Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Isn't it said that you can't buy feelings with money?

Perhaps sensing her daughter's confusion, Anri asked with a meaningful smile.

"Hehe, Tong, what do you think money is for?"

"trade."

"That's right. The value of money is mainly reflected in its function as a medium of exchange and a measure of value. So money can be used to measure most things in this world... including people, of course."

Anri Megumi pushed the brewed tea towards Anri Hitomi. Influenced by her husband, she was now brewing green tea instead of matcha.

"Of course, we live in a society governed by the rule of law now. When I say 'buying people,' I don't mean buying slaves or anything like that, but rather..."

"Winning people's hearts is what you do best."

Anri Hitomi gave the answer first, which was also the reason she came to ask her mother for advice.

“That’s right. From this perspective, money can still be used to buy people, and it’s much more sophisticated than forcing someone to obey you through a contract.”

"Is this how you deal with the other directors?"

"Hehe, you could say that, but people's hearts bought with money are very unreliable. If you don't have leverage over them, they will easily betray you... So, the key is still the 'timing of entry'."

"You've already taught me this: you have to find the opponent's weak point."

"That's right. Only by giving someone 'lifesaving money' when they're in trouble can you make them owe you a favor. Once that favor has accumulated to the point where it's impossible to repay, they'll become completely obedient to you."

If Kuroba Akira heard this, he would definitely exclaim that he was an expert and that his thoughts were exactly the same as his own.

"Of course, the only problem here is that you don't have any 'start-up capital' right now, and you probably don't want to use the money I gave you from the Anri family to buy the person you want."

"..."

Anri Hitomi nodded silently, which was also the main reason why she never paid Kuroba Akira's reward with money.

She does not yet own any property.

"Actually, there is. You can have money."

Will I be able to receive... New Year's money?

“The New Year’s money is not enough. The money I’m talking about is for you to build your own family after you get married. In other words, this is your ‘dowry’.”

"...But this is still family money, isn't it?"

“I know you’ve always been unhappy about being born into the Anri family, but the Anri family doesn’t just restrict your freedom; they also bring you corresponding wealth.”

"..."

"I can give you this money in advance. You can use it to buy anything or anyone you want, and I won't interfere."

"Hey?"

Anri Hitomi was a little stunned. Did her mother mean that she should give her the dowry in advance?

Anri nodded, her smile fading, and her gaze turned serious and earnest as she spoke.

"However, if you spend all the money before the deadline, lose it all, or get scammed out of it, it's your own problem. Your family won't give you another penny. If you can accept that, I can give you the money now."

This is the stern mother I remember.

She was serious.

It's like saying, "I'm giving you this money, so don't even think about asking your family for money again."

Anri Hitomi didn't care; she hadn't wanted to rely on the Anri family in the first place.

She's hesitant now because she doesn't know if money can buy her the person she wants.

"You can buy favors with money, but you can't buy feelings..."

"Hehe, Tong, I'm glad you still have an innocent side."

It sounded a bit like sarcasm, but Anri continued her sermon.

“But, Hitomi, I must tell you that the pure feelings you want are not ‘feelings that existed from the beginning,’ nor can they appear out of thin air.”

Many people misunderstand this, thinking that pure feelings are feelings that arise naturally without interference.

But feelings can't just grow naturally without any action being taken.

"No one develops pure feelings for another person for no reason, unless the two people were originally family, or knew each other in a past life, hehehe..."

The second half of the sentence was a joke, while the first half was what she really wanted to say to her daughter, a truth she had come to understand after experiencing it firsthand.

"Only after becoming family can pure feelings slowly develop, and people wholeheartedly consider each other's needs... As long as they are not family, they are all 'outsiders'."

Friends or lovers, none of them can compare to a wife.

Because only the wife belongs to the family.

Therefore, if you want to receive pure affection from someone, you must first become their family.

The only way to turn someone from an outsider into family is through marriage.

In other words, only his wife can win his heart and make her his own.

This is the lesson a mother wants to teach her daughter.

Chapter 212 I'll Make You Owe Me for a Lifetime

“Anyone who isn’t family is an outsider…that’s your experience, isn’t it?”

Anri Hitomi understood her mother's meaning, because her mother had initially married her father through a political marriage, and only later fell in love with him.

It could be described as a romance that blossomed after marriage.

Perhaps it was during this process that the mother developed pure feelings for the father.

Of course, it's not to say that all family members can get along well, otherwise there wouldn't be so many bad families.

Just like Anri Hitomi herself and her mother, they were both too proud to admit it before, so their relationship had been at a freezing point until now.

However, it is true that pure feelings are more likely to develop between family members, because that's how Hitomi Anri feels about her younger sister Akira, so she accepts this statement.

But she just couldn't understand: is it really true that there is no pure affection outside of family?

Because what she values ​​most right now is her friends, and she believes that friends are an important part of life that can accompany you throughout your life, she naturally hopes to develop pure feelings with her friends.

However, she also understands that although she has a good relationship with the three members of the Literature and Art Department, they are not yet at the level of treating each other as her own children.

She used to think that as time went on, the friendship would gradually deepen, but now she had to question that.

Anri noticed her daughter's confusion and continued to explain to her.

"Of course, what I'm saying isn't absolute. While it's true for me, there are 'exceptions'."

Anri Hitomi was somewhat surprised to hear that her mother hadn't completely ruled out the possibility of a definitive answer.

In the past, she would have simply accepted her own reasoning.

Sure enough, my mother has become much more worldly-wise.

Faced with such a mother, Anri Hitomi was able to humbly learn from her.

Could you please explain the exceptions in detail?

"Of course, for example, for men who have served in the military, there is a purer camaraderie with comrades they can entrust their lives to. That absolute trust in each other can even surpass that of family. But not everyone has the special status of a comrade-in-arms, right?"

“I see… This is indeed an ‘exception’.”

"So what I'm saying is just the general situation. In reality, depending on a person's 'identity' and 'environment,' their judgment of the importance of different people will also vary."

"Identity and environment..."

Anri Hitomi seemed to be deep in thought. In the past, these two words could only remind her of 'restriction', but when her mother said that she would give her the dowry that was prepared for her ahead of schedule, she realized that the surname Anri had actually brought her a lot.

It turns out that he was just being stubborn and didn't want to accept his family's help, acting just like a rebellious teenager.

However, the food, clothes, and cars I use now are all from my family. The convenience my family provides for me is far greater than I imagined.

"That's right, because humans are creatures who 'compare' each other and extract emotions from it. A large part of the pure emotions you want come from this. Sometimes it can manifest as jealousy, pride, or even hatred, but the fact that it becomes distorted proves that the source of this emotion is pure love."

At this moment, Hitomi Anri recalled the smug expression that Shion Murasaki had shown by the window that morning. Just as her mother had said, that was an expression of superiority that came from comparing herself to Shion in her mind... That's why it was even more infuriating, because it made her realize that she had been outdone by Shion.

"So first you need to analyze your own identity and the environment you are in, and then judge who is important to you. Simply put, you need to make a list of priorities in your mind."

"Ranking table?"

"Yes, I mean the order of importance of important people. Of course, I'm not asking you to make a difficult choice, nor will I ask you stupid moral dilemmas like 'If two people fall into the river at the same time, who should you save first'. I'm just going by my heart. In terms of importance, I can always rank them first, second, and third."

Anri's past parenting was a failure; imposing adult principles on children is the worst way to teach, so being disliked by her eldest daughter was a consequence of her own actions.

But today's Anri is completely different from the past; she sets an example for her children by explaining the truths she has come to understand.

"For example, before I got married, the most important people to me were Anri's family, that is, my parents and your grandparents. After I got married, my family became the most important part of my life, so for me, the most important people are my husband and children..."

"But for you, Mother, the most important person is still Father."

"That's right now. Then there's you, Tong and Xiaojing. The three of you are in my top three. And then there's... myself."

"It was actually myself?"

Anri Hitomi looked somewhat surprised, because according to her mother's previous words, she thought that her maternal grandparents would be mentioned next, but it turned out to be herself.

And that is the essence of Anri's lecture.

"Yes, that's me. In fact, most people put 'themselves' first. Everyone thinks of themselves first in any situation. You can think about whether you are like that."

"..."

Following her mother's advice, Anri Hitomi reflected on her actions, and only then did she suddenly realize that the source of all her emotions was indeed 'herself'.

"This is precisely why you have the idea of ​​treating the other person as your possession, because for you, the most important thing is always yourself."

"I see……"

Anri Hitomi had a sudden realization.

Although the intention is to consider the friend's feelings, the real reason for considering the friend's feelings is actually because 'I want friends'.

And the same goes for Akira Kuroba.

Why does he like money so much? Ultimately, it's because he wants to live an easy and enjoyable life; in the end, it's all for his own benefit.

This is also why most people can get along well with Akira Kuroba, because he is not fake, selfish but real.

Looking back, I realize I'm the one who's being hypocritical... I say I value my friends the most, but in the end, I only want friends for my own sake.