Tokyo Three Generations

She knew in her heart that her son was trying to cheer her up because he understood that she was feeling down.

So she was very moved, thinking that all the hardship she had endured had not been in vain, and that her son was still her pride.

However, on the surface, she still appeared to be angry and simply forced the calligraphy brush into her son's hand.

"Here, take the pen and write! I want to see if you've improved or regressed while I was away."

Helpless after being told off by his mother, Jun Takasaki picked up his pen to write.

However, at that moment, the study door suddenly opened, and Takasaki Hiroshi walked in.

The moment he entered, the gentle maternal glow emanating from Takasaki Mio vanished, and she raised her head, glaring at him coldly, as if scolding him for disturbing her.

Faced with his wife's annoyed gaze, Takasaki Hiroshi waved his hand guiltily, "Sorry, Mio, I'm sorry to bother you. I just received some news, so I had to come and inform you."

Previously, he and his wife had a bad relationship and were in a long-term cold war. However, recently, in order to make up for his mistakes, his wife took the initiative to stand up and take the blame, which was equivalent to doing him a huge favor. Although he had to pay a huge sum of 500 million for this favor, he also knew that it was difficult to make up for the blow to Takasaki Mio's self-esteem and face. So now, in front of his wife, he could only lower his head and smile apologetically more and more often.

"What is it?" Takasaki Mio asked irritably, her face darkening.

She knew in her heart that Takasaki Hiroshi must have something important to say to come over and endure her cold shoulder, so she didn't act impulsively and kick him out.

"Mr. Toyokawa Kiyotaka just called to ask if I would allow him to bring his family to visit tomorrow."

"Toyokawa Kiyoshi?" Takasaki Mio was taken aback at first, then remembered Toyokawa's son-in-law who had recently become the chairman of the board. "It's him? What's he doing here?"

“He said that because our family has recently been embroiled in a public opinion storm, he came to visit us to express his condolences and to maintain the friendship between our two families,” Takasaki Hiroshi replied.

"What family ties?" Takasaki Mio was even more puzzled.

How could she not know about the social connections and interpersonal relationships of the Takasaki family? Although the Toyokawa family and her family had some acquaintance, they were not close family friends—or rather, the Takasaki family couldn't even come close to them.

At this critical juncture in public opinion, the Toyokawa family must have known that getting involved with their own family would cause trouble. Logically, given the relationship between the two families, it would be reasonable for them to stay far away. How could they suddenly take the initiative to come forward?

"Well..." Takasaki Hiroshi did not answer immediately, but instead focused his gaze on his son.

Looking at her husband's meaningful gaze, Takasaki Mio was first puzzled, then seemed to understand something.

She was, after all, exceptionally intelligent, and quickly began to connect the dots—Toyokawa Kiyoyuki had said he was visiting with his family.

How many family members does the Toyokawa family have? It seems he only has one daughter.

Could it be that……

A strange thought popped into her head. She looked at her son, while Jun Takasaki pretended not to see anything and continued writing on the paper with his pen.

Pretending to be stupid, huh? You've learned everything, haven't you?

She sneered inwardly, then turned and glared at her husband. "So what do you think we should do?"

“The Toyokawa family is wealthy and powerful, and has a huge network of connections in the political and business world. Their willingness to visit us at this time is an unexpected bonus for our family. My father and I believe there is no reason to refuse,” Takasaki Hiroshi replied.

This is indeed the correct argument, and Mio Takasaki cannot refute it.

"You've already put it this way, how can I possibly argue or refuse?" So she replied irritably, "Okay, I know, don't worry, I'll cooperate obediently and play the role of a good housewife, I won't embarrass your family!"

"That's good. Thank you for your hard work, Mio." Hiroshi Takasaki breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled apologetically at his wife.

Although his wife hadn't yet asked him to leave, he didn't want to get in her way any longer in this atmosphere, so after saying a few casual words, he quickly left the study.

Once only the mother and son remained in the room, peace returned.

Meanwhile, Jun Takasaki was still focused on writing, seemingly oblivious to everything else.

"Alright, stop pretending~" His mother's voice, tinged with sarcasm, suddenly came from the side. "Well, son, you've really grown up after three months apart, actually managing to get our family connected with the Toyokawa family... Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Seeing that his mother wasn't giving him any room to escape, Jun Takasaki could only resign himself to putting down his pen and then scratching his head sheepishly.

"Actually... nothing major happened..."

Then, he told his mother everything about the Toyokawa Rebellion and how he had given advice to Toyokawa Shoko.

However, compared to things like the power struggle within the Toyokawa family, Takasaki Mio's focus was completely off-topic.

"You mean... you just thought Lady Toyokawa looked beautiful in mourning clothes, so you jumped out and risked your life to do so many things for her?"

“That’s not quite the right way to describe it…” Jun Takasaki felt a little embarrassed, “but… it makes some sense, doesn’t it?”

Mio Takasaki's eyes widened, as if her son were some kind of monstrous pervert.

"Mom, don't look at me like that..." Jun Takasaki became even more embarrassed. "I admit it was a bit surprising, but in terms of the result, everything is pretty good."

After a moment, the mother seemed to finally process the shocking news, and then looked at her son with some difficulty.

"So, what exactly does Miss Toyokawa look like? Did you two keep in touch afterward?"

Jun Takasaki thought for a moment, then took out his phone from his pocket, flipped through the photo album, and showed her the group photo from the cherry blossom festival.

"How come there are four people!" Takasaki Mio exclaimed in surprise.

She quickly recognized Toyokawa Shoko, but she didn't recognize the other two.

“This one is called Wakaba Mutsumi, and this one is called Nagasaki Motoyo…” Takasaki Jun explained briefly, “They are both classmates of Miss Toyokawa. They came to Akita with her that time, so we took a group photo.”

Because explaining too many things would be troublesome and irrelevant to the topic, Jun Takasaki simply omitted them and told his mother that they were Shoko's classmates.

Mio Takasaki's gaze swept over the photograph, then she let out a sigh.

"They are all very beautiful..."

More impressive than their looks are the genuine smiles of the four people in the photo, especially Miss Toyokawa standing in the center, laughing heartily with her hands clasped together.

She wasn't stupid; in fact, she could be considered an "experienced person." Of course, she understood what it meant for the young lady to have her son stand close behind her for a photo.

She looked at Xiangzi carefully again, then fell silent.

I understand now. This explains why the Toyokawa family, with whom we've never had much of a relationship, suddenly came to visit and offer their support at this time. It must be that Miss Toyokawa pleaded with her family on her behalf.

While others are left sitting at home and trouble falls from the sky, she, on the other hand, receives "favors" from heaven.

However, it seems that this favor is not so easy to owe.

"What do you think of her?" After a moment of silence, Takasaki Mio finally cleared her mind and asked.

"She is a very good person. She is well-educated, gentle, talented, and knows how to behave properly. My father also said that she is a rare and outstanding young lady. Moreover, from my interactions with her, she has a very good temper. Although she inevitably has some of the willfulness of a young lady, she is very kind to the people around her, so she is quite popular at school."

Although Jun Takasaki's description was very objective, Mio Takasaki was even more surprised, because her son had never praised anyone in such a long way before.

Is this little girl really that amazing?

"Then, what about Aine..." Takasaki Mio blurted out, as if possessed.

"What do you mean, what should we do?" Jun Takasaki asked his mother.

Mio Takasaki hesitated for a moment, then asked softly again, "You...you really want to abandon Aine? You don't want her anymore?"

"What are you saying?" Jun Takasaki was completely baffled. "How could I possibly abandon Aine? She's a good junior I've taken care of since she was little and watched grow up."

"You brat, still pretending to be confused with your mother!" Seeing her son still spouting nonsense, Takasaki Mio cursed and made a move to hit him.

Jun Takasaki stepped back, dodging his mother's already weak slap, and then replied with a grin, "We're all good friends, so why are you talking about abandoning this and that?"

Seeing her son still dodging and pretending to be stupid, Mio Takasaki couldn't help but glare at him.

However, her son is still so young, and she felt that she really didn't need to force him to give an answer right now.

Isn't it better to let things take their natural course?

Thinking about this, she felt inexplicably relieved.

"Alright, alright, you young people can handle your own affairs. As the hostess tomorrow, I still need to properly entertain those two..." Finally, she helplessly shrugged. "Okay, keep writing! Don't slack off!"

70. Distinguished guests arrive.

Just as Mio Takasaki was complaining about her son, Jun Takasaki's phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw that the caller ID was Shoko Toyokawa.

As expected... well, he wasn't surprised at all.

"I'll take the call." He apologized to his mother sheepishly, then left the study.

Actually, when he picked up his phone, the sharp-eyed Mio Takasaki had already spotted who was calling.

She was actually very curious about what the two of them would say, but she also knew that her son was getting old and should have his own privacy, so she pretended not to see anything and let her son go.

Jun Takasaki answered the phone and quickly walked back to his room.

"Moshi moshi~" As soon as the call connected, Toyokawa's cheerful and clear voice came through the phone. "Good morning, Jun."

"Good morning, Shoko," Junya Takasaki greeted him.

"Um... Today... my dad told me that he wants to come visit your house together. I wonder if you know about this?" Toyokawa Shoko then asked in a slightly nervous tone.

In fact, given the previous relationship between the two families, there was no need for Toyokawa Kiyoko to visit them at this critical juncture. Therefore, anyone with a modicum of intelligence could guess that this visit was at Shoko's request.

However, the little girl was shy and insisted that she was brought by her father, which Jun Takasaki understood perfectly.

Isn't social interaction simply the art of playing dumb with each other?

So he didn't point it out, but went along with Xiangzi's words, "Yes, I just heard it from my father. I'm very grateful for Uncle Qinggao's kind intentions. Xiangzi, it's also kind of you to come along for this social occasion."

"Not at all, it's just traveling by car both ways, so it's not tiring at all~" Toyokawa Shoko laughed heartily again.

However, her tone quickly turned heavy again, "I've heard a little about what's been going on in your family lately, and I feel the same way about all the suffering your aunt has gone through... Chun, how is your aunt doing now?"

"Well, she's not doing too well, but she's managing to stay calm..." Jun Takasaki looked worried and downcast when his mother was mentioned. "So I've been staying by her side these past few days to help her recover. We were even writing together just now."

"Jun, who has always been aloof, turns out to be a filial child..." Toyokawa Shoko said with a smile.

However, she felt both sympathy and envy.

After all, she had just lost her mother, and even if she wanted to be filial, she couldn't. She truly experienced the pain of "wanting to care for one's parents but finding them gone."

But in this somber atmosphere, she didn't want to add to the negativity, so she became even more cheerful. "Auntie has gone through such a misfortune, I have to offer my condolences in person. Chun, I'd like to ask if there's anything she's particularly sensitive about? I'll prepare in advance so I won't be impolite later."

"That's just how young lady is, so particular," Jun thought to himself.

"You don't need to worry about that. Although my mother isn't the kind of person without a temper, she is a person of principle. Even though she's feeling down right now, she would never take her anger out on a junior or deliberately make things difficult for anyone. Besides, you are a distinguished guest, and she will treat you very warmly."

"Then...should I change into a kimono before visiting?" Toyokawa Shoko asked cautiously again.

After all, she had only seen Lady Mio in a video, and in the video, Lady Mio was wearing a kimono. She was worried that Lady Mio's aesthetic sense was rather traditional, so she felt that she should dress more formally.

However, this question amused Jun Takasaki.

"Don't overthink it. That outfit in the video was just an act to gain sympathy. My mom isn't usually that reserved. She always wears modern clothes at home, so you don't need to dress up like that. Just dress as usual."

Then, he praised Xiangzi, "Believe me, Xiangzi, you just need to act the way you always do, and that's enough for everyone to like you. There's really no need to do anything extra..."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone, followed by several heavy breathing sounds and a dry cough.

A few seconds later, Ms. Toyokawa's voice, which had been trying to calm down, came through the phone again.

"Okay, then I'm relieved. See you later~"

See you later~

After hanging up the phone, Jun Takasaki left his room again and returned to his study.

Mio Takasaki didn't press her son about what he had just said to Miss Toyokawa, but judging from his expression, they must have had a very pleasant conversation.

This, in turn, aroused her curiosity: what kind of demeanor did Miss Toyokawa possess?

Of course, she wasn't in a hurry; she'd see it soon enough.

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

Just around noon, the Toyokawa father and daughter arrived on time. A Maybach carrying the two of them traveled across a large part of Tokyo and arrived at the Takasaki family's door.

The driver got out of the car, opened the door, and then the father and daughter got out one after the other.

The driver then drove the car to the garage, where the Takasaki family of three, who were already waiting at the door, immediately went to greet them.

The Takasaki and Toyokawa families had a long history of interaction, so they knew each other. Takasaki Mio had even chatted with Toyokawa Mizuho alone (which is why she was able to recognize Shoko in a photograph at a glance, even though they had never met). However, this was the first time that someone from the Toyokawa family had come to visit.

For this reason, the Takasaki couple were very polite, not only greeting him at the door, but also bowing to Toyokawa Kiyoshi upon meeting him.

“Mr. Toyokawa, my wife and I are deeply honored to have you grace our humble abode today,” said Hiroshi Takasaki.

Toyokawa Kiyoshi didn't put on airs either, and bowed to the couple as well, saying, "You're too kind. It was my daughter and I who took the liberty of coming to disturb you, and we've caused you trouble in your busy schedules. We hope you can forgive us."

As the father bowed, the two children standing behind their respective fathers also bowed solemnly in return.

While exchanging pleasantries, Takasaki Mio faced Toyokawa Kiyoshi while glancing at Shoko out of the corner of her eye.

As a member of the upper class, Takasaki Mio was also familiar with the Toyokawa family. She knew that the seemingly naive and innocent young lady of the Toyokawa family in front of her was the real entity of the Toyokawa Group. In comparison, her father was essentially just an agent working for her.

Therefore, she is not the ordinary rich girl, but the pro max version.