Tokyo: They say it's just dating, but they're serious about it.

They ran very fast.

I rushed back to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in about twenty minutes, but the taxi couldn't get in when I stopped at the entrance of Kenta's alley.

Katsuhiko originally wanted the driver to wait at the intersection for a while, and after he dropped Eiyo and Kotoha off at home, he would take him to Mikoto's house to get the money, but the kind-hearted driver insisted on taking them both.

Katsuhiko first let Eiyo and Kotoha into the house, telling them to come back later, and then led the driver to Mikoto's house.

It was already 11:30, but thankfully the lights were still on in Mikoto's house.

Chapter 33 The Gossipy Man's Lost Teeth

Sayuri was also at Mikoto's house.

Mikoto and Sayuri worked at the convenience store until 10 p.m. After closing and going home, Katsuhiko still hadn't returned, nor had he made a phone call.

Little Lily seemed distracted.

Mikoto could truly understand Sayuri's feelings. Although she was about to become a wife, she had only just started dating, and everything was new and exciting. She must be thinking about it all the time.

Mikoto also felt that she was similar to Sayuri. Although her child was already four years old, she was only twenty-eight. Moreover, without comparison, one cannot know what the difference is. She had indeed experienced something new with Katsuhiko, and she couldn't stand it.

However, Mikoto is a mother after all, and she is more mature than Sayuri in terms of both experience and thinking. Even if she can't help feeling lonely, she can hide her emotions.

At this point, it's natural to comfort and guide Sayuri. We definitely can't let her go home alone, in case Katsuhiko doesn't come home at night.

Moreover, Mikoto has obtained the status of a proper wife, which she never dared to dream of. Naturally, she should carry forward the spirit of the lady of the house and learn to have a sense of the big picture, so that her husband, who is worried about things outside, will still have to worry when he comes home.

Then, Mikoto used the pretext of discussing the future merger of the stores to bring Xiaobai's contract into her home.

After Katsuhiko rang the doorbell, the two of them went to the front door.

It was late at night, and there was a long wait fee for the taxi, so Katsuhiko asked Mikoto for 30,000 yen to send the driver away.

"Kenta is dead... I just brought his sister and his wife back..."

Sheng Yan didn't enter the gate. He saw the two looking at his work clothes and briefly explained what had happened that day, as well as the situation at Kenta's factory.

"They've only been married for three days, right?"

Mikoto and Sayuri were shocked and couldn't help but feel saddened by Kenta's suicide and sympathetic to Kotoha's plight.

"Is there anyone else in their family?" Mikoto asked.

"There's probably not anyone left. Debt collectors come to harass us every day. His father has disappeared, his mother is hospitalized, and his sister has also divorced and returned home."

As Katsuhiko spoke, he looked towards Kenta's house to the south.

The sky was pitch black, and nothing could be seen at all, but after daylight, the red tiles on the roof of her house at the back could be seen.

When Mikoto heard that Eiyo's situation was similar to her own—divorced and returning home—she blinked almost reflexively.

Following Katsuhiko's gaze, Sayuri looked into the darkness, then turned back and asked, "Do they live nearby?"

“It’s quite close, less than a hundred meters.” Katsuhiko casually pointed. “That’s the house.”

Xiaobaihe looked worried and whispered, "If debt collectors come to harass us again, it's not safe for the two of them to be home alone..."

Mikoto glanced at Sayuri, then turned back to look at Katsuhiko.

Katsuhiko seemed a little surprised as he looked at Sayuri.

With a puzzled look on her face, Sayuri looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Sheng Yan nodded and said, "It is indeed not safe. Their factory was vandalized by yakuza today. Luckily, I arrived in time, otherwise they would have been kidnapped to pay off debts. Who knows, they might have broken into their house tonight as well."

Lily seemed startled and looked somewhat bewildered.

Mikoto glanced at Sayuri, considered for a moment, and said to Katsuhiko, "Why don't you bring them here to hide out for a while?"

Sheng Yan said, "I asked them on the way here, but they didn't agree. Maybe they're worried about causing us trouble! I think they both seem a bit off; I wonder if they might do something rash."

Little Lily covered her mouth and gasped, asking, "Then what should we do?"

“Before Kenta died, he asked me to take care of the two girls,” Katsuhiko sighed, then continued, “Kenta was a very good person. He paid six months’ rent for the apartment I live in now, so I have no chance to repay him.”

“His wife and sister are both here, they can definitely repay him!” Xiaobaihe nodded in agreement, then asked, “Should we go and visit him?”

“Then I’ll go visit them tomorrow. It’s getting late.” Katsuhiko raised his wristwatch and continued, “After the holiday, there’s a funeral for Kenta. It’s really difficult to manage with just the two of them as women. I need to go and lend a hand.”

“Of course,” Little Lily nodded and said, “we’ll all go and help.”

“Okay.” Katsuhiko nodded.

Mikoto blinked, feeling Katsuhiko glance at her, and immediately said, "Why don't you go over and keep an eye on them tonight? If something really happens to them, we'll have failed Kenta's dying wish, and we'll feel really guilty!"

"That's all we can do."

Katsuhiko nodded, then pulled out a handful of 100-yen coins from his pocket, about thirty or so, including two gold coins and one half-gold coin.

Katsuhiko's pockets were almost overflowing; they rattled as he walked. He figured he'd collect a lot of coins tonight...

Sayuri and Mikoto were both completely bewildered.

Little Sayuri's small hands couldn't hold them all, so Katsuhiko placed the coins into their hands separately, saying, "Put these coins in a piggy bank. Don't exchange them for cash at the bank. I need to keep the coins."

"Oh……"

"Is this made of pure gold?" Mikoto said, picking up a gold coin. "I've never seen a commemorative coin with a face value of 100 yen before, and it doesn't even have any markings to commemorate anything."

"You two should go back to sleep!" Sheng Yan patted each of them lightly on the bottom, then turned and walked away, waving goodbye as he said, "Don't forget to bring three breakfasts tomorrow morning."

Sayuri's eyes widened suddenly, and her gaze towards Mikoto held a hint of apology and helplessness.

Mikoto was instinctively startled, but upon seeing Sayuri's appearance, she immediately realized what was happening.

She immediately adopted a "feigned calm" demeanor, seemingly unable to hide her embarrassment and indignation. She blushed, then feigned indifference, rubbed her backside, abruptly turned and walked through the door, saying, "Little Lily, Mr. Takenaka… never mind! It's just a small matter. After all, we'll be working together long-term…"

Sayuri jumped in surprise and hurriedly chased after him into the room, saying, "Manager Mikoto..."

"Why are you calling me Manager Mikoto again?" Mikoto was secretly delighted. She ran to the door, turned back, and pretended to be displeased. "Didn't we agree on that before?"

While busy at the convenience store, the two were overjoyed to have submitted their marriage registration documents on the same day, and Mikoto took the opportunity to bring them closer together.

"Oh, Mikoto-neechan," Sayuri quickly corrected herself, continuing, "It was a misunderstanding, please let me explain..."

"No need to explain... just lock the door for me."

Little Lily was so anxious that she forgot to close the door.

“Sister Mikoto~ My husband didn’t mean it,” Sayuri turned around, locked the door, and chased after Mikoto into the room, grabbing her hand and saying, “Please don’t take it to heart, okay? I apologize to you on his behalf…”

Regarding the incident of Katsuhiko patting Mikoto's butt, Sayuri did have some reservations before submitting the marriage registration, mainly because she was worried that Katsuhiko would fall for someone else and abandon her.

But things are different now; a weight has been lifted from my heart.

Once the holiday is over, I'll be Katsuhiko's legal wife, which gives me a great sense of security.

Sayuri couldn't hold it in any longer. When she got her household registration book, she told her mother about Katsuhiko's shop and how he earned millions of yen a day.

Her mother then relayed the message to her father, Mr. Kudo, who said, "A young man who earns so much money dares to register for marriage so early; it seems he truly loves you... If only I had earned this much money back then..."

Xiaobaihe now feels that her husband is simply taking advantage of other people's girlfriends.

Just like her father, he clearly loves her mother too, but he'll always sit in the truck cab and whistle at pretty girls passing by...

I'm torn between laughing and getting angry. Manager Mikoto's figure, especially her height, is so enviable; she's a real beauty…

"Since it's a misunderstanding, there's no need to apologize. I'm not a little girl anymore."

Mikoto suppressed a laugh, took the white porcelain piggy bank with a lucky cat design that Katsuhiko had given her as a birthday present from the TV cabinet, sat down on the sofa, rolled her eyes, touched her slightly red face with one hand, and said in a joking tone, "After all, your husband, Mr. Takenaka, is so handsome and young. It's really hard to know how he treats an old woman like me. I'm relieved that Sayuri-chan isn't jealous."

"No, I'm not jealous..." Sayuri shook her head and nodded repeatedly. "Misaka-neechan is so charming. As long as you're not angry, that's all that matters..."

After the holiday, there will be a new household registration transcript, so there's no need to be jealous. After all, Manager Mikoto has a boyfriend...

As soon as Sayuri finished speaking, she suddenly felt that her older sister, Mikoto, was a little sorry for her boyfriend whom she had never met.

To be honest, every time I asked her something, she would deliberately change the subject and steer the conversation towards her husband, asking embarrassing questions that made me feel really awkward...

“Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, let’s quickly put the coins in the piggy bank!” Mikoto stuffed coins into the piggy bank. “It’s getting late, and we have to get up early to cook tomorrow.”

“Speaking of which, Mrs. Kotoyo is really pitiful.” Sayuri also started stuffing coins into the piggy bank. “It seems like we’re short of an accountant at our shop. My husband said that Mrs. Kotoyo works as an accountant at a factory. Should we invite her?”

Although Katsuhiko only briefly mentioned the situation at the food processing plant, the fact that even the president, Kenta, was forced to jump off a building means it must be very serious, probably leading to bankruptcy and closure. In that case, Kotoha would definitely lose her job.

Xiaobaihe deeply understands the pain of not being able to find a job.

“Of course, we can open the new store together. You can own half of it, and we can arrange it however we like,” Mikoto blinked and continued, “Mr. Takenaka also said that Ms. Eita works as a legal counsel in the factory, and our store is also short of a legal counsel, so why not invite her together? Of course, the final decision will still be made by asking Mr. Takenaka how he plans to arrange it. After all, none of us have his money-making brain, and perhaps he has a better plan.”

Just now, Katsuhiko mumbled a lot of things at the gate. Every word that Mikoto heard sounded like he was saying: Katsuhiko is in charge of Eiyo and Kotoha's future.

As for how to take responsibility, it's obvious that only Sayuri doesn't understand... Of course, Sayuri will find out sooner or later, and then she'll feel the pressure.

Poor little Lily, I'm sorry. Although I'm on equal footing with you now, I don't have to worry about anything, I'm not responsible, and I have no pressure. I'm so happy... Mikoto secretly chuckled.

Then it suddenly occurred to me what Yingdai and Qinye were doing.

She wondered if the two of them knew about the situation here... Mikoto suddenly felt a bit of pressure again. She was worried about Katsuhiko, wondering if he could take care of things? Could he hold on? After all, they lived so close, they probably didn't have much time to rest.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Katsuhiko put down the coin and returned to Kenta's front door unburdened. Before he could even ring the doorbell, Eiyo opened the door.

She waited behind the door.

Because Katsuhiko walked to his house with his driver to get money, Eiyo assumed that Katsuhiko also lived there.

She actually hoped that Katsuhiko would take her and Kotoha with him, because this family had indeed been targeted by a debt-collecting gang.

Unfortunately, Katsuhiko walked too fast, and by the time she realized what was happening, he was already far away.

A short while later, the taxi driver returned along the same route. Hearing the footsteps, Eiyo assumed that Katsuhiko had also arrived, so she opened the door.

Then the driver suddenly said to her, "That guy has a wife, don't be fooled by him. I think you're pitiful, that's why..."

Yingdai's mind went blank for a moment. He slammed the door shut and cursed, "Mind your own business, you blabbermouth!"

The driver cursed, "You don't appreciate kindness," and drove off.

At the wedding a few days ago, Sheng Yan had already mentioned that he had a new girlfriend.

For Yingdai, she was somewhat prepared. However, she was just a girlfriend, and she wasn't bad off herself.

During the day, he was so handsome, radiating light, and he even hooked my chin with his finger. It felt like my heart was being pulled out of my chest. He was so manly. He even carried me up the stairs like a rag doll. He was so strong. I've never experienced anything like this before.

Most importantly, now there's no one else to rely on but him; he's the safest and most reliable person.