Chapter 392

From the moment she began her medical studies, Ishihara Mikoto realized that medicine was not particularly welcoming to her—whether as a doctor or more specifically as a forensic pathologist, the field was absolutely dominated by men, inherently excluding and distrusting women.

This is understandable, as men naturally possess advantages in physical strength and energy, and they excel at long hours of work; the medical profession is extremely demanding and can never fully meet societal needs, and men have an innate edge in this regard—they have no monthly menstruation, superior endurance and wrist strength, and are free from the burdens of marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing, allowing them to fully devote themselves to their careers.

This has been Mikoto's greatest source of anguish all along—no one acknowledges her work's value, no one acknowledges her work's capability,

When she stands on the autopsy table, others first see her as a woman, not a doctor; this gender discrimination and stereotype have permeated her entire professional life.

Her ex-husband was also a typical case of superficially supporting her medical dreams while secretly believing "as long as she can be a good wife, that's enough"; Mikoto was initially moved enough to agree to quit her job and become a school doctor, firmly believing the school doctor position could be fulfilled with dedication and responsibility, but her husband actually cared nothing about what she did.

This left her utterly despairing about marriage, and also the reason why, when Uesugi Muneyuki initially expressed interest in marrying her, she suddenly woke up and fled in panic; she is deeply determined to prove her work's value and capability, to the extent of wandering for years for this purpose, and even of rekindling things with Uesugi Muneyuki for this purpose—her goal has always been singular: to shine and burn brightly in the position she loves.

I never expected to encounter this again today!

However, unbeknownst to her, in the eyes of Prosecutor Hige across from her, Ishihara Mikoto's value truly lay only in her connection to and auxiliary assistance for Uesugi Muneyuki; the prosecutor's contempt and doubt toward Mikoto based on gender, age, and position revealed the deep-seated hierarchical notions and gender discrimination entrenched in Japanese society (especially in traditional elite circles).

But this discrimination is not without source; as a middle-aged man who personally witnessed Japan's golden era's transformation and experienced the broader environment of that time, it is hard not to harbor prejudice against women.

It is well known that during the golden age, nearly every urban Japanese woman possessed three wallets—namely, the rickshaw puller, the meal ticket, and the ATM.

(Of course, searching for these three terms literally yields nothing; in accurate Japanese, they are Shizuku-kun, Meshi-kun, and Tribute-kun), and finally there is one "Honmei."

Here two knowledge points can be added: besides these, there are two hidden roles—namely, "Electric Wire Man (Cable-kun)" and "Keep

kun".

Electric Wire Man (Cable-kun) refers to a man with home appliance repair skills; in the 80s and 90s, appliances had already become widespread across Japan, but at the time there was no repair system as developed as today's, requiring frequent flipping through the Yellow Pages and calling to find corresponding repairmen, so a Japanese man capable of repairing appliances was highly popular; Electric Wire Man's status was stably higher than Shizuku-kun, Meshi-kun, and Tribute-kun, because he could actually enter women's apartments! And letting him enter one's apartment to repair appliances for free, then praising him with "You're amazing," was the greatest favor Japanese women could bestow at that time.

Besides Electric Wire Man being popular, there is also Keep-kun.

Keep-kun refers to a man who meets women's minimum dating standards but falls short of the recommended configuration; thus, when women temporarily lack a Honmei, they take Keep-kun as a temporary stand-in, using him as a makeshift boyfriend, and naturally during this process they are also required to ruthlessly spend gold coins, until they find the next Honmei; Keep-kun's fate is basically to have his gold coins exhausted and be discarded, though occasionally a few truly manage to win a beauty's hand, yet they must constantly endure their wives' resentment over settling for less and the condescending pity of looking down from above.

And all of this came to an abrupt end after the golden era's conclusion, knowing that when the bubble burst in 1990, society did not suddenly become poor overnight,

Japanese companies only began discussing layoffs in 1992, and after 1994–1996, most of Japan's talent had exhausted their savings, realizing the good times were truly over, while the new generation of women entering the workforce could not accept that their predecessors had enjoyed so many benefits and so much admiration, while they themselves could not enjoy the treatment they believed they deserved.

After reflection, they concluded: this is the oppression of patriarchal and male-dominated society.

Therefore, starting in 1996, Japanese women fully aligned with international women's organizations.

What happened afterward, hard to say outright, also need not be said outright—everyone should understand one thing: the more intense the movement, the more it is avoided with respect,

the more demands for equal pay for equal work and the realization of all "women's rights" are made, the more they are purged from proper positions and sent to the General Affairs Section; the louder the outcry, the less the workplace wants women, because men do not cause trouble.

So, after Japanese women's rights movements faded, did women's treatment improve?

The answer is no, because although the older generation of Japanese witnessed that era firsthand, they may still retain some traditional notions (Japanese character is especially conservative and stubborn), and the new generation of Japanese men grew up in an extreme environment of gender opposition,

they are innately imbued with vigilant and oppositional genes; the new generation of men would rather suppress their reproductive instincts in their DNA than dare to repeat their predecessors' mistakes.

This is why Sakura Girl most often says "Fuan Desu"—in reality, it is a strong sense of anxiety about society's overall unfriendly environment and an implicit dissatisfaction with her current state: "This, this isn't right? Where are my three wallets? Where did my Cable-kun and Keep-kun go? Damn it, why are Meituan/alarm clock people so awful!!"

Of course, the above refers only to Japan and has no relation to other countries.

Seeing Mikoto's expression, Prosecutor Hige not only did not sit down, but instead crossed his arms, scrutinized Mikoto from head to toe, and curled the corner of his mouth in a slight, cold sneer of contempt: "Ishihara Assistant? Hmph. Such an important matter, involving judicial qualification of professional medical appraisal—will Professor Uesugi entrust it to you?" (He deliberately paused, as if searching for a suitable derogatory term) "'RA' to hand over to me?"

"Do you know what this appraisal report signifies? It concerns a person's future, and may even influence the entire case's direction! Do you have sufficient clinical experience? Do you understand the deeper meaning of these imaging and pathological data? Is Professor Uesugi simply too busy, so busy that he sent an—RA to help him review documents?"

Mikoto's face turned slightly pale, her fingers tightening on the edge of the document; she recalled how the outside world metaphorically referred to her as an "assistant," and at this moment the prosecutor's contempt mirrored that, but she could not retreat—this was her work, and more importantly, it was her key value in staying by Uesugi's side; she took a deep breath, lifted her head, and locked eyes with Prosecutor Hige, her voice somewhat tight but she strove to keep it clear: "Prosecutor Hige, I understand your concern about the case's importance, but—"

"But all the cases I have handled and autopsies performed, including applications for second appraisals, related preliminary communications and document preparations,

as well as specific assistance during autopsy dissections and post-autopsy dissection reports, have been fully overseen by Mikoto-nee, my sole designated forensic assistant; Prosecutor, the forensic report you see was actually largely written by Mikoto-nee."

At that moment, Uesugi Muneyuki smiled and walked in from outside; he politely said to the district prosecutor: "My trust in Mikoto-nee is absolute—if she were gone, the so-called Uesugi Forensic Examiner would be equivalent to cutting off one's arm, and could only hobble along."

The district prosecutor froze for a moment—"sole designated assistant," "full authority to proceed," "Professor Uesugi's absolute trust"—these words seemed to possess magic, striking him.

The contempt, impatience, and doubt on his face instantly solidified, then vanished like a receding tide; in their place came extreme astonishment, followed closely by sudden realization, and finally a near-flattering, obsequious reverence after a complete 180-degree turn.

He immediately lowered his crossed arms, leaned his body slightly forward, and forced an unnatural smile onto his face, straining to produce it.

"Ah! How rude of me! How rude of me! Ishihara... San! So you are Professor Uesugi's sole designated assistant! Truly... truly promising youth! I was just... just worried about the case procedure, a bit rushed, my words were inappropriate—I beg your indulgence!"

The prosecutor quickly sat down, his attitude completely reversed, eagerly saying: "Since Professor Uesugi has arrived, there must be no problem! Professor Uesugi's judgment is absolutely trustworthy! Look, we can begin now?"

Mikoto's expression was complex; she glared at Uesugi Muneyuki, unsure whether to thank him for his appearance or resent him for binding her to himself; she desperately longed to prove her ability, yet a deep exhaustion and complex, inexpressible emotion welled up within her; she silently organized the documents, her face showing no joy of victory, only a numbness from being entangled in power games and a sober clarity about reality.

She knew that in this university, in this society, without Uesugi Muneyuki's halo, Ishihara Mikoto in the eyes of social elites like Prosecutor Hige might forever be merely a "little girl" easily dismissed and questioned.

Afterwards, with Uesugi Muneyuki's assistance, Ishihara Mikoto examined the report and clearly pointed out problems with the forensic report: the wound shape was incorrect, and since the defendant was left-handed, using the left hand to stab the opponent should not have left such a wound shape—clearly, the handling was erroneous,

and she recommended a second appraisal.

Prosecutor Hige's attitude was humble; he listened attentively to every word of Mikoto's explanation, nodding frequently, occasionally exclaiming "Ah, so that's it!" or "No wonder she's Professor Uesugi's sole designated assistant!" and similar praise; he even proactively poured water for Mikoto.

Watching this man who had just shifted from bias to respect, Mikoto's heart was a tangle of five flavors; on one hand, she felt a distorted pleasure—Uesugi's name was like an amulet, instantly shattering the arrogance of the district prosecutors' elite; on the other hand, a deeper bitterness and helplessness—what they respected was not her, Ishihara Mikoto's professional ability, but the label "Uesugi-designated assistant" on her; her value, in others' eyes, remained entirely dependent on that man.

Meanwhile, Uesugi Muneyuki remained silent throughout, but his very presence and his lack of objection throughout were already sufficient.

Damn, is this also under your control? Evil Uesugi's Younger Brother?

She mechanically and professionally completed her explanation, returning the signed report copy to Prosecutor Hige.

"Oh right, Professor Uesugi, regarding your autopsy ability, our Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has a suggestion." Prosecutor Hige gathered the documents, then suddenly said: "If your ability is used only in criminal autopsies, is it not overly wasteful?"

"Suppose, if Tokyo University, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, and the National Police Agency joined forces to build a nationally certified institution centered on you, dedicated to unnatural deaths, it would be called the Natural Death Research Institute—what do you think?"

"Natural Death Research Institute?" Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin: "Is that UDI?"

"Yes, in fact, the demand across all Japan for civil second appraisals in death-cause investigations is very high; if you are willing, our District Public Prosecutors Office can gradually advance this plan." Prosecutor Hige said: "Naturally, we will strive to secure the best possible treatment for you."

Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint appearing.

This proposal from the District Prosecutors Office—oh Moses Roi