"Hello, is this President Hattori?"
Since the game development was complete, it naturally had to be put on the official schedule, so Aoki Haruhi hurriedly made calls to contact Hattori Yuji and the various big-shot distributors.
Who knew, after the phone rang a few times, a girl's voice answered:
"Hello, this is the Hattori residence."
Aoki Haruhi was stunned for a moment. He had initially thought it was the secretary, Miss Fujiki, who had answered the phone, but upon recalling carefully, he realized the voice didn't sound right.
Aoki hadn't really met Miss Fujiki much before; he'd only seen her occasionally in the Dongrun Group building. Furthermore, whenever Hattori Yuji appeared on TV news attending meetings, Miss Fujiki could be seen by his side.
So he wasn't very familiar with her, and he couldn't be sure if it was actually Fujiki.
But...
He had called the Hattori residence number, for heaven's sake.
Miss Fujiki, as the general manager's assistant—the fabled position of a personal secretary—had no reason to be at Hattori's home.
"Um," Aoki hesitated for a moment, then said, "This is Pokeni Corporation. I'm the president, Aoki Haruhi. Our company has a newly developed product that we would like to entrust to President Hattori to help launch. Could you please help me get in touch with him?"
"Um... just a moment, please." The woman's voice replied briefly.
There was a burst of noise on the other end of the line.
After a while, the call was picked up again, this time by Hattori Yuji.
"Hello, hello? This is Hattori Yuji. May I ask who is calling?"
"This is Aoi Haruhi from Pokeni. President Hattori, how have you been?" Hearing Hattori's voice, Aoi felt a sense of familiarity.
It was truly incredible how this guy had gone from giving him the cold shoulder and ignoring Pokeni entirely at the beginning, to becoming P Corporation's most loyal and stable partner.
The more they interacted, the more Aoi felt that President Hattori was a great business partner.
He was quite smart, exceptionally pragmatic and rational, and never one to argue with money. As long as there were mutual benefits, Hattori Yuji was a great friend.
How should he put it?
A standard businessman.
"That... I've been doing well!" Hattori Yuji choked up on the other end, followed by a heavy sigh. "President Aoi, it's been nearly half a year since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has."
Aoi was slightly stunned. Why did President Hattori sound like he was on the verge of tears?
He carefully thought back. The last time they had met for dinner and bowling was last September.
Counting carefully, now that it was April, hadn't it already been more than half a year?
He thought back carefully; the last time they met for a meal and bowling was back in September of last year.
If you count it carefully, it's now April, hasn't it already been more than half a year?
It seems he had been truly too busy lately, and his connection with these clients had become a bit distant. However, in Aoki Haruhi's mind, Hattori Yuji wasn't the type to let time make things fade.
The most important thing was whether Pokeni had a good game ready to be released.
"By the way, President Hattori, our new project has finished development..."
"Hm? Why is there a child crying?"
Aoki Haruhi tilted his head slightly, listening carefully to the sounds coming from the receiver.
At first, he thought it was his imagination, or perhaps a pet cat, but after the baby's crying continued to come from the other end, Aoki Haruhi was sure.
"Mhm, yes indeed." Hattori Yuji laughed on the other end.
He turned around and looked behind him.
A beautiful woman was holding an infant, pacing back and forth, trying to coax the child to sleep.
She glanced over in his direction, and seeing that Hattori Yuji was busy, she carried the child upstairs herself.
By the way, Hattori Yuji's home is a large villa with a land area of over 500 square meters, spanning three floors for a total of over 1,500 square meters.
"Um... it's like this..." Hattori Yuji covered the mouthpiece with his hand and lowered his voice, "Didn't I marry the eldest daughter of the Yamada Conglomerate? We just had a baby girl this month."
"Eh?!~" Aoki Haruhi expressed utter shock.
My friend, isn't your speed a little too fast?
"Congratulations, congratulations! I really should have paid attention. I'm so sorry I didn't send a gift for the little princess."
"No, no," Hattori Yuji shook his head, "It's my fault for not informing you."
Aoki Haruhi thought about it carefully, and the timeline didn't add up!
Hattori Yuji only married the eldest daughter of the Yamada family in October of last year, so how could they have a baby in April of this year?
That's only been a few months!
Are you sure this is yours?
"Well, President Hattori, do you have any free time recently? I'd like to invite you out for a meal to catch up." Aoki Haruhi didn't dwell on it too much and extended the invitation anyway.
In his mind, he was already pondering what kind of gift to get for the child.
But... whether in his past life or his current one, Aoki Haruhi had never experienced having a child.
It was truly distressing.
"Ah... I really want to go too..." Hattori Yuji lowered his voice and said, "Aoki-san, please wait a moment..."
After two seconds, Hattori suddenly raised his voice on the other end of the line, speaking loudly and firmly:
"Yes, as you can see, my daughter was just born, so I really can't get away. My wife's health isn't very good either, and I need to take care of things at home, so I am terribly sorry, President Aoki..."
"Eh?"
Aoki Haruhi was dumbfounded. All this time, it turned out that Hattori Yuji was actually a family-oriented good man and husband?!
But just as Aoki Haruhi was about to hang up the phone, he heard the sound of two people talking on the other end.
Hattori Yuji's wife walked out of the room, her brow furrowed but with a look of helpless resignation as she said, "Honey, since it's for work, you should just go. I can take care of things here."
"Hmm... wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?" Hattori Yuji held the receiver, his face showing signs of hesitation as he spoke. "My daughter isn't even a month old yet, and for a father to go out socializing would be quite unacceptable. Although it's a huge deal—likely bringing in around 5 billion—I can't just abandon my family for the sake of money. If word got out, what kind of irresponsible father would I be considered?"
Hattori Yuji's wife rolled her eyes. Do I not know you well enough?
"A man should prioritize his career. Wouldn't you be looked down upon if you ignored your career?"
"Besides, you'll be the one managing the Yamada family in the future. If you haven't achieved any results, how would Father look at you then?"
"Alright... since that's the case, I'll reluctantly agree to it."
After finishing his exchange with his wife and watching her walk back into their room, Hattori Yuji finally picked up the receiver.
"Hello? Hello, Aoki-san? Are you still there?"
"Yeah."
"Great! How about we schedule it for this weekend?"
Hattori Yuji's tone betrayed an undisguisable cheerfulness, much like a child who had been cooped up at home and was going stir-crazy.
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but smile wryly. Just who exactly are you putting on this little performance for?
***
"Huh~ so that guy Hattori, he even has a daughter now?" Upon hearing the news, Tsuda Nao expressed some disbelief.
"I thought a man like Hattori would be a wild mustang his whole life, not likely to ever be tamed by any woman. Who would have thought he'd start being tied down at home now?"
Aoki Haruhi rolled his eyes inwardly. It wasn't that he was tied down by a woman; it was clearly the powerful family behind the woman that had him tied down, wasn't it?
But on second thought, just when you feel sorry for him, the truth is that this middle-aged man, Hattori Yuji, is not only on his second marriage, he also married a wealthy conglomerate's daughter. With their fortunes combined, his net worth will increase a hundredfold. There's really nothing to pity him for.
Not only is there no need to pity him, but one should also harshly criticize him.
This kind of arranged marriage, turning matrimony into business and a model for class solidification, is truly detestable.
From the moment Hattori's daughter is born, she is already better off than children from countless common families.
Without needing to put in any effort, she can live a life that countless people could never attain even after generations of hard work.
Hattori Yuji.
How hateful!
However... Qing Zhiyuan stole a glance at Tsuda Nao, secretly calculating in his heart whether such a day might come for him too.
Tsuda Nao's identity was actually quite mysterious; a 30-year-old woman who had served as the president of DUN for a long time.
Qing Zhiyuan didn't believe a woman without a background could achieve this in an environment like Japan.
But... judging from Tsuda Nao's experience in navigating between old men with ease, she was some distance away from the conglomerate heiress that Qing Zhiyuan imagined.
To be honest, up until now, Qing Zhiyuan didn't know much about Tsuda Nao's identity, family background, or even her career.
It was as if only the individual, Tsuda Nao, existed in front of him.
Vivid, yet thin.
But Tsuda Nao had never mentioned anything about her family or her company either.
Perhaps she hadn't thought about going that far with Qing Zhiyuan?
At least, not yet.
But the more this was the case, the more fascinated Qing Zhiyuan became, to the point where he even felt the urge to properly ask her about it.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Tsuda Nao looked up, her charming eyes gazing at him like rippling autumn water.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hmm... nothing..." Aoki Haruhi chuckled, "I just think you're so beautiful, I could look at you every single day and never get enough."
"Pfft..." Tsuda Nao giggled, "Always talking nonsense."
The two of them spent a while cuddling in the park.
Seeing some stray cats and dogs approach, Tsuda Nao crouched down to feed them some food.
Watching her scratch a cat under its chin, the little creature squinting its eyes in pure bliss, Aoki Haruhi felt an indescribable sense of envy and jealousy in his heart.
"In that case, why don't we go to the store and have a look?" Tsuda Nao stood up and said.
"Huh?" Aoki Haruhi looked confused; what was she talking about out of the blue?
"Aren't you supposed to send a gift for someone's newborn daughter?" Tsuda Nao said, "Since you don't know what to get anyway, we might as well go and take a look together."
Goodness, so that was it.
Aoki Haruhi felt a little touched; if only Tsuda Nao really were his wife, how wonderful that would be.
***
The two of them had been wandering around a large shopping mall in Ginza for a long time, having looked at almost every baby brand, yet Tsuda Nao still hadn't had enough.
"Hmm..." Tsuda Nao walked ahead, carrying her handbag, carefully recalling everything.
"The baby clothes at Akachan Honpo—the quality of their bodysuits is excellent. They're pure cotton, feel very soft, and don't have too many decorations; they're very suitable as innerwear for a baby. The front buttons are great, and the reversible design is very reasonable and user-friendly. It feels like they'd be perfect for a little baby to wear!"
"Mmhmm," Aoki Haruhi nodded earnestly, though in reality, he felt absolutely nothing inside. He didn't even have a single thought about it.
"As for Senshukai, their clothes are easy to put on and take off, and the hat is separate, not attached to the garment, which is just right for this season. The clothes are super kawaii, the quality is very good, they feel comfortable to the touch, and babies look especially cute in them!" Tsuda Nao continued.
"Mmhmm, that's true," Aoki Haruhi chimed in. "So, are you choosing Senshukai?"
Tsuda Nao didn't answer him directly, but instead muttered to herself,
"As for Emimi, there's no color difference, no fluorescent agents, and the seamless design is really good. It doesn't feel particularly soft to the touch right now, but the workmanship is good. It's not too thin either, so it doesn't feel like it would tear easily; it actually has a decent quality to it, especially the soft, cute colors. I love it!"
Hey, what exactly are you trying to do?
"ROK's baby clothes are also quite good.
They are really nice baby clothes, they look good on, have good texture, and the fabric is very comfortable, high-quality, breathable, and form-fitting. These are baby clothes I particularly like; they're incredibly soft, and the styles are also exceptionally good. They look super adorable when worn, definitely worth buying!"
Good grief, Aoki Haruhi always has this illusion that Tsuda Nao isn't buying baby clothes, but rather picking out a game.
"As expected, for a little daughter, you really have to choose Hello Kitty.
It's all pink and full of dreaminess and girlish charm.
These are exceptionally good-styled baby clothes, the texture is soft—a sort of thin velvet, which I reckon would be just right for wearing alone in spring and autumn. The material is very good, it feels especially soft. Should we just buy the 1 to 6-month size? And maybe consider gifting a whole set from 1 to 6 years old to the Hattori family later?
How about it?"
I...
What can I even say?
"Hmm, let's look at it again when we go back!"
Tsuda Nao pulled Aoki Haruhi back to the Hello Kitty store, her face full of happiness.
After a while, she picked out a set of pink baby clothes from a hanger and held them up against her chest, spreading them out.
"What do you think?" Tsuda Nao asked, smiling brightly as she sought his opinion.
Looking at her radiant expression, Aoki Haruhi thought to himself that she didn't look like she was picking out clothes for Hattori's daughter at all—she looked like she was picking them out for their own daughter.
However...
He looked up at Tsuda Nao's delicate face. With her long braided hair draped over her shoulder, she possessed not only a youthful charm but also a maternal aura that was hard not to feel moved by.
Especially seeing the small outfit in her hands, Aoki couldn't help but involuntarily picture Tsuda Nao holding a little daughter.
Large, sparkling eyes, a pink and tender face, looking just like Tsuda Nao.
If he were to marry such a beautiful woman, their daughter would surely be adorable, right?
Ah~ Yabai, yabai...
Aoki covered his face, feeling his cheeks burning.
If this kept up, he might actually start wanting to get married himself.
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