Masashi and Kazumi's spring break still had over half a month left, but Rumiko was due to return to work soon. Thinking of possibly going a long time without seeing her son and daughter saddened Rumiko, though she didn't show it around them.
One morning, just two days before going back to work, she suddenly received a phone call. After listening, this woman in her thirties cheered like a child.
"Mom, what's going on?" Kazumi, who was in the kitchen making breakfast, rushed out in surprise.
"Kazumi, I can stay and work in Tokyo from now on!" Rumiko excitedly grabbed Kazumi's hands.
"Is that true?" Kazumi could hardly believe it.
"It's true! I just got a call from headquarters saying I'm being transferred to Tokyo's branch office starting this year. From now on, we can live together!" Rumiko said, tearing up.
Kazumi was so moved she could only hold her mother tightly and cry.
Coming out of the bathroom, Masashi saw his mother and sister embracing and smiled warmly.
"Masashi, where are you taking us?" Rumiko asked, puzzled, while they were in a taxi.
After lunch, Masashi had told Rumiko he wanted to take her and Kazumi somewhere, all while keeping a mysterious look.
"Mom, you'll find out when we get there," Masashi smiled.
Rumiko, in such a good mood today, went along with it.
After about ten minutes, Masashi led them to a two-story building and stopped in front of it.
It was a typical Japanese-style house, enclosed by a wall, with a sizeable garden inside, full of various plants and flowers blooming vibrantly in the sunlight.
"Masashi, who are we visiting?" Rumiko couldn't think of any relatives or friends living here.
Kazumi, however, said nothing, just stared in wonder at the nameplate outside the wall.
Masashi chuckled and casually opened the gate.
"Masashi, that's rude! You can't just walk into someone's house without permission," Rumiko said, slightly annoyed.
"Mom, Kazumi, come in."
"But..."
Before she could finish, Masashi had already pulled her towards the front door, opened it, and went in.
Rumiko was both angry and anxious about her son's rude behavior but was interrupted as he spoke first.
"Mom, do you like this house?"
"What?" Rumiko hadn't expected such a question.
"Come on, let's take a good look around the house," Masashi said, leading her around the house.
"Masashi, are you trying to get me to rent this place?" Rumiko was beginning to understand.
"Of course not. This is our house; why would we rent it?" Masashi said with a smile.
"What? What did you just say?" Rumiko thought she'd misheard.
Masashi pulled a paper from his pocket and unfolded it for her to see.
Rumiko stared at it for a moment, feeling a wave of dizziness.
She grabbed the paper and looked at it closely for a long time. At the top, bold letters read: Property Deed, and at the bottom, in the section for property owner, her name was clearly written: Gennai Rumiko.
"What's going on?" Rumiko finally managed to speak.
"It means this house is now ours. It says right there that you are the owner. Understand now?"
"I'm asking where you got the money to buy this house," Rumiko said, now a bit calmer, looking seriously at Masashi.
"It's a long story. Shall we sit down and talk?"
Rumiko sat down but kept her eyes fixed on him.
Masashi wanted to make tea to sip while explaining, but seeing Rumiko's serious look, he obediently sat down and started explaining.
"That's everything. Do you understand now?" After twenty minutes of explaining, Masashi finally finished his story.
Rumiko looked at her son, then at the thick stack of transaction records in her hand, still feeling like she was dreaming.
"So you're saying you bought this house with the money you made trading stocks. Is that right?" Rumiko asked, sounding exhausted.
"Yes. Please don't worry too much; it's a second-hand house, not overly expensive."
Rumiko was still in disbelief, but the clear, detailed stock transaction records forced her to believe it.
"And where did you get the money to trade stocks?" Rumiko suddenly thought of another question.
"A friend lent it to me."
Rumiko opened the first page of the transaction record, pointing at the information. "Your friend lent you five million to buy stocks?"
Masashi inwardly smiled; this was indeed the one flaw in his story.
"My friend's family is very wealthy, so five million isn't much to him. As I said, I met a few rich kids online, and one of them lent me the money. Since their families run companies, they have inside information on certain companies, which helped me succeed in the stock market. And, as thanks, I never share these business secrets with others. So, please don't worry, Mom. My earnings are clean, and I'd never do anything to disappoint you."
Seeing her son's calm and sincere eyes, Rumiko's heart gradually settled.
"Did you pay back the five million?"
"I did, long ago. I'm using my own money to buy stocks now."
Rumiko sighed in relief.
Masashi took a yellow bankbook from his pocket and handed it to her. "Mom, there's three million yen in here for you."
"I... I don't want it." Another wave of shock hit Rumiko, leaving her head spinning.
"If you don't take it, that'll be a problem. I wanted to take a break, but if you won't take it, I'll have to keep working a bit longer," Masashi sighed, pretending to be frustrated.
Hearing that, Rumiko snatched the bankbook from his hand. "You bold and reckless boy, from now on, focus on your studies and stop doing this kind of thing," she said, gritting her teeth.
Masashi laughed aloud.
In truth, part of his story to Rumiko was true, and part of it was exaggerated. He had only used five million to buy stocks, but instead of patiently growing it, he'd invested billions in manipulating the market to inflate stock prices.
In the past, when he was the Black Dragon leader, he'd done similar things, but only in times of extreme financial strain within the organization, since it involved sums of over ten billion, with the constant risk of financial ruin.
Now, though, he had done it just for a bit of fun, with no pressure, making the whole process far smoother.
Nobody would imagine that someone using billions of dollars to throw listed companies into turmoil was doing it for a mere few tens of millions in profit.
"Kazumi, let me show you your room," Masashi said, leading her away to let Rumiko process her surprise alone.
He took Kazumi to a room on the second floor and opened the balcony doors, letting in bright sunlight to chase away the winter chill.
Kazumi looked around the room. It was spotless, with a single bed on the left, two large bookshelves on the right, a desk with a monitor, and a lamp next to it. Across from the bed was a large wardrobe. Though the room was well-furnished, it didn't feel crowded.
A crisp sound rang out suddenly. Kazumi looked up to see a lovely wind chime hanging by the window.
"Do you like this room?" Masashi asked.
"I love it, I love it so much," Kazumi said, leaning into him, crying softly.
"Silly girl, what's there to cry about?"
Finally, the family was reunited, and Masashi felt a deep sense of contentment.