Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

The primary issue is to find the root cause of her depression, which is often referred to as "mental medicine".

On the surface, her depression seems to stem from debt, being single, and being older, but at a deeper level, or even in her subconscious that she herself is unaware of, it is actually due to her strong-willed personality.

Many psychologists, when treating a patient with mental illness, need to have a comprehensive understanding of their personality, interests, and especially their past experiences...

Misako's escape from the fate of being a "housewife" like her mother and sister was also only superficial.

She despised women who "hook up with rich men," "married for money," "dine out," or "make money while lying down," consistently demonstrating an "independent" and "autonomous" personality, and putting it into practice. However, after struggling for 36 years, she still hadn't achieved anything, was alone, and was burdened with a mountain of debt.

The most terrifying thing is that the women she despises, at least in her eyes, are all living better and happier lives than her.

Her core values ​​are crumbling, her life feels meaningless, and she sees no hope.

She was almost crushed by this social environment and rules.

Faced with Xiuming's shameless and straightforward behavior, she was indeed moved. Physically, seeing his fit physique made her nose bleed... Psychologically, the thought of him calling her "husband" made her heart race.

But once she accepted it, the dependent relationship made her feel fear in her subconscious.

Her mind told her that she really wanted it, and that it would definitely be a happy thing, so why did she feel inexplicably depressed? Confused? Fearful?

Many people who fall into depression are the result of years of accumulated problems, and it is difficult for them to clearly find the root cause of their depression, which makes them mentally and physically exhausted.

Showing gentleness and understanding is only a temporary solution; it will only cause her depression to sink deeper and become more severe when it finally erupts.

Hideaki is incapable of being gentle. He can show some understanding, but as for gentleness... even someone as cute as Riko gets yelled at by Hideaki until she's dizzy, let alone Misako.

Misako's current state is like that of a pathogen emitting negative energy; if it were Riko, she would probably be crying already.

But Hideaki has no desire to experience empathy and is clearly not affected by it.

Now that we understand her personality, we've found the root of the problem—it's exactly the kind of personality that Xiuming wants.

She belongs to the type of "independent" and "autonomous" woman who "can hold up half the sky," a true feminist who advocates absolute gender equality.

She would be more responsible than most women in society and would not cause Xiuming any trouble. In fact, when asked for help, she might even show her "big girl" side, grab a handful of money and throw it in Xiuming's face, saying, "You're such a worry, take it and spend it!"

Just thinking about it is exciting.

Of course, in this situation, how should I put it, "ambitions higher than the sky but fate thinner than paper" is not quite appropriate. She has talent and ability, but what she lacks is a stage.

As for grabbing her in your hands, what are you grabbing?

We're all friends, let's have fun together!

Aside from Riko, Hideaki never considered keeping anyone else by his side.

If you want to follow, then follow; if you don't want to, you can marry an honest man. You can even pay the wedding gift as her ex-boyfriend, bring Riko to the wedding, and offer your blessings.

He's a bit of a jerk, but everyone does it, so he can't be an isolated case.

"Stop playing the victim, hurry up and call me husband," Xiuming grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulled her head to his chest, and put his arm on her shoulder, saying, "It's getting late, we're in a hurry to go home for dinner!"

Misako's newly formed feelings of depression were disrupted by Hideaki. Her face, through her thin clothes, pressed against Hideaki's pectoral muscles. The distinct, resilient touch brought back the image of Hideaki posing in a towel, making her heart race. A surge of heat rose in her nose, and a wave of shame and anger washed over her. She struggled to break free, crying out, "Let me go... I, I'm bleeding again..."

She's getting a bit hot-tempered.

"You'd rather bleed than call me husband, is that it?" Xiuming said, hooking her foot over the cardboard box and taking out the tissues inside.

Misako didn't respond; her face was already flushed red. She kept tilting her head back, her eyes filled with tears, glancing sideways at the tissue box as she reached for a tissue.

Xiuming, holding a box of tissues, flashed by and asked, "Need any help?"

"Give me…"

"So you don't need help?" Xiuming threw the tissue box back into the cardboard box. "Go get it yourself! Did you think I'd help you wipe it? Dream on."

After all, she's a strong-willed woman! She won't accept handouts and should be given ample freedom to be independent and self-reliant.

Find an opportunity to act cute and see how she reacts... After all, she's the older sister... Xiuming secretly pondered the feasibility of this approach.

Misako opened her eyes, seemingly in disbelief. She didn't say anything, but took the tissue box out of the cardboard box, then sat down three steps away from Hideaki with her back to him, wiping her nosebleed while tilting her head back.

Hideaki picked up a small stone, about the size of a fingernail, from his feet and threw it on Misako's back, saying, "Come to my house for dinner."

Riko was given the day off today, and she went out for a meal with Chieko and Tachibana.

Hideaki wasn't interested in what they talked about, but he was quite concerned about what happened to Riko after the dinner.

After all, Riko is so gentle, so obedient, so understanding of her husband, and doesn't even mind if he has other women.

Such a lovely and good wife, as a responsible husband, I would absolutely not allow anyone to bully her.

I'll cook for Riko tonight.

Misako's house has a kitchen, and the cardboard box contained a lot of seasonings, as well as oil, salt, rice, and flour... She obviously knows how to cook, so let her cook.

Misako moved her shoulder but didn't respond.

Xiuming took it as her tacit agreement.

Within minutes, her nosebleed had stopped, but she still tilted her head back and pretended to be nonchalant, glancing at Xiuming's face from time to time.

Xiuming pretended not to see anything, walked to the side of the road and hailed a taxi, then put the suitcase and two cardboard boxes into the trunk of the car, opened the car door and shouted, "Your Majesty, get in!"

As someone who "holds up half the sky," she deserves our utmost respect.

Beside the flower bed, Misako was wondering whether she should sneak off to the tram stop.

She was worried that once she got into the taxi, Xiuming would make her call him "husband" again.

Although I really want to shout a few more times, it's not right to do that. I feel like it's addictive, and it would be troublesome if I couldn't stop.

If President Riko hears this, although she doesn't seem to mind, what about Ayako?

She even threatened to tear hair off anyone who tried to steal her man.

The age difference is too great, and she would be considered the most shameless woman, losing all dignity.

If my colleagues at work find out about this embarrassing thing, how can I ever achieve anything in my career...?

However, after Xiuming shouted "Your Majesty," she was momentarily stunned.

Xiuming waved to her, and the people strolling around all looked over in surprise.

How embarrassing... Misako could no longer pretend to stop her nosebleed. She almost jumped up, covered her eyes with her hands, and ran towards the train station with her head down.

"Your Majesty the Queen! Your Majesty the Queen!"

Hideaki told the taxi driver to wait a moment, and while chasing after Misako, he waved and shouted, "Your Majesty, wait for me! How am I supposed to live without you! Your Majesty..."

Hideaki didn't chase fast, keeping a distance of three steps so that everyone around him would know that he was shouting to Misako.

Misako turned around abruptly, running past Hideaki with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, "Stop shouting, it's so embarrassing..."

Misako rushed to the taxi and was about to open the passenger door when Hideaki grabbed her and said loudly, "Your Majesty, please sit in the back!"

"You're so childish, so childish..." Misako covered her bright red face, quickly slipped through the back door, and still couldn't help but feel embarrassed and annoyed, turning back to say, "You childish brat!"

Hideaki followed and sat down, while Misako instinctively squeezed in a little further.

"Are you looking down on me?" Xiuming raised an eyebrow and said stiffly, "Are you ashamed that I'm embarrassing you?"

She's so embarrassed, she probably doesn't even have the energy to be depressed anymore.

"How could I possibly dislike you?" Misako raised her right hand to cover her flushed face, looking out the car window with embarrassment and anger. "How could I possibly dislike you for embarrassing me? You're the one who embarrassed me, okay..."

I really didn’t mean to dislike him, but I couldn’t help feeling ashamed. Being shouted at like that on the street, people who didn’t know better would think I was some kind of pervert with a small leather whip!

"Call me 'husband' again!" Hideaki grabbed Misako's shoulders and shook her, deliberately using his nose to say it. "I want to hear it, I want to hear it."

Ichiro Shiraishi, who was driving in the front seat, shivered. In the rearview mirror, he grinned and gritted his teeth, his wide eyes filled with disbelief.

"Ah~" Misako gasped as she rubbed her hair. "Please don't talk like that, okay?"

Misako got goosebumps, feeling like he was about to snuggle into her arms and act all cute.

This is nothing like the assertive and domineering person he had previously displayed.

In my heart, I screamed: My persona is ruined! It's ruined!

"Hmph! You really are looking down on me, thinking I'm embarrassing you," Xiuming said, feigning resentment, patting the back of the seat in front of him. "Driver... oh, Mr. Shiraishi, were you following me?"

Ichiro Shiraishi glanced at the rearview mirror, his expression full of disdain, and said, "Hmph."

"Misako-chan~ I'm being followed." Hideaki, looking "worried," squeezed in a little. "Can you give me some reassurance?"

"You...you...don't talk like that! Don't you feel embarrassed? You're the president of Yamanaka! You own a huge game development company!"

Misako was about to lose it. She did know why Shiraishi Ichiro's taxi was always being stopped by Hideaki by such coincidences, after all, his daughter, Shiraishi Hitomi, worked at Riko's supermarket...

She had no time to reveal Shiraishi Hitomi's secret; Hideaki's broken character was driving her crazy, and she was so embarrassed that she was scratching her head.

How can a successful, wealthy, fit, and masculine man act like a little boy? It's so embarrassing if people find out.

"So what if I'm the club president? Does that mean I'm not a human being?"

Hideaki's tone shifted, becoming melancholic and sorrowful. "I'll tell you a secret no one knows. I've been an orphan since I was little, I've never met my parents... I grew up in an orphanage... Because I never received any love, I learned to be strong on my own, but that's all a facade. Actually, deep down I crave love, I dream of having a loving older sister... That landlady, Ms. Takagi, just now, seemed to remind me of that loving older sister..."

“It’s Mrs. Takagi!” Misako immediately interrupted him, rubbing her leg as she said, “She has a husband, and her child is already in middle school, almost as old as you. You, you can’t do this.”

Misako secretly wondered if Hideaki's words were true. Was he just trying to gain sympathy?

I have to admit, even if he was lying about his sorrowful appearance, I really wanted to hug him and comfort him... After all, he's more than ten years older than me, and in my eyes, he's still a little boy...

It wasn't until Hideaki suddenly mentioned Mrs. Takagi that she subconsciously corrected him. Mrs. Takagi was three years older than her, so she had the confidence to stop him.

"Ms. Takagi said she's divorced. I don't care if she has children or not. In my eyes, she's like a caring older sister to me. She even showed me her long, white legs!"

laugh--!

The taxi suddenly braked.

"Hey! Mr. Shiraishi, if you keep doing this, I'm never riding in your car again!" Hideaki slammed his head against the back of the front seat and angrily pounded on the seat back.

"Just around the corner, you'll reach the supermarket entrance. Get off here! I'll give you a 100 yen discount." Ichiro Shiraishi refused to admit his mistake, saying, "The car ran out of gas."

The taxi stopped right at the entrance of Xiuming's community, where he was also getting off.

“You scared me. I’ll give you 200 yen less, or I’ll complain about you.” Hideaki gave him 200 yen less.

"Humph."

Ichiro Shiraishi took the money without counting it. He had already decided that the next time poor Riko took his taxi, he would ask her for the money.

As the taxi drove away, Xiuming dragged her suitcase toward the expensive imported supermarket on the right side of the community gate, saying, "I'll buy some groceries first, then we'll eat at my house."

Misako stood still, head down, rubbing her fingers together, without moving.