Chapter 150: A Grand Arrival

In the economic theory class, the middle-aged Professor Fujita was passionately lecturing on the development of Japanese economics. However, the audience was sparse, with many students either sleeping, chatting quietly, or even eating snacks and playing GameBoy, like elementary school children. The scene was hard to believe, considering this was a class at a prestigious school like Teikyo University.

Perhaps it was because most of the students were freshmen, with no sense of crisis, and the dullness of the lecture played a part as well. Despite this, absences were rare since this was a required course for economics majors. For most university students, credits were everything.

“As we analyze the development of Keynesian macroeconomic theory in post-war Japan and its influence on Japanese macroeconomic policies, we cannot overlook the role of the famous economist, Tsuru Shigeto. Tsuru was an economist who transcended schools of thought. During his academic visit to the United States, he delved deeply into Keynes’ ‘General Theory’ and macroeconomic theory, frequently discussing and consulting with renowned American scholars like Samuelson. In the early post-war years, he served as Vice Chairman of the Comprehensive Investigation Committee of the Economic Stabilization Board. In 1947, Tsuru Shigeto chaired the drafting of Japan’s first post-war economic white paper, ‘Economic Reality Report,’ using Keynesian macroeconomic theory to analyze the state of the Japanese economy and proposing related macroeconomic policies. The theoretical framework of this white paper played a significant role in the establishment and formation of Japanese macroeconomics. In the 1970s and 1980s, Japan and the United States formed a long-term friendly diplomatic partnership, which, with America’s assistance, led to substantial development and progress in both economic theory and practical economic cooperation.”

Hearing Professor Fujita’s words, full of admiration, Lei Yin briefly shifted his gaze from the novel in his hands and sneered.

When Japan experienced the bubble economy, Americans claimed its root cause was Japan’s problematic banking management system. Japanese banks were notorious for cooking the books, and corruption was rampant. They argued that Japan could only escape its predicament by learning from the United States.

However, Japanese economists argued that the bubble economy was caused by Japan’s adoption of an expansionary monetary policy (based on Keynesianism), with excessive money issuance and excessively low bank discount rates. But Japan had been following an expansionary monetary policy since the 1950s, only slightly contracting it during particularly bad times, yet it had never seen the kind of severe economic downturn that occurred in the 1990s. After the collapse of the bubble economy, Japan also implemented a contractionary monetary policy, but no visible results followed.

Some people claimed that the cause of Japan’s bubble economy was the forced appreciation of the yen by the United States. While this isn’t entirely accurate, it does touch on a key factor. The Plaza Accord of 1985 led to a substantial appreciation of the yen, fundamentally undermining Japan’s economic competitiveness and triggering the bubble economy. After the Plaza Accord, the yen appreciated significantly, import prices dropped noticeably, and Japan’s price index plummeted, putting immense pressure on Japanese businesses.

To counter these difficulties, the Ministry of Finance implemented expansionary monetary policies, with the money supply growth rate exceeding 10% annually for several years and bank discount rates being significantly lowered. This initially stimulated a surge in exports. However, the export growth did not lead to a new cycle of economic expansion. Japanese companies found that with the yen’s substantial appreciation, engaging in foreign trade was far less profitable than before. Meanwhile, individuals accumulated vast amounts of money, eventually realizing that stocks and real estate offered lucrative opportunities for returns. As a result, they funneled their money into these assets. The Nikkei Index skyrocketed, and real estate prices soared.

Subsequently, financial institutions, driven by envy, began violating regulations, issuing excessive loans and inflating credit, which aligned with what Americans criticized as Japan’s “structural problems.”

Forcing yen appreciation and indirectly causing the bubble economy, leading to severe setbacks in Japan’s economic progress—this was the handiwork of a so-called “friendly” neighbor. Yet, only these rigid, textbook-bound so-called economists would lavish such praise on them.

***

In the stifling and drowsy atmosphere of the class, the door suddenly creaked open. Two elegant figures quietly stepped inside.

A male student, fast asleep, was gently nudged awake. Irritated, he looked around to see who dared disturb him, only to find himself staring at an unbelievably beautiful face. In that instant, he felt as if electricity coursed through his body.

“Excuse me, may I pass?” the stunning girl, whose beauty rivaled that of an idol, said softly.

It took him a moment to process her words before he shot up from his seat like a spear, nearly knocking over his chair in the process.

The noise drew attention, and a few curious students turned their heads.

“Am I seeing this right? Isn’t that Seimura Haruko? What’s she doing here?”

“It really is Seimura Haruko, and even Momono Junko is with her.”

“Why would Seimura Haruko come here? She’s in the Literature Department!”

A wave of murmurs rippled through the students who recognized Seimura Haruko.

The once-dull economic theory class became unusually lively, though the focus of attention was now solely on Seimura Haruko, sitting in the last row, rather than the thin, elderly professor at the lectern.

“Masashi, we meet again,” Haruko said with a smile after taking a seat next to Lei Yin.

“I didn’t expect Seimura-san to be interested in economics,” Lei Yin replied casually.

“Do you really think I’m here to listen to the lecture?” she countered.

“Isn’t that the case?”

Haruko didn’t answer, simply giving him a peculiar look.

The other students gazed at the pairing with a mixture of envy and jealousy. Thanks to Masashi’s fearsome reputation, many viewed the duo as a real-life rendition of Beauty and the Beast.

Feeling he had nothing to say to the beautiful girl beside him, Lei Yin casually smacked the shoulder of Takeda, who was snoring like a dead pig on his right.

“Is class over?” Takeda reflexively woke up.

“Look who’s here,” Lei Yin said, tilting Takeda’s head to the left.

“It’s… it’s Seimura Haruko! H-hello, I’m Takeda Eishun,” the rebellious youth stammered, now acting like a shy little boy.

“Want to switch seats with me?” Lei Yin tilted Takeda’s head toward him.

“W-what did you say?”

“I asked if you’d like to trade places with me.”

“Really? Yes! Yes! Yes!” To Takeda, Lei Yin at that moment radiated the aura of a saint.

“Idiot, one ‘yes’ is enough.”

“Do you dislike me, Masashi?” Seimura Haruko’s face turned frosty as she looked at Lei Yin, who was standing up, ready to swap seats with Takeda.

“Don’t misunderstand. I just think Takeda and Seimura-san might have more to talk about. To avoid boring you, I thought it’d be better this way.”

If he weren’t worried Haruko might suspect they were gay, Takeda would’ve hugged Lei Yin and kissed him out of gratitude.

***

Five minutes later, the classroom gradually quieted down, though several students still occasionally glanced toward the back.

“Haruko, you don’t mind me calling you that, right? Good, since you don’t object, I’ll call you that from now on. I know a great restaurant; how about we go there for dinner tonight?”

“Sorry, I’m busy tonight.”

“No problem, tomorrow night works too.”

“I’m busy tomorrow night as well.”

“So that means you’re free the night after tomorrow. I’ll come to pick you up then. I’d love to see you in a skirt—will you wear one for me?”

“Takeda-kun…”

“Haruko, no need to be so formal; just call me Eishun. That’s what my family calls me.”

Lacking any other redeeming qualities, Takeda relied entirely on his thick skin, exhausting every effort to chat with Haruko, even though she clearly had no interest.

Meanwhile, Haruko’s companion, Momono Junko, curiously observed Lei Yin, who was sitting next to Takeda, leisurely reading a novel.

This was the same person who had insulted a history professor in public and fought four martial arts club members on his own. If she hadn’t witnessed it herself, Junko wouldn’t have believed this ordinary-looking guy could pull off such unbelievable feats.

But what intrigued her more was how he completely ignored someone like Seimura Haruko, a campus beauty. Unlike the boys who pretended to be aloof to attract Haruko’s attention, Lei Yin’s indifference was entirely genuine.

Junko suddenly remembered how some girls privately described him: a solitary eagle.

Lei Yin had no idea that, aside from being seen as a human monster by male students, he was also compared to a bird of prey by the girls.

***

“Masashi, let’s eat at a restaurant outside campus for a change,” Takeda suggested.

“Sure, I’ll call Yoshikawa and the others to join us,” Lei Yin said, pulling out his phone.

“Don’t call Yoshikawa!” Takeda shouted.

Lei Yin glanced at Haruko and smirked. So, this guy wanted to take the backdoor approach.

“Fine,” Lei Yin thought. “At least it’ll prevent Yoshikawa and Takeda from fighting over Haruko later.”

Just as Lei Yin was about to put his phone away, it suddenly rang.

“What’s up, Yoshikawa?” Lei Yin asked, glancing at Takeda, who looked visibly tense.

After ending the call, Lei Yin said to Takeda, “Looks like I can’t avoid it. Yoshikawa needs me for something urgent. Why don’t you go by yourself?”

“Forget it. I’ll just wait for him to come along,” Takeda replied dejectedly. He didn’t have the confidence to invite Haruko without Lei Yin’s presence, especially since she was clearly there for him.

Five minutes later, Yoshikawa and Shiraishi Akira arrived. But they weren’t alone—two girls came along with them.

Seeing those two girls, Lei Yin was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected to see them here.

As soon as one of the girls, dressed in a blue suit, saw Lei Yin, she immediately rushed toward him.

“You—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly swung her handbag at him.

“Hey…” Lei Yin quickly raised his hand to block the hit.

“You jerk! You came back without even telling me, leaving me worried for so long. I’ll never forgive you!” When her handbag attack failed, she immediately aimed a punch at his face.

“Wait, listen to me,” Lei Yin said as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a potential black eye.

“You dare dodge? Go to hell!” The girl charged at him like a raging bull.

“Hey, can we calm down? Let’s talk this out. You won’t catch me anyway,” Lei Yin said, running as she chased after him.

“Let me hit you once, and then we can talk! Otherwise, stop running!” Kurata Ryoko shouted, panting from the chase.

“Fine, but just once, okay?” Seeing no other way out, Lei Yin reluctantly tried to negotiate.

“Get over here now!”

Lei Yin sighed, smiling bitterly. How had he fallen to the point of willingly presenting himself for a beating?

When Lei Yin stepped closer, Kurata Ryoko suddenly hugged him tightly.

“You jerk! You actually bit me!” Lei Yin cried out in pain.

“That’s just the interest. I’ll settle the rest with you later,” Kurata Ryoko laughed triumphantly, like a loan shark demanding repayment.

When the two returned to the group, everyone was staring at them as though they’d just seen ghosts. It seemed they had been thoroughly stunned by the strange yet oddly emotional reunion between the two cousins.

“Uh, Masashi, is she your girlfriend?” Takeda finally managed to ask, his voice trembling.

“Please don’t say something so terrifying. She’s my cousin, Kurata Ryoko,” Lei Yin said, rubbing his bitten shoulder as he introduced her.

“Sorry if I scared you earlier. This jerk disappeared without a word for over a year, and then, when he finally came back, he didn’t even bother to call me. I was so worried, so I got a bit emotional when I saw him,” Kurata Ryoko said with a smile.

Is this only a bit emotional?

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Lei Yin asked.

“You dare ask? If I hadn’t called Auntie a few days ago, I wouldn’t have even known you were back! You didn’t even bother to call me—do you even see me as your cousin?” Kurata Ryoko’s anger flared again, and she couldn’t help kicking at him.

Takeda’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. This was the first time he’d seen a girl throw a kick while wearing a short skirt. Everyone else had similarly incredulous expressions.

“I tried calling you, but you changed your number. What could I do?”

“Couldn’t you have called my house instead?”

“I forgot,” Lei Yin replied honestly.

“You idiot! How do you even forget something like that?”

“Hey, aren’t you tired? Let’s grab something to eat. If you’re not hungry, I am,” Lei Yin said, unwilling to continue the pointless argument.

“Fine, I’ll let you off this time. Now, hurry up and move!” After all that futile exercise, Kurata Ryoko was starting to feel hungry herself.

“You all saw that, right? If you don’t want to get beaten up too, let’s go,” Lei Yin said to the others.