"Please enjoy."
The sweetly smiling waitress placed two cups of coffee before Haruno Yukinoshita and her mother, then withdrew.
Haruno Yukinoshita glanced down at the coffee before her, casually picked up two sugar cubes from the side, dropped them into her coffee, and began stirring with a spoon.
Witnessing her daughter's actions, Mrs Yukinoshita merely raised an eyebrow to glance at her before evenly lifting the bitter coffee before her. After taking a small sip, she set down the cup and spoke calmly:
"Why are you still staying in Tokyo?"
"The company's business in Nerima should have been completed long ago, shouldn't it?"
Hearing this, Haruno Yukinoshita lifted her stirred coffee, took a small sip, and spoke with her eyes half-closed:
"Ah, recently I met quite a remarkable young man and am trying out a relationship with him, so I thought I'd return a bit later."
Mrs Yukinoshita didn't seem distracted by her eldest daughter being in love; instead countering:
"Is that all?"
Upon hearing this, Haruno Yukinoshita maintained her smile, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness as she said:
"Of course, there's also some rather unimportant small matter - at least compared to the matter of choosing a husband."
Seeing her daughter's expression that appeared ingratiating but was actually hostile defiance, Mrs Yukinoshita couldn't help but pick up her coffee again and ask calmly:
"Are you referring to taking out large bank loans to acquire the Shinomiya family's assets at low prices as the so-called minor matter you mentioned?"
Hearing this, Haruno Yukinoshita looked at her mother with a surprised expression and said with feigned curiosity:
"Does Mother consider this to be something significant?"
Facing Haruno Yukinoshita's deliberate sarcasm, Mrs Yukinoshita merely said mildly:
"Do you understand what consequences this course of action could lead to?"
Confronted with this long-absent reprimand, Haruno Yukinoshita simply smiled:
"But wasn't it you, Mother, who taught me the philosophy of leading the family forward with full strength, like a wolf?"
She was different from her goody-two-shoes younger sister Yukino, who only internalised her struggles - Ms Haruno knew how to bare her teeth!
Even when facing her own mother, it was no exception.
Seeing her daughter's attitude, Mrs Yukinoshita finally became somewhat angry:
"But I never taught you to recklessly expand family business without considering the risks."
"That might be because we have different perspectives on things, Mother."
Haruno Yukinoshita tilted her head thoughtfully, then said cheerfully:
"Oh my, now that I think about it, this seems to be the first time this year we've disagreed."
Hearing this, Mrs Yukinoshita simply looked deeply at Haruno and said quietly:
"Haruno, the Shinomiya family is not someone we can afford to offend."
"Or perhaps you want to package yourself as a trophy and deliver yourself to the Shinomiya family?"
"Is this your rebellion against my upbringing?"
Mrs Yukinoshita was not unaware of her two daughters' personalities.
And compared to her second daughter, Yukino, who openly resisted but was actually as fragile as a doll, it was always her seemingly exceptionally obedient eldest daughter, Haruno, whom Mrs Yukinoshita remained wary of.
After all, as the successor she had personally cultivated, Mrs Yukinoshita understood perfectly what kind of damage her eldest daughter could cause if she became wilful.
Therefore, Mrs Yukinoshita had always focused her discipline on her eldest daughter.
She had always believed her disciplinary strategy was very successful - until recently, when her daughter took massive loans to heavily invest in the Shinomiya family's construction industry, appearing determined to devour their construction business.
The scene was like a hamster trying to throw punches at a tiger - appearing comical to outsiders but utterly terrifying from the hamster's perspective.
This was precisely why Mrs. Yukinoshita had rushed to Tokyo to meet with Haruno Yukinoshita immediately after receiving the news.
"Do you want to lead the Yukinoshita family to hell?"
Hearing this, Haruno Yukinoshita couldn't contain her laughter, chuckling as she said with amusement:
"Although I'd already thought of this when you requested this meeting, I didn't expect you'd actually say these exact words, just as I imagined..."
At this point, Haruno Yukinoshita said with some complexity in her tone:
"Mother really has grown old after all."
Hearing this, displeasure finally appeared on Mrs Yukinoshita's face.
Being told she was old by her own daughter didn't bother her - what concerned her was what this statement represented: her daughter's defiance of her authority.
At that moment, she finally stopped viewing her daughter as an heir, but rather as an adversary disrupting her rule, her tone icy as she said:
"It seems entrusting the family business to you was still somewhat premature, Haruno."
Faced with this threat of having her corporate management authority revoked, Haruno Yukinoshita showed no reaction, instead replying cheerfully:
"Is that really wise?"
"After all the sacrifices made - mine and Yukino's - to finally secure an opportunity for the Chiba Yukinoshita family to advance further."
"Are you really going to abandon this chance so easily? Wouldn't you consider that a pity?"
Hearing this, Mrs Yukinoshita finally heard a truthful statement from her daughter:
"The acquisition of the Shinomiya family, and Yukino's matter?"
At this point, Mrs Yukinoshita seemed to guess something, her expression hesitant as she said:
"That organisation wants to move against the Shinomiya family?"
If the SDS intended to target the Shinomiya family, Mrs Yukinoshita could somewhat understand Haruno's actions.
In such circumstances, heavily investing to swallow up the Shinomiya family's construction business, while risky, wasn't without potential for success.
After all, it's easier to enjoy shade under a big tree. Many enterprises grew and expanded by riding these major power struggles and seizing lucrative opportunities they normally couldn't access.
Every zaibatsu currently dominating Japan's commerce had made its fortunes during the 1950s confrontations between the Chinese Union and American Union.
With a multinational giant like the SDS confronting the Shinomiya family, while collateral damage was likely, proper handling and alignment with the right side could secure a substantial piece of the pie.
Given the precedent from the 1950s, Mrs Yukinoshita could understand Haruno's reasons for taking risks.
However, compared to potential gains, Mrs Yukinoshita was more concerned about the risks involved.
"...Haruno, given your character, you shouldn't fail to see the risks here..."
What if the SDS was merely using the Yukinoshita family as pawns?
What if the SDS couldn't withstand pressure from the Shinomiya family?
Even a powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its own haunt. While the SDS had considerable influence through military presence, could they really swallow a core Japanese zaibatsu whole?
With so many risks apparent, how could someone as rational as Haruno undertake such actions?
Facing her mother's questioning, Haruno Yukinoshita simply picked up her coffee, gazed at the rippling brown liquid in her cup, and chuckled softly:
"Mother, you should know... a fool like little Yukino... cannot fulfil your requirements."
Mrs Yukinoshita looked puzzled at this, but before she could respond, Haruno continued smiling:
"Asking that child to compete for a man is simply too difficult for her. Little Yukino would definitely be incapable of such things."
"So, unfortunately, I, as her elder sister, have no choice but to help out."
Hearing this, Mrs Yukinoshita, for the first time, lost control of her expression:
"Haruno, what nonsense are you speaking?"
However, Haruno Yukinoshita didn't answer at all, instead suddenly waving toward the entrance:
"Has Luo Shu arrived?"
"Over here!!"
After greeting Luo Shu, who had appeared at the doorway, Haruno Yukinoshita turned back with a look of surprise toward Mrs Yukinoshita:
"Mum, were you saying something just now?"
Hearing this address of "Mum" rather than "Mother", Mrs Yukinoshita felt her composure break.