Chapter 57: Misae’s Family Is Coming!
Misae on the other end of the phone let out a giggle at his solemn tone, and her girlish shyness and unease instantly vanished.
Misae’s voice carried a hint of relieved sweetness: “What do you mean ‘final judgment’! Hiroshi-kun, you’re being naughty again!”
She knew her promising young boyfriend still respected her greatly.
The call ended.
Hiroshi Nohara leaned back against his chair, suddenly feeling that the impending arrival of Misae’s parents seemed more taxing than the internal struggles at Tokyo Television Station.
And they hadn’t even met yet!
“Oh!?”
At that moment, peculiar, ambiguous laughter came from outside the office.
Hiroshi Nohara turned his head to see Hoshi Minamimura, Roji Hase, and Yō Kitagawa, all three pairs of eyes filled with the gossip of ‘we heard everything.’
This made Hiroshi Nohara unable to help but spread his hands: “Stop ‘oh-ing’ here. The most serious event of my life is about to happen. So, I’ll be leaving the classroom side to you for now.”
“Section Chief Nohara! Go with confidence! We will definitely guard the base camp!” Hoshi Minamimura immediately stood at attention and saluted like a stimulated adjutant, his expression exaggerated.
“That’s right! Wishing the Section Chief immediate success and to take down the final boss in one fell swoop!” Roji Hase joined in the teasing.
“If you need anything! We’re just a call away!” Yō Kitagawa also chimed in with a smile.
The office was instantly filled with cheerful air.
“You’re clearly just enjoying the show!”
Hiroshi Nohara smiled and shook his head, exchanged a few teasing remarks, then picked up his jacket and left work early amidst the chorus of “Wishing the Section Chief safe passage to the battlefield.”
He knew this battle wouldn’t be as simple as producing animation.
He also needed to prepare all the equipment.
…
Back home, Misae was like a busy little bee, bustling around their small apartment.
The floor was so polished it gleamed, the cushions on the sofa were plumped up and soft, and even the spider plant on the windowsill, which Hiroshi Nohara had almost killed, had been carefully pruned and revitalized.
“I’m back.” Hiroshi Nohara opened the door and came in.
“Welcome home, Hiroshi-kun!” Misae poked her head out from the kitchen, a bit of flour smudged on her face, like a cute little calico cat: “Look, I’ve tidied up the house! That way, when Father and Mother come, they won’t think we live sloppily.”
Hiroshi Nohara walked over, gently wiped the flour from her face, and looking at her eyes, sparkling with anticipation and nervousness, his heart softened.
“You’ve worked hard,” he said with a smile. “Misae, regarding tomorrow’s final judgment, I really need you to provide some crucial intelligence.”
“Intelligence?” Misae blinked, not understanding.
“Yes.” Hiroshi Nohara pulled her to sit on the sofa, took out paper and pen, and put on the air of a strategic analyst: “What is the enemy’s troop composition? How many main generals are there? Their personality, personal preferences, do they have any particular weaknesses?”
Misae giggled at his demeanor but still earnestly began to introduce them, counting on her fingers.
“Well… Father, Yoshiharu Oyama, is a civil servant. His personality… he’s a typical stubborn old man from Kumamoto Prefecture. He doesn’t talk much, but once he sets his mind to something, even ten oxen can’t pull him back. He loves sake the most, and… well, watching sumo matches.”
“Stubborn tank BOSS, strategy points: sake, sumo.” Hiroshi Nohara quickly jotted it down on the paper.
“Mother, Takao Oyama, is a housewife. She’s very gentle, but a bit of a worrier and likes to pry into things. Oh, right, she loves sweets the most, especially the limited edition cake from ‘Wako’ in Ginza.”
“Gentle support and intelligence officer, strategy points: limited edition sweets… and precious souvenirs.”
“And my eldest sister, Masae, she’s a middle school teacher, quite bossy, and has always been telling me what to do since I was little. And my third sister, Mogae, she… she’s quite free-spirited, still unemployed, and her biggest hobbies are handsome men and designer bags.”
“Elite monster number one, the bossy elder sister; Elite monster number two, the vain younger sister…”
Hiroshi Nohara wrote furiously, and a diagram of character relationships and strategy points quickly appeared on the paper.
Misae looked at his serious expression, and the nervousness she felt about her family’s visit involuntarily lessened considerably.
She leaned her head on his shoulder, looking at the paper filled with strange ‘tactics,’ and felt incredibly at ease.
This was a sign of his love.
“Alright, intelligence gathering complete.” Hiroshi Nohara put down his pen, clapped his hands, looking confident: “Tomorrow morning, we’ll go procure ‘equipment.’ We must have all our weapons and ammunition ready before the BOSS party arrives!”
However, just then, he suddenly thought of a crucial question and asked, “Misae, how many people are Uncle and Aunt coming with this time?”
Misae replied, “Well… Father and Mother, my eldest sister Masae and youngest sister Mogae, plus us, that’s six people in total.”
Six people.
Hiroshi Nohara’s brow furrowed slightly.
Including him and Misae.
They couldn’t fit everyone in one taxi to pick them up at the Shinkansen station tomorrow.
Not to mention accompanying them around Tokyo for the next few days.
They couldn’t make them squeeze onto the subway every day, could they?
That would be too impolite.
“Misae.” With that in mind, he looked at the girl in his arms and suddenly said in a very serious tone, “Let’s… go buy a car.”
“Huh?!” Misae suddenly lifted her head, her beautiful big eyes filled with shock: “Buy… buy a car? Hiroshi-kun, are you crazy? Where would we get that much money! Cars are expensive!”
In her eyes, being able to live in this not-bad little apartment was already great happiness.
Buying a car was a dream for company presidents, something utterly unattainable.
Hiroshi Nohara looked at her startled expression and simply smiled dismissively.
He didn’t explain further, just got up, took out his bankbook from the drawer, and handed it to her.
“See for yourself.”
Misae, half-doubting, took the thin booklet and opened the latest page.
Then, her breath, at that moment, halted.
On it, a long string of numbers, like a neat row of soldiers shimmering with golden light, exuding an unquestionable dignity, instantly occupied her entire vision.
“Ones… tens… hundreds… thousands… ten thousand… hundred thousand… million…”
Misae’s finger traced each number on the string, her big, watery eyes wide open, her mouth slightly agape in extreme shock, forming a cute “O” shape.
Seven million eight hundred thirty thousand yen.
This was Hiroshi Nohara’s manuscript fee for Yu Yu Hakusho and copyright fees for An Shizhi seasons one and two.
“Wh-what?!”
She suddenly looked up at Hiroshi Nohara, her gaze like she was looking at a mysterious creature that had just landed from an alien planet.
She knew Hiroshi-kun was amazing, both a director at the TV station and a popular manga artist.
But she never imagined he was… already this accomplished!
This sum of money could not only buy a car but would even be more than enough for a down payment on a small detached house in Kasukabe!
“Now, do you still think we can’t afford a car?” Hiroshi Nohara reached out, gently closing her mouth, which had been open for a long time in shock, with a playfully teasing tone.
“I… I…” Misae’s mind went blank. She looked at the bankbook, then at Hiroshi Nohara. Her delicate little face was instantly filled with an immense, indescribable sense of happiness and security, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
She suddenly threw herself into Hiroshi Nohara’s arms, burying her face deep in his chest, her voice choked with sobs.
“Hiroshi-kun… you… you’re just too amazing…”
Hiroshi Nohara simply smiled and gently patted her back.
This car wasn’t just a car.
It was his promise to her, his most direct and powerful declaration to her family that he was capable of taking good care of their daughter!
It was also, as a man, a mobile castle that could shelter him and his beloved woman from wind and rain!
…
The next morning, at the Toyota car showroom.
In the spacious and bright showroom, new cars stood like quiet steel artworks, reflecting an icy yet alluring sheen under the soft lighting.
As soon as Hiroshi Nohara and Misae walked in, a sales consultant in a sharp suit immediately approached them.
However, when he saw their appearance clearly, his professional enthusiasm involuntarily faded a bit.
Too young.
The man looked no older than his early twenties, and although dressed neatly, the youthful immaturity of a student had not completely faded.
The woman looked even more like a college or high school student who hadn’t graduated yet.
They were beautiful, but by no means did they look like they could afford any car here.
“Just looking around?” the sales consultant’s tone carried a hint of subtle perfunctoriness.
Misae tugged uncomfortably at Hiroshi Nohara’s sleeve, feeling the scrutinizing gaze.
Hiroshi Nohara, however, seemed unfazed. He calmly surveyed the room, his gaze finally settling on a car in the center of the showroom, painted in a deep black, with smooth lines, exuding a steady and restrained regal aura.
Toyota Crown Majesta.
In this era, it was the pinnacle of domestic luxury sedans in Neon Country.
“That one,” Hiroshi Nohara pointed, his tone as casual as ordering a bowl of ramen at a street stall.
The sales consultant looked in the direction he pointed and was taken aback, then a hint of stifled mockery appeared on his face.
“Sir, you have excellent taste.” His tone carried a condescending reminder: “This is the top flagship of our Crown series, the top-spec V8 Majesta, priced at over five million yen. Perhaps you’d like to… look at the Corolla next to it? That model is very cost-effective and suitable for young people.”
His words were polite, but the contempt in his eyes could not be concealed.
Misae’s face instantly turned red, a flush of shame and annoyance at being looked down upon in public.
However, Hiroshi Nohara remained as calm as ever.
He didn’t even glance at the sales consultant, walked directly to the Crown Majesta, opened the door, and gestured for Misae beside him.
“Get in and feel it, see if you like it.”
Misae hesitantly sat inside. The soft leather seats and the interior with its aroma of high-quality wood made her feel like she was sitting in a dream.
Her small face turned even redder, but she didn’t know what to say, clearly overwhelmed by the high-class setting.
But this adorable, kitten-like demeanor made Hiroshi Nohara smile.
“No need to try it out.”
Hiroshi Nohara closed the car door, turned around, took out his bankbook from his pocket, his identification, and his driver’s license obtained during college, and placed them gently on the hood.
He looked at the now completely stunned sales consultant and spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but like a heavy hammer striking the other person’s heart.
“This one, in full payment. Let’s do the paperwork now. I hope to drive it away within an hour.”
“…”
The entire showroom seemed to hit the pause button.
The surrounding salespeople all looked over.
The sales consultant’s mouth gaped wide enough to fit an egg, and his face, previously etched with mockery, now showed pure, unadulterated shock and bewilderment.
He subconsciously glanced at the numbers on the bankbook, as well as his professional information from Tokyo Television Station, listed as ‘Special Section Chief.’
The next second, as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt, he jolted awake.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
The expression on his face shifted from bewilderment to extreme fawning and fanaticism at a speed akin to a Sichuan Opera face-change.
He bowed ninety degrees, his voice cracking with excitement: “Esteemed… Esteemed guest! I am truly very sorry! Please wait a moment! I… I’ll go get our manager right away!”
He practically scrambled towards the manager’s office on the second floor.
Misae was completely dumbfounded by this display.
But Hiroshi Nohara knew very well.
Tokyo Television Station was too big a background; it was no exaggeration to call it the number one in Neon Country’s advertising industry.
For someone his age to have so much money, and to be a ‘Section Chief’ at Tokyo Television Station.
Regardless of whether it was a special section.
But still.
For such a young man to be a section chief.
Who could he possibly offend?
He might even have someone stronger behind him!
Soon, a middle-aged man in a more expensive suit, with a potbelly, rushed down from upstairs with a group of people, like a gust of wind.
“Mr. Nohara! Welcome! Welcome!”
The manager wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief while handing over his business card, his bow lower than the car models beside him.
For the next hour, Misae felt like she was in a surreal dream.
She watched a group of people surround Hiroshi Nohara, serving him tea and water, bowing and scraping.
She watched as the tedious paperwork was completed at an unbelievable speed under the personal supervision of the manager.
She watched as the car, which had just been displayed in the center of the showroom, was fitted with temporary license plates, filled with gas, washed immaculately, and parked quietly by the entrance like a tamed black steed.
The manager even personally presented a pile of gifts supposedly only for the “highest-level VIPs of our store” – top-tier car fragrances, a year of free maintenance cards, and even two invitation tickets to a high-class Ginza restaurant.
Even as Hiroshi Nohara drove the brand-new Crown Majesta smoothly into Tokyo’s traffic, Misae remained somewhat dazed.
She ran her hand over the smooth leather seat beneath her, watched the rapidly receding streetscape outside the window, and felt that it was all so unreal.
“Hiroshi-kun…” she turned her head, looking at the man beside her who had been calmly smiling the entire time. Her watery eyes shone with an almost mesmerized light.
“Hmm?”
“You were so handsome just now.” Misae’s eyes sparkled with adoration.
“Is that all?” Hiroshi Nohara heard her and simply reached out one hand, gently ruffling her hair, a confident curve forming at the corner of his mouth. “Hold on tight, my fated Mrs. Nohara.”
“Our castle is now about to officially set sail.”
However, driving this Toyota Crown Majesta, which could indeed be considered an entry-level luxury car in Neon Country at present, was certainly presentable.
And quite impressive!
Hiroshi Nohara watched Misae, who was still reaching out her fair, tender hands to constantly feel the leather seats, unable to sit still, and incredibly excited. He couldn’t help but swallow.
What was that saying again… A good car and a girlfriend… are more suited for a garage, the wilderness, or a secluded corner!
