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

Before she could finish speaking, Xiaobaihe jumped up and ran headlong towards the restaurant, shouting, "I'm not going, I'm not going! Mom already saw me! I'll rest here..."

She probably wants to talk to her mother about something private.

Strolling through Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, although the season for Tokyo's cherry blossoms to bloom has passed, there are still late-blooming cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Today is the first day of the Golden Week holiday.

On the grass under the double cherry blossoms, many parents with their children were having a picnic on blue plastic sheets.

Even though the economy is sluggish, we still have to have fun and enjoy ourselves; we can't lack spiritual sustenance.

Economy is relative to material things, and culture is relative to spiritual things.

When material needs cannot be met, people naturally turn to spiritual fulfillment. The economic downturn of the next decade also ushered in a golden decade for Japan's entertainment and cultural industry.

I arrived at 10:30.

Kenta's wedding ceremony was held at a hotel near his home.

There were about thirty or forty guests, and the venue was fairly standard.

There was a small table specifically for collecting monetary gifts. A woman, not yet thirty, with light makeup, a stern face, and no smiles, was sitting there registering guests.

Usually, it's relatives who register. Katsuhiko rummaged through his memory: Kenta had a divorced older sister who had returned home. What was her name again? He forgot… Oh, on the left side of her prominent breasts, there was a name: Watanabe Eiyo…

Just as Katsuhiko walked to the registration table, music suddenly started playing.

The wedding ceremony began.

As Sheng Yan took out a red envelope and handed it to the table, he glanced back at the table...

The newlyweds walked in arm in arm.

Kenta, with his square face, was wearing a black suit and grinned, revealing a set of buck teeth.

Kotoha Takahashi, dressed in a strapless white wedding gown, stood tall and slender, with a reserved smile on her face.

"Um?!?"

Katsuhiko was stunned the moment he saw Kotoha.

He noticed the words "Kotohashi Takahashi" appearing before his eyes, along with a 7-day countdown, counting down in seconds.

He thought his eyes were damaged from staying up late, so he subconsciously raised his left hand and waved it in front of his eyes twice. Was it still there?

Whether you blink or rub your eyes, those words seem to be etched into your lens.

What's going on? Is this the real cheat code?

At that moment, the red envelope in his right hand was suddenly snatched away.

It was like robbing someone... Sheng Yan turned around in surprise.

With a stern face, Yingdai opened the red envelope, picked up a pen, and with her head down, copied the name "Takenaka Katsuhiko" written on the envelope into the register.

The name "Kotohashi Takahashi" and the countdown numbers in Katsuhiko's field of vision suddenly disappeared. He subconsciously turned around and saw Kotohashi Takahashi reappear the moment he looked back.

She only appears when you look for her? What does the countdown mean? Does she have seven days left to live?

"Alright, let's go in!"

Eiyo's cold tone interrupted Katsuhiko's train of thought once again.

Having his train of thought interrupted twice in a row, Katsuhiko lost his good mood. As for the anomalies in his field of vision, they would disappear as long as he didn't look at Kotoha, so he could completely ignore them.

After all, it's impossible for us to have any relationship with her in the future.

"On your brother's big day, why are you wearing such a sour face? Who are you trying to impress?" Sheng Yan mimicked her expression, his face contorted, and said in a low voice, "You're not young anymore, don't you know any manners?"

Ying Dai rolled her eyes, lowered her eyelids, and didn't respond.

"Tell Kenta I have something urgent to attend to and I'm leaving now."

Sheng Yan was too lazy to argue with her. After saying that, he walked out, but after taking only two steps, he felt uncomfortable and immediately turned around and sneered, "Ha! Big breasts, no brains."

Yingdai's face instantly turned ugly. She abruptly looked up, slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and shouted, "Stop right there!"

Her voice was just drowned out by Kenta's shouts from the sound system: "Katsuhiko-kun, is Katsuhiko-kun there? Didn't you have something to say to me?"

What he was referring to was the speech prepared by "the one who disappeared".

Katsuhiko initially wanted to pretend he hadn't heard.

Eiyo pointed to the door and shouted, "Mr. Takenaka Katsuhiko, where are you going?"

All eyes were drawn to the entrance.

Katsuhiko didn't hesitate and immediately turned back, casually making up an excuse about "going to the toilet or something," but "it's not important, I can bear it," and walked straight through the crowd toward Kenta.

After all, they've already been in the public eye, and simply walking away like this would put Kenta in an awkward position.

On the high platform, Kenta, holding the microphone, stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

Kotoha Takahashi, who was holding his arm, also looked quite surprised.

After all, the newlyweds were good friends with "the one who disappeared"...

Katsuhiko and "the one who disappeared" are very different in appearance, except for their faces. Now he has short hair and no longer wears black-rimmed glasses.

It's inevitable that their first reaction upon seeing Katsuhiko would be to harbor suspicions similar to those of Mikoto and Sayuri.

However, since "him who disappeared" and Kenta hadn't seen each other for more than half a month, Katsuhiko continued to make up excuses such as "quick-fix fitness," "devilish fitness," and "crazy fitness."

Kenta nodded blankly, but he still looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. Katsuhiko quickly grabbed the microphone and got to the point.

It was definitely not from the prepared speech. He combined his memories of living in the same dormitory with Kenta, focusing on "brotherly friendship," and simply narrated it in an emotional way. It was pretty standard.

Kenta's eyes were red and filled with tears as he patted Katsuhiko's arm hard.

When Takahashi Kotoha was mentioned, Katsuhiko couldn't help but look at her again.

The countdown timer in the viewport reappeared, and it had changed. Below the countdown, a number appeared that increased every second, seemingly faster the closer you were to the countdown.

What is this thing? But it doesn't matter.

If Katsuhiko can't figure out something that's obviously mystical or nonsensical, he usually won't dwell on it too much.

Afterwards, a rather conventional speech was given to Kotohashi, and finally, as the groom's best friend, he offered his heartfelt blessings...

"Katsuhiko-kun, you've changed so much..."

The banquet was about to begin, and Kenta still looked shocked and moved.

Katsuhiko didn't want to stay there any longer. The numbers were greatly affecting his thinking. He exchanged a few polite words with Kenta, drank a glass of the wedding wine offered to him by the two of them, and then made an excuse that he had "just gotten a girlfriend and was going on a date" to say goodbye and leave.

Chapter 8 Wholesale Game Cards

Katsuhiko left the hotel and headed straight for Shinjuku Central Park.

There's a pretty big flea market there.

I currently have less than 70,000 yen in cash, all of which was withdrawn from my credit card. Next week is the payment due date, and I definitely can't use this to pay it off.

At this time, engaging in reselling business was almost perfectly timed to be at the forefront of the times.

Although the economic bubble burst two years ago, its aftereffects have only begun to affect the lower classes on a large scale this year.

Back then, extravagance and waste were rampant; people wouldn't even pick up money if it fell on the ground. Anyone who tried to pick up money was afraid of being laughed at, and people wouldn't dare wear slightly old clothes out in public for fear of losing face.

Things are different now. People have started to value thrift and are careful not to waste anything... When everyone does this, it becomes a trend.

Around 11 a.m., it was the busiest time. It was chaotic, comparable to a crowded farmers' market.

The small stalls, covered with blue plastic sheets, had everything: pots and pans, outdated records, yellowed postcards, game consoles... nearly new fur coats, unopened designer bags, watches, jewelry and all kinds of luxury goods.

At this time, the second-hand brand-name and luxury goods listed are so cheap that you can buy them without hesitation, as there are virtually no fakes.

Of course, luxury goods are not currently on Sheng Yan's radar. Not only can he not afford them, but there's also no market for them, since not many people in the local area buy them, so they can only be shipped to Guangdong...

At this point, those doing secondhand business locally need to focus on "practicality," "affordability," and "low-cost emotional value," combined with the "spiritual sustenance" trend of the next decade, such as game cards, classic records, celebrity autographs, classic photo albums, and videotapes...

Flea markets are the best channel for sourcing goods. Sellers are ordinary people who are eager to clear out their stock and are not sensitive to game prices, so they can buy at low cost.

The distribution channels are Akihabara, Nihonbashi, and various secondhand stores.

Currently, the most promising games on the market are classic titles from the FC and SFC, such as *Dragon Quest*, *Final Fantasy*, and *Super Mario Bros.*. These games have a large player base, excellent marketability, and brand new copies are priced at 4000+ yen.

Second-hand items can be bought for 100-500 yen and resold for 500-2000 yen.

Although the profit margin is not high, the turnover is quick, and the cash flow is never interrupted.

Of course, to maximize profits, we need to find individual buyers; perhaps we could consider giving Xiaobaihe a part-time job…

Katsuhiko was well aware of future trends, so he didn't even consider "testing the waters" with this purchase. Moreover, taking advantage of the "convenience" of knowing the value of something just by touching it, he spent all 60,000 yen he had on him and bought more than 400 game cards.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the flea market began to close up shop, the sunlight turning a yellowish hue.

Katsuhiko walked out of the park carrying two worn-out backpacks stuffed with game cards, weighing about 20 pounds each.

Only then did he realize that he hadn't slept since last night, was exhausted and sleepy, and had only drunk two glasses of wine at noon without eating lunch.

However, I was still pleased to have a used game cartridge that I could sell for over 300,000 yen.

In the small square of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, many businesses organized numerous family-friendly outdoor activities on the first day of Golden Week.

It's about parents playing games and winning prizes with their children who are under ten years old.

Katsuhiko, carrying a backpack, passed by the small amusement park. The backpack was so tight that his fingers hurt, so he sat down on a rest chair outside the park, watching the fun and shaking his hands to rest.

The family was filled with joy, especially the children, who rolled around in the sunset, chattering and laughing, looking truly carefree.

Under a cherry blossom tree not far away, a four-year-old girl with a small backpack stood behind the tree, looking into the playground.

Behind her, on the grass, was a woman wearing a beige dress with long, loose hair, kneeling on a blue plastic sheet, holding a paper bag in her arms, and placing various snacks on it.

Next to her was a light green tent that hadn't been set up yet, next to which was a portable gas stove and a small basket containing ingredients.

Katsuhiko subconsciously sat up straight, then leaned forward again to take a closer look.

Is it Chinatsu and Mikoto, the store manager?

At this time, Sayuri had already gone to work, and Mikoto was taking Chinatsu on a parent-child outdoor activity.

Unexpectedly, after Mikoto changed into a long dress and let her hair down, she looked both elegant and intellectual.

Since she's so generous, I shouldn't mind going over for a meal or a drink of water, right? I haven't had a drop of water since noon...