Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

Am I about to be manipulated by her in a reverse psychology way? Sincerity is terrifying.

Fortunately, she is obedient and easy to manage; we must not let Ayako lead her astray.

A soft chuckle came from behind the massage room door. Ayako, leaning on her cane, opened the door and craned her neck, saying in a sarcastic tone, "Honey, you're so fast~"

Riko's expression remained unchanged, which surprised Hideaki. Could it be that the two of them had really become best friends?

"Shut up. No one is allowed to call me 'husband' except Riko," Hideaki observed Riko's reaction. "Riko-chan, she's calling me 'husband.' Can you tolerate that?"

"I...I'll listen to my husband..."

Riko's usual expression turned pitiful: What can I do? Isn't she the one you spoil?

“Then I will condemn her severely! It’s shameful that she doesn’t even abide by basic morals.”

It's good that we're not standing together.

"My mouth's on my body, I can yell whatever I want," Ayako chuckled. As long as she wasn't alone with Riko, lest she make her cry and be misunderstood by Hideaki, she could do whatever she wanted. "If you're so capable, then shut me up~"

I've never seen such a shameless woman... I hate her so much... Riko pouted and said, "Honey, I'm going to turn on the computer..."

Ayako, leaning on a metal crutch, limped over, then sat down in a chair and tapped Hideaki's leg with her crutch.

"Hey, where's my brother?"

“It’s so cool.” Xiuming continued carrying cup noodle boxes onto the shelf.

Why aren't you having fun over there?

Ayako was indeed curious. Both of her bubble bath plans had failed, and judging from the stack of cute cartoon character drawings that Hideaki had taken out this morning, he must have been busy for a long time. In other words, he hadn't gone out to play with women at all.

Is he just all talk? If so, then I must hold a very important place in his heart.

Ahhh! I'm so happy, I've found my treasure.

I'm so envious of Riko, so jealous of her!

"Don't force a conversation if you don't have anything to talk about," Xiuming said irritably after moving the cup noodle boxes and disassembling the sausage boxes, placing them one by one on the shelf. "Don't you know how hard it is to be an entrepreneur?"

“I’m going to pull it off anyway.” Ayako tugged at his pants.

"With breasts as big as yours, this coquettish behavior looks really out of place." Xiuming was worried that she would pull down his pants. "If you keep shaking like that, I'm going to develop dumpling ears."

"Ugh!" Ayako's face flushed instantly. She grabbed her cane and fled into the massage room as if her life depended on it, slamming the door shut.

Chapter 60: Gifts, Challenge Letters, and Follow-up Phone Calls

Riko's learning ability is indeed quite good; she can handle simple office documents on her own within an hour.

It was already past eleven o'clock, and Riko forced her eyelids open, unable to stop herself from yawning.

She waited anxiously for Xiuming all night and didn't sleep at all. She only slept for four or five hours during the day. She has managed to hold on until now thanks to her willpower.

Because the supermarket entrance already had signs and neon signs that were powered on, some office workers from the "Tokyo Financial Center" building across the street, dragging their tired bodies, seemed to walk in instinctively.

Riko, who was yawning, suddenly perked up.

Although the supermarket has not yet opened, the store is already fully stocked with goods.

They also put pre-made ready-to-eat meals on the shelves, including various rice bowls, sushi, sandwiches, pasta, and more.

They are all stored in a refrigerated display case that Xiuming found at a second-hand market, and only need to be microwaved for two minutes.

They even installed a free water heater to boil tap water, and opposite the cashier, near the glass window by the door, they placed a simple long table that can accommodate four people sitting side by side, where you can see the revolving glass doors of the "Tokyo Financial Center" at any time.

In just one hour, five or six customers came to buy late-night snacks. They ate quickly and left as if they knew the way well.

Workplace competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the pressure is getting heavier. Especially in this environment, whether you are a private business owner or an employee, you are on edge and dare not relax for a moment.

As midnight approached, more than half of the windows in the Tokyo Financial Center building across the street were still lit.

"Eat and go to sleep." Hideaki handed a cup of instant noodles to Riko, whose eyelids were drooping, and pointed to the massage room. "We'll open tomorrow at noon, no need to get up early."

Riko's delicate face can't handle staying up late. She's already got dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping all night. What will happen if this goes on for a long time?

Hideaki posted a part-time job advertisement at the door, requiring applicants to be between 18 and 50 years old (in good health), with no gender restrictions, depending on the applicant's qualifications, and an hourly wage of 500 to 700 yen.

Thanks to the Tokyo Financial Center building across the street, it's going to be a 24-hour store; the nearest supermarket is just over 100 meters away.

Riko couldn't manage alone, and she wasn't interested in such physical industries. If she was going to do something, she wanted something that made money quickly—to be a speculator, a profiteer, a shrewd opportunist, using speculative capital and opportunities to engage in speculative activities.

Riko, holding a cup of instant noodles, asked, "Honey, aren't you going to sleep?"

Xiuming bit off the transparent tape that was sticking to the signboard, waved his hand and said, "I'll sit for a while longer, go inside!"

"Um... can I go home to sleep?" Riko asked cautiously, afraid that Hideaki would refuse.

Ayako was lying in the massage room. I didn't want to see her in the first place, but she had taken the tatami mat and was lying flat on her back with her arms and legs spread out without any restraint. Seeing her like that made me feel embarrassed.

The only remaining massage bed was too narrow and too high; you'd fall off if you rolled over.

What I'm more worried about is encountering something embarrassing and scary.

After all, it was just a transparent glass curtain wall. Although you couldn't see inside from the outside and it was covered by curtains, I was still a little scared. What if it was torn down? Besides, there was Ayako.

Hideaki also considered that Riko would definitely not sleep well here. Although the supermarket was just outside his community, a minute's walk from home, he couldn't rule out the possibility of debt collectors staking out the place. So he called out to Ayako, who was pretending to be asleep, pulled down the roller shutter, and took Riko home.

As I was leaving, it was exactly twelve o'clock, so I took the opportunity to check out the "100 Yuan Supermarket" again, since that was my main task at the moment.

[Sometime within the next 12 hours, Yoko Ezaki will send a pair of congratulatory flower baskets.]

Sometime within the next 12 hours, the debt collectors from the mountain cooperative group will slam a "challenge letter" on the cash register.

[Sometime within the next 12 hours, the finance department of the factory where Miyamoto works will call back for a follow-up call.]

Yoko Ezaki? The lobby manager at the bubble bath shop? I guess she's Yoko, the boss of the Yamagai-gumi.

She brought people to issue a challenge, is she saying she doesn't want the debt anymore? What kind of trick is she playing?

Considering the impoverished situation of manga artist Eri Makimura, it's likely that Yoko Esaki has her own debt collection strategy.

As for the follow-up call from Miyamoto's factory, let's just do as he says! Give him a vague answer, he'll just make it up.

Room 403, the house is still the same as when I left, and the debt collectors did not break down the door.

The bread dough that I had prepared in the kitchen had over-fermented and had turned a bit sour.

Luckily, they had a steamer at home. While Riko was taking a shower in the bathroom, Xiuming kneaded some new dough, added baking soda, and mixed it with the old dough. He decided to steam a batch of old dough buns and take them downstairs to sell.

Making steamed buns is a superb skill. Regardless of whether the economy is booming or declining, you can save at least 20 RMB a year in any community with a high occupancy rate.

"Honey, do you want to lie down in bed for a while?"

Riko finished her shower, wrapped in a pure white cotton towel, and stood at the kitchen doorway. Her eyes were still half-closed, clearly indicating that she was extremely sleepy.

Xiuming had already kneaded the dough and was placing it in the steamer when he waved his hand and said, "Go to sleep!"

Perhaps because it was late at night, the two of them subconsciously lowered their voices, as if they were whispering.

Riko pursed her lips, her face slightly flushed, and slowly walked to Hideaki's side. She opened her arms and hugged his waist, nuzzling her head against his chest. "You should go to sleep early too..."

"Stop being so mushy, get off me right now," Xiuming poked her forehead with his index finger and pushed her out of the kitchen.

Another hour passed, and Xiuming put away the steamed buns. It was already 1:30 a.m.

The door to the master bedroom was ajar. On the beige mattress, Riko, wearing a light pink silk nightgown, lay on her side with her head resting on her hand, a slight smile on her lips. She looked like she was sleeping soundly, having some sweet dreams.

Xiuming gently pulled the blue sheet over her, closed the bedroom door, and then quietly took Mantou out and locked it.

Even at 2 a.m., the streetlights were still on, only slightly dimmed. There were also drunk men in suits wandering the streets, throwing their briefcases and vomiting into the green belts.

Hideaki also subconsciously looked at himself. He had only managed to sleep for three or four hours at Eri Makimura's house and hadn't closed his eyes yet.

Fortunately, I'm in great shape, but if I had to work at this high intensity for a month, I'd probably die young.

We need to hire someone who is energetic, capable, and healthy in both body and mind... 700 yen per hour.

The market is only tight for this month; it will loosen up next month.

You can't just bury yourself in work, especially if you're a small business owner. Otherwise, your wife, kids, and business will all fall into the hands of a scoundrel.

There weren't many people around at this time. Xiuming went into the supermarket, turned off the neon sign, and then lowered the roller shutter.

"Hey, aren't you going to sleep yet... You don't know how to enjoy life... You stinky man... You're so annoying..."

Xiuming was placing the steamed buns on the long table opposite the cashier. Lingzi, disheveled and seemingly sleepwalking, leaned on her cane, squinted, and held onto the door, muttering to Xiuming.

Xiuming didn't respond. He quickly hung the steamed buns up to air dry, washed his face briefly in the bathroom, and then went into his room.

From the doorway to the tatami mat, there were clothes scattered all over the floor, as if she was throwing them away as she walked. Her ankle wasn't healed yet, so how did she manage to take off her pants?

Ayako remained lying on the tatami mat, in a completely unreserved posture.

What are the conditions? They even sleep naked.

There were no pajamas to change into in the massage room converted from an office. Of course, there were white coats for massage, but they were unopened, so we didn't waste them.

He casually picked up the clothes from the floor and threw them onto the massage bed along with his own clothes.

As soon as she lay down on the tatami, Ayako pressed herself against her arm and buried her head in it.

In her dazed state, I guessed it was an instinctive action to gently pull my arm out and place it on top of her head, so that it wouldn't go numb from being pressed down and make it impossible to lift up the next morning.

Chapter 61 He dares to steal my house?

In the early morning, Xiuming noticed something was amiss.

Ayako was kneeling at the other end of the tatami mat, but only on her right knee, while her left leg, which was injured in her left ankle, was stretched out to the side.

"Is this kind of wake-up service nice?" Ayako tucked a strand of long hair that was falling to one side of her face behind her ear. "Aren't you touched?"

Regardless of whether Hideaki was moved or not.

Last night, when Riko wasn't sitting with her, Ayako secretly read the "100-yen supermarket plan" that Hideaki wrote for Riko. It was very clear and easy to understand. He even let Riko go to sleep last night while he was busy taking care of her. He practically spoiled Riko rotten.

In fact, her "embroidery business" was just a draft. As for detailed plans, seeing the current environment made her scalp tingle, and she wished she could tear up her draft plan and stomp on it a few times.

She also hoped that Hideaki would provide her with a feasible plan, preferably one like the one Riko had, treating her like a fool, writing out every step in detail, and then letting her go to sleep while Hideaki worked hard behind the scenes.

I envy Riko so much.

But then she thought about her own situation: a secretly divorced wife. Because she had received the mansion, she had to keep it a secret and continue to maintain a marital relationship with her gay ex-husband on the surface.

What's most infuriating is that the gay man doesn't allow her to have a new relationship. If she could really snatch Hideaki away from Riko, turning against her ex-husband wouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately, this stubborn rock is too hard. Not only did she fail to pry it up, but he also crushed her.