Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

In just five minutes, they arrived at the apartment building where Misako rented.

This is a typical pigeonhole-style small rental apartment. It is five stories high, and the narrow corridors on each floor are dark and dim. They are more than 20 meters long. If you shout, a string of motion-activated corridor lights will flash forward. Many doorways are filled with shoe cabinets, garbage bags and other miscellaneous items.

It's already May, but there's still a chilly wind in the stairwell.

Misako lived on the third floor. As soon as she went up to the third floor, she heard a child crying. She didn't know which door it was coming from, and the motion-activated light kept flashing.

Misako's room door is in the middle of the hallway, and there is a pair of men's leather shoes in the shoe cabinet by the door.

"I bought this specifically to show others... No, no man has ever been in my room..."

As soon as Hideaki's gaze fell upon her, Misako hurriedly began to explain, her hand holding the keys trembling, her eyes darting rapidly towards Hideaki's face.

"Why are you so nervous? Even if there are other men, I don't mind, as long as you break up." Xiuming said righteously.

pat!

Misako dropped the key in her hand. She frantically knelt down to pick it up, her hands trembling as she tried to insert the key into the lock, saying, "I...I, I didn't mean anything by it...Please, please don't misunderstand..."

Her trembling hands couldn't find the keyhole, and she was on the verge of tears.

Xiuming stood next to her, arms crossed, slightly bent over, eyes wide, staring at the keyhole on the door, and said, "Let's see how long it takes you to insert the key."

"I, I... I'll be there soon, very soon..."

Misako took almost a minute to calibrate before finally opening the door. With a contorted expression that seemed to wish she could kill herself, she pressed the light switch by the door, head bowed, and said in a trembling voice, as if on the verge of tears, "Please, please come in..."

It's just one room, about twenty square meters.

Once the indoor lights are turned on, the neat and clean layout of the room is like two different worlds compared to the dirty and messy hallway outside.

The entrance hall is narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. To the left, against the wall, is the kitchen, which has only two gas stoves covered by range hoods. Opposite the kitchen is the closed toilet door.

Further inside was a large bed with a sky-blue sheet and a neatly folded blue duvet cover. There were also two pillows with blue pillowcases on the bed.

On one side of the bed is a bedside table with a bunch of antidepressant pill boxes on it, and on the other side is a small square table, which seems to be used for office or study. There is a desk lamp and a stack of books and folders on the small table.

Then there was a glass window with blue curtains drawn, and on the windowsill was a pot of lush jasmine, with small white flowers blooming all over the branches.

"Oh, what a beautiful pot of jasmine flowers," Xiuming took a few deep breaths. "Your room smells so good."

"Thank you..." Misako seemed flustered, then whispered, "I heard that putting jasmine flowers in the bedroom helps with sleep..."

"Am I the first man to enter your room?" Xiuming suddenly asked.

"Yes, yes..." Misako stumbled, almost falling flat on her face. "Please...please, please make yourself at home...the landlord will be here soon..."

"Call me 'husband' and let me hear it," Xiuming said, plopping down on the bed.

"I...I, let me get you a glass of water first..."

Misako stammered, her unsteady steps faltering as she walked around the double bed to the bedside table. She picked up the kettle from the table, then picked up a white porcelain cup with trembling hands, poured half a cup, and then held the cup with both hands as she walked to Hideaki.

Because Xiuming was sitting, she subconsciously knelt down, raised her water glass, lowered her head, and whispered, "Please, please have some water."

"Hmm—" Xiuming stared at her for a while, then leaned back and lay on the bed, his head resting on the blanket, so he could see her face. He said, "I won't drink unless you call me husband."

"I...I..." Misako lowered her head again, her voice trembling with sobs, and whispered, "I...I called before."

"Did you call out?" Xiuming sat up again, leaned forward, and continued to ask, "What did you call out?"

Misako lowered her head again, her raised arm covering her flushed face and ears, and whispered, "Honey... please... please have some water."

"Hey, honey, you're amazing."

Misako flinched, and the water glass she was holding was about to fall. Having learned his lesson from Eri's house last time, Hideaki was already prepared. He grabbed the handle of the glass, tilted his head back, and took a sip to express his relief. "Pfft—!"

Xiuming tilted his head and spat on the floor, then jumped onto the mattress with his water glass, yelling, "Aren't you hot? Are you trying to murder your husband?! Is this a suicide attack?"

It's not hot at all.

Misako stood up in a panic, her head tilted back, her face deathly pale, tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her pale cheeks. She said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I wasn't paying attention, I'm so sorry..."

“You said, ‘Honey, I’m sorry, I was wrong,’” Xiuming sat down again, took another big gulp of water from the glass in front of her, and continued, “Otherwise I wouldn’t forgive you.”

Misako froze, opened her mouth, then her pale face quickly flushed red. She abruptly turned away and whispered, "Please...please don't joke like that...I really will...I, I'll get my clothes ready...Please, please sit down for a while..."

"Don't take these medicines anymore," Xiuming didn't answer her question. He leaned back on the bed, moved to the bedside table, put the water glass on it, and then picked up a box of antidepressants from the bedside table. He continued, "How about I help you get through your depression?"

With so many antidepressants, you could eat them like food. They damage your nerves and cause neurological problems in your brain when you get old.

Misako had just pulled her suitcase out from under the bed when her hand trembled, and her eyes seemed to glaze over again. Staring blankly at the floor, she murmured to herself, "Can...can I really do this?"

"Of course, provided you don't mind that I have Riko, that I'm a womanizer, or that I'm a jerk~~" Xiuming said, craning his neck.

“I…” Misako glanced up at Hideaki, then turned her head away and closed her eyes, her voice filled with a helpless shame as she whispered, “I, I mean, I only survived depression, no, nothing else… I, I’m not a promiscuous woman…”

"Isn't the root of your depression debt and being single? Let's put marriage aside for now. I can accompany you on a passionate romance, which has nothing to do with marriage. It's a new era now; there's even 'paid dating.' Many women do this, making money from dating. What do you think of my suggestion? Pretty great, right?"

Now there's a new term that goes with the idea of ​​"freedom of love": "paid dating".

On some proprietary apps, or in small circles spread by word of mouth, certain money-grubbing women will openly demand exorbitant "dating fees" under the guise of "relationships," without any intention of marriage.

Newcomers who have just started placing orders are inexperienced and ask for 5,000, 8,000, or 10,000 yuan a month. After a few orders, they become more knowledgeable and realize that this is not enough to cover their expenses and that their feelings are too cheap, so they raise their prices by 20,000 to 50,000 yuan. During periods of economic boom, there are many wealthy bosses who can ask for exorbitant prices, ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, or even 500,000 to 600,000 yuan or more per month. These bosses are not short of money and will actually pay up.

That's not possible now. The economy is in a downturn, and the bosses have all gone bankrupt. Most of them are now earning only 2 to 3 yuan a month... And the law can't really touch them, since it's "free love" and "voluntary gift," at most it's just a moral issue.

Of course, making such a suggestion in front of Misako at this moment...

"..." How could you even come up with such a shameless suggestion!

Misako didn't dare to respond and hurriedly stuffed her clothes into her suitcase.

What left her feeling helpless was that she was actually attracted to him... But the age gap was like a thorn stuck in her heart... Because of the age issue, she suffered too much ridicule and was hit hard, becoming extremely sensitive. She even felt terrified when she saw someone who was the same age as her, 36.

Misako didn't have many personal belongings, and she packed them up quite quickly.

A light blue suitcase for clothes, and the rest of the miscellaneous items were packed in two cardboard boxes used for cup noodles.

With five minutes left until the agreed-upon time of eight o'clock with the landlord, Misako, though she had already finished packing, still dared not stop. She knelt on the floor, her back to Hideaki sitting on the bed, fiddling with the suitcase in front of her.

She deliberately put a small mirror in her suitcase so that she could see Xiuming's reflection.

Xiuming crossed his left leg, rested his left arm on his leg, and supported his chin with his left hand, staring at her back.

Misako felt a heat on her back, as if it had been burned by Hideaki's gaze.

“Hey, what’s our child’s name? We can’t let the landlord find out if he asks later,” Xiuming suddenly said.

"No, I never thought about it..."

Although Hideaki didn't seem to notice the small mirror, Misako didn't dare to peek anymore, wishing she could just pack herself into her suitcase.

Ever since Xiuming dragged her into the taxi, her heart rate has never dropped below 120. Her brain is screaming warnings that things can't go on like this, but she's also strangely expectant, even secretly hoping he'll force her to call him "husband" a few more times. After all, she's too embarrassed to say it herself. She's going crazy... She feels like she's going to break down.

"Do you think a boy or a girl is better?" Xiuming seemed to be talking to himself. "Xiuer? Xiuming's son is called Xiuer? Xiuzi? Xiuming's child is called Xiuzi..."

"Please, please stop...please..."

Misako, who was kneeling, collapsed into the suitcase and closed the lid behind her head.

This posture made Xiuming pause for a second. Her legs were pressed tightly together, and she wasn't wearing stockings. The skin on her legs was even whiter and healthier than the skin on her face, which was a little sallow due to hormonal imbalance caused by depression.

The green skirt, which was originally below the knees, only covered half of her thighs because she was kneeling and with her head on the ground. If only a breeze could have come at this moment...

"I'll count to three, and if you're still in that position, I'll lift your skirt. Three."

As Hideaki put his legs down, he walked over to her. Misako quickly sat up, still keeping her head down, covering her flushed face with her hands, and remained silent.

From the side, her face could be described as rosy, and the fine beads of sweat on her skin shone under the light, showing no trace of the sallow undertone caused by hormonal imbalance.

Xiuming then sat cross-legged next to her and moved closer.

"Why are you sweating so much? Do you want to take a shower together? I'll scrub your back for you."

"..."

Misako didn't respond, but inwardly she wailed: I'm going to die... My heart is beating so fast...

Xiuming then asked, "Is there hot water in the bathroom?"

Misako kept her face covered, not daring to look up. "Yes, you...you should go now..."

He was too close; I could even smell his scent. He seemed ready to pounce at any moment. I didn't know whether I should offer a slight resistance or let him do as he pleased...

As the sound of running water came from the bathroom, Misako realized that Hideaki was no longer beside her. Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the floor, lying on her back, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

In her field of vision, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling was blurry, swaying as if it had come to life.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Three consecutive, urgent doorbell rings.

Misako was still lying on the floor, dizzy, and seemed to have lost her hearing, unable to hear anything.

Xiuming is in the bathroom; the landlord must have arrived.

I casually picked up a sky-blue pure cotton bath towel hanging on the wall, wrapped it around my waist, and smelled faint jasmine. It didn't fit well and was a little small, but I could still use it with style.

Then, while drying her hair, she opened the bathroom door.

Misako was lying on the floor.

Xiuming gripped the doorknob and turned around to call out, "Wife, get up quickly, didn't you hear the doorbell?"

Misako turned her head with a dazed look in her eyes, her eyes widening as if she were stunned.

While drying his hair, Xiuming took the opportunity to strike a few fitness poses.

The muscular man, fresh from the shower, displayed clearly defined muscles: pectoral, abdominal, biceps, latissimus dorsi, glutes... water droplets slid down the distinct lines of his muscles...

Xiuming turned around, raised his chin, and asked, "How was it?"

Misako opened and closed her mouth, but no sound came out.

But with her eyes still wide open, as if belatedly realizing something, she stiffly covered her eyes with her hands, slowly turned over, turned her back to Xiuming, curled up, and then crawled to the back of the bed using both hands and feet to hide.

Chapter 136 There's not enough time.

"You...you open the door..." Misako hid behind the bed, then felt a runny nose. She wiped it in front of her eyes, only to find her hand covered in blood... She wanted to bang her head against the floor... She quickly threw her wallet at the door and said, "I, I'm not here..."

Misako was worried that Hideaki would come over again and pull her up to open the door, since he had previously paid her the rent she owed, so she quickly threw her wallet over.

I couldn't help but groan inwardly: Why did you have to pose like that... You're so childish... You're making me feel so childish... I'm so embarrassed... I stared at you for so long...

I'm feeling unbearably hot inside and out right now. My head feels like it's filled with boiling water, and I'm even bleeding from my nose. How am I supposed to get out of here?