Chapter 193: Kojino Junro Appears Again! Ikuna Clearly Says She Doesn’t Like Him! Hiroshi Nohara’s Presidential Demeanor!
“What—?!”
Sakura Ikuna’s already large eyes widened in an instant, her cherry-like mouth slightly agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
Her clear, shocked exclamation instantly echoed throughout the coffee shop!
The few scattered customers inside subconsciously looked over in her direction, their gazes filled with a bit of curiosity and inquiry.
Sakura Ikuna then realized her gaffe, her fair cheeks instantly flushing red, like a ripe apple.
She quickly covered her mouth with both hands, but her sparkling, large eyes were still filled with unbelievable shock.
“The… Mayor’s family banquet?” she lowered her voice, a barely perceptible tremor in it, as if she had just experienced a hallucination: “Hiroshi-kun, you… you’re not joking with me, are you?”
In her opinion, the mayor was a high-and-mighty important person who only existed on television news and newspaper headlines.
And now, Hiroshi Nohara, her fiancé who, despite his successful career, was essentially still a simple farmer, had actually been invited by the mayor to a private family banquet?!
This was even more unreal and impactful than when she heard Hiroshi Nohara’s movie had broken through several billion yen at the box office!
Seeing his fiancée’s utterly stunned and adorable expression, an ineffable sense of satisfaction and pride surged within Hiroshi Nohara. He knew this honor belonged not just to him, but to the entire Nohara family, and to the brother who was stirring up storms in Tokyo.
“Of course, I’m not joking,” Hiroshi Nohara said with a simple smile. He reached out and gently tapped Ikuna’s perky little nose, a gesture of affection that warmed her heart.
He lowered his voice and explained in a tone that was slightly boastful yet perfectly casual, “This morning, didn’t I go to City Hall and give the Mayor twenty-five of our best Akita dogs from the breeding base? The Mayor was so happy, he specifically invited us to have dinner together tonight, saying… in the name of family, to deepen our relationship.”
He pronounced the words “in the name of family” with particular clarity, the unspoken implication being self-evident.
However, after hearing this, Sakura Ikuna’s shock did not subside; it intensified.
“Twenty-five dogs?! And the best ones?!” she exclaimed again, this time not even caring about the other customers’ gazes. “Hiroshi-kun! Are you… are you crazy?! I know Hiroshi-kun’s movies are popular and have boosted the Akita dog’s fame, but… but those are just movies! Akita dogs don’t seem to be worth much, do they?”
In her understanding, Akita dogs, despite becoming sought after because of Hiroshi Nohara’s movies, were still essentially just village dogs commonly found in the countryside of Akita Prefecture.
No matter how precious they were, they shouldn’t warrant such a solemn reception from the Mayor.
“Hehe, Ikuna, you wouldn’t know about this,” Hiroshi Nohara chuckled, watching his fiancée’s adorable, money-conscious expression.
He put his arm around her, his masculine confidence and composure making him particularly charming at that moment.
“Akita dogs nowadays are not what they used to be,” he whispered in her ear in a tone of mystery. “They now represent the cultural symbols of ‘loyalty’ and ‘intelligence’! They are ‘scarce resources’ that even the wealthy and powerful in Tokyo are scrambling to acquire!”
He paused, his tone growing more proud. “Hiroshi said that what we’re selling now isn’t the Akita dogs themselves, but… the right to speak for the entire Akita dog market in Japan!”
Sakura Ikuna nestled dizzily in Hiroshi Nohara’s embrace. She listened to his strong heartbeat and felt the reassuring warmth radiating from him, her mind a whirlwind.
Right to speak? Cultural symbols?
These seemingly profound terms made her feel dizzy.
She vaguely sensed that her seemingly simple and honest fiancé, and his brother, who was like a deity in Tokyo, were playing a game—a game she completely couldn’t understand, yet which was grand and shocking… a chess game.
“This is… amazing,” she murmured, her sparkling eyes now filled only with bone-deep worship and affection.
However, amidst this warm and sweet atmosphere, a jarring roar of a car suddenly erupted from outside the coffee shop.
The sound, arrogant and provocative, instantly shattered the tranquil, artistic atmosphere within the shop.
Sakura Ikuna’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. She instinctively looked up towards the window, a flicker of annoyance flashing in her usually gentle eyes.
“Kojino Junro is here again,” she muttered softly, her voice tinged with helplessness and disgust.
Hiroshi Nohara’s brow also furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
Kojino Junro.
He was not unfamiliar with this name.
He was a persistent pursuer whom Ikuna had encountered while working at the coffee shop.
An idle, good-for-nothing troublemaker who, relying on his family’s wealth, caused trouble everywhere—a delinquent.
Hiroshi Nohara had thought that after he and Ikuna got engaged, this guy would have given up.
But he hadn’t expected that after more than half a year, he would still be lingering around!
Just then, the coffee shop door was suddenly pushed open.
“Ding-a-ling—”
The wind chime let out an urgent and piercing sound, as if heralding the arrival of an unwelcome guest.
A young man, looking to be in his early twenties and dressed exceptionally “trendy,” strode in with an air of arrogant entitlement.
He wore baggy American hip-hop style clothing with exaggerated graffiti prints, a gold chain thicker than his finger around his neck, and a large gold watch on his wrist. His nouveau riche appearance clashed starkly with the warm and elegant coffee shop.
A proud and provocative smile graced his slightly pale face. His eyes, always glinting with malice, instantly ignited with a flame of jealousy upon seeing Sakura Ikuna nestled in Hiroshi Nohara’s embrace.
“Yo, isn’t this Ikuna?”
Kojino Junro’s voice was sickeningly oily. He walked directly up to the two of them, his gaze dismissively sweeping over Hiroshi Nohara as if he were looking at an annoying fly.
“What? Haven’t seen you in half a year, still with this villager?” he scoffed, his tone full of disdain and mockery. “I told you long ago that following him won’t get you anywhere. Look at him, dressed so plainly; he’s clearly never seen the world. Now look at me!”
He proudly puffed out his chest, the thick gold chain flashing blindingly under the lights.
“I’m not the same as I used to be! I’ve invested all my family’s money in the stock market! Now, I’m a millionaire worth fifty million yen!” he laughed boisterously, his voice filled with the arrogance of a nouveau riche. “Ikuna, if you turn back now, it’s not too late! Follow me, and I guarantee you a life of luxury!”
His “confession,” filled with money and the smell of copper, made Sakura Ikuna’s cheeks flush instantly.
It wasn’t shyness, but… anger!
“Kojino Junro! What nonsense are you talking about!” Sakura Ikuna suddenly broke free from Hiroshi Nohara’s embrace. The fire of rage burned in her usually gentle eyes. “I’ve told you countless times! Hiroshi-kun and I are engaged! I love him for who he is, not his money! And I like him for being a simple, down-to-earth villager, and I would never like a delinquent like you who looks so unreliable!”
Her words, like the sharpest knives, accurately pierced Kojino Junro’s fragile and inferior heart.
“W-What did you say?!” Kojino Junro’s face instantly turned red. The arrogance of the nouveau riche vanished, leaving only the shame and anger of having his pretense exposed.
He clenched his fists tightly, his malicious eyes now flashing with near-crazed anger.
“You’re calling me a delinquent?! You dare to look down on me?!” he roared hysterically, his voice sharp and piercing. “I’ll tell you! I am now a millionaire with fifty million yen in stock assets! I made that fortune in six months, with all my assets, through sheer madness! I’m a stock genius! I’m telling you! It’s your honor as a village woman to be noticed by me! How dare you look down on me?!”
His furious demeanor was like a rabid dog whose tail had been stepped on, ugly and laughable.
Sakura Ikuna trembled with anger. She was about to retort when a broad, warm hand gently rested on her shoulder.
Hiroshi Nohara, who had appeared at some point, now stood in front of her. His tall, sturdy figure was like a mountain, shielding her from all storms.
He didn’t look at the still roaring Kojino Junro, but calmly gazed at his fiancée. A reassuring steadiness flickered in his usually simple eyes.
“Alright, Ikuna, don’t stoop to a child’s level.”
Hiroshi Nohara’s voice was not loud, but like a morning bell and evening drum, it instantly suppressed the noise in the coffee shop.
He slowly turned around, his gaze calmly resting on the still enraged Kojino Junro. His look was like that of a superior looking at an immature child, devoid of anger or disdain, only a… faint indifference of a superior to an inferior.
“I don’t want to communicate with children like this,” Hiroshi Nohara’s voice was still calm and composed, as if he hadn’t heard insults but merely insignificant chatter. “Besides, tonight, I’m accompanying my fiancée to the Mayor’s family banquet. So, please don’t waste our time here.”
His words landed with a thud, each syllable like a heavy hammer striking Kojino Junro’s heart.
“What?! The… the Mayor’s family banquet?!”
Kojino Junro’s body trembled violently, his malicious eyes widening, his face filled with disbelief and horror!
He stared blankly at Hiroshi Nohara, his mind a blank.
“You… you’re lying! You, a villager! How could you… how could you be invited by the Mayor to a family banquet?!” he retorted instinctively, his voice carrying an uncontainable tremor.
However, his retort seemed pale and powerless.
Because he saw Hiroshi Nohara’s calm, deep eyes, devoid of any lies, containing only a reality that made him feel suffocated.
“Villager?” Sakura Ikuna also snapped out of her immense shock. Seeing Kojino Junro’s flustered state, she let out a disdainful cold smile.
She straightened her back, her womanly pride making her shine at that moment.
“Kojino Junro, listen carefully,” Sakura Ikuna’s voice was clear and full of power. “My fiancé, Hiroshi Nohara, is now the president of Nohara Agricultural Corporation, which owns thousands of acres of land! His assets alone are worth hundreds of millions of yen! Your measly fifty million yen is not even a fraction of his wealth!”
Boom—!
Sakura Ikuna’s words, like precise nuclear bombs, instantly detonated in Kojino Junro’s heart!
Thousands of acres of land!
Hundreds of millions of yen in assets!
These astonishing figures utterly crushed his fragile self-esteem into dust.
He stood frozen, all color draining from his pale face, leaving only a deathly pallor.
He looked at Hiroshi Nohara’s calm, deep face, at Sakura Ikuna’s face filled with pride and happiness. His heart, already filled with money and desire, was now completely consumed by an unprecedented emotion: despair.
He gritted his teeth, his malicious eyes now filled only with the humiliation and unwillingness of complete defeat.
Without another word, he turned abruptly and stumbled away from the coffee shop like a stray dog.
His retreating figure was filled with panic and dejection, a stark contrast to the arrogance and swagger he displayed upon entering.
Watching his pathetic state, Sakura Ikuna finally, with deep satisfaction, broke into a triumphant, mischievous smile.
She turned and threw herself back into Hiroshi Nohara’s arms. The pride and happiness from the bottom of her heart made her feel as if she possessed the whole world.
“Hiroshi-kun, you were… so handsome just now!” She tilted her fair, beautiful little face up, her sparkling eyes filled with admiration and love for her fiancé.
Hiroshi Nohara just smiled simply, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. His tenderness was like a spring breeze caressing her heart.
“But speaking of which,” a sly curve appeared on Sakura Ikuna’s lips, her eyes like a little fox who’d stolen some fish, “that guy just now was like a child showing off his toys, not mature at all.”
“Yes,” Hiroshi Nohara nodded. Looking at the charming woman in his arms, a hint of indulgence and… decisiveness flickered in his eyes.
“Ikuna,” he said softly, his voice not loud but full of power. “From today, don’t work here anymore.”
Sakura Ikuna blinked, a little stunned. She looked up, her sparkling eyes filled with confusion.
“Why?” she asked, puzzled.
“Because…” Hiroshi Nohara’s gaze turned towards the vast Akita countryside outside the window, his eyes deep and full of expectation. “We at Nohara Family Co., Ltd. are in need of people right now. I need a capable wife who can help me manage the company and fight alongside me.”
He paused, his gaze returning to Sakura Ikuna’s face, his eyes filled with sincerity. “So, Ikuna, are you willing to help me?”
Sakura Ikuna looked at Hiroshi Nohara’s expectant face. Her heart, already completely conquered by him, was now filled with an unprecedented emotion: happiness.
She knew this was not just a job offer, but a deep trust and entrustment from her fiancé.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red, like a ripe apple.
She nodded gently, her voice a mere whisper, yet full of determination: “Yes… I… I am willing.”
She paused, as if she’d just thought of something. A cute worry appeared on her blushing face. “But… but I don’t know anything. You can’t dislike me for being clumsy then.”
Hiroshi Nohara smiled brightly upon hearing this.
He opened his arms and tightly, tightly embraced the soft, fragrant woman in his arms, as if to meld her into his very bones.
“Never,” he whispered into her ear, in a voice only they could hear, softly yet incredibly firmly, making that eternal vow that belonged to them alone.
Outside the window, the spring breeze blew, cherry blossoms bloomed, decorating the land of love and hope as if it were a dream.
The air inside the coffee shop, however, fell into a strange silence after the brief but intense confrontation.
The few scattered customers subconsciously cast their gazes towards the doorway, watching the once arrogant, now defeated figure flee like a stray dog, their eyes filled with mockery and… a hint of awe.
The mockery was directed at the young man in American hip-hop attire.
Their awestruck gazes, however, were all focused on the tall and steady figure—Hiroshi Nohara.
This man, who always dressed plainly and seemed like any other ordinary villager, now exuded a powerful aura that made them feel both unfamiliar and reverent.
“Oh my! Ikuna-chan, you’ve really… found a good man!”
From behind the bar, the coffee shop proprietress, nearly fifty and always smiling, walked over with brisk steps, carrying two freshly brewed cups of steaming coffee.
Her face, always adorned with a gentle smile, was now filled with genuine admiration and envy.
She placed the coffee gently on the table in front of them, her eyes, always sparkling with shrewdness, now filled with admiration for Hiroshi Nohara and a hint of flattery.
“President Nohara,” she had even changed his title, her tone carrying a well-measured respect. “What you just said was truly… so spirited! That brat from the Kojino family should have been taught a lesson long ago! Relying on his family’s wealth to cause trouble everywhere, he’s a disgrace to Omagari City!”
She paused, then turned her gaze to Sakura Ikuna, her eyes filled with the care and gratification of an elder for a junior. “Ikuna-chan, you have such good taste! President Nohara is not only successful in his career and humble, but more importantly, he is responsible and dependable! This is truly a man worth entrusting your life to!”
Sakura Ikuna’s cheeks flushed red once again upon hearing this.
She bashfully lowered her head. The recognition and praise from others made her heart, already filled with happiness, feel even sweeter than honey.
Hiroshi Nohara just smiled simply, scratching his head. His simplicity and sincerity made him particularly charming at that moment.
“Proprietress, you are too kind,” he said softly, his tone calm and humble. “I just… I just did what I should have done.”
“Oh! President Nohara, you’re too modest!” the proprietress said with a smile. She glanced at Hiroshi Nohara, then at Sakura Ikuna, her eyes full of gossip and curiosity. “Speaking of which, President Nohara, I just heard you say you’re going to the Mayor’s family banquet tonight? Is… is that true?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the few customers in the shop who had been quietly conversing instantly perked up their ears, their curiosity practically bursting from their bodies.
The Mayor’s family banquet!
For ordinary villagers like them, this was an honor beyond imagination!
“Yes, it’s true,” Hiroshi Nohara nodded. He knew such things couldn’t be kept secret.
He paused and added, “The Mayor personally invited us, saying… in the name of family, to deepen our relationship.”
Boom—!
Hiroshi Nohara’s words, like thunder from a clear sky, instantly exploded in the coffee shop!
“What?!”
“The Mayor personally invited him?!”
“And in the name of family?!”
“Good heavens! President Nohara! You… you are simply amazing!”
After a brief moment of silence, the shop erupted into immense clamor and commotion!
The few customers who had been watching the scene were now incoherent with excitement, their faces etched with disbelieving horror!
They looked at Hiroshi Nohara, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and a bone-deep awe!
They knew that Hiroshi Nohara, this man who usually looked like them, an ordinary villager, had now, step by step, reached a height they could never attain!
He had become the most sought-after rising star in Omagari City, and even the entire Akita Prefecture!
…
The night was like water, casting a gentle golden hue over the streets of Omagari City.
“Shofutei,” a high-end restaurant renowned for its exquisite Kaiseki cuisine and elegant courtyard, was brightly lit, with various expensive luxury cars filling the parking lot.
As Hiroshi Nohara’s Toyota Land Cruiser slowly drove into the parking lot, it immediately attracted many eyes.
However, when they saw Hiroshi Nohara, now famous in Omagari City, step out of the car, accompanied by Sakura Ikuna, who was as gentle and moving as if she had stepped out of a painting, their gazes instantly turned to understanding and envy.
“Oh my! Hiroshi-kun! Miss Ikuna! You’re finally here!”
At the entrance of the restaurant, Mayor Kenji Ito and his wife, elegantly dressed in a magnificent kimono, had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Hiroshi Nohara and Sakura Ikuna, they immediately rushed forward with beaming smiles, their enthusiasm as if a close elder were welcoming their favorite junior, not a mayor of a subordinate region greeting a businessman.
“Mayor! Madam Mayor!”
Hiroshi Nohara and Sakura Ikuna quickly bowed in return, their humility and composure perfectly balanced.
“Oh! Please rise, please rise!” Mayor Kenji Ito said with a smile. He glanced at Sakura Ikuna, showing no disdain for the ordinary girl, but instead warmly nodded. “This must be Miss Ikuna, right? Truly… truly a beautiful woman! Hiroshi-kun, you are truly blessed!”
His wife chimed in, taking Sakura Ikuna’s hand with a benevolent smile. “Yes, Miss Ikuna, you are truly… so beautiful! Even I, as an aunt, adore you! Come, come inside, it’s cold out here.”
Sakura Ikuna’s cheeks flushed at their praise. The recognition and compliments from superiors made her feel incredibly flattered.
She instinctively glanced at Hiroshi Nohara beside her, her eyes filled with dependence and love.
Hiroshi Nohara simply smiled, he reached out and gently took his fiancée’s hand. That warmth and strength instantly put her at ease.
Inside the private room, a lavish kaiseki cuisine meal had already been prepared.
The exquisite tableware, meticulous presentation, and dishes that were like works of art all showcased the grandeur and sincerity of this family banquet.
During the meal, Kenji Ito and his wife were extremely solicitous towards Hiroshi Nohara and Ikuna Sakuruda, showing great care and asking after their well-being.
They didn’t discuss business, only everyday matters, from Hiroshi Nohara’s childhood anecdotes to Ikuna Sakuruda’s hobbies, from Hiroshi Nohara’s filmmaking dream to their wedding plans for the future.
That sense of closeness and warmth made both Hiroshi Nohara and Ikuna Sakuruda feel an unprecedented satisfaction of being valued and recognized.
They knew this family banquet was more than just a meal.
It was a silent “political investment,” an “interest exchange” filled with warmth and scheming.
And they, Hiroshi Nohara and Ikuna Sakuruda, along with the entire Nohara family behind them, would reap unimaginable rewards from this “investment.”
…
While this family banquet in Omagari City was in full swing,
In a luxurious hot spring inn not far from Omagari City, a “family trial” filled with anger and unwillingness was also quietly unfolding.
“Slap!”
A crisp sound of a slap echoed in the silent room, sounding particularly jarring.
A clear handprint instantly appeared on Kojino Junro’s already pale face. The stinging pain made his heart, already filled with humiliation and unwillingness, boil like it had been thrown into a pot of scalding oil.
“You unfilial son! You… you’re going to make me die of anger!”
Jijiro Kojiro, the president of the rice shop who was a notable figure in Omagari City, was trembling with rage. He pointed at his disappointing son, his face, which always wore a gentle smile, now etched with unconcealable anger.
He had just received a call from a friend. In that call, his friend described in vivid detail, with a tone of schadenfreude, the entire process of how his son had “courted death” at the coffee shop that day.
When he heard that his son had dared to publicly insult Hiroshi Nohara, and even dared to mock him as a “villager,” Jijiro Kojiro felt his heart was about to leap out of his throat.
Hiroshi Nohara!
The “hot commodity” in Omagari City, and even the entire Akita Prefecture, right now!
The “important person” who had Hiroshi Nohara behind him, someone even the Mayor showed deference to!
His foolish son… actually dared to provoke him?!
This was practically courting death!
“Dad! Why… why did you hit me?!” Kojino Junro clutched his burning cheek. His malicious eyes were filled with defiance and malice. “What… what did I say wrong?! That Hiroshi Nohara, isn’t he just a villager?! He…”
“You still dare to be stubborn!” Jijiro Kojiro angrily raised his hand again, but in the end, he reluctantly lowered it.
He looked at his spoiled son, and his anger gradually turned into a deep sense of powerlessness and fear.
He knew he had gotten into serious trouble this time.
“Villager?” Jijiro Kojiro sneered, his voice filled with self-deprecation and… fear. “What do you know?! That Hiroshi Nohara, he’s the president of Nohara Agricultural Corporation, which owns thousands of acres of land! His assets alone are hundreds of millions of yen! Your mere fifty million yen is nothing compared to him!”
He paused, his tone becoming more solemn, the fear almost consuming him. “And do you know who his younger brother is?! It’s Hiroshi Nohara! The Hiroshi Nohara who made the movies 《The Seven Samurai》 and 《The Tale of Hachiko》! The Hiroshi Nohara whom even the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis personally meets!”
“You… you dared to provoke him?! Are you tired of our Kojiro family dying too quickly?!”
“Hiroshi Nohara currently has a very good relationship with the Agricultural Cooperative and is also buying land in Omagari City! We are a rice shop! We procure all the rice in Omagari City! If Hiroshi Nohara, this villager, teams up with other villagers and refuses to sell us rice! What do you think our fate will be!?”
Jijiro Kojiro roared in anger. The fear made this pampered president lose confidence in his son.
Especially looking at Kojino Junro’s hip-hop style.
It made him hate him even more.
He, from the older generation, did not like the United States!
Kojino Junro stood there blankly. He listened to his father’s roar, and his mind replayed Ikuna Sakuruda’s face filled with pride and happiness, and Hiroshi Nohara’s calm yet profound eyes.
His heart, already filled with money and desire, was at this moment completely consumed by an emotion called “fear.”
He clenched his teeth fiercely. His malicious eyes now held only a sense of despair and unwillingness, a feeling of being completely crushed.
He knew he had truly run into a formidable obstacle this time.
Although he had made a lot of money through stocks, he also understood very well that if his chain of rice shops and rice trading business ran into trouble, his family would truly go bankrupt!
…
Under the antique and elegant porch of “Shofutei,” the soft glow of lanterns dyed the returning spring night with a warm hue.
After bidding farewell to Hiroshi Nohara and Ikuna, Kenji Ito and his wife drove away.
It wasn’t until the taillights, representing power, completely disappeared around the street corner that Ikuna Sakuruda let out a long sigh of relief, a sigh that carried a sense of being freed from a burden, and also a dazed, dreamlike feeling.
She subconsciously turned her head. Her large eyes, sparkling in the light, were now staring intently at the tall, steady figure beside her. Her voice held a hint of uncertainty, as if floating in the clouds.
“Hiroshi-kun… I… I’m not dreaming, am I? We… we really just had dinner with the Mayor and his wife? And the Mayor paid for it?”
She felt her legs were still a bit wobbly. The two hours in the private room had been more tiring than working ten hours straight at the coffee shop.
That invisible pressure from high society, and the immense mental impact of chatting and laughing with the Mayor and his wife, made her ordinary maiden heart pound like a startled deer.
Looking at his fiancée’s astonished and adorable appearance, an indescribable tenderness and pride welled up in Hiroshi Nohara’s heart.
Once upon a time, he too was a country boy who would get nervous even meeting the village chief.
But now, he could calmly sit and chat with the Mayor.
This growth, this transformation, all originated from his younger brother, who was like a deity in Tokyo.
It also stemmed from the composure and confidence he had accumulated through his own hard work during this period.
“Of course, you’re not dreaming.” Hiroshi Nohara smiled honestly. He reached out and gently stroked Ikuna’s smooth long hair. That gentleness brushed over her heart like a spring breeze.
He walked to the imposing Toyota Land Cruiser and gentlemanly opened the passenger door for her, his movements natural and full of strength.
“Get in, my future Mrs. Hiroshi Nohara.” He said with a smile, his slightly domineering tenderness causing Ikuna Sakuruda’s cheeks to turn crimson once again. “I’ll take you home.”
The car drove smoothly through the night. Outside the car window, the streetscape of Omagari City slowly receded, appearing tranquil and full of life under the glow of the neon lights.
Inside the car, Ikuna Sakuruda’s excited heart could not calm down.
She turned her head, looking at Hiroshi Nohara’s profile, which appeared particularly chiseled in the dim light. Her sparkling eyes were filled with irrepressible worship and affection.
“Hiroshi-kun, you’re amazing!” she couldn’t help but exclaim, her voice filled with sincere admiration. “I heard the Mayor and his wife say at dinner that when we get married at the end of the year, he… he’s going to officiate our wedding! That’s the Mayor! I… I can hardly believe my ears!”
In her opinion, this was an unparalleled honor that would bring glory to her ancestors and family!
Hearing this, Hiroshi Nohara also broke into a brilliant smile.
He steadily controlled the steering wheel, his composure and confidence making him look particularly charming at this moment.
“Yes, I also didn’t expect the Mayor to give us so much face.” He said softly, his tone carrying a hint of emotion and pride. “This is not only a recognition of us as individuals, but also of our entire Nohara family, and of Hiroshi. The Mayor is a smart man; he knows that the Nohara family has a promising future.”
This respect from the Mayor made him, a man who usually toiled diligently, feel an unprecedented satisfaction of being recognized and valued.
“But speaking of which,” a cunning smile curved Ikuna Sakuruda’s lips, her eyes like a little fox that had stolen some fish, “I also heard you say at dinner that our Akita dogs sell for a million yen each now? That… that’s too much, isn’t it? Are they… are they really worth that much?”
This question had been bothering her all evening.
In her opinion, although Akita dogs were cute and loyal, they were still just dogs; how could they be sold for such an exorbitant price?
Upon hearing this, Hiroshi Nohara revealed a mysterious smile.
He knew this was the most important “business lesson” his younger brother, Hiroshi Nohara, had taught him.
“Ikuna, listen to me.” Hiroshi Nohara’s voice became deep and powerful, his confidence making Ikuna Sakuruda feel a touch of unfamiliarity. “The Akita dogs of today are not the same as they used to be. They are divided into two types.”
He paused, his tone becoming more serious. “One type is the village dogs that can be found everywhere in Akita Prefecture. They might be cute and loyal, but they have no ‘identity,’ no ‘pedigree,’ so they are not valuable.”
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