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

"We're all family, it's only right, it's only right..." Katsuhiko held the wine glass in both hands, his smile sycophantic.

Then, Mrs. Kudo handed Mikoto a glass, saying: "Thank you for taking care of Sayuri-chan all these years," and so on...

"You're welcome, because Sayuri-chan is really kind..." Mikoto nodded and bowed, "Sayuri-chan and I are already partners. Her used goods store is doing better, and I need her help a lot. Please, please..."

Finally, it was Qinye's turn.

Kotoha sat to Mrs. Kudo's right, the two of them sitting close together.

Mrs. Kudo didn't say anything at first, but looked at her with a smile on her lips.

Qin Ye, following etiquette, held the wine cup with both hands, knelt upright, and waited quietly for the elders to speak.

Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, his eyes instinctively glanced at Katsuhiko's face.

Katsuhiko was grabbing Sayuri's hand, trying to stop her from drinking beer, and the two of them were playfully bickering with their heads down.

Qin Ye pursed her lips and looked away.

She suddenly realized that, among everyone present, her publicly known identity was the most awkward.

Yingdai is her benefactor lawyer, Meiqin is her business partner, and she herself is someone caught cheating.

I shouldn't have come. When I had the least to offer, I came to fight for this. I was so stupid... Qinye awkwardly rubbed her wine glass with her fingers.

Mrs. Kudo said, "I heard that Kotoha-chan's husband was a classmate of Katsuhiko-kun."

"Yes……"

Kotoha instinctively lowered her head. Mentioning Kenta at this critical moment would obviously embarrass her... She had a flash of inspiration and immediately added in a low voice, "That, too, is Eiyo's younger brother."

The Englishman didn't look to the side, but only held his wine glass.

“I know, after all, I attended your husband’s funeral,” Mrs. Kudo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “By the way, what is your relationship with Katsuhiko?”

Qin Ye's hand holding the wine glass trembled, and she almost spilled it.

Her face flushed red and then turned pale.

“It was a support relationship,” Katsuhiko explained, holding Sayuri’s hand and craning his neck. “Kenta and I were very good classmates. Now that he’s gone, he asked me to take care of him…”

Sayuri secretly pinched Katsuhiko's leg with her other hand, and Katsuhiko gasped before he could finish speaking.

"I see," Mrs. Kudo glanced at Sayuri with disdain, then raised her glass and said, "Enough of that, enough of that, everyone's hungry, cheers! Kotoha-chan, don't be shy, come on."

Qin Ye's face was already flushed. She pursed her lips, gritted her teeth, and clinked glasses with Qin Ye.

After putting down her wine glass, Mrs. Kudo invited everyone to start eating...

Sayuri's large beer was replaced by Katsuhiko's medium beer.

However, she couldn't drink much. After only two sips, her face turned red and she started hiccuping. Fortunately, it was just a flush on her face, and she wasn't drunk.

Mrs. Kudo frowned slightly and said to Sayuri, "Pour Katsuhiko-kun some wine."

When a woman pours wine for a man, it is considered considerate. Mrs. Kudo wanted to save face for her disappointing daughter.

Sayuri pouted, picked up her beer, and poured half of it into Katsuhiko's glass.

Mikoto played her part, taking the opportunity to pick up the wine bottle and pour wine for everyone.

As she walked around to Sayuri's side, Sayuri suddenly asked, "Mikoto-neechan, why isn't your boyfriend here?"

Mikoto laughed and said, "Oh dear, he's just too busy. When I called him, he said he was on a business trip in Hokkaido!"

“Okay,” Sayuri nodded, then stared at Katsuhiko and said, “You should learn from Mikoto’s boyfriend. He’s always traveling for work, but he’s still chaste. You’re like this at home.”

As Sayuri spoke, she glanced sideways at Qinye.

Qin Ye, like a well-behaved child, lowered her head and held the wine glass, remaining motionless.

She realized that she was here to suffer, but it was something she had to endure, because it was worth it for the sake of happiness.

Also, if we could register at a different ward office with Katsuhiko at the right time...

Someone like Mikoto, even if she suffers a lot of grievances, would probably secretly be happy inside, right?

It'll probably be difficult. I don't know if Katsuhiko-kun will agree... No, I have to get him to agree. He's irreplaceable. I have to find a way...

Qinye was engrossed in finding a solution, ignoring Xiaobaihe's hostility.

Katsuhiko scratched Sayuri's palm and said, "My friend entrusted me with this on his deathbed, and I would feel guilty if I didn't help him."

Sayuri whispered in Katsuhiko's ear, "How did you help her? Did your friend tell you to help his wife like that?"

“Speaking of Hokkaido, I remember now,” Mrs. Kudo raised her voice slightly, drowning out Sayuri’s voice, and continued, “Katsuhiko-kun, your hometown is in Hokkaido, right? How are your parents doing?”

“It’s nice, fishing, growing vegetables,” Katsuhiko said, glancing at Mr. Kudo, who was holding a wine glass and having Mikoto pour him a drink. “His skin is tanned just like Dad’s, which is very endearing.”

The image of his parents from "his lost memories" also surfaced in Sheng Yan's mind. They were both in their forties and were indeed quite tanned.

Mr. Kudo raised his large, fan-like hand, patted his scalp, and stroked it from front to back. He smiled憨厚ly, revealing a set of white teeth, and said, "When you have time, bring your parents over so we can finalize the wedding date together."

Mrs. Kudo seemed quite satisfied with her husband's performance, smiling and nodding as she asked, "Have you told your parents about registering your marriage with Sayuri-chan?"

“I told them that on the day we registered,” Sheng Yan lied without blinking, and continued, “They also said they wanted to come over, but I told them to come next month. After all, the company is just starting out, we don’t have much money, and we’re quite busy. Things will be better next month.”

"That's good, that's good," Mrs. Kudo nodded with a smile, beckoned to a waiter, asked for paper and a pen, and continued, "Katsuhiko-kun, please give me your home phone number. I'll call your parents after dinner when I have time. After all, we're registered now, so we're family..."

Sheng Yan nodded and gave his hometown landline number.

Thinking to myself, as soon as I finished eating, I would rush into a public phone booth and call my parents back home to let them know...

Mrs. Kudo wrote down the phone number, then tilted her head and asked Kotoha, "Where is Kotoha-chan from?"

"Nerima Ward..."

"Oh, so you're from the city!" Mrs. Kudo said casually, then asked, "How are your parents?"

Sayuri's hometown is in Aichi Prefecture, a place full of small factories. Her family doesn't own any land, so she has to go to Tokyo to work. Her youngest son is still being raised by his parents and attends elementary school in their hometown...

"fine……"

Because of Kenta's previous debts, Kotoha's parents also experienced debt collection harassment, and they have cut off contact with Kotoha, although it has only been half a month.

It was only then that Kotoha realized that Kenta had never visited her parents after the wedding, and had only met them once, at the pre-wedding family gathering when the dowry was paid... Kenta died before he could call them Mom and Dad... and her parents still didn't know that Kenta was dead...

Can you let Katsuhiko-kun shout it?

“Since we have this opportunity, why don’t we also give you your home phone number?” Mrs. Kudo said, holding up a pen and paper. “Let’s all get in touch.”

Qin Ye's hand trembled, knocking over the wine glass. She hurriedly picked it up and said, forcing a smile, "My apologies, I forgot..."

"Really? Okay!" Mrs. Kudo put away the paper and pen, then invited everyone to start eating...

After another round of toasts, Mrs. Kudo looked at Kotoha and asked, "How are your parents-in-law?"

Kotoha held the wine glass, while Mikoto poured the wine for her without looking at her.

Qin Ye pursed her lips, glanced at Ying Dai in the seat of honor, and said, "My mother-in-law has been admitted to a mental hospital, and my father-in-law has disappeared..."

Yingdai kept a straight face, her hand gripping the chopsticks trembling slightly.

Mrs. Kudo asked, "Have you visited your mother-in-law yet?"

"I haven't had a chance to get there yet..."

Mrs. Kudo nodded and said, "We should go and take a look..."

While they were chatting, Katsuhiko also started talking to Mr. Kudo while clinking glasses.

They were earnestly inviting Mr. Kudo to work at the food processing plant.

Mr. Kudo owns his own van and can deliver goods by car, so we let him deliver energy drinks. We don't trust outsiders, but his father-in-law is more reliable.

Mr. Kudo had indeed lost his job and urgently needed to find one. He asked, "I heard from Sayuri-chan that you run a film and television company. How did you end up working at a food processing plant?"

Of course, Sayuri was too embarrassed to tell her father that Katsuhiko ran an "adult" film company; it was too shameful. She heard it from Mikoto...

“My film and television company is also located in the food processing plant, in a rented space. The food processing plant belongs to Kotoha. After all, Kenta passed away, so she took over and became the president. She is my landlord, your boss, and she pays your salary.”

“So that’s how it is…” Mr. Kudo’s eyes were a little dazed as he turned to look at Mrs. Kudo while holding his beer glass.

Mrs. Kudo was still teasing Kotoha, whose face was flushed red and whose head was almost buried in her chest.

At that moment, Mrs. Kudo's expression froze for a second. Then, she picked up the serving chopsticks, placed a large shrimp on Kotoyo's plate, and said, "Oh dear, we've been chatting so much that we forgot to eat. Kotoyo-chan, have a shrimp, Auntie will peel it for you."

Qin Ye looked up in confusion and hurriedly said, "Auntie, no need to trouble yourself, thank you, I, I can do it myself."

The atmosphere seemed to have become somewhat more harmonious, but it also seemed to have become more awkward.

Sayuri secretly grabbed her hair, then continued pinching Katsuhiko's leg... The two entered into another playful fight.

Mrs. Kudo realized that she had been too materialistic and was secretly annoyed. Why didn't Sayuri tell me such important information?

Do you know how hard it is to find a job these days?!

Mrs. Kudo wanted to make amends and lighten the mood, so she looked at Katsuhiko and said, "Katsuhiko-kun, does your film company need to hire anyone? Can I work there as an extra? Actually, I used to dream of becoming a star. I even won third prize in a singing competition."

As soon as Mrs. Kudo finished speaking, Sayuri, Eiyo, Kotoha, and Mikoto all paused at the same time, and then lowered their heads to eat their rice, which seemed very strange.

Mr. Kudo was completely bewildered.

Mrs. Kudo blinked and said, "It's just a part-time extra role, earning a daily wage. It's impossible to be a lead actor. I can do cleaning or hand out lunch boxes to the actors. What's wrong with that?"

Katsuhiko ran a hand through his hair and said, “I recommend you work at the convenience store that Sayuri and Mikoto run together to gain experience in business management. They’re going to expand their branches next month. You’re so young, you’re perfectly capable of being the store manager. The store will be directly under your name, and you can put all the profits into your own pocket.”

Mrs. Kudo nodded and said, "It seems pretty good..."

Chapter 60 Making a phone call back home...

After Mrs. Kudo offered to peel shrimp for Kotoha, she didn't speak to her again. Instead, she ordered Sayuri, saying that since Kotoha was now a wife, she should think of her husband and pour him a drink first…

Sayuri's eyes were wet, and while pouring wine for Katsuhiko, she didn't forget to drink some herself.

The rest of the people didn't dare to drink much, and they were all still sober when they left the barbecue restaurant after the banquet ended.

Perhaps because Mrs. Kudo's attitude towards Kotoha changed so quickly, she was a little unaccustomed to it. When the party ended, she only said some polite words and then left with Mr. Kudo.

Mr. Kudo used to deliver goods in Ota Ward, where he rented a house. The lease hasn't expired yet, so he continues to live there.

Of course, my new job is also in Daejeon-gu, not far from the food processing plant, so there's no need to move again.

After the two elders left, Katsuhiko carried Sayuri, who was sleeping on his back, back to Okubo Apartments. Mikoto, Eiyo, and Kotoha were heading back to Shinjuku Gyoen, which was in the opposite direction.

Katsuhiko said "See you tomorrow" and left with Sayuri in his arms.