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

"No..." Shiraishi Sawa Hide didn't know why Ichiri Nao brought this up; he himself had almost forgotten about it.

"Please, Shiraishi-kun, when you see this, secretly take a picture and send it to me, please!"

"Huh? I never intended for her to actually keep her promise..."

"You must comply! But you absolutely mustn't let Chiyo's father know, or I might really be unable to stop him."

"........"

"Sorry for digressing, so what I meant was: if you want to pursue Chiyo, Shiraishi-kun, I support you and can offer my help."

Seeing that Shiraishi Sawa was about to say something, Ichiri Nao reached out to interrupt and continued:

"I know you might say, Mr. Shiraishi, that it's not time yet. That's okay. Just know that I support you. Also, once we're in the family, at least for your generation, we won't require any social status matching, and you don't need to marry into the family. All you need to do is let your second child take the surname of Yi Yi and be raised by us."

I'm quite satisfied with you. You don't need to worry about her father. If you want to know what Chiyo likes or dislikes, I'll tell you everything. I can even tell you her menstrual cycle!

Nao winked at Shiraishi Sawa.

Chapter 97 Money is hard to earn, but...

Having said that, Shiraishi Sawa Hide couldn't say anything more, and besides, what truly restricted him was just the system.

Due to the system's restrictions, Shiraishi Sawa is bound by the shackles of not being able to fall in love, so he can say with absolute certainty that he will never fall in love. As for his own heart, Shiraishi Sawa is too lazy to figure it out now.

"Okay, I understand, Auntie. I'm really going to pursue Chiyo from now on, and I'll definitely get the first-hand information from you."

Seemingly sensing that the answer was somewhat perfunctory, Nao changed the subject:

"Ueno told me you're from Aomori Prefecture. I only investigated your family's basic situation. What was your daily life like before high school, Shiraishi-kun?"

"Back then, it was actually quite interesting..."

.......

I chatted with Nao Ichini about everyday things. Since Nao Ichini is actually a businesswoman, she doesn't know much about housework or cooking. Hideki Shiraishizawa could talk about many things she didn't know, and the two of them had a very pleasant conversation.

"Mother, have you forgotten that there is another daughter upstairs?"

Chiyo hadn't closed the door when she left, so she ended up standing right there at the entrance, looking at the two chatting with a slightly helpless expression.

"When I came back, I even eavesdropped at the door for a while, and it turned out you guys were talking about why you don't eat green peppers as soon as you get home? It's so boring."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chiyo, I forgot I have a daughter."

"It's alright, Mother. I'll forget I even have a mother sooner or later. I won't hesitate to remove your oxygen tube when the time comes." Chiyo Ichiryu walked over and sat down next to Nao Ichiryu, joining the conversation.

.......

"It's getting late. Shiraishi-kun, are you going home or staying with us? You're both married now, so I can secretly tell you where Chiyo's bedroom is."

We chatted for a while and it was already nine o'clock. It takes more than an hour to get from Suginami Ward to Tahara, so we need to leave now if we want to go back.

"No need for you to tell me, Mother, I'll just say it directly: it's at the end of the corridor on the second floor."

"Chiyo, when did you move to the toilet?"

Shiraishi Sawah discovered that Ichiryu Chiyo and Ichiryu Nao actually had very similar personalities, which might be due to genetics. Therefore, when the two of them sat together, Shiraishi Sawah often didn't need to speak but only needed to listen.

But now the question is being asked of myself, so I still need to answer it:

"Thank you for your kindness, Auntie, but I plan to go back to sleep. I'm not used to sleeping in the new bed."

Actually, Shiraishi Sawa didn't want to see Ichiri Yumi again. At this time when the hatred level was at its highest, it was best to avoid her if possible.

“Well, that’s a bit of a shame. So, Chiyo, are you staying at Nakaoto’s place tonight or at this house?” Nao Ichiryu’s face showed a hint of regret.

"I'll go back with Shiraishi-kun."

"A daughter is like a tree that grows up and leaves home. Once she gets married, all she thinks about is going out and fooling around with her husband. Oh well, whatever. Come visit your mother when you have time." Nao Ichiryu took a tissue from the table and wiped away non-existent tears.

"I won't be coming back. My heart already belongs to Shiraishi."

"Stop!" Shiraishi Zexiu interrupted. "We're getting a divorce tomorrow. It's too much trouble to keep sending the heart back and forth. Just keep it with you."

"Then we'll be going now, Mother. Tomorrow? How about we get divorced next month? Didn't you see the photos at home have to be hanging for a month? Unilateral divorce is not allowed."

"Goodbye, Auntie. Please also say goodbye to Uncle for me. Thank you very much for your hospitality today." After giving a slight bow to Ichinisuke Nao, Shiraishizawa Hide followed Ichinisuke Chiyo out side by side.

“You don’t understand once you enter Sang. Under certain conditions, separation can lead to a unilateral divorce. We’ve never even lived together, so you can’t hold me back.”

"You think you know the law?"

"Okay, actually I don't know either, I just made it up."

......

The two left the room while arguing.

Nao watched the two figures slowly walk away with a smile on her face.

After they had all gone far away and their voices could no longer be heard, he chuckled and shook his head.

"How can a child who has never had a friend of the opposite sex distinguish whether he likes or dislikes someone?"

Recalling Chiyo's confident assertion that she had absolutely no feelings for Shiraishi Sawa, Nao laughed even harder.

--

This time, the two of them didn't need to take a taxi back; their personal driver picked them up as soon as they arrived at the house.

"Phew~" Shiraishi Sawah opened the car window and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It was a really exciting night, but it wasn't as scary as I imagined. However, once I entered the brothel, I will never say 'I'll help you with anything else' again."

To be precise, I will absolutely not agree to this if I don't know what "being busy" means in the future.

Chiyo seemed to still be basking in the pleasure of successfully humiliating Yumi Ichiri, humming a little tune. Although Shiraishi Sawa couldn't make out what it was, the melody was quite pleasant.

"Don't be like that, Shiraishi-kun, as my husband, it's your duty to lend a hand."

"But there's no love left between us. Actually, there was a little bit before, but it all disappeared when I opened the scroll and saw the photos. After this train ride, we'll part ways amicably."

Even now, thinking about this incident still makes Shiraishi Sawa Hide feel extremely embarrassed.

"Don't do this. My baby is about to be born, and this is how you treat me? You're such a scumbag and a heartless man."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't accept the child. Let's abort it." Shiraishi Zexiu glanced at Chiyo's flat stomach, which had no excess fat. "Our child is only going to grow bigger. Even when it's almost time to give birth, my belly won't swell up."

.......

The driver kept his eyes down, afraid that if he overheard anything, he would be killed to cover it up.

The driver first took Chiyo home, and then took Shiraishizawa Hidematsu back to his apartment building.

When the door to the room was opened, Yuko was still focused on studying, as expected, letting Mimi play freely in her own little world.

"Welcome back, Shiraishi-kun."

Upon hearing the door open, Takanashi Yuuko nodded to Shiraishizawa Hide and then said:

"Shiraishi-kun, you should have received the text message about the semi-finals by now. It looks like we'll be leaving Tokyo this summer. But that's good, we'll have something to do. The organizers will even reimburse us, so it's like a company-funded trip."

Lifting Mimi, who ran to greet him, onto his shoulder, Shiraishizawa began to take off his shoes.

"Was it just posted? I didn't check my phone in the car. I'll check it now."

"Yes, I received it about five minutes ago."

I walked to the sofa, grabbed Mimi and put her on my lap, then sat or lay down on the sofa. I opened my phone and saw that there were indeed two unread text messages.

I opened the first text message:

"Dear Shiraishi Sawa Hide, Hello:"

Congratulations on successfully advancing to the preliminary round of the Ao All-Round Knowledge Contest. The semi-final is tentatively scheduled for August 1st in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. Please see the attached link for the specific address. We will provide free accommodation and meals (accommodation will be provided from July 30th to August 3rd; you can use the remaining time for sightseeing, but food will not be provided after the event ends).

Please come from your location in Tokyo. You can get your travel expenses reimbursed by presenting your invoice and expense list. If there is a time conflict or something unexpected happens, please inform us in advance. The contact number is 4008-823-823.

Please note: The scope of the semi-finals is broader and more in-depth than that of the preliminary rounds, and it places greater emphasis on 'all-rounder' abilities. Please prepare accordingly in advance.

Please see the attachment for details of this year's prize categories.

They still haven't given any scope for the assessment. I don't know if this is a characteristic of the competition, or just its usual practice.

Clicking on the bonus details that Shiraishi Sawa is relatively interested in, aside from the top ten, it still uses a percentage-based reward system.

"Top 10: 1 million yen prize + participation in the final program recording; Top 1%: 800,000 yen prize; Top 5%: 300,000 yen prize; Top 10%: 100,000 yen prize; Top 30%: 30,000 yen prize; Participation in the competition: 5000 yen prize. (Rewards cannot be combined; only the highest reward will be claimed.)"

Schools offer extra rewards for the preliminary rounds, so there will definitely be rewards for the semi-finals as well. Shiraishi Zexiu is well aware of his own abilities. He has no foundation in this kind of memorization-based knowledge, so it's too difficult for him to rank among the top in a national competition.

I'm not aiming for the top ten anymore; I'll just try to get into the top 5% and win the 30 yuan prize.

It doesn't matter if I can't get Shiraishi Sawa Hide; I'll just treat it as a paid trip. He's never been to Hyogo Prefecture before anyway.

However, given Takanashi Yuko's level of effort, she is someone we could consider.

It would be a lie to say that Shiraishi Sawa didn't want the 80 yen and 100 yen. He could use the money to bribe his family and show them that he was doing well.

She directly copied the content of this text message and sent it to Suga Kirei, thus passing the trouble to her guild master mentor.

"President, the information for the semi-finals is out. Take a look. You participated in the semi-finals before, right? Could you please give me some guidance during the summer?"

A few minutes later, Suga Wulian replied; she must have just been reading it.

"The information is similar to last year's, but it's in Kyoto instead of Hyogo Prefecture. I only ranked in the top 1.7% last year. Don't worry about the scope. There's just an extra book called 'Zheng Baike,' but it's very thick and the terminology inside is rather obscure, lengthy, and difficult to remember."

"Okay, thank you, President. I'll contact you during the summer."

"it is good."

Goodbye, President.

Goodbye, Shiraishi-kun.

Suddenly remembering he hadn't read a text message, he opened the second one. The next second, Shiraishi Sawa's expression froze:

"Your VISA card 4... (card number)... transferred in 1,000,000 yen, balance: 161,073,917 yen."

One, ten, hundred, thousand, million, hundred million, hundred million, hundred million, hundred million...

1.6 million yen—there's no need to consider whether it was a mistake or what; it was clearly a transfer from Ichino to herself. Given her family's resources, knowing her bank account number wouldn't be difficult for them.

What do 80 yen and 100 yen mean at this point...?

After calming himself down by holding his phone, Shiraishizawa Hide sent a message to Ichiri Chiyo: