CHAPTER 378: CHAPTER 280: THE SILVER WATCH_2

Chiaei: "Are we going home..."

Aei: "Will there still be good cake? I don’t want to eat the cold stuff in the fridge."

Chiaei didn’t know how to respond: "Sister will learn to make it for you..."

Aei: "But there’s no Hanabi Sister at home, Sis, you won’t be able to learn."

Chiaei’s voice grew much softer: "I’ll make it good..."

Listening to the two sisters’ conversation, there was an inexplicable sense of sadness, knowing they only had each other at home, only able to hug each other to sleep for warmth every night, it became even more poignant.

Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t quite understand their situation, but could sense that Chiaei and Aei were feeling a bit low.

She squatted down on the floor in front of the entryway, smiled at Aei’s little face and said: "You can come over anytime, if you want to eat something, just contact brother or me at any time."

Aei clasped her hands behind her back, blinked: "Really?"

"Really."

"Then can I still hear the sound of Hanabi Sister playing games with brother at night?"

"Games, what... games...?" Hanamaru Hanabi realized something, turning to see Uesugi Sakura looking away.

Mother and mother-in-law were here just to visit, without any important matters.

The main purpose was to get the two of them and the two little ones more familiar with each other, so as to avoid having a bad relationship with their brother and sister when they grow up.

Hanamaru Hanabi was drawing at the desk, while Uesugi Sakura was lying sideways on the large bed playing with the little ones, with Hanamaru Hanami occasionally using her little chubby hand to pinch his nose.

Little sister Uesugi Shin cared for her brother even more, bringing him her favorite toys to play with.

If he reached out to touch her face, she would give a smile with a particularly high delay.

June 7th, Monday.

The rainy season had arrived, along with light rain, there was also damper and more humid air.

Uesugi Sakura was eager to switch to the couple avatars that Hanabi drew for the two of them, having already seen the artwork, he looked handsome and chic in it, very satisfied.

But Hanamaru Hanabi said she needed to refine the details a bit more, so it couldn’t be used just yet.

Tokyo University Economics Lecture Hall, there was a lecture today, a wealthy man from a company was here to share his business experiences and discuss his understanding of societal structures.

There were many similar situations as this.

Sharing knowledge is very useful for students interested in entrepreneurship.

Uesugi Sakura planned to go listen, figuring that any experience would be beneficial to him.

"Uesugi."

Uesugi Sakura turned around, it was his classmate, Todaka Keichiro, "What’s up?"

"That thing from a few days ago, aren’t you going?"

"I already declined, even if I go and ask again, there’s no hope, right?"

Todaka Keichiro walked beside him with an umbrella, laughing amidst the sound of the rain:

"Of course, I know that, I just wanted to ask what you thought, Seisa seemed very interested."

"It’s just a salon meeting, nothing much to think about, simply don’t want to go." Uesugi Sakura looked straight ahead, the ginkgo trees enduring the weight of raindrops.

Todaka Keichiro smiled and said: "This is a salon meeting invited by a cabinet secretary, you know what this means."

Uesugi Sakura sighed because he knew well enough that it was basically about building connections early for future convenience.

But accepting the invitation basically tags you.

He didn’t want to get involved in the talent conflict within Tokyo University’s factions.

"It seems like you don’t want to become a public servant?"

"I used to want to, but not anymore."

"Can you share your thoughts? I feel like you have better insights on these matters."

"That’s too kind."

With this compliment from a gifted Tokyo University student, Uesugi Sakura could only modestly respond, then walked along the ginkgo path with his umbrella, listening to the rain.

"You know Professor Tanaka, right?"

Todaka Keichiro nodded after thinking for a moment, "Yes, a professor at Meiji University, he used to work in finance in Kasumigaseki."

Uesugi Sakura: "I’ve read his book and inquired with my father-in-law—everyone prefers to rely on top-down orders to do things, nobody wants to push their own opinions upwards, fearing resulting friction, newcomers must watch for cues to act, doing trivial tasks in the first two or three years, always being cautious of making mistakes, and have to swallow humiliating instructions."

His steps moved over the damp ginkgo leaves, and Uesugi Sakura continued, "I feel like working in such an environment is too stifling. Life is about moving towards beautiful goals, so why must Tokyo University students go there?"

Todaka Keichiro laughed after hearing him: "Not many share your thoughts, most classmates are willing to attend salon meetings, even if some of them have different goals, they still accept the invitation."

"It’s a matter of face."

They passed through the ginkgo path in the light rain, bypassed the Yasuda Lecture Hall and reached the classroom where the lecture was to be held.

Uesugi Sakura and Todaka Keichiro sat together, both liked sitting in higher places in the back of the classroom.

"Uesugi, do you know the background of Kohara Kiyosaku, who is here to give the lecture?"

"No," Uesugi Sakura replied, placing his laptop on the desk, "I haven’t had a chance to find out, I just saw in the email that there was a lecture, so I came."

The professors at Tokyo University like notifying things by email, from major exam notices to everyday matters, no matter the scale, it’s all communicated via email to students.

Todaka Keichiro glanced at the students in the classroom, and said to him pretending to be mysterious:

"I heard, he started from the underworld."

Uesugi Sakura, upon hearing this, noticed a man walking in through the classroom’s entrance.

A neatly dressed man, well-poised in his movements, with his hair slicked back, exuding a certain charm.

Nothing else stood out much, but when he raised his left hand to adjust his sleeve, Uesugi Sakura noticed a watch, scrutinizing it somewhat:

"Silver?"

"Uesugi, what’s wrong?" Todaka Keichiro observed his expression and noticed a momentary distraction.

"Nothing much." Uesugi Sakura said, continuing to open his laptop. He saw the man walking up to the podium, glancing at the watch, seemingly prepared to start.

Appeared pretty serious.

He deliberately compared the features Chiaei mentioned about the man to see if he was indeed the father of the two sisters, but it didn’t seem to match, as Kohara Kiyosaku wasn’t very tall.

Yet even if he truly was the father of the sisters, would approaching him to recognize the siblings really be good?

Forcing someone indifferent to their children to take care of them would only cause the kids deeper pain later on.

If he were to naively approach the sisters’ parents to discuss duties, kindness, and the necessity of bearing responsibilities, the opposite party probably wouldn’t even bother with him and might take him for a fool.

The innate ability to persuade people entirely by words isn’t something everyone possesses.

Uesugi Sakura once again assessed Kohara Kiyosaku standing on the podium, negotiating with a Tokyo University professor.

He felt entirely devoid of the style Todaka Keichiro mentioned earlier.

"You said he started from the underworld?"

"Just rumors, just rumors, not guaranteed accurate, I don’t know the specifics either, I only investigated a bit because I heard there was a lecture in the economics department. What I can confirm is that this person comes from Sanwa Bank and has served as the department head before."

Being a bank employee in Japan is a decent job, and getting into a major bank is even regarded with higher esteem, this sense of superiority is something not generally achievable in small companies.

The elites’ personal income taxes, rents, children’s education, and healthcare, among others, are basically all covered by the company.

Positions like the former department head Kohara Kiyosaku held are primarily graduates from Tokyo University, Kyoto University, Keio University, and the like.

Very solid credentials.

After listening to a few more words from Todaka Keichiro, Uesugi Sakura realized that Kohara Kiyosaku, who was giving the lecture this time, indeed had substantial capabilities.

Starting with only 500,000 yen after leaving the bank, he initially relied on gradually rolling profits for slow growth, and after gaining some momentum, leveraged ongoing share issuance financing to gain more funds for the company, and now has assets worth billions of yen.