novellhall Chapter 58 Everyone Has Their Own Ambition
Chapter 58 Everyone Has Their Own Ambition
The Seki family mansion in the outskirts of Fukuoka.
As evening light filtered through the pine branches in the courtyard, it cast dappled patterns of light on the wooden floor of the veranda. Yumiko's father sat in the tatami room facing the courtyard, slowly putting on his reading glasses, his gaze lingering on his phone screen for a long time.
My old friend Kubo sent me an email inviting Guan Furniture to jointly invest in acquiring a portion of the Asian shares of the Italian lingerie brand La Perla.
"When did Kubo become interested in this kind of thing?"
Mr. Guan scratched his head, full of doubts. He and Mr. Kubo had known each other for a long time. Mr. Kubo had always been a Puritan-like figure known for his rigid lifestyle and diligent work ethic since his youth. How come he suddenly made such a 180-degree turn and started researching bedroom pleasures as he was about to enter the second half of his life? Could it be that he was so repressed in the first half of his life that he wanted to be more indulgent in the second half? Had he made enough money and decided to stop pretending?
Watching her husband, who was blinded by his own interests and stubbornly heading down a dead end, Guan's mother shook her head with amusement. Although she didn't understand business, she understood how to be a parent. The Kubo family, from the oldest to the youngest, were all people who made money like water; how could they really be short of money? Besides her youngest daughter, who was still unemployed and did nothing all day, what else in her family could attract them?
"Could it be that they've chosen Yumiko?" After a pause, Guan's mother whispered a reminder.
"Arimiko?"
Mr. Guan put down his phone, took off his reading glasses, and suddenly realized, "That's right, how come I didn't think of that? This old geezer, just say what you want to say! When did you learn to be so hesitant?"
"I guess Rito made him do this. He wanted to find something for Yumiko to do, but he couldn't bypass us, so he could only do it this way." After all, Mrs. Guan was a woman, and she was very perceptive. She immediately guessed the reason why Rito did this.
"Really." Mr. Guan shook his head with a smile and pressed the call button on the table. "I've always thought highly of him. If he had just told me directly, would I have disagreed? Next time this kid comes, I'll definitely make him have a few more drinks with me."
Less than fifteen minutes later, familiar footsteps echoed down the corridor. The door opened gently, and Yumiko walked in, dressed in a plain-colored kimono, her short hair neatly tucked behind her ears. She gave her father a slight bow, displaying the good upbringing and manners of a young lady from a wealthy family.
"Father."
"Sit down." After she was seated, Mr. Guan moved his phone in front of her. "The Kubo family has sent a letter of intent to collaborate. They want to acquire an Italian lingerie brand together with our family. What do you think of this deal?"
Yumiko glanced down at the email, then tilted her head hesitantly. Although she had received some business training, her brother had always been the heir to the family business. Her father had never asked for her opinion on such matters before. What was going on today?
Looking at his puzzled daughter, Guan's father just smiled mischievously without saying a word. Who told Li Ren to like playing riddles with him? He was too far away to retaliate against him, so he decided to let his daughter teach him a lesson.
At the crucial moment, it was Guan's mother who felt sorry for her daughter and stopped letting her husband do as he pleased. She spoke up and explained, "Yumiko, this was probably Rito's idea. Your father and I don't understand these kinds of things for young people. What we mean is, why don't you go to Tokyo and look into it in detail? If you think it's feasible, we'll cover the cost."
Yumiko didn't speak immediately. She lowered her eyes, glanced out the window again, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes, before finally speaking:
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
Mr. Guan looked at her. He noticed that his daughter hadn't used a question when she said it, or even a buffer like "I think I should." She simply stated a decision plainly, as if she had been waiting for this opportunity or a reason.
"Go early and come back early," he said.
Yumiko bowed slightly, stood up, and left.
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Two days later, Yumiko appeared at Rito's new house. It was her first time here. Rito showed her around casually. She noticed that there were two cups in the bathroom, and two toothbrushes and two toothpastes. Obviously, he did not live alone in such a big house.
"I went to the La Perla in Ginza the other day, and I found a hidden camera in their dressing room. I originally just wanted to take this opportunity to rip them off, but after I looked into it, I found out that they've been on a downward spiral since they were acquired by a private equity firm in 08. Their cash flow is really tight, and the only thing they have worth is their shares, so—"
"So you're planning to just buy her outright?" Yumiko leaned back on the sofa that Guan Furniture had just released this year, and smelled a strange citrus scent. Her mind wandered as she thought: Judging from the scent, she shouldn't be a difficult woman to get along with. But why is she appearing next to Rito?
"I plan to take 70%, half for each of us." Rito leaned back on the sofa, her fingertips lightly tapping the rim of her glass. "You've been through so much, from elementary school to university, you need to find a place to practice, right? If this brand does well, it might even be a catalyst for Guan Furniture to enter the fashion industry. You know, the furniture market is too mature now, there's no room for growth anymore, it's always good to have backup plans."
Yumiko smiled, her expression unreadable, neither happy nor sad. After taking a small sip of water, she looked up at him. Her eyes were deep brown, gleaming warmly in the afternoon light, like a dignified and reserved peony.
"Reasoning with people".
"Um?"
"You've paved such a long road for Nogizaka, with five-year plans, ten-year plans, and even thought about what to do fifteen years from now. But what about yourself? Have you thought about what kind of life you'll be living five or ten years from now?"
Rito was taken aback by what he heard and didn't react for a while. Yumiko glanced at him and continued speaking in a calm and unhurried voice.
"I know you have a good eye, and this collaboration certainly won't make me lose money. But have you considered how the outside world will perceive our relationship once this scale of collaboration is announced? Japan is only so big; soon our circles will assume we're a couple. I'm wondering, will you really marry me in the end?"
She paused, her fingers gently stroking the rim of the teacup.
"Rito, I'm not the kind of woman who demands a man's unwavering devotion, but I also don't want to be a love-struck fool waiting in vain, do you understand?"
The living room was quiet. The lines fell into the air, not like a pebble hitting water and creating ripples, but more like a leaf falling on a lake—very light, yet creating layers upon layers of ripples.
"You know I've always wanted to get married soon." Yumiko smiled, a little embarrassed, but she didn't intend to take back what she said earlier. "If people outside associate the eldest daughter of the Seki family with Kubo Rihito, then I might never get married in my life."
Li Ren remained silent for a long time.
The afternoon light slanted in through the French windows, drawing a line of light and shadow on the floor. Yumiko happened to be sitting in that light, her pale blue dress appearing to be divided in two, creating an indescribable sense of artistry.
Rito rubbed his eyes and finally spoke.
"Excuse me, could you give me some more time to think about it?"
"Of course." Yumiko stood up, straightened her skirt, and smiled slightly at him. "I don't necessarily want you to marry me right now, but we should at least date first. I need an identity to prove that I'm different from others."
"You're right, it was my oversight." Rito saw her to the door. Yumiko put on her shoes, turned around, gave a slight bow, and then slowly walked away along the path leading to the garage.
He returned to the living room, sat back on the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling. This world is just that realistic. What ordinary members dare not say, the young lady can say without any scruples. The reason why Yumiko did not want to participate in the selection is now very clear - she did not want to compete with others on the same starting line. This is normal. If it were Rito, he would not want to either.
Just then, that mischievous electronic voice deep in my mind suddenly rang out without warning.
"Host detected facing a life decision, triggering a long-term mission: early marriage."
Rito suddenly sat up straight.
"Mission requirement: Complete the marriage registration before the host's 25th birthday."
"Task Details: Upon completion, you will unlock the designated selection permission for the C-position pool and access the character modification function (Note: The C-position pool selection function will not be available until the task is completed)."
"Punishment for mission failure: The C-position pool entrance will be permanently closed."
"Mission countdown begins: ten, nine, eight..."
After hearing what it said, Rito was shocked and didn't have time to process what the last sentence meant. His consciousness almost instinctively sank into the depths of his mind.
In that pure white space, the dazzling gashapon machine in the center of the pool was emitting a dim hum. Large swaths of the four-colored light patterns on the surface of the machine went out, as if something had drained its energy from within, and the entire machine was teetering on the verge of collapse.
"Yada!"
Without hesitation, he conjured the only C-position lottery coin he had received in recent days out of thin air, stuffed it into the coin slot, and slammed his right hand hard on the lottery button, causing the gashapon machine to vibrate.
The gashapon machine let out a long, mournful cry. All the light patterns burst into a blinding white light for a moment, then instantly went out. The gashapon fell into the dispenser.
Unlike the usual star-studded gashapon toys, this one has a plain light green and sky blue base with little contrast, making it unremarkable. The surface is printed with two intersecting lines—one violet and one pure white. The two colors overlap, like a combination a primary school student with no artistic sense would choose.
"The Hinatazaka members who went through the hiragana era had purple and white as their support colors. Only you are left. Come out, Kosaka Nao."
Rito sighed, watching as countless threads twisted space, compressing the gashapon machine in the center position into a singularity, and disappearing into the world of consciousness. He then forcefully twisted open the gashapon.
The official photo of Hinatazaka's only designated ACE slowly floated into the air. As always, she smiled shyly, but Rito felt a headache coming on. Of all the people to come out, it had to be this one. He had never made any plans for Hinatazaka. Should he ask her to join Nogizaka or Keyakizaka? Without Kosaka, would Hinatazaka still be Hinatazaka?
"Forget it, I have plenty of headaches already, one more won't hurt."
After thinking for a while, Rito shook his head in a defiant manner, disconnected from the system, and returned to the real world.
Kansai, Osaka Castle.
Nao Kosaka put the last folded T-shirt into the cardboard box and looked around the apartment she had lived in for almost half a year. The sunflower in the corner was bought from a 100-yen store last month; it was growing crookedly, and the edges of its leaves were turning yellow, but she still decided to take it with her. She carefully tucked the flowerpot into the side pocket of her backpack and zipped up her suitcase.
At the beginning of this year, when she was approached by a talent scout at a school festival, she initially thought she had been scammed. Later, the scout sent her information about Nogizaka46, claiming to represent Nogizaka46's sister group, along with documents stamped with an official seal, which revealed it to be a legitimate company. Her mother was initially reluctant, but her father said it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. He reasoned that since she wasn't a good student and had no hope of getting into university, she would just be doing odd jobs anyway, so it was better to work for a big company and at least not be scammed. So she filled out an application form, sent in her photo, and attended two interviews. However, just before the final selection, her mother, who couldn't bear to part with her, dragged her back from Tokyo. Fortunately, the person at the company, Mr. Konno, thought highly of her and kept sending people to persuade her, finally getting her mother to relent.
After much back and forth, she was finally heading to Tokyo the next day. She handed the key to her landlady, bowed deeply at the entrance, and then dragged her suitcase into the fiery early autumn of Osaka.
Akasaka, the Western-style house where Shirozo is temporarily staying.
The arrangements for Kosaka Nao have been made. Rito used two pulls from the regular gacha pool to obtain her identity settings and sent her information to Konno, asking him to arrange for her to stay in an empty room in the Keyakizaka dormitory for the time being. As for the specific form of her joining, he still needs to think about it. Konno, as always, was completely unaware of this new memory that had suddenly appeared in his mind. He replied "Received" and diligently went back to work.
After dealing with the matter, Rito put his phone in his pocket and pushed open the door of the three-story villa in Akasaka.
The living room was completely different from when he first came a few months ago. The cushions on the sofa had been rearranged—obviously and carelessly, as if someone had sat on them and then just patted them down a couple of times before tidying them up. On the coffee table were a few magazines and a laptop, its screen still lit, displaying a video streaming page.
The low hum of a dryer could be heard coming from the laundry room at the end of the corridor.
The distance from the entryway to the living room is filled with all sorts of odds and ends: shoes, baseball bats, small potted plants, and even ski suits. They haven't had a proper winter since they arrived, so I really don't know what they're buying.
Rito smiled silently, picked up a tissue that had fallen to the ground, crumpled it up, threw it into the trash can, and went inside.
Junha Mukai and Nagisa Kojima, who were huddled on the sofa trying to grab the last piece of chocolate, were the first to see him and greet him.
"Nagi, Junye, don't you guys think that freshly cleaned oven would be perfect for making a cake?"
Just as Rito and the two were exchanging pleasantries, Reina Odakura suddenly appeared from the corridor. Today she was wearing a knitted cardigan, her hair was casually clipped back with a shark clip, and she had a faint scent of butter about her.
"Chocolate flavor, please!" Chunye immediately raised her hand.
"I want strawberries!" Nagisa retorted defiantly.
"President, what flavor would you like?" the third young lady asked him.
"I'll pass, I have some things to do," Rito said. "By the way, where are they?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Meiqing walked out of the kitchen, shaking her hands which she had just washed and were still damp. She was wearing an apron with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, looking as if she had been called out while cooking. Aiji and Meiyu followed behind her, both carrying freshly washed dishes.
Hearing the noise, Rika and Riko came out of the kitchen, each holding a freshly made cookie, their mouths stuffed full, looking like two hamsters preparing for winter.
Once everyone was present, the manager clapped his hands, signaling everyone to gather in the living room, and then told them about today's arrangements.
Several months have passed since they arrived in this world. Although the house is large, it still feels a bit cramped with seven or eight people living together, and there are often situations where people fight over the toilet or don't have enough space to put their belongings. After his observation, he basically acknowledged their ability to live independently. If anyone wants to move out, he can arrange new accommodation. As for those who don't want to move out, they can continue to live here. The villa is in a good location, and the community is safe. Meiqing will continue to take care of the daily lives of everyone who stays.
The girls looked at each other. Chunye was the first to speak. Raising her hand, as if answering a question in class, she boldly declared that she didn't want to move. She'd just fixed the internet here, and her games were running smoothly. Miyu nodded in agreement, indicating that she relied entirely on Aiki for her needs and moving out was out of the question; she was determined to be a proud parasite.
"Damn it, pull yourself together! Is Aiji your mother?" Rito yelled at her in an exaggerated manner.
"Sodayo, that's it, Aiki is my mother." Miyu shamelessly hugged Aiki's arm, warning her not to move out.
Aiji thought for a moment and then smiled and declined, saying that she was still too young. Although everyone knew that she was the most independent one, Rito could only agree when he saw this. At the same time, he gave Miho a look, signaling her to be careful about the dangerous relationships within the team.
Riko decided to stay as well—although she wasn't the youngest, everyone treated her like a baby, and even if she wanted to move out, no one would agree.
Rika, the third young lady, and Nagisa, who were the remaining three, all decided to move out and naturally ended up living together. The third young lady seemed quite excited and was already checking rental information on her phone.
"Okay." Li Ren nodded and said to everyone, "Then it's settled."
That afternoon, Li Ren drove the three people who wanted to look at houses to several properties recommended to him by the real estate agent.
Nagisa sat quietly in the back seat by the window, only occasionally being pulled aside by the third young lady to whisper a few words. She had recently picked up a stray cat from downstairs, which was now curled up in a fluffy ball on the third young lady's lap, purring softly.
Not long after the car started moving, Rito suddenly remembered that he had left his keys at the mansion, so he had to go back the way he came, get the keys, and go out again. This whole process took a lot of time. Fortunately, he had gone downstairs beforehand and left the three of them in the car, which saved some time.
"Kubo Rito." As he got into the car and was about to start the engine, Rito noticed that Rika had secretly sat in the passenger seat at some point.
"What?" He glanced at her.
"Nothing much."
Rito started the engine. The white van slowly slid out of the parking space and merged into the afternoon traffic in Tokyo.
A short while later, the car arrived at its destination, less than 100 meters from the apartment in Nogizaka. The apartment was typical Tokyo style, six stories high, with light gray tiled exterior walls and a small bicycle shed downstairs. The caretaker was an elderly woman with gray hair, very kind, who led the four of them through the rooms one by one. The room with the best lighting was on the third floor, at a corner, with a window facing a small park in the middle of the street, where they could see unidentified stray cats sunbathing on benches.
"Too much cat." Nagisa herself owns a cat and knows how noisy cats can be, so she doesn't really like this environment. On the other hand, the third young lady seems eager to try it out and keeps giggling.
"Let's look at a few more places. It would be best if we lived together, so we could look out for each other."
Rika glanced at it listlessly, still wanting to live in a more urbanized place. Perhaps this is how people from small towns are; they always have a Tokyo dream in their hearts.
"Okay, let's go to the next one."
Just as the group finished viewing the apartment and were preparing to head to their next destination, a familiar figure emerged from the convenience store downstairs, carrying a plastic bag. Wearing a large T-shirt, jeans, and with her hair casually tied in a ponytail, she looked several years younger than she usually appeared on television.
"Nana Sai?" Rito left the three of them behind and went up to greet them.
"Rito?" She stopped and tilted her head to examine the strange group. Her first thought was that Rito had brought out a new group, but upon closer inspection, she didn't recognize any of them, and each one was more beautiful than the last.
Rika recognized her too. As a member of Nogizaka46, she frowned and instinctively took Rito's arm.
"Hello," she said, her voice deliberately rising in pitch. "I'm Rika Ishimori."
"Ah, hello." Nanase nodded, her smile unchanged, but her eyes seemed to say—and then what?
"You're Nishino Nanase from Nogizaka46, right? Rito mentioned you to me."
The air went silent for a moment. Then Nanasai blinked and suddenly burst out laughing. The laughter wasn't loud, but it was full of sarcasm.
"Kubo Rito, you need to control your people. Have you forgotten the proper order of seniority? You dare call Nishino Nanase that? Call her Nishino-san." She switched the plastic bag in one hand to the other, pointed at Rito, then at Rika, her eyes crinkling with laughter. She took a few steps forward and stood in front of Rika. She was slightly shorter than Rika, but there was no hint of looking up at her in her eyes.
"You!" Nanase was already a debutant, so her aura was definitely much stronger than that of the amateur Rika. She directly made Rika feel a little overwhelmed. Rito crossed his arms and didn't seem to have any intention of playing the hero. Rika had too many ideas and always wanted to tie him to the third generation so that she could suffer a little. Besides, Nanase was already considered to be not very good at showing off. If it were Suyuna or Nanamin, Rika would probably be even more embarrassed.
Seeing that the other person couldn't get a word out, Nana chuckled, nodded slightly to Rito, picked up the plastic bag from the convenience store, and turned to walk into the apartment building. Her sandals made a crisp, rhythmic sound on the steps.
Only after her figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs did Rihanna glance down at Rika. Her ears were red, so red they looked almost translucent, as if they could be drawn blood with a light pinch of a fingernail, and even the corners of her eyes were beginning to turn slightly red.
She released his arm and turned to leave. The apartment building door was flung open with a loud screech of metal from the spring hinges. Rito watched her stride back along the sidewalk, her steps slow but showing no sign of stopping, her silhouette stretched long and thin in the afternoon sunlight.
After exchanging a few words with Miss Miyu, and telling the two of them to wait there for Airi to come and pick them up, Rito chased after Rika in the direction she had left.
He caught up with Rika at the next intersection. She was standing in front of the convenience store, holding an iced can of cola in one hand and shielding her eyes with the other, as if she were waiting for a red light.
But the red light had already turned green.
"Oh, are you Rika Ishimori? How does it feel to provoke a celebrity and get your comeuppance?"
Rika didn't answer, but simply lowered her hand from her face, letting it hang loosely at her sides. Her eyes weren't red, and no tears fell, but a few glistening drops of moisture still clung to her eyelashes, betraying what had happened in the short few minutes she had been there.
"Do you think I'm ridiculous?" She pressed the Coke can against her face, not looking at him, her voice a little hoarse and nasal.
Rito reached out and took the Coke can from her face, pulled the tab, and the hissing sound of the bubbles gave him a strange sense of relief. He took a big gulp.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Who else can we rely on besides you? Do you think I want to debase myself like this?" she said, her voice soft but her words heavy.
Rito paused for a moment, then acted as if nothing had happened and continued gulping down cola until the can was empty.
"That's refreshing! Cola is definitely more enjoyable when it's ice cold."
As he said this, he casually put his arm around the girl's shoulder and walked towards the Third Miss and the others. Because of what he had said earlier, Rika didn't really want to resist. She half-heartedly let him lead her along. The two of them sometimes clung to each other and sometimes looked at each other with disdain, like a couple having a tiff. They stumbled back to the two third-generation students who were watching the show with expressions of amusement.