Tokyo Three Generations

After a pause, she continued, "I want to be loved, admired, and even despised and hated as Toyokawa Shoko; but I absolutely do not want to be feared as Miss Toyokawa, even if that fear would grant me the freedom to do whatever I want, I would not want it! Because for me, that would negate my personal value and turn me into an evil spirit worshipped on an altar. Compared to that, I would rather live my life as a human being, upright and honorable. I don't know how long I will live, but I hope to leave behind more beautiful things in this world, rather than being feared and cursed..."

At this point, she narrowed her eyes slightly and gave Bai Zechun her final order, "Aunt Bai Ze, please remember, I will not allow you to hurt or even kill others without my consent, using me as a reason. I can bear all my joy and my pain myself. Once you do that, I will no longer consider you someone I respect! I will also not allow you to stay by my side!"

Faced with the young lady's resolute order and her unprecedentedly stern attitude, even the seasoned Bai Zechun couldn't help but tremble.

She understood Xiangzi, so she could see how serious he was. This was absolutely her bottom line that she would not allow to be crossed.

Such noble character is truly moving.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that Ruihui and Qinggao had raised Xiangzi too well, even too well, to the point of being "too good for him."

It's fine for Xiangzi to stick to her principles now, but when she takes over the conglomerate in the future, she will inevitably do some shady things. What kind of impact will that have on her mind?

She might gradually become the very thing she hates most—some people think this is called growing up, some people think this is blending in with the world, but Bai Zechun can't bear to see such a pure child tainted by the filth of the world.

Therefore, let us, along with young master Takasaki, become firewalls to keep all darkness outside the young lady's body.

"Young Master Takasaki, please..." she prayed silently in her heart.

Despite having so many thoughts swirling in her mind, Bai Zechun maintained a blank expression on the surface.

She nodded gently. "Okay, I understand, Miss. I will follow your wishes and will never take the initiative to attack anyone around you, not even an enemy. However, I will never allow you to be bullied. If anyone dares to wrong you, I must step in to protect you. Undoubtedly, you can fire me, but as long as I am in the company, I must fulfill my duties. Please be aware of that."

Faced with the aunt's final insistence, Xiangzi could only sigh helplessly, "Alright then, let's handle it this way. However, I will be the one to determine what constitutes bullying, and you are not allowed to act arbitrarily."

Xiangzi wasn't the kind of person who would always compromise and submit. In fact, she just didn't want to do bad things, but that didn't mean that others could climb over her.

Of course, given her position, the fact that she "didn't actively commit evil" is already a very rare quality. Not everyone who possesses privileges that transcend the law will exercise such self-restraint.

After the argument ended, both men fell into a brief silence, and the atmosphere became awkward.

Previously, the two of them had a very harmonious relationship and had almost never quarreled like this, so after the quarrel, they were both at a loss.

Bai Zechun was the first to react. Amidst her fear and regret, she racked her brains, trying to find a way to please the young lady and salvage their relationship.

This was her old profession; after all, when Xiangzi's mother was alive, she often tried to make Ruihui happy.

She was, after all, a seasoned professional, and she found inspiration immediately. Then she spent some time refining her sudden idea before cautiously speaking up.

"Young Miss, I have a way to make sure you and Young Master Takasaki have a great time... Would you like to hear it?"

108, A Sincere Defense

"Young Miss, I have a way to make sure you and Young Master Takasaki have a great time... Would you like to hear it?"

The sudden suggestion caught Xiangzi off guard.

Originally, she would have been a little hopeful if Aunt Bai Ze had said that, but after Aunt Bai Ze said so many terrible things, she was now a little skeptical, fearing that the other party might come up with some bad idea again.

So, she asked with a slight hesitation, "What are you talking about?"

Bai Zechun did not answer the question immediately, but instead kept it a secret for a moment.

"What do you think is the most important and most talked-about event for our people this summer?"

This absurd question left Xiangzi even more confused.

She really couldn't have imagined it, since she usually stayed in an isolated girls' school, how could she know what the public was paying attention to?

Seeing that the young lady was still confused, Bai Zechun didn't beat around the bush, "Then of course it's the Olympics."

"Oh, so that's what you meant..." Xiangzi suddenly realized.

Just a few years ago, Tokyo won the bid to host the Olympics and began preparations. As the date drew closer, the Olympics became increasingly popular, so it's no exaggeration to say that it was the focus of global attention.

However, Xiangzi wasn't particularly interested in sports, and the girls' school didn't really promote the Olympics, so she didn't think of it for the time being.

"The Olympics...so what?" Xiangzi asked hesitantly. "What does it have to do with me?"

“It has a lot to do with us,” Bai Zechun smiled. “When Tokyo was bidding for the Olympics, we were one of the important supporters and sponsors. Moreover, after the bid was successful, our group also secured quite a few construction projects…”

At this point, a hint of pride naturally crept into her voice. "To put it another way, saying that we swept the Tokyo Olympics would be a bit boastful and exaggerated, but saying that we were an important participant is quite accurate."

Xiangzi hadn't thought of that, but upon reflection, it wasn't too surprising. "So what does this have to do with Chun and me? The Olympics don't start until the summer, which is still several months away."

"There's still some time before the official opening, but preparations are almost complete," Bai Zechun replied with a smile. "So, you can use your status as the heir to the Toyokawa Group to inspect these preparations, see the famous athletes in advance, and even get priority access to watch the pre-competition warm-up activities..."

Bai Zechun's words were not an exaggeration. As an important sponsor and construction company, Fengchuan Group naturally had a place in the organizing committee. So, if Xiangzi wanted to, she could participate in it entirely by leveraging her family's influence.

However, this held no appeal for Xiangzi, as she had absolutely no interest in sports.

However, considering Chun's situation, the circumstances should be quite different.

Xiangzi had visited Takasaki Jun's house, where, in addition to a large collection of anime and manga, he also saw baseball and kendo equipment. Judging from his physique and mobility, he should indeed be quite good at sports.

From this perspective, he should be quite interested in the Olympics (at least some of the events).

So Aunt Bai Ze's suggestion actually makes some sense.

At least, there won't be any losses...

Thinking of this, Xiangzi's expression showed a hint of anticipation.

Seeing the change in Xiangzi's expression, Bai Zechun knew that his plan had worked, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, she continued to "add ingredients" to further impress her young mistress.

"And let me give you a heads-up—" she lowered her voice and whispered to Xiangzi, "In order to deeply reflect the Prime Minister's 'Cool Japan' cultural strategy and to showcase our country's modern culture and entertainment to the world, there will be a performance by a girl idol group at the opening ceremony of this Olympic Games. If you'd like, you can contact these idols on behalf of the organizers. It might be quite interesting."

This piqued Xiangzi's interest.

As a girl with cherry blossoms, Xiangzi naturally feels both curious and somewhat fascinated by girl idols. However, because she attends a prestigious girls' school with strict rules, she rarely comes into contact with related people and things. If she has the opportunity to get in touch with them now, it would be a very interesting life experience.

Besides, since Chun likes playing with anime and manga, he should be quite interested in this area too...

She recalled that when Akita Prefecture held cultural and tourism events, Mutsu and she benefited from his help, enjoying skiing, cherry blossom festivals, and other activities, and creating many precious memories.

Now, if I bring him the even grander Olympics as a "bonus" to play with, wouldn't that be a double return? It even feels a bit like destiny.

The more she thought about it, the more amusing it became, and she couldn't help but smile, then let out a soft sigh.

"Now it matches up... The bonds of fate are truly wondrous."

Her seemingly random remarks left Bai Zechun completely bewildered, but from the young lady's expression, she could tell that the young lady indeed did not oppose the plan.

So she remained silent and waited quietly for Xiangzi to calm down on his own.

After a moment, Xiangzi also snapped out of her reverie. She coughed lightly and tried to appear calm.

“Auntie, your suggestion is quite interesting. I think it's a good idea. I'll leave the rest to you.” Then she changed the subject, “However, neither Chun nor I are people who like to be high-profile, and we both hope not to interfere with other people's preparations... After all, both the opening ceremony and the games themselves represent the hard work of many people, some even risking their entire careers. I don't want their hard work to go to waste because of me…”

"Don't worry," Bai Zechun immediately nodded in agreement. "We'll be careful. Besides, similar things happen at every Olympics, and the organizing committee has very mature procedures for handling them, so it won't interfere with your preparations. Just have fun."

At this point, Bai Zechun breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his little argument with the young lady had been put aside, and the young lady continued to trust and rely on him.

As the saying goes, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, but a "tiger" like Xiangzi is actually quite easy to please and rarely makes things difficult for those around him.

Just then, Xiangzi suddenly thought of something else.

Aren't I also in a band?

Girl idols who are qualified to perform at the Olympic Games opening ceremony are obviously top-tier. If my girl band could communicate with them, I would definitely get a lot of useful guidance, and at least make it more "formal".

She didn't want her band to attend the opening ceremony, after all, she didn't dare or want to make her privileges so blatant. But by interacting with these idols, she could improve everyone's skills and also gain some recognition, so why not?

She hadn't taken this matter too seriously at first, but now that she thought about it, she had to take it seriously.

So she looked at Bai Zechun again and asked, "Auntie, which girl idol groups will be invited to the opening ceremony this time?"

Bai Zechun couldn't remember for a moment, so she picked up her phone and asked someone from the organizing committee. Then, she looked at Toyokawa Shoko again.

"It's a new idol group called sumimi, and it only has two members."

"Only two people?" Toyokawa Shoko exclaimed in surprise.

A moment later, she felt that the name Sumimi sounded familiar; she must have heard it mentioned by someone at the girls' school.

If you can hear about this idol group even in an all-girls school, then it means that this idol group is really popular—so it's not surprising that they are qualified to be on the opening ceremony, after all, audiences all over the world like to see pretty girls.

So she picked up her phone and searched for the name sumimi.

Sure enough, a bunch of pictures and video links immediately popped up on his phone, leaving Xiangzi completely overwhelmed.

Xiangzi randomly opened one of the profiles and found that the group indeed consisted of two people: one named Junta Mana and the other named Misumi Hatsuka.

In the original story, Mikami Hatsuka, a girl from out of town with no background or connections, goes to Tokyo to make her way in the world and becomes one of the most popular idol groups in just two or three years. With such an exaggerated premise, it's not surprising that she appeared at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, they are indeed very popular, and the audience at their performances is absolutely packed.

"Looks like he's really capable..." Xiangzi thought to himself.

This made her even more interested.

Logically speaking, there's absolutely no way that my little band could have any connection with such a super popular idol group, but this time, hasn't the opportunity come?

Even disregarding the improvement in professional skills and fame, getting to know a super popular idol would surely be an unforgettable experience for his teammates, which could be considered a "perk" he was giving to them.

So she nodded gently, "Could you, on behalf of the organizer, help me contact these two idols? If possible, I'd like to get to know them, and if they can spare some time, they could come to our house for a meeting."

"Leave it to me," Bai Zechun said with a slight smile.

The young lady is still naive and has a bit of a girlish perspective. She always thinks that idols are unattainable people. In reality, even if they are super popular idol groups, they are just young people who live off their youth. They are just high-end "consumables" in the entertainment industry. It is their luck that they were able to meet the young lady, so they should have just informed her. There is no need to be so polite.

However, she certainly wouldn't say such things in front of the young lady; she simply agreed calmly.

After explaining everything, Bai Zechun, seeing that he had appeased the young lady, bid farewell to Xiangzi. Xiangzi waved goodbye to the aunt and watched her leave.

After her aunt left, she returned to the Toyokawa residence and followed the path she had taken with Takasaki Jun back to her father's study.

Then, she gently knocked on the door. "Dad, are you free?"

"Xiangzi? Is there anything else?" Toyokawa Kiyoko inside immediately responded, "Come in."

After receiving his father's permission, Xiangzi opened the door and went inside.

She first bowed slightly to her father according to etiquette, and then raised her head, looking at him with concern.

"Dad, what did you and Chun talk about just now? Did you have some kind of disagreement? He looked pretty bad after he came out of here."

Toyokawa Kiyoko's face didn't show much surprise at Xiangzi's question, only a little impatience and helplessness towards his daughter.

"Didn't he tell you?" he asked back.

“He just told me that you two discussed the funding issue together…” Toyokawa Shoko shook her head slightly, “But I think if it was just about that, there was definitely no need for you two to argue.”

Toyokawa Kiyoko remained silent.

Like Jun Takasaki, he couldn't bear to say such cruel things in front of his daughter.

"Actually, it's nothing..." After hesitating for a moment, he also chose to play dumb. "We just chatted about all sorts of things, and then we started arguing. You know, we both have bad tempers, so it's normal for us to argue. But we don't take it to heart, and it'll be fine in a while."

Xiangzi's doubts were not dispelled by her father's words. She still looked at her father suspiciously, because she could clearly see that her father was deliberately evading her, and judging from the fact that neither of them was willing to talk about it, it must still involve her.

"Are you talking about me?" she then asked in a low voice.

"No..." Toyokawa Kiyoshi began to deny it without thinking, but when faced with his daughter's direct gaze, he couldn't bring himself to tell the lie.

Is it really a good idea to keep such a significant issue from your daughter?

With this question in mind, he hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth.

“We just talked about the future, um... the future of the two of you. He was very firm in his stance, insisting that he would never give up the family name. He said that he was raised by his grandfather to be the heir of the Takasaki family since he was a child, and he has no intention of changing his family.”

Then, Toyokawa Kiyoshi pointed to the window that Takasaki Jun had pointed to earlier, "When we were arguing, he even pointed to this window and said that he would rather jump out and die than become a son-in-law of the Toyokawa family. Since he has said that much, what is there for us to talk about? I just kicked him out."

After speaking, Toyokawa Kiyoko fell silent, then cautiously looked at his daughter.

Shoko Toyokawa just stood there blankly, as if processing this sudden bad news.

Good, things are relatively calm, not as shocking and sad as I had imagined. Toyokawa Kiyoko secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Daughter, it’s really nothing. Everyone experiences heartbreak once or twice in life. It’s just a part of life, nothing to worry about. That guy is indeed nice, but there are countless handsome young men in this world. We can find someone else later. He’ll be the one who regrets it later! We…”

Before he could finish speaking, Xiangzi's voice rang out clearly in the room. "If that's the case, then let's put a soft cushion under the window first, to make sure he doesn't get hurt when he jumps..."

"Xiangzi!" Toyokawa Kiyoko was taken aback for a moment, then scolded him in a low voice.

He believed that with his daughter's intelligence, she wouldn't be unable to understand what a 'metaphor' was. He thought that the other party's statement about jumping out of the window was just an exaggeration to express a firm refusal. What use would it be to put a soft cushion there?

He suddenly wondered if his precious daughter had been driven to madness by the enormous blow.

However, to his surprise, Xiangzi gave a slight, elegant smile.

"Okay, Dad, I was just kidding. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You..." Toyokawa Kiyoko choked for a moment, not knowing what to say.