Chapter 17

As long as there is plenty of money, many flaws can be selectively ignored.

But unfortunately, before high school graduation, a huge upheaval occurred in the Natsume family.

If there were no wealthy relatives to adopt Natsume Chikage now, the situation naturally could not develop as it did before.

He certainly did not want his own outstanding daughter to associate with someone who had a poor family background and no prospects.

Kondo Masae gestured to the seat beside him: "Natsume-kun, sit here."

Natsume Chikage did not actually have many memories of this Kondo Masae.

He only remembered that he was a civil servant with a decent salary; a civil servant with an annual income of 20 million yen was indeed considered a high income in the eyes of ordinary people.

But in the eyes of the wealthy, it was actually just so-so.

In the past, this man would occasionally come with the Kondo mother and daughter, and he would humble himself before the father of the previous self.

It was just that after the huge upheaval in the family, this man did not even come to the funeral.

When you are in your prime, you are surrounded by "good people"—this is not worth rejoicing over; if you are surrounded by good people when you are down and out, that is your true fortune.

Therefore, he did not have much affection for this Kondo Masae.

However, the warmth and coldness of the world are human nature, and Natsume Chikage had no intention of condemning him for it.

Of course, the idea of remaining on good terms with this man was also completely non-existent!

Knowing that someone's character was like this and still holding expectations for them would be pure foolishness.

As for coming here this time, he purely just wanted to take back that keepsake.

"Uncle Kondo, good afternoon." Natsume Chikage replied politely.

Kondo Masae nodded to signal: "Sit."

"Yes." Natsume Chikage sat down.

"Natsume-kun, long time no see. Where are you living now? Are you still in the Matsutou area?" Kondo Masae asked calmly.

He knew that this place called Tokyo looked very prosperous on the surface.

But there still existed wealthy districts and poor districts.

And he was very clear about the distribution of these areas.

So as long as he asked where this Natsume Chikage lived, he could basically confirm whether he had been adopted by wealthy relatives.

"Not at all, I currently live on the outskirts of Shibuya." Natsume Chikage had no intention of hiding it.

Upon hearing this place, Kondo Masae's interest immediately waned.

The wealthy districts of Shibuya were generally places like Matsutou, Uehara in Yoyogi, and Kamiyama-cho.

The Natsume Chikage of the past lived in the Matsutou area.

Living on the outskirts of Shibuya now?

Those places were basically inhabited by ordinary people and the poor.

It was easy to imagine what Natsume Chikage's current situation was like.

Since he already knew that Natsume Chikage had indeed not been adopted by wealthy relatives as the rumors said, he naturally did not need to show much face, and his expression became much colder instantly.

"How are your studies recently? Are you in the top fifty of your grade?"

Natsume Chikage thought for a moment; the previous self's grades had always been at the bottom, so they naturally could not be considered very good.

However, he had at least attended a 985 university in the past.

Although he had forgotten some things, it was ultimately just the curriculum for the first year of high school now.

For this stage, he thought it would not be a big problem.

But this was not the country, and the curriculum and exam questions were certainly different.

Give him some time to brush up on the knowledge points, and it should not be a big problem to conservatively rank in the top three of the grade.

But school had not even started yet, so his grades were naturally still at the bottom.

Natsume Chikage shook his head and said:

"No, I am still at the bottom."

Kondo Masae shook his head repeatedly, even with a condescending tone.

"You should study hard at your age."

"No matter what, your father's grades were at the top of the school when he was young. Since your studies are not good now, you must strive to keep up in that direction."

"Even if it is very difficult, you must at least be like my daughter, ranking in the top ten of the grade every semester, otherwise how can you live up to your father?"

"I won't talk nonsense, Uncle. If you can really achieve these grades, I will take you to eat at Sushi Ikkou later!"

When he said this, he was still somewhat proud.

His own daughter was beautiful and had excellent grades; compared to girls of the same age, she was much stronger!

And Kondo Miki knew that her father saying this obviously did not intend to really treat Natsume Chikage.

Because Natsume Chikage himself said he was at the bottom, and asking him to rank in the top ten of the grade—what was this if not wishful thinking?

Natsume Chikage knew this sushi restaurant, Sushi Ikkou; it was a three-star Michelin restaurant!

And it was a century-old shop opened by a famous Japanese sushi master.

Even if you wanted to go in and dine, you needed to make a reservation months in advance.

The price was generally quite expensive, belonging to the category of high-priced sushi restaurants that ordinary people basically would not visit.

But it was not as if he had never eaten at this shop; the taste was really just average.

Natsume Chikage smiled indifferently:

"Thank you for your concern. I also think studying is very important."

"As for the top ten in the grade that you mentioned, Uncle, I think I should be able to achieve it in the first semester after school starts."

"But let's forget about eating sushi then; there is no need to spend so much money."

However, these words instantly left Kondo Masae stunned on the spot, and then he was speechless.

He was just saying it, and you actually started being humble?

When the family was rich before, he didn't learn anything even after being taught by so many famous teachers, and now he is thinking of reaching the top ten of the grade in one semester?

It's truly laughable!

Kondo Miki also shook her head repeatedly, feeling slightly disappointed in her heart; she had thought he looked much more mature now, but in reality, he was just an ordinary boy who liked to brag.

However, she also understood some of the boy's psychology.

After all, when there are beautiful girls around, many boys will subconsciously tell lies to make their status and identity seem higher.

Presumably, Natsume Chikage was just like that. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====