A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

……

When Chihaya Tetsuya and the others walked out of the elevator and came to the private room they had reserved in advance, that extremely conspicuous short golden hair naturally entered Chihaya Tetsuya's field of vision.

The unmistakable foreign face and the slightly accented Japanese made Chihaya Tetsuya instantly identify the other person. As for the middle-aged man standing behind him, who stood tall but looked a little haggard... it was self-evident.

"Long time no see, Yachiyo!"

Jean waved enthusiastically to Yamabuki Yachiyo.

"You seem to be much more mature than when you just graduated!"

"...but you're still as spontaneous as ever."

Yamabuki Yachiyo said to her old classmate with a helpless look on her face:

"Since you know I'm currently working as a maid, then no matter what, you should greet the person I serve first, right? Even though I'm already an honored noble."

"Ah, that's true."

She smiled very casually, and then greeted Sakurakouji Luna beside her very naturally.

"Hello, Ms. Sakurakoji, my name is Jean-Pierre Stanley."

"Hello, Mr. Jean."

Under the influence of Toyokawa Shoko, Sakurakoji Luna, who has always disliked red tape, also regained some of the etiquette she had learned.

"And as a student who will be attending Filia next year, I would prefer that you just call me Sakurakouji-kun."

"Yeah, okay, I'll remember that."

Jean smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Chihaya Tetsuya.

"So, this... should be Mr. Chihaya who took the initiative to ask to meet me, right?"

"Yes."

Unlike the other two who were calm, Chihaya Tetsuya seemed a little nervous in both tone and expression.

"My name is Chihaya Tetsuya. Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me... and your Japanese level is far beyond my expectations."

"After all, this guy is a genius. Not only Japanese, but he also knows the local language of every country he's been to, to a certain extent."

Yamabuki Yachiyo said so.

After hearing this, Rang said in a matter-of-fact tone:

"Since we want to learn about the local culture and knowledge, we naturally have to start by learning the language. As for this meeting, even if Mr. Chihaya didn't take the initiative, I would probably have taken the initiative to invite you to meet before the [TGC]."

Jean's tone was as cheerful and relaxed as his smile.

"Speaking of which, it's a pity that I was a little late for the celebration party last time, otherwise we would have definitely met earlier."

Having said that, his eyes immediately fixed on Chihaya Tetsuya, and Chihaya Tetsuya, who was frightened by his gaze, swallowed his saliva imperceptibly and squeezed out a sentence from his throat, "It's my honor."

"Well, it's your turn next, Mr. Assistant."

After greeting everyone, Jean turned around and looked at the middle-aged man standing behind him, but the other party just shook his head slightly after hearing him.

"I'm just an assistant...there's no need to introduce myself."

"Sorry, my assistant doesn't really like introducing herself in front of people."

Faced with such a cold and self-deprecating response, Jean shrugged his shoulders as if he was not surprised:

"If it weren't for Chihaya-san's initiative to ask to meet him, he definitely wouldn't have come with me."

"..."

At this point, the assistant...who was Toyokawa Shoko's father, suddenly raised his head and looked at the young man in front of him whom he had never seen before with a confused look on his face.

Facing his gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya hesitated for a moment before finally speaking slowly:

"Nice to meet you... Mr. Assistant. You may not know me, but I still have to introduce myself to you again... I'm the chief designer of my personal brand [StarrySky], and my only apprentice and assistant is named Toyokawa Shoko."

"You mean Xiangzi?!"

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko's father couldn't help but let out an extremely surprised cry, but the next second, realizing that he had lost his composure a little, he immediately straightened his expression.

"You... know who I am?"

"Not only that, I also know that you are now doing something that is not allowed under any circumstances."

In the other party's increasingly stunned eyes, Chihaya Tetsu also said:

"And that's exactly why I wanted to meet with you today... and Mr. Jean."

"Oh~"

After hearing this, Rang, who had been observing the two of them silently, raised his eyebrows.

"So that's what happened..."

As he spoke, he looked at Chihaya Tetsuya with a smile.

"In that case, let me listen carefully while we eat... about that forbidden thing you're talking about."

"...!!!"

Ever since Chihaya Tetsuya said the name "Toyokawa Shoko", Toyokawa Shoko's father felt a chill spreading from the bottom up throughout his body.

He had never told anyone about his daughter, and even to his employer, he had never mentioned any information about himself. However, even so, the young man in front of him came to him without hesitation and said Xiangzi's name. Not only that, he also revealed that he was hiding an unknown secret.

For him at this moment, how Chihaya Tetsuya knew about his deal with [NozAK!] was no longer important. He only wanted to know one thing, that is, to what extent Chihaya Tetsuya understood what he had done, and what exactly he planned to do next -

"Please, please wait!"

When everyone was about to enter the private room and sit down, Toyokawa Shoko's father hurriedly stopped Chihaya Tetsuya.

"Could you please... speak to me alone, Chihaya-san?"

Even when facing this young man who was the same age as his daughter, Toyokawa Shoko's father still adopted the most respectful and humble attitude.

"Please, it won't take too long!"

"..."

Chihaya Tetsuya hesitated for a moment after hearing this. When he saw that except for Sakurakouji Luna who looked unhappy, the other two people around him didn't mind, he slowly nodded.

"I see."

Then, he walked to Toyokawa Shoko's father and said to the others:

"Sorry, I have to excuse myself for a moment."

Then, he and Toyokawa Shoko's father walked to the corner of the corridor not far away.

……

"Although I don't know how much of the truth you know, but... I beg you... not to tell Jean about this!"

After the two men left everyone's sight, Toyokawa Shoko's father went straight to the point and bowed deeply to Chihaya Tetsuya:

"I know that I'm doing something wrong that is absolutely unacceptable. I can promise you...after the deal between me and Di Yeqing is over, I will definitely take responsibility for my actions. But before that, please give me some more time!"

"...Please raise your head."

Looking at the man in front of him who was bending deeply towards him, Chihaya Tetsuya did not rush to respond to his request. Instead, he gently placed his hand on the man's shoulder and slowly lifted his body.

"Besides being Xiangzi's teacher and boss...my primary identity is still Xiangzi's friend and companion. As an elder, there's no need for you to be so respectful to me. And I also know why you made these mistakes."

Chihaya Tetsuya sighed.

"You made the deal with [NozAK!] for Shoko, right?"

"……Yes."

Toyokawa Shoko's father said this in an extremely heavy tone:

"In the past year, I have made Xiangzi bear too many responsibilities and burdens that should not belong to her. As a father, I cannot continue like this."

Recalling the envelope that Xiangzi had voluntarily handed to him, and recalling her strength in never giving up even when her energy was pushed to the limit, Toyokawa Xiangzi's father raised his head and said in an extremely firm tone:

"I want to give Xiangzi a freer life and future that belongs only to her. To do this, even if it means risking the rest of my life..."

As he spoke, he took out the mobile phone that was used to contact Di Yeqing from his pocket.

"Here are all the recordings and chat logs of my contact with Di Yeqing. Once our deal is complete, I will take the initiative to confess everything to Rang... After that, he can do whatever he wants with me, so please, give me a little more time. After the joint exhibition is over, I will take full responsibility -"

"You keep saying you want to give Xiangzi a future, but have you ever considered that the future she desires also includes you?"

Chihaya Tetsuya finally interrupted the frustrated man in front of him from talking to himself.

"As her father, you should know what a strong girl Xiangzi is. But not long ago, when she learned that you had exchanged a sum of money from unknown sources for her freedom, she took the initiative to seek my help for the first time."

"!"

After hearing this, Shoko Toyokawa's father suddenly raised his head.

And Chihaya Tetsu continued:

"This past year's experience must have led you to mistakenly believe that Xiangzi loathed you... but that's not the case! Even though you wasted a whole year at home, even though you left her alone without a word, even though you didn't speak to her for a whole month, she still cared deeply about you and worried whether you had truly made an irreparable mistake. It's true that because of you, she was forced to shoulder a burden that shouldn't belong to someone her age, but you should also understand that for a child of this age, it's simply impossible to abandon her loved ones!"

Chihaya Tetsuya's tone also became a little heavier.

"If you regard Xiangzi as an independent and self-reliant person, then you should respect her decision to leave the Toyokawa family with you. If you regard her as a child who needs the protection of adults, then you should stay with her instead of making such a self-sacrifice that no one expects! As her father, her family, is this level of communication so difficult?"

"Family, father...?"

An extremely bitter expression appeared on Toyokawa Shoko's father's face.

"Am I really qualified to call myself her father now?"

“Even if everything you have is taken away by others, this connection is the only thing that cannot be taken away by others.”

Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"Please think carefully about this: should Xiangzi's future be decided arbitrarily by you, or should she think and choose for herself? And, is everything you're doing now saving Xiangzi, or adding more risks and pressure to her future?"

"..."

After hearing what Chihaya Tetsuya said, Toyokawa Shoko's father fell into a long silence.

After experiencing the most tragic series of failures in his life, he had completely given up hope and unilaterally denied his qualifications as a father.

In fact, during the time he was away from home, he had always been aware of Xiangzi's contacts, but he had already completely abandoned his dignity and personality, so he only regarded it as Xiangzi's obligatory concern out of responsibility and kindness.

If the truth is really as Chihaya Tetsuya said, Xiangzi is still willing to regard himself, who is so useless, as a family member who needs to be cherished.

So what he is doing at this moment may really be very different from the future Xiangzi expected...

Just as Toyokawa Shoko's father was struggling with himself over this, Chihaya Tetsuya suddenly continued:

"Actually, the reason I wanted to meet you today, besides wanting to tell you Xiangzi's true thoughts, is that I also have another thing to tell you—"

Under the other party's almost stunned gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya said:

"My relationship with Xiangzi has developed beyond friendship."

"……What did you say?"

121

Chapter 121: A destined encounter.

"Super, beyond friendship, what do you mean...eh?"

This sudden and explosive confession even stopped the depression and hesitation in Toyokawa Shoko's father's heart.

Because of the difference in status and the guilt he already felt, Toyokawa Shoko's father subconsciously regarded himself as an inferior and forgot that the young man in front of him was actually the same age as his daughter.

However, having said that, even though they were of the same age, hearing his daughter's "growth report" so directly made him realize for the first time in a long time that he still had some awareness of being a father in his heart.

At the same time, Chihaya Tetsu, whose sexual consciousness had already awakened, also realized that the words he had just said seemed to have a considerable ambiguity after seeing the other party's mixed expression.

"Ah, this relationship is simply talking about the feelings between us! I, Xiangzi and I didn't really have the kind of thing you worry about!"

Chihaya Tetsuya quickly explained:

"What I want to say is that I may be just a stranger to you, but your situation is definitely not irrelevant to me, who has already decided to spend the rest of my life with Xiangzi! So... I came here not only to stop you from making further mistakes, but also to help you!"

"Help...me?"

Toyokawa Shoko's father asked with a confused look on his face.

And Chihaya Tetsuya continued speaking very seriously.