Chapter 104: The "Young Lady" Living Next Door

It was still early, with a good chunk of time left before lunch.

Seeing that the two had gotten acquainted, Kitahara invited them: "Since we happen to have some free time right now, how about we play a round of cards first to pass the time?"

Hayami Rina nodded at first upon hearing this, but then shook her head. Her snow-white face was flushed from the recent dance practice, and there was plenty of sweat on her forehead.

Lightly brushing away the hair soaked with sweat, she said soft-spokenly: "That’s fine with me, but I’m covered in sweat and feeling all sticky and uncomfortable. I want to take a shower first, and I’ll play with you guys after I’m fresh and clean."

The corners of Kitahara’s mouth turned up slightly upon hearing that:

"So desu ne! Actually, Yumi-chan and I had the exact same idea in mind, so why don’t we all just go together? That way we can save some time too."

After saying so, he turned his head to look at Matsuda Yumi on the side, seemingly waiting for her response.

Matsuda Yumi nodded with a hint of bashfulness, indicating her agreement.

Kitahara Chiki had quite a knack for playing cards; the two couldn’t beat him and lost.

It was just that they lost slightly less than before.

It wasn’t a total defeat.

After finishing lunch and playing for a while in the afternoon, several of them took an afternoon nap.

By the time they woke up, it was already time for Aya-chan to get off school.

Hayami Rina picked Aya up and brought her home. Seeing a strange older sister suddenly added to the household, Aya was utterly bewildered, raising her cute little head and asking:

"Sister, who are you? Are you my aunt?"

Aya-chan had heard her mother and Kitahara-oniichan discussing her aunt coming over these past two days, so she thought the person in front of her was her aunt!

Matsuda Yumi was filled with confusion upon hearing this, squatting down to say:

"Aunt? No, I’m not! Sister is just sister, not aunt. You must be Aya-chan, right? You’re so pretty and cute!"

Aside from being a bit puzzled, Matsuda Yumi grew very fond of Aya.

Because their circumstances had improved now, the clothes Aya wore were worth a small fortune. Her entire outfit, from head to toe, consisted of carefully selected, high-priced items.

It made her look like a little princess.

Almost no one would dislike a little girl like this.

Matsuda Yumi was naturally no exception.

She was already imagining giving birth to such a cute daughter for Kitahara in the future.

"Aya, this is Yumi-sister. She’s Kitahara-oniichan’s... good friend, visiting us as a guest. Your aunt hasn’t arrived yet! Quickly say hello to Yumi-sister!"

Hayami Rina explained to her daughter.

When bringing up Matsuda Yumi’s identity, she hesitated briefly, concealing it out of the idea of not corrupting a young child’s mind. ℴ

Afterward, she looked toward Matsuda Yumi with an apologetic glance, hoping she could understand.

Matsuda Yumi smiled and nodded, signaling that it was completely fine.

"Hello, Yumi-sister!"

Aya-chan’s timid voice sounded out, putting Matsuda Yumi in a great mood:

"Aww, hello to Aya-chan too! Aya-chan is so well-behaved, I really like you!"

...

Wearing a set of Hayami Rina’s loungewear, Matsuda Yumi played together with Aya. Her personality was cheerful and lively, so she was easily accepted by Aya-chan.

The two quickly became good friends.

Aya even brought out her cherished toys to share with her.

At this time, Hayami Rina was meticulously preparing dinner in the kitchen. Kitahara was in the study writing feverishly with full concentration.

Everything seemed so harmonious and natural.

With his hand speed enhanced, Kitahara found his typing speed astonishing, at least two to three times faster than before.

As long as his train of thought kept pace, "flick, flick, flick"—in just a few short minutes, he could finish a page of manuscript paper. This feeling was truly not bad.

He felt that even if he was so busy every day and could only carve out a brief window of time for writing, finishing this book Tokyo Love Story wouldn’t take very long.

He planned to write around two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand words for this book. In traditional literature novels, that counted as a major long feature.

Originally, he thought it would take him around half a year or so to write.

But now, he estimated he could finish it in two months.

When that time came, spending a bit of time making revisions would allow him to submit the draft for publication.

He was looking forward to seeing what kind of achievements this book could attain, and whether it could grant him a place in Japan’s literary world.

At dinner, warmth and harmony filled the dining table as everyone enjoyed the delicious food while chatting.

Aya-chan shared some amusing stories from kindergarten, her tone exaggeratedly cute, causing everyone to burst into laughter repeatedly.

Matsuda Yumi loved an atmosphere like this; since childhood, she and her father had depended on each other, with only two people in the household, making it somewhat lonely.

She rarely had the chance to experience such a lively scene.

Therefore, she cherished it immensely, sharing some fun stories from work, life, and her past school days to liven up the atmosphere.

Hayami Rina brought fruit juice and some alcoholic beverages for everyone to drink. Alcohol was a wonderful thing, able to make one forget troubles, allowing body and mind to relax as stress melted away into thin air.

Except for Aya, the adults drank heartily according to their own tolerance.

"By the way, Kitahara-kun, I paid a visit to our next-door neighbors. Living over there are several very beautiful girls who seem to still be attending school. Do you know? The owner of that house—that is, one of the girls—has quite a significant background!"

Lifting her glass and taking a sip of iced sake, Hayami Rina suddenly remembered something and spoke to Kitahara. ℯ𝓵.

"Is that so? What kind of background? Tell me about it," Kitahara said.

"Did you notice the nameplate hanging by their door? The surname written on it is ’Chida’!"

"What about it? Isn’t ’Chida’ a very ordinary surname?" Kitahara asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It is ordinary, but not overly common either. Combined with the fact that she can live in such a fine house, plus the fact that yesterday I saw a very luxurious car drop her off, with the driver and servants in the car addressing her respectfully as ’Young Lady’..."

"Rina-sister, could it be the Chida family from Hokkaido?" Matsuda Yumi suddenly chimed in.

"As expected, Yumi-sister guessed it too?" Hayami Rina said.

Only Kitahara remained completely clueless.

Was the Hokkaido Chida family very famous?

He didn’t know at all!

Seeing Kitahara’s face full of confusion, Matsuda Yumi smiled and said:

"Doesn’t Senpai know? There’s a very famous Chida family in Hokkaido. Their family is renowned for owning a vast amount of land. According to rumors, at a conservative estimate, they have hundreds of thousands of muof fertile land."

"No idea!" Kitahara shook his head.

"Uh... Senpai really pays no mind to outside matters, focusing solely on burying your head in writing! Then what about the Fujiwara family and the Fujiwara Zaibatsu? You must have at least heard of them, right?

(Note: Zaibatsu refers to large Japanese business conglomerates controlled by wealthy families, often with significant economic and political influence.)

The matriarch of the Chida family is the Fujiwara patriarch’s woman. Backed by the Fujiwara Zaibatsu, the Chida family came to possess such immense industry assets!"

"Fujiwara family? Seems I have a tiny bit of an impression." Kitahara nodded this time, but was still very bewildered.

Because that tiny bit of an impression was also from the original owner’s memory, extremely hazy.

At this moment, his head was aching slightly—families, Zaibatsu... what on earth was all this?

And out of nowhere popped up a Fujiwara.

What kind of entity was that supposed to be?