novelraw Chapter 57: Misae's Family Arrives
Chapter 57: Misae's Family Arrives
Misae on the other end of the phone was amused by his solemn tone and burst into a "pfft" laugh. That bit of a young woman's shyness and uneasiness from earlier instantly vanished into thin air.
Misae's voice carried a sweet softness as if relieved of a heavy burden: "What final judgment! Hiroshi-kun, you're being unserious again!"
She knew this young and promising boyfriend of hers still respected her very much.
Hanging up the phone.
Nohara Hiroshi leaned back into his chair, suddenly feeling that the impending arrival of Misae's parents seemed even slightly more mentally exhausting than the overt and covert struggles within TV Tokyo.
And they haven't even met yet!
"Oh!?"
At this moment, peculiar ambiguous ambiguous laughter transmitted from outside the office.
Nohara Hiroshi turned his head to look. It was Minamura Hoshi, Haseji Kakeru, and Kitagawa Yao, those three pairs of gossiping eyes written full of 'we heard everything'.
This made Nohara Hiroshi unable to resist spreading his hands: "Stop 'oh'-ing here, the most severe matter of my life is about to happen next. So, I will temporarily leave the section side to you all.""Section Chief Nohara! Go with peace of mind! We will definitely guard the base camp well!" Minamura Hoshi immediately stood at attention and saluted like an adjutant pumped with chicken blood, his expression exaggerated.
"Right! Wishing the Section Chief instant success, taking down the final boss in one fell swoop!" Haseji Kakeru also joined the commotion.
"If there's any need! We're on call anytime!" Kitagawa Yao also spoke grinningly from the side.
The office was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"You guys are obviously just watching the spectacle!"
Nohara Hiroshi smiled and shook his head. After teasing back a couple sentences, he picked up his coat and, amidst the teasing sounds of "respectfully seeing the Section Chief off to the battlefield", got off work early.
He knew this battle wouldn't be as simple as producing anime.
The equipment must be fully prepared.
...
Returning home, Misae was right then busying around the small apartment like a hardworking little bee.
The floor was mopped by her to the point of reflecting figures clearly. The cushions on the sofa were patted fluffy and soft. Even that pot of pothos on the windowsill that was about to be raised to death by Nohara Hiroshi had been meticulously pruned by her, radiating a bit of vitality.
"I'm back." Nohara Hiroshi opened the door and entered.
"Welcome back, Hiroshi-kun!" Misae poked her small head out from the kitchen, her face still stained with a bit of flour, like a cute little calico cat: "Look, I cleaned up the house completely! This way when mommy and daddy arrive, they won't think we live sloppily."
Nohara Hiroshi walked over, reached out to help wipe off the flour on her face, looking at those eyes of hers sparkling because of anticipation and nervousness. His heart softened.
"Thanks for the hard work." He smiled and said: "Misae, regarding tomorrow's final judgment, I truly need you to provide some key intelligence."
"Intelligence?" Misae blinked, unable to understand.
"Mhm." Nohara Hiroshi pulled her to sit down on the sofa, took out pen and paper, putting on the posture of a strategic analyst: "How is the enemy force composition? How many main generals are there? Personality traits, personal preferences, are there any special weaknesses?"
Misae was amused by this appearance of his to the point of giggling constantly, yet still earnestly counted on her fingers, beginning to introduce.
"Mhm... Daddy, Koyama Yoshiharu, is a civil servant. Personality... is that kind of typical Kumamoto Prefecture stubborn old man. He ordinarily doesn't speak much, but things he decides on, ten cows can't pull back. He likes drinking shochu the most, and also... mhm, watching sumo matches."
"Stubborn tank-type boss, walkthrough key points: shochu, sumo." Nohara Hiroshi rapidly jotted it down on paper.
"Mommy, Koyama Takasae, is a housewife. She's very gentle, but just a bit prone to worrying, likes inquiring about various matters. Oh right, she likes eating desserts the most, especially the limited edition cake from 'Wako' in Ginza."
"Gentle support and intelligence officer type, walkthrough key points: limited edition desserts... and precious souvenirs."
"There's also my eldest sister, Masae, works as a middle school teacher. Her personality is relatively domineering, loved managing me since childhood. And third sister, Musae, she... she's relatively freely unsystematic, currently still unemployed, her biggest hobbies are handsome guys and designer bags."
"Elite mob number one, domineering eldest sister-in-law; elite mob number two, vain youngest sister-in-law..."
Nohara Hiroshi wrote rapidly with his pen. A diagram of character relationships and walkthrough key points quickly leaped onto the paper.
Misae looked at his earnest appearance. That bit of nervousness produced because her family was coming unknowingly also dissipated considerably.
She leaned on his shoulder, looking at that paper filled with strange "tactics", only feeling incomparably at ease.
This was a mark of him loving her.
"Alright, intelligence gathering complete." Nohara Hiroshi put down the pen, clapped his hands, bearing an appearance of having a well-thought-out plan: "Tomorrow morning, we will go purchase 'equipment'. Be sure to have all weapons and ammunition prepared properly before the boss group arrives!"
However, right at this moment, he suddenly thought of a crucially important question and opened his mouth to ask again: "Misae, uncle and auntie and them, how many people are coming in total this time?"
Misae answered: "Mhm... mommy and daddy, eldest sister Masae and youngest sister Musae, plus us it makes six people in total."
Six people.
Nohara Hiroshi's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Plus him and Misae.
Going to the Shinkansen station to pick them up tomorrow, one taxi wouldn't be able to fit them.
Not to mention the following few days, having to accompany them touring around Tokyo.
He couldn't possibly let them squeeze into the subway every day, right?
That would be too disgraceful.
"Misae." Thinking of this, he looked at the girl in his embrace, suddenly using a very earnest tone to say: "Let's... go buy a car."
"Eh?!" Misae violently raised her head, those beautiful large eyes written full of shock: "Buy... buy a car? Hiroshi-kun, are you crazy? Where do we have that much money! Buying a car is very expensive!"
In her view, them currently being able to live in this relatively decent small apartment was already a very happy matter.
Buying a car, that was a distant dream belonging to those large company president levels.
Nohara Hiroshi looked at that frightened little appearance of hers, merely smiling nonchalantly.
He didn't explain much, merely getting up, taking out his personal bank passbook from the drawer, and handing it to her front.
"See for yourself."
Misae half-believingly took over that thin booklet and flipped to the newest page.
Then, her breathing, at this moment, stagnated.
On it, a long string of numbers, like a neat row of soldiers shimmering with golden light, bearing a highly authoritative majesty allowing no room for interference, instantly occupied her entire field of vision.
"Ones... tens... hundreds... thousands... ten-thousands... hundred-thousands... millions..."
Misae's fingers pointed at that string of numbers, counting them one by one. Those watery large eyes stared roundly, her mouth also slightly opened due to extreme shock, forming a cute "O" shape.
Seven million eight hundred thirty thousand yen.
This was Nohara Hiroshi's manuscript fee for "YuYu Hakusho" and the copyright fee for "Yamishibai Seasons 1 & 2".
"Na... Nani?!"
She violently raised her head, looking at Nohara Hiroshi. That gaze was like looking at a mysterious creature newly descended from an alien planet.
She knew Hiroshi-kun was very formidable, both a television station director and a popular manga artist.
But she had never thought that he actually... was already formidable to this extent!
This sum of money, not to mention buying a car, even if paying the down payment for a small detached house in Kasukabe, it would be more than enough!
"Now, do you still feel we can't afford to buy a car?" Nohara Hiroshi reached out, lightly closing that small mouth of hers that had remained half-open for a long time due to shock, his tone carrying a bit of pampering teasing.
"I... I..." Misae's mind was a blank. She looked at that passbook, then looked at Nohara Hiroshi. That exquisite small face was instantly filled by an immense, indescribable sense of happiness and security. Her eye sockets unexpectedly turned red involuntarily.
She violently threw herself into Nohara Hiroshi's embrace, burying her face deeply into his chest, her voice carrying a trace of choking crying tone.
"Hiroshi-kun... you... you truly are too formidable..."
Nohara Hiroshi merely smiled, lightly patting her back.
This car was far more than just a car.
This was a promise he gave her, it was the most direct and most powerful declaration he displayed to her family that he had the ability to take good care of their daughter!
This was also a mobile castle built with his own hands as a man for his beloved woman, capable of sheltering her from the wind and rain!
...
Therefore, the next morning, Toyota Motor's sales center.
In the spacious and bright exhibition hall, brand new cars like quiet steel artworks reflected an icy yet fascinating luster under soft lighting.
As soon as Nohara Hiroshi and Misae walked in, a sales consultant wearing an immaculate suit immediately greeted them.
Only, when he saw the two's appearances clearly, that professional enthusiasm involuntarily faded quite a bit.
Too young.
The man looked merely in his early twenties. Although dressed decently, that greenness belonging to students hadn't completely receded.
The woman, even more so, looked like a female university or high school student who hadn't graduated yet.
Pretty was pretty, but no matter how he looked they didn't seem capable of affording any car here.
"You two, just looking casually?" The sales consultant's tone caught a trace of imperceptible perfunctoriness.
Misae somewhat uncomfortably tugged at Nohara Hiroshi's corner of his clothes. She could feel the other party's evaluating gaze.
Nohara Hiroshi however seemingly didn't care at all. He merely glanced around calmly, his gaze ultimately landing on the sedan located in the very center of the exhibition hall, entirely pitch-black, with smooth lines, radiating a steady and restrained kingly aura.
Toyota Crown Majesta.
In this era, it was the pinnacle of Neon's domestic luxury sedans.
"Just that one then." Nohara Hiroshi pointed, his tone as flat as ordering a bowl of ramen at a roadside stall.
That sales consultant looked towards the direction of his finger, stunned for a bit, then a smear of uncontainable mocking ridicule surfaced on his face.
"Sir, you truly have a good eye." His tone carried a kind of looking-down-from-above kind reminder: "This is the top-tier flagship of our Crown series, the Majesta V8 top trim. The retail price is over five million. Do you want to... take a look at the Corolla beside it first? That model has a very high cost-performance ratio, very suitable for young people."
He spoke these words politely, yet the contempt in that gaze couldn't be concealed no matter what.
Misae's face instantly blushed red with a "shwa". That was the shame and annoyance of being publicly slighted.
However, Nohara Hiroshi remained looking unrippled.
He didn't even cast a glance at that sales consultant, merely walking straight to that Crown Majesta, pulling open the car door, and making a "please" gesture to Misae beside him.
"Get in and experience it, see if you like it."
Misae sat inside somewhat hesitantly. Those soft genuine leather seats, that interior radiating the fragrance of high-grade wood, made her feel like she had sat into a dream.
Her small face grew increasingly red, yet she didn't know what to say, obviously bearing the pitiful appearance of being unable to adapt after coming into contact with a high-end occasion.
But this appearance looking like a pitiful kitten instead made Nohara Hiroshi smile.
"No need to test it."
Nohara Hiroshi closed the car door, turned around, took out that bank passbook from his pocket along with his ID, as well as the driver's license he already passed during university, all lightly placed onto the hood.
He looked at that sales consultant who was already completely dumbfounded, speaking slowly, his voice not loud, yet like a heavy hammer, fiercely smashing onto the other party's heart.
"Just this car, full payment. Doing the paperwork now, I hope to drive it away within one hour."
"..."
The entire exhibition hall seemed to have the pause button pressed.
The surrounding salespeople all looked over.
And this sales consultant's mouth opened wide enough to stuff an egg. On that face written full of mocking ridicule, at this moment only remained pure unconcealed shock and sluggishness.
He subconsciously glanced at the number on that passbook, including the occupational information from TV Tokyo, which was also 'Special Section Chief level'.
The next second, he seemed struck by an invisible lightning bolt, his entire person violently shuddering.
"Hai! Hai! Hai!"
The expression on his face, at a speed almost akin to Sichuan Opera face-changing, switched from sluggishness to extreme flattery and fanaticism.
He gave a deep ninety-degree bow, even his voice changing tune due to excitement: "Distinguished... distinguished guest! Truly I am extremely sorry! Please wait a moment! I... I will immediately go call our manager over!"
He practically scrambled and crawled charging towards the manager's office on the second floor.
Seeing this appearance stunned Misae silly.
But Nohara Hiroshi was very clear.
The background of TV Tokyo was truly too grand. Saying it was NO.1 in the propaganda industry of Neon was not a problem at all.
For him to have so much money at such a young age, and still be a 'Section Chief' at TV Tokyo.
Regardless of whether it was a special section or not.
Just saying.
For such a young man to be able to become the commanding officer of a section.
Could he be someone he could offend?
Perhaps an even stronger existence stood behind him!
Quickly, a potbellied middle-aged man wearing an even higher-grade suit brought a group of people charging down from upstairs like a gust of wind.
"Mr. Nohara! Welcome! Welcome!"
That manager while wiping the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief handed over his business card. His waist bent even lower than the car models beside them.
For the next hour, Misae felt like she experienced a bizarre and motley dream.
She watched a group of people surrounding Nohara Hiroshi, serving tea and pouring water, nodding and bowing.
Watching those tedious procedures being rapidly completed at an unbelievable speed under the personal supervision of the manager.
Watching that "artwork" that was still displayed in the center of the exhibition hall a moment ago gets plastered with a temporary license plate, fueled up, washed spotlessly clean, looking like a tamed black steed quietly parked at the entrance.
The manager even personally presented a large pile of complimentary gifts proclaimed to be enjoyable only by the "highest level VIP of this store" — top-tier car fragrance, a full year's free maintenance card, and even two VIP invitation tickets to a high-end restaurant in Ginza.
Not until Nohara Hiroshi drove that brand new Crown Majesta, steadily merging into Tokyo's traffic, was Misae still somewhat in a trance.
She stroked the warm and jade-like genuine leather seat beneath her, looking at the rapidly retreating street scenery outside the window, feeling all this was so unreal.
"Hiroshi-kun..." She turned her head, looking at the man beside her who merely smiled calmly from beginning to end. In those watery large eyes, flashed an almost intoxicated light.
"Mhm?"
"You just now... were so handsome ah." Misae's eyes were brightly full of admiration.
"Just that?" Hearing this, Nohara Hiroshi merely freed up a hand, gently ruffling her hair, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident arc: "Sit tight, my destined Mrs. Nohara."
"Our castle, is now, formally weighing anchor."
But driving this Toyota Crown Majesta, which in the current Neon indeed counted as an entry-level luxury car, indeed could handle being presented.
And had considerable face!
Nohara Hiroshi looked at Misae who was still reaching out her tender white small hands, constantly fumbling this genuine leather seat, sitting and standing restlessly, extremely excited, and he couldn't help gulping down his saliva.
How does that saying go again... a fine car and girlfriend... and a garage, outdoors, remote corners... go even better together!