Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

"You bastard! Are you trying to humiliate me?!"

The anger that Dai Xi Kui had been forcibly suppressing instantly reached its peak after the other party handed her that cheap business card with the words "Cleaning Company" printed on it.

Shame, anger, and a sense of humiliation at being belittled intertwined, causing her cheeks to flush red and even her ears to burn.

Strangely, when anger reaches its peak, the brain is forced to calm down.

She hugged her chest tightly, trying to endure the discomfort of her soaked shirt clinging to her skin, the sticky wine stains bringing an unpleasant chill.

Daiki frowned and looked the impetuous man up and down.

The cheap suit was made of ordinary fabric and was barely fitting.

The phone I'm holding is an older model from a few years ago, with minor scratches on the edge of the screen.

Aside from his overly handsome and upright face, he looked completely ordinary, like any other ordinary office worker struggling on a meager salary that you could see anywhere on the street.

That's the kind of person he is—

Daiki was so angry that she was trembling all over.

How could someone like that pour a whole glass of ice-cold beer on him!

Unforgivable!

Which company are you from?

Her voice was sharp with anger, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Hand over your business card!"

She stepped forward, almost touching the tip of Akiyama Masashi's nose.

"I'm going to completely destroy you!"

Given the power of the Onishi family, if a low-level employee dared to offend the daughter of a politician, being complained about and having their bonus deducted would be considered the lightest punishment.

More likely, they will lose their jobs or even be completely blacklisted in the industry.

In such an economic downturn, this is tantamount to driving people to desperation.

Rieko Uchida huddled in a corner, burying her face almost in her chest, not daring to let anyone see her expression.

are you afraid?

I am afraid.

She glanced at Masashi Akiyama out of the corner of her eye, but he was calmly watching Aoi Onishi, not even sparing her a glance.

Even though she had decided to pretend she didn't know him, seeing his arrogant attitude still made her feel a strange sense of defeat and loss.

But more than anything, there was concern for Masashi Akiyama.

She knew that Onishi Aoi's father was a highly influential politician, a prominent figure in the political arena.

This was one of the reasons why she chose to join the group.

Attaching herself to the strong was a survival rule she learned from Ayaka Fukuda.

Masashi Akiyama may be an excellent lawyer, but as an ordinary person, if he gets involved with a family with such a background, wouldn't he be crushed?

They might be extorted for a large sum of money, and even their newly opened law firm would have to be mortgaged.

Even knowing that Masashi Akiyama's unintentional actions were mostly to stand up for her, Rieko Uchida was still struggling intensely.

At this point... shouldn't we step forward and try to persuade them?

but--

Her gaze fell on the disheveled and exhausted Oonishi Aoi ahead of her.

The soaked shirt clung to her body, with drops of alcohol sparsely dripping from the hem, and her carefully styled hair was disheveled and stuck to her cheeks.

The queen, who was always aloof and domineering, now looked like a fledgling bird that had fallen into the water.

An indescribable emotion swept over her mind.

Excitement and stimulation surged up my spine, flowing through my entire body like an electric current.

How pathetic, Xiao Kui...

If only it were a little more disheveled...

Always acting all high and mighty, you must be exhausted.

The thought made her heart pound in her chest, and she quickly lowered her head, afraid that someone would see through her dark, gloating secret joy.

but……

Mr. Akiyama...

Yasi...

What should he do if he doesn't help?

Rieko Uchida bit her lower lip, her nails digging fiercely into the soft flesh of her palms, until the sharp pain became too intense to ignore, before she finally made up her mind—

Just as she mustered the courage to stand up.

"What's going on?!"

The owner of the sukiyaki restaurant, wearing a headscarf and holding a spatula, hurriedly ran out of the kitchen.

She glanced at Masashi Akiyama, then at Aoi Onishi, who was soaking wet and had a livid face, and almost instinctively stepped forward to stand in front of him.

"Sir, shall I take you to the back to change into some clean clothes?"

"I'm not going!"

Aoi Onishi glared at her fiercely, pointing her finger directly at Masashi Akiyama, her voice trembling with anger.

"You're finished! Unless you kneel down and apologize to me right now, I'll completely ruin your life!"

The girl with glasses next to her also joined in the jeers.

"You're doomed~ Xiao Kui's father is a very important person. If you've offended him, you commoners would better kneel down and kowtow right now~"

"Mr. Akiyama..."

Saionji Kiyoshi led Saionji Rin forward and stood behind Akiyama Masashi. He looked at the lawyer with concern, his eyes filled with unease.

Masashi Akiyama simply waved his hand lightly.

"It's so noisy."

"A very important person, isn't he?"

Masashi Akiyama paused, his gaze falling on Aoi Onishi's face.

"Even if her father finds out that his daughter is cheating on him, is it okay?"

"W-what?"

Aoi Onishi's smug expression instantly froze on her face.

She stared in horror, not understanding why this strange man would suddenly say such a thing.

Masashi Akiyama casually shook the phone he was holding in his right hand.

"Coincidentally, I was on the phone with Ueno Representative at the time."

"Since this young lady's father is such an important figure, he should know Mr. Ueno, right? Would you like me to hand you the phone so you can explain the situation yourself?"

He turned his phone screen towards the sunflower.

The screen did indeed show that a call was in progress, and the contact person's name was simply "Ueno".

Oonishi Aoi instinctively took a step back.

That's a lie...

As the daughter of a member of parliament, she certainly knew what the surname "Ueno" meant.

That was a truly important person whom even her father had to look up to and go to great lengths to get in touch with.

How could this man, this man eating a regular set meal at a cheap sukiyaki restaurant and wearing an inexpensive suit, possibly know people of that level?

but……

What if?

What if he really knew Mr. Ueno? What if the other person remembered the name "Aoi Onishi"? What if this matter reached his father's ears...

She'll be beaten to death.

No, it's worse than that.

Once she loses her father's trust, she may be used as a bargaining chip, delivered like merchandise to the offices of various powerful figures, exchanging her body for political resources.

How could she maintain her glamorous appearance under those circumstances?

How can we still boss these commoners around?

No.

Absolutely not!

Just as her thoughts were racing, Masashi Akiyama turned around, seemingly about to speak into the phone.

"Wait a moment--!!!"

Daiki almost lunged forward, her voice shrill with fear.

"I...I forgive you!"

She raised her chin, trying to maintain her last bit of pride, but her tone had softened.

"This, this is a misunderstanding... Yes, a misunderstanding!"

"No, how can you do that?"

Masashi Akiyama gently brushed away her hand that was blocking him and raised his phone again.

"This is my fault, and I definitely need to make it up to you. Please don't worry, I know Mr. Ueno very well, and I believe he will tell me how to apologize in a way that will satisfy you."

"I said no thanks!!!"

Daiki screamed, almost crying.

The moment Akiyama Masashi cast a questioning glance at her, she disregarded the sticky discomfort on her body, forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and offered a rambling explanation.

"I...I understand...it was actually a misunderstanding..."

As she spoke, she bent down deeply, giving a bow that was almost ninety degrees.

Her face flushed red with shame, and even her voice trembled.

"I had too much to drink, and my eyes were blurry... Thinking about it carefully, I wasn't in the right what happened. Maybe I didn't notice when I raised my hand, and the glass tipped over... And we were sitting too far out, blocking your way..."

Onishi Aoi's attitude underwent a 180-degree reversal.

Damn it...

I can't believe these guys saw me like this...

And this man, he definitely did it on purpose!

She cursed viciously in her heart, but couldn't help but show a fawning, almost obsequious expression on her face.

"Is it really a misunderstanding?"

"Of course!" Aoi Onishi straightened up and looked at Masashi Akiyama with the most sincere expression she had ever had.

"Please don't waste your time on me. Are you leaving? I'm sorry to have disturbed your peace, but please, please leave like this..."

"All right……"

Masashi Akiyama regretfully put his phone back in his pocket.

"Shall we be going now?"

"Of course! Please take care!"

Aoi Onishi watched Masashi Akiyama and the other two leave the sukiyaki restaurant. Only when the noren curtain was completely drawn, blocking her view, did her legs go weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

The back of my shirt was soaked with cold sweat, mixed with undried wine stains, making it sticky and nauseating.

"Xiao Kui, are you alright?"

Only then did the group of high school girls dare to gather around and express their concern in a flurry of voices.

"Get out of here! All of you, get out of here!!"

Daiki pushed them away, venting all her fear and resentment on them.

Her screams echoed throughout the restaurant, drawing surprised glances from other diners.

Rieko Uchida stood on the outermost edge of the crowd, her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She bit her lower lip tightly, afraid she would lose control—

I burst out laughing.

[Rieko Uchida's world line has been resolved]

[Reward: Improvement in physical fitness - slightly]