Late at night, Mr. Miura, who had worked hard all day, returned to his luxurious villa.
Although he was now the president of a medium-to-large-sized company, he still had to work until late every day before returning home, which was harder than when he was a small boss before. However, he felt exceptionally satisfied with this, even complacent.
After all, being middle-aged, having a successful career, a happy family, a gentle and virtuous wife, and a well-behaved and lovely daughter—compared to worrying about bankruptcy all the time before, the current situation could be said to have reached the peak of life. How could he be dissatisfied?
Although it was a bit more tiring and harder than before, and there was an extra boss above him who was about the same age as his daughter, this boss had real capabilities.
Not only capabilities, but also background!
Most importantly, the other party was his daughter's friend and classmate. With this relationship, Mr. Miura's status in the company didn't decrease because his shares were heavily diluted; instead, it rose. Other partners and clients of the company were much more polite to him than before.
This change in status and position made Mr. Miura extremely satisfied.
He couldn't help it; he was already a middle-aged man. Things like money and beauty didn't have much attraction for him anymore. He only cared about saving face. Whether it was recreating glory in his career or leaping in commercial status, the satisfaction they brought was much stronger than money and beauty.
"Dad, you're back."
As soon as he entered the door, Mr. Miura saw his daughter, whom he had always been proud of, waiting for him in the living room. He was extremely happy.
Speaking of which, Mr. Miura indeed had some 'daughter-con' attributes, but because of the typical male chauvinism and patriarchal character of Japanese men, it wasn't so obvious.
"Mm, I'm back, Yumiko." Although Mr. Miura was very happy inside, he still maintained a majestic expression on the surface. This was the image he had always maintained in front of his daughter.
He hoped his daughter would think her father was very manly, reliable, and trustworthy.
Of course, whether Miura Yumiko thought so was another matter.
"Is there something wrong?" Mr. Miura asked.
After all, usually, Yumiko wouldn't wait for him specially in the living room. Generally speaking, she should be doing yoga or reading fashion magazines in her room at this time.
Waiting here specially today obviously meant she had something to discuss with him.
Whether it was not enough allowance or something she wanted to buy, the financially ample Mr. Miura was confident in facing any challenge!
Now he was ready to show his reliable side as a father to Miura Yumiko.
"Mm, there is something I want to discuss with you, Dad." Miura Yumiko nodded.
"Wait a moment."
Mr. Miura put away his briefcase, unbuttoned his suit, and hung it on the coat rack. After all preparations were done, he sat on the single sofa in front of Yumiko and said seriously, "Please speak."
"I want to move out and live alone for a few days."
"No prob... Wait, what did you say?"
Mr. Miura was just about to agree readily, but then realized Yumiko wasn't asking for allowance or something to buy, but wanted to move out and live alone for a few days. He froze on the spot immediately, then asked again as if to confirm he wasn't hallucinating.
"I want to move out and live alone for a few days?" Miura Yumiko repeated what she just said seriously. Seemingly to make Mr. Miura sure she wasn't joking, she added, "I've already told Mom."
"...What did your mom say?" Mr. Miura seemed to have found a topic, wanting to hear his wife's opinion. Of course, it would be even better if his wife could talk to him face to face right now.
Unfortunately, this time was Mrs. Miura's daily unchangeable yoga time. Or rather, her avoidance was actually conveying a certain attitude to Mr. Miura.
"Mom agreed." The reason Miura Yumiko dared to mention this directly to her father was naturally because she had her mother's support.
Although Mr. Miura was the head of the family, like most traditional Japanese families, they practiced the 'men work outside, women manage inside' family division of labor model. Moreover, Mr. Miura respected his wife very much. They knew each other when they were humble and had gone through many hardships together. The solidity of their relationship as a couple was far beyond outsiders' understanding.
How should put it? Generally speaking, as long as it was something decided by his wife, Mr. Miura wouldn't object. Even many times, the wrong decisions Mr. Miura made on impulse were pointed out and corrected by his wife.
Even Mr. Miura himself had to admit that every time he and his wife had a disagreement, judging from the final result, she was always the right one.
"She... she agreed?" Mr. Miura's cheek twitched. His wife actually agreed to let Yumiko move out and live alone.
She was just a high school student!
Isn't it a bit too early?
Mr. Miura had imagined the scene of Miura Yumiko moving out to live independently, but that should be at least after entering university.
Living alone in high school—setting aside whether she could take care of herself, what if some strange male classmates visited her place? A lone man and a lone woman in the same room—wouldn't Yumiko be in danger?!
Wait, why did Yumiko suddenly have the idea of wanting to move out and live alone? Was he too strict usually? Or was she dissatisfied with the current family environment?
...Could it be that she fell in love with a boy, and because he and his wife were in the way, she wanted a private couple space?!!!
When this terrible thought appeared, Mr. Miura couldn't sit still. He hurriedly asked: "Speaking of which, why does Yumiko want to live alone?"
"Because I want to experience what living alone is like, and maybe have more freedom? When inviting friends to visit, it won't make them feel awkward or anything." Miura Yumiko said the prepared speech.
Mr. Miura directly ignored the previous words and targeted the 'friends' in Yumiko's mouth.
Friends? What friends? Male or female? How old? Where do they live? How are their grades? How are their family conditions? Any bad habits?
A series of questions brewed in Mr. Miura's mind. If not for a trace of reason remaining, he would have probably thrown these questions out all at once.
Finally, thousands of thoughts turned into one sentence.
"Friends, friends are good. I understand... understand... um... what friends?" Mr. Miura still couldn't hold back and asked this question.
Miura Yumiko tilted her head. Smart as she was, she already understood her old father's focus, so she quickly gave the answer: "Just Hina and the others."
"Hina! Hina is good! I know that girl; her grades are good!" Mr. Miura breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this familiar name.
The other party had visited before. Mr. Miura had a very good impression of this girl. She was educated and polite, looking like a good girl. He felt assured making friends with such a person.
The only thing that worried him was the kid named Hayama Hayato who came with her. Dying his hair blond at a young age—what level was he, daring to dye the same color as his daughter!
looked like he had ulterior motives!
Thinking of this, Mr. Miura pretended to ask inadvertently: "What about that Hayama? I remember that fam... cough, that kid has a good relationship with you guys too, right?"
"Mm, it's good." Miura Yumiko nodded.
"Then... if you move out and live alone, will you invite him to visit?" Mr. Miura's intention was a bit too obvious.
"Of course I will. If Hina and the others come, it's inappropriate not to invite Hayato."
"Is that so... then I have no objection."
Mr. Miura breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed it hadn't reached the worst step yet. It seemed Yumiko really just wanted to simply experience the life of living alone.
Of course, that kid named Hayama Hayato still had to be strictly guarded against!
Thinking of this, Mr. Miura decided to give his precious daughter a reminder.
"Although saying this might make Yumiko feel Dad is a bit verbose, there is one thing you must remember when living alone outside, that is, absolutely do not invite a certain boy to your home alone. It's very dangerous and will cause unnecessary misunderstandings for the other party. Girls must protect themselves outside."
"...Any boy?"
"Any boy! Wait, Yumiko, what do you mean... have you thought about inviting a certain boy alone?" Mr. Miura discovered a blind spot.
"Yes."
Hearing Yumiko admit it, Mr. Miura felt like the sky was falling. He felt his throat was dry, and the expression on his face became extremely stiff.
After a long time, Mr. Miura asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "Who is it?"
"Shinra." Miura Yumiko said it as a matter of course.
Shinra?
Wait, Shinra... Mori Shinra?
"You mean President Mori?" Mr. Miura asked.
"It's him." Miura Yumiko nodded. She was already accustomed to her father's address for Shinra.
After all, the hierarchical relationship in Japan is quite clear. Although Shinra was still just a high school student, in terms of rank within the Mori Conglomerate, Mr. Miura was indeed Shinra's subordinate, so he must show due respect in addressing him.
Mr. Miura wouldn't be arrogant just because the other party was young and his daughter's classmate. Doing so wasn't just because of Shinra's background, but also because of the ability and means the other party showed.
Mr. Miura had no doubt that even if Shinra didn't have such a prominent background, he could still achieve great things.
In this regard, Mr. Miura felt inferior.
And his daughter contacting such a young talent... seemed acceptable?
Mr. Miura looked at his daughter's leaving back. He finally agreed to his daughter's request and directly transferred a luxury apartment he bought not long ago to his daughter.
That apartment was originally intended as a graduation gift for Yumiko when she entered university. Doing so now was just giving her the gift in advance.
It's just, why did he feel so bitter?
...
On the other side, in a mansion that was equally luxurious and even more spacious than the Miura family's.
The Yukinoshita family of three sat on the sofa in the living room. Yukinoshita Mother sat upright in the middle, still wearing a kimono, her bun neat. Yukinoshita Father sat beside Yukinoshita Mother, his sitting posture slightly lazy, but perhaps because of Yukinoshita Mother beside him, he would straighten his sitting posture from time to time, but soon returned to his original appearance.
As the daughter, Haruno sat on the single sofa on the other side, holding a whiskey glass in her hand, leaning back on the sofa, looking very comfortable.
"Haruno, when will you invite that classmate of yours to visit our home?" Yukinoshita Mother suddenly spoke.
"Eh? Why suddenly bring this up?" Haruno asked in confusion.
Ever since attending the banquet in Tokyo last time, upon Shinra's suggestion, the family decided to completely reject the large order from the Togawa Group.
At that time, her mother mentioned inviting him to visit, but because the family's construction company encountered some troubles and was extremely busy, there was no news gradually.
Now that her mother suddenly mentioned this matter, did she receive some news?
"The Togawa Group exploded." Yukinoshita Father answered Haruno's question for Yukinoshita Mother and handed the newspaper in his hand to his precious eldest daughter.
After taking it, Haruno found that the newspaper reported extensively on the Togawa Group encountering land fraud, resulting in being defrauded of 16.8 billion yen.
"Oh my, this is really..." Haruno raised her eyebrows, showing a surprised expression.
Although she learned from Shinra that there might be problems with the Togawa Group, she didn't expect the problem to be so big, involving tens of billions of funds...
"In that case, those orders..."
"Naturally gone." Yukinoshita Father said.
After all, the project was gone, so where would the orders be?
Haruno said, "I heard that many companies in Chiba have already advanced funds into it."
The Yukinoshita family rejecting the Togawa Group's order didn't mean other construction companies would reject this order.
In fact, less than an hour after the news of the Yukinoshita family rejecting the order spread, that order had been divided up by peers in Chiba.
Among them, the one who took the lion's share of the order was another construction company in Chiba with a scale no less than the Yukinoshita family's. The other party could be considered an old rival of the Yukinoshita family; whether in politics or business, both sides had grievances.
According to Haruno's knowledge, for this order, the other party had already advanced 80% of their liquid funds into it, converting all of it into corresponding building materials. Now that the project failed, barring any accidents, that company would also go down due to a broken capital chain.
And for the Yukinoshita family, this was obviously a great thing.
The Yukinoshita family could accept all the projects vacated by these companies effortlessly, solving the predicament facing the company in one fell swoop, and maybe even take this opportunity to go further.
No wonder her mother wanted to invite Shinra to visit. Reasonably and emotionally, her family owed him a huge favor.