Chapter 1324

Another wave of cold air arrived; in Tokyo, one already needed to wear a down jacket to go out, but the custom of wearing pantyhose in the middle of winter hadn't become widespread yet, so the unique future style of Nihon couldn't be seen on the streets~

Near the exits of various schools in Tokyo, many movie posters began to be posted, all of them promoting one film.

"*My Neighbor Totoro*?"

Students returning home from school took a look, feeling a bit curious, but the chubby, silly-looking Totoro was very endearing.

"Looks like an animated movie? Seems quite interesting..."

"It's being released on Christmas Day..."

"Let's go see it together then~"

"..."

Many students made plans just like that; after all, in this era, there were no online games or anything, and they needed things to pass the time during the holidays. After watching the movie, they might even go eat some KFC or something.

Meanwhile, Hezi, who was on the Waseda University campus, also saw this poster... Uh, why was it in the university too? Probably because university students were still children at heart...

"Oh? *My Neighbor Totoro*?" Hezi looked at the poster on the bulletin board, very surprised. "Is that Nii-chan's idea?"

Hezi, who often went to Shanyingyuan, naturally knew the origin of Totoro...

"It's produced by Shuyou Film."

Chunshui Ishii looked at the producer listed in the corner and said,

"It's a movie produced by Naoki-san's family!"

"Yeah... they made such a big fuss before saying they were going to enter the anime industry, and then they only produced one anime..."

Hezi sighed, tapping her chin.

"Looks like the second work is finally out..."

"Shall we go see it?" Chunshui Ishii said, "It's just in time for Christmas! We can go with our boyfriends..."

"Eh~~ A double date?"

"Yeah!"

The boyfriends of these two best friends happened to be friends too, so if the four of them went on a date together, it would be much livelier.

The two of them set the schedule for a week later in just a few words, without even thinking about any possible objections from their boyfriends... In this era, women held the dominant position in romantic relationships!

While talking, the two of them returned to their apartment in Waseda; the two of them had actually lived in this small house for four years...

"Winter break is this year, and then the graduation ceremony is early next year..."

Chunshui Ishii sighed.

"And then, it's time to step into the workplace!"

University graduation ceremonies in Nihon are generally held in March; seniors can spend the first two months of the year looking for jobs and preparing for their final thesis defenses...

In short, their days in the academy had entered the countdown.

"Looking for a job?"

Hezi actually didn't have this need; she already had a milk tea shop business under her name, which had expanded very rapidly over the past two years.

Although there were many competitors, she had almost formed a brand in the major big cities... many tourists came specifically to drink "Naixue" milk tea.

In short... she wasn't short of money!

She didn't need to find a job to support herself, but Chunshui Ishii still had to... although most universities in Nihon were of the same social stratum, there was still a difference between true wealthy people and the middle class~

Chunshui Ishii nodded:

"Hezi, you don't need to look anymore, but I still need to find a job!"

"Eh?" Hezi said, surprised, "Aren't you going to be a housewife?"

"No... I still want to be a career woman!"

Chunshui Ishii shook her head.

"Look, everyone is saying now that women can have their own careers, and can even participate in politics! So we can't limit ourselves to the family..."

When the economy is booming, women can easily earn high wages in the workplace, so they don't need to rely on their partners... In the bubble era, women also had high aspirations~

City girl, workplace elite, independent woman... these were the ideals of young women in this era!

"Then... what about Dayang Iwai?"

Hezi asked.

"Doesn't he really want to get married?"

"Then let him wait a bit longer!"

Chunshui Ishii said very firmly,

"I also want to realize my own life value!"

"..."

Hezi looked at her best friend, feeling that she seemed to have been brainwashed by the recent feminist movement... The influence of related clubs at Waseda University had indeed been growing larger and larger!

However, when the whole society thought this way, Hezi could only secretly agree.

She just hoped Dayang Iwai could hold on~

After finishing talking about work, the topic between Chunshui Ishii and Hezi fell to the New Year...

"Hezi is going back to her hometown for the New Year, right?"

"Yeah!" As an unmarried daughter, naturally, she had to go back to her hometown for the New Year. "This year, Dalu Jin Tian will also go with me..."

Dalu Jin Tian had already met Hezi's parents and was considered a prospective son-in-law; going back for the New Year this time was actually a way to confirm their future relationship for marriage.

"Sigh... looks like Hezi will start a family right after graduation~"

Chunshui Ishii shook her head.

"Then will your brother, Naoki-san, go back?"

"He'll probably only go home on the second day," Hezi said. "After all, Nii-chan already has his own little family in Tokyo!"

"Hmm... that's true..."

Meanwhile, at Shanyingyuan.

Akina was unpacking packages, and there was a large stack of gift bags next to her, along with various greeting cards on the table.

As Naoki Nagayama's main wife, she needed to help handle her husband's social obligations.

The items in the packages were gifts that had already been discussed with Naoki, and now they needed to be packed by hand and sent to different friends and relatives... It would be very embarrassing to mix them up~

"Is this Pu'er tea cake from Zhongcha?"

Taking the dark, blackish tea cakes out of the box, Akina leaned in and sniffed; there was only a faint smell of plant fermentation.

This was the Red Mark Round Tea specially purchased from a certain great country in the East, intended specifically for Naoki Nagayama's father!

"Looks just like dried grass..."

Akina didn't have any special research on Pu'er tea; she, like her husband, liked Ramune soda, and if she drank tea, it was usually green tea...

Little Xia Hua saw the tea cake in her mother's hand and curiously leaned over, asking with wide eyes:

"What's that..."

"This is tea leaves..." Akina answered, "Dried, pressed hard tea leaves..."

Then she handed the tea cake to the little one: "Hua-chan, you smell it, does it have the smell of tea leaves..."

After Little Xia Hua took the tea cake with some difficulty, she leaned in and sniffed hard, but felt she didn't smell anything... After frowning and thinking for a while, she actually opened her mouth and bit down on it...

Children like to bite everything; it's their nature, there's no helping it~

"Eh eh eh?"

Akina was startled and hurriedly pinched her daughter's mouth from the chin,

"You can't bite this... it's not for eating directly!"

"Hua-chan, let go quickly..."

Feeling she couldn't bite through it, Little Xia Hua obediently let go, but there was already a small circle of tooth marks on the tea cake~

"..."

Akina took back the tea cake and sighed,

"Luckily I bought a few extra... otherwise Hua-chan, you would have eaten the gift for Grandpa!"

"?? Eat?" Little Xia Hua looked up at Akina, her eyes showing confusion, "Grandpa?"

"Haha~"

Looking at her daughter's cute appearance, Akina pinched her little face,

"Yeah... when the time comes, I'll tell Grandpa, who didn't receive a gift, that Hua-chan ate it!"

"..."

After teasing her daughter for a while, Akina put the tea cake away; Naoki-san could drink it later! Anyway, he certainly wouldn't mind his own daughter's saliva!

"Next, there's Uncle's..." She started organizing the gifts again, "What's this? Ah... it's a fishing rod!"

You know, for a fishing enthusiast, their gear is constantly evolving... this carbon fiber fishing rod bought from the United States is the perfect combination of technology and fishing culture!

One by one, the gifts were unpacked from the packages, reorganized by Akina, and then labeled with greeting cards for their respective owners, waiting to be sent out during the New Year.

After placing these gifts in the storage room and looking at the gifts on the shelves, Akina even felt a sense of satisfaction... these were gifts she had carefully handled, representing the Nagayama family's network!

"Oh right... for Yuantai-san and Lingmei-san... should I send them to the United States, or to their Tokyo address..."

Akina thought of these two and then shook her head,

"Forget it... let Naoki-san decide!"

Meanwhile, in New York, USA.

Lingmei Zhongjing had been there for over a week, and Xiangtai, who had originally been a bit distant from his father, was now playing the latest electronic games with Yuantai Zhongjing in the apartment.

During this time, Yuantai Zhongjing could be said to be very satisfied; his wife had come directly from Nihon, and she had brought their son... what a wonderful thing this was!

Except for occasionally communicating with the lawyers at the law firm about the lawsuit, he had taken his wife and son all over New York.

And they had shopped extensively in New York's Times Square, buying a pile of gifts...

"Yuantai..."

Lingmei Zhongjing, who had finished making dinner, looked at the snowflakes outside the window and said,

"It's almost Christmas..."

"Ah, yeah!"

Yuantai Zhongjing nodded; the holiday decorations outside had already begun, and almost every household had colorful flags and lights in their yards, as well as snowmen, pumpkins, and other decorations rich in Christmas character.

Inside the rooms, there was definitely a Christmas tree covered in gifts and topped with a star~

Major stores and department stores had even started special discount events, making the holiday atmosphere even richer.

In the West, Christmas is even more important than the New Year!

"Xiangtai and I are going back after Christmas!"

Lingmei's words made Yuantai Zhongjing's whole body tremble, and a sense of loss welled up in his heart...

"After Christmas?!"

"Yeah..."

Actually, the delegation she was with had to return to their respective countries before Christmas; everyone needed to reunite with their families... and she had stayed in New York because Yuantai was here.

However, after Christmas, the New Year wouldn't be far off... In Nihon, the New Year is even more important.

"There are still my parents-in-law at home, as well as my own parents; I need to take care of holiday matters for them!"

Both of them were only children, so the four elderly people above needed the young couple to prepare things related to the New Year.

Yuantai Zhongjing was now a person of some status; family social obligations and relationships needed to be maintained... this was what a housewife in a high-class family needed to do!

As for the cleaning, laundry, and cooking, finding a helper could complete those!

"..."

After being silent for a while, Yuantai Zhongjing had to nod,

"Yeah, there are still many things to handle back home! Father and Mother are getting older too..."

Saying this, he lowered his head and patted his son, who was concentrating on playing video games:

"Xiangtai... also wants to go back and spend the New Year in Nihon, right..."

Xiangtai couldn't speak English; during this time in New York, he could only talk to his mom and dad in the apartment... actually, he was lonely.

"Yeah!" Xiangtai nodded, "Together with Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma..."

Seeing his son's carefree appearance, Yuantai Zhongjing's face froze:

"Then what about Dad?"

"Eh?" Xiangtai only then reacted, "Isn't Dad going back with us?"

"..."

Yuantai Zhongjing couldn't answer; seeing this, Lingmei walked over and picked up her son to the dining table:

"Your dad still has to stay here for a while longer..."

"Why?"

"Because of work!" Lingmei said, "Alright, alright... eat your dinner quickly!"

Although Xiangtai hadn't received a real explanation, children had no concept of separation and obediently started eating dinner.

However, Yuantai Zhongjing sighed while eating:

"The lawyers said the evidence exchange is very troublesome... the pressure on the judge is also very high... perhaps in the end, a settlement will really be reached!"

"Did they say when it might happen?" Lingmei asked expectantly.

"Christmas holiday, then the New Year holiday... in short, it will be next year!"

Yuantai Zhongjing shook his head,

"It's very likely, as Naoki-san predicted, that we'll have to wait until Nihon changes prime ministers or the US midterm elections are over... only then will everything be settled!"

"Doesn't that mean we have to wait until spring?"

"Very likely..."

In that case, counting the time spent coming to New York to manage the operations, Yuantai Zhongjing would have to stay in a foreign land for more than half a year!

But being able to earn over a billion US dollars in half a year was still very worthwhile... although most of it was Naoki Nagayama's income...

"..."

Lingmei Zhongjing ate her dinner silently, and the dining table fell into silence.

Xiangtai, on the side, felt this atmosphere, looked up left and right, and then lowered his head to eat silently.

Yuantai Zhongjing was a man after all, and quickly adjusted his mindset:

"It's good for you and Xiangtai to go back... Tokyo is more familiar... and with the care of Father, Mother, and Naoki-san and the others, nothing will happen!"

"As for me, a grown man, it doesn't matter if I endure a few more days in New York... when I return to Tokyo, our family will be big wealthy people!!"

Once he brought back the profits and his own investment dividends came down, that was true wealth that could cross social classes!

"Yeah!"

Lingmei nodded, then looked at her husband with a cold face,

"Yuantai! You're alone in New York, don't you dare mess around!! Otherwise, when you return to Tokyo, I won't be done with you!"

Although she knew it was highly likely she couldn't stop him, as a wife, this was a necessary stance!

"..."

Yuantai Zhongjing lowered his head and ate his dinner in big mouthfuls, promising vaguely,

"That's for sure!! I'm not that kind of person!!"

This lie was told without any sincerity! But he had to say it...

On the other side, Lingmei Zhongjing hummed lightly... this was just superficial work~

Between the two, one knew the other was lying, and the other knew the other knew he was lying, but both chose to maintain this fragile balance!

How many married relationships slowly endure a lifetime in such compromises and deceptions~

At this moment, Yuantai Zhongjing, eating his meal in big mouthfuls, muttered in his heart:

"Naoki-san, you really have caused me a lot of trouble!"

"Achoo!!!"

Naoki Nagayama, on Jurassic Island, sneezed while holding a megaphone, causing the crew to go quiet for a moment...

"Sumimasen... everyone continue, continue..."

Naoki Nagayama apologized immediately after reacting, letting everyone continue preparing for the filming work.

And Masataka Komori on the side asked with concern:

"Naoki-san, the weather has turned cold again... you must take care of your health!"

"Hmm... there's nothing wrong with my health... I just feel it's very likely someone is cursing me!"

"Haha, Naoki-san is joking, who would curse you~"

"Hehe, you never know... when a person reaches a certain height, it's impossible not to have enemies!"

Naoki Nagayama waved his hand, not wanting to worry too much,

"Alright... let's hurry up and film, let's strive to wrap up before Christmas!"

"Hai!"

Looking toward the set, he saw a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex standing in the middle, shaking its head and tail, lifelike... this was the last time the T-Rex would appear!