Chapter 94: Why Won't Da Lang See Reason?

Behind the bedroom door inside, Runa Onodera listened to the conversation of the two young men outside, smiling to herself in silence.

She still had to wait and clear away the dishes and drinks they had finished.

But starting tomorrow, this house, so large and spacious, would truly be occupied only by the mother and daughter, and Taro.

In just one short month, so much had changed.

She had given up her old apartment, and everything had already been moved here.

Ueno-kun, who had once been a tall, well-mannered boy who grew stiff and formal in her presence, had grown into a man with a touch of maturity about him.

And Taro, who had already shared such an intimate relationship with her, had transformed even further from his former languid self into this strong man, one who was planning a future beyond imagining.

This man belonged only to her for now.

Suddenly, she remembered how she had felt a month ago, at this very hour, when she walked into a phone booth, dialed the number for this house, and said those words.

It seemed... that saying them had been the luckiest thing of all.

---

What woke Tao Zhiming in the morning was Runa Onodera's soft body and tender warmth.

Seeing her beside him, gazing at him with eyes full of affection, he smiled with complete ease. "Good morning, little Runa."

Runa Onodera felt a wave of tenderness and rested her head in the crook of his arm, murmuring, "How are you so good at making people happy? I'm seven years older than you."

"But when you're next to me, you feel just like a little woman." Tao Zhiming reached out and teased her lightly.

"Mmm..." She covered his hand with her own, then murmured, "Do you like me?"

"What is it? Still not sure after last night?" Tao Zhiming's eyes were full of amusement. "Come to think of it, are those housewives always teaching you new tricks?"

Runa Onodera was a little embarrassed. Reluctantly, she sat up. "Miko should be waking soon. I need to get up."

Tao Zhiming watched contentedly as the woman dressed in front of him, then he too stood, stretched, and after putting on his clothes, drew back the curtains.

Outside the window, the nearby scenery was still this somewhat old district.

But Tao Zhiming knew that a huge plan was already taking shape among the upper circles. In the future, this part of Minato Ward would be utterly transformed.

Had the original Tao Zhiming ever understood the city of the islands in such detail? It was only after more than a month of rebirth here that he truly appreciated what Minato Ward represented, and what it meant to own a home in Minato Ward.

This was Minato Ward, the place that in the future would be said to admit only men from Minato Ward to marry women from Minato Ward, and women from Minato Ward to marry men from Minato Ward.

One of the most elite and affluent districts in all of Tokyo.

And Tao Daro was even a student at Tokyo University.

Thinking back on those brazen overtures from Risa Fujizawa and Miho Yanagawa, thinking back on Runa Onodera's stirrings of desire, he truly could not understand why the former Tao Daro had been so hopelessly rigid.

A greater opportunity was now revealing itself. Next, he ought to take a walk around Shiodome and try to piece together Kinoshita Shuho's true plan.

Tao Zhiming loosened his limbs a little and left the bedroom to wash up.

Runa Onodera was already busy in the kitchen. Knowing that Miko was still asleep, Tao Zhiming simply walked over, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and whispered in her ear, "When Miko's at school and not home, we can even do this here sometimes..."

As he nibbled these words against her ear, Runa Onodera felt her whole body grow hot and weak.

She had already come to understand the forcefulness of a young man in the prime of his blood and vigor, so now his words carried an especially intoxicating power.

Tao Zhiming chuckled, planted a kiss on her cheek, and then hummed a tune as he went into the bathroom.

Only then did Runa Onodera turn to look that way, and then out at the sunlight rising and spilling into the house.

It was April, the season when school began.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom...

---

Today, when Tao Zhiming went out, he did not take a taxi.

After Lin Xiyu's reminder, he had finally changed his way of thinking and noticed this: Tokyo was not the same as the Chinese cities he knew best.

One very important factor determined which parts of this city were more prosperous and had higher land values: subway stations.

Tokyo's subway system was already quite complete, which was why Tao Zhiming had overlooked this point before.

Because it was already so complete, his impression was that not many new subway lines and stations would be opened afterward, and most would extend outward into the suburbs, so he had ignored the adjustments and influence of the subway layout in Minato Ward, the most central district of all.

But thinking about the changes after the privatization of the national railways, when the entire system was divided into six passenger companies and one freight company...

Although each company would have its own routes and regions, the most important of them all would still extend and converge toward Tokyo.

Given the different strategies of each company, plus the possibility that some of the smaller private railway companies would seize this chance to optimize routes and adjust station layouts during Tokyo's grand redevelopment, this was exactly what Tao Zhiming had come to confirm today.

It did not take long to reach Daimon Station on the Toei Asakusa Line.

Where Tao Zhiming lived was actually quite convenient for transport. Although the Oedo Line would be added here in the future, for now there did not seem to be any real need for an additional subway station.

Most of the people around him were in far greater haste than he was. This was the typical image of office workers in his memory: carrying briefcases, dressed in wide, dark suits of black and gray, their leather shoes striking the pavement in quick, brisk steps as they hurried toward the subway.

The real station was packed with people; there were nowhere near so many handsome men and cute girls as one saw in anime.

What Tao Zhiming was observing was not that. Since the Toei Asakusa Line ran underground, once he boarded it, he could no longer see what was outside.

Walking in the direction of Shimbashi, he kept thinking as he went.

Not far ahead, off to the right, should be that tract of land with a total area of more than thirty hectares, later known as the "last gigantic undeveloped project in central Tokyo."

But wasn't that land only auctioned off and put into motion after the bubble burst and land prices collapsed?

Tao Zhiming had once assumed that this was the land Kinoshita Shuho had his eye on, since it later became so famous.

But then he found a contradiction: if that plot had never moved at all, then on what basis had Motogami Real Estate become the third-highest-earning company in Japan in 1986?

From Daimon Station to the newly joined Shimbashi Station, above and below ground, the railway lines tangled together in bewildering complexity.

This was a transfer station, where packed trains carried all kinds of people off in different directions.

Tao Zhiming turned and looked east.

This was where the Shiodome freight yard was located.

He planned to go over and take a look; perhaps it would give him some inspiration.

Standing by the roadside and waiting for the light to change, a very luxurious car drove past him.

Tao Zhiming did not notice it, but inside the car, Ueda Natsuna, who had been sitting in the back seat staring out the window in a daze, suddenly froze in surprise and turned her head to look back.

"What's wrong?" Her mother also turned to look, then asked her softly.

"Nothing," Ueda Natsuna said as she settled back into place, sounding distracted. Yet in her mind, she could not help thinking: what in the world was Tao Daro doing here?

Ueda Masahiro, in the front passenger seat, glanced back through the rearview mirror, then instructed her, "When we arrive at Sumitomo and meet Professor Mori's family, do not behave so awkwardly!"

"I understand," Ueda Natsuna answered softly, lowering her head.

Her mother reached out and squeezed Ueda Natsuna's hand, a gentle smile on her face.

Ueda Natsuna forced a smile back at her, then turned once more to gaze out of the car window.

The cherry blossoms had already opened, and bright sunlight filled the world outside.

But the sunlight could not penetrate the dark glass of the car window, and she could only sit in shadow.