Chapter 360: The Most Common Topic Among Girls |
Hoshino Akio, the current head of the Hoshino family and the helmsman of the Hoshino Conglomerate, had three sons and one daughter.
His eldest son was Hoshino Soma, his second son was Hoshino Sosuke, his third son was Hoshino Takao, and his youngest daughter was Hoshino Yuka.
To Hoshino Gen, these four were his biological eldest uncle, his biological father, his third uncle, and his youngest aunt.
Eldest uncle Hoshino Soma handled the conglomerate's domestic affairs, third uncle Hoshino Takao oversaw all overseas matters, and his biological father, Hoshino Sosuke, had simply branched out on his own to establish the Fanxing Group.
Aside from his youngest aunt, Hoshino Yuka, who was currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Princeton and had not yet started a family, the other three had married and had children long ago—
And at this moment, the Hoshino Hidezawa appearing in this dining room was the eldest son of Hoshino Soma. He was Hoshino Gen's cousin, a veritable young master of the Hoshino Conglomerate, and someone whose legal right of inheritance to the conglomerate actually surpassed Hoshino Gen's.
Of course, this was merely in a legal sense. After all, the entire upper echelon of the conglomerate knew that the old man's preferred successor had always been his second son, Hoshino Sosuke.
The old man had even started paving the way for him within the conglomerate early on. Unfortunately, Hoshino Sosuke eventually gave it up himself, the reason being—
"The time it would take to help repair this decaying old mansion is more than enough for me to build a brand new skyscraper." These were Hoshino Sosuke's exact words in his youth, and then he truly went on to establish another behemoth completely independent of the Hoshino Conglomerate—the Fanxing Group.
Many of the reputable diners in the dining room had already recognized him, and several were eagerly trying to hand over their business cards. The clerk behind the bar counter was somewhat at a loss. Clearly, she had never expected that the yellow buzz-cut, who completely lacked any upper-class aura, could actually summon such a prominent figure!
Fortunately, there was no need for her to react. A bright and beautiful figure had already walked out from the inner room of the dining room. "Mr. Hoshino, it is a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our establishment..."
"Sister! Brother-in-law! Over here!"
A loud voice suddenly rang out. The yellow buzz-cut, who had acted like a clown earlier, now stood up proudly, waving vigorously at Hoshino Hidezawa and the woman he brought with him near the entrance.
The casual glances he threw at the others were incredibly arrogant, as if he were the true young master of the conglomerate.
The beautiful woman glared at him in annoyance, but Hoshino Hidezawa just smiled. However, just as he was about to lead his female companion over, his gaze was drawn to a figure in the corner.
He paused briefly, somewhat surprised. Immediately, his obvious, polite, gentle smile became a few degrees more genuine, and he quickly walked over.
"Haha, I never expected to run into you here. Long time no see, Xiao Gen."
Hoshino Gen looked up to meet his cousin's eyes and plainly replied, "Long time no see," which served as sufficient small talk.
Hoshino Hidezawa noticed Kiryu Wakaba sitting opposite Hoshino Gen, looking at him with curiosity. He offered her a friendly smile before asking Hoshino Gen, "And this is..."
"A friend," Hoshino Gen answered concisely.
At this time, the female companion Hoshino Hidezawa brought along also walked over. Hoshino Gen's gaze inevitably shifted slightly, but Hoshino Hidezawa had no intention of introducing her, much less introducing Hoshino Gen to her. He merely smiled and patted Hoshino Gen's shoulder. "Alright, I will not bother you and your friend anymore. The old man's birthday banquet is coming up soon, we can have a proper chat then."
After saying this, Hoshino Hidezawa turned and left. Just as Hoshino Gen had said, he really was not close with his siblings or relatives in the family.
"Who was that?"
The woman's hushed question came from the direction Hoshino Hidezawa had left.
Hoshino Hidezawa smiled. "My second uncle's child. My cousin."
A look of surprise flashed across the woman's face. She looked back at Hoshino Gen a few more times and asked, intrigued, "Should I go say hello too?"
"No need," Hoshino Hidezawa brushed off the topic lightly. "If you are meant to know him, there will always be a chance in the future..."
......
"It looks like your cousin has no intention of seriously dating that elder sister, Senior Student," Kiryu Wakaba noted, watching their retreating backs and similarly lowering her voice. "At most, they are only at the level of boyfriend and girlfriend, right?"
In their social stratum, a so-called "girlfriend" was indeed not an identity that carried much weight. In fact, it was hardly any different from a playmate. If one truly wanted to be taken seriously by others as a partner, they needed at least the title of "fiancée."
After all, for someone at Hoshino Hidezawa's level, a girlfriend could be replaced at any time, and having several at once was an effortless feat...
Of course, whether she was a girlfriend or a fiancée, Hoshino Gen did not care about other people's affairs, nor was he interested in finding out.
"Check, please."
......
When Hoshino Gen returned home that night, the lights in the courtyard and the living room of the house were on, but he did not see anyone. He was only greeted by the large dog, Shiro, upon entering the yard.
However, when he went upstairs and passed by Hoshino Rin's room on the way to his own bedroom to take a shower, he heard sounds of laughter and playfulness from inside. It was not just Hoshino Rin and the little girl Tamamo-no-Mae; it seemed Shimizu Yu was there as well?
Hoshino Gen was not entirely surprised. After all, they lived so close to each other, and given that idiot's enthusiasm and lively personality, it was completely normal for her to drop by for a visit.
Just as he returned to his bedroom and closed the door, the door to Hoshino Rin's room on the other side opened—
"I just heard a noise. Did my brother come back?"
Hoshino Rin poked her head out to look around but saw no one either. She then turned back to look at Tamamo-no-Mae, who was sitting in Shimizu Yu's lap wearing the gorgeous princess dress she had just bought her. "Kyukyu-chan?"
"Yep, A-Gen is back!" Tamamo-no-Mae giggled, swinging her little feet, then looked up at Shimizu Yu, who was braiding her hair. "You are so slow, Yu-chan. Are you not done yet?"
Shimizu Yu withdrew her gaze, which had irresistibly drifted toward the open door, and sped up her hand movements. "Almost done..."
Having confirmed that the noise she heard was indeed caused by her brother returning home, Hoshino Rin felt relieved. She closed the door and walked back into the bedroom.
She sat down next to Shimizu Yu to help style Tamamo-no-Mae's hair, and at the same time, she asked Shimizu Yu as if unintentionally, "Speaking of which, Yu-chan, it seems you and I have never talked about those romance topics most commonly discussed among girls."
"Huh?" Shimizu Yu turned her head to look at Hoshino Rin, asking in confusion, "The most common topic among girls? What is it?"
"Romance topics, of course," Hoshino Rin said matter-of-factly. Then, she revealed a somewhat sly smile. "Yu-chan, you actually like my brother, do you not?"