Chapter 53
The dazzling hustle and bustle of the banquet hall was isolated by the heavy carved wooden door, and in the study, only the steady breathing and the subtle crackling of burning wood in the fireplace remained.
Atobe Keigo stood with his back to his parents, in front of a huge French window. Outside the window was a meticulously tended courtyard shrouded in darkness. His tall back was tense, like a fully drawn bow.
"Father, Mother." He turned around, his voice suppressing the turbulent emotions. He no longer had the gorgeous composure he had at the banquet, only the coldness of being offended. "Wishan is the female companion I invited, and the one I chose to dance the first opening dance with. You..."
His Adam's apple rolled, as if he was trying hard to restrain himself. "Don't you understand what I'm thinking?"
The voice lowered in the last half of the sentence, and the unmistakable care and love were like a stone thrown into a quiet lake, creating clear ripples in the still air.
Atobe Tatsumi and Atobe Eiko looked at each other and did not immediately respond to their son's question.
A complex emotion flashed in Yingzi's eyes, and Xun walked to the large mahogany desk, picked up a brown paper file bag without any mark, and handed it over.
"Keigo, take a look at this first."
Atobe Keigo frowned as he took it, untangled the cotton thread with his slender fingers, and pulled out something inside - not a document, but a stack of photos.
Each picture is extremely clear.
The silhouettes of him and Kiriyama Yin holding Xiaokong were waiting outside the pet clinic. The shadows of the two people and the dog were very long in the setting sun.
He and she walked side by side on the quiet street. He held her hand tightly, and she tilted her head slightly to look at him while talking.
The most eye-catching one was the one in front of her house at night, with him holding her tightly in his arms. The halo of the street lamp blurred the background, but clearly outlined the contours of the two people hugging.
And the back view of the two of them walking hand in hand with Xiaokong in the courtyard that night when he stayed overnight...
Secret photography.
And it’s obviously not just one or two days, it’s continuous tracking!
A cold anger suddenly rose from under Keigo Atobe's feet and rushed straight to his head!
He clenched the photo in his hand fiercely, the paper groaning under his fingers, his knuckles turning white from the strain. A cold fire ignited in his eyes, and his voice was like ice: "Yamamoto Kenichiro?!"
"He sent it here." Tatsumi Atobe's voice remained steady, yet carried a heavy sense of helplessness. "It's 'evidence', but also a threat."
Yingzi sighed softly and walked over to her son. Her eyes fell on the glaring photos, and with reluctance, she said, "The Yamamoto family... has long regarded the marriage between the two families as a done deal. They can tolerate... you having 'interests' outside."
She chose the word with difficulty, "But in the end, you must marry Misaki. This is their bottom line and the condition for their partnership to continue."
"Conditions?" Atobe Keigo suddenly raised his head, his eyes sharp as a knife. "This is naked coercion! Stalking and secretly photographing, these are illegal acts!"
"It's illegal," Tatsumi Atobe didn't deny. He looked directly into his son's angry eyes. "But Keigo, what if these photos and the accompanying 'rumors' are spread by someone with ulterior motives? And the target is an underage foreign girl with an unknown background?"
"What will public opinion be like? What will the media write about? The Yamamoto family only needs to fan the flames a little. Labels like 'clinging to a wealthy family,' 'inappropriate underage relationships'... these are enough to ruin her reputation and even affect her life in Japan. And the Atobe Zaibatsu's stock price," he paused, his tone heavy, "will inevitably fluctuate as a result."
The study fell into a dead silence, with only the sound of the flames jumping in the fireplace.
Atobe Keigo's hand, clutching the photo, trembled slightly, not out of fear, but out of anger and a sense of powerlessness, as if something was strangling his throat. For the first time, he felt so clearly that the rope of the Yamamoto family's seemingly "marriage" was not only binding his future, but also the people he wanted to protect.
Atobe Tatsumi looked at his son's tense profile, lowered his voice, and said with an almost cruel calmness: "Keigo, father has a question for you. If... your feelings for Miss Kiriyama are just a spur-of-the-moment impression, a young man's ignorant affection..." He didn't finish his words, but his meaning was obvious.
"Father!" Atobe Keigo interrupted sharply, his voice rising slightly with excitement, filled with disbelief and anger that was deeply hurt. "Do you think your son is the kind of person who plays with feelings and is irresponsible?!"
He slammed the photo in his hand on the desk, making a dull sound.
The photos were spread out, and the photo of the hug was facing up. Under the light, the figures of the two people cuddling together were extremely dazzling.
Tatsumi Atobe silently watched the fire burning in his son's eyes. There was not a trace of frivolity in them, only pure, questioned anger and seriousness that could not be violated.
A subtle, barely perceptible glint of satisfaction flashed across his eyes, but his voice remained steady. "The business entanglements between the two families are deeply intertwined, and their interests are deeply intertwined. For stabilizing the Atobe family's foundation in Japan, especially the lifeline of Kansai, a marriage is currently the 'good thing' with the least resistance."
"A good thing?" Atobe Keigo scoffed, his laughter cold and full of sarcasm. "Being controlled and threatened with such despicable means is a 'good thing'?"
He straightened his back, his eyes as sharp as torches, and swept over his father and mother with an innate, unquestionable kingly demeanor, "The true Atobe Kingdom should be controlled by the people of the Atobe family themselves! Instead of being trapped in the quagmire woven by the Yamamoto family and being led by them by the nose!"
His voice was decisive and echoed in the quiet study:
"I, Keigo Atobe, was born to help the Atobe family reach a higher peak and overlook a wider territory! Not to live in peace in a corner, nor to sacrifice myself for the so-called 'stability' and accept such a humiliating marriage!"
"No matter from an emotional or family perspective, I! Do! Not! Accept! It!"
The powerful words are like a declaration.
Tatsumi Atobe listened quietly, his face devoid of anger. Instead, when his son uttered the final words, "Reach a higher peak," a flicker of admiration and satisfaction flashed through his eyes. He slowly walked behind the desk, resting his hands on the surface, his gaze fixed sharply on Keigo Atobe.
"Very good." He said, his voice low and powerful, "Only with this kind of ambition can you be worthy of being the heir of the Atobe family."
He suddenly changed the subject, speaking with an almost cold challenge: "The Japanese business has long been inextricably linked to the Yamamoto family, like the roots of an old tree. Cutting them off forcefully would be devastating, and might even shake the foundation. It's not something that can be shaken overnight."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Keigo Atobe as if it were real. "If you truly wish to resist the Yamamoto family's control, if you truly wish to possess the power to control yourself without being threatened, then don't just speak harshly here, and don't expect me, your 'old father,' to solve your problems for you."
He raised his hand, pointed to the endless night sky outside the window, and said in a firm tone:
"To England!"
"The Atobe family's European roots, especially their business in the UK, are undergoing rapid expansion and have enormous potential, but they are also independent of the complex network of Japanese operations. The Yamamoto family does have investments in the UK, but they have left behind many hidden dangers and bad debts."
Tatsumi Atobe's eyes became as sharp as an eagle's. "If you have the ability, go to England and take charge of the European headquarters. Then sort out all the messes of the Yamamoto family in England for me."
"Use your abilities and methods to gradually remove their influence from our territory! Build our European business into a kingdom that truly belongs to Jibu, unhindered by anyone!"
His voice was full of strong incitement and unquestionable determination:
"Speak with your strength, with concrete achievements, to prove that you are worthy of your bold words! When you truly possess the power to influence the family structure, then you will be qualified to come back and talk about the freedom you want, and the marriage you don't accept! Otherwise," his tone suddenly became more serious, "everything is empty talk!"
Atobe Keigo's pupils suddenly contracted, the bright light from the study fell on his young face, and his aroused ambition surged and collided like a storm.
His father was not trying to stop him, but was pointing him to the most difficult but most direct path, a path to break free from shackles with strength and truly control his destiny.
The tense atmosphere in the study room instantly dissipated like a popped balloon after Keigo Atobe's resounding "I will go to England." The flames from the fireplace danced, illuminating his youthful yet resolute profile.
Atobe Eiko walked to her son, raised her hand, and gently smoothed his collar, which was a little messy due to excitement. Her action was filled with the pity that only a mother could show.
She looked into her son's eyes, which were burning with ambition, and softly asked the most crucial question: "Keigo, if you go to England... what about Miss Kiriyama? You can't take her with you. The Yamamoto family is always watching, and it's too risky."
Her eyes were filled with worry. "In a foreign country, thousands of miles apart, time passes...people's hearts will change."
Change of heart?
Upon hearing this, Atobe Keigo, far from feeling worried, curled his lips into a confident, even slightly arrogant smile. That smile was pure and bright, like sunlight piercing through the haze, dispelling the gloom lurking in his mother's words.
"Mother," he said in a low voice, but with an unquestionable certainty, "She is the girl chosen by me, Keigo Atobe."
He paused, and his sparkling eyes were like the brightest stars, clearly reflecting his mother's concerned face.
"My vision is never wrong."
"The bond between us," his voice grew calmer, carrying a depth and strength beyond his years, "will never be easily severed by this little distance and time."
That pure trust and almost blind confidence made Atobe Eiko slightly stunned. She looked at the unquestionable light in her son's eyes, and finally, she just sighed softly, patted his arm, and said nothing more.
Atobe Keigo nodded slightly to his parents, regaining the composure of a Hyotei emperor. He turned and left the study with steady steps. The heavy wooden door closed gently behind him, isolating the two worlds inside and outside.
The moment the door closed, the tense atmosphere in the study, which was as tense as a battlefield negotiation, receded like the tide and disappeared without a trace.
Tatsumi Atobe walked to the fireplace, picked up the poker, and casually poked the burning wood, causing sparks to crackle.
The solemn expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief. He even looked at his wife with a teasing smile, "This kid... he looked like he wanted to start a war with the whole world just now. Really..."
"It's exactly the same as when you slammed the table in my grandfather's study and shouted that you wanted to marry me." Atobe Eiko took over her husband's words, walked to his side, and a gentle and understanding smile appeared on her face. There was no trace of the worry and heaviness just now.
"That reckless, unwavering determination to stick to something is a perfect match. They're both cut from the same cloth."
Tatsumi Atobe smiled and shook his head. He put down the poker and put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Eiko, you're right. If he can't truly control his own future, if he can't possess enough strength to protect the person he chooses..."
His eyes became deep and serious. "Then he has no right to talk about love at all, and he is wasting that girl's time."
"The Yamamoto family..." Atobe Eiko snuggled in her husband's arms, her voice cold. "Over the years, their appetites have grown, and their hands have stretched too far. Under the guise of marriage, they've tried to control us at every turn."
"Those people they planted and manipulated in those Guanxi projects—do they really think we're blind?" A sharp glint, only found in a powerful businesswoman's eyes, flashed in her eyes. "It's just that the timing wasn't right before. If we acted rashly, we'd end up hurting our own side by hurting the enemy by a thousand."
"But now," Tatsumi Atobe said, a calculating smile on his lips, "the time has come."
He looked at the closed study door, as if he could see his son's fighting spirit from behind. "Keigo has grown up. His aversion to the Yamamoto family, his seriousness towards that girl, and his inherent ambition to control everything are the best catalysts."
His eyes gleamed with brilliance. "Let him go to England, away from the Yamamoto family's entrenched influence in Japan. Let him flex his muscles in the new world of Europe, run into the obstacles the Yamamoto family has planted there, and clean up those bad debts. This in itself will weaken the Yamamoto family's power! More importantly..."
Atobe Tatsumi's voice was tinged with anticipation and pride. "This will force him to grow rapidly, force him to truly step forward, to face the intrigues of the business world, to take responsibility, and to learn to implement drastic reforms with lightning speed."
"This is the heir we want to see, not a 'crown prince' trapped in the old Japanese web and restricted in every way!"
"Kill two birds with one stone." Atobe Eiko nodded, her eyes also full of anticipation. "It stimulates his growth and weakens the Yamamoto family's influence, and it can also..."
She paused, a hint of mischief and deeper consideration flashing across her eyes, "Test the relationship between him and Miss Kiriyama."
"Time and distance are the perfect tempering furnace. If you can't even withstand this separation, then the so-called 'bond' is nothing more than a fleeting impulse of youth."
The firelight from the fireplace danced warmly, illuminating the couple who smiled at each other. The air in the study was no longer filled with the smoke of war, but with the calmness and tacit understanding of planning and waiting for the changing situation.
The threat from the Yamamoto family became the whetstone for sharpening the heir; the son's love became the sail that pushed the family ship to break through the old net and sail to wider seas.
Everything, under their guidance, is moving steadily towards a preset, stronger future.
The noisy music from the banquet hall could be heard faintly through the heavy door.
Atobe Keigo walked through the crowd of people, the light from the crystal chandelier dancing on his hair. His face had returned to his usual, gorgeously distant smile, but beneath that smile, a flame that had just been ignited and was eager to burn surged.
His sharp eyes penetrated the crowd of people and accurately captured the cool figure standing in the beverage area in the corner.
Kiriyama Yin was holding a glass of lemonade, quietly watching the people spinning on the dance floor. His profile looked calm and distant under the soft light.
The gloom created by the Yamamoto father and daughter and the turbulent waves in her parents' study did not seem to leave much trace on her. Only her keen perception made her feel a faint, imperceptible sense of vigilance.
Atobe Keigo's heart seemed to be gently hit by something.
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