Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"President Riko," Chieko handed the jewelry box to Riko, then said, "Tachibana-chan doesn't seem to like it..."

Chieko realized from Tachibana's reaction that she definitely liked the item, and that Riko should express her friendliness while also finding a reason that Tachibana couldn't refuse.

Riko blankly accepted the jewelry box, staring blankly with her head down, looking very sad and upset.

"No, no, no, I love it," Tachibana waved her hand, then covered her mouth with her hand, her voice trembling with tears, "but it's so precious, I, how can I..."

If it were Xiuming who gave it to her, she would not only accept it without hesitation, but would also cheer and give him a big kiss, then drag him to register their marriage, and then they could live happily ever after.

But Riko giving it as a gift... even if it's a close friend, you shouldn't give such an expensive gift... it puts too much pressure on the person...

“This is a token of President Riko’s goodwill,” Chieko said, grabbing Tachibana’s wrist and pulling her in front of Riko. “Don’t you want to be friends with President Riko?”

“It…it’s too valuable…” Tachibana’s hands were trembling. Her captivating eyes glanced at the jewelry, then quickly closed again. “I can’t accept it…I really can’t accept it…”

Riko suddenly bent over at a ninety-degree angle and held the jewelry box in both hands, saying in a tearful voice, "Tachibana-chan, if you really like it, please... please accept it! I... I want to be your friend, please."

Tachibana was at a loss. Riko appeared very sincere, pitiful, and cautious, almost pleading, making it impossible for Tachibana to refuse.

“Aren’t you Mr. Hideaki’s girlfriend?” Chieko said. “If you think it’s too expensive, you can have Mr. Hideaki buy a similar gift and then give it to Riko-chan. You can exchange them.”

“But…” Tachibana still hesitated.

After all, we were in the "cooling-off period" after breaking up, so how could I bring it up? Especially since I was asking him to buy me a gift, since he always seemed indifferent to me.

"Tachibana-chan, don't you want to be friends with me?" Riko cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Riko-chan, please don't do this..." Tachibana felt her heart breaking. She frantically took the jewelry box, hugged Riko's shoulders, and cried, "Don't cry, don't cry... I love it so much... 100 million yen worth of jewelry... How can I ever repay you..."

You couldn't earn this much money working your whole life; it's worth more than the life of a living person, like my worthless life...

"Tachibana-chan, don't mind her," Chieko chuckled. "Compared to friendship, our President Riko wouldn't care about money."

"what?"

It was only then that Tachibana noticed how Chieko addressed Riko.

Then, Chieko began to introduce President Riko's net worth, for example: this supermarket belongs to her, she just bought both shops on both sides, and registered a company, and will open branches all over the world in the future... In order to help Riko hide her identity as "Mrs. Yamanaka", she also added a wealthy heiress background to Riko without her consent... In short: she is not short of money, she is short of good friends.

Riko's face turned bright red with embarrassment, and she kept rubbing her fingers. She wanted to say, "My husband gave them to me, it has nothing to do with me," but she didn't dare to say it, afraid of revealing her identity and embarrassing Tachibana, and in the end, they wouldn't even be able to remain friends.

Her mind was in a mess. She desperately wanted to get along with Tachibana, but she didn't know how. She just subconsciously followed Chieko's lead.

But she could also foresee that Tachibana would be heartbroken if she found out the truth. However, she couldn't think of a better way, so she could only hold on for as long as she could. If she couldn't hold on any longer, she would ask her husband for help.

"Riko-chan is amazing..."

After hearing Chieko's explanation, Tachibana was stunned for a moment, but the pressure she had felt from accepting the expensive gift eased somewhat.

No wonder she's so generous; this is probably just the world of the rich!

However, the thought of Xiuming's question made her even more conflicted.

Riko likes Hideaki, right? But I'm already Hideaki's girlfriend, and I don't want to give up. But Riko is just too good to me. I just lied to her. I'm so despicable...

"Riko-chan, do you...do you also like Hideaki-kun?"

Tachibana finally couldn't help but ask, because no matter how much she imagined or guessed, it couldn't compare to a direct question.

"I..." Riko's shoulders trembled. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with panic. Her face, which had been flushed with embarrassment, instantly lost all color, turning as pale as a sheet of paper. "I...I..."

Riko couldn't bring herself to say something against her conscience.

"Okay! I knew it," Tachibana was somewhat prepared, and after confirming it precisely, a chill ran down her spine. However, Riko's terrified expression made her heart clench. Holding Riko's cold, trembling hand, she continued, "It's okay, isn't it a personal choice who you like? Don't be afraid, I'll still consider you a good friend..." As long as you don't try to take her from me...

Tachibana didn't say her last sentence, not just because she was afraid to, but also because she felt guilty for lying about the gift Hideaki had specially bought for Riko, claiming it was from Riko. And then there was the expensive gift Riko had just given her; she didn't know how to repay it…

Tachibana suddenly regretted asking such a brainless question.

She was already Xiuming's girlfriend, so asking such a direct question to a shy and timid girl was just deliberately embarrassing her.

I'm so awful... I'm so sorry, Riko-chan, I deserve to die...

"Oh dear! It's already five o'clock," Chieko quickly interjected, noticing the somewhat heavy atmosphere. "Should we go eat?"

“Oh right, I did say I'd treat Riko-chan to a big meal,” Tachibana quickly seized the opportunity, grabbing Riko's hand and continuing, “I've already made a reservation at the restaurant, let's go…”

The restaurant that Tachibana booked was in Ginza, Chuo-ku, the same Ginza Kyubey Sushi restaurant where she had the fancy eel bento with Hideaki last time.

The reason she chose this restaurant was not because its premium eel bento box was particularly delicious, since she didn't taste anything special at the time.

It's not because she's eaten at this one upscale restaurant, but because she's familiar with it. If she goes to another upscale restaurant and isn't familiar with the procedures, she's likely to make a fool of herself and be embarrassed.

There are about seven or eight kilometers between Shinjuku and Ginza, and you can take the Marunouchi Line subway directly there. Considering that it was rush hour, Tachibana gritted her teeth and decided to take a taxi.

The three of them got into the taxi together. Chieko took the first seat in the front passenger seat so that Riko and Tachibana could get closer.

She was the most clear-headed and astute observer that Tachibana wanted to ease the tension with Riko.

But Tachibana seemed very conflicted, always seeming to swallow her words back before they could be spoken.

Riko's condition was simply appalling. A perfectly legitimate "wife" was so terrified by a third party that she was completely at a loss.

Chieko wanted to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere in the car, but Tachibana's hesitant and conflicted look made her give up the idea. She thought it was fine to let her struggle like this and not interrupt her train of thought. Maybe she was having an internal struggle about whether to share her boyfriend or to take the initiative to withdraw.

The driver couldn't take it anymore and turned on the car radio...

We arrived at the restaurant entrance in twenty minutes.

Tachibana didn't say anything in the car, but the guilt on her face was almost impossible to hide.

"Riko-chan, come in quickly..." Tachibana forced a smile and helped Riko open the glass door of the restaurant.

"Thank you..." Riko quickly bowed and walked into the restaurant with a cautious demeanor.

Tachibana's smile froze, and she looked even more guilty.

"Tachibana-chan, are you alright?" Chieko walked in the middle, taking each of their hands in hers. Both hands were equally cold, almost as cold as when they first met.

"It's alright..." Tachibana handed the three reservation vouchers to the waiter; it was still for private room number 1314.

She couldn't help but sneak a peek at the jewelry gift Riko had given her in the taxi, after all, she really loved jewelry.

Then, he accurately discovered that the necklace was engraved with the abbreviation of his own name.

She was extremely interested in jewelry. Every day before going to work, she would pass by a jewelry store, stand in front of the glass display window that seemed to separate two worlds, and carefully observe the jewelry to encourage herself and motivate herself to work hard.

She was naturally familiar with Van Cleef & Arpels; aside from custom orders, they rarely engraved special letters on their necklaces.

Riko-chan must have prepared this especially for me... Tachibana almost broke down and nearly shouted: I'm sorry, I'm quitting, Hideaki is yours!

"Would you like to have some wine?"

Tachibana wanted to drink. She was alone, and the pressure at work was too much. She often suffered from insomnia, but she didn't want to take sleeping pills, so she habitually drank a glass of alcohol before bed. One glass was enough to make her slightly tipsy, which was perfect for sleeping.

I'm under a lot of pressure right now, so I'll get drunk, go home, and sleep it off, forgetting all my guilt towards Riko-chan. Tomorrow we'll still be good friends.

"Then let's have some fruit!" Chieko chimed in.

Anyway, it's not far from home, and it's only 5:30 now. I can finish eating in about an hour. The rush hour is still going on after 6:00, and the streets are full of people, so I don't have to worry about encountering any danger. Besides, I don't drink alcohol.

She doesn't drink alcohol, but she's decided to pretend to drink it secretly.

The main purpose was to encourage Riko to be brave.

"Hmm..." Riko nodded cautiously and obediently.

She doesn't drink alcohol, but Tachibana seems to really want to.

She must be angry because I gave the same answer as her earlier.

Although she said she didn't care that I liked my husband and that we would be friends, she wasn't happy at all.

If my husband finds out I made her angry, will he hate me?

Three rather substantial, premium eel bento boxes were brought out.

Then, Tachibana ordered three more bottles of wine.

The waitress opened the lunchboxes one by one, and the three of them began to eat.

Neither Tachibana nor Riko spoke.

"Wow, Tachibana-chan, how did you find such a delicious restaurant?"

Chieko took a bite, and exclaimed, "Delicious! I've never had this before! It must be very expensive!" At this point, it was time to ease the tension.

“I ate here with Hideaki-kun last time, he brought me here…” Tachibana responded subconsciously.

Riko suddenly pouted, as if she was about to cry, and lowered her head so that no one could see her expression.

Ugh! I'm so stupid... I knew Riko-chan liked that guy too, and I still provoked her like that... I'm sorry, Riko-chan, I didn't mean to.

"Oh, really... that's so... so wonderful..." Chieko noticed Riko's change in mood, gave an awkward laugh, and hurriedly picked up her glass. "Come on, come on, cheers, cheers, to the friendship between Tachibana-chan and Riko-chan! Drink it all, drink it all."

Both Tachibana and Riko were preoccupied with their own thoughts. At Chieko's invitation, they each picked up their full wine glasses and actually tilted their heads back to drink them.

As they drank, their faces flushed at the same time, and their eyes became equally hazy.

They have absolutely no tolerance for alcohol; they get dizzy as soon as they drink and can't drink anymore... Now is just the right time, when they're at their most daring.

Chieko quickly poured the wine into the trash can, then took the bottle away. Turning around, she saw the waitress staring at her, so she abruptly turned her head back, pretending not to see her.

"Come on, come on, come on, eat this fish! It's such a delicious treat, and it's a gift from Tachibana-chan, so don't waste it!"

Chieko quickly served fish to both of them.

Within minutes, the two began to sway.

“Riko-chan, I’m sorry…” Tachibana suddenly grabbed Riko’s hand, her face full of guilt. “The clothes I brought you were specially bought for you by Hideaki…”

Riko blinked her hazy eyes and said, "Really...?"

The surprise in her eyes seemed impossible to hide.

“Really…” Tachibana lowered her head and shook her head. “You’ve been so good to me, I don’t want to lie to you. He also said he likes you… I don’t know if I should be sad…”

"Did he...did he say that?"

Riko's slightly flushed face stiffened, and a forced smile appeared on her face. "Then, what can we do? Since he said that... I, I can't do anything about it..."

Riko's clear mind recalled all her experiences with Hideaki. Hideaki seemed to have never said this to her before, and suddenly hearing it from someone else made her so happy... I really didn't want to laugh, I'm sorry Tachibana-chan, I couldn't help it...

"Are you... are you laughing?" Tachibana's eyes widened.

"Could it be, could it be that I, should I cry?" Riko tried to look like she was about to cry, but she still laughed.

"How could you do this? Are you trying to steal my boyfriend?"