Chapter 141: Feeling Inferior for the First Time Due to Not Being Perverted Enough (Monthly Votes Wanted! Monthly Votes Wanted!)

"Hidenobu, your eldest brother wants you on the phone."

Haruko Aoyama looked at Hidenobu Aoyama and called out.

"Coming." Hidenobu Aoyama set down his bowl and chopsticks, walked over, and picked up the receiver. "What's the matter?"

"Hidenobu, listen to me. Jiro Nimpei came looking for me..." Masamasa Aoyama explained the situation step by step.

Hearing this, Hidenobu was indeed surprised that Jiro Nimpei had targeted his family, but it was also quite normal. Didn't he himself often target other people's families?

After all, he didn't play by the rules.

Why should he expect everyone else to play by the rules?

If you play the game, you have to accept the stakes.

It all depended on who managed to outsmart whom in the end.

What did feel abnormal to him, however, was that Masamasa Aoyama, a man of mediocre ability yet soaring ambitions who was obsessed with climbing the ladder, had actually resisted the temptations dangled by Jiro Nimpei.

Hidenobu remained silent for a long time after hearing the whole story, before finally saying, "You really surprise me."

"Huh?" Masamasa didn't understand the implication at first. When it finally dawned on him, he flew into a rage. "Baka! Bastard! Am I that kind of person in your eyes? Hidenobu, you misunderstand me far too deeply! We are brothers from the same mother!"

Truth be told, he wasn't all that angry.

He mainly realized that his past behavior had severely damaged their fraternal bond, and now that his younger brother had made something of himself, he needed to make amends quickly so he could ride on his coattails.

"All right, I forgive you." Hidenobu impatiently interrupted Masamasa's endless rambling.

"That's not—wait? You forgive me?" Masamasa was utterly bewildered. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

But since his younger brother was now the family's hope and the object of his flattery, whatever his brother said went. Masamasa skipped over the topic. "What do you want to do?"

"Since he delivered himself right to our doorstep, naturally we'll play along and teach him a lesson," Hidenobu said.

An idiot like Jiro Nimpei couldn't cause any substantial damage, but his constant jumping around was annoying. He had to be hit hard enough the first time to make him behave.

"Uh..." Masamasa hesitated, words failing him.

Sensing that his brother had some unspeakable difficulty or hesitation, Hidenobu asked, "What is it? Speak your mind."

Masamasa's actions this time made Hidenobu realize that although this cheap older brother had plenty of flaws, he was still somewhat reliable. Brothers who fight tigers together form a strong bond; it was worth cultivating the relationship and repairing their dynamic appropriately.

"Why don't you come to Saitama Prefecture? It'll be easier to talk things over face-to-face," Masamasa said nervously.

He felt like a child preparing to confess a wrongdoing to a strict parent. The beating Hidenobu had given him last time had left too deep an impression; he still woke up terrified from nightmares.

Hidenobu frowned and decided to humor him. "Fine, I'll come over today."

"Hai!" Masamasa acknowledged, then added, "Just come by yourself. Don't bring Haruko."

"Hmm." Hearing this, Hidenobu roughly guessed what was going on. A man who loses interest in the delicacies at home usually means he has already eaten his fill outside.

Masamasa had someone on the side, and he might have even fathered a child, which was why he was neglecting his household.

And this time, he was preparing to confess it to him.

That was why he told him not to bring his sister-in-law along.

This was bad news for the sister-in-law, but good news for Hidenobu. Master Lu Xun was right: human joys and sorrows are not connected.

Seeing Hidenobu put down the receiver, Haruko quickly asked, "Hidenobu, are you going to Saitama Prefecture? Let me go with you."

She was still deeply worried about her husband.

"Sister-in-law, let's make it next time. I'm going over there to handle some serious business for my brother, and neither of us might be able to look after you." Hidenobu wore a troubled expression.

The submissive Haruko had always been skilled at compromising and wronging herself. Hearing this, she forced a reluctant smile. "Is that so? Then I won't go and cause trouble for you two. I'll go pack a few changes of clothes for your brother, and you can bring them to him."

With that, she hurried upstairs.

Watching her retreating back, Hidenobu sighed. Her husband did not deserve such a wonderful woman.

From now on, he would take over those duties!

After breakfast, Hidenobu headed to Saitama Prefecture with the items prepared by his sister-in-law. For safety's sake, he also brought Shinichi Nakamura along as a bodyguard.

***

They arrived at Masamasa's residence by noon.

"Wait for me outside," Hidenobu instructed Shinichi.

Then he stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

"Moshi moshi?"

A woman's voice came through the intercom.

Just as expected, Hidenobu thought to himself, then said, "I am Hidenobu Aoyama. I'm here to see my older brother."

"Hai! Please wait a moment, Aoyama-kun."

A moment later, the door opened, and a young woman wearing a pink kimono appeared in the doorway, bowing with slight nervousness. "Aoyama-kun, please come in."

Hidenobu glanced at her. Apart from her youth, she was completely incomparable to his sister-in-law.

Could his brother be blind to beauty as well?

Hidenobu changed into indoor slippers and entered the house to find Masamasa sitting on the sofa holding a baby.

"Hidenobu, you're here. Have a seat." Masamasa set the baby aside. Although he put on a calm facade, his hurried tone betrayed him.

Hidenobu walked over with a blank expression, sat down on the sofa, and crossed his legs. "The woman and the child are both yours, aren't they, Big Brother? How can you look Sister-in-law in the eye after doing this? If you have anything to say, spit it out."

He wore the air of a prosecutor holding someone accountable.

"Kazu, go upstairs for a moment," Masamasa said indifferently, handing the baby to Asako Aso.

Asako took the baby, bowed to Hidenobu, and left, turning back to look at them every few steps.

Masamasa took a deep breath, looked at Hidenobu, and said, "Hidenobu, as you see, and as you suspected, Kazu gave birth to a child for me."

"So?" Hidenobu asked.

Masamasa pursed his lips. "I'm afraid Jiro Nimpei will spread the word that I have an illegitimate child."

"I'm not asking about that. I'm asking what happens to Sister-in-law," Hidenobu said with annoyance.

Masamasa sat down and poured a cup of tea for Hidenobu. "I'll grant you and Haruko your happiness, and you persuade Haruko to divorce me, so I can marry Kazu."

"What do you mean?" Hidenobu detected a misunderstanding and asked with a displeased expression.

Damn it, I haven't even made a move yet.

Masamasa smiled faintly. "You don't have to put up a front, Hidenobu. You and Haruko have been alone together in the same house for so long. Don't tell me nothing happened—"

"Smack!" Hidenobu raised his hand and slapped Masamasa hard across the face, his expression turning icy as he rebuked sternly, "Bakayaro! How could you say such a thing, Masamasa Aoyama! I might not care about my own reputation, but I will never allow you to slander my sister-in-law!"

Feeling the burning sting on his face, Masamasa was both startled and bewildered, utterly incredulous. He asked cautiously, "You... you really didn't?"

"Hmph!" Hidenobu's expression remained extremely grim.

I wish I had!

I wish I were cut from the same cloth as you.

Realizing he had already laid his cards on the table, Masamasa figured Hidenobu had no reason to keep lying to him anymore, so he believed that he and Haruko were truly innocent. For a moment, his face flushed with embarrassment and shame, leaving him at a loss.

So he was the only one who couldn't keep his lower half in check?

Since the topic was already out in the open, he decided to spell it out directly. "Hidenobu, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you and Haruko. But I know you've always had feelings for Haruko, right? Don't deny it. We're both men; I can see it plain as day in the way you look at her."

Hidenobu remained silent without refuting him.

"You with her, me with Kazu—if we each mind our own business, wouldn't everyone be happy?" Seeing that Hidenobu didn't deny it, Masamasa was overjoyed. He scrambled up from the floor and sidled up next to him. "I can help you pursue Haruko; I know her preferences. Once you succeed, I'll divorce her and marry Kazu. That way, we won't have to fear anyone attacking me over an illegitimate child, and you'll get your wish. How about it? What do you say?"

Looking at his older brother, who was full of anticipation and excitement, Hidenobu felt completely numb.

He had thought he was already perverted enough, but he still couldn't fully integrate into this country!

For the first time, he felt an inferiority complex for not being perverted enough.

"You can't divorce," Hidenobu said.

Masamasa asked suspiciously, "Why?"

Don't tell me your fetish is specifically that she's your sister-in-law?

Hidenobu explained with a straight face, "The child's birth timeline doesn't match up. Even if you divorce and remarry that woman, Jiro Nimpei or anyone else could still use this to attack you once they investigate."

Most importantly, if you get divorced, under what pretense would I and my sister-in-law continue living under the same roof?

Wouldn't the pressure fall squarely on my shoulders then?

That simply won't do!

"Then what should we do?" Masamasa frowned, rubbed his face in frustration, and asked.

Hidenobu already had a plan. "Forge two paternity tests: one proving you have no biological relation to the child, and another proving the child is related to that woman's ex-boyfriend. With truths and falsehoods mixed together, no one will be able to tell the difference, and after it circulates for a while, no one will take it seriously anymore."

Besides, aside from Jiro Nimpei, no one else would likely resort to such disgusting methods to attack Masamasa.

After all, among officials, who didn't have a mistress or an illegitimate child?

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

"Yoshi! Hidenobu, I really didn't realize you were so smart." Masamasa was overjoyed upon hearing this, and then his thoughts returned to the romance between his younger brother and his wife. "As for you and Haruko..."

He was mainly afraid that Haruko would throw a massive tantrum.

"That's simple. As long as Sister-in-law finds out that you betrayed her and had a child outside, things between her and me will naturally fall into place." Discussing how to help him conquer his own sister-in-law with the brother himself felt rather strange to Hidenobu.

Well... wonderfully thrilling, actually.

Masamasa nodded, looking at him with a complex expression. "Then Haruko is in your hands. She's a good woman; in the end, I'm the one who failed her."

A sour feeling welled up in his heart.

Oh well, at least it stays in the family.

"Big Brother, the three of us living a good life together is better than anything else," Hidenobu sighed.

Only when a family is united can it truly prosper.

Masamasa still felt a bit blocked up inside and didn't want to continue this topic anymore. "Hidenobu, tell me how we're going to play along and deal with Jiro Nimpei."