"Uncle Li?"
Mori Shinra hadn't expected to run into him here.
The middle-aged man before him was a good friend of his father and a non-clan member of the Mori clan. After his father's fatal car accident, he had taken on the responsibility of looking after him. Any difficulties Shinra encountered in life, from a clogged toilet to being hospitalized, could basically be solved by him.
He was the elder Shinra was most familiar and closest with since he had transmigrated.
When he had gotten into the car accident earlier, it was Uncle Li who had personally handled all the hospital admission procedures, including the subsequent dealings with the vehicle at fault, insurance, and many other interpersonal matters.
Unless Shinra called him proactively, Uncle Li would not interfere too much in his daily life. He would generally meet with him once a week, and since neither of them were good at cooking, he would always bring a table full of takeout to Shinra's house.
The only downside was that his thinking was too feudal. As long as there were outsiders present, he would only address him as 'Young Master,' even though he was only from a branch family.
Shinra had told him several times not to call him that, that 'Mori Shinra' or 'Shinra' was fine. However, the other party would just smile and continue calling him what he always had.
"It really is Young Master Shinra." Uncle Li was a little surprised, clearly not expecting to see him here. Then, he noticed the three beautiful girls with different styles beside him, and the surprised or displeased expressions on their faces.
Is this... a shuraba?
Uncle Li's brain went into overdrive, imagining a scene where Shinra was on a date with one of the three girls and got caught by the other two. A gratified smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
The Young Master has grown up.
But grown up or not, for a student to be in a bar this late was clearly not normal. Even if, in his view, Shinra was very sensible and had enough self-control, and there must be a reason for him to be here, it didn't mean that he, as an elder, could turn a blind eye.
Of course, he had no intention of lecturing him. Setting aside the fact that the location was inappropriate, just with the beautiful girls beside him, he couldn't possibly make Shinra lose face in front of them.
Uncle Li knew very well that boys of Shinra's age cared a lot about face. He didn't want his own actions to cause his young master to lose his mate-selection rights for the rest of his high school life.
Thinking of this, Uncle Li turned back and gave a few simple instructions to his subordinates, then broke away from the crowd and walked in Shinra's direction.
However, he didn't go straight up to them. Instead, he found a place to sit not far away, ordered a glass of lemonade, and seemed to be planning to wait for them to finish their conversation before taking Shinra home.
With this interruption, Shinra's verbal assault on Kawasaki Saki evaporated into thin air, and even backfired.
"So this is what you call being short on money, Young Master?" Kawasaki Saki said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Ahem, is it possible that 'Young Master' is my nickname?" Shinra felt he could still salvage the situation.
Kawasaki Saki no longer wanted to talk to this guy who was full of nonsense. Parents died, quality of life dropped, in great need of money—it was all fake!
Oh, the part about his parents being gone might be true, but the other two were definitely fake!
What 'Young Master' would be short on money?
Not to mention, the middle-aged man who had just called him 'Young Master' was clearly a man of great wealth, surrounded by so many people. With just a few words, he could push aside a business dinner and come wait for him. Even the owner of this bar could only stand on the outermost periphery, unable to get a word in.
How could she possibly believe his nonsense in such a situation?
Shinra knew that his credibility with the tear-mole beauty before him had completely dropped to zero. No matter what he said now, she probably wouldn't listen and would even become more resistant.
To fail when success was at hand...
Shinra looked at the blue Wish Request on her head, his eyes filled with regret and reluctance, just short of crying out, "Oh, cruel heavens, why are you so unkind to me?"
Well, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. There's always a next time. On the bright side, at least he had completed Kawasaki Taishi's Wish Request today. He wasn't going home empty-handed.
Judging by her current performance, she was clearly a 'family-man.' In the future, as long as he held Taishi hostage to command Saki, he wouldn't have to worry about not getting her... Wish Request.
My dear lady, you wouldn't want your little brother to...
"Finished chatting?" Uncle Li asked, standing up from his lemonade as Shinra walked over.
"Finished. Uncle Li, why are you still at a bar this late? I'm going to report you to Auntie Li."
Uncle Li: ???
The tables have turned, have they?
He said irritably, "You're one to talk. Let's go, I'll drive you back."
As he spoke, he glanced at Yukinoshita and Miura not far away. "Do they need a ride?"
"Yes," Shinra said without being polite. Yukinoshita was a given; as upstairs-downstairs neighbors, he wouldn't feel at ease letting her take a taxi home alone this late.
And as for Miura, she could have left directly but had come back halfway to provide them with convenience. He couldn't possibly leave her behind either.
"What about the other girl?" Uncle Li was referring to Kawasaki Saki.
"She still has to work," Shinra said, not including her. Besides, even if he did, it wasn't certain that she would be willing to go with him.
Uncle Li nodded, then showed a hesitant expression.
Shinra knew he was faking it. He also knew that Shinra knew he was faking it. But it worked, didn't it?
"They're all classmates."
"Oh~ classmates. Classmates are good."
"Uncle Li, I'm really going to tell Auntie."
...
Watching the group leave, Kawasaki Saki breathed a sigh of relief. Although her part-time job at [Angel's Ladder] had been exposed, it seemed her job was safe for now.
She put the change they had left on the bar into the cash register, only to find her manager coming up to the counter. His usual sternness was gone, replaced by a gentle expression as he asked how her work was going, if she was tired, and if she was satisfied with this month's bonus.
After a lot of beating around the bush, he began to subtly inquire about Mori Shinra.
But she had only just met him today. Her knowledge of him was limited to his name and the fact that he was her classmate.
She definitely couldn't tell the manager the 'classmate' part. Other than that, she told him everything she knew. Anyway, even if she didn't, he could find out with a little time.
"Mori Shinra, I see," the manager nodded, a look of understanding on his face the moment he heard the surname.
No wonder that Mr. Li had called him 'Young Master.' If his surname was Mori, then it wasn't strange at all.
"The surname Mori... is there a problem with it?" she couldn't help but ask.
The manager glanced at her. "The very building you're standing in is an asset of the Mori International Group. What do you think?"
Kawasaki Saki fell silent. The manager's words had clearly given her a little shock of capitalism.