Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

Because it was lunchtime, the office workers from the building across the street all came down to eat, so Riko, Misako, Ayako, and Eri moved to the massage room behind the cashier to make room for them.

Of course, they also considered that there would be many topics that were not suitable for public discussion, and they were quite in sync.

"What are you doing here!" Tachibana's heart skipped a beat, and she blurted out.

“Why can’t I be here?” Ayako crossed her arms and gestured to the room behind her. “I’m here to beat up the mistress. You go in too and sit with them… Hey, what’s going on with you guys? Kneeling side by side on the tatami!”

Ayako's smug expression turned somewhat embarrassed.

Tachibana was taken aback and subconsciously looked towards the massage room.

The massage room was still furnished the same as before, with heavy burgundy curtains that obscured the glass curtain wall from which one could only see outside.

Close to the glass curtain wall, there is a 1.65-meter-wide, beige tatami mat, more than five meters long, that extends from one end of the wall to the other end of the glass curtain wall.

Further inside, there are cabinets against the wall and a silver massage bed against the glass curtain wall, with a coffee table placed in the middle.

Riko, Misako, and Eri are kneeling around the coffee table, all looking very busy. Riko and Misako are leaning against each other, looking at the supermarket uniform design drawings that Eri has taken out, while Eri opposite Riko is looking at the "Pokémon" drawings that Hideaki has given her.

Tachibana walked into the room and sat down opposite Misako in a daze, making a table full of four people.

"You four stand up," Ayako slammed the door shut, put one hand on her hip, pointed at the tatami mat, widened her eyes, and said, "Kneel there and listen to my instructions!"

Riko, Misako, and Eri seemed not to hear. Tachibana instinctively tried to stand up, but Riko held her down. Riko, meanwhile, continued to stare at the design drawings, looking very busy.

With no one cooperating, Ayako was getting annoyed. How could she enjoy herself like this?

"What happened?" Tachibana's mind was a bit confused, and she asked instinctively, "What happened?"

"What happened?" Ayako's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "You four shameless people, you seduced my husband..."

"Who seduced your husband! It's you who's a pervert!" Before Ayako could finish speaking, Tachibana suddenly stood up, pointed at Eri who was pretending to be busy, and continued, "Didn't you condone this little dwarf becoming Hideaki's girlfriend? You even let your husband be another woman's boyfriend, and she bragged about it to me like an idiot. What else is she but a pervert? One is a pervert and the other is an idiot!"

Riko groaned inwardly and covered her face with her hands.

Although Tachibana was referring to Ayako and Eri, and was indeed targeting them, every word felt like it was stabbing into my heart.

"You're the idiot!" Eri's face stiffened, her cheeks flushed red, and she jumped up, shouting, "What are you doing here? Are you trying to steal my boyfriend?! You know he's already married, yet you still came here. You're not just an idiot, you're a shameless idiot!"

"He's not married to you, what are you so arrogant about? I don't want to talk to idiots who brag about other people's husbands being their boyfriends," Tachibana glanced at Eri with disdain, raised her chin, aimed at Ayako, and continued to scornfully, "And you, don't think you're safe just because you're married to Hideaki-kun. Someone like you who condones other women becoming lovers with Hideaki will get into trouble sooner or later..."

"Tachibana-chan, please stop talking." Riko almost cried and quickly covered Tachibana's mouth. "Sit down..."

"Let her talk, let her talk, I like to hear it." Ayako suppressed a laugh, tears welling up in her eyes. Pointing at Riko, whose face was flushed and full of embarrassment, she said, "Don't interfere, let go of her mouth."

Tachibana pulled Riko's hand away and said disdainfully, "You really are a pervert. I don't want you to have any pleasure."

Then, taking Riko's hand, he continued, "Riko-chan, don't worry. Although Hideaki-kun is married, I know without even thinking that he's definitely not happy. A marriage built on money can't last. He'll definitely get a divorce one day. Don't be sad, there's still hope. Hideaki-kun said long ago that he cares about you the most."

"Really?" Riko felt more tired than working all night last night. She really wanted to go back to work overtime... Maintaining a forced smile, she said, "I... thank you..."

"Don't be shy with me, let's work hard together."

Tachibana assumed that Riko looked so haggard because she knew about Hideaki and Ayako's marriage, so she patted her hand to comfort her.

“When I was working at the stock exchange, I already saw that the economic situation would get worse and worse. Once that woman goes bankrupt, Xiuming will definitely get a divorce. I don’t think it will be long before we can compete fairly then.”

Ayako had already turned her back, bent over and leaned against the wall, her right hand still clutching her stomach, trembling as if she had been electrocuted, but she didn't laugh out loud.

Riko was surprised to discover for the first time how eloquent Tachibana was.

She knew that Tachibana was intentionally trying to comfort her, but those words of comfort were barbed, and they were meant to be directed at Ayako, but because of her so-called "white lie," they all ended up hurting her.

So, can we still tell Tachibana the truth? The question is no longer that, but what will happen to Tachibana after she learns the truth, since lies will always be exposed.

"Fair competition? Do you even have the right to say that!"

Eri, who had just been rendered speechless by Tachibana's retort, jumped up again, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, "Your awful personality is just awful no matter how you look at it. Look at Riko-chan, how gentle and cute she is, and how lovely her voice is. I've never seen any advantage in you. How can you compare to Riko-chan?"

Eri was indeed energized. She was holding a trump card, playing cat and mouse with Tachibana, which was more and more ridiculous the more she thought about it.

Of course, in order to carry out Riko's "cooperation" order, the trump card will not be used, but it will be revealed one day. Thinking about this situation, there is no pressure.

My mindset is completely different from when I played against Tachibana earlier.

"I'm definitely better than you. You clown, what right do you have to talk to me? Shut up!"

Tachibana hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up. After all, this was Eri comparing herself to Riko. Best friends shouldn't compare themselves to each other, otherwise, their relationship would break down. That awful Eri even distanced herself from the comparison, leaving her with no leverage.

"Better than me? Okay, I admit it, but I never even thought about competing with Riko-chan! I know my own limitations, unlike some people who don't even know their own background."

Eri had a smile on her face, but towards the end, she subconsciously recalled the time she was kicked out, also because she hadn't figured out her own place... It was truly a case of hurting the enemy a thousand while hurting herself eight hundred times. However, seeing Tachibana's red face made me feel much better...

"You...you..." Tachibana clenched her fists in anger, her body trembling, and shouted, "Love is a matter of freedom, what's wrong with fair competition!"

"There's nothing wrong with that, I totally agree!"

Eri reached out and laughed, then continued, "But what do you have to compete with? Riko-chan is the president of a big company, owning thirteen supermarkets and supporting over a hundred employees. And you? A jobless ronin, haven't found work for half a month, what do you have? Didn't you go to a secondhand store to sell your clothes the other day? You're drowning in debt! What do you have to compare with Riko-chan? I really don't know how you have the nerve to say something like 'fair competition'?"

Tachibana's eyes were wide open, her face flushed red and then turned pale, her little fists clenched so hard, and she gritted her teeth.

Her anger didn't stem from feeling inferior because she couldn't compare to Riko; after all, she always believed that good friends don't compare themselves to each other, and only value friendship.

It was because Eri, with her arrogant demeanor, said things that Eri couldn't even think of a way to refute.

He was about to become furious and enraged...

"Miss Tachibana, why aren't you saying anything?"

Eri put her hands on her hips, leaned forward slightly, and looked up with a grin, saying, "Is it because you have nothing to say? Please answer me."

I haven't even used my ultimate move yet, and she's already speechless. How will she ever beat me again?

"I'll answer you right away!"

With a loud shout, Tachibana grabbed Eri by the back of the head with one hand and her arm with the other. Then, she strode around, pressed her down onto the coffee table, lifted the hem of her pink and white princess dress, and pulled the exposed white Doraemon underwear up to her thigh. Then, she raised her hand and started slapping her smooth buttocks.

Although Eri's buttocks were smooth, they were still red and swollen from Ayako's previous spanking. This time, Tachibana pressed her upper body against Eri's back, her long legs clamping down on Eri's kicking little legs, making Eri scream like a banshee.

"Tachibana-chan, stop, stop hitting her!" Riko was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. She didn't have time to feel embarrassed on her own. She grabbed Tachibana's clothes but couldn't pull them away. She hurriedly called out, "Misako-chan, come and help..."

"You're not allowed to help, but you come here too!"

Ayako stepped forward and pushed Misako back down, then grabbed Riko and pinned her down. She then grinned at the wailing Eri and said, "Hit, hit, keep hitting! I love you so much, Tachibana-chan! I'll allow you to call my husband 'Hideaki-kun'~"

"Wow, it's so lively here. What are you playing?"

The massage room door was pushed open, and Ezaki walked in with a faint smile on his lips, then closed the door again.

Chapter 217 Business Warfare

Ezaki held a blue plastic folder in his hand and was wearing the same style of business attire as Tachibana: a black fitted suit, a white shirt with a turned-down collar, and black straight-leg trousers.

At first glance, they do look like they're wearing the same outfit, but while their personalities aren't exactly opposite, they are clearly different.

Tachibana, who was just hitting Eri with great enthusiasm, subconsciously stopped. After letting go of Eri, she hid her hands behind her back and glanced at Ezaki with a cautious look in her eyes.

Suddenly, a feeling popped into her mind that the clothes she was wearing, which Xiuming had given her, were too high-end, even though they were from the luxury brand Chanel.

"Hmm?" Ezaki glanced at Tachibana, raising an eyebrow. "Continue doing what you're supposed to be doing."

It's true that we wore the same clothes, but in Jiang Qi's opinion, wearing the same clothes is like fate. This girl has the same taste as me, and I like her cautious look.

Then he looked at Riko.

Riko was being held tightly in Ayako's arms, who was sitting on Misako's lap. Riko's face was flushed red, as if she was having difficulty breathing.

When Ezaki looked over, Misako suddenly stood up, bowed ninety degrees, and called out, "President Ezaki."

“Hmm,” Ezaki responded indifferently.

Esaki is Misako's third-party creditor. Because Misako owes Matsuba Bank a debt, the bank packaged and sold her to Esaki's previous debt liquidation company, which is a debt collection company.

This is precisely why Daisuke, Ezaki's underling, was able to snatch Misako away.

In fact, half of the more than 200 employees in the supermarket are debtors of Ezaki's previous debt collection company.

Of the employees Ezaki selected for the supermarket, only Hitomi Shiraishi and Misako succeeded. Hideaki was still looking outside, with options including Midori Umezu, Yoshiko Funakawa, Sophia, Tachibana...

Misako suddenly stood up, causing Ayako, who was still sitting on her lap, to stumble. However, she didn't get up. With annoyance on her face, she continued to hug Riko and looked up, saying, "What are you doing here? Are you trying to steal my husband? Get out."

As soon as Ayako uttered the word "husband," she couldn't help but laugh, thinking of Riko's unpleasant experience of swallowing bitterness.

"Oh?"

Ezaki raised an eyebrow again. She didn't care about Ayako's unauthorized calling Hideaki "husband." No matter how happily she called him that, it was useless. She had already taken care of all the documents for Hideaki-kun from the Ezaki family: driver's license, household registration transcript, health records, medical insurance... She had even found his in-laws to sell their son to pay off debts, and everything was verifiable...

But, didn't Riko and her not get along? Why did she suddenly jump into her arms?

“Come on, Riko-chan, tell this Ms. Ezaki,” Ayako couldn’t help but giggle, letting go of Riko and acting like a best friend, “Has Hideaki-kun already married me?”

"Please stop holding me. I don't want to talk to you."

Riko, looking aggrieved, struggled to get out of Ayako's arms.

Ayako tried to pull Riko into her arms again, but Tachibana stepped in front of her, blocking their way, and said, "Don't be so smug. It's definitely not Hideaki-kun's choice. Even if they register their marriage, they'll get divorced..."

"Huh?!" Ezaki suddenly turned his head and looked at Tachibana.

It's surprising enough that Riko didn't refute it, but what's with Tachibana? What does "it's not that Hideaki-kun will leave if it's not his wish" even mean? He dares to do that!

"Did I say something wrong?" Tachibana's shoulders trembled, and she turned her head blankly to ask.

Eri, who was pretending to be dead while lying on the table, rolled her eyes and covered her mouth to chuckle.

Misako shrugged slightly.

Riko closed her eyes, looking embarrassed.

Ezaki narrowed his eyes slightly, ignoring the stunned Tachibana, and instead gestured to Riko towards the Tokyo Financial Center outside the curtain wall, saying, "Riko-chan, let's go upstairs to the office and talk."

Ezaki came here to chat with Riko, not about Hideaki, but about Riko's supermarket.

Although Ezaki's foreign trade company is deeply integrated with Riko's supermarkets, her foreign trade company does not only supply Riko's supermarkets.

Recently, several of her senior executives excitedly approached her, saying that business managers from several large supermarkets planned to buy up all of their inventory for the next few months at a high price, and even offered to prepay for the goods.

Of course, it wasn't all the goods, but rather a few key items that were specially supplied to Riko Supermarket at a higher price than those wholesaled to Riko.

Because Ezaki hadn't had a chance to inform the company that her foreign trade company had a deep partnership with Riko's company.

Those executives then split into two factions.

One side insisted on operating with integrity and ensuring the supply of goods to each partner. Moreover, the Miyamoto family's chain supermarkets were in the early stages of opening. If they cut off the supply to her at this time, how could they continue to operate in the long run?

The other party argued that with the current economic situation so bad and likely to worsen, it was uncertain whether her discount supermarket could even survive. In that case, having cash on hand was paramount…