Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 225 While they were putting on a show, I was already closing the net [Basic update: 5k words]

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

When the door opened, the motion-activated lights in the hallway turned on.

"Kiryu-kun, put me down."

Because of Aunt Kono's teasing, Chihaya Yuri's blush had not yet faded, and she softly said to Kiryu Yaya.

"Then please slow down, senior."

Kiryu Yaya nodded and gently put her down.

Chihaya Yuri didn't feel alive again until her entire body touched the ground.

With Kiryu Yaya's help, she hopped a couple of steps to the familiar door, took out her key from her pocket, and opened it.

"Sit down first, and stop straining."

He helped Chihaya Yuri to the sofa and bent down to gently place her left foot on the soft cushion on the edge of the coffee table.

Chihaya Yuri closed her eyes and felt much more relaxed.

"Kiryu-kun————"

"Um?

'

"Thank you for tonight."

Kiryu Yaya smiled gently: "—You're welcome."

He then stood up and glanced around the room.

"Senior, do you have any ice packs or ice cubes at home?"

Chihaya Yuri thought for a moment: "There should be ice trays in the freezer."

Kiryu Yaya went to the kitchen, opened the freezer compartment, and sure enough, found a plastic ice cube tray with ice cubes frozen solid inside.

He knocked out a few pieces, wrapped them in a clean towel, and walked back to the living room.

"It might be a little chilly."

He knelt down and gently placed a towel wrapped with ice on the outside of her swollen ankle.

Chihaya Yuri's toes curled slightly again, but she didn't flinch.

"Applying ice for about fifteen minutes will reduce the swelling."

Kiryu Yaya straightened the edge of the towel: "We'll see how it goes after the swelling goes down. If it's still very painful by tomorrow morning, it's best to go to the hospital for an X-ray."

"Um."

Chihaya Yuri responded softly.

Kiryu Yaya stood up and looked around the living room: "Senpai, do you have a spare key? I'll go buy you a cane."

"I don't think I need the cane. I'll ask for the day off tomorrow—"

"That won't do."

Kiryu Yaya said seriously, "You need to go to the toilet, get water, and move around a lot. It's too dangerous to hop around on one foot. If you fall again, it won't just be a matter of resting for two days."

Chihaya Yuri opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but seeing his serious expression, she swallowed her words.

She pointed to a small drawer above the shoe cabinet in the entryway: "The spare key is on the second drawer."

Kiryu Yaya walked over, opened a drawer, took out a key with a light blue keychain, and waved it at Chihaya Yuri: "I'll be right back, very soon."

"You—there's no need to rush. Be careful on the road."

"rest assured."

After saying that, he opened the door and went out, then gently closed it behind him.

They left, following the sound of footsteps.

Chihaya Yuri sat on the sofa, looking down at the ice pack wrapped in a towel on her ankle, and suddenly felt her cheeks getting hot.

"Seriously—"

She muttered something to herself, as if blaming herself, or perhaps trying to cover something up.

Then he lowered his eyes and touched the edge of his ankle with his fingers.

The skin there was still burning hot.

Ten minutes later.

The sound of a key being inserted into the lock came from outside the door.

Then the door was pushed open.

Kiryu Yaya walked in, carrying a cane and a convenience store plastic bag, and bent down to change into slippers.

"I'm back."

After saying that, he paused for a moment.

Why does this feel like my husband is coming home?

He then shook his head, thinking that people shouldn't surf the internet too much, as it corrupts them.

Even more tragically, he can't even surf now.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Chihaya Yuri glanced at the convenience store plastic bag in Kiryu Yaya's hand, tilted her head, and asked, "What else did you buy?"

Kiryu Yaya placed the plastic bag next to the coffee table and removed its contents: "Bandages and pain-relieving spray, you should be able to use them, senpai."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the towel.

The ice had begun to melt slowly, leaving a small, dark, damp patch on the towel.

Kiryu Yaya squatted down, gently removed the towel, and glanced down at the swelling in her ankle.

"The swelling has gone down a bit, but I still need to apply it for a while longer."

He went to the kitchen, replaced some ice cubes, and reapplied the ice to Chihaya Yuri.

Chihaya Yuri didn't speak, but quietly looked at his profile.

The light fell from above, illuminating his silhouette clearly.

His eyelashes are quite long.

Chihaya Yuri suddenly thought.

"senior?"

Kiryu Yaya looked up: "What's wrong?"

Chihaya Yuri's gaze flickered slightly: "I just feel that—you're quite good at taking care of people."

Kiryu Yaya, who was squatting by the coffee table, smiled upon hearing this: "Is that a compliment?"

"You decide for yourself."

"Then I'll take that as my opinion."

Chihaya Yuri didn't reply, but her earlobes were tinged with a light pink under the light.

There was a few seconds of silence between them.

Kiryu Yaya glanced down at his watch; it was almost 9:30.

"Senior, it's getting late, I should head back now."

He stood up, pushed the pain relief spray on the coffee table forward, and then checked the position of his cane.

"I've left my cane next to the sofa. Remember to use it if you need to get up at night."

"Be careful when you go to the toilet, senior."

As Chihaya Yuri listened to him rambling on about these trivial matters, the faint smile in her eyes never faded.

"Yes, I understand."

She responded with a sound of agreement, then added, "Kiryu-kun, take care on the road."

"it is good."

Kiryu Yaya walked to the door, bent down to change his shoes, opened the door, and glanced back at Chihaya Yuri on the sofa: "Senpai, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The door closed gently.

Chihaya Yuri sat on the sofa, her gaze fixed on the closed door, remaining silent for a long time.

She raised her hand to touch her slightly flushed cheeks, shifted her gaze to the night view illuminated by streetlights outside the window, and gently exhaled.

She wasn't quite sure what was wrong with her tonight.

But that feeling isn't unpleasant.

Night had completely fallen.

After returning from Chihaya Yuri's house, Kiryu Yaya lay on the small sofa and pondered for a moment.

Then he picked up the phone and dialed Kuroda Shuichi's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Kiryu-kun."

Shuichi Kuroda's voice came through the receiver, and it was clear from his voice that he was in a very good mood.

Kiryu Yaya leaned back in his chair, speaking casually: "Has the shell company in Nagoya completed the planned procedures?"

"We're done."

Kuroda Shuichi's voice carried an undisguised hint of satisfaction: "Today, I introduced the shell company's agent, Takahashi Taishi, to Kouyuu Hiko. Tomorrow, Kouyuu Hiko will take his agent to the auction."

After saying that, Kuroda Shuichi asked, "So, Kiryu-kun, how's things going on your end?"

Kiryu Yaya chuckled twice: "Everything is ready, we're just waiting for tomorrow's auction."

Kuroda nodded: "Okay, tomorrow afternoon, once you start your performance, I'll close the net here."

Kiryu Yaya held the receiver, a smile curving his lips.

Goodnight, President Kuroda.

"Good night."

The phone hangs up.

Kiryu Yaya put the receiver back on the landline and sat in the chair for a long time.

The night outside the window was as dark as ink. Occasionally, a car would drive by in the distance, its headlights piercing the darkness before being quickly swallowed up.

At that moment, the system popped up a notification:

[The fourth act of the main storyline "The Avengers" - "The Ambush at the Auction" has begun]

[Current Event: Kouyu Hiko has successfully taken the bait and will represent the shell company Takahashi Taishi at the bidding for the Rinko City land plot tomorrow.]

[But what he didn't know was that the mastermind behind this bidding process was none other than you—Kiryu Yaya.]

[Task Requirements: Ensure that the Miyazawa Group and the shell company reach a preliminary agreement smoothly; the shell company's quotation documents, letter of intent, and minutes of subsequent procedures must be signed or documented by Kouyuhiko as a "bank coordinator" or "advisor".]

[Task Rewards: Depends on Completion Rate]

The next day.

8:40 a.m.

The fifth floor of Mitsubishi Bank Osaka Branch.

This is usually the quietest floor in the entire bank, but today...

The arrival of Kouyuki Hiko and Ushio Takeo broke the usual tranquility.

This morning, Koudahiko sent a formal confirmation letter from Tokyo, indicating that he will attend the bidding meeting this afternoon on time.

In preparation for the afternoon's bidding meeting, Takeo Ushio arrived at the conference room early and began to oversee the setup of the venue.

He stood in the center of the room, holding a coffee in one hand and with the other on his hip, his gaze slowly sweeping from the ceiling to the edge of the carpet.

"Move this table thirty centimeters to the left."

Takeo Ushio glanced at the long table against the wall and said to the two general affairs staff, "You're blocking that door from here."

"yes!"

Two young employees from the general affairs department exchanged a glance, lowered their heads, and quickly walked over. One of them grabbed one end of the table corner and struggled to move it to the left.

Looking at their strained appearance, Ushio Takeo exclaimed, "With so few people, how long will it take to set up this bidding meeting?"

Then he asked the two general affairs department employees, "Does that Kiryu Yaya from the financing review section have any friends or anything like that?"

Because Sasaki had previously worked in the logistics section under the general affairs department, he and Arima Kishou were acquainted with these two new recruits.

The general affairs staff member was clearly surprised that Ushio Takeo would ask this, and hesitated for a moment before nodding: "As for Kiryu Yaya, he is closer to Sasaki Kenta and Arima Kishou. They often eat together in the cafeteria."

"Then let's call all three of them up to help."

Ushio Takeo spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "We're short-staffed for the bidding this afternoon. Since they're young people from the financing department, it'll be good training for them to do more work."

The general affairs staff responded and quickly ran towards the stairwell.

The remaining employee, still struggling to push the corner of the table, held onto the edge of the table and glanced unconsciously at Ushio Takeo before quickly looking down again, not daring to look any further.

This deputy manager of the main store is too fierce.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by Kenta Sasaki's familiar booming voice: "Deputy Chief Ushio, you were looking for us?"

He was running in the lead, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, clearly indicating that he had jogged all the way up.

Arima Kishou followed behind him, his pace neither fast nor slow.

Kiryu Yaya walked at the back, looking speechless.

As the person involved, he naturally knew Ushio Takeo's intentions.

It can only be said that this kind of person is worthy of being promoted by Kouyu Tianyan. His abilities are not yet visible, but his ability to show loyalty is clear to him.

Ushio Takeo knew that Kouda Hiko disliked him, so he was always looking for ways to make things difficult for him.

It's no wonder that someone like him can always keep up with Kouyuhiko.

However, no matter how arrogant Ushio Takeo is, he can only be arrogant for a few days.

Once Kouyuhiko falls from power, who knows how long this sycophant will be able to survive at the Tokyo headquarters.

With that thought in mind, Kiryu Yaya entered the meeting room.

The three men stopped in front of Ushio Takeo and bowed slightly.

"Good morning, Deputy Chief Ushio."

Ushio Takeo turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three faces in turn, finally pausing on Kiryu Yaya before he said with a forced smile, "You all know about the bidding this afternoon, right?"

"Minister Furuta will be attending in person, and representatives from the Miyazawa Group will also be there. The venue setup requires high standards, especially the seating arrangement and the placement of materials; there can be no mistakes."

"The general affairs department is short-staffed, and I happen to be the deputy head of the financing department at the head office, so you are under my jurisdiction in principle."

"So I called you guys up here to help, is that alright?"

Sasaki was unaware of the feud between Ushio Takeo and Kiryu Yaya, and thought that he had gained the appreciation of the top leader at headquarters, so he acted exceptionally actively.

Of the three, he shouted the loudest: "No problem, Deputy Chief Ushio."

Ushio Takeo put down his coffee cup and turned to Sasaki Kenta: "Sasaki-kun, you're in charge of aligning the chairs and the table. The spacing between all the chairs must be uniform, with an error of no more than one centimeter."

Kenta Sasaki straightened up a bit: "Understood."

Ushio Takeo then turned to Arima Kishou: "Arima-kun, you are in charge of binding and distributing the meeting materials. Use blue folders for the head of the table and white folders for the other seats. Each document should be bound in page order, with no missing pages and no pages reversed."

Arima Kishou adjusted his glasses: "Excuse me, Vice Minister, where is the seating chart?"

"The general affairs department will send it over."

After Ushio Takeo finished speaking, he turned to Kiryu Yaya and lingered on his face for a moment: "Kiryu-kun, your mission is rather complicated. Stay by my side and do whatever I tell you to do."

Kiryu Yaya's face remained calm: "Understood, Vice Director Ushio."

After Ushio Takeo gave the order, Sasaki and Arima immediately sprang into action.

Only Kiryu Yaya stood still, waiting for instructions.

Ushio Takeo did not immediately assign him a specific task.

He first walked around the long table, his fingers brushing against the edges of each surface as if checking for dust.

He stopped at the third table, raised his hand, rubbed his fingertips against the edge of the table corner, and glanced down at it.

"The edges of this table aren't clean."

He didn't turn around: "Kiryu-kun, go get a damp cloth and wipe the whole table again."

"Yes."

Kiryu Yaya went to the General Affairs Department to get a wet rag. When he returned to the meeting room, Ushio Takeo was standing by the window making a phone call.

Ushio Takeo had his back to him and spoke in a very low voice. Kiryu Yaya could only vaguely hear a few fragmented words: "Confirm," "Miyazawa's opinion," and "Afternoon's schedule."

He walked to the long table that had been pointed out earlier, squatted down, and began wiping it from the corner inwards.

Kiryu Yaya wiped the table twice, making sure there was no dust before standing up, folding the rag and putting it aside.

After finishing his call, Ushio Takeo glanced at the table, then at the neatly folded rag on the corner, and said nothing.

He walked to the other end of the long table, pulled out a chair and sat down. He took out a document from his briefcase, looked down and flipped through a few pages, as if he had temporarily forgotten about Kiryu Yaya.

Kiryu Yaya stood by the long table, without urging him on.

About ten minutes later, Ushio Takeo seemed to suddenly remember him and said without looking up, "Before the meeting started, the teacups at the head of the table were all changed to the kind with trays. These ones without trays are easy to burn your hands."

Go to the general affairs department and check if they have the goods in stock.

"Yes."

Kiryu Yaya walked out of the meeting room for the second time.

When he returned this time, he carried several trays and a stack of teacups with saucers.

He removed the old cups and replaced them with new ones, adjusting the direction of the stems after each cup was placed so that all the stems were pointing in the same direction.

While doing this, Kiryu Yaya couldn't help but think of the classic saying that circulated online in his previous life, that only the University of Tokyo had this kind of "craftsman spirit".

But actually, it's pretty much the same in Japan.

They're all in the same cultural circle; it's the difference between the father (University of Tokyo) and the son (Japan).

After finishing these tasks, Kiryu Yaya stood up and waited beside Ushio Takeo.

Ushio Takeo kept his head down, looking at the documents, without even lifting his eyelids.

After 10 o'clock, he finally closed the file and stood up: "Kiryu-kun, come with me."

Kiryu Yaya followed him out of the conference room and walked down the corridor toward the stairwell, stopping at the door of a small storage room on the fifth floor.

Takeo Ushio took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, picked one out and unlocked the door. Inside, there were several dusty cardboard boxes and a few folding chairs.

"Move all the seating charts from that innermost cardboard box to the fifth-floor conference room."

"Arrange the seats according to the seating chart, making sure no one is missed."

Kiryu Yaya glanced at the stack of cardboard boxes.

They were stacked in four layers, each layer heavy, and contained at least dozens of bronze seating cards.

This is quite a lot of work.

If he really does what Ushio Takeo tells him to do, then after these few trips, his back will be broken.

If the first two tasks were merely Ushio Takeo tempering his character, then this task was pure torture for him.

Kiryu Yaya twitched the corner of his mouth.

Just as Kiryu Yaya was trying to figure out a way to refuse this physically demanding task, a semi-transparent interface popped up in front of him.

[New life options have been triggered]

The bidding process was about to begin, and Takeo Ushio's unwarranted obstruction became the final step on his path to victory.

Faced with his deliberate obstruction, what do you choose?

[Fork in the road 1: Temporarily remain patient, focus on completing the seating arrangement, and avoid any unforeseen complications at the last minute.]

(Reward: Bank deposit increased by 10 yen)

[Branch Two: Using the excuse of "insufficient manpower affecting the meeting's progress," he pulled in Kenta Sasaki and Kishou Arima to help with the moving, subtly defusing the difficult situation and leaving Takeo Ushio with no outlet for his anger.]

(Reward: Bank deposit increased by 30 yen)

[Branch 3: Refuse on the spot. Faced with Takeo Ushio's unreasonable request, you immediately find a reason to refuse and embarrass him.]

(Reward: Bank deposit increased by 50 yen)

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