Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

From the moment she got into the taxi and entered the room, Xiuming seemed to be deliberately making her feel ashamed and embarrassed.

Although the pounding of your heart makes you eagerly anticipate what will happen next, the tension before the next step arrives is unbearable.

There's absolutely no predictability; he does whatever comes to mind, which is really exciting, every step is full of surprises. He has such a great physique…it's so annoying…

Before coming here, I had already said everything that needed to be said.

Since he's already calling himself "husband," let him do it all himself... I don't want to go out anymore, it's too embarrassing, how could I have a nosebleed?

The light blue wallet slid down the wooden floor to Xiuming's feet, a little blood from his nose stained on it.

Xiuming was stunned for a moment, picked up the wallet, wiped the bloodstains with his thumb (the blood was fresh), and didn't have time to open the door again. He took two steps to the back of the bed.

Misako curled up, her back to the outside, like a hamster squeezed in a corner. Her thick head drooped, and only her bright red nape was visible.

Xiuming asked, "Why is there blood on your wallet? Is it a nosebleed or a wrist cut?"

“No wrist-cutting…you, you…” Misako shuddered, then huddled further into the corner, covering her mouth and nose as she uttered muffled, anxious sounds, “Get out of here, get away…you, you succubus…”

"Thank you for the compliment," Xiuming said happily, picking up the tissue box from the bedside table and placing it on her head. "Don't forget to stop the bleeding."

Before leaving, I gently stepped on her bare, pink soles with my toes; her soles were soft and warm.

"Ah~~" came a soft, trembling gasp from behind the bed, "How annoying~~"

It seems she's no longer depressed, just embarrassed and frustrated.

Xiuming walked to the door, drying his hair as he peered through the peephole. He had just caught a glimpse of half a body in a red floral kimono when the door clicked open.

A woman who looked to be under forty years old, with her hair styled in a high bun and wearing light makeup, was a rather dignified wealthy lady. She was also holding a large, long-haired, and very soft white cat in her arms.

At this moment, her eyes were wide open, her pupils slowly moving down from the top of Xiuming's head, pausing for a few seconds on his abdominal or pectoral muscles, then moving down to Xiuming's bare feet, then slowly moving up again, pausing for a few seconds on his abdominal or pectoral muscles, and finally settling on Xiuming's face.

The way Xiuming bent over and looked out gave the impression that he was deliberately getting close to her face.

The woman quickly lowered her head, her lightly made-up face turning red rapidly. The soft sound of her wooden clogs on the cement floor was heard as she took two steps back, tilting her head to glance at the door number, seemingly to confirm that she hadn't opened the wrong door.

A hesitant, soft voice asked, "Excuse me, who are you...?"

"Never mind who I am," Hideaki immediately retorted, his face hardening, "Ms. Takagi, how dare you open my door without my permission?"

I'm right, I'll reduce her rent by half...

"I just rang the doorbell. I made an appointment with Ms. Misako at eight o'clock, and it's eight-fifteen now!"

Takagi switched the large cat to her left hand, then gently shook her right hand, revealing a priceless Cartier women's watch gleaming on her fair wrist. "Now can you tell me who you are?"

“Oh, you can call me Hideaki Yamanaka,” Hideaki said without batting an eye, “I’m her husband.”

Takagi looked surprised and said, "Doesn't she not even have a boyfriend?"

"What?!" Xiuming feigned anger. "She's clearly married with a husband, and our child is already in elementary school, yet she tells everyone she's single. What is she doing? When she gets back, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. How awful!"

Takagi blinked, seemingly realizing she had misspoke. She covered her mouth with her right hand and said in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Perhaps I remembered wrong? Mr. Yamanaka, please don't worry about it, I must have remembered wrong... Isn't Ms. Misako home?"

As she spoke, she kept tilting her head to peek into the room.

The layout of the room was laid out at a glance, and Misako had already taken a tissue and hid under the bed.

“She went to work,” Xiuming said, still fuming, as he opened his wallet. “Does she owe you several months’ rent?”

“Ah… I need to see the lease agreement,” Takagi said, glancing at the Chanel handbag slung over her left arm. Her eyes darted around as she asked, “May I come in? After all, I need to check the place before taking possession.”

While she was speaking, her eyes never left Xiuming, making Xiuming feel like she was being taken advantage of.

"Excuse me, let me go and put on my clothes before you come in..."

"No! No, no... It's not necessary to go through all that trouble," Takagi pressed down on the door. "I'll be leaving in a bit, very soon."

“Then come in!” Hideaki glanced at the double bed. Misako was hiding under the bed, with only one hand showing. He continued, “Ms. Takagi, please don’t keep looking at me. I get shy too.”

Takagi stepped into the room, took off her wooden clogs, paused, looked up and burst out laughing, her cheeks flushed. Her gaze didn't waver as she said, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it! I've only ever seen a figure like yours on TV, this is the first time I've seen it up close... Are you a fitness instructor?"

She was even more straightforward than Xiuming had imagined, and Xiuming happened to enjoy chatting with straightforward people. So, let her watch if she wanted! After all, she was pleasant to talk to, and it would be nice to have her say a few more words.

“I never work out. I work as a loader in a factory.” Xiuming glanced around the room; there wasn’t a chair, so he gestured to the mattress. “Please sit down!”

According to Misako's information, her fabricated husband was a factory worker.

"Thank you," Takagi placed the large white cat on the floor, sat on the corner of the mattress, put her handbag on her lap, and asked without opening it to take out the rental contract, "Which factory does Mr. Hideaki work at?"

"Sutita Doll Dream Factory." Hideaki made it up on the spot. There was nowhere else to sit, so he sat on the corner of another bed next to him and continued, "My boss is Sugita Naoto, you know?"

Ms. Takagi kept changing the subject and wouldn't take out the contract. I guess she has something on her mind... Did she see right through me and realize that I'm a promiscuous person?

Unfortunately, there was one hiding under the bed; she suffers from depression, and her ability to cope remains to be seen.

"Oh, I know him. He's from Ota Ward, right?" Takagi's eyes flickered slightly, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm good friends with your boss, Ayako Sugita!"

"Really?" Hideaki immediately became interested and continued, "Then from now on, I'll have to ask Miss Takagi to put in a good word for me with the proprietress."

"Then how will you repay me?"

As she spoke, she crossed her left leg over her right, and the hem of her red floral kimono slid open, revealing most of her left leg.

Hideaki's gaze sharpened, and he pointed at her legs, saying, "Ms. Takagi, you've exposed yourself."

Takagi's smiling face froze slightly, and she blinked in surprise, saying, "Oh, really? But compared to Mr. Hideaki, it's nothing, isn't it?"

Xiuming only wore a bath towel around his waist.

Hideaki spoke with great solemnity, almost righteous indignation, “Ms. Takagi, I am a married man. I already have Misako. I cannot betray my marriage. I love my wife very much.”

Misako, hiding under the bed, felt her heart pounding, but upon closer inspection, something seemed amiss.

He was actually referring to Riko, but he included himself as a mere accessory. What's most annoying is that I'm secretly moved, even excited… What am I excited about? I'm going crazy…

"Miss Misako is truly enviable, having such a handsome and loving husband... I really don't understand why she says she's single..."

Takagi shook his head and sighed. After speaking, he seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, so he pretended to cover his mouth and stared straight at Hideaki.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this with her!” Hideaki said sternly, taking out the rental agreement written by Misako from the bedside table. “Ms. Takagi, please compare the contracts! It’s getting late.”

"What a blockhead..." Takagi muttered to himself, taking out the contract and handing it to Hideaki. He then casually asked, "You look so young, only in your twenties, right? Misako is thirty-six, a difference of ten..."

“Mrs. Takagi, this has nothing to do with you! You, you're two years older than me, you're a married woman, your son is already in middle school, how could you… hook… hook… talk to me like this… talk to my… my family like this…”

Misako suddenly crawled out from under the bed.

Her face was not good, her expression was as blank as a poker card, and she revealed all of Mrs. Takagi's secrets.

He grabbed the wallet from Hideaki's hand, took out 30,000 yen, and threw it at Takagi. "It's all paid off! You can check the house yourself!"

Then he picked up a cardboard box, placed it on top of the suitcase, dragged it towards the door, and said back, "Take that box out too, I...we're leaving..."

Takagi stood frozen on the bed, his eyes wide open, scanning Hideaki and Misako's faces repeatedly.

Xiuming was still wearing a bath towel, so he couldn't just carry the cardboard box out. He shouted, "When did you get home? You were hiding under the bed! Were you spying on me?"

"I..." Misako's face was already flushed red, and she stammered, "I, if I don't keep an eye on you, you, you'll sleep with her... You, you really are a womanizer... You, you saw her legs... I, I'm not talking to you anymore, you, do whatever you want!"

Misako was provoked by Takagi's comments about her age, and it sounded like the woman was trying to seduce Hideaki.

He's always been a womanizer, and a real scumbag. He's not afraid of being seduced at all. No matter how high-sounding his words are, once he's in bed with you, he'll turn his back on you. Eri is a prime example of that.

Although I was somewhat prepared, I was hiding under the bed. What if we actually ended up rolling around together? How embarrassing would that be?

We have to get out.

After stammering through her words, Misako ignored what Hideaki was going to say and dragged her suitcase and a cardboard box toward the stairs.

Let him do whatever he wants in there! I just can't be under the bed...

"Ah... um... has she been hiding under the bed the whole time?"

Takagi snapped out of her daze, quickly picking up her large cat. Her lightly made-up face flushed crimson. She'd finally managed to sneak off a little something, and now she'd been caught... How embarrassing...

"Ms. Takagi, I'm so sorry, I don't have time to answer you," Hideaki said as he ran into the bathroom, threw off his towel, and got dressed.

After all, Misako suffers from depression. It's okay to provoke her, but she must not be out of my sight.

Hideaki didn't close the bathroom door. Takagi, carrying the big cat, walked to the bathroom door, poked his head out, covered his eyes with his left hand, and peeking out with his wide-open eyes through his fingers. He said, "Mr. Hideaki, I... I'm divorced... Can I have your phone number?"

"Go ask Ayako for it!"

Xiuming hurriedly put on his pants and shoes, grabbed the remaining cardboard box, and ran while turning back to say, "Your legs are beautiful. See you again sometime... Next time, let me pet your cat..."

Before Takagi could react, he quickly ran towards the stairs.

A series of "bang" sounds echoed in the hallway. Misako, as if venting her anger, dragged her suitcase down the steps without caring whether it could withstand the strain.

When Xiuming caught up with her, she had just run out of the building entrance and was still running towards the outside of the community, panting heavily.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiuming put the suitcase on her shoulder, pressing her down. "Are you jealous?"

"I..." Misako jolted, suddenly realizing that this wasn't the emotion she should be feeling. Even if someone was jealous, it should be Riko who was jealous... "No, no..."

"Really not?" Xiuming put down the box and walked around to face her.

Her face was flushed, her head was down, and her eyes were darting around.

Xiuming gently lifted her chin with the pad of his index finger and then slowly lifted it up.

"Ah..." Misako bit her lower lip tightly, hot breath coming out of her nostrils, and then closed her eyes again, "Please, please don't do this, I...I...I..."

Misako's heart was pounding, she felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. Before she could finish speaking, she dropped her suitcase and wrapped her arms around Hideaki's waist. "I...I can't stand up...I don't know what's wrong...I might really be jealous...Can...please...don't do this..."

"How about calling me 'husband'?" Xiuming put his hand on her shoulder and made her face him.

"..."

Chapter 137 Need Help?

Misako felt a tightness in her chest, unable to look Hideaki in the eye. She pressed her head against her chest and whispered, "It's all in the past... It was just... it was all an act..."

She seemed to have all her strength drained away. Her head hung low, her hands fell limply to her sides, and her body was almost entirely supported by Xiuming's hands gripping her shoulders.

Her legs also felt like noodles, completely powerless.

Xiuming took her arm and led her to the flower bed on the right, where he helped her sit down, and then sat down next to her.

She kept her head down, and after sitting down, she rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands behind her head, like a child lost and helpless.

She started to suffer from internal conflict and depression.

For people with depression, it's a mental illness.