for sure how long."
The show didn't spell it out, but Lin Yuting understood from Kenshin's eyes.
He wanted to keep living this life with Tomoe, pretending to be her husband.
But…
Pretending was still pretending.
This fake wife would eventually leave.
And he would eventually take up his sword and kill again.
Tomoe held resentment.
Kenshin held guilt.
Both of them knew this peace couldn't last — but both desperately wished it could.
The seasons changed.
Summer ended.
Autumn arrived.
One morning, Tomoe took out her dagger again, staring at it with a cold expression…
But she set it back down.
"Oh no," Lin Yuting's heart tensed.
Don't do something stupid, writer…
The screen filled with flying comments (danmaku):
[If Tomoe stabs Kenshin, I'm dropping this show.]
[Writer, please don't ruin it. He was just a fiancé — don't drag in that boring revenge-for-dead-lover trope.]
[Kenshin wasn't wrong. Neither was the fiancé. But don't make Tomoe destroy what they have now. That's on the writer.]
[Su Yan plays Kenshin and wrote the story. I trust he'll make the right call and not ruin this masterpiece.]
[Honestly, if Tomoe really wanted revenge, poisoning Kenshin would've been smarter. He lets his guard down around her. But it's clear… she's hesitating.]
The story continued.
Kenshin and Tomoe returned from the village market.
The setting sun glowed red. White cranes cried in the distance.
Kenshin walked ahead, carrying their medicine basket.
"No one suspects us of being husband and wife."
"Mm, and business is good," Tomoe replied with a soft smile.
Then Kenshin suddenly asked, casually:
"That dagger… You didn't bring it today?"
At that moment, the cranes screeched across the water.
Tomoe froze.
So did Lin Yuting.
The dagger? He knew?!
Kenshin had known she carried a weapon the whole time.
Well, of course, he had.
If he couldn't notice that, he would've been long dead in Kyoto.
More comments exploded:
[Good thing Tomoe never attacked him, or she'd be dead.]
[Kenshin probably just assumes it's for self-defense — which makes sense in this era.]
[The fact that he said this so calmly proves he trusts her. If he didn't, he'd never mention it — he'd pretend not to know.]
Tomoe's expression softened after a brief struggle.
"I left it at home. Because now… I'm a pharmacist's wife."
Their silhouettes against the setting sun stood even closer.
Lin Yuting exhaled slowly, her heart tense.
The deeper their bond grew, the more the show made her feel that something was going to break.
That night…
Kenshin slept with his sword, just like he did back in Kyoto.
Tomoe woke up and gently draped a blanket over him.
Kenshin didn't move at all. He was fast asleep.
Lin Yuting felt her nose sting.
She remembered.
In Episode 2, when Tomoe approached a sleeping Kenshin, he instantly drew his sword and pointed it at her throat.
But now — nothing.
If Tomoe had wanted to kill him, it would've been easy.
The rainy season came.
Tomoe pulled out the dagger again. Tears streamed down as she remembered the day her fiancé, Kiyosato, died.
"When you're not killing… you're too gentle."
Tomoe had always known.
Kenshin was the one who killed Kiyosato.
She had gotten close to him only to assassinate him.
But she couldn't do it.
"Forget revenge! He was just a fiancé — in ancient times, that probably meant they'd never even met. Was this really necessary?" Lin Yuting muttered bitterly.
Then came the reveal…
Tomoe had been working for Kenshin's enemies from the start.
So was her brother, Enishi.
The goal was to get close to Kenshin — either kill him, or corrupt him by giving him a taste of a peaceful life.
And they succeeded — Kenshin no longer kept his guard up.
Even his contact in the organization, Iizuka, turned out to be the mole.
The assassin with chains who attacked Kenshin in Episode 1? That was Iizuka's betrayal.
"What the heck—?!" Lin Yuting was stunned.
Autumn ended. Winter arrived.
The radishes they had planted together had finally grown.
That night, the two of them ate their homegrown daikon with dinner.
Kenshin ate heartily.
Tomoe smiled, watching him. Her voice was gentle:
"This is the first time I've seen you eat with such an appetite. If…"
"If this life were real… would you want to live like this forever?"
Lin Yuting's chest tightened.
Every time she let herself sink into the warmth of their life together, the writer reminded her:
It's fake.
Kenshin was pretending to be a pharmacist.
Pretending to be a husband.
Tomoe was pretending to be his wife, while planning to avenge her fiancé.
So… what about the radishes they grew together?
The memories of living side-by-side for half a year?
Were those fake, too?
Then Kenshin spoke:
"Ever since I learned Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, I thought I wanted to protect the weak. To guard as many smiles as I could. But…"
He looked up from his radish bowl, meeting Tomoe's eyes.
"Now I realize how arrogant that was. To protect this kind of daily life… I've had to give it everything I have. I never really understood what happiness meant."
"But now I do. This life, right here… is happiness to me."