Tokyo Three Generations

Encouraged by Jun Takasaki, Mutsumi Wakaba's eyes welled up with tears.

Tears fell one by one at first, then seemed to burst forth like water from a broken dam.

Jun Takasaki neither comforted her nor interrupted her, but let her cry—perhaps this was the most appropriate thing for her at that moment.

After crying for a while, Wakaba Mutsumi seemed to finally manage to control herself a little.

"I no longer know what my true self is. Is it too late...?"

Takasaki Jun was stunned for a moment.

Then he immediately came to his senses and quickly gave an answer.

"Then try asking yourself honestly, and then rebuild yourself into the person you most want to be. Rebuilding yourself may be difficult and troublesome, but it's a million times better than having no self at all... Believe me, you can do it. And when that day truly comes, you will possess a dazzling presence that will impress everyone, and in your eyes, your mother will be nothing more than a comical clown..."

"Really?" Wakaba Mutsu still seemed unconvinced.

“Really!” Jun Takasaki nodded emphatically.

"Okay." That was the very brief reply he received.

Jun Takasaki was quite satisfied with this.

"Wipe your tears, let's go back. They're all waiting for us. We can't let the old folks wait on an empty stomach..."

When Ruoye Mu raised her head, although her face was still wet with tears, she smiled again.

A smile tinged with tears creates a wonderful contrast, instantly striking the viewer.

Just as Takasaki Jun was getting dizzy from looking at her, she suddenly reached out her hand to him.

"Let's go back."

45. Lunch and Authorization

When the two children walked back into the dining room, the village chief and his wife, who had been chatting, and Mori Minami all stopped and looked at them.

The village chief's wife was shocked to see the tear stains still on Ruoye Mu's face.

"Xiao Mu, what's wrong with you again?"

"I'm fine," Ruoye Mutsu replied with a light smile. "Thank you for your concern, Grandma. I went out for some fresh air, and I'm feeling much better now..."

The old woman breathed a slight sigh of relief at Ye Mu's cheerful smile and his much more fluent response than before.

She looked at him more closely and noticed that Ruoye Mu's face seemed to have regained some color; he was no longer the half-dead man he had been when he left.

She finally relaxed, then winked at Takasaki Jun, "Oh dear, Jun-kun, how could you be so careless? Making a girl cry is a big mistake!"

She didn't know what had just happened and thought it was just a quarrel between the two children, so she tried to make amends for the young master.

Then she smiled and looked at Mori Minami, and said with a forced smile, "Oh dear, kids these days are all so insensible. Those two were having so much fun just now..."

It seemed like she was complaining, but she was actually trying to smooth things over for Jun Takasaki. However, Minami Mori didn't care at all, so the old man's worries were in vain.

Seeing her daughter looking like she had suddenly regained her health, Senmina felt inexplicably annoyed.

She frowned slightly, then glanced discreetly at Jun Takasaki, as if subtly reminding him of her earlier threat.

However, on the surface, she responded to the old man with a friendly smile, "It's nothing, I don't mind. Mu is a bit sentimental, it's normal for her to be unhappy suddenly."

In the past, Ruo Yemu would have been very angry if her mother suddenly belittled her, but now she seemed to ignore it and sat back down in her seat.

At this moment, the village chief's wife thoughtfully placed a bowl of rice cakes cut into small pieces in front of Ruoye Mu, and then looked at the pitiful little girl in front of her with concern.

"Xiao Mu, eat more. The rice cakes here are the best we have around here..."

The unconditional care from outsiders moved Wakaba Mutsu once again.

Ironically, the pain and stress she experienced on this journey came from her theoretically "blood-is-thicker-than-water" relatives, while complete strangers showed her so much care and kindness. That's how chaotic and upside-down the world can be.

Normally, she has a small appetite, but the intense emotional fluctuations she just experienced have led to a huge energy expenditure, and she is indeed quite hungry.

Moreover, she didn't want to disappoint the old lady in front of her.

So she put her hands together and said, "Let's eat!"

Then she picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece of rice cake, and gently put it into her mouth.

She chewed gently, savoring the soft, chewy texture of the rice cake and its subtly sweet flavor, which had been specially prepared.

Then he took another sip of red bean soup to soothe his throat.

"It's really delicious..." After carefully tasting it, she said to the old man with a genuine smile.

As if to prove her point, she picked up another piece of rice cake and continued eating.

Seeing how happily she was eating, the old man smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"Don't just eat rice cakes, have some other dishes too, that's a healthier combination."

Under the persuasion of the village chief and his wife, Wakaba Mukuro's appetite was indeed whetted.

She picked up the small cucumber from the bowl, and its crisp and refreshing taste made her eat some more.

Then came tamagoyaki, and pink and green daifuku... She tried everything on the table.

She ate elegantly and with great enjoyment; it was a feast for the eyes and even stimulated one's appetite.

The village chief's wife was dazzled by the sight; if it weren't so impolite, she would have loved to take out her phone and snap a few more photos.

I originally thought that it would be difficult to entertain a young lady from Tokyo, but I didn't expect Ms. Wakaba to be so "approachable" and without any airs. It's really rare to see such a person.

Oh, how wonderful it would be if she could become my wife someday… She couldn’t help but smile with anticipation again. Then she looked at Takasaki Jun, “Jun-kun, don’t just sit there, join us for a meal!”

Since the old man was so hospitable, Takasaki Jun didn't refuse and started eating heartily.

The two elderly people were quite old and had very small appetites. They only touched their chopsticks a little, and spent the rest of the time watching the two children eat their food, feeling both happy and touched.

Everyone was happy, but Senmina was unhappy.

Now that no one is paying attention to her, it's as if she's the outsider, so she finds her food completely tasteless and feels increasingly annoyed. However, she can't show it in front of others, so she has no choice but to swallow her anger.

The lunch finally came to an end amidst the old man's cheerful laughter.

Ruoye Mu stopped eating only after the old man started clearing the table.

It was then that she realized she hadn't felt this full in a long time.

So, it turns out I can actually live such a normal life...

Or rather, why was my original living environment so abnormal? I seemed to be living in a mansion with a life of luxury, yet even such small and simple happiness seemed out of reach.

Just then, she met the old man's smiling eyes. "Xiao Mu, have you eaten?"

"I enjoyed the meal very much, thank you for your hospitality!" Wakaba Mutsu bowed slightly, sincerely thanking the old man. "I haven't been this happy in a long time..."

Although this was the truth, the old man thought she was just being polite, so he smiled and nodded in return, "I'm glad you're happy. You can come and eat here often in the future. Whenever you come, we will treat you the same way we did today."

The old man's casual remark stirred up ripples in Ruoye Mu's heart.

"I'll come visit again if I have the chance," she replied softly. "Thank you!"

========================

After lunch, Jun Takasaki left the village chief's house.

By this time, the morning strawberry picking activity had ended, and he and his daughter, Minami and Nami, got into their respective cars to go home.

As Jun Takasaki was sitting in the car preparing to return to the hotel, his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and was surprised to find that it was his grandfather calling.

He quickly answered the phone. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Chun, who is that little girl?" Grandpa asked immediately. "The one in the photo."

"Which photo?" Jun Takasaki was taken aback for a moment before he remembered that he had just taken a photo of himself and Mutsumi Wakaba in the village chief's courtyard.

It seems that after the village chief's wife finished taking the photos, she immediately shared them in the chat group, which even alerted the grandfather himself.

"Are even old ladies this trendy these days...?" he couldn't help but think to himself.

He wasn't afraid of having any problems himself; he was afraid of causing trouble for Wakaba Mutsu.

However, since it has already happened, he can only face reality.

So he briefly told his grandfather about Wakaba Mutsumi's family background.

“The daughters of two big stars…” Although his grandfather wasn’t present, Jun Takasaki could clearly sense from his tone and subtle pauses that his grandfather had slightly furrowed his brow. “I feel like this is a bit too ostentatious, isn’t it? If reporters are constantly surrounding us, it will definitely be inconvenient.”

……

What was Grandpa saying? Jun Takasaki sensed something was wrong.

Just as he was complaining in his heart, Takasaki Jun continued to mutter to himself, "However, this is just a minor matter. As long as she doesn't enter the entertainment industry, it can all be resolved in the end. I think this girl is indeed very beautiful, and her temperament is also quite good. She is not flamboyant at all... She has the feeling of a traditional Japanese beauty."

"Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamoto just told me in detail. That little girl is very well-mannered and knows how to get along with the locals. They like her very much. They said that if they could see her become Mrs. Takasaki before they died, they would have no regrets..."

Jun Takasaki finally broke down, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

He hadn't seen his grandfather talk so much in a long time.

Besides, what does "no regrets" even mean? Does an old person need to exaggerate like that?

They had only met once, yet they were already praising Ruoye Mu to the skies, as if they were already waiting for her to become the future mistress of the family.

People can laugh when they're speechless. Although Jun Takasaki is usually very respectful to his grandfather, he couldn't help but laugh this time.

"Grandpa, you seem to have forgotten that they are not even adults yet, and I am still in school. Are you already thinking about all this?"

Faced with Takasaki Jun's rebuttal, the old man seemed not to care at all. "So what? You'll be 20 soon, can't you wait a few more years? By then she'll be an adult, and as long as you both like each other, I think it'll be perfect... What's wrong with making preparations earlier? Let alone ancient times, even in our time, it was common for people your age to get engaged."

You know this isn't the Showa era anymore... He could only helplessly complain to himself.

However, he did understand his grandfather's thoughts.

In Takasaki Jun's view, since his son was useless, he would place his hopes on his grandson. So he quickly got his grandson married and started a family to take over the family business.

However, while he understood, he never imagined that he would be pushed into the prison of marriage by his elders so quickly.

He had witnessed the painful lessons of his parents' marriage since childhood, and he had to be extremely careful not to repeat their mistakes.

But... his eyes suddenly lit up.

Isn't this a great opportunity?

If you want to mobilize Grandpa's resources, the best approach is to start with what he cares about most.

So he let out a long sigh, feigning distress.

"Sigh... Grandpa, things aren't as simple as you think. Although we have a good relationship, her mother doesn't see it that way. On the contrary, she has a lot of opinions about me."

"Hmm?" Takasaki Jun snorted coldly. "What? She still has a problem with you? What right does she have to have a problem?"

Sure enough, after being slightly provoked by Jun Takasaki, Jun Takasaki's tone immediately became stern.

In his grandfather's eyes, Senmina Nami was just an entertainer, and that his family was doing her a favor by making her his in-law. How dare she have any objections? That was simply outrageous.

Seeing that his grandfather was getting angry, Jun Takasaki immediately joined in the conversation.

"You probably don't remember, but she used to have contact with her father—they just broke up later."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone; Grandpa was clearly reminiscing.

As people get older, their memories become more vivid, and since it hadn't been mentioned for over 20 years, it was only after his grandson reminded him that Takasaki Jun remembered such a thing.

"Oh...you mean, she's that woman? Your father mentioned her to me back then, and told me that even if she got married, she didn't plan to leave the entertainment industry, so I told your father to break off contact with her. I never expected it to be her..."

The old man sighed a little when he thought about how coincidental things had been.

Once Grandpa remembered, things became much easier.

Jun Takasaki sighed, feigning distress. "You see, it's because of what happened back then that she has a lot of grudges against our family. She thinks I have ulterior motives, and she even warned me to my face not to get close to her daughter—"

There was another silence on the other end of the phone.

Grandpa smiled slightly, a hint of disdain in his voice. "What, she thinks she's so great?"

Seeing that his grandfather's anger had been aroused, Jun Takasaki knew that he had succeeded.

“I’m troubled by this too, Grandpa.” He sighed deliberately. “We both care about each other very much, but if that’s what her mother says, then there’s nothing I can do…”

"Then let's teach her a lesson." Takasaki Jun said the words his grandson had been waiting for. "It would be one thing if she did it elsewhere, but she dares to give us attitude like this here. She really thinks she's something."

However, the old man quickly changed his tone, "However, you need to know your limits. Although Minami is just an entertainment star, she is still a well-known figure in Tokyo and a public figure. If you do anything to her rashly, it will easily attract attention from the outside world... Jun, you can stand on your own now, and I believe you can handle things properly. You can use the people yourself, and I will keep an eye on things, just don't go too far."

He didn't really care that much about Ruoye Mu, nor did he necessarily want Ruoye Mu to be his granddaughter-in-law. It was just that he had been humiliated on his own turf, and he couldn't stand it without getting his revenge.