Chapter 14: The Shindo Group

A strange scene unfolded in the room. Yosuke Ueno sat beside Yamiko, watching cartoons with her, joining in enthusiastically with exaggerated voices to match the passionate or heartwarming plotlines on the screen.

They looked just like an older brother and younger sister.

Meanwhile, Zhiming Tao and Runa Onodera sat quietly off to the side, both wearing the gentle expressions adults have when watching children.

It felt almost like a family of four.

Runa Onodera secretly glanced at Zhiming Tao’s face, surprise flickering in her eyes. When Zhiming Tao noticed her gaze, she quickly looked away, startled.

Why? Wasn’t he only twenty-one? Hadn’t he yet to graduate from college? Why did he give her that uneasy feeling one only experienced in the presence of someone much older?

Zhiming Tao patted his knee and stood up. “I’ll go prepare some materials. Miss Runa, please take a moment to relax. Yosuke, could you look after our guests?”

He nodded to Runa Onodera and returned to his room to look for the housing documents.

Segawa Kusakabe would be coming by tomorrow evening, and he’d need them then. Yet tomorrow morning he’d be out early.

He noticed that Runa Onodera had only brought a small gift and said nothing else during her visit. He guessed she simply wanted to get a better sense of what kind of people he and Yosuke Ueno were.

Among the Japanese, the pace at which relationships advanced beyond mere acquaintances could sometimes be astonishingly quick, and at other times painstakingly cautious.

As night deepened, Runa Onodera never came to knock on Zhiming Tao’s door—never brought up the house or work.

Instead, she chatted idly with Yosuke Ueno.

“Runa, Yamiko’s about to start sixth grade, isn’t she? She’ll be moving up next year?” Yosuke asked.

“That’s right,” Runa Onodera replied, looking at her daughter. “Yamiko is working hard—she wants to be an outstanding university student, so she’s getting ready for middle school.”

Yosuke, sitting not far from Yamiko, offered earnest encouragement. “She’ll definitely succeed!”

“Yosuke, if you don’t mind, do you have any study tips you could share with Yamiko?” Runa asked.

“Well, I do have a few,” Yosuke said, glancing at Yamiko, who had turned her head expectantly toward him. He pointed at the television and added, “But she’s only eleven. Honestly, I think a childhood full of fun memories is more important right now. If she really wants to study hard, she can start seriously in three years.”

“Huh? What about all the earlier lessons?” Runa asked.

“It’s fine!” Yosuke replied confidently. “She can just review them thoroughly when the time comes.”

Runa Onodera was left speechless. Was this just how geniuses did things?

Yet even the idea of a childhood filled with happy memories was something Runa Onodera couldn’t guarantee. After all, if she didn’t work hard, where would the money come from to support their future?

Her gaze shifted to the wall separating the living room from Zhiming Tao’s bedroom, then she lowered her head, lost in some silent thought.

When the music signaling the end of the cartoon played, she snapped out of her reverie and said, “Sorry for disturbing you again tonight. It’s getting late—you’ll need to rest soon. I should take Yamiko home.”

“Mom…” Yamiko whined, “I want to watch more…”

“Yamiko!” Runa Onodera’s voice rose as she stood up. “Um, Mr. Tao…”

At that moment, Yosuke called out, and Zhiming Tao emerged from his room. “Getting ready to leave?” he asked.

“Yes.” Runa Onodera took her reluctant daughter’s hand and bowed. “If we stay later, we’ll disturb your rest.”

Zhiming Tao nodded. “I’ll walk you home.”

“That won’t be necessary! We walk this route all the time…” Runa began.

But Zhiming Tao was already putting on his coat. “Let’s go.”

His tone and demeanor were so natural, so matter-of-fact, that there was no room for refusal.

Runa Onodera actually hoped for a chance to talk with him more, so she bowed deeply. “Thank you for the trouble… Yosuke, thank you for playing with Yamiko so long. Good night.”

Yamiko, clearly more comfortable with the gentler Yosuke, seemed a little afraid of Zhiming Tao. She cast a wistful glance at the television and waved goodbye to Yosuke.

Yosuke was left behind with barely a word. He’d been thinking of offering to walk them home himself, but Zhiming Tao had already ushered them out the door.

He scratched his head, completely at a loss.

The night before last, they’d only talked business. Last night, Mr. Tao had walked her home. This morning, she’d come by to say Mr. Tao wanted her to move in, and this evening, she’d brought her daughter over to hang out.

What exactly had happened between the two of them?

Yosuke’s thoughts grew uneasy. In the end, he muttered to himself, “Could it be that, after losing his own family, Dalang’s affections have shifted to the nurturing, motherly Runa? But… Dalang really knows what he’s doing…”

…

With Zhiming Tao present, the atmosphere grew noticeably heavier.

Yamiko clung tightly to her mother’s hand, finding this older brother a bit intimidating.

Even her mother seemed hesitant to speak.

Runa Onodera’s feelings toward Zhiming Tao were complicated. At first, he’d seemed like a client she could easily win over, but suddenly he had become a resolute and seasoned negotiator, and after she’d offered her special condition, he’d proposed something she never expected.

In just three days, the calm routine of Runa Onodera’s past few months had been completely upended.

She was about to speak, to break the silence as they walked, when a rough, flippant voice called out from ahead, “Well, well, isn’t that Runa? Still working so late? March is the day after tomorrow, and I hear that kid you’re in charge of in that building still hasn’t agreed, huh? Want us to help you out? If the Shindo Group steps in, that kid will sign tonight, guaranteed.”

Zhiming Tao’s expression hardened as he looked toward the two men approaching, their eyes ignoring him and Yamiko but sizing him up all the same.

“Wait, you’re that guy, aren’t you?” the other man said straight out. “The single guy on the fifth floor? That’s you, isn’t it?”

“Shindo Group?” Zhiming Tao asked.

“What, you’ve never heard of us? Around here, there aren’t many who haven’t! So it really is you, huh?”

“Yuta! Yuma!” Runa Onodera cut in quickly. “Please, give me a little more time. The client is coming around—now it’s just a matter of settling the terms!”

“The client?” The man in the red leather jacket and shiny shoes eyed Zhiming Tao suspiciously. “And who’s this?”

“He’s… Yamiko’s tutor!”

“Tutor?” Red Jacket exchanged glances with his companion. “But, you know… February’s almost over, and the job that was supposed to be ours got snatched back by you. Are you really confident you’ll close this?”

“Oh-ho…” The other man, reeking of alcohol, crouched to peer at Yamiko, who had already hidden behind her mother. “So this is Runa’s daughter? She’s adorable…”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m just taking Yamiko home, and her tutor decided to walk us,” Runa said with a nervous bow, shielding Yamiko behind her. “We didn’t realize the president had already asked Yuta and Yuma of the Shindo Group to take over. I’m truly sorry for the trouble!”

“Sorry? Don’t worry about it,” Red Jacket replied carelessly. “I hear that kid set some unacceptable conditions and your president is furious. From here on, we’ll handle things. Still, we could let you take the credit, Runa, if you want. Think it over, all right?”

Zhiming Tao glanced quietly at Runa Onodera and saw her biting her lip, remaining silent.

He smiled faintly. Perhaps he’d been too swept up by the thrill of rebirth and the airs of authority.

But in Runa Onodera’s eyes, he must seem like an isolated young man, powerless to help himself, soon to be forced into selling his home.

Her secrecy about his identity in front of these two low-level yakuza was surely not just because her daughter was present and she didn’t want to escalate things, but also because of the confusion he’d caused with his unusual reaction the previous night.

After all, faced with a mature woman’s subtle hints, instead of taking the bait, he’d offered her a job. In her position, that must have been bewildering.

No doubt he had unwittingly deepened her insecurities about her own charm and age.

Zhiming Tao stepped forward and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m the one you’re talking about, the one who made those ‘unacceptable conditions.’ My name is Dalang Tao.”

Runa Onodera’s heart skipped as she watched him step in front of her. Why?

Confronted with Zhiming Tao’s composed presence—his stature over six feet, his easy smile, his unflinching gaze—the two Shindo Group yakuza, taken aback, suddenly snapped, “You bastards! Tao, and you too, Runa, are you trying to make fools of the Shindo Group?”