Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

She already had a curvaceous and pleasing figure, but with the padding, she lost some of her natural beauty and her advantages.

"Okay... alright..."

Riko blushed and rubbed her fingers together as she responded softly.

This is the only way she can think of right now to prevent Xiuming from having affairs and to attract his attention.

But because of her own modesty and shame, she couldn't bring herself to be too provocative. Sometimes she would sadly think to herself: If only I could be as shameless as Ayako…

The reasons for doing so are quite complex.

For example, if Xiuming simply walked away, the debts that would have been left behind would have been devastating for her, a full-time housewife who didn't have a job.

Xiuming's existence gave her the motivation to live.

In addition, although Xiuming always scolds her, he has never been abusive. He cooks food that suits her taste, carefully bandages her finger wound, and is worried about infection. He washes her face and carries her when her legs are tired. Anyway, she has never seen such a good husband in any other family. No wonder Ayako is so envious.

However, asking Xiuming to throw away her brain is really too much for her. She can't do it. She's not mentally challenged. How could she possibly do it?

"You did this just so you could be a womanizer, didn't you? That's so mean!" Riko thought. If it were Ayako, she would definitely yell at him like that!

But Riko dared not; she feared angering Hideaki and even causing him to leave. She was content with the status quo and easily satisfied, lacking Ayako's gambler's nature.

A flash of silver light from Hideaki's index finger suddenly caught Riko's eye.

Her expression froze, and her flushed face turned pale.

Xiuming moved the platinum wedding ring he was wearing on his right hand from his ring finger to his index finger.

He really did go out and find women, hiding his marriage and even wearing a ring on his index finger to indicate he was single...

Riko felt a chill in her heart. She had already tolerated his infidelity; was it really necessary for him to be so frivolous?

Her vision blurred again with tears.

Xiuming followed her gaze to his hand, then casually took the platinum wedding ring off his index finger and slipped it onto his ring finger, revealing his scumbag nature.

"Is there a problem? Are you about to cry?"

As for why men change the finger on which they wear their wedding ring, it's because they want to socialize and keep their work going smoothly.

Anyway, I really didn't do anything today. Putting aside my thoughts, I have no regrets about my actions!

Hideaki believed that Riko would understand and should know, so there was no need to explain further, otherwise it would seem guilty and make things worse.

"No..." Riko pursed her lips tightly, widening her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

"Since you're alright, why don't you go back to your room and continue practicing your embroidery?"

She cried again! She cried again! She cried again… Xiuming’s mind was buzzing.

“Okay…” Riko quickly turned her back, tears streaming down her face.

"I thought you understood me, so why are you still crying?" Xiuming said impatiently.

It did fall after all.

Using his height advantage, Xiuming lowered his head slightly and looked over her fair neck, where her left collarbone undulated, and saw her tear-stained face, which made him even more agitated.

"No, I didn't cry..." Riko continued, her back to him, tears streaming down her face.

"You've even learned to lie now. You've disappointed me so much." Xiuming casually pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. "We're a legally married couple with a marriage certificate. As your husband, I've never lied to you. Why are you lying?"

"I...I'm afraid you'll yell at me..." Riko tilted her head back, took the tissue, wiped the tears from her face, and said truthfully.

"Are you brainless? Use your brain and think about it carefully. When have I ever yelled at you because you were in the wrong?"

"You said you'd let me lose my brain..." Riko lowered her head and wiped away her tears, her voice filled with grievance.

"Look, you've even learned to argue back. Are you out of your mind? If I hadn't reacted quickly, we would have killed the conversation. Now go back inside and think about where you went wrong."

Xiuming almost laughed out of anger. She had never listened to the nonsense about being brainless, yet she insisted on using this topic to shut herself up. She must have reached her limit of grievance.

It's not a good idea to always let her bottle up her emotions. If she gets sick from holding it in, it will only make things worse for the family, who are already struggling financially, and then there will be even more chaos and scrambling to make ends meet.

Then let's wait until tonight and try to let her cry it out. That should release her pent-up frustration quickly!

The door to Ayako's room next door was open. She was sitting on a white mattress, craning her neck, a piece of silk in her mouth, staring wide-eyed in their direction.

Xiuming was immediately furious; this was blatant "malicious onlookers" and "malicious gossip," and he pointed at her and shouted,

"I think it must be Ayako who made you cry. I'm going to settle the score with her right now. You should go back to your room and use your brain."

Not only was Ayako tilting her head in confusion, but even Riko, who was still crying, turned around in surprise.

Hideaki, however, pushed Riko directly into the room, closed the door for her, and turned to walk into Ayako's room. The silk that Ayako was biting between her teeth snapped into his hand like a rubber band, and the two rows of neat, white teeth collided with a soft "clunk".

"You didn't get dumped by that other woman, did you? You're taking it out on me, aren't you?" Ayako asked, her eyes wide.

"Mrs. Sugita, please don't slander me maliciously. It's impossible for me to have been seeing other women behind Riko's back!"

"Really?" Ayako blinked, then suddenly looked up. "Could it be... you already told Riko-chan?"

"What kind of thought process is that? While I can't guarantee the future, it's definitely not happening now. I'm going out today to find ways to make money, understand?"

As Hideaki closed the door, he turned around and took out Ayako's bank card and the "club" prepaid card with 800 million yen in it from his pocket.

He had intended to use the prepaid card to make some purchases at the club and broaden his horizons, but it turned out there was a password!

After Xiuming took out his bank card and prepaid card, Ayako kept her eyes on them, shrank her neck, quickly turned her head away without saying a word.

“Give me a reasonable explanation,” Xiuming threw two cards onto the white mattress. “Because of your malicious lies, I lost a major project, do you even realize that?”

Ayako's eyes twitched slightly. As if casually, she placed her hand next to the two cards, flicked her finger, and the bank card and prepaid card on the mattress flew "whoosh" and disappeared under the bedside table.

Xiuming was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"

"Huh? What?" Ayako's mouth was half open, her head shaking, her wide eyes filled with confusion and innocence. "About that... Oh right, you really don't have any other women outside? I don't believe it!"

She craned her neck and rushed towards the door, shouting, "Men never tell the truth! You definitely have another woman! Why did you take off your wedding ring? Do you know how upset Riko-chan is? Riko-chan is afraid of you, but I'm not! Tell me! I'm going to stand up for Riko-chan!"

After Ayako shouted, her whole body froze, and then she slowly rolled her eyes upward, meeting Hideaki's gaze that looked at her like she was an idiot.

"You want to ask Riko for help?" Xiuming said, squatting down next to the bedside table, reaching under the bedside table with the magazine in his hand, and scanning out two cards.

Riko's room was silent.

"Hey hey hey..."

Ayako rested her chin on her right hand, letting out a silly, goofy laugh. She secretly tugged down the front of her shirt, revealing her radiant white skin. "Are you trying to rob me?"

Xiuming almost laughed out of anger. He waved the card in his hand, leaned down, and gently tapped her forehead, saying, "IP, IC, IQ card, tell me all the passwords."

At that time, public phone booths used magnetic stripe phone cards, not IC cards, but it didn't matter. Xiuming was just casually replicating a classic robbery.

Ayako's attention wasn't on that, but she knew that IQ was intelligence and couldn't possibly be a password.

"Are you going to make me lose my brain too? You scumbag~~man." Ayako dragged out the word, turned her body around, turned her back to him, tilted her head back, put her hands behind her back, rested the back of her head on her left shoulder, and glanced at him sideways with her upward gaze. "I don't believe your nonsense. It's only because Riko-chan is weak-willed and doesn't dare to resist that you've suppressed her. Just you wait, when Riko-chan wakes up, she'll kick you aside and see what you do then! Scumbag~~~man."

Ayako wasn't just pretending to be stupid; she was also deliberately acting cute and showing off her figure to divert attention, while also using Riko's topic as a springboard.

If it were any other man, he would probably be completely bewildered and run around in circles by her, right?

Her pose is really something else, did she take a course in cleaning windows as an internet celebrity?

The back view is stunning; the woman sits with her head tilted back, chest out, and buttocks raised. The tight-fitting black kimono accentuates her slender waist and rounder hips, showcasing a perfect waist-to-hip ratio.

Snake spirit or fox spirit?

I hate women with brains like this the most. She even suspects that she has corrupted Riko and is using this to threaten herself.

She's completely given up and become a clingy, helpless wretched person. Forceful methods aren't working anymore; we need to play the emotional card...

Playing the emotional card requires a lot of brainpower.

The hardest part is to always remember not to invest too much emotion, otherwise the sunk cost will be too high and you will easily be defeated.

Of course, for Xiuming, aside from needing to use a little brainpower, there was no need for such worries.

Because Ayako is a woman who "dreams of achieving great things," he can use her ambition to inspire her desire for independence and self-reliance, which she herself already possesses.

"Sigh!" Xiuming slowly sat down on the mattress next to her, leaning his right shoulder against her back, and sighed.

Ayako turned her head to her right shoulder, glancing at him with a smile in her eyes.

"You're not going to shamelessly pinch my foot again, are you?"

The last time Xiuming pinched her foot and said he would give her half of his family fortune, it left a deep impression on her. He was really full of bad intentions.

Upon learning the truth, he turned his back on everyone.

"You're a smart woman, so you should just give up."

It seems I was wrong to assume she was love-struck; she's actually quite cunning.

"Right? You know that's good. Let me tell you, once I've been fooled, I'll remember it for life." Ayako shook her head, the silver hairpin pendant in her hair repeatedly touching Hideaki's forehead. "Actually, you can give me a foot massage, want to try? Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll tell you the password~"

That sly fox has turned the tables and is trying to trap me.

"How can that be? Your motives aren't pure. What I need is purity. Even if we can't be husband and wife, being best friends is great!"

"You pervert, I don't need any male best friends."

Ayako's face suddenly turned ashen, as if she had eaten shit.

This surprised Xiuming a little. "You didn't get...done by your male best friend, did you?"

"How could that be! I'm a judo third-dan master." Ayako suddenly turned around, raised her eyebrows, rolled up her right sleeve, and clenched her fist to show her pale arm without any muscle definition.

"Really... You're really amazing." Xiuming replied casually, picked up the clear glass water glass from the bedside table, took a sip of water, and continued, "By the way, what are your plans for your future embroidery business? Can I still invest in it?"

"Oh! Really?" Ayako turned around again, propped herself up on the mattress with her right hand, and leaned forward. Her eyes were shining.

"How should I put it!" Xiuming rested his right elbow on his knee, pinched his chin with his right thumb and forefinger, and looked into her eyes thoughtfully. "Behind every successful woman, there is a man who silently supports her. I want to be that man. What do you think?"

Ayako's pupils widened and then contracted slightly, her mouth opened slightly, and her long eyelashes fluttered twice.

Where is Riko?

What does this topic have to do with Riko... Hideaki thought to himself, shifting his posture to rest his left arm on his knee and pinching his chin with his left hand. "She'll understand, after all, we're starting a business together. Haven't you made a business plan yet?"

"It was all planned a long time ago, but I just don't have the funds. I have two employees in my studio who aren't working, but they're still getting paid. I'm not only about to be unable to pay the rent, but I'm also about to be unable to pay their salaries." Ayako spoke like a thief, with a guilty conscience and a hint of probing.

“Is that so…” Hideaki changed his posture again, tapping his forehead with his right index finger. “The early stages of starting a business are indeed quite difficult…”

What's going on? What's going on...? Could there be no money in my bank account...?

She has already learned embroidery. Once she participates in the embroidery exhibition, people all over the world will know that this is her original creation.