Chapter 316: No Banquet Without Trouble
Although Xu Youyou didn’t quite understand, she still dropped the topic.
After Kurosawa Masako left, facing Xu Youyou’s puzzled gaze, Lu Jingyao explained, “Don’t overestimate these people’s morals. They’ve gone back on their word countless times.”
Xu Youyou’s heart sank. She had originally planned to directly take out the jade token and complete the task on the spot.
But after hearing Lu Jingyao’s reminder, she belatedly realized that the system’s tasks were never simple. Especially when the mission had taken such a roundabout path — it clearly indicated that the final goal must be a treasure worth a fortune.
No matter what the Kurosawa family’s token represented, the Kurosawa family certainly understood its importance. They might not willingly hand over the treasure.
“Don’t worry. Once the Kurosawa family changes its head, they’ll have no choice but to keep their promise,” Lu Jingyao reassured her.
Xu Youyou glanced sideways at him, her thoughts drifting back to that lucky find from two years ago in the trash can. She couldn’t help but think that even if he weren’t her boyfriend, with the favor of saving her life, he would still help suppress the Kurosawa family to keep their promise.
Sure enough, every strange lucky break from the system had its reasons. This only strengthened Xu Youyou’s determination to never miss a single task.
Xu Youyou didn’t particularly like the Japanese dry landscape (kare-sansui) style architecture, nor did she follow the other guests in touring the Kurosawa family courtyard. Instead, she casually found a spot and sat down.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingyao was pulled aside by an acquaintance in Tokyo, talking about who knows what.
Xu Youyou hadn’t intended to cause trouble before the banquet started, but suddenly Yasuda Jirou appeared in front of her, looking extremely grim.
“I didn’t expect you and Lu Jingyao to dare come to Tokyo.”
Looking at this “wronged” fool in front of her, Xu Youyou increasingly realized that he must know she had snatched the opportunity from under him.
But she felt little guilt and simply said, “Why wouldn’t we dare to come?”
Yasuda Jirou was momentarily stunned. He wasn’t the brightest, and seeing how calm Xu Youyou was, he couldn’t help but doubt himself.
Could it be he was mistaken? Maybe Xu Youyou wasn’t the one who had obtained Yasuda family’s high-end technology in Shanghai, causing their family to lose billions?
“You know exactly what you did!” Yasuda Jirou said viciously.
Xu Youyou looked at him with innocent confusion.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. But your Mandarin is actually pretty good. You being so furious is quite funny.”
Yasuda Jirou wished he could eat her alive.
“So it was you!”
Xu Youyou still looked completely innocent.
“What was me?”
Yasuda Jirou snapped, “You dare to do it but not admit it? Are all you Chinese like rats?”
Even if she didn’t have a strong justification, Xu Youyou still retorted boldly,
“If we’re talking about daring to do but not daring to admit it, what does your country’s textbooks say about the war? Dare to admit that?”
Yasuda Jirou was speechless.
At this point, the Kurosawa family also noticed the dispute. Kurosawa Masako frowned and said,
“Yasuda Jirou, Miss Xu is my honored guest. Don’t be rude to her.”
Yasuda Jirou’s brother-in-law, Kurosawa Takeo — the second son of the Kurosawa family — spoke up in Yasuda’s defense:
“Masako, isn’t Jirou my honored guest too? Why can’t you speak nicely to him?”
Kurosawa Masako glared at her second brother and said,
“If you really want such a good relationship with the Yasuda family, you’re welcome to marry into their family. Grandfather certainly wouldn’t stop you.”
Kurosawa Takeo’s face darkened in anger. The Kurosawa and Yasuda families were evenly matched financial conglomerates. If someone of his status married into the Yasuda family, not only would he not be trusted, it would also be utterly humiliating. There was no way it could happen.
“You’ve really become obsessed with the Chinese market these past two years. You treat every Chinese visitor like a VIP. Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall into a trap?” Kurosawa Takeo threatened.
Xu Youyou, meanwhile, poured herself a cup of tea, completely unable to understand the rapid Japanese argument happening before her. She was just enjoying the show.
After a few more angry exchanges, Kurosawa Takeo stormed off, dragging Yasuda Jirou with him.
Kurosawa Masako turned to Xu Youyou apologetically.
“Miss Xu, my relatives are a mixed bag. Sorry you had to witness that.”
Xu Youyou thought the phrase “mixed bag” to describe one’s family was a bit odd, but since she had held her ground against Yasuda Jirou, she wasn’t particularly upset. She smiled and said:
“Miss Kurosawa, attending a banquet and getting to annoy someone I dislike along the way — I’m not upset at all.”
Kurosawa Masako couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing that Lu Jingyao still hadn’t returned and noticing how young Xu Youyou looked, she said,
“Miss Xu, to be honest, I’m feeling a little uneasy. After all, Mr. Lu and I didn’t have much previous connection, and I didn’t expect we could reach a cooperation.”
Xu Youyou was no longer the naïve girl she used to be. Hearing this, she immediately understood that Kurosawa Masako was testing her. Since Lu Jingyao had painstakingly set up this situation, Xu Youyou wouldn’t sabotage it.
“Miss Kurosawa, we have a saying in China: ‘Good things happen to good people.’ Maybe it’s because you’ve done so much good that you’re receiving good karma now.”
Listening to Xu Youyou’s seemingly random reply, Kurosawa Masako could only force a smile, inwardly sighing that Lu Jingyao’s fiancée was clearly no simple character either.
Seeing she couldn’t get any more information from Xu Youyou, Kurosawa Masako found an excuse to leave.
Xu Youyou didn’t see the current head of the Kurosawa family until after the banquet started.
The old patriarch, over eighty years old, had a face full of wrinkles but sharp eyes like an eagle’s.
In contrast, his wife — the true holder of all the Kurosawa family’s assets — appeared much more kind and grandmotherly.
Xu Youyou had expected this banquet, serving as a power transition, to be filled with political maneuvering, but surprisingly everything progressed smoothly.
She didn’t know what Lu Jingyao had done behind the scenes, but halfway through the banquet, the old patriarch suddenly smiled and asked Kurosawa Masako to stand and help him entertain the guests.
With that one sentence, all the shrewd people present immediately understood: the heir to the Kurosawa family had been decided.
Xu Youyou noticed the other would-be heir couples all looked extremely grim.
“Is it finalized now?” Xu Youyou asked.
Lu Jingyao nodded.
“If there are no accidents, the official succession ceremony will happen tomorrow or the day after.”
Sure enough, near the end of the banquet, the old patriarch announced that the handover ceremony would take place the day after tomorrow, with friends and family invited to witness it.
But then, something unexpected happened.
