Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 226 Kiryu-kun! If you laugh again, don't even think about setting foot in my house! (Bonus chapter for 5k monthly votes)

Kiryu Yaya looked at the three options.

Fork one: Temporarily hold back.

To endure?

If it were a typical newcomer, faced with the difficult demands of the deputy head of the bank, they would probably grit their teeth, lower their head, and finish moving the goods, then silently remember the incident and deal with it later.

But Kiryu is different.

It’s different in the past.

With his current abilities, he's only a newcomer on the surface.

To continue to be so tolerant would be too degrading.

As for bifurcation two, it might be slightly better than bifurcation one, but only by a limited margin.

There's absolutely no need to share troubles with your partners.

After thinking it over, Kiryu Yaya's final choice was still to choose option three: to refuse Ushio Takeo's request on the spot!

But how to refuse without giving him a reason to attack you requires the art of workplace communication.

Kiryu Yaya slowly closed his eyes.

Just then, Ushio Takeo seemed a little impatient and gave a soft "hmm": "Kiryu-kun?"

In an instant, Kiryu Yaya opened his eyes and looked up at Ushio Takeo: "Deputy Chief Ushio, forgive my bluntness..."

"The placement of seating cards, according to Mitsubishi Bank's internal procedures, is a matter that must be personally verified and confirmed by the meeting organizer or the head of the general affairs department."

"I am a staff member of the financing review department. I have neither received a formal dispatch order from the general affairs department nor written authorization from the meeting organizer."

"If I were to do it in your place, and something went wrong, it wouldn't look good for Minister Kou-da's reputation or for Vice Minister Ushio's arrangements."

He bowed slightly, his tone respectful yet his words firm and resolute: "Therefore, I'm afraid I'll need you, Deputy Minister, to first provide me with a transfer order stamped by the General Affairs Section before I can take action with a legitimate reason."

There was a moment of silence in the storage room.

Takeo Ushio stood at the door of the storage room, his expression frozen.

Clearly, as the deputy manager of the main store, he was a figure respected by everyone.

Now, however, he can't even command a new employee in a branch store, which undoubtedly makes him feel a bit embarrassed.

Ushio Takeo stared at Kiryu Yaya for several seconds, his jaw tightening and then relaxing.

He was suppressing his anger.

Kiryu Yaya smiled slightly.

He could naturally see the humiliation in Ushio Takeo's eyes that he, the dignified deputy manager of the main store, was being put on the spot by a newcomer from a branch store.

But Takeo Ushio wanted to lash out, yet he couldn't.

Because every word Kiryu Yaya said was within the bounds of propriety, and there was nothing wrong with it.

If he loses his temper on the spot, it will be said that "the deputy manager of the head office is abusing his power, and the new employee of the branch is arguing his case," and he will only be the one who looks bad.

More importantly, the Osaka branch is Kiryu Yaya's home turf.

He's not the branch manager of the Osaka branch yet, so if any bad rumors start circulating here...

This crucial moment, at which he was promoted to branch manager, had a significant impact.

So Takeo Ushio swallowed his anger.

Then he chuckled.

"it is good."

"Kiryu-kun, you truly live up to your reputation."

"Then please go to the General Affairs Department and call the Logistics Section Chief over. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

He stood at the door of the storage room with his hands in his pockets, tilting his head slightly to look at Kiryu Yaya, as if waiting for an answer he couldn't refuse.

After all, calling someone doesn't involve a dispatch order or procedural boundaries—

It was just a job of "passing on a message".

If you refuse even this kind of thing, then it's not about arguing on reason, but about deliberately causing trouble.

But Kiryu Yaya narrowed his eyes slightly, understanding what Ushio Takeo meant.

If the request to move the seating chart is refused, then try a different approach: make him a messenger.

If Kiryu Yaya refuses even this, it will give Ushio Takeo a reason to lash out.

But if he agrees, then his "please follow the procedure" demeanor from just now will vanish.

Upon hearing Ushio Takeo's request, Kiryu Yaya stood still, motionless.

Upon seeing this, Takeo Ushio's face immediately darkened with anger: "What, Kiryu-kun, you won't even do this?"

Kiryu Yaya smiled and shook his head: "Deputy Chief Ushio, calling the head of the logistics section over is no problem, of course."

"But I'd like to confirm something—"

—

"The deputy chief asked me to call the logistics section chief. Does he expect me to go to the general affairs department in person to invite him, or is it sufficient to just notify him by phone?"

Ushio Takeo's eyebrows twitched slightly, a hint of wariness in his voice: "Is there a difference?"

"Of course."

Kiryu Yaya turned slightly to the side and gestured for him to enter: "If I go to the General Affairs Department in person, I'll have to go down from the fifth floor to the third floor, walk through a corridor, knock on the door of the General Affairs Department office to explain the situation, and then walk back to the fifth floor with the Logistics Section Chief."

"This round trip will take at least seven or eight minutes."

"If the elevator is occupied, or the head of logistics is not in the classroom, then this time may be longer, possibly up to half an hour."

"It is now 10:15 a.m., the final preparation stage for the bidding meeting. Minister Kouyu may come to the fifth floor at any time to check the venue setup."

"If the seating charts aren't set up by then—"

He paused slightly, his tone still respectful: "6"

If word gets out about this, it might cause unnecessary criticism of the deputy minister's efficiency.

Takeo Ushio's lips twitched slightly.

Kiryu Yaya didn't give him a chance to interrupt and continued, "But if I just use the internal phone at the end of the corridor to notify the General Affairs Department and ask the Logistics Section Chief to come up immediately, then maybe they can arrive in two or three minutes."

"The verification and placement of the seating cards will not take up any time."

He bowed slightly, his tone so sincere it was almost impeccable: "So, what does the Deputy Minister hope I will do?"

The air was silent for two seconds.

Ushio Takeo stared at Kiryu Yaya, his gaze turning colder than before.

He could, of course, understand what Kiryu Yaya was saying.

This is using efficiency and processes to diminish his last bit of desire to boss people around.

If he insists that Kiryu Yaya make the trip himself, it would make it seem like he doesn't care about the time cost or the progress of the venue preparation, and is simply making things difficult for the sake of making things difficult.

More importantly, if Kiryu Yaya said that and Ushio Takeo insisted that he go and call the logistics section chief, then he was given a legitimate opportunity to slack off.

Kiryu Yaya will definitely take this opportunity to dawdle, and may even drag it out for 20 or 30 minutes before calling up the head of the logistics department.

It was already eleven o'clock.

At this point, Minister Kouyu might actually come to the conference room to check on the progress.

At that time, if he didn't even put his name tag in the correct place, he would really incur the displeasure of his direct supervisor.

Between the two, Takeo Ushio could clearly distinguish between the light and the heavy.

But if all that's done is to have Kiryu Yaya make a phone call, then it loses its purpose of using him.

Either way, he lost.

Ushio Takeo stared at Kiryu Yaya for several seconds, his jaw tightening as if he was trying his best to suppress the anger that had risen to his throat.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"Okay, very good."

After saying that, he didn't give Kiryu Yaya any reply, but instead walked towards the intercom at the end of the corridor.

He picked up the receiver and pressed the extension number for the general affairs department.

Ushio Takeo had previously worked as a section chief at the Osaka branch, so he was naturally familiar with this process.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Hello, General Affairs Department."

"I am Takeo Ushio, Deputy Head of the Financing Review Department at the Tokyo Headquarters. The seating chart for the VIP meeting room on the fifth floor needs to be verified. Please have the Logistics Section Chief come up now. Yes, now. The sooner the better."

His tone was businesslike, devoid of any extra emotion, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of command.

The person on the other end of the phone responded and then hung up.

Ushio Takeo put the receiver back on the landline, turned around, walked to Kiryu Yaya who was standing at the door of the storage room, and snorted loudly.

That expression seemed to be saying something.

It's just a phone call, why would I need you to do it?

However, Takeo Ushio's meaning is quite clear.

Kiryuu Yaya, you don't want to do it, do you? Then you might as well not do anything at all.

He stopped trying to order Kiryu around and instead simply excluded him from the entire preparation process, leaving him standing there doing nothing, like an outsider being left out in the cold.

In the Japanese workplace, this has a specific name: "soft exile".

For most working professionals, this situation is unbearable.

Especially for newcomers who crave recognition and recognition, being left out is even more painful than being scolded.

Being scolded at least shows that the other person still cares about you, while being softly banished means you don't even have the right to be scolded.

Takeo Ushio clearly understood this principle well.

He stopped trying to order Kiryu around and stopped arguing with him about procedures and dispatch orders, and simply excluded him from the entire preparation process.

Don't you want to follow the rules?

Okay, then you can stand to the side as per the rules.

They won't give you any work, so you'll experience the feeling of being abandoned on your own.

This tactic is indeed more insidious than a direct confrontation.

If it were a typical newcomer, they would probably stand in the hallway feeling lost and helpless, unsure whether to stay or leave, filled with anxiety and unease.

But Kiryu is different.

He is essentially a student of Dongda University, and a student of Dongda University who is deeply influenced by the post-2000s "lying flat" culture.

Want to marginalize him?

Thank you so much!

And so, Kiryu Yaya leisurely continued until 11:30 a.m., when the bidding setup was finished.

Compared to Sasaki and Arima, who were already exhausted, he actually only did two things all morning.

One person wiped a table, and the other carried teacups and a tray.

It wasn't until Ushio Takeo announced the end of the setup and Kiryu Yaya left nonchalantly that Ushio Takeo gritted his teeth in resentment:

How can this brat be so shameless?

After coming down from the conference room on the fifth floor.

Kiryu Yaya arrived at the cafeteria and had lunch with the exhausted Sasaki and Arima, also packing a lunch for Chihaya Yuri.

Yayoi Mizuna sat down next to Kiryu Yaya and opened the lunchbox he had carefully prepared for him.

Inside were salmon rice, grilled eel, tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), and several pickles, arranged more elegantly than usual.

Just then, Kenta Sasaki looked at the food that Yaya Kiryu had packed and asked, "Kiryu-kun, why did you pack another meal?"

Kiryu Yaya picked up a piece of eel, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it: "It's for Section Chief Chihaya. She sprained her ankle and took the day off to rest at home. I brought her some on my way home at noon."

Kenta Sasaki said "Oh," drawing out the last syllable, then lowered his head and shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, as if digesting the information.

Then, belatedly, he realized, "What? Section Chief Chihaya sprained her ankle? Is it serious?"

"It's a ligament sprain, not too serious, but I can't walk for the next two days. I don't know if I'll be able to come to work tomorrow."

"Is it convenient for her to eat and do things when she's home alone?"

Yayoi Mizuna asked softly, her tone filled with genuine concern, "If there's anything I can help you with, senpai, you can let me know. If I'm not too busy this afternoon, I can help deliver something over."

Kiryu Yaya waved his hand: "No need, no need, I'll go over again this evening. It's not far from the bank, so it'll be quick."

Mizuna Yayoi nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

This time, surprisingly, Kenta Sasaki didn't cause any more trouble.

He only ate a couple of bites of rice before, as if finally remembering something important, he looked up at Kiryu Yaya: "By the way, about the bidding meeting setup this morning—Deputy Director Ushio is being way too nice to you, isn't he?"

"We didn't even ask you to do anything, Arima and I are exhausted!"

It's clear that Sasaki has pretty good physical strength.

Arima merely raised his head; he was too exhausted to speak.

Kiryu Yaya smiled and picked up another piece of eel, putting it into his mouth.

Looking at his nonchalant demeanor, Kenta Sasaki couldn't help but ask, "Speaking of which, Vice Minister Ushio asked you to move the seating charts this morning. Did you move them? I think I saw you standing at the storage room door when I went out to deliver some documents, but you didn't go in."

"We didn't move."

Kiryu Yaya said casually, "I explained the process to him and said I needed to transfer the dispatch order. He went and called the head of the logistics department himself."

Kenta Sasaki blinked twice, as if processing the meaning of those words, then slowly sat up straight: "Wait—you refused? You directly refused the deputy head of the bank's arrangement?"

"I did not refuse."

Kiryu Yaya corrected him, saying, "I'm just following the rules. The placement of the seating cards needs to be verified and confirmed by the head of the general affairs department. I haven't received a dispatch order or written authorization. If I act rashly and something goes wrong, who will be responsible?"

Kenta Sasaki opened his mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again: "—He didn't get angry?"

"If he gets angry, it will be said that the deputy head of the bank is abusing his power."

Kiryu Yaya placed the eel bones he had finished eating on the edge of the plate, wiped his fingers with a tissue, then picked up the takeout food from the table and said, "I'm going out now, I'll be back at two o'clock this afternoon."

Watching him leave, Yayoi Mizuna looked at the lunchbox she had carefully prepared and silently lowered her head.

Linchuan Residence.

That is, the apartment where Chihaya Yuri lives.

Kiryu Yaya pressed the intercom downstairs.

After quite a while, Chihaya Yuri's voice finally came through the walkie-talkie: "Feed?"

"I am Kiryu, your senior."

"Please come in."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie, followed by the sound of the door lock popping open.

Kiryu Yaya pushed open the door, went up to the fourth floor, and then took out the spare key from last night from his pocket.

After opening the door, he walked into the entryway and said, "Senior, I brought you lunch."

As soon as Kiryu Yaya entered, he saw Chihaya Yuri leaning against the back of the living room sofa, standing on one leg, with her other hand reaching for a water glass on the coffee table.

It seems she wanted to make him tea.

"Senior, you—don't move, I'll do it myself."

Kiryu Yaya quickly placed the packed food on the entryway cabinet, then strode into the living room, took the water glass from her hand, and said, "Senpai, have you forgotten that you still have an injury on your foot? There's no need to be so formal at a time like this."

Chihaya Yuri shook her head slightly, hopped on one foot to the side of the coffee table, reached for a remote control, turned to Kiryu Yaya and raised her chin, with a "see?" expression on her face.

"I am still very free to move around, so don't worry."

Kiryu Yaya stood there, still holding her teacup in his hand, his expression somewhere between helplessness and wanting to laugh.

"Senior, please be careful."

"I applied ice again this morning, and the swelling has gone down a bit."

Chihaya Yuri glanced down at her ankle, then jumped back, wanting to show Kiryu Yaya: "Really, look—ah."

However, perhaps she was a little too eager, and her steps were a bit too big. As a result, she lost her balance and fell forward.

Fortunately, Kiryu Yaya reacted quickly. He put his teacup on the coffee table, took a step forward, and scooped his arm around her waist to steady her.

But Chihaya Yuri lunged too hard, and the momentum caused Kiryu Yaya to stumble backward half a step, his back hitting the side of the sofa back with a dull thud.

The two people were stuck on the sofa armrest in an extremely awkward position.

Chihaya Yuri's upper body was almost lying on his chest, one knee was on the sofa cushion, and her other injured foot was dangling in mid-air. The ice pack had somehow slipped to the floor.

Kiryu Yaya's right hand was still around her waist, his left hand was on the back of the sofa for balance, and he glanced down at the situation in front of his chest, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

It's truly spectacular.

"----senior."

Kiryu Yaya spoke up helplessly.

Chihaya Yuri knew she was in a really bad situation. Her cheeks flushed red, and she turned her face away, closed her eyes, and said, "You—you can laugh if you want."

Kiryu Yaya looked at the stunningly beautiful Chihaya in his arms and said sincerely, "How could I laugh at you, senpai?"

"The spirit of never giving up in the face of difficulties that my seniors have always been the thing I respect the most."

Chihaya Yuri secretly opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping across his face as if to confirm how much of his words were true and how much were just a joke.

"real?"

Kiryu Yaya's expression was very proper, his eyes were clear, and he tried his best to suppress the smile on his lips.

"Really, absolutely and certainly."

She stared at him for two seconds before relaxing her expression: "That's good—"

Only then did Kiryu Yaya finally manage to suppress his laughter and chuckle softly: "While I'm absolutely certain, I must say, you were quite funny just now, senpai."

Chihaya Yuri's face instantly turned red, and then she threw a cushion at him: "Kiryu-kun! If you laugh again, don't even think about coming into my house again."

99

"Senior, the key is with me."

Chihaya Yuri choked and glared at him.

"Give it back to me."

"That won't do. Let's wait until your foot is healed before we talk about it."

97

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