My daily life in love is too contrary to my character.

He stepped out of the puddle left by the downpour, so forcefully that he splashed water everywhere.

Shiraishi Sawa's gaze gradually hardened as he stared directly at the light on the ceiling, like bright sunlight piercing through thick dark clouds.

Time never stops flowing, and it's midnight again.

[Ding! Mission timeout! Breath count: 24537]

[Task Reward: 24537 points + 3 Any Item Purchasers]

[Ding! Mission timeout! Number of times you have received part of a girl's birthday gift: 1 | Number of times you have fully received a girl's birthday gift: 3]

[Mission Rewards: 10000 points + 1 random A-level skill mastery card + 3 designated S-level skill mastery cards]

Current points: 84339

[You have used a random skill level A mastery card, and you have mastered level A public speaking!]

.......

[You have redeemed your Romantic Relationship Permission Card (Opposite Sex)! You are now free to date members of the opposite sex! Current Points: 34339]

[Shop prices have been updated: 1 point can now be exchanged for 10,000 yen]

[New item unlocked in the shop: One permanent Intelligence/Stamina/Charm item worth 20000 points]

A new product slot has been unlocked in the store; this slot will be randomly updated with new products.

[Currently available random items: Temporary Inactivator (can cause the user's gold to lose its fertility for ten hours): 1 point | Guaranteed Winning Buff Candy (can make the user's gold's fertility reach the maximum level): 2 points.......]

......

With no desire to complain, Shiraishi Sawa took a deep breath.

Chapter 243 Obstacles to Determination

October 30th, Saturday, the first day after the monthly exams, it was drizzling outside the window.

It's 1 p.m., and Shiraishi Zexiu has just finished lunch.

He was looking in the mirror, meticulously fixing his hair and collar, adjusting every detail.

Sitting on the sofa, Takanashi Yuuko was somewhat surprised. After Shiraishi Sawa came out, she asked with a slightly puzzled look:

"Shiraishi, where are you going?"

"Hmm." Shiraishi Zexiu nodded, picked up an extra-large umbrella he had bought, and walked towards the door. "Go... do the multiple-choice question."

Then, as if he had thought of something, Shiraishi Sawa looked at Takanashi Yuuko seriously, remained silent for a few seconds, and said:

“I will not abandon you, never, but I don’t know how.”

"Okay, please don't leave me." Takanashi Yuko smiled gently, but her right hand, hidden behind her body, was clenched so tightly it turned white.

She also realized what Shiraishi Sawa was up to.

The door closed, and the sound of pattering rain and sadness filled the apartment. Takanashi Yuko put the TV remote aside, silently picked up Mimi, and stroked her on her lap. Mimi seemed to sense her mother's emotions and gently licked her arm.

She sat there quietly, like a piece of luggage that had been misplaced.

--

The tiny raindrops, carried by the wind, were forced to distort their paths, falling diagonally from east to west.

Shiraishi Sawa reached the bottom of the stairs on the first floor. The ground where he was standing was still dry, and stepping on it would kick up a cloud of dust. Outside, the ground was already wet from the rain, with uneven surfaces and puddles with ripples.

It felt like two different worlds inside and out, as if everything would be different once this step was taken.

Shiraishi Sawa took a deep breath, took out his phone, and found a small group chat with only three people.

"I've made my decision."

He typed the above message and then sent it.

"Feel sorry......."

Before he could finish typing, a stranger under an umbrella outside seemed to notice Shiraishi Zexiu and ran straight over without even holding an umbrella.

"Little brother!"

The direction opposite him was the stairwell. He was all alone at the moment. Shiraishi Sawah frowned as he looked at the middle-aged man running towards him. He looked somewhat familiar, but he definitely didn't recognize him.

Seeing the other person approach, Shiraishi Sawah decisively took a few steps back to prevent the rainwater mixed with the other person's clothes from splashing onto him.

As the other person finally ran into the stairwell, their wet soles turned the dry floor a dark color, and no more dust was kicked up. The boundary between the inside and outside worlds was no longer obvious.

"Are you calling me?" Shiraishi Zexiu, who had retreated to the corner of the stairs, looked at the middle-aged man.

"Yes, yes, I was calling you." The other person placed the umbrella that they hadn't used on the ground, rubbed it together with both hands, and wore an almost fawning smile.

"I don't think I know you at all... Uncle?" Shiraishi Sawa was even more puzzled.

"It's okay, we'll get to know each other soon, right? Um, do you have time? Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sorry, no." Shiraishi Zexiu said coldly. He didn't want to care about anything else right now. He had an answer in his heart and needed to make a choice as soon as possible, otherwise he would continue to suffer.

"Excuse me, could you please move aside?" After turning off his phone and putting it in his pocket, Shiraishi Sawa's expression turned even colder when he realized that the other person was deliberately blocking his way.

Seeing Shiraishi Zexiu's face, as cold as winter ice, the middle-aged man awkwardly withdrew his hand. Seeing that the other man was about to leave, he quickly said:

"No, I wanted to ask you, young man, do you know Suga Wulian or her mother? Could you pass on a message for me?"

Shiraishi Zexiu stopped in his tracks. He remembered where he had seen this man before—the man who had been stopped by security guards at the entrance to the wealthy district the night before last.

"you are?"

"I am Suga Wulian's father." The middle-aged man's smile remained unchanged as he pointed at himself repeatedly, making Shiraishi Zexiu feel somewhat disgusted.

He still remembered when he recommended "When the Prayer Ends" about fatherly love to Soga Kirei at the bookstore, the president rejected it before he even finished his introduction.

I have never heard her mention her father.

"Shiraishi, who is this?" Utsumi Toshiharu, a neighbor who came down from upstairs, asked curiously as she looked at Shiraishi and the stranger blocking the stairwell on the first floor.

“Good afternoon, Uncle Utsumi. This…” Shiraishi Sawa thought for a moment and said, “He’s not from our apartment complex. He’s looking for me about something.”

"You're trying to sell, right? Remember to be firm and refuse these kinds of people. Don't give them any chance. I have something to do, so I'll head out now." Utsumi Toshiharu patted Shiraishi Sawa's shoulder, then left with his umbrella.

Blocking the stairwell on the first floor wasn't a good idea either. Shiraishi Zexiu sighed, opened his umbrella, and said to the middle-aged man:

"Let's talk at a nearby coffee shop."

"Okay, Shiraishi." The middle-aged man nodded, opened his umbrella, and followed.

"Vice President Shimizu, do you know anything about the president's father?"

On his way to the coffee shop, Shiraishi Sawa operated his phone with one hand. Instead of asking Soga Kirei directly, he contacted Shimizu Yoshiko, who had a close relationship with Soga Kirei.

“I know a little bit. If you want to know, I can tell you everything. But why am I suddenly interested in this?” Shimizu Yoshiko replied quickly.

“I just met a middle-aged man downstairs at my apartment building who claimed to be the chairman’s father. He said he needed to talk to me and I’m taking him to a coffee shop near us.”

"This is what he looks like. Video.JPG." Shiraishi Sawah recorded a few seconds of the middle-aged man following behind him on his phone.

"This should indeed be Wulian's father. Send me the address of the coffee shop you're going to, and I'll talk to Aunt Suga. Let her handle this. Also, please don't grant any of this person's requests."

"Okay, I understand. The café I'm going to is the Hoshira Café in Urakicho."

"Okay, I'll contact your aunt as soon as possible."

--

"Speak, what is it?" Shiraishi Zexiu, having learned the basic relationship with this suddenly appearing father of Soga, didn't bother to be polite at all and asked with slight impatience.

He casually ordered two ordinary coffees and looked out the window at the transparent glass wall, which was wet with rain. The raindrops appeared, gathered, and fell together.

"Could you please ask me to call Yuzuki—that is, Wulian's mother—out for me? It would be best if you could do so without revealing my existence." The middle-aged man, ignoring Shiraishi Zexiu's attitude, clasped his hands together and asked expectantly.

"I don't have Aunt Su's contact information," Shiraishi Zexiu said without turning his head, looking at the hurried pedestrians and traffic on the road.

"Could you please call Wu Lian out for me? It would be best if you didn't tell her mother."

"I'm sorry, I don't have your daughter's contact information."

"How could that be? They even drove you home in their own car. You two must have a good relationship." The middle-aged man seemed a little anxious, and his body subconsciously leaned forward a little.

Shiraishi Sawa didn't answer, but looked at the middle-aged man, or rather, at what was behind the middle-aged man—Soga Yuzuki, who was walking quickly towards them, and the two policemen behind her.

The few customers in the coffee shop were also drawn to the two policemen, and even their posture became more upright.

"Mr. Soga, we have received a report and suspect that you are involved in illegal gambling. Please come with us."

"What gambling? That's nonsense! You Yue, you're here. I have something to say to you!" The middle-aged man naturally didn't sit idly by and wait for his fate, but instead began to loudly defend himself.

......

The farce lasted for seven or eight minutes, and finally ended with the middle-aged man being helped into a police car by two police officers and driven away.

"Hello, Aunt Su. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now," said Shiraishi Zexiu, who hadn't said a word the whole time, after the meeting.

"If you're not too busy, could you spare a little time? I'd like to chat with you," Soga Yuzuki said. "About Wulian and her father."

“…Okay.” After a half-second silence, Shiraishi Sawa nodded, glanced around at the customers who were still secretly watching the place, and added, “Let’s go to another coffee shop. I know another one nearby.”

"it is good."

--

"Would you like something to drink, Shiraishi-kun?" Soga Yuzuki asked Shiraishi Sawashu after glancing at the menu.

I didn't get to drink the last sip of the coffee from the previous shop.

"Please get me a latte, thank you, Auntie."

"Don't be shy." Soga Yuuki called over a waiter, took the order, looked out the window for a while, then looked at Shiraishi Sawa and said:

Do you mind if I smoke?

Tokyo has very strict smoking bans; smoking on the street is not allowed. By default, smoking is only permitted in izakayas and some old-fashioned cafes, including this one.

Shiraishi Sawah didn't like the smell of smoke, but seeing Soga Yuuki's expression, he nodded and said, "Please go ahead, Auntie."

Soga Yugetsu lit a cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled the smoke out the window, where it was quickly dispersed by the light rain and disappeared into the air.

"Has Wulian ever told you about her father, or why she doesn't like to talk?"

“No, she said it’s a bad memory for her.”