Chapter 55: The Inoue Family

Set within a sprawling Japanese-style estate, Tomie No. 3 stepped expressionlessly out of the car as the chauffeur held the door open for her.

"Lady Tomie, the head of the family has been waiting for you for quite some time."

Guided by a servant, Tomie No. 3 walked along a path paved with white pebbles.

Passing through a meticulously manicured expanse of dry landscape garden, she ignored the servant who was kneeling on the ground holding slippers ready for her to change into, and walked straight into the living room.

Seated on a black sofa that felt entirely out of place within the room's classical and heavy traditional aesthetic, Tomie No. 3 gazed coldly at Inoue之助 (Inoue Konosuke) sitting opposite her.

"State your request."

As the current head of the Inoue family, now over forty years old, indulging in such decadent luxury that a single one of his wristwatches would cost more than an ordinary person could earn in a lifetime, and before whom so-called celebrities could only grovel, Inoue Konosuke looked at the bewitching young woman before him.

Even though he had played with countless beautiful women—mature and succulent married women, slightly green students, cold and aloof high-ranking corporate wives, and cute, alluring newlywed brides—no matter how exceptional those women's traits might be, they all seemed to pale into insignificance before Tomie No. 3.

"Inviting you here so abruptly is primarily to resolve a difficult problem the Sanwa Group is facing with an industrial project."

With that, Inoue Konosuke motioned for his assistant to bring over a file and hand it to Tomie No. 3 opposite him.

Glancing at the assistant, who wore a kimono and possessed a delicate, gentle appearance—especially her figure that threatened to burst out from beneath her kimono—Tomie No. 3 could not help but compare her to Kayako's physique in her mind.

"What's your cup size?"

"Eh?"

The assistant was momentarily stunned by the question, looking bewildered.

"E..."

"Pull it down."

"...Nani?"

"Pull your collar down."

Taken aback, the assistant looked at Tomie No. 3's stern face. After a moment of hesitation, she untied her sash and pulled her collar wide open, facing Tomie No. 3.

"Take it out."

The devoid-of-all-emotion voice sent a wave of shame and anger flashing through the assistant's heart. Yet, on the surface, she dared not show the slightest hint of it. Maintaining her obedient and docile expression, she submissively cupped her flesh in the palms of her hands.

"Are you sure it's an E?"

The assistant bit her lower lip at the question.

"Yes, I am indeed a D—no, an E-cup."

Tomie No. 3 sized her up for a moment, then waved a hand to signal her to put her clothes back on.

Both being E-cups, why was Kayako's visibly a whole circle larger?

Watching everything unfold from the side, Inoue Konosuke observed the assistant, who was deliberately putting on a aggrieved expression in hopes of winning his sympathy, and calmly took a sip of tea with an undisturbed expression.

Though he had no idea what was wrong with Tomie No. 3 today or why she would suddenly take an interest in a woman—could she be trying to experience some new kind of thrill?—Inoue Konosuke certainly had no desire to provoke her wrath. He well knew that the Inoue family's rise to its current scale bore her fingerprints at every single turn...

Time passed silently. As Tomie No. 3 finished reading the entire contents of the file, she frowned and looked at Inoue Konosuke across from her.

"So, this fellow named Chris is blatantly hostile to Japanese radicals, and Inoue Koichi blundered right into him? And as a result, the Inoue family's project named Seikazu was legitimately vetoed by the White Eagles?"

Inoue Konosuke let out a sigh at these words.

"Yes. Though I hate to admit it, the White Eagles never intended to let the Inoue family participate in this project in the first place. However, the smooth progression of this project is tied to the family's subsequent series of cross-border acquisition plans."

"Therefore, we had no choice but to ask for your intervention to ensure this matter is successfully concluded."

If she were an ordinary beautiful woman facing Inoue Konosuke's request, she would naturally assume the other party wanted her to use her charms to achieve her goal.

However, both Inoue Konosuke and Tomie No. 3 knew very well that as long as Tomie No. 3 took action, it meant she would become a closely knit, inseparable ally of the Inoue family!

And once the White Eagle's current highest official in charge of Japanese affairs was handled, the Inoue family's future territorial expansion abroad would no longer face the slightest obstacle!

Sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, Tomie No. 3 glanced at Inoue Konosuke, who was bowing deeply to her from the opposite sofa. The slender, rounded tips of her feet inside her jeans twitched slightly.

"What about that idiot?"

Hearing this, Inoue Konosuke felt a wave of relief wash over him, while a look of awkward difficulty surfaced on his face.

"The family has ordered him to be dispatched to the Eastern Three provinces."

Tomie No. 3 gave Inoue Konosuke a blank look.

"Have him brought back."

At this, Inoue Konosuke sighed inwardly in his heart.

Little Koyo, I did what I promised you, but I cannot defy Lady Tomie's orders either.

Toward Tomie, the Inoue family felt a mixture of deep affection and lingering terror.

The rapid development of the Inoue family over the years could not be separated from Tomie's presence. Every person deemed impossible to handle by ordinary standards would undergo a complete 180-degree change and cooperate with the Inoue family's movements after she stepped in.

The karmic entanglement between the two dated back more than twenty years. At that time, Tomie sought to secure suitable material provisions for herself.

Ordinary people had long since been selectively weeded out by her, so Tomie set her sights on Japan's ruling elite.

Because these people could not only provide her with lavish material conditions, but also offer a degree of protection should she ever truly be targeted by relevant authorities.

Therefore, during that period, Tomie drifted among multiple second-generation heirs of the powerful, acting like a mesmerizing, beautiful yet untouchable rose, plucking at the heartstrings of these second- and third-generation elites.

It was then that the Inoue family crashed into Tomie's field of vision, forcefully dragging Tomie away from the hands of a swarm of second-generation heirs in a near-steamroller fashion and bringing her back to the Inoue clan.

Thinking they had acquired a rare, peerless beauty, they had instead invited in a malicious flower of hell.

毕竟是要藏在这个家族的 (Knowing she was to be concealed within the family), Tomie did not unleash her abilities to their absolute limit, but it was common for the Inoue family to throw massive tantrums and vie fiercely for her favor.

It even reached the point of disrupting the family's internal operations. Sensing something was amiss, the then-head of the Inoue family, Inoue Kazue, ignored the opposition of many senior clan members and tried to force Tomie to her death.

The result was that Inoue Kazue was jointly ousted from her position.

Afterward, it was Inoue Izumi, Inoue Konosuke's father, who ascended to the position of family head.

Recalling this, whenever he thought of the various changes the family had undergone because of this bewitching young woman, Inoue Konosuke's feelings were utterly complicated.

"My father wishes to see you. I wonder if you have the time."

"Inoue Izumi? Let's go take a look."

Inside the sprawling estate of the Inoue family, within a courtyard that appeared completely ordinary, a white-haired man was humming a tune while tending to his meticulously cared-for bonsai plants.

"Getting old, are you starting to care for flowers and plants now?"

Hearing the voice, Inoue Izumi looked toward the doorway at the bewitching woman who looked virtually identical to how she had over thirty years ago.

"You haven't changed at all, Lady Tomie."

Wearing a nostalgic smile, Inoue Izumi put down his shovel and shears, and like an old farmer, invited Tomie No. 3 into the courtyard.

Tomie No. 3 looked at the septuagenarian old man and casually snapped off a beautiful cherry blossom from a flowerpot.

Hearing the snap, Inoue Izumi turned his head, a helpless expression on his face.

"Why must you pick on my flowers again?"

"We could go back to picking on you like before, if you prefer."

Inoue Izumi's mouth twitched at the remark.

"Let's not do that..."

After all, Tomie had far too many ways of tormenting people; he certainly didn't want to see major newspapers running headlines a few days later about the former head of the Inoue family streaking outdoors, or even worse news...

That would simply be... too terrifying...