Reborn in Tokyo: From Heiress to Global Tycoon

Not long after Whitehead left, Greenberg's voice could be heard from not far away.

"Warren, how much longer are you going to make us wait?"

Satsuki looked in the direction of the sound.

A deck of cards had already been set up at a round table near the other deck, and Tisch was sitting there, looking down as he organized the things in his hands.

Buffett glanced in that direction, a hint of helplessness immediately appearing on his face.

"It looks like someone is getting impatient."

Greenberg added from afar:

"You said yesterday that you were going to fight today, but now that you're here, you're just chatting around. If you don't come soon, we'll take that as a sign that you've given up."

"Did you hear me?"

Buffett turned to look at Satsuki.

"They've started using reverse psychology."

Satsuki said with a smile:

"You'd better go over there, otherwise they'll declare you the loser before it even starts."

That makes sense.

Buffett nodded and glanced at her again.

"Then I'll go over there for a bit. You know most of the people here, so you don't need to follow me the whole time."

Satsuki raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Is Mr. Buffett only realizing this now?"

Buffett paused for half a second, then laughed.

"It seems I was worrying too much."

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the card table.

When Greenberg saw him finally arrive, he immediately pulled out a chair for him and said something that made several people around him laugh.

Satsuki stood there for a while, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.

This is actually more comfortable.

She didn't need a 61-year-old American man to hold her hand and take her around to meet people.

What followed, ironically, became much more natural.

Lawrence Tisch took the initiative to come over and greet her.

The two chatted about everything from CBS to Japanese TV shows, even mentioning several American programs that young people in Tokyo have been particularly fond of lately.

Satsuki also complained that when American TV series entered Japan, the translated titles were sometimes much more interesting than the original titles.

Tisch laughed for a long time after hearing this, and even asked which movies it was.

When Henry Clavis arrived, he first glanced at the glass of juice in Satsuki's hand.

"I thought Japanese people would drink sake when they attended parties in America."

"So should I also assume that Americans eat hamburgers for breakfast every day?"

"Some people do."

Kravis gestured towards the figure playing cards in the distance.

Satsuki followed her gaze.

A plate of fries had somehow appeared next to Buffett.

"..."

This example is so convincing.

The two of them laughed together.

Kravis only mentioned casually what happened at Solomon's gate yesterday.

"You scared quite a few people yesterday."

"I?"

"After you said you hoped to help Solomon regain stability, several people called me this morning to ask if I knew how much money Saionji was planning to donate."

Satsuki gently turned the cup in her hand.

"So, how will you answer?"

I said I didn't know.

Kravis shrugged.

"That's why I'm asking you today."

Satsuki smiled.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"I don't know myself right now."

Kravis stared at her for two seconds.

He laughed too.

"very good."

Then the conversation moved on.

He didn't ask any further questions.

Satsuki did not offer any further explanation.

That's the biggest difference between today and yesterday.

Yesterday at the Seventh World Trade Center, almost every statement was followed by another statement that required careful consideration.

Everyone is calculating.

How much is a promise worth?

Will a single word be amplified by the media?

Which document can be made public?

Which condition can be exchanged for how much capital?

And today, everyone is also observing each other.

But no one needs to turn every observation into a negotiation.

Satsuki didn't really pay attention to when the ship left the dock.

By the time she finished her previous conversation and walked to the ship's side with her juice, the Highland had already sailed some distance south along the Hudson River.

The West Side of Manhattan is slowly receding from view.

The wind, which was relatively gentle when the ship was docked, became noticeable as the ship moved faster. Satsuki had only been standing for a short while when a few strands of her hair were blown to the side of her face.

She raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and then pressed down the hem of her coat, which was being blown by the wind.

"At this rate, you'll probably regret letting your hair down today."

Suddenly, a voice filled with laughter came from behind.

Satsuki turned around.

Catherine Graham was walking towards them, carrying a light-colored silk scarf.

She had clearly been watching for a while, and as she approached, she waved the silk scarf at Satsuki.

"When I was young, I also thought the sea breeze was very comfortable, until one time when I developed a photo, I realized that my hair looked like it had just been through a disaster throughout the whole party."

Satsuki laughed at what she said.

"Then I should accept your experience now."

"That's more like it."

Graham handed her the scarf.

Satsuki took it, but didn't tie it immediately; she just temporarily placed it on her wrist.

"Thank you, Ms. Graham."

"Looks like I don't need to introduce myself."

"If I can't even recognize the chairman of The Washington Post, people will probably wonder if I ever read the newspapers when I get back to Tokyo."

Graham laughed out loud after hearing this and also reached out his hand to her.

"Then we should at least formally introduce ourselves, Katharine Graham."

"Saionji Satsuki."

After they shook hands, Graham didn't rush to leave. Instead, he stood with her by the railing.

"When Warren mentioned you to me yesterday, what really surprised me wasn't Solomon."

She turned and glanced at Satsuki.

"He said you're only eighteen this year. I even asked him again, wondering if I'd misheard."

Satsuki had lost count of how many times she had heard similar things since arriving in America.

She smiled somewhat helplessly.

"I've recently noticed that it seems like everyone needs to double-check my age after they find out it."

"You have to allow us to be surprised."

Graham spoke frankly.

"When I was eighteen, I was still in college. My biggest problems were probably exams, papers, and whether my parents would agree to me doing something."

"And now someone suddenly tells me that an 18-year-old girl just came out of Salomon's headquarters yesterday, and a large group of bankers in New York are speculating about how much money she's planning to withdraw next."

She found it somewhat amusing as she spoke.

"If you were in that situation, you would also ask that question."

"That does seem a bit strange."

Satsuki lowered her head and thought for a moment.

"However, I don't feel like I know what I need to do in the future. Right now, I just have a lot of things to deal with, so I'll focus on finishing what's in front of me each day."

"That's actually a good answer."

Graham looked at her for a moment, his smile deepening.

"When Warren said you were interesting yesterday, I thought it was just one of his occasional half-truths. But it seems he wasn't lying to me this time."

Satsuki paused for a moment upon hearing this.

Did Buffett contact her yesterday in advance?

The thought only crossed her mind briefly, and she didn't pursue it further for the time being.

Anyway, the lineup on the ship today says a lot.

Graham didn't continue talking about Buffett, and quickly changed the subject by referring to the scenery in front of him.

"You've been to New York before, haven't you?"

"I've been here many times."

"That's good."

Graham laughed.

"Otherwise, someone will definitely be very enthusiastic about introducing the Statue of Liberty to you later, and then tell you the best spots for taking photos. New Yorkers sometimes have a strange sense of responsibility towards foreign visitors who are visiting for the first time."

"Should I cooperate?"

Satsuki smiled and looked into the distance.

"Be a little surprised when you see the Statue of Liberty, and then ask, 'Wow, it's really that big!'"

"Absolutely not."

Graham immediately shook his head.

"Once you show interest, they'll take you on a tour from the Statue of Liberty all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. By the time the boat returns, you'll probably have heard half of New York City's history."

Satsuki couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Then I'd better be honest."

The two of them leaned against the railing and started chatting.

After talking about New York, they moved on to Tokyo.

Graham had been to Japan before and was familiar with Tokyo, so Satsuki chatted with her about the changes in the city over the past few years.

Later, someone brought up the university first, and the conversation circled back to Gakushuin University, then from the school to the clothing of young people.

Graham quickly noticed Satsuki's coat today.

"This is very beautiful."

She reached out and gently touched her cuff.

"A Japanese designer?"

"No, it's—"

Just as Satsuki was about to answer, an elderly yet very clear voice came from beside her.

"Kai, I've been looking for you for ages, turns out you were hiding here."

The two of them turned their heads at the same time.

Brooke Astor was slowly walking over, supported by the arm of a young woman.

She was nearly ninety years old, so her steps were naturally not very fast, but her light-colored suit was still impeccably dressed, and her pearl earrings swayed gently as she walked.

When she reached the two men, she first glanced at Graham, then turned her gaze to Satsuki.

"So that's why you left me there and came all by yourself?"

Graham showed no embarrassment at being caught.

"I'm just here to meet our youngest guest today."

"Then you should at least have invited me."

After Astor finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Satsuki.

"Miss Saionji, right?"

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Astor."

Satsuki greeted her politely.

Instead of immediately exchanging pleasantries, Astor looked at her intently for a few seconds.

Satsuki became somewhat curious under her gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just confirming something."

Astor finally smiled.

"You are indeed much better looking in person than in your newspaper photos."

Satsuki paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Then I should thank you today, at least someone has finally come forward to prove that it wasn't me who had the problem."

"Of course it's not your problem."

Astor spoke quite seriously.

"Reporters always like to photograph people in a very serious manner."

"Especially those financial reporters, they probably feel that seeing rich people smiling would damage the credibility of their reports, so we look like we're attending a funeral every day."

Graham, standing nearby, had already started laughing.

Satsuki couldn't resist either.

"It seems I should check what the photojournalist has photographed before I give interviews in the future."

"That's a great idea."

Astor nodded.

"If he's only ever photographed bankers in the past, then he should get a different one."

The three of them laughed for a while longer.

Just then, a burst of laughter, noticeably louder than the surrounding laughter, suddenly came from the other side of the deck.

Satsuki followed the sound and looked over.

Buffett was already seated at the poker table, where Greenberg and Tisch were also present.

The group of people had been talking about something, and Greenberg was pointing at Buffett across the table, looking like he'd caught him red-handed.

The other people nearby had already lit cigars.

The sea breeze carried a faint smell of smoke.

Astor's smiling face suddenly turned into one of disdain.

"See?"

She gestured with her chin in that direction.

"When you put a few men together, it always ends up like this. First they play cards, then they smoke, and then they start arguing about who's smarter."

Graham was clearly used to this kind of scene.

"At least they haven't started arguing about who made more money last year yet."

"Hmm...that's something that usually starts making noise in the afternoon."

Astor said without any politeness.

Satsuki, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh.

Meanwhile, Buffett was still studying his cards with his head down, completely unaware that he had become the talk of the town.

Astor looked at Satsuki again.

"You're not planning to go and join them, are you?"

"There are no plans to do so at the moment."

"very good."

Astor nodded in satisfaction.

"Then ignore them. The view is better upstairs, and at least no one's blowing cigars in your face."

Graham smiled and took Satsuki's arm.

"Let's go upstairs."

She glanced at the card table again.

"Let those stinky men have their fun this afternoon."

Satsuki finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She handed the cup to a passing server, then glanced down at the arm that Graham was holding.

This feeling is rather novel.

In Japan, only Amy would dare to link arms with her like that.

She looked up and glanced at Buffett, who was standing not far away.

Just then, another burst of laughter erupted from over there. It seemed that Buffett had lost a hand and was being teased by Greenberg.

He was probably completely unaware that he had been categorized as a "stinky man".

Satsuki's lips also curled up.

"OK."

She was led by two much older women up the stairs toward the upper deck of the Highland.

The laughter behind me gradually subsided as we got closer.

The yacht continued south along the Hudson River, sunlight spreading across the undulating water, and the distant Manhattan gradually revealed its complete outline in the increasingly open view.