Page 301
Page 301
As if it were only natural, Wakaba Mutsu also came to attend Shoko's coming-of-age ceremony.
When Ruoye Mu raised her head, her face remained expressionless, like that of a delicate doll.
"SOYO".
Su Shi and the others quickly went over.
"Xiao Mu, do you know what happened? Why did Xiangzi suddenly have her coming-of-age ceremony? How are she and Banai doing now?"
But to these questions, Xiao Mu simply shook her head gently: "Greek milk (I don't know)."
Su Shi choked for a moment. Why did that sentence sound so familiar? Xiao Mu seemed to think that the answer was too brief, and said, "It's just that the grandfather of the Fengchuan family sent invitations to my parents, inviting us to come and participate in the coming-of-age ceremony."
As for the rest, I don't know.
"I see..."
"Oh, you must be Xiao Mu's friends, right?!" A very familiar-looking noblewoman slowly walked over from not far away.
Aine's eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "Could it be that you are Ms. Mori Minami? I'm a fan of yours!!"
"Haha, I didn't expect to meet my fans here. Do you want an autograph?" Senmina said enthusiastically.
Xiao Mu simply watched her mother interact with her friend calmly, without saying a word.
Su Shi looked at the girl with slight worry, but the next moment, she unceremoniously tugged at the still silly Anon-chan.
"Idiot Anon, look at the occasion! We need to check on Saki-chan's safety first."
"Oh, oh, oh, that makes sense." Aine finally realized.
"Xiao Mu, why don't you be our tour guide? After all, you're more familiar with this place," Su Shi said softly.
Wakaba Mutsu glanced at her mother instinctively, only to see Mori Minami smiling and saying, "Go on, have fun with your friends."
So, Muku led everyone from MYGO into the Toyokawa family home.
****
Even though the Toyokawa family's villa is one of the largest in Tokyo in terms of building area, Su Shi and the others still felt a little crowded under Mutsu's guidance.
Because there were just too many people, and everyone was dressed so elegantly, they seemed to stand out as oddities.
Fortunately, Xiao Mu was indeed familiar with the place, and after some twists and turns, she actually led them into the magnificent hall.
But when Lixi turned around, she noticed that a little tail was missing: "Hey, where did that stray cat go?"
Xiaodeng tugged at Lixi and said, "There."
Li hope looked over and saw that Yao Le Nai had already started to devour the buffet area, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.
"That stray cat really is..."
Just as Li hope was about to grab her back, Su Shi gently tugged at her and said, "Don't worry about Le Nai-chan for now, the coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin."
Xiaodeng and Lixi couldn't help but look up at the steps. An old man in a suit, with a solemn expression, stood there slowly. Even without a microphone, the entire hall fell silent when he spoke.
"Thank you all for coming to the Toyokawa family's coming-of-age ceremony. Today, I have two things to announce."
Lixi noticed that the adults present all looked tense, as if every decision the old man made could affect their livelihoods.
So this is... the Toyokawa family?
"The first thing is that when I was young, I had a child with a woman other than my wife."
Now that the girl has grown up, I've decided to let her stay at the Toyokawa family home as their adopted daughter. Hatsune... come out."
After Toyokawa Sadaharu finished speaking, a blonde girl in a formal dress slowly walked to the front of the stage.
Immediately, everyone present was in an uproar, some even showing disbelief. Some people thought that Toyokawa Sadaharu had gone mad to announce such a thing at his coming-of-age ceremony.
Su Shi and the others were equally surprised.
"Um, isn't that Sankaku Hatsuka? Why... why is she Grandpa Xiangzi's daughter?!" Li hope couldn't help but ask.
Takamatsu Akari, who knew her best, stared blankly at the girl on stage who looked unusually nervous.
"Mr. Toyokawa, what do you mean by this?!" Sure enough, there were people protesting below.
However, standing on the steps, Miku became even more tense. She never thought that she would be recognized one day, that she could stand in the light, instead of being like a rat in the street, only able to hide her identity in the shadows.
But when she heard someone raise questions, she became afraid and timid.
She wouldn't mind if this matter wasn't made public, as long as Mr. Toyokawa didn't ignore him...
But the next moment, the old man gently patted her shoulder and said calmly, "This matter is just my personal matter. My daughter, Misaki Misaki, has no inheritance rights related to the Toyokawa family."
Upon hearing this, the member of the branch family seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then he continued, "In order to take responsibility for this matter, after the coming-of-age ceremony, I will step down from the positions of head of the family and chairman of the board, and hand it over to the direct heir of the Toyokawa family."
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized that Old Deng had planned this all along.
He chose to reveal the existence of his illegitimate daughter at this time, but since he resigned because of this, no one could pursue the matter further, and they tacitly accepted the existence of Misaki Miku. In any case, she has no right to inherit the family business; she's just another mouth to feed for the Toyokawa family.
Toyokawa Sadaharu coughed slightly and said, "The second matter is also the theme of tonight's coming-of-age ceremony, which is the coming-of-age ceremony of my descendant. After tonight, the other party will assume the responsibilities of the head of the Toyokawa family."
Upon hearing this, Su Shi and everyone else tensed up, knowing that Saki-chan would be coming out soon.
But where did Banami go? They wondered.
Then, a person slowly descended the steps. Needless to say, this person was the direct heir of the Toyokawa Group that Toyokawa Sadaharu had mentioned.
Unlike Toyokawa Sadaharu, who was a son-in-law, the other party possessed the purest bloodline and legal principles of the Toyokawa family.
Therefore, even if Toyokawa Sadaharu revealed that he had an illegitimate daughter and then abdicated in favor of the other party, no one else could say anything.
However, what left Su Shi and the others speechless was the identity of the person who slowly descended the stairs.
"Why?!" Li hope exclaimed in surprise.
"Why...is it..." Aine almost uttered the same question.
Xiao Deng's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the boy who was walking down...
That boy, whom they all knew very well.
"Why, why is Banami... there?" Suze's voice was filled with astonishment.
And so, everyone watched as the well-dressed Banami slowly approached Toyokawa Sadaharu's side.
Then, Toyokawa Sadaharu announced: "Starting tomorrow, my grandson, Toyokawa Yu, will inherit the TGW Group and the Toyokawa family. Please take good care of this young man."
Despite a surprising incident, the coming-of-age ceremony eventually returned to normal, and everyone clapped lightly, as if relieved that the Toyokawa family's power had been safely transferred.
However, Su Shi and the others, who were watching this scene, felt an absurd and eerie atmosphere.
Aine said, "Why...why doesn't anyone find it strange that the heir of the Toyokawa family, isn't...Miss Shoko?"
"Are we dreaming?" Li hope was equally confused.
Then, they actually saw that the boy with the serious expression seemed to glance in their direction.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Su Shi quickly seemed to realize something and said, "Don't you think they look alike?"
"What?" Ai Yin asked in confusion.
“A change that no one else was aware of, except… us, then what’s the difference between us and everyone else here?” Su Shi couldn’t help but say.
Suddenly, Lixi and Aine seemed to understand; they had actually encountered this situation before...
Just as everyone was getting a clue, they heard Toyokawa Sadaharu continue, "Then, there's the last thing for today. Today is my grandson's coming-of-age ceremony, and also the day he gets engaged to his sweetheart."
Immediately, everyone was in an uproar. After all, there were quite a few girls of the same age at the Toyokawa family's coming-of-age ceremony, and everyone knew what they were thinking without having to say it out loud.
If she could win the favor of a direct descendant of the Toyokawa family and become their daughter-in-law, the entire family would benefit.
But unexpectedly, this old man had already arranged the marriage of the next head of the family during his coming-of-age ceremony!
Which daughter is it? She's so lucky!
(No one felt there was anything wrong with the fact that the direct heir of the Toyokawa family was a grandson rather than a granddaughter.)
Su Shi and the others were surprised again; they had almost been knocked unconscious by the explosion tonight.
"Hanami is...getting engaged?!" Suze exclaimed.
"It's a pity the bride isn't you," Li hope said unhappily from the side.
"Wait a minute, what are you saying!" Su Shi immediately became annoyed.
“It’s Saki-chan!” Kotatsu looked up and said softly.
They couldn't help but look up, only to find a girl in a light blue dress slowly walking down the steps.
Then, the grandson of the Toyokawa family slowly took her hand, the meaning of which was already very clear.
"Who...is this girl?"
"Is she the daughter of some wealthy family?"
"Never seen it before."
Toyokawa Sadaharu coughed lightly and said, "This is Hachimi Shoko. After today, she will change her name to Toyokawa Shoko. She met my grandson when they were in school and made a promise to be together for life."
I hope that the two of you can have children soon and contribute to the next generation of the Toyokawa family.
"She's...she's actually a commoner's daughter!"
"The heir to the Toyokawa family has been chosen as a wild girl."
"It's such a waste!"
Strange sounds rose and fell, but Su Shi and the others remained bewildered.
This is simply... it's as if Banami and Shoko have switched identities.
“SAKI looks like she’s been crying.” Suddenly, Mutsu, who had been silent all along, spoke in a calm tone.
Everyone couldn't help but look at Xiangzi, who was dressed in a formal gown; her eyes were indeed red.
Banami looked at his fiancée beside him, but when his eyes met Shoko's, he felt a little angry... and sad.
In full view of everyone, the boy gently stroked her hair, as if to reassure her.
Such intimate behavior drew sighs of pity from many onlookers.
It was as if she was lamenting that she had lost the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family.
Xiangzi looked at everyone, and the things that had happened between the two of them in the lounge earlier flashed through his mind.
With a hint of joy, she gently pushed open the door and called out to her lover, "Xi, I've already had Butler Fujita bring Su Shi and the others here."
However, as the girl looked at her familiar boyfriend, who was calmly watching the bustling guests from the window, she even felt for a moment that she saw her grandfather's shadow in his back.
"evening?"
Banami slowly turned around, revealing a reassuring smile that made Shoko feel at ease.
"Yeah, I'll give them a scare later!"
"Yes, I specifically instructed Grandpa Fujita not to say anything beforehand, to give them a surprise!"
As Xiangzi spoke, he gently hugged the boy from behind.
"Oh, I really don't want to part with it," the girl said softly.
"What are you reluctant to part with?"
"Hmph, it's so hard to watch you, Xi, stand on the stage with Hatsune and Meow Dream while I can only watch from the audience. You have to comfort me, okay?"
Actually, Xiangzi was just making conversation to complain. She only wanted to get more pampering from Banami and didn't mean anything else. But what Banami said next surprised her.
"In that case, Xiangzi, why don't you continue leading Ave Mujica?" Banami's voice was very calm.
"This...how could this be? The head of the Toyokawa family would never show his face like that, and he wouldn't have the time. I'm sorry, Yu, I was just saying it casually. I didn't mean to complain." Xiangzi seemed to have misunderstood something and quickly said.
But Banami gently shook her head and said, "It's very simple. Just don't become the head of the family. That way, you can continue to pursue your dreams."
After saying that, Banami took the mask named Oblivionis that Shoko had handed her from the table and returned it to her.
Ke Xiangzi subconsciously shook her head and did not take it. Instead, she said to Banami in an incredulous tone, "How could that be? Grandpa will not agree. Besides... Grandpa's body won't last much longer. If I don't become the head of the family, Hatsune won't be able to reveal her identity."
No, Xi, I know you feel sorry for me, but I'm truly content.
Banami gently cupped her face and said, "That's not what I meant. Hatsune Miku was able to reveal her identity, and you can pursue your dreams. I said I wanted to create a world where everyone can be happy."
However, if Xiangzi's happiness is traded for Hatsune's happiness, that's not what I want to see, therefore...
"I will take over as head of the Toyokawa family in your stead."
svetikya