Chapter 38

The plane landed smoothly on the familiar airport runway, and outside the window was the leaden-gray sky with mist, which is unique to my hometown in winter.

Enjoying the top-notch airline treatment arranged by Keigo Atobe as an "apology" - a first-class seat that is so spacious that you can roll around, an exquisite Wagyu beef double set meal, and even a warm blanket specially brought by the flight attendant.

The journey passed by quickly. After collecting my luggage, I boarded the car my family had sent me, drove through the bustling city, and finally drove into a quiet alley amidst the hustle and bustle.

The car stopped in front of a heavy, bright black gate with gold decoration.

The moment you open the door, it feels like you've traveled through time and space.

Outside lies the bustling modern city, yet within lies a tranquil Jiangnan paradise. A typical Suzhou garden-style mansion, built along the waterfront, features pavilions, terraces, and towers, offering ever-changing views.

In winter, a thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the pond, the rugged Taihu rocks were covered with unmelted snow, and a few old plum trees exuded a faint fragrance in the cold wind.

The winding corridors with carved beams and painted buildings connect the exquisite houses with blue tiles and white walls. The flying eaves and wooden lattice windows reveal the elegance and charm accumulated over time.

The air is filled with the interwoven scent of sandalwood, ink and the cool fragrance of wintersweet, which is the taste of home engraved in our bones.

The housekeeper and the nanny had already been waiting inside the hanging flower gate. With kind and warm smiles on their faces, they quickly came over to take over my heavy suitcase, as well as a bunch of beautifully packaged gift boxes printed with Japanese patterns.

"Miss, thank you for your hard work on the journey!" The housekeeper took the luggage.

"Oh, why did you bring back so many things?" The nanny was a little surprised when she saw the gift boxes piled up like a mountain.

I smiled helplessly: "It was...a friend who forced me to bring it. He said it was for the elders."

Thinking of the domineering look on Tezuka's face when he stuffed these things into the trunk without any explanation, as if saying "you must accept the things I give you", I couldn't help but complain a few words in my heart.

His gaze passed over the corridor and fell on a warm pavilion beside the waterside pavilion not far away.

The pavilion was surrounded on three sides by thick glass to block the wind. Inside, a stove burned, a pot of tea warming on it, steam rising from it. An elderly woman with silver hair, elegantly dressed, sat upright on a cushioned rattan chair, looking towards me with a smile.

"Master!" My eyes lit up, and I immediately threw my luggage and souvenirs behind me. Like a bird returning to its nest, I stepped on the smooth bluestone slabs under the corridor and ran over in a few steps.

The pavilion was warm and cozy.

The old woman before me is the mentor who raised me and taught me martial arts—"Tingfeng Shisanniang." This name was a household name in the martial arts world during the late Republic of China period, and she was a true legendary female warrior.

Time had carved deep lines on her face, and her silver hair was meticulously combed and tied up with a simple silver hairpin. But her eyes were still clear and bright, imbued with the calmness and wisdom bestowed by time. Her back was straight, and she had the awe-inspiring demeanor of someone who had weathered many hardships but never bowed.

After my parents passed away early, my master took me, a young child, and resolutely left his hometown in Yunnan where he had retired for many years. We traveled around the country and finally settled in Jiangnan. He personally taught me martial arts and reading and took good care of me.

"Nannan's back." The master's voice was gentle and kind. She took my hand. Her palm was warm and a little rough, the marks left by years of holding the whip. "Let the master see. You didn't lose weight in Japan, did you?"

I knelt down at her knees, my head tilted upwards, eagerly sharing with her all the fun things about studying in Japan—the magnificent architecture of Hyotei Academy, the bustling cultural festival, the photography club's activities, the embarrassing tumble I'd gotten on the ski slopes...

The master listened quietly, with a gentle smile on his wrinkled face, and patted the back of my hand gently from time to time.

She listened attentively, her eyes filled with fondness and concern for the younger generation. However, when I got excited, she covered her mouth and coughed softly a few times, her breath coming out a little short.

"Master?" I immediately stopped talking and looked at her worriedly.

"It's nothing, just an old ailment." The master waved his hand, still smiling. "It was so cold outside, I choked a bit. Go on, tell me about skiing. Did you learn it?"

I suppressed the slight uneasiness in my heart and continued talking. I showed the master the Japanese snacks, tea and other souvenirs I brought with me, saying that they were gifts from "friends". The master accepted them with a smile and praised the exquisite snack box.

In the evening, not long after I settled down, my uncle called me.

The elder on the other end of the phone spoke in a calm and concerned voice. He asked me in detail about my itinerary for returning home and reminded me to be on time for the Spring Festival family dinner, as my brothers and sisters-in-law missed me very much.

I agreed to all of them, knowing that these gatherings were not only about maintaining family ties, but also about family affairs.

The brief, heartwarming reunion between me and my master lasted only a few days. The Spring Festival atmosphere grew stronger, and family affairs also took over.

That afternoon, sunlight filtered through the carved wooden window lattices, casting dappled shadows across the thickly carpeted study. The master, knowing that the family members were coming to discuss serious matters, had considerately retreated to the warm room in the back garden.

My aunt entered, ushered in by the housekeeper. She was about fifty, well-maintained, and dressed in a well-tailored dark purple velvet cheongsam, exuding a graceful and capable demeanor. She began by asking me about my studies and my life, and after the pleasantries, she got down to business.

"Nannan, in a few years, you will be eighteen years old." My aunt's voice was gentle, but her eyes were serious. "According to the rules, it's time for you to slowly get in touch with and understand the family business." She placed a beautifully bound folder on the mahogany desk in front of me.

"My family is involved in many industries," my aunt began to talk in a calm tone, but she outlined a huge and complex business empire, whose foundation and influence are also well-known in history.

"Textiles, flour, and machinery manufacturing were our foundation, and they're still there. Shipping, finance, and real estate were expanded later. Oh, and then there are the tech companies and biopharmaceuticals we've invested in over the years..."

She paused and looked at me. "Which direction are you more interested in? Or, should we learn about both first?"

I opened the folder, revealing a thick stack of documents: shareholding structure charts, summaries of previous financial reports, reports on key projects—densely packed text, charts, and data instantly flooded my eyes.

The technical terms and complex reports were so confusing and confusing that I felt dizzy and my head was spinning. It was all in Chinese, but it felt like I was reading a foreign language. I almost couldn't recognize the characters.

My aunt looked at my expression, smiled knowingly, and didn't rush me: "Don't worry, take your time. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me, or your brothers. They will all help you."

In the following days, the eight brothers took turns to fight.

They were all elites who had already established themselves in their respective fields, some elegant, some capable, and some calm. As the only girl of her generation, she had been pampered and indulged by them since she was a child.

At this moment, facing me, their "little sister" who was about to start getting involved in family affairs, their attitude was still gentle and patient, but there was more seriousness and expectation in their eyes.

"Xiaojiu, finance is a complex field, but the core logic is not difficult. Fifth Brother will teach you slowly."

"The equipment at the textile factory is updated very quickly, but we have our own R&D team, so our advantages remain."

"Real estate projects are now highly policy-driven, with both risks and opportunities. When looking at financial statements, you should focus on these indicators..."

They brought me more information, more detailed explanations, and also arranged some non-core meetings that I could attend.

So, in the ten days before the Spring Festival, I completely bid farewell to the leisurely holiday.

During the day, he would either pore over a mountain of documents in his study, or sit in on lectures and study in his brother's office or conference room. At night, when he returned to his master's side, he was often so exhausted that he just wanted to fall asleep.

Those feasts filled with clinking glasses and the streets festooned with lights seemed a world away from me. Only the warm yellow light of the desk lamp and the occasional crackle of firecrackers outside the window reminded me that the New Year was drawing to a close.

All the worries I once had at Hyotei Academy about photography, stage plays, and even Keigo Atobe were temporarily pushed into the corner of my memory by the heavy family responsibilities.

Growth seems to come unexpectedly in the midst of this tedious and hasty study.

The mountain of documents on my desk nearly swallowed up the light from the desk lamp. The air was filled with the scent of paper, ink, and a faint hint of sandalwood. I rubbed my sore temples, my vision struggling to focus and unfocus on the densely packed report with figures.

My phone vibrated persistently amidst the pile of documents, its humming a kind of annoying background noise. After fumbling for a while, I finally pulled it out from under a pile of share structure charts.

The familiar name was jumping on the screen - Atobe Keigo.

His fingertips slid across the screen, and he said, a little annoyed at being interrupted: "Hello?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and then Atobe's low, gorgeous voice, but with a hint of displeasure, came: "Kiriyamagakure, have you been mining at the bottom of the Pacific these days? You didn't even reply to my messages."

The tone of accusation made my already tense nerves even more irritated. I was about to push back, but my throat was dry from reading documents and talking for so long, and my voice was a little hoarse without realizing it: "...What's the matter?"

The slight hoarseness seemed to instantly burst his bubble of dissatisfaction.

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately softened, with obvious concern: "What's wrong with your voice? Do you have a cold? Or didn't get enough rest?"

He paused, his tone tinged with confusion. "Didn't you say you were going back home to visit family for vacation? Why does it sound even more tiring than rushing to the Hyotei Cultural Festival?"

I looked at the "mountain of knowledge" in front of me that was big enough to break a camel, and I could only smile bitterly.

How could the family's internal operating model and the complex interplay of interests be easily explained to outsiders, let alone Atobe Keigo, who was far away in Japan?

"Nothing," I said vaguely, my fingertips unconsciously curling the corner of the document, "It's just... something happened at home, so I'm helping to organize some documents." My voice was still tired and gravelly.

"Organize the information?" Atobe obviously didn't believe it, but didn't ask any further questions.

Suddenly, there were a few excited and vigorous dog barks from the other end of the phone. It was Xiaokong!

"Woof woof woof! Woo-woof!"

Atobe's tone suddenly became cheerful, with a hint of boasting: "Here, listen to who misses you? Wait."

The call was hung up, and a few seconds later, a video call invitation popped up.

I clicked accept, and the screen was instantly filled with an enlarged image of Xiaokong, his wet nose and sparkling black eyes. He excitedly wagged his tail at the camera, barked loudly, and tried to scratch at the screen with his little paws, obviously recognizing my voice.

"Xiaokong! Good boy!" Seeing its lively appearance, my fatigue of the past few days seemed to be diluted a little, and a smile appeared on my face unconsciously.

The camera was zoomed out a bit.

In the picture, Xiaokong is in an extremely spacious indoor space covered with dark blue professional flooring, a high dome, and huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows all around.

Atobe was squatting next to Xiaokong, wearing sportswear. His hair was soaked with sweat, with a few strands sticking to his smooth forehead. His face had a flush after exercise, and it was obvious that he had just finished training.

Tennis balls and rackets can be seen scattered in the background. He rubbed Xiaokong's head with one hand and held his phone with the other, focusing the camera on the excited dog.

"Look how energetic it is, it hasn't lost weight at all." Atobe's voice came with a smile.

My attention was all on Xiaokong, and I responded casually: "Yeah, thanks for taking good care of me..."

His gaze was involuntarily drawn to the unmissable pile of documents on my desk in the corner of the video. Several spread-out documents, with clear charts and report forms, and a few prominent corners of the group's logo, were perfectly visible in the camera.

Atobe's smiling eyes froze as he scanned the screen. His gaze locked onto the documents, his pupils shrinking slightly.

As someone who had long been involved in the family's core business and had been exposed to the business world, he recognized at a glance what those formats and contents meant - they were not ordinary "organized materials", but real and substantial business documents.

A complex shareholding structure? An annual financial summary? Perhaps even a project evaluation report?

His eyes quickly moved from the document back to my face. On the screen, there was a faint blue shadow under my eyes, and there was unconcealable fatigue between my brows.

All the clues came together in an instant: her hoarse voice, her tiredness, her vague "something happened at home".

……I see.

The suspicion in Atobe's heart surged even more intensely. Her background was far more unfathomable than he had imagined. To be able to access such high-level documents at such a young age...

What exactly is her "home"?

Shock and curiosity wrapped around him like vines, but he didn't show it on his face, only his eyes deepened a little.

"Hey," he said casually, his gaze still penetrating, as if he could see through the screen to everything behind me. "These reports are quite complicated. If you get stuck somewhere, or want to learn some quick tips... I have a lot of experience and can give you some pointers."

His tone held a touch of his usual arrogance, yet also contained a hint of earnestness. This was both a test and the most practical concern he could offer at the moment.

I was startled and immediately realized what he had seen.

Alarm bells rang in my heart, and almost as a conditioned reflex, I suddenly grabbed my phone, quickly left the desk area, and walked to the Luohan couch by the window on the other side of the bedroom and sat down.

The camera shook as I moved.

"No need, I can handle it myself!" I refused in a hasty tone, trying to completely isolate those documents from the camera.

However, in this brief moment of camera shaking, the layout of the bedroom behind me also caught a glimpse of Atobe's eyes.

That was no ordinary girl's boudoir.

The huge rosewood step-out bed is draped with a simple and elegant gauze curtain, celadon and jade articles are scattered on the treasure pavilion, profound ink-and-wash landscapes hang on the walls, and the rosewood Arhat couch by the window is covered with brocade cushions.

The entire space exudes a time-honored and extremely sophisticated Chinese classical elegance, and every detail silently speaks of "heritage" and "wealth."

Especially when the camera flashed past, a cheongsam hanging in the most eye-catching position in the walk-in closet display hall that occupied an entire wall instantly captured Atobe's full attention -

It was a bright red cheongsam.

The silk satin gleams with a luxurious sheen under the light, embroidered with gold, silver, and colored threads, depicting double-petaled peonies in full bloom. The petals, layered on top of each other, are so lifelike that you can almost smell their rich fragrance.

The collar, lapels and cuffs are all decorated with exquisite gold edges, and the buttons are embellished with tiny pearls and rubies. It is gorgeous and majestic, with a breathtaking and impactful beauty.

Atobe's breath hitched almost imperceptibly. Even through the screen, even with just a fleeting glimpse, he was stunned by the beauty and grandeur of the cheongsam.

"...that dress," his voice lowered, with a hint of inquiry that he himself was not aware of, "When will you wear it?"

He could almost imagine how dazzling she would look in it.

I followed his gaze and glanced back. Knowing I couldn't hide it, I admitted, "Oh, that one. I have an important family dinner coming up in a few days and I need to wear it."

The tone was flat, as if he was talking about an ordinary thing.

They chatted a few more irrelevant things, mainly about Xiaokong.

But my eyelids had already started to droop, and I yawned one after another. My forced spirit quickly collapsed in the familiar warm environment.

Atobe saw it clearly from the other side of the screen. The weariness in her eyes was so deep that it couldn't be dispelled, like a tired kitten, trying hard not to fall asleep.

The complicated emotions that had been surging in my mind because of the documents and the cheongsam were eventually replaced by the undisguised fatigue in front of me, turning into pure worry.

"Okay," he said, interrupting a mid-yawn, his voice softening undeniably. "Go to bed. Now, immediately."

"Oh..." I responded drowsily, feeling extremely sleepy.

"Did you hear that? Take care of yourself and don't push yourself." He warned again, his tone carrying a rare, irrefutable gentleness.

"I know..." My voice was already unclear, almost like a dream.

"Good night." Atobe whispered as he looked at the girl on the screen who was holding her phone and whose eyelids were beginning to droop.

The only response he received was the sound of even and gentle breathing.

She actually fell asleep curled up on the couch with her cell phone in her arms.

Keigo Atobe looked at her peaceful sleeping face frozen on the screen and did not press the hang-up button for a long time.