Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

Now, being treated with such apparent lack of disdain, all pretense has been shattered, leaving only instinctive shame and unease.

Afterwards, they could only say things they didn't mean and do things that didn't match their true feelings, in order to alleviate their shame and cover up the strange emotions of feeling they had no way to repay the favor.

“I want to, it’s none of your business. I’ll continue in the future. I want to practice my dumpling ears,” Xiuming rubbed his ears, which were a little sore from being pinched, and sat on the small bed, nudging Ayako with his bottom. “Don’t dodge, it’s your turn now… hurry up…”

There are all kinds of people in this world.

Some people, even without receiving any tangible reward, feel happy simply by seeing the other person smile because of their help after offering a small act of assistance.

There are also those who deliberately play pranks, deriving a perverse pleasure from others' pain, embarrassment, or discomfort.

Xiuming firmly believes that he belongs to the first type of person, the kind who feels happy after bringing happiness to others.

Just like now, through the barely suppressed blush on Ayako's lips and the undisguised eagerness to repay her in her eyes, even though she masked it with embarrassment and annoyance, he could still be completely certain that he had provided her with happiness beyond her imagination.

Of course, in matters between the sexes, it is natural to provide emotional value and happiness to each other; one-sided giving can easily lead to problems.

It might put unbearable pressure on Ayako, or it might make her feel dissatisfied with her.

"You shameless bastard," Ayako suddenly turned around, slamming Hideaki's shoulders onto the small bed with both hands, her cheeks flushed red, "I'll show you what I'm capable of... and I'll find your weakness too..."

……

The toilet and bathroom are combined, which is located in the living room on the first floor.

The living room, located near the bathroom wall, contains a stock trading monitor, a rectangular table, Ezaki's desk, and all the stock trading equipment, including a fax machine, printer, computer, and telephone.

At nine o'clock in the evening, two hours after Hideaki and Ayako went into the bathroom, the landline phone on the rectangular table rang.

Ezaki opened the door to the maid's room on the second floor and glanced at the living room expressionlessly. The ringing of the landline phone mingled with Ayako's muffled, strange cries coming from behind the white wooden door of the bathroom.

She slammed the door shut with a bang.

"Wait...wait, wait a minute..." Ayako's eyes were glazed over as she pressed her hand against Hideaki's chest. "It sounds like the phone is ringing outside...you should stop right now..."

"What call? I'm not answering."

"Is this a question of whether to answer or not...you beast..."

Half an hour later, there were two loud knocks on the door.

"Are you ever going to stop?" Jiang Qi's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "I need to go to the toilet!"

"Did you hear that?" Ayako asked anxiously, "She needs to go to the bathroom..."

"You're really terrible, not even as good as Riko," Hideaki said disdainfully as he finished dressing.

"You wait..." Ayako said weakly, wrapping herself in a bath towel. "When you're in your forties or fifties, I'll show you what humiliation really means..."

“When I’m in my forties or fifties, and you’re in your forties or fifties too,” Xiuming said, opening the white wooden door and turning back with a smile, “I’ll choose a girl in her mid-twenties… Ah!!

Before he could finish speaking, he was punched hard in the stomach, and he couldn't help but bend over, almost vomiting bile.

"You beast, you're stopping me from using the toilet! Get out of the way!" Jiang Qi gritted his teeth, his face ashen, and shoved Xiu Ming aside before stepping inside. "This is your punishment."

The door slammed shut before Ayako came out, followed by a slapping sound and Ayako's soft gasp.

Xiuming had no time to care about what was going on inside. Clutching his aching stomach, he leaned against the wall and sat down in a chair next to the rectangular table.

I was careless and overestimated Ezaki's magnanimity. Was I too kind to her and made her forget the slap mark on her face?

The white landline phone next to me rang again.

It was a phone call from Tachibana.

"Hello?" Xiuming asked weakly.

"Shu...Mingjun, are you asleep?"

Tachibana was in a public phone booth, holding the receiver in her right hand and clutching a book with the words "Love Strategy" in her left, the pages scratched by her fingernails.

At 10 p.m., it was still drizzling outside. Tachibana was only wearing a thin women's work uniform, her hair was wet from the rain, her lips were a little purple, and she was shivering from the cold.

Because Hideaki rejected Tachibana's invitation to Disneyland, the bald team leader didn't let Tachibana leave work early, and she's only leaving now.

Tachibana was in a daze all afternoon, her mind filled with Hideaki's cold attitude when he spoke at noon, Ezaki's tone when he called, and Ezaki's behavior of hanging up the phone when she asked her what her relationship with Hideaki was.

Of course, there's also the bald team leader's conclusion: a man that rich and young certainly won't lack women...

Tachibana really wanted to call Hideaki using the company landline and, with the help of dating advice, test Hideaki's attitude towards her.

But with all my colleagues staring at me, it was so embarrassing to take out that kind of book. I finally waited until the end of the workday, forgetting even my umbrella, and rushed downstairs to the public phone booth.

I dialed three times, but no one answered.

Her heart grew heavier and heavier, and she had to comfort herself that Xiuming must be busy with work and hadn't heard... But the repeated lack of answering made her have an even worse premonition.

But when she thought about how rich Hideaki was, her life of luxury for the rest of her life, her lofty dream of buying 9 million yen worth of jewelry, becoming a rich lady, and having sales clerks grovel... everything depended on him.

After all, he's such a handsome man, and he's still wearing a single-looking ring on his index finger.

The first man in my life to make my heart flutter like this, I must hold on tight to him.

I won't allow another woman to take him away. After all, we've already held hands, and he's even expressed his feelings for me...

Upon answering the phone and hearing Hideaki's voice, Tachibana completely forgot all her thorough preparations, clutching the dating guide book in her hand as a tool to release her nervousness.

"I'm on the phone with you, how could I possibly be asleep?" Xiuming rubbed his stomach and said irritably, "What is it? Speak quickly."

"Ah... I'm sorry, it's just..." Tachibana's heart was pounding wildly. She thought she had upset Hideaki. What should she do...? "I'm sorry, did I disturb your sleep... I'm sorry..."

Xiuming was speechless, then chuckled and said, "Should I sleep here again?"

"Well... alright then..." Tachibana was tearing pages from the book in her left hand. She couldn't hear what she was saying anymore, and just instinctively followed Hideaki's lead.

"What's up, calling so late?" Xiuming suddenly felt his stomachache disappear. Chatting with such a sweet and innocent girl was really interesting. Maybe if he sold her out, she would even count the money for him and make up the difference out of her own pocket. "Did you miss me?"

"Huh? Yes... no, it's just..." Tachibana's mind was buzzing. She was delighted that her thoughts had been guessed, but she didn't know how to respond to such a direct statement, so she could only tear up the paper one by one.

"You can say it boldly if you miss me! I miss you too! So I'm saying it boldly. Come on, say it to me."

"Me... um... me too..."

A cold wind blew through the street, carrying a drizzle that lashed against Tachibana's collar. She shivered, but thanks to Hideaki's guidance, she felt less nervous, as if they had developed feelings for each other.

"Where are you? Why is your voice trembling?"

Xiuming brought the phone receiver closer to his ear again. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass, the sound of cars speeding by, and the sound of the wind...

It's probably not on the roadside!

As Xiuming was guessing, the small white door to the restroom behind him was pulled open.

Ezaki walked over with a dark expression, followed by Ayako, whose face was flushed and who was leaning against the wall.

Both of them stared intently at him, and sat on either side of him, tilting their heads to listen.

"I...I'm in a public phone booth by the roadside..." came Tachibana's trembling voice from the receiver.

The sound coming from the receiver was loud enough for Ezaki and Ayako to hear.

Both of them looked at each other with varying degrees of contempt.

"Is it still raining outside?" Hideaki looked at both of them and continued to say to Tachibana, "Hurry home, don't catch a cold, I'll worry about you."

How could we miss such a good way to get them to accept the banners? Besides, they are both bannermen, so neither of them should exclude the other.

"No, it's nothing..." Tachibana's voice suddenly revealed joy, then became cautious, "Um... I, I wanted to ask, Hideaki-kun, do you have a girlfriend..."

It gives you a sense of waiting for a life-or-death verdict.

Although Xiuming wasn't worried about his secret being exposed, the thought that Xiaobaihua was out in the middle of the night, braving the rain, running to a public phone booth by the roadside to call him was still unsettling.

I was somewhat worried that she might suffer some kind of shock and end up walking home in the rain, looking lost and disoriented... I could totally imagine that scene, after all, she's such an innocent girl.

Of course, there is another extreme case: we usually consider whether she will turn evil, but we cannot rule out the possibility that she might jump off a bridge in an extreme way.

I recently read in the entertainment section of a newspaper that Nakamori Mei was so badly cheated on by a scumbag that she almost committed suicide by cutting her wrists!

Thankfully, he recovered and is currently preparing for his comeback concert.

Should we interview her to understand her thoughts and feelings? Let her repent for her foolish suicide attempt.

So what if you got dumped by a jerk? What's wrong with being a jerk yourself? Is it necessary to be so extreme?

If everyone followed suit, what would become of us?

Hideaki's eyes widened as he met the varying degrees of disdain from Ezaki and Ayako, and he said loudly, "Aren't you one? We've held hands!"

Chapter 106 How could this be?

"Ah, really? Hideaki-kun, I, I'm so happy..." Tachibana held the microphone, her face beaming with tears.

The tension and anxiety from before, as well as the grievances and worries that had accumulated while braving the rain and cold wind to wait for the phone call, all burst forth uncontrollably after hearing Xiuming's formal response.

"Okay, okay, I'm happy too, let's go home now!"

"No, it's nothing... I... ah?" Tachibana froze, the phone went dead, and she murmured, "Has it already hung up...?"

She wanted to talk to Xiuming some more. Although she didn't know what to talk about, she figured they could at least have something to talk about. After all, he was her girlfriend.

By the way, what is his relationship with Ezaki? As his girlfriend, it shouldn't be a big deal to ask such a question, right?

But Xiuming hung up the phone too quickly. I wanted to call back, but I was worried that it would annoy Xiuming.

She stood there in the public phone booth for a long time, feeling somewhat pleased, but also as if something was missing.

Why is this happening?

Tachibana didn't dare to call back. She picked up the torn pieces of paper scattered all over the floor and boarded the train home...

The reason why Hideaki hung up the phone so quickly was because Ezaki and Ayako's expressions changed.

As I said before, although I'm not worried about being exposed, I still have to take into account the possibility that the innocent girl might not be able to withstand the shock and jump off the bridge. After all, it's so cold outside, and it's raining. We don't know where she is, and there might not be time to rescue her.

“You two have disappointed me greatly,” Hideaki said, leaning back in his chair and glancing at the two women whose expressions had changed. “If it were Riko, she would definitely have poured me a cup of coffee by now. You two are far inferior to Riko.”

"Huh? Is that the problem?!" Ayako was stunned, then slammed her hand on the table and exclaimed, "She's just an innocent little girl who's never even been in a relationship! How can you bear to lie to her?"

“If you can’t speak properly, then shut up,” Hideaki poked Ayako’s forehead with his index finger. “Go get me a cup of coffee. I wasted a lot of breath on you just now, and this is how you repay me? You didn’t even say thank you.”

"You... shameless..." Ayako's face flushed red. She picked up her cane and walked upstairs, turning back to say, "I'll tell her what kind of scum you are!"

"You'd better choose the right time, otherwise if she can't take the shock and tries to commit suicide, you'll be the murderer."

Ayako had just stepped onto the stairs when she froze, nearly falling. She threw her metal cane to the ground, scrambled up the stairs, and entered the room. "Bastard! Scumbag! Trash! You'll regret this!"