Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"Still trying to please them?" Ayako chuckled as she jumped into the bedroom. "It's good enough that I don't stick needles in their chairs. I'm going to extort them even more."

Ayako went to work on her embroidery business, calling her four female embroiderers...

Xiuming went downstairs and into the bathroom.

The bathroom was steaming hot. Ezaki had already filled the white porcelain bathtub with bathwater, and had even taken off his tight leather clothes before sitting inside.

With her back to the door, she stretched out her fair arms, one of which was bandaged, and leaned against the edge of the bathtub. Her hair was tucked into a headscarf, and only her fair neck, which was slightly flushed, could be seen.

"Why did you take your clothes off? I didn't even get a good look."

Xiuming took down the leather jacket hanging on the wall. It was very elastic, and the inside was damp with sweat, so it was definitely not breathable.

"It's not like I'm wearing it for you to see." Ezaki replied lazily, sitting up and extending half of his fair back over the edge of the bathtub. He continued, "Ezaki-kun, please come and massage my shoulders. I'm a little tired."

She was also thinking about how to get Hideaki Yamanaka to marry into her family and change his name to Hideaki Ezaki.

Hideaki didn't care about titles at all. He hung his pants on the clothes rack, quickly stepped into the bathtub, faced Ezaki, placed his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged them, and asked, "How are things going with Kitaro and his loyal subordinate, Mr. Shigeo?"

"It's alright..." Jiang Qi's breathing hitched slightly, his eyelashes trembled slightly as he closed them, and his head tilted slightly to the right. His left cheek, still wet with water droplets, was flushing rapidly, but his tone was quite calm.

"Will they become cellmates with their father-in-law?" Xiuming asked, trying to make conversation.

"It's unlikely. The organ industry chain involves a complex group of people, and they might... You could move your hand up a bit!"

"Excuse me, your skin is too smooth. The Earth's gravity is just too strong. How could a nobody like me possibly resist it? You should take off your headscarf, and I'll give you a rub on your head..."

“You’re someone who talks like you’re farting. Don’t ask me about things you can do easily,” Ezaki said, his eyes still closed. “It will make me suspect that you’re trying to order me around. You should show me more respect from now on, you son-in-law of the Ezaki family.”

Ezaki overheard Hideaki and Ayako's conversation, but she was magnanimous; a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan...

"Are you out of your mind?" Xiuming removed her headscarf, revealing her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and continued, "Can I respect you while simultaneously doing things without asking?"

Ezaki's eyes twitched, and with a splash, a long leg emerged from the water, placing its foot on Hideaki's chest. He said, "How are you planning to get Ayako to please me in the coming months? If I'm not happy, I won't let her take over the office decorating."

"Whatever, as long as they don't bully Riko, I don't care." Hideaki picked up Ezaki's feet and started pinching the soles of her feet and massaging her calves.

Ezaki has been at sea for the past few days, and after returning, she was assassinated. She hasn't had time to rest, and the bullet wound on her arm hasn't healed yet. She's really having a tough time...

"Your words are like farts..." Jiang Qi frowned, taking a deep breath. "Keep it down..."

"The more it hurts, the better. Just bear with it, and you'll feel even better afterwards," Xiuming said without looking up, though he did lighten his grip considerably.

Jiang Qi's eyebrows relaxed, he slightly squinted his eyes, didn't say anything, and then closed them again.

Xiuming massaged her for a while, then lifted her legs, carried her horizontally, stepped out of the bathtub, and walked towards the massage bed.

I'll give her a full-body massage, and it'll be almost midnight by then. I'll take her upstairs to sleep, gamble on the stock market, and then go back to find Riko.

Jiang Qi suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flickering slightly, and asked, "Did you buy me durian?"

Xiuming looked completely bewildered. Did he even need to ask?

Ezaki tilted his head, his flushed cheeks facing Hideaki, and continued, "It seems you didn't buy me durian. If you don't buy me durian, you won't get my approval, and you can't do bad things to me. To me, durian is more important than a wedding ring. You can propose to me with a durian."

“I don’t like durian. It seems we have different values ​​and can only be friends,” Xiuming said casually as he placed her on the massage bed with her back facing up and pressed on her shoulder blades. “I’m already married, why would I propose?”

"Are you sure you're getting married? Your words are as empty as farts," Ezaki tilted his head and glanced at Hideaki. "As far as I know, Riko is a widow. You don't need to compromise yourself. I've tailored a new identity for you. The documents are in your suitcase. A free and successful single man. Interested?"

“Not interested,” Xiuming straddled her buttocks and continued massaging her back. “Riko accepts me as her husband, and I accept her as her wife. No matter what bad things you do, it won’t matter. I need to remind you, you can do whatever you want to me, but you can’t bully Riko. If you hurt her, we can’t even be friends anymore.”

"You're the one who bullies her the most, aren't you?" Ezaki still glanced at Hideaki and continued, "Falling in love with a philandering man, you obviously have no other choice but to keep tolerating it."

Ezaki was secretly delighted: Just as he suspected, he could do whatever he wanted with him. As expected of the man he liked, he was unpretentious and manly...

Are you talking about yourself?

Jiang Qi's mind went blank for a moment, then he realized that it really did look a bit like it... Suppressing his frustration, he closed his eyes and said, "Get out."

My whole body was already warmed up from the massage. This guy was also secretly doing bad things. If I didn't get him out soon, we would all do bad things together... I was in a good mood, but I never heard a nice word from him. At noon, he even "maliciously hung up on me thirty-seven times".

"Are you getting angry out of embarrassment?"

Xiuming had just finished his massage. He raised his hand and lightly patted her pert buttocks, which trembled like cream pudding. Then he jumped off the massage bed, grabbed the pants hanging on the wall, and said, "Then you can be angry here! I'm going home to find Riko."

It looks just like a baby's bottom; I have no idea how it's been cared for.

“You look a bit disheveled,” Ezaki glanced at Hideaki, who was wearing sweatpants, then quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed. No matter what, he looked rather funny… He quickly grabbed a towel, wrapped it around himself, slid off the massage bed, and said, suppressing a laugh, “Is it appropriate to go out like this? I have half a durian in my suitcase. You can bring it to me now, and I’ll consider not letting the Ezaki family’s son-in-law look so disheveled.”

The main purpose was to get Hideaki to open his suitcase and discover the new identity that had been customized for him. It was a record of his past experiences, which was different from those of "Hideaki who jumped off the building in the mountains." It included every detail, even his parents had found him a new one. His hometown was in Namie Town, Fukushima... It was an arranged marriage, and he had already been betrothed and transferred to my family name... The family register of the Hiriko family was really real.

Next, we should draw some blood from him, test his blood type, and make sure he gets his medical and health insurance covered. It won't matter who comes... You can't escape the Ezaki family's son-in-law.

"Then why are you wrapped in a bath towel?"

Judging from her behavior, she's clearly in a defensive stance. Even though they've played around with each other many times, she's still holding onto her bottom line. Could it be that she's treating that bottom line as a safety net?

Okay, faced with a philandering man, she has her own reasons for deceiving herself...

Xiuming fully understood her feelings, casually saying that he had pulled up his pants, adding that pants without a belt were so convenient. He then opened the bathroom door, stepped out, and turned back to say...

"Also, I need to educate you. Your thinking isn't quite right. A woman's charm isn't just about her body, but also about her character, soul, refinement, understanding, and thoughtfulness... Someone like Riko would be ideal. And in our eyes as men, it's not all about women; there's also career, dreams, achievements, self... For example, right now, because I had a lot of fun with Ayako before you came back, what I showed was just a superficial enthusiasm, so I'm still impeccable... You should reflect on yourself!"

After Xiuming finished speaking, to prevent Jiang Qi from responding in any uncontrollable way, he quickly took Xu Huo and left.

She is indeed in a bit of a mess right now, but apart from her physical appearance, her other qualities are also top-notch, which makes her very attractive.

Normally, men's emotions come earlier than women's, and they can easily find themselves at a disadvantage, given how many hidden thoughts she has.

Hideaki returned to Ayako's bedroom on the second floor. Ayako was sitting at her workbench, holding chalk and a measuring tape, cutting several pieces of red, blue, and white leather... as if she were making an Ultraman design... She was really serious about it, she was determined to get revenge on Ezaki.

Hideaki, wearing a shirt, said, "I'll make an Ultraman outfit for Riko later too."

Ezaki looks cold and aloof in that leather jacket, but if Ayako wore it, it would probably be the complete opposite. However, if Riko wore it, it would be just right.

"You're only upset if you make me angry, aren't you?" Ayako complained subconsciously, then suddenly remembered the embroidery company's business and smiled, revealing a row of white teeth. She continued, "You can have her come to me and have it custom-made."

"She's so shy, she definitely won't be able to say it. Once you've made it, just give it to her. She'll be grateful to you." Xiuming buttoned up his shirt and went out. "That's all for now. See you at the supermarket tomorrow."

As Xiuming descended the escalator, Jiang Qi, wrapped in a bath towel and carrying a black tight-fitting leather jacket, walked towards him. As he brushed past Xiuming, Jiang Qi glanced at him sideways and said, "Why hasn't your inner fire gone down yet? Have all your ambitions, dreams, achievements, and ego gone to your wife?"

As she spoke, she continued walking up the stairs to the second floor. Suddenly, the leather jacket in her hand fell to Xiuming's feet. Then, without turning around, she looked down at him from three steps away and said, "Ezaki-kun, could you help me pick it up?"

I started by giving him instructions on small things, and he gradually got used to it. Ezaki family son-in-law… you're now in my family register…

"You have hands and feet, can't you pick it up yourself?"

Without a second thought, Xiuming stepped over the leather jacket and walked toward the stock index monitor in the living room office area. Then he turned back and said with a look of utter disappointment, "I've noticed that the gap between you and Riko is widening. You can't even compare to Ayako anymore. How are you going to reflect on this? Go back to your room and reflect on it some more. You can't even be cute. You're really... unromantic."

Jiang Qi was stunned for a while, unable to think of how to respond, so he stepped up the stairs to the second floor.

As she approached the nanny's room, she finally realized that Xiuming had deliberately changed the subject to hide his lewd intentions and then attacked her... She lost her composure and threw away the leather jacket too early.

He immediately turned around and said, "You still haven't told me whether the career, dreams, and achievements you envision have all gone to your wife?"

“My wife is so good, who else would I run to if not her?” Xiuming blurted out, having already set his sights on tomorrow’s stock index. As he walked toward the door, he waved and said, “Reflect on what you did wrong, write a self-criticism, and see you at the supermarket tomorrow.”

Chapter 207 Eri's Request

In the afternoon, the three trucks that had been bought from Naoto Sugita returned loaded with goods.

Although it was the early hours of the morning, none of the employees at "Miyamoto 100 Yen Supermarket" had left work. Even some employees who were supposed to leave on time volunteered to "work a little longer" because the pay was high and it wasn't a part-time or temporary job, but a full-time job. With many companies in the surrounding area laying off employees, cutting salaries, or going bankrupt, it was really hard to find a job.

Now, after another week of training, and without even having worked a day in the office, I'm already itching to get started: the promotion path is clear, and I need to perform well in front of the boss so that I can hope for a promotion and a raise.

All thirteen supermarkets were lit up.

All the employees were busy setting up shelves, putting on price tags, hanging decorations, wiping equipment, cleaning windows and floors, and stocking up on goods.

Hideaki first returned to the supermarket located in Shinjuku Central Park. Hitomi Shiraishi was looking after the store, and all the employees were unfamiliar faces.

Riko, Chieko, Misako, and their group dispersed to thirteen supermarkets, busy unloading goods and managing the branches.

Meanwhile, Riko and Misako rode in Ichiro Shiraishi's car, shuttling between the thirteen supermarkets.

As the most experienced and capable, Misako bears a heavy responsibility.

She started work at 7 a.m. and hasn't stopped since 12:30 a.m., even timing her bathroom breaks, meals, and water breaks.

Although Riko was already quite adept at managing one supermarket, starting thirteen supermarkets simultaneously was still a bit overwhelming, so she followed Misako to learn from her.

With Misako's help, there's no need to worry. She's been working quite hard, though. I wonder if her depression has improved; she still owes the bank 30 million yen in mortgage payments... Now that Midori Umezu is in charge of managing the market, I'll focus on making money in the stock market these next few days. I'll have more money than I can spend, and then I can finally get rid of all their worries about debt.

Xiuming then realized that it was already past midnight, and going to find Riko to play at this time would only tire him out and affect her studies, so it would be pointless. He might as well just go back to sleep.

"Hideaki-kun,"

Just as Hideaki was about to leave, Shiraishi Hitomi ran out from behind the checkout counter, her eyes filled with caution and her face slightly flushed, and whispered, "I heard from Chieko-nee that the supermarket staff uniforms were designed by Eri-san... Um, do you think we should have her design a men's uniform as well? Since everyone likes the women's uniform, I think her men's uniform design would be pretty good too!"

Riko had previously asked Chieko to call Eri, hoping Eri would design a set for her, but Eri wouldn't listen at all, always yelling, "Has Riko-chan broken up with me? Why is it that every time I call, you're the one who answers?"

Chieko could only look at Riko waving her hand beside her and say into the phone, "Riko-chan is very busy, managing thirteen supermarkets, she really doesn't have time."

"I don't believe it. She must have been eavesdropping. That jerk spoils her so much, how could he let her be busy with work all day? If you said she couldn't get out of bed every day, I might believe you! Or maybe she looks down on me. Now that she's the president of a big company, she looks down on me, her down-on-her-luck friend. I really misplaced my trust..."

Riko stamped her foot in frustration, finally unable to resist grabbing the microphone and saying, "Eri-chan, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I never get a chance to speak after my husband comes home..."

"Hmph, if you had just stopped yelling 'Help!' a few times, you would have said it already! Making people so envious, what positions do you guys usually have? I'm running out of inspiration for my comics..."

"You're doing this again. I'm not talking to you anymore. You're so annoying..." Riko couldn't stand the embarrassment and ran away.

Chieko had no choice but to steer the conversation back on track, ultimately suggesting to Eri that she could have Hideaki visit her about designing work uniforms. Whether it would be successful or not was up to her, and she shouldn't make things difficult for Riko any further.

After all, as the legal wife, she must be in the most difficult position no matter how you look at it...

Eri had a sudden epiphany and praised Chieko as a good friend, even enthusiastically asking her, "How about becoming the heroine in my manga? My face and body will be redesigned, I'll only use your name, and Hideaki will pamper you for a week. You two can appear on late-night TV together, it'll be really exciting..."

Chieko had previously watched the late-night TV program that she recommended, and she blushed with embarrassment, scolding her as "shameless" before hanging up the phone.

Of course, I still need to acknowledge Eri's request, since she's practically a benefactor to me, and the work uniform is also quite important.

So Chieko told Shiraishi Hitomi to find a suitable opportunity as soon as possible to tell Hideaki about having Eri design work clothes.

Hideaki was quite satisfied with Eri's design style; it was convenient, free, and everyone liked it. As for her reason for wanting to go back to the supermarket, it seemed to be to find inspiration for her manga.

"Okay, I'll go to Kayabacho tomorrow to ask her."

Eri still lives in Kayabacho, near the financial district, in an old, dilapidated courtyard behind that stinking ditch.

I've never heard of a great manga artist named "Eri Makimura" on the internet in later generations. I guess her career wasn't very successful. It's a real waste of her image rights.

"Shumei-kun, where are you going?" Shiraishi Hitomi chased after him to the door again, her eyes darting around as she asked.

"Go home and sleep," Xiuming said casually as he walked out of the supermarket.

“Um, President Riko asked me to tell you,” Hitomi Shiraishi said, fidgeting with her fingers as she stammered, “she won’t be going home tonight. She’ll be resting in the branch supermarket dormitory with Manager Misako and the others… Um, I’m off work now, and I’m all alone in the dormitory tonight. I’m scared…”