Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"Do I even need to ask about such a trivial matter? All the blame is being placed on my head."

Since Riko wants to be best friends with Tachibana, then let's postpone being honest with her for a while. After all, Tachibana is such a pure and innocent girl, so malleable, that it's hard to just throw her away.

Chieko was dumbfounded.

Hideaki's expression turned serious, and he continued, "This privilege belongs only to Riko. You are responsible for your own affairs."

Chieko lowered her head in embarrassment and said, "I still know what's important..."

How can you doubt someone like that? It's so upsetting.

Xiuming had just finished organizing the documents and stepped out of the supermarket's glass door when five young women dressed in brightly colored kimonos walked towards him.

Those in their early twenties to thirties, with their petite figures, curvaceous figures, and exquisite makeup, certainly possess superior beauty.

Some have the figure of Ayako, some have the figure of Riko, and some have the figure of Ezaki...

Five beautiful women walking together on the street brightened up the entire road.

So many people were watching them that everyone dared to look, thinking some film crew was shooting something there, but there were no cameras around.

Xiuming slapped his thigh. Last night, Ezaki said he would arrange for massage students to come to the shop for further training.

Chapter 112 Financial Street

As the five beautiful women in brightly colored kimonos approached, they also saw Hideaki standing at the door.

Aside from his understated yet luxurious attire, what's most captivating is his handsome and youthful face.

The aloofness he exudes makes you want to conquer him and know what he's like when he goes berserk.

President Ezaki said: Whoever wins him over will receive a reward of 50 yen.

The five of them stood in a row at the supermarket entrance, their eyes revealing a mysterious expression.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Xiuming?" the voice asked cautiously, almost inaudibly.

The people there weren't the same as those in the bubble bath shop before; they were all unfamiliar faces.

Where did you find Ezaki?

It's already 11:20 a.m., there's simply no time to teach them massage anymore.

"I'm a bit busy today, so why don't you do some promotions in the store first? I'll ask Ezaki to give you a good review later."

Hideaki walked past the five people without stopping. Riko and Chieko, behind the cashier, were staring blankly at them.

Hideaki then called out to the shop, "Riko-chan, when Eri and the others come back, process their onboarding too..."

Since a personnel department hasn't been established yet, Riko will have to temporarily take over.

Thirty minutes later, Hideaki, carrying a black briefcase, got off the train in Kayabacho, near the "Financial Street" in Chuo Ward, Tokyo.

This place has been Japan's financial center since the Meiji era, and as of now, 91 years later, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is one of the world's largest stock exchanges by market capitalization, and is known as "Japan's Wall Street".

As the main board market, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section brings together Japan's largest and most liquid well-known companies, symbolizing strength and credibility. It also houses as many as 130 foreign companies.

However, it collapsed the following month.

It was May, a time when the collective illusion had not yet shattered, the "final climax" of the bubble economy, and overall social and economic activities were still immersed in the inertia of the bubble, only a hair's breadth away from the tipping point of collapse.

Astute investment institutions have already adopted a wait-and-see approach, and even the most astute individuals are beginning to feel uneasy. However, most ordinary people, lured by money, have chosen to ignore this and have become the frenzied "leeks" (victims of exploitation).

Especially in the first half of the year, the lingering effects of the Japanese government's "market rescue plan" led some indecisive investors to still believe the advice of "experts" that "after a temporary adjustment, the Nikkei index will reach a new high."

The cherry blossoms by the roadside have long since fallen, and the green leaves now provide shade.

The rain from last night has stopped, and the midday sun is quite strong on the face.

Perhaps due to the recent Golden Week holiday, the skin of pedestrians on the street was tanned to varying degrees, and their faces also showed a slight sense of fatigue after the vacation.

Walk across Nihonbashi, which was first built in 1603.

The Nihonbashi River below still smells terrible, with white plastic bags and yellow lunch boxes floating in it, and cigarette butts scattered throughout the black sludge.

A tattered copy of the Nikkei newspaper was stained with mud, but the headlines "Land Price Growth Slows Down" and "Bank Credit Tightens" on the front page were still eye-catching.

The narrow streets of Kabutocho are lined with Showa-style shops and small buildings, with neon signs of various securities firms stacked on top of each other.

The "Kabutoshi Warriors" were exhausted as they hurried about. They were not only under increasing pressure to meet performance targets, but now they were also under pressure to lay off employees.

Many bankers smoking and chatting by the roadside had furrowed brows, uttering words like "leaders of Tibet Province" and "financing," appearing cautious and likely plotting some underhanded dealings.

Xiuming found Sanyo Securities Company by address.

As soon as I reached the door, a security guard in a crisp uniform bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle and then made a call through his earpiece, presumably to deliver a message.

Xiuming was secretly surprised, but after a moment's thought, he realized that they must have specifically checked his information.

This also indirectly proves that one's own "ID photo" has completely covered the ID photo of the "victim" who jumped off the building.

The towering marble-paved hall and dazzling crystal chandeliers still exude an aura of money and luxury.

Although Hideaki deduced from Tachibana's team leader that Sanyo Securities was already facing some difficulties, the atmosphere at the entire exchange seemed to have not yet woken up from its "madness".

A huge electronic display screen on the wall shows red and green numbers frozen at the midday break.

Many stubborn "leeks" (a derogatory term for retail investors) sat on rest chairs for a midday nap, their faces weary, their furrowed brows revealing their barely concealed anxiety.

It was exactly twelve o'clock, and Xiuming also locked in the Nikkei 225 futures index.

[During some time leading up to midnight, the Nikkei 225 futures index is expected to fall to its intraday low of 24560 points.]

[During some time up to midnight, the Nikkei 225 futures index is expected to rise to its intraday high of 25100 points.]

[In the period leading up to midnight, the Bank of Japan's policy board engaged in heated internal debate, with one faction advocating for an immediate interest rate cut to prevent the economy from deteriorating, while the other insisted on seeing more data before making a decision.]

If history follows the same trajectory, the policy committee meetings will last 29 days, and interest rate cuts will not begin until June 1st. But by then, it will be too late; all the problems will be exposed and impossible to contain.

The elevator door on one side of the lobby opened with a "ding".

Tachibana, dressed in a professional suit, jogged over with barely concealed joy.

The black blazer had many wrinkles, the white collared shirt had some stains, and the black trousers had raindrop-shaped mud marks on the legs.

It seems she braved the rain to get home last night, and didn't even have time to do laundry before rushing to work this morning.

A step behind her was a bald, middle-aged man in his thirties, who looked thin and a few centimeters shorter than Tachibana. His yellowish whites were bloodshot, and his eyes were filled with fawning, timidity, and hesitation.

It should be Suzuki, the team leader from Tachibana, whom I spoke to on the phone last time.

"Xiu Mingjun~"

Before she even reached Hideaki, Tachibana suddenly slowed her pace and called out softly.

She moved slowly with her head down, her cheeks flushed as if she had applied blush, and her hands seemed to be fidgeting, sometimes rubbing the hem of her clothes, sometimes twisting them together.

Those two captivating eyes seemed unsure where to look, as if they wanted to look but dared not.

"Tachibana-chan." Hideaki took two steps forward, grabbed her wrist and shook it. "Are you already being distant now that you've just become my girlfriend? Then let's break up."

"Huh?" Tachibana froze, tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide.

"Huh? What do you mean 'huh'?" Hideaki released Tachibana's slender wrist, placed his hand on her shoulder, and gently hugged her to his chest.

Tachibana's face suddenly turned bright red. Her hands, hanging at her sides, crumpled the hem of her clothes. She looked dumbfounded, just lowering her head and remaining motionless.

Suzuki, standing beside him, looked like a lackey, his obsequious smile seemingly professionally trained, meticulous, and slightly bowed, remaining motionless.

“Team Leader Suzuki,” Hideaki released Tachibana, then extended his hand to Suzuki, “thank you for taking care of Tachibana.”

"Mr. Yamanaka, you're too kind," Suzuki bowed sharply at a 90-degree angle, reaching his hands above his head to precisely catch Hideaki's outstretched hand, gripping it tightly. He seemed to be holding two pieces of paper in his hand as well. Then, in a very serious tone, he said, "It is my honor to become Tachibana-chan's team leader!"

Then, maintaining his 90-degree bow and clenched hands, he craned his neck and tilted his head back, saying, "Having learned that Mr. Yamanaka is here to pick up Tachibana-chan, I have already reserved a high-class eel private room in Ginza. Please do not refuse, Mr. Yamanaka!"

"Then I won't be polite?" It seemed he wouldn't let go unless I agreed.

"Please don't be shy!" Suzuki's eyes lit up with joy. He released his grip, bent back at a 90-degree angle, took a step back, and slowly stood up. He clasped his hands in front of him, still leaning slightly forward, like a dutiful butler. "I wish you both a pleasant date!"

"Alright! Before I leave, could you please ask Team Leader Suzuki to do one more super short-term Nikkei 225 futures trade for me on behalf of Tachibana-chan... 50 lots, please..." Hideaki said, handing two high-quality reservation meal cards to Tachibana.

It seems that his large order transactions only triggered risk control alerts at the stock exchange, without attracting the attention of the Ministry of Finance or the Bank of Japan.

His behavior at this moment probably suggests that he thought he was there for a date and didn't want to spoil the fun.

If you were to ask him about any "behind-the-scenes" matters at this point, he probably wouldn't be prepared, since he's just a team leader who needs to report to higher-ups and attend seminars with senior leaders.

Going forward, we will reduce trading frequency and volume with local securities firms to maintain relationships and leverage their networks. For large orders, we will seek out foreign institutions and enter the international trading market.

"It's an honor to serve Mr. Yamanaka! Please feel free to give me your orders!" Suzuki's voice was firm and strong. He opened the elevator door, bowed ninety degrees, and extended his hand, saying, "Please!"

The elevator reached the sixth floor, and the elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a large, open-plan apartment.

It felt like we had entered a bustling farmers' market.

The sounds of telephones ringing, keyboards clattering, fax machines buzzing, and deafening roars filled the air.

Hundreds of traders and salespeople, dressed in white shirts and ties, crowded in front of their computers, each staring at at least three computer screens.

Besides the smell of coffee and paper ink, the air was filled with the scents of premium mints and nutritional supplements, used to mask the fatigue from staying up all night and the bad breath from anxiety.

Although it was lunchtime, every salesperson still needed to make phone calls to find potential clients, promote various financial products, and read the latest economic news to avoid being caught off guard by clients' questions.

The appearance of the three seemed to trigger a subtle reaction; the shouts on the floor stopped for a few seconds and then subsided considerably.

When Tachibana made her first transaction, she was making and receiving phone calls right here. She wasn't good at hiding things either, and the fact that she had a "super VIP client" boyfriend was already spreading like wildfire throughout the company.

Suzuki bowed and scraped as he led Hideaki through the work area and toward the room marked "VIP" by a mahogany door.

The whispers around them reached Hideaki's ears intermittently, especially from some female colleagues who cast envious or even jealous glances at Tachibana or Hideaki.

Tachibana, who was standing next to Hideaki, kept her head down the whole time. A bead of sweat had appeared on her flushed forehead, and her fingers, which were hanging at her sides, were trembling slightly.

Xiuming glanced at her, only to meet her gaze as she quickly looked away.

"What's wrong?" Xiuming asked, putting his arm around the back of her fair neck and pulling her under his arm. "Is there a problem?"

"Ah~~" Tachibana gasped softly, her face flushing bright red. She stammered, her voice trembling with surprise, "So...so many people are watching..."

"It was just a hug, it's nothing."

She's as shy as Riko, it seems like we could really become best friends... In that case, she's such a lovely innocent flower, I can't bear to see her being mistreated.

It's time to seriously consider how to shape her views on love.

Everything will back down and bow down to money, after all, the tide of this era is all about money.