Tokyo's bubble economy: From literary giants to great entertainers

"What?! 1500 yen?! Are you kidding me?! Have you lost your conscience?! It's so expensive all the way from Shinjuku?!"

"Don't make false accusations! I charged according to the meter the whole time!"

"I don't care! I'll only give you 1300!"

In front of the gate of Nikko University of Arts, a heavily made-up middle-aged woman was shouting at a taxi driver. The sound of their argument attracted the attention of many passing teachers and students, but most of their gazes were filled with incomprehension and disdain.

"A taxi ride from Shinjuku costs 1,500 yen, right? Last time it cost me almost 2,000 yen."

"This woman is clearly being unreasonable; she's probably a newcomer to Tokyo."

"We out-of-towners aren't going to take the blame. Besides, look at her handbag, it's Prada! With such luxury goods, why would she care about a little travel fare?"

"The girl next to her is quite pretty."

The surrounding area was filled with murmurs and discussions.

Various scrutinizing or amused gazes fell upon her. Rie Miyazawa lowered her head in shame, clenching her small fist beside her white dress, but she still dared not utter a word.

—Normally, the family wouldn't have bothered with such a small amount of transportation costs, but my mother used the money she earned from her photoshoot last month to buy that Prada handbag. In addition, ever since she started earning money from photoshoots, my mother has started all sorts of overspending, not only using up all the money she earned but also maxing out her credit cards.

What's worse, the project she had accepted for a teen photo magazine this week suddenly fell through, and her mother continued her extravagant spending habits. This is what led to her current predicament.

Grandma Miyazawa couldn't bear to watch any longer. She took out her purse, stepped forward, and said, "Mitsuko, never mind, I'll pay the fare..."

Mitsuko Miyazawa turned around and glared at him, "You old geezer, why didn't you say you had money earlier?!"

The attitude was extremely rude. Grandma Miyazawa wanted to say something, but seeing more and more onlookers and the increasingly ashamed expression on Rie Miyazawa's face, she finally just sighed, took out 1,500 yen from her purse, and handed it to the taxi driver.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you."

The middle-aged driver took the money, glanced at Grandma Miyazawa's faded white shirt, and muttered, "You old woman are a good person, but let me give you a piece of advice: if you don't cut ties with this kind of relative sooner rather than later, there will only be more trouble in the future."

"What did you say?! When did it become our family's business..."

"Shut up, you old hag! Why don't you just die, you bloodsucking scum of a mother like you? You'd be doing society a favor by dying!"

"You...you stop the car!"

Mitsuko Miyazawa instantly flew into a rage, but the experienced driver completely ignored her, swore at her, and sped off. She wanted to chase after him into the street to continue the tirade, but Miyazawa's grandmother stopped her.

"Forget it, Mitsuko, Rie is still here..."

"Who do you think you are, old man, to dare tell me what to do?!"

Mitsuko Miyazawa swung her arms, but then noticed the purse in her grandmother's hand. "Oh, right, speaking of which, you haven't paid for the meals you ate at my house these past few days. Use this to settle the debt!"

As she spoke, she snatched the wallet away.

Seeing this, Rie Miyazawa couldn't hold back any longer. "Mother! This is Grandma's pension for this month, she..." Her expression was full of urgency—Grandma Miyazawa was her great-grandmother, the mother of the aunt who had raised her since she was a child.

Grandma Miyazawa originally ran a convenience store, and her aunt and uncle ran a small factory in the town, so they had no problem with their retirement. However, due to the economic crisis at the beginning of the year, the bank withdrew its loans from the aunt and uncle's factory.

Grandma Miyazawa had secretly sold the convenience store a few days ago to help her children pay off their debts, but they were still struggling financially. It was only after she overheard a phone call that she learned of this and, despite her mother's pressure, brought her mother-in-law home to live with her.

Mitsuko Miyazawa ignored all of that. She opened her wallet with a whoosh, stuffed all the bills into her pocket, and sneered, "What pension! Isn't it all tax money paid by us taxpayers?! In the end, this money was originally mine!"

"No! This money..."

"How dare you talk back!"

Miyazawa Mitsuko raised her hand and slapped Miyazawa across the face. Grandma Miyazawa quickly pulled Miyazawa Rie into her arms. Passersby gasped in shock, covering their mouths. Just as the slap was about to land, an arm suddenly appeared and clamped down on Miyazawa Mitsuko's wrist.

"Who are you! How dare you... Ouch!"

Miyazawa Mitsuko was about to throw another tantrum, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Kanbara Shuichi shoved her away, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Shu...Shuichi-kun?"

Grandma Miyazawa recognized the tall boy in front of her, her eyes filled with surprise. Shuichi Kanbara withdrew his cold gaze, and when he looked at her again, a gentle smile played on his lips. "It's been a while. How have you been, Grandma?"

"Okay... Hey, has Shuichi-kun solved the tuition problem?"

Grandma Miyazawa smiled with surprise and kindness, asking with concern. Kanbaru Hideki nodded. "Yes, that auntie paid my tuition for me. I'm here to register today."

That's wonderful.

Grandma Miyazawa nodded with satisfaction.

Just then, Mitsuko Miyazawa came running over again, reaching out to grab Shuichi Kanbara's hair.

"You bastard, how dare you lay a hand on me! I... hey! And who the hell are you?!"

Her hand was only halfway out when suddenly, another arm appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist. When she looked to the side, she saw a female secretary in a sharp suit, her glasses reflecting the sunlight, standing there coldly.

"Mitsuko Miyazawa, 32 years old, was a hostess at the Ginza Blonde Paradise bar. Sixteen years ago, she met a Dutch sailor and gave birth to a daughter. Later, she divorced him due to domestic violence, leaving her daughter, who was less than a year old, to be raised by her sister, and disappeared without a trace."

Five years ago, when he returned home by chance, he discovered that his daughter was exceptionally beautiful. He then forcibly brought his daughter to his side, pushed her into the entertainment industry through photo shoots, and kept all the income for himself.

Then, last March, she drugged her daughter and personally took her to a director's room, hoping to win his favor with a mother-daughter meal, but the attempt was thwarted by staff members...

"Stop talking!!! Who are you!!!"

When her secrets were exposed in public, Mitsuko Miyazawa panicked amidst the uproar.

She wasn't ashamed, she was scared!

Anyone who can easily access other people's information is definitely not an ordinary person!

Faced with her flustered questioning, the female secretary remained silent, only taking a step back and bowing slightly. The next moment, a luxurious Mercedes-Maybach appeared by the roadside, the door opened, and a beautiful leg clad in black stockings and sharp high heels appeared before everyone.

"Wow! Those legs, are they real or fake?!"

"If school models had legs like those, I could sit in the art studio all day!"

Many male classmates around him stared in disbelief, and Shuichi Kanbara also raised an eyebrow slightly.

To be honest, he claims he's not a leg fetishist; compared to beautiful legs, a beautiful buttocks are more likely to arouse his desire.

Even he had to admit that those legs were truly beautiful—not the slender, chopstick-like legs of a female student, but the long, straight, and voluptuous legs of a mature woman.

Immediately afterwards, the owner of those legs stepped out of the car.

When her face came into clear view, the surrounding chatter immediately erupted.

No wonder, the woman getting off the bus was indeed too dazzling.

Her long, wavy hair, both languid and alluring, cascaded over her shoulders; her features were strikingly beautiful, and her skin was as white as snow.

A well-tailored red shirt accentuated her full bust, but then abruptly narrowed at the waist, highlighting her incredibly slender waist and her round, pert buttocks, creating a breathtakingly contrasting curve.

Such a bright and elegant beauty is very rare, even in Tokyo.

Shuichi Kambara was also surprised, but what surprised him even more was... this woman, haven't I seen her somewhere before?

As he was wondering, the woman gracefully walked up to him, bowed slightly, and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kanbara Shuichi. I am Matsuzaka Keiko, Tokiwa Takako's younger sister. She should have mentioned me to you before."