Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

But how could my proud father say that? It would be shameful!

"Dad, please don't slap yourself in the face here, okay? It's so embarrassing, it'll affect our business..."

"Did I embarrass you?" Shiraishi Ichiro's eyes widened instantly. He abruptly shook off his arm and ran out as if fleeing, grabbing a box of assorted bento boxes and tucking it under his arm. He roared, "Then I'm leaving!"

"You haven't paid for your bento yet..."

"Go ahead and call the police!" Shiraishi Ichiro shouted without turning his head, his old face flushed red. "Tell them I'm a robber who stole a pack of cigarettes and a box of assorted bento boxes. Let the police shoot me dead! Shoot me in the head, one shot isn't enough, two shots, eighteen holes."

Shiraishi Hitomi pursed her lips, took out her meager little wallet, pulled out a few coins, and paid the bill.

She was extremely worried about her elderly father.

Hideaki was also in a hurry to catch a taxi to the hospital. He ran to the checkout counter, ignoring Shiraishi Hitomi's stiff little movements, and rushed out of the supermarket's glass door, calling out, "Mr. Shiraishi, wait a moment!"

As Shiraishi Ichiro opened the driver's side door of the taxi, he heard a familiar voice calling out.

A chill ran through me. Could this greasy, womanizing bastard who preys on kind girls be here to ask for money for cigarettes and lunch?

He pretended not to hear and immediately got into a taxi, intending to escape.

But as soon as the car started, Xiuming rushed to the side of the car and grabbed the handle of the passenger door.

He quickly locked the car door and said with a dark face, "What are you trying to do?"

She suspected her daughter had paid for the cigarettes, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that she was out of money, since she had been getting all her meals from the supermarket for the past few days... Her daughter had only been working there for a few days, so she probably hadn't received her salary yet.

Is this little brat trying to warn me?

Don't I have any pride?!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiuming leaped out of the passenger door, which had the window open, and slipped inside like an eel.

"What can you do by hailing a taxi?" Hideaki said irritably. "Is that the look on your face that a service worker should have? Going to Kato Hospital won't cost you much."

Where did that fierce momentum from when you snatched the cigarette go? You even locked the car door, luckily I'm quick enough.

Could he be thinking I'm asking him for money?

Mr. Shiraishi still has the handprint from the slap he made on his left cheek.

He's really ruthless; it seems he's wasted a lot of money at the golf club.

"So what if you're rich?" Shiraishi Ichiro didn't say it aloud, but just muttered it to himself, secretly relieved.

However, Xiuming's attitude annoyed him, especially since his daughter had become obsessed and shamelessly moved into his house.

This is really embarrassing... I always feel like I'm a head shorter than him... I hope he doesn't know about this yet!

I hope my daughter will keep this a secret. If she dares to tell, I will disown her. It would be shameful!

Ichiro Shiraishi didn't want to talk to Hideaki, so he just snorted and secretly doubled the counter.

My daughter is ruined. He deceived my daughter's feelings, and I deceived him out of money... Next time his wife takes a taxi, I'll say he ran away without paying the fare and ask for more money...

It was already noon. Not long after Hideaki left in a taxi, the office workers at the Tokyo Financial Center across from the supermarket also poured out of the revolving glass doors to find something to eat.

The supermarket staff also arranged the various pre-made meal boxes in an orderly manner, placing them in the most prominent positions.

The empty cash register was also used by Hikaru Hoshino as a cashier.

Then, the more than 40 employees who were receiving training on the 28th floor also rushed to the supermarket to help.

While other branches are in the final stages of renovation, Ezaki's cargo ship is still at sea and will not open for another three days. Although there are many employees in the store, they are generally well-organized and each performs their duties.

Misako's training abilities are evident to all.

With so many employees, only Misako and Chieko, who were considered junior executives, were able to relax.

As soon as Chieko returned to the supermarket, she had Ai Iijima take over Shiraishi Hitomi's cashier position. Then, she pulled her aside and quietly asked, "Where is Hideaki-kun? Where is the woman he brought? Who is she? Is her name Midori Umezu or Yoshiko Funakawa? What's her personality like?"

Misako, with a cold expression like a playing card, listened with her eyes slanted and ears perked up.

Hitomi Shiraishi answered truthfully. When talking about Yoshiko Funakawa's personality and temperament, she hesitated slightly and whispered, "Ms. Funakawa stole President Riko's ring the first time she met her and shook hands with her... and even threatened me..."

Although Xiuming said not to talk nonsense, she believed this wasn't nonsense, but the truth, and Xiuming certainly wouldn't mind, after all, it was for the sake of unity, and besides, there shouldn't be any secrets between sisters...

"She's gone too far! How could she treat President Riko like that? It's so rude!" Chieko's delicate oval face showed a hint of anger. Now that she was the store manager and was in charge of more than forty employees undergoing training, her mindset had naturally changed somewhat, and she had even developed a bit of an imposing presence. She then asked, "How did Hideaki-kun handle it?"

"They said they wanted to teach her a lesson...and then I don't know what happened..."

Although Shiraishi Hitomi was very curious about how Hideaki would teach her a lesson, she didn't go over because she needed to stand at the cashier. Riko and Funakawa Yoshiko hadn't come out yet; they should be in their dorms.

"Come on, come on, come on, let's go take a look," Chieko said, pulling Shiraishi Hitomi towards the dormitory area. "If she bullies President Riko, we'll bully her together..."

"Great, great!" Shiraishi Hitomi's eyes lit up with excitement, and she nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

She was already upset when Funakawa Yoshiko threatened her before, but with the store manager backing her up, what was there to worry about?

Chieko's confidence stemmed from these sisters, and her motivation came from protecting Riko. Even if Hideaki-kun found out, he would definitely not blame her, and might even reward her.

Misako raised an eyebrow, then frowned, but remained silent.

She didn't like this behavior, which resembled workplace bullying, and felt that Chieko was showing signs of forming cliques. But if she argued with her, would she be ostracized?

I'll just be a bystander for now... I wonder when Hideaki-kun will finally keep his promise to hold a wedding. I really want to go home and proudly show my parents... I really want to get back the money I gave as wedding gifts... I really want to pay off the 3000 million yen loan I owe the bank as soon as possible...

In the dormitory.

After Hideaki coldly left, Funakawa Yoshiko's crying subsided; it had all been an act for Hideaki's benefit.

Although she was indeed a little angry, she also knew what kind of scoundrel Xiuming was.

But his gentleness is truly intoxicating; I can't live without him, I simply can't live without him. I'm such a selfish person.

Especially when I had a high fever and felt terrible, like I was in hell, when I was most desperate and helpless, it was he who braved the heavy rain in the middle of the night to buy medicine and saved me. He was like a light, a knight.

He also gives massages and rubs the lower abdomen to relieve menstrual cramps. Every time I think about it, my heart trembles and itches.

Besides, we've already signed a marriage contract, and the lawyer took it away. How can I give it up so easily? I'm legally married now.

Peeking through her fingers, she caught a glimpse of Riko touching the ring, her face contorted with worry and on the verge of tears, and she felt a secret thrill.

She's so naive. Could I use this opportunity to get her to divorce Xiuming?

“Don’t cry. If you like it, you can have it,” Riko said, her voice trembling with grievance. She took off the ring, then tilted her head and said with a hint of sullenness, “I’ll ask my husband to give me an even better one… better than this one… Anyway, as long as I ask my husband, he will definitely give it to me. But if you say it, he definitely won’t give it to you. You can only steal it.”

She looked so pitiful crying like that... but I just didn't want to give it to her. If she knew shame, she definitely wouldn't want it.

“I don’t want what you don’t want either.” Funakawa Yoshiko suddenly sat up.

She had intended to take the ring, but when she saw Riko's fierce yet pitiful expression, she suddenly became furious and felt her obsessive-compulsive disorder was about to flare up.

Seeing Riko on the verge of tears made her feel suffocated, as if a heavy stone was pressing on her throat, making it hard to breathe.

"I only did it because you were crying so hard... Hmph! I never wanted to give it to you in the first place." Riko said, putting the ring back on her finger, puffing out her cheeks and tilting her head, "Aren't you uncomfortable wearing wet clothes? You've even soaked Hitomi-chan's bed..."

Riko didn't want to continue the conversation about rings with her, worried that Funakawa Yoshiko might suddenly change her mind.

While changing the subject, I also wanted to remind her to change into dry clothes and not to sit on the wet bed, since her stomach was still hurting... However, my impression of her was really not good. Even if I cared about Ayako, whom I dislike, this was the best I could do. I'd let her figure it out herself.

“I like wearing wet clothes,” Funakawa Yoshiko said, getting out of bed and putting on her shoes. She crept closer to where Riko was standing and continued, “Since you’re so generous in giving me a ring, why don’t you give Hideaki to me? I signed a marriage contract with him. He signed it without even thinking about it. He definitely wasn’t thinking about you back then.”

Her focus was clearly not on what would happen next; all she could think about was Riko's expression, which looked like she was about to cry.

It hurts so much... I can only breathe when she cries.

Riko didn't speak, but her eyes widened slightly.

Riko remembered.

Yesterday, someone from a charity foundation contacted her and brought various high-end gifts, saying that if Hideaki asked her for a divorce, she should never agree, and she must also prevent Hideaki from marrying Funakawa Yoshiko. They also offered to provide a private investigator to find something on him and control him... As for the reason, she didn't know, and they wouldn't say.

She was terrified when she thought Hideaki was going to divorce her, and she even cried. But after Chieko relayed Hideaki's words, she stopped worrying about it; it was all just a rumor! And she firmly believed that as long as she kept listening to her husband, she would never be abandoned.

As for what Funakawa Yoshiko is saying now, it may be true, but I don't care. After all, my husband is a womanizer and a scumbag. What wouldn't he do?

Of course, Riko still harbored some resentment towards this woman who so blatantly stole other women's husbands. How could there be such a shameless woman in the world?

When Riko enters into a thought-provoking exchange.

Funakawa Yoshiko was also in agony, staring intently at Riko's face, even holding her breath.

I really want to slap Riko on the head. Just one slap, not even a big one... Even just a light poke on her head with my finger would make her cry, I swear!

But there's no reason to take action! After all, Xiuming is too biased towards her.

All I could do was scream in my heart: Cry, cry, cry it out, I'm about to burst, please, just cry it out... consider it doing a good deed...

"Hmph! Say whatever you want," Riko tossed her head, tilting her fair chin slightly. "We can't be best friends anymore. You're even more annoying than Ayako. I'm not playing with you."

Having one Ayako was bad enough, but now there's another one who loves to steal.

She was very nice to talk to, and I even wanted to be her best friend.

Compared to Chieko, Misako, Hitomi, Eri, Tachibana, and Ezaki, she's far inferior. She's never satisfied and is very disappointing.

However, my husband's philandering nature is incorrigible. He's so handsome, has such a great physique, so much energy, and he can talk a good game. Any girl would fall for him, right?

Riko was truly at a loss and could only pray that Hideaki wouldn't get involved with too many women.

Because the more people there are, the harder it is to communicate. What if I accidentally make a mistake and get disliked...?

When Riko thought about this, she felt a little wronged. She couldn't cry; she was already the president of a large company with many employees, so she had to be strong.

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore! I'm going to hit you!"

With a loud scream, Funakawa Yoshiko stood up abruptly, her head slamming against the upper bunk bed with a loud thud. Although it was a wooden bunk bed, the impact was quite severe. Seemingly shaken by the impact, she plopped back down onto the bed, staring blankly at Riko as if stunned by the impact.

"What are you doing?" Riko was startled by the sudden shout and took a small step back. Her already watery eyes quickly filled with moisture, and tears were about to fall, but she wouldn't. "Does your head hurt?"

Funakawa Yoshiko looked like a suffocating fish, her eyes wide open and her lips parted as she gasped for breath.

Just then, Chieko suddenly pushed open the door behind Riko, startling Riko. When she turned around, a tear fell from her eye.

"Ah~ I'm finally alive... Why didn't that eye fall out? It hurts even more..."

Funakawa Yoshiko's sigh, clutching her chest, was drowned out by Chieko's angry shout, "Hitomi-chan, she's taken over President Riko's job! Let's all beat her up!"

Chapter 175 Still has big, wavy blonde hair...

No matter how much the economy deflates or how much consumption declines, it won't affect the hospital's business.

There were so many customers here, and it was lunchtime. The small restaurants near the hospital were all packed with people, including a few in hospital gowns.

The hospital cafeteria is very expensive.