Tokyo: Starting with a fake boyfriend

All she does is stay at home all day long, never stepping out of the house. She's clearly a 30-something-year-old adult, yet she's always crying, making a fuss, and clingy. She's completely clueless.

It could be the sense of alienation in their social status, the visible distance between them, or even the fact that his wife was dressed so conservatively in front of him. Yamabuki Tomoya, who was initially cheering for freedom, suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart: "Did I divorce her?"

Sensing the intense gaze, Hojo Yuki, who was walking and talking with the female lawyer, turned around and looked back.

However, after she realized it was her ex-husband, she looked away and lowered her head.

"Xiaoxue is sad? She still has feelings for me. No, I have to remarry her."

Seeing this, Tomoya Yamabuki's emotions soared like a rollercoaster, and he was overjoyed.

However, just as he took a step to catch up, he saw his wife raise her long, slender arm and drop something down.

It was a ring, entirely silver-white, made of platinum, small and delicate, with a plain, smooth surface—a very simple ring.

"Ding."

The ring was very light, weighing only 4 grams. It slowly fell from the air onto the concrete floor with a barely perceptible sound.

However, the moment the ring hit the ground, Tomoya Yamabuki felt as if he heard a deafening thunderclap.

This ring was the one he used when he proposed. It was worth 58,000 yen and was the wedding ring his wife had refused to exchange for the past nineteen years, even when he offered her a much larger diamond ring.

"She threw the wedding ring away like trash?" Tomoya Yamabuki stood frozen in place, staring at the ring lying on the ground and his wife's departing figure, as if he heard something shatter and explode with a crack.

"No, she's back. She picked up the ring. Did she regret it?" However, before Yamabuki Tomoya could even feel heartbroken, he was immediately overjoyed.

But before he could be happy for long, he saw his wife take the wedding ring and walk to the trash can in front of the parking lot to throw it away again.

"..." His emotions fluctuated wildly in a short period of time, and Yamabuki Satoshi couldn't help but stand there in a daze.

At the same time, the female lawyer noticed Yamabuki Tomoya standing there dumbfounded, with a complicated and indescribable expression, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh:

"Ms. Hojo, your strategy of repeatedly throwing the ring is brilliant; it's the most ingenious strategy I've ever seen."

I have to say, Ms. Hojo really enjoyed throwing the ring; that's exactly how you should repeatedly trample on your cheating ex-husband's heart!

"?"

Faced with her praise, Hojo Yuki was momentarily stunned.

A strategy? What strategy? Does repeatedly throwing the ring count as a strategy?

She only realized after throwing away her wedding ring that what she did was like littering, and she felt it wasn't right, so she picked it up and threw it in the trash can.

"You flatter me too much."

Although she didn't know what was going on, Hojo Yuki smiled politely.

Her smile startled the female lawyer, who couldn't help but turn back to look at Yamabuki Tomoya again, wondering, "Is this guy an idiot? He has such a beautiful wife, yet he still cheated on her and even got to the point of divorce."

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she has handled at least a thousand divorce cases, and this client is definitely the most beautiful married woman she has ever seen.

No matter how popular a female celebrity or idol is, they are no match for Ms. Hojo.

Because Ms. Hojo's smile is so beautiful, it seems to have a healing magic, gentle and captivating, making people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze.

After chatting for a few more minutes, the two got into their respective cars.

Hojo Yuki sat in the driver's seat and did not rush to drive away. Instead, she looked at the ring finger of her left hand, where a mark remained on her slender and long finger.

Only after she took off that ring was she truly divorced.

Staring at her fingers, she looked up again and looked through the windshield at the town hall office in Adachi Ward.

She and Zhiye registered their marriage here back then. Although nineteen years have passed, it's still the same as it was back then, with no changes.

After sitting alone for a while, Hojo Yuki took out her phone, found a number in her contacts, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed it.

"Hey, Xiaoxue, why did you suddenly decide to call your dad? Did something happen?"

When she heard her father's aged yet powerful voice and caring words, Hojo Yuki, who had been calm, opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. Suddenly, her eyes reddened.

"Waaaaah."

Feeling wronged, angry, regretful, sad, and upset... After arguing with her ex-husband yesterday, the negative emotions that Hojo Yuki had been hiding in her heart suddenly surged out like a floodgate opening after she talked to her father on the phone.

"Xiaoxue, why are you crying? Don't cry, what happened?"

Hearing the crying on the other end of the phone, Hojo Ryoma felt a pang of heartache and gently comforted her.

"Dad, I'm sorry."

Hearing his gentle concern, tears welled up in Hojo Yuki's eyes and streamed down her face.

"Why are you apologizing? Xiaoxue, please don't do anything foolish!"

Upon hearing this, Hojo Ryoma immediately became anxious.

Oh no, oh no, my love-struck daughter is getting a divorce, does she not want to live anymore?

This is what he has always feared most, because his daughter carries too much on her shoulders.

Back then, their daughter ran away after arguing with her parents. If the divorce hadn't been handled properly, Xiaoxue, who is very thin-skinned, might have felt too ashamed to live after her love-struck mind cleared up and sought suicide.

“Dad, I didn’t do anything stupid. I just want to apologize for what happened back then.”

Hojo Yuki felt incredibly guilty when she talked about it. If only she had listened to her father back then. Her father had seen through what kind of person Yamabuki Tomo was long ago, but she was stubborn and didn't realize it.

Parents who truly love their children will always do things for their children's good.

"What do you mean?"

“I divorced him… I regret it, just like you said back then.”

"Bang! What? You're divorced? You're finally divorced?"

Hojo Ryoma suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up, displaying extreme excitement as if he had heard some astonishing news.

"I'm divorced... and I've changed my surname back to Hojo, is that okay?"

Sensing her father's excitement, Hojo Yuki felt as if she could see his joyful reaction even through the phone, which warmed her heart. Then, she stammered and asked with a guilty conscience.

Because she abandoned her studies at Kyoto University to elope with a poor but handsome young man, she actually had a very bad reputation in the Hojo family.

Perhaps no one dared to criticize her when she returned home to visit her family each year, but her actions back then caused the Hojo family to lose face in Kyoto, and to this day they remain a laughing stock in the eyes of other families.

For this reason, she rarely returned to Kyoto, only going back for holidays like New Year's Day and Obon to visit relatives.

"Why are you asking such a question? Hojo Yuki is your name! Change it back, and change Konan's surname to Hojo too!"

Faced with this question, Hojo Ryoma, who had been looking forward to it for nineteen years, did not hesitate for a moment.

"Thank you, Dad. As for Xiaonan's surname, I discussed it with her last night. We plan to change it after she graduates from high school... I think changing her surname will let her classmates at school know about her parents' divorce, which wouldn't be good."

Sensing her father's joy and pride, Hojo Yuki felt truly touched and spoke softly and gently.

"It's okay, we'll just wait until she graduates from high school."

After thinking it over, Hojo Ryoma felt that the decision was reasonable and chose not to interfere. After all, he had waited for so many years, so what was a little longer?

Her daughter is now a mother, and she has her own considerations.

Moreover, when her love-struck mind isn't acting up, Xiaoxue is quite clever, even smarter than her two good-for-nothing sons. She's just gentle by nature and doesn't like to outsmart or scheme against others.

Chapter 94 Just you wait!

Yamabuki Tomoya returned to the company in a daze. As soon as he entered the office, he saw a young and beautiful woman in high heels coming to greet him.

"President, thank you for your hard work."

"..."

As she approached, Yamabuki Satoshi wasn't as moved as usual; instead, he carefully observed her.

Akari Tsumugi has long, ice-blue hair, an oval face, and well-defined features. She wears frameless glasses and looks very young, with a cool and aloof demeanor.

She was very tall and slender, wearing a pinstripe, fitted short suit jacket with an open cardigan over a thin white top that revealed her collarbone and creamy white breasts. She paired it with a suit skirt, and her long legs encased in black stockings were very eye-catching.

While the very formal business suit looked sexy on her, upon closer inspection, it seemed more like she was flaunting her sex appeal.

This scene reminded him of his ex-wife, with whom he had just separated. Without comparison, there is no hurt. Although Akari Tsumugi could be considered a beauty, apart from being taller and younger, she was not on the same level as his ex-wife in any other aspect.

"President, are you divorced?"

Noticing that something was off about his condition, Akari Tsumugi Rio said seriously.

"We're divorced."

When Yamabuki Tomoya came to his senses, he said those words with a deep sigh and a strong sense of regret... He felt that he had been too stupid, completely losing the big picture for a small gain.

“Great! Then we can go to Hokkaido together and secure the 180 billion yen order.”

Seeing him nod, Rio Akari smiled faintly.

"This will take two more days. I need to sort out the asset allocation first."

Upon hearing about the 180 billion yen order, Tomoya Yamabuki immediately perked up.

It doesn't matter. Although he lost his beautiful wife and has to go through the divorce and asset division process, he still has his company.

As long as he secures the 180 billion yuan order, everything will be alright.

The 180 billion yuan order over three years is just the beginning. As long as the cooperation goes smoothly, we will achieve even closer strategic cooperation in the future.

By then, his assets will exceed 50 billion, or even 100 billion, or even more!

Four hundred billion yen in assets is nothing in a world-class metropolis like Tokyo, but once it exceeds one hundred billion yen, that's a whole different level.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the afternoon, in the Dean of Students' office.

The head of the teaching department was a tall, imposing middle-aged man in a sharp suit, with neatly combed hair and gold-rimmed glasses.

"Teacher Shinonome, I'd like to hear your opinion on the fact that Minami Yamabuki and Osamu Shiratori are coming to school together."

Kohei Kimura sat in his office chair, tapping his fingers on the desk, and asked in a deep voice.

"I have no opinion. As classmates, what could I possibly think if they just came to school together? It's not like they were holding hands, linking arms, or even kissing. Besides, Yamabuki has already clarified that they just happened to run into each other and walked together."

Faced with his extremely oppressive questioning, Shinonome Mizuki calmly adjusted her glasses and responded in a clear voice.

Putting aside the fact that Takeno High School doesn't have any rules prohibiting students from dating, even if it did, it's just walking together, not holding hands or hugging, so what's the big deal?

"Ms. Dongyun, I hope you can realize the seriousness of this matter and handle it carefully... If these two people really have some kind of relationship, once it gets to the parents' ears, this matter will be more troublesome than you expect."

Because of her background as a student at the University of Tokyo, Kohei Kimura couldn't use a harsh approach with her and could only warn her through reminders.

"I understand, I will look into this matter."

Faced with these instructions, Shinonome Mizuki nodded in agreement.

She also felt it necessary to remind the person involved of this matter.

After all, Shiratori-kun and Yamabuki-san were so famous at Takeno High School that they were more well-known than many teachers.

Students may never know teachers from other grades until graduation, but they will get to know these two people in the shortest amount of time after enrollment.

These two individuals, if taken out of the box and doing something special, would attract attention; when combined, their chemistry is simply explosive.

"I hope what happened today will never happen again."

Kimura Kohei nodded in satisfaction upon receiving her nod of approval.

"I will look into it, but I can't guarantee it won't happen again, because they are independent individuals. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

Shinonome Mizuki disliked wasting time with people, and after making a cold statement, she stood up and left.

As she turned around, Kohei Kimura raised his eyelids and glanced at her incredibly long legs, which were completely hidden under her black suit pants.

Many Japanese people may dislike girls who are too tall, or even laugh at tall girls, but he is not like that.

He likes beautiful legs, the longer the better.

It's a pity that Ms. Shinonome has such a cold and aloof personality, and is extremely conservative; she never wears skirts. Ever since her first day at Takeno High School, she's worn those old-fashioned and stuffy business suits all year round, never letting anyone see her, which is such a waste.

"Wait, wait, I just remembered something."

Kohei Kimura glanced at her retreating figure and suddenly spoke just as she was about to leave the office.

"what?"

She was about to leave the room when she was called back. Shinonome Mizuki was furious at this behavior, but she still stopped.

"Teacher Shinonome, I heard that you give Osamu Shiratori private tutoring at the Aozora Study Room in Shibuya on Sundays. Is this rumor true or false?"