At six in the afternoon, Fujiwara Tetsu drove his Lamborghini, Panamera, back to the mansion in Kitaku.
In front of the metal main gate, a graceful young girl, wearing a faded white skirt, stood quietly with her bag in her hands.
Fujiwara Tetsu honked his horn. Toyokawa Youko jumped, and hurriedly bowed: "Mr. Fujiwara, good evening!"
Fujiwara Tetsu rolled down the car window, revealing his face, and asked, "Miss Toyokawa, how long have you been waiting here?"
"Just under ten minutes."
Toyokawa Youko was actually lying. She had already arrived half an hour ago, but it wasn't yet the six o'clock appointment Fujiwara Tetsu had set, so she just waited silently at the door. She didn't want to lose this job, so she treated it very seriously.
Her lie was easily seen through, but Fujiwara Tetsu didn't care. He said, "Come on in with me, Miss Toyokawa."
After parking the car in the garage, Fujiwara Tetsu opened the door to the house.
Upon entering the house, Toyokawa Youko bent down to take off her uniform shoes and changed into a pair of slippers Fujiwara Tetsu had prepared for her long ago. She immediately bowed and said, "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Fujiwara."
Although Haibara Ai outwardly appeared to be just a small elementary school student, Fujiwara Tetsu dared not truly treat her as a child. Haibara "157" Ai, currently pondering in front of the computer, looked at Toyokawa Youko with sharp eyes.
Yes, it was precisely that kind of gaze that made Toyokawa Youko even feel scared.
"Miss Toyokawa, first, I need to ask, what kind of cooking do you know?"
"I can do some basic Japanese dishes, and simple Chinese and Western dishes too."
Toyokawa Youko was very glad that in her year of poverty, to improve her diet and eat well, she had researched many cooking skills. Although she was incomparable to a true chef, it definitely had a home-cooked taste.
"Oh? You can cook Chinese food too?"
"Mhm, just some simple home-cooked dishes. If you ask me to make something complex, I might not be able to." Toyokawa Youko spoke truthfully.
"Today is a trial. Miss Toyokawa, you need to demonstrate your abilities first. No problem, right?"
"No problem, Mr. Fujiwara." Toyokawa Youko was rather grateful for Fujiwara Tetsu's words. If Fujiwara Tetsu truly didn't let her try anything and directly let her work, Toyokawa Youko might feel insulted. It was Fujiwara Tetsu's consideration for her.
Others' respect cannot last. Only by demonstrating her ability can this job truly last. Toyokawa Youko knew this well.
"The refrigerator is here. Inside are vegetables I bought today. You can use these vegetables to mix and match the food you need to prepare."
"At the same time, I hope Miss Toyokawa will take this job seriously. When you have free time, you need to research some nutritional pairing issues and improve your cooking skills."
"The working time each day is two hours. Besides cooking, the rest of the time you need to do some cleaning. The cleaning content is the rooms where I and Ai-chan rest."
"As for the other rooms, you don't need to worry about them. I will hire a professional cleaning company to do them. You only need to keep the cleanliness of my and Ai-chan's residences."
"Your salary, according to our previous agreement, is 5,000 per day. We'll settle weekly. During this period, I hope you can continue to improve your cooking skills. For example, I prefer Chinese food."
"If your cooking skills improve, I will appropriately increase your salary. What do you think?"
Fujiwara Tetsu meticulously told Toyokawa Youko all his requirements and needs. This attitude of respecting the other person's labor made Toyokawa Youko even more confident that this job was the right one.
"I've noted everything, Mr. Fujiwara."
"Mm, remember it and get ready to work. Oh, right, this is your work uniform. I don't know your size; this uniform might be too big or too small. After you give me the data, I'll order two more sets for you."
Toyokawa Youko looked at the work uniform Fujiwara Tetsu brought. It was black and white, looking like a maid's outfit, but also unusually similar to a domestic uniform. It almost looked like she was intentionally wearing a maid's outfit.
Toyokawa Youko opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn't make a sound. As a temporary worker, she really couldn't ask for more, and this job was already very good. Fujiwara Tetsu had already given her too much.
"If there are no problems, then let's sign the contract first."
Seeing Fujiwara Tetsu bring over a contract, Toyokawa Youko seriously looked at it.
Fujiwara Tetsu was not in a hurry either. He waited until Toyokawa Youko finished reading the entire contract before meticulously signing his name.
Actually, she didn't need to worry too much. If this kind of employment contract had tyrannical clauses, the law wouldn't recognize it.
"Alright, from now on, you are an employee of Fujiwara Tetsu."
Fujiwara Tetsu put away the contract. This contract was signed by a company Fujiwara Tetsu established in his own name. It seemed that coffee shop was also controlled by this company.
The main reason was that Fujiwara Tetsu felt that he might open several companies to earn income later. Given his resources in the CIA, it would be a shame not to use them. For example, illegal arms dealing, that's definitely a huge profit!
America, as a military-industrial complex, supplied weapons to the entire world, but it couldn't directly get involved itself.
Fujiwara Tetsu could simply act as an intermediary, earning a price difference.
Toyokawa Youko went to the changing room and put on the maid-like uniform. She began working in the open kitchen.
Fujiwara Tetsu brought a glass of juice and sat down next to Ai-chan, handing her the drink.
Ai-chan took a sip of the red juice, her eyes glowing. She said coldly, "You know I don't like strangers. Why did you hire a JK?"
"That girl is also a pitiful person. She can help us out."
With that, Fujiwara Tetsu told Haibara Ai everything that Toyokawa Youko had encountered. However, Haibara Ai did not feel much sympathy for this. Because everything she had experienced was, in essence, a tragic life.
The disappearance of her parents, growing up without freedom since childhood, and the knowledge she gained serving a criminal organization. Compared to Toyokawa Youko, who went from a rich young lady to a pauper, she felt her own situation was even more pitiful.
At least that Toyokawa Youko had a happy childhood.
"You're quite kind-hearted." Haibara Ai didn't know if she was being sarcastic.
"Don't say that. I've always been very kind-hearted. Otherwise, how would I have kept you by my side?"
"If you think I'm annoying, you can just drive me away." Haibara Ai said, stiffening her neck.
"Ai-chan, you've regressed. Don't say such irritating things."
"Isn't that because I'm valuable to you..." Haibara Ai said, getting angry, not bothering with courtesy.
As her words fell, she immediately regretted it. Some things were implicitly understood by both of them, but they had never been explicitly stated. It was a tacit understanding between the two. When these words were spoken, it almost shattered their relationship, breaking the unspoken rules. This made Haibara Ai feel terrified.
Fujiwara Tetsu held his face and looked serious, making Haibara Ai's heart tremble. After a moment, Fujiwara Tetsu's face relaxed. "Ai-chan, you're not an ordinary girl. You should understand even more that the abilities you possess are the reason others look up to you."
"If you were just a common person, just a useless being, how could you possibly make others value you?"
"You stay by my side not because my strength is enough to protect your safety, right?"
"This is not a shameful thing. Just keep this in your heart, but if you say it's false, or anything else, please don't say such things directly."
"In our interactions, I think we will treat each other with sincerity."
Haibara Ai obediently lowered her head: "I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing."
"If you know your mistake, correct it. Good child."
Fujiwara Tetsu patted Ai-chan's head. He chuckled: "...Besides your abilities, I also value you a bit more."
"What do you value in me?"
"You're pretty, and smart, and you have abilities. Who wouldn't like a capable housewife?"
Ai-chan swatted Fujiwara Tetsu's hand, and softly snorted: "Go find your fiancée, Shinomiya Kaguya. She's also pretty, and her family conditions are good."
But he only saw the smile in her eyes, Fujiwara Tetsu smiled widely.
Toyokawa Youko's cooking was really good, with a genuine home-cooked taste.
In the contract, Fujiwara Tetsu was Toyokawa Youko's employer, but he couldn't be present at the table. As a servant, she could only eat alone. There were no rules, no boundaries. Rules must be set!
"I like egg yolk sauce or blueberry sandwiches."
After eating, Haibara Ai suddenly said.
Toyokawa Youko was stunned. She bowed slightly: "I will try my best to practice making pastries."
As a girl, Toyokawa Youko was very interested in making pastries, but she didn't have the conditions to practice at home before. Now she had the opportunity.
Haibara Ai nodded in satisfaction. There was only one kind of person she disliked: the useless ones.
And this Toyokawa Youko seemed relatively intelligent.
After finishing work for the day, around 8 o'clock, Toyokawa Youko prepared to leave. Before leaving, her face red and ears flushed, she stammered: "Mr. Fujiwara, can... can I get an advance on some of my salary?"
After speaking, she lowered her head in embarrassment.
But there was no other way. All her money had been taken by that group of loan sharks. She was now struggling to live.
Fujiwara Tetsu said nothing. He found an envelope and put three 10,000 yen bills and one 5,000 yen bill inside, giving it to Toyokawa Youko and saying: "One week's salary, I'm giving you an advance."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Fujiwara!"
Toyokawa Youko tightly hugged the 35,000 yen to her chest, as if it were a huge sum.
Haibara Ai saw this, and her heart couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
It was only 35,000 yen. Why so emotional? Although she had no freedom since childhood, she never worried about money. The Black Organization giving her money was still quite painless.
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