Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

After all, no normal wife could tolerate her husband being so... uh... so terrible, right?

I wanted to label Xiuming as a "jerk," but I found that I just couldn't. He was so gentle and considerate that it was hard to bear.

"No, I've found my true self again. I resolutely resist philandering men. I can't... I..."

Umezu Midori suddenly stood up, then sat back down on the sofa.

She sadly realized she couldn't bear to part with him at all, and murmured, "I need to know what Riko is thinking..."

She finally realized that the reason she could have been so comfortable and fearless in her affair with Hideaki was because of Riko's inaction.

Although criticizing Riko in this way feels like being an "ungrateful wretch," after all, if Riko hadn't been so "generous," I wouldn't have had the chance.

But this is very abnormal of her; if we were to use Ayako's assessment, it would be "incompetent."

After all, every time Ayako threatened him to leave Hideaki, he would subconsciously retort with "Riko doesn't mind, who do you think you are?"

If Riko minded, or if Ayako were Hideaki's wife, then even if she didn't separate from Hideaki, she would never be so blatant, since she was already living in his house...

Every employee in the company knows that they hate cheating, philandering men the most. If they were exposed... it would be so dangerous!

So, where did Tachibana-chan go after being mistakenly thought to have resigned from her job to marry Hideaki and become a full-time housewife?

Could it be that Hideaki dumped her?

As Midori Umezu was lost in thought, the door to her second-floor bedroom was opened.

Hideaki, shirtless and wearing only white sweatpants, grabbed the bedroom door and called out, "Midori-chan, fill the bathtub with hot water for me."

His eight-pack abs, pectoral muscles, and the muscle lines on his arms gleamed as if they had been coated with oil.

Umezu Midori's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks, which had just cooled down, began to burn again. She jumped up from the sofa, head down, and walked towards the door, saying, "No, no...you're dressed too revealingly, really..."

"What's wrong with you?" Hideaki looked bewildered, his gaze following Midori Umezu to the entrance hallway, then he asked, "Where are you going?"

"I need to go home, I have to go to work tomorrow," Midori Umezu hurriedly put on her shoes, couldn't help but glance at Hideaki one last time, then suddenly jolted, pushed open the door and ran into the yard, shouting, "I can't be too carefree, or I'll be late... You're so indecent... really..."

Xiuming, too lazy to continue complaining, said loudly, "I'll call you tomorrow morning to discuss stocks. Don't ignore the call, or I'll have someone else manage your portfolio."

"understood!"

Midori Umezu ran out the gate.

"They're all gone, right?" Ayako, her face flushed, peeked half her head out of the doorway, looked around for a moment, then kicked Hideaki in the shin, saying, "It's all your fault for coming up with this terrible idea. I've told you so many times not to come, but you insisted..."

How can I scold them, beat them, and drive them away in the future?

I don't even know how to talk to them tomorrow. What if I get laughed at?

Hideaki is so biased towards Riko, and he won't help me... It's so annoying.

"Go and run me some hot water, I want to take a bath." Xiuming's ears were still hurting, so he ignored her complaints.

"What?" Ayako was stunned. Hideaki seemed to be deliberately changing the subject because he felt he was in the wrong. He immediately put his hands on his hips and said, "It seems you've realized you're a pervert. Don't be so perverted in the future. Do you understand? If you say you understand, I'll go make you some hot water."

"You're such an interesting woman. Are you blaming me?" Xiuming said irritably. "I only remember that my ears hurt a lot. I couldn't hear anything at the time, and my head felt like it was going to split open."

"Ah!?" Ayako blushed and threw herself at Hideaki, grabbing his neck and shaking him back and forth. "Don't tell, don't tell!"

"Hurry up and run me a bath. I need to go home and find Riko after I take a bath."

Xiuming poked her armpit with his finger, and she flinched and let go.

Tomorrow we'll be stocking the shelves, the day after tomorrow we'll be opening, everyone in the supermarket will have to work overtime tonight, and we'll be busy all day tomorrow, and probably even have to work through the night tomorrow... Thinking about it this way, starting a business is really terrifying.

"I'm not going!" Ayako said petulantly, turning her back on him. "That annoying guy, he always brings her up..."

"If it were Riko, she would definitely be very obedient and help me draw the bathwater," Hideaki continued, mentioning Riko.

"It's because you're always so biased that I hate her," Ayako said angrily. "If you're fair, I can tolerate it..."

“She’s my wife, of course I’ll be biased,” Xiuming shrugged and spread his hands. “We’re just playing around, we could break up at any time.”

"You're saying hurtful things again!" Ayako snapped, turning around abruptly and grabbing Hideaki by the neck, shaking him violently as she shouted, "If you dare break up with me, I'll kill myself!"

Xiuming poked her armpits again, but it didn't work. So, he imitated Ayako, holding her neck and shaking her back and forth, saying, "If you threaten me like this again, I'll give it to you!"

"Try splitting them apart!" Ayako screamed, moving her hand that was gripping Hideaki's neck upwards and grabbing his ears, shaking them back and forth more violently.

"Try threatening me again." Hideaki grabbed Ayako's ear and shook it.

Luckily, there was a height difference, so their heads didn't collide.

“Why should I listen to you?” Ayako didn’t let go. “I won’t threaten you.”

"Then hurry up and run me a bath!" Xiuming didn't let go.

"You still want bathwater? I'll shake your brains out."

The two shook their heads at each other in front of the second-floor bedroom door, when the first-floor entryway door opened with a "ding".

Ezaki pushed a black suitcase in.

Hideaki and Ayako, who were arguing on the second floor, simultaneously turned their heads and looked down.

Ayako was dumbfounded.

Ezaki took off her brown trench coat, revealing a black, tight-fitting leather outfit. It was so form-fitting that it was almost wrinkle-free, like a second skin. The sheen of the leather flowed slowly with her movements, revealing the strength in her shoulders and back, and the cinched waistline. It wasn't a soft curve, but a silhouette sculpted by self-discipline and sculpting.

She looked up slightly from the first floor, but Ayako on the second floor felt as if she was being looked down upon by her.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Ezaki's calm eyes narrowed slightly, and a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Ayako jolted and subconsciously looked away, but then couldn't help glancing down again.

Her leather jacket had an overly defined, tight, and upturned silhouette around her waist and hips, leaving no room for looseness.

But in Ayako's perception, it didn't seem to be a curve designed to please anyone, but rather an aggressive presence, as if reminding someone that she had absolute control over her body.

"Mind your own business!" Ayako instinctively let go of Hideaki and ran into the bedroom. After closing the door, she suddenly felt annoyed at her own submissive behavior and cursed, "Wearing such filthy clothes, shameless..."

"We're playing an ear-pinching game," Xiuming said dismissively, then swept her face from toes to the tips of her hair.

"Really? Why did you stop?"

Ezaki's smile widened. She spoke casually, grabbed her trench coat, and turned to walk towards the coat rack. Her steps were steady and rhythmic, and the curve of her buttocks, rising and falling slightly with the shift of her weight, conveyed a clear sense of power.

It wasn't that she deliberately slowed down her movements, nor did she have any extra gestures; it was just quite natural, making people feel that her sexiness wasn't meant to please, but rather existed in a provocative way, calm and confident.

It's hard to believe that the outfit, which should have been super sexy, actually gave off a very dignified vibe, as if it was specially worn for Ayako to see, mocking her for having no dignity.

She went too far... How could she bully Ayako like that? Who knows what other ways she might have up her sleeve to bully Riko.

Hideaki asked, "Yoko-chan, does your fart make a bulge?"

Behind the bedroom door, a burst of laughter erupted from Ayako. The door banged loudly as she pounded on it, her laughter carrying a triumphant and unrestrained air.

As Ezaki finished hanging up his trench coat and turned around, his composed expression froze, and his ears turned red, probably from anger.

She pursed her lips slightly, lowered her eyelids a little, placed her left fingertips on the outside of her left leg, and slowly moved them up along the curve of her body, past the curve of her hips, and placed her hands on the curve of her lower back. Then she raised her eyebrows and said, "Do you want to come down and take a look? I can let you examine me carefully."

She's in a similar situation to Ayako earlier; she's only satisfied when she's in control. Compared to Riko, neither of them is nearly as good.

However, she is quite different from Ayako's straightforward "coquettish" approach. She would first offer some benefits, like coaxing a child.

Xiuming seized the opportunity and said, "Go to the bathroom and run a bath for me first, and I'll do whatever you say."

The bedroom door was flung open by Ayako, who opened her eyes wide and said, "What do you mean by listening to her but not me?"

"What can I do? If one girlfriend doesn't listen, I can only find another one," Xiuming said, spreading his hands. "Didn't I just give you a chance? You didn't listen, so who can you blame?"

“You scumbag, I…” Ayako paused, remembering that she was still angry because Hideaki said he would go to see Riko after taking a shower. She immediately said to Ezaki, who was walking towards the bathroom, “Go and run the bath! He’ll go to see Riko after he takes a shower and won’t even look at you. You’ve been wearing these filthy clothes for nothing.”

"I'm not wearing this for him." Jiang Qi said calmly as he walked into the bathroom.

Ayako pouted and said, "Stubborn."

Xiuming whispered, "It seems she really wasn't dressed up for me. Didn't you feel she was provoking you just now?"

"What do you mean?" Ayako looked completely bewildered, then her eyes widened. "You wore it for me?"

"That's right! Think about what happened to you just now. You were so self-conscious that you ran into your room."

"I……"

Ayako was stunned. That was indeed the case. But the more she looked at Hideaki's deliberately provocative face, the more infuriating it became. It was as if he didn't care about anyone except Riko... Well, that's what he really said.

Ayako wanted to yell, "Then you just watch her bully me!" but she realized she had helped a little earlier, and if she yelled that, he'd probably bring up Riko again...

Taking advantage of Xiuming's momentary lapse in attention, she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to stumble. She slammed the door shut and yelled, "Ugh, so annoying! I'm not afraid of her! I'll make an outfit like that too, and go provoke her..."

"Make sure it's breathable, so it doesn't swell up when you fart..."

Before Hideaki could finish speaking, Ayako burst out laughing from behind the door, saying, "I'm not as stupid as her..."

Chapter 206 See you at the supermarket tomorrow

Ayako opened the door again, her eyes full of expectation, and said, "Did you say those things to her just now to help me?"

“Of course, you’re the cutest in this family right now.” Xiuming said seriously. “Jiang Qi is no good. She’s too scheming and rebellious. She’s always thinking about how to boss me around.”

Ayako smiled, her eyes crinkling, and grabbed Hideaki's arm, saying, "Then you dump her, and no one will tell you what to do. From now on, I'll listen to whatever you say and do the work, okay?"

“That’s not cute. We’re all friends and having a lot of fun. If she’s bossing me around, I can just boss her around instead, right? Look, I told her to run the bathwater, and she obediently did it.”

“You just said that you would listen to her from now on, and that’s why she’s making your bathwater. So if you listen to me from now on, I’ll make your bathwater too.” Ayako clearly knew how to circumvent this.

"You don't actually believe me, do you?" Xiuming asked with a surprised look. "If her farts make a bulge, then my words are like farts."

"How could you do that... You're so shameless," Ayako held back for a while, then couldn't help but burst out laughing. Only someone in their right mind would discuss something like this with him... She continued, "Oh, by the way, I'm going to open a company in the building across from the supermarket, I'll buy the 29th floor, I want to work right above Ezaki and Riko..."

After the embroidery exhibition ended, she was preoccupied with planning to start an embroidery company. Xiuming's business plan was quite good.

Unfortunately, he had to sell the production and sales rights of the "Pokémon" plush toys to Naoto Sugita's plush toy factory.

But it doesn't matter. Anyway, Sugita Naoto, that gay guy, won't have any children. Even if his family's factory grows big, there will be no one to carry it on. When the time comes, his child with Hideaki will take over and eat his blood.

Of course, things are still pretty tough for my embroidery company right now. Even though I managed to squeeze 50 million yen out of Midori Umezu, I have no idea how to spend it. After all, it's always been a small workshop embroidery business. Suddenly having to rent a large office, I don't know where to start...

Hideaki is just the right person to solve Ayako's problem.

His "Future Game Development Co., Ltd.", Riko's "Miyamoto Supermarket Co., Ltd.", and Ezaki's "Ezaki Foreign Trade Co., Ltd." had just finished renovations, and many decorations, sofa sets, and other items in the offices hadn't been purchased yet. It was a good opportunity for Ayako to take over and familiarize herself with the initial business operations. Afterward, they bought the entire building, renovated it, and replaced all the decorations with fabric, enough for Ayako to work on for a year.

Hideaki asked, "In the next few months, Riko and Ezaki will be your valued clients. Have you thought about how to please them?"