Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

“It wasn’t pretty to begin with,” Xiuming said after washing the lotus root slices. He then took the celery that Lizi had washed and continued chopping it. “After all, I’m still a child. I just say what I feel! Do you know what it means for children to speak without thinking? Getting angry with a child like me is so childish.”

"You, you, you're so shameless!" Misako trembled with anger, glancing at Hideaki's buttocks, wanting to kick it there.

“You were chatting with Chieko for so long, you must have seen the lingerie she was wearing!” Hideaki said, taking the box containing the abalone and handing it to Misako. “That’s what you call lingerie, so sexy.”

"Is she wearing it?" Misako blurted out, instinctively taking the box containing the abalone and unpacking it while trying to recall what she had seen. At first glance, she assumed it was braless and didn't dare to look any further.

What kind of underwear can achieve that effect? ​​It's even more vulgar than not wearing anything at all...

“Take a close look when we eat later,” Xiuming said, having chopped the celery. He helped her unpack the abalone box, then washed it in a basin of water. “You should get one too later.”

Misako had no time to think about Chieko's underwear issue and couldn't help bump Hideaki with her shoulder.

"You, you get out...you get out," Misako said, her face flushed, as she pushed Hideaki out of the kitchen. "Don't come into the kitchen, you're so annoying!"

Riko and Chieko were eating sunflower seeds on the living room sofa.

The television was still playing the news, and on the small table in the middle was a plate of melon seeds, and another plate contained shelled melon seeds.

“I’ve found a cook who can cook,” Hideaki said, squeezing between Riko and Chieko. He put his left arm around Riko’s soft shoulder, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the plate with his right hand, draped his right arm over Chieko’s shoulder, and then tilted his head back to stuff the seeds into his mouth, chewing them heartily. “Let’s see if she can cook well. If she can, then let her do the cooking!”

"Oh." Riko nodded blankly, looking like she thought, "I feel like this is too much of a bullying to her, but I don't know how to say it."

After Hideaki put his arm around her shoulder, Chieko couldn't hear what he was saying.

Her oval face flushed red, and she leaned against Xiuming's right armpit, her eyelashes fluttering as she glanced at Riko before quickly looking toward the kitchen.

A silent scream echoed in my heart: Is this the treatment I deserve? I can't be so ostentatious; I'll lose myself, and if others see it, they'll be jealous...

"Um... I, I need to go to the restroom..."

Chieko hurriedly pulled away from Hideaki's arm and rushed into the bathroom.

Hideaki had no interest in studying Chieko's emotional journey, her anxiety and panic. He gently patted Riko's shoulder with his left hand, and she obediently leaned into Hideaki's arms, squinting her eyes and rubbing her flushed face against Hideaki's stomach.

Xiuming took her soft right hand and took out the gift he had bought for Riko earlier, a pair of rings, intending to replace them for her. However, on her delicate ring finger, there was only a faint ring mark; the ring was gone.

Xiuming was taken aback and asked, "Where's your ring?"

After all, the ring you take off can be sold for money, or given to a woman you like to provide her with some emotional value and make her happy.

"Huh?" Riko turned her hands over, her mouth slightly open, her bright eyes filled with confusion: "Where's my ring?"

"I'm asking you, so hurry up and think of something," Xiuming said, his anger rising. "When I'm out and about, it's only natural for me to take off my ring and hide it so that no one knows. After all, being single has many advantages when socializing with women. I always think about you and put you first, but what about you? Are you socializing too?"

Xiuming had long forgotten where he threw his old ring; it should be in Ayako's villa. It didn't matter anyway, since women couldn't wear men's rings anyway. The important thing was that it was a women's ring.

The key is to keep the pair I just bought, since I paid for them myself!

"No, no... I can't remember... Oh! I remember now, I remember!" Riko hurriedly unbuttoned her collar, took out the ring hanging around her neck, and held it in her hands like a treasure. "Here it is, here it is, honey, I don't socialize, I've always... um, you're the first..."

As Riko finished speaking, her voice grew softer and softer, and she couldn't help but lower her head.

Even though we've been married for a long time, it still makes me a little shy to say it so directly.

Why put it here?

As Xiuming spoke, he untied the necklace around her neck, then pulled open her collar to peek inside. The pendant was still there. Now that he knew what to give as a gift next time, he would replace the pendant with this one.

“I’m worried that Tachibana-chan will find out…” Riko whispered, “She, she doesn’t know we’re married.”

"Why worry about her? Whether she knows or not, you're number one. If she's not happy with you, I'll dump her. By the way, has she calmed down yet? Has she offered any apology?"

Since she and Tachibana have been in a "cooling-off period" after their breakup, and she hasn't done anything extreme, she must have been rational during this "cooling-off period."

"I've calmed down, but... I'm saying I'll continue this cold war with you. After all, not many people can be as resilient as me..." Riko's left index finger touched her right index finger, her long eyelashes trembling. She glanced at Hideaki, then quickly lowered them again, and whispered, "Could you please not kick her... Tachibana-chan is really nice... She, she's my best friend... I want to be best friends with her... She even treated me to a fancy eel bento box..."

"Riko-chan is so cute. Honey, I'll listen to you. She can't get away. We have to make her come back and apologize."

"Huh?" Riko felt this was very abnormal, like she was a pervert... Hideaki was like a villain. She couldn't help but cover her face and made a last-ditch effort, whispering, "Could you... please don't bully Tachibana-chan... She's very kind... and she even agreed to let me call you 'husband'..."

"Do you need her permission? Did you two really have a good chat?"

Is that so domineering? Riko is too easy to talk to; I can't let other women ride on her head. I have to lift her up high.

“She doesn’t know we’re married,” Riko said, her head down, her face scrunched up, looking like she wanted to laugh but was trying hard to hold it back. “Right now, our relationship is… well, she’s my husband’s girlfriend, and I… I have a crush on him…”

"Alright, as long as you two have a good chat," Hideaki said, losing interest in probing further. He tossed the ring he'd taken from Riko's neck onto the low table and added, "I don't need that ring anymore, I've lost mine anyway."

"Huh?" Riko froze, panic flashing in her eyes. "But...this is our wedding..."

"What are you panicking about?" Xiuming opened the red box he had bought to hold the ring. Inside was a ring wrapped with layers of pure gold thread, with a ruby ​​as the golden stamen. "That ring wasn't a gift from me. Wear this one, it's gold, specially made for you. Look at this little flower, it has not only your name but also mine. Isn't it romantic?"

Xiuming put the ring on her ring finger, which fit perfectly, since he already knew her little hand very well, and so did the others.

"Thank you, honey... I love it so much..." Riko's eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed, and she suddenly leaned over, pounced on Hideaki's face and kissed him, then quickly jumped off the sofa and ran barefoot into the bedroom.

Just as Misako said, no matter what gift she gave Riko, Riko was overjoyed.

Although when I bought it, I felt that this flashy, nouveau riche color didn't quite match Riko's style, there was nothing I could do about it. Gold is the most expensive commodity! If I ever go bankrupt, I can sell gold for a lot of money.

“Honey, I also have a gift for you,” Riko said as she walked out with her hands behind her back. “It was picked out for you by Tachibana-chan, and I paid for it.”

Chapter 141 The Company's Future Welfare Housing System

Hideaki accepted the high-end watch worth tens of millions of yen, showing "great" surprise and satisfaction.

I was planning to buy a high-end watch, but I got busy and forgot. And here it is, delivered!

To show his love for the watch, he pulled Riko into his arms and kissed her pink neck.

Riko's face was flushed with embarrassment. She lay limp in Hideaki's arms, her eyes tightly closed, her head tilted back and trembling.

"So embarrassing... Ah~ Honey... What should I do... They'll see... I'm so shy..."

Although Xiuming's affectionate gestures pleased her, the thought of being caught in the act made her dizzy.

She clearly couldn't say anything to refuse; she could only keep expressing her inner emotions.

Fortunately, Xiuming only left a bit of drool near her collarbone, and then calmly and slowly straightened her clothes without changing his expression.

"Riko's skin is getting softer and softer, just like tofu."

Riko's head was still spinning. She subconsciously thanked Hideaki for not doing anything inappropriate in the living room. Her legs went weak as she pulled away from Hideaki's embrace, backing away with her head down, and whispered, "I...I'm going to the bathroom..."

Riko lowered her head and took small steps toward the restroom, brushing past Chieko who was also walking with her head down.

As if they had a telepathic connection, their eyes met, then simultaneously looked away.

Chieko wore a beige coat over her white pajamas and sat on the single sofa next to her instead of the double sofa where Hideaki was sitting.

She lowered her head, her oval face flushed, picked up some melon seeds from the low table and put them in her mouth, cracked open the shells, and put the kernels into another plate.

"Did you bite these open with your mouth?" Xiuming asked.

"Hmm..." Chieko's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"You've really worked hard," Xiuming said, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffing them into his mouth. He pointed to his mouth and chewed as he said, "Want to sit over here and try what the sunflower seeds you peeled taste like?"

Chieko pursed her cherry lips, licked the corner of her lips, and glanced at the kitchen.

Because the kitchen door was open, the sounds of cooking could be heard coming from inside.

“No, I can’t help myself… I’ll wait until she’s not around…” Chieko said, tightening her beige coat and buttoning it up.

Although Hideaki's straightforwardness was rather greasy, in Chieko's eyes it carried a sense of approval and unparalleled affection.

Chewing it up and feeding it to someone is an honor...it will make people jealous...like that guy in the kitchen...

She knew that Misako's work ability was ten or even a hundred times better than her own.

Once the company grows bigger and stronger, her position will quickly rise to a level that I could never reach even if I studied hard, since work experience is a hard weakness that I can never overcome.

Therefore, in future interactions with her, you must carefully follow Riko's lead and, under no circumstances, attract her attention.

“If it’s not okay, then it’s not okay,” Xiuming said, grabbing another handful of sunflower seeds and popping them into his mouth. “It’s not cold in the room, why are you wearing a coat?”

I love this kind of alluring, subtly revealing look. A slender beauty, yet with all the curves she needs, it's a feast for the eyes.

"I'm not very familiar with Ms. Misako, so I'm a little reserved..." Chieko was embarrassed to continue talking about it and quickly changed the subject. Like a thief, she leaned close to Hideaki and asked in a low voice with wide eyes, "Why was she crying just now?"

“How would I know why she was crying…” Xiuming also lowered his body and leaned his head over.

Riko happened to come out of the restroom, and with her big, curious eyes, she leaned in, and the three of them started talking, heads touching.

Hideaki put his arm around Riko's shoulder, his eyes widening as well, and then whispered, "Maybe it's because she felt ashamed seeing how virtuous and considerate Riko-chan is to me. After all, people with depression are so emotionally sensitive."

Hideaki asked casually, not taking the issue of the outer garment seriously. But since Chieko brought up the topic of crying, it was necessary to let her know about Misako's depression.

Putting aside professional skills, Chieko is clearly better than Misako at interpersonal relationships. In their future interactions, Misako's sensitive emotions may lead to unnecessary associations due to Chieko's unintentional actions, which could easily cause psychological harm.

As for Riko, whatever she does is right. If Misako feels uncomfortable because of something Riko does, that's Misako's own problem, and she should adapt to it.

“That’s true. Anyone who sees such a virtuous and lovely Riko-chan would feel ashamed,” Chieko said, seizing the opportunity to flatter Riko. “I especially admire Riko-chan.”

"Oh dear, please don't say that, it's so embarrassing..." Riko blushed at Hideaki's praise, and couldn't help but gently push Chieko's shoulder, then asked in a worried voice, "Then how should we help her?"

Chieko blinked her wide eyes and whispered, "Should we treat her the same way we treated my 'overeating and vomiting syndrome'?"

Xiuming looked at her in surprise and asked, "Are you sure you're not joking?"

Chieko blushed, her eyes darting around as she whispered, "Aren't all depressed people sad? I was happy during my treatment, so she should be happy too, right? After all, she likes Hideaki-kun too."

"Shut up!" Xiuming said irritably, then whispered, "It's not the same thing."

"Chieko-neechan, are you sick too?" Riko looked blankly at her. "I can't tell at all."

"It's cured..." Chieko said, then covered her rosy lips and continued, "I'm so happy."

"Oh?"

Riko was a little curious, and then Chieko leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

Riko's curious expression froze instantly, then her eyes and mouth widened, her face growing increasingly red. Suddenly, she jolted, covered her blushing face, knelt on the floor, and frantically shook her head, saying, "Oh, stop talking, it's so annoying..."

“I think this method works, I highly recommend it,” Chieko’s face was flushed red, a physiological blush unlike Riko’s psychological blush. Although Riko also blushed, she was more resilient. “Wouldn’t Riko-chan be happy too?”

Riko's shoulders trembled, and she covered her face without making a sound.

“Let’s put an end to this topic that’s making me look haggard,” Hideaki said, pulling their heads up to his own so the three of them were touching. He then whispered, “I already have a solution, but people with severe depression often hide it, and I can’t watch over her all the time. After all, I also need to look after you, and you, and Ezaki, Ayako, and Tachibana, right? So you guys need to…”

"Um... where's Eri-chan?" Riko suddenly interrupted.

Hideaki looked at her in surprise, while Riko lowered her head and covered her face, "Honey, I'm sorry... never mind..."

"Okay, okay, okay, let's count her as half for now, anyway, there will be other women added later..."