Tokyo: Starting with a fake boyfriend

It wasn't that she was completely unwilling; after all, Shiratori-kun was very handsome, had a great physique, was very intelligent, possessed a maturity and composure beyond his years, and was very gentle and reliable. Moreover, his words and actions gave off a gentlemanly, responsible, and dependable vibe, clearly indicating he was a good man, and surprisingly, quite innocent.

The problem is that Konan clearly likes Shiratori-kun, and if Shiratori-kun likes her back, things will get complicated.

"Shu-kun is going back to his hometown in Shizuoka for summer vacation next Friday. The rental period for the fake boyfriend ends on August 9th. I won't be able to see him then and won't be able to renew the rental immediately. I don't know if it's possible to renew the rental early. Also, Shu-kun might need money when he's on summer vacation."

Although Minami Yamabuki felt reluctant to part ways, she wasn't sad because Shuu-kun had started calling her Minami-chan like before, which made her feel at ease.

Seeing that the mother and daughter were deep in thought, Shiratori Osamu, while waiting, also took the time to check the reward.

Although the sudden convergence of the perfect world line was a real headache for him, a reward was a reward, and one thing was another.

[Talent: High Energy]

[Talent Introduction: Your energy is extraordinary]

[Talent Effect: Enhances athletic endurance and improves physical recovery speed; improves sexual function; reduces susceptibility to illness and increases self-healing speed; when you sleep for more than 8 hours, you will automatically enter a 16-hour 'energetic' state, with passive effects doubled.]

"Holy crap..." After reading the full explanation of the talent, Shiratori Shu was shocked even in a state of flow.

He already knew that the talent rewarded by the Perfect World Line was very strong.

His first talent reward, "Concentration," transformed him from an ordinary high school student into a little superman.

His learning efficiency is incredibly fast, and he can think deeply about all sorts of things, like a semi-AI, he's just unbelievably powerful.

However, in terms of "high energy" and "concentration", it is evenly matched, or even far ahead.

He enhanced his athletic endurance and improved his body's recovery speed—because he was still in a state of desperate counterattack. He didn't feel anything, but just looking at the words, it was visibly stronger.

Excellent sexual function – there's not much to say about this. Although we don't know just how excellent it is, no man can resist an enhancement in this area. It's simply amazing.

Not getting sick easily and having a faster self-healing speed—good health is a godsend.

Also, getting a full 8 hours of sleep and entering a state of high energy doubles the passive effect—so there's no need to act anymore, what else is there to say?

This talent is so extraordinary that it directly solved his problem of sustaining his physical and mental overload due to high-intensity learning, and it also solved one of his pain points.

Although he had made up his mind to win over both Shinonome Mizuki and Shinonome Chisei the moment he realized it, he was not Xiao Chunan and knew all too well how terrifying a woman's needs could be once she entered the honeymoon phase.

In his past life, even a girlfriend in the throes of passionate love could give him a hard time, forcing him to eat leeks, oysters, and other such things to replenish his energy.

With two girlfriends, and if they were to be added to the "thirty-year-old wolf, forty-year-old tiger" buff, he didn't know if he could handle it in the future.

Taking this into consideration, he was even prepared to accept that it would be worth it if it shortened his lifespan by ten years, and that he would persevere even if he couldn't handle it.

But now things are different. He has the talent of "excessive energy". Not to mention twin sisters, even triplets or quadruplets would be no problem for him.

After seeing the effects of the talent, Shiratori Xiu thought about how he had just angrily scolded the system for arbitrarily converging world lines, and really wanted to say to the system, "Hey, can we make peace?"

If the Perfect World Line System thinks he's joking or not sincere enough, then kneeling down and kowtowing a few times isn't out of the question.

After a long period of contemplation, the tranquility on the table was finally broken.

"Shiratori-kun".

Hojo Yuki thought for a long time before finally speaking.

"Yes."

Finally, after they finished thinking, Shiratori Osamu, who had been pretending to read a book, immediately came to his senses.

Here it comes, the crucial moment has arrived.

According to his plan, after careful consideration, Minami and his mother-in-law would try again to persuade him to stay in Tokyo during the summer vacation.

After successfully striking up a conversation, Hojo Yuki raised her slender, snow-white arm, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her cheek, pursed her full, red lips, and finally mustered the courage to speak:

"Actually, I noticed before that we don't seem to have a way to contact each other."

After saying these words, she blushed deeply at her own behavior, a blush spreading across her pretty face.

She never imagined that at her age, she would still have to ask a man for his contact information.

I should have done this back then. It's really embarrassing to do something like this now that she's single again, especially asking an 18-year-old high school student for their contact information.

"Huh?"

Hearing her words, Shiratori Shu, who had prepared himself mentally, was dumbfounded.

------

Hojo Ryoma was very tired, and his daughter had been massaging his shoulders and back, which had relaxed him both physically and mentally. He should have been sleeping soundly.

However, when a person feels guilty, their sleep quality is very poor.

Moreover, he is very particular about his bed and has lived in his old house in Kyoto for many years.

For three hours, he tossed and turned, half asleep and half awake, and was frequently awakened by nightmares.

His daughter's happy smile would always appear before his eyes, but it would vanish in an instant, replaced by the image of a 12-year-old girl locking herself in her room, her eyes calm and numb, like stagnant water, showing no interest in anything, a sight that would break his heart.

In fact, he could have flown to Tokyo that very day after his daughter's divorce.

But he didn't dare come to Tokyo because he couldn't bear to see his daughter so sad and upset. Just hearing her cry through the phone was enough to break his heart.

"What time is 'evening'? When can I go out?"

Hojo Ryoma sat up in bed, glanced at the clock on the wall, and saw that it was already 17:34 PM. Feeling agitated, he muttered to himself.

Shiratori Osamu's plan only mentioned that he would go back to his room to sleep like an old man and leave in the evening, but he didn't specify a time, which left Shiratori waiting.

After thinking it over, since he couldn't sleep anyway, he simply took out his phone and sent a message to his subordinates.

"Why hasn't that kid left yet?"

After receiving Fukuhara's reply, Hojo Ryoma immediately felt furious.

After much deliberation, he decided to get up and go check on the situation.

Although his men were secretly protecting his daughter and granddaughter, the house was an absolutely inviolable boundary for the sake of privacy, and no listening devices or anything like that were planted there.

In other words, as long as Shiratori Osamu didn't leave his house, his subordinates had no way of observing the situation.

Upon arriving at the door, Hojo Ryoma cautiously opened it and slipped out of the room without even wearing slippers.

"When have I ever been treated like this?"

After quietly leaving the room, Hojo Ryoma realized what he had just done, and his anger flared up instantly.

Although he was very angry, he did not lash out. His feet, clad in tabi socks, began to move quietly as he searched for an angle on the second floor to peek down at the situation below.

In no time, he found a good angle and peered over the second-floor railing.

The three of them were sitting around a long table. Shiratori Osamu and Yamabuki Minami were studying diligently. Her daughter, who had woken up sometime earlier, sat alone opposite them, one hand on the table and the other supporting her cheek, smiling at the two children.

They were quiet; no one spoke, yet the atmosphere was harmonious.

Most importantly, the daughter's smile was relaxed and natural, and she looked very happy.

"..."

Seeing this, Hojo Ryoma pursed his lips, and the anger he had been feeling for so long while waiting in the room suddenly dissipated.

For him, his beloved daughter's happy smile was more effective than any medicine in the world, bringing him happiness.

However, his joy was short-lived. When the thought that "my daughter will be unhappy as long as Shiratori Osamu leaves" resurfaced in his mind, a wave of guilt washed over him, making him feel suffocated.

Intelligent people usually have a long-term vision and are highly predictive, able to see the outcome from a single clue.

Seeing this harmonious and relaxed scene, Hojo Ryoma's heart wavered once again:

"Xiaoxue seems very happy. Should we try to persuade Bai Niao Xiu again?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

However, this wavering did not last long and was ruthlessly suppressed by him.

Better safe than sorry, and besides, Shiratori Osamu's current plan is very much in his best interest.

As long as Shiratori Osamu leaves, for as little as six months or as long as four and a half years, Yuki and Minami will return to the main house in Kyoto and stay by his side forever.

Separation and death are the natural course of life.

It's just a temporary misfortune, nothing to worry about. Shiratori Osamu's departure may make Yuki and Minami sad and heartbroken, but they still have half a hundred years of life ahead of them, and time will heal all wounds.

Moreover, three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere.

Konan may have lost Shiratori Osamu, but a whole forest awaits her.

Chapter 122 Two Tigers Cannot Share One Mountain

"Have a safe journey, Mr. Shiratori (Shu-kun)."

In the entryway of the Hojo family's luxury apartment in Minato Ward, a mother and daughter are happily saying goodbye.

"Bye-Bye."

Shiratori Osamu walked out of the house, turned around and waved to them, then closed the door.

"Click."

The door was closed, physically isolating the two parties.

"Minami, do you think Shiratori-kun is telling the truth or lying when he said he made plans to have dinner with his friends today?"

At the same time, Hojo Yuki, who had been as gentle as a breeze, immediately lost her smile and began whispering to her daughter.

"It must be true. Xiu Jun has no reason to lie to us."

Although Minami Yamabuki felt somewhat reluctant and regretful, she had no doubts about it.

She had a very happy afternoon, and Xiu Jun even borrowed her study notes before leaving, which made her feel like everything had come back to normal.

“I know he has no reason to lie to us, but having dinner together isn’t really that important, and changing the itinerary is possible. I think the reason Shiratori-kun insists on leaving is because your grandfather is still at home, so he can’t stay for dinner.”

Hojo Yuki didn't doubt that Shiratori Osamu was lying to her; in fact, she was in a good mood and had gotten his contact information. However, she had a vague suspicion and frowned.

In her view, this situation was like two tigers not being able to share the same mountain.

"Is that right?"

"Although the misunderstanding has been cleared up, your grandfather is a big shot, and Shiratori-kun will definitely feel pressured in front of him... For example, he wouldn't dare call me mother-in-law in front of your grandfather, and he probably wouldn't dare call you Minami either."

"Does this mean that if Grandpa stays at home for a day, Xiujun won't dare to stay overnight?"

Upon hearing this guess, Minami Yamabuki suddenly realized something.

Xiu Jun didn't even dare to eat with her grandfather at her house, let alone stay overnight at home like before.

"possible."

"What should I do?"

"This is also a headache for me, and we have another problem to solve."

Although she had discovered the problem, Hojo Yuki didn't know what to do and immediately looked worried.

"What problem?"

"Next Friday is summer vacation, are you going back to Kyoto?"

"No."

Faced with this question, Minami Yamabuki shook her head without even thinking.

Although Xiu-kun is going back to her hometown for summer vacation and won't be staying in Tokyo, she still doesn't want to go back to Kyoto.

As a child, she was quite naive, but as she grew older, she began to notice that her mother seemed to dislike staying in Kyoto.

Every year on the way back to Tokyo after visiting relatives, my mother always looks relieved.

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.

After leaving the Hojo residence, Shiratori Osamu encountered Fukuhara Takeo, who was standing guard in front of the elevator, and offered to send someone to drive him home.

He agreed to the arrangement after thinking about it.

Since you're unfamiliar with the area, instead of being fussy and sheepishly running out to take the subway, it's better to have someone pick you up and drop you off.

Most importantly, he is now an ally of Hojo Ryoma in a united front, so there is no need for him to completely avoid him as before.

They arrived in a Rolls-Royce and left in a Rolls-Royce, but this time the procession wasn't as grand; there was only one car.

Having escaped danger unscathed, Shiratori Osamu now had the leisure to enjoy himself. He looked around, reached out and touched the genuine leather sofa, finding it extremely comfortable to sit on. It was a taste of the future life of the wealthy.

The only downside was that he didn't get to see the legendary Rolls-Royce starry sky ceiling.