Tokyo: The story begins with a confession.

Page 221

Yes, there is a gas station next to me.

Lin Yi immediately understood: "Okay, I got it. Wait for me a moment, I'll be right there."

He then hung up the phone.

Less than five minutes later, Uesugi Kenichi saw a motorcycle drive up and stop in front of him.

Lin Yi laughed loudly when he saw Uesugi Kenichi: "You little brat, get in the car."

Uesugi Kenichi climbed up and asked, "Where did you get this motorcycle from?"

"It's from one of my colleagues," Lin Yi said without turning his head.

Sitting in the back, Uesugi Kenichi felt a pang of sadness as he looked at Lin Yi's graying temples.

He wanted to hug her tightly from behind, but seemed a little embarrassed, so he put his hands on Lin Yi's broad shoulders instead.

Lin Yi asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong? Are you a little cold?" He then slowed down the car a bit.

"A little bit, but it's okay. How much longer until we arrive?" Uesugi Kenichi asked.

Not far, almost there.

Lin Yi drove his motorcycle, making several turns along the road, and finally stopped in front of a construction site.

After getting out of the car and locking it, Lin Yi led Uesugi Kenichi to a room made of iron sheds.

Inside the room were several wooden stools and a tea table, on which were some tea-making tools.

"Come, have a seat." Lin Yi said, boiling a kettle of water and using tweezers to take two teacups out of the bowl.

After boiling the water, I washed the cups and brewed a pot of tea, then poured a cup for Uesugi Kenichi.

"Is everything alright at home?" Lin Yi asked, taking out a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes and handing one to Uesugi Kenichi.

Lin Yi knew that Uesugi Kenichi smoked, and he neither approved nor opposed it.

According to him, a man should at least have one of the two things in his life: smoking or drinking. What's the point of living if you don't smoke or drink?

Upon seeing the cigarettes Lin Yi offered, he suddenly remembered something, took out his backpack, pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and handed it to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi looked at the cigarette that Uesugi Kenichi offered and laughed, "Looks like you're really rich, you little rascal."

Uesugi Kenichi focused his gaze on Lin Yi. Lin Yi's hair was somewhat disheveled with a few specks of dust, his temples were completely white, and the wrinkles around his eyes were deepening. His mustache was neatly shaved. He wore an old shirt, gray trousers, and dusty leather shoes.

Only in his eyes and brows can one vaguely see the shadow of his youth.

"Dad, quit your job, let's go home together." Uesugi Kenichi blinked hard and leaned against Lin Yi.

Lin Yi smiled after hearing this: "No rush, we can talk about that later. Let's eat first, I've already cooked everything."

Lin Yi said this and ran out to the kitchen across the street. Uesugi Kenshin followed him after he left.

"Come on, help me carry this." Lin Yi pointed to a bowl of shrimp and a plate of crabs on the table and said to Uesugi Ken.

After bringing all the dishes over, Lin Yi asked, "What would you like to drink, beer or liquor?"

Beer bar, by Kenichi Uesugi.

Okay, then beer it is. Lin Yi took four bottles of beer from the refrigerator in the kitchen.

He used his teeth to bite open the bottle cap and handed it to me.

The shrimp and crabs are fresh ones I bought today. I didn't add anything; I just soaked them in salt water for a while and then blanched them in boiling water. The crabs were steamed too. When you eat them, just dip them in the sauce I made—it'll be absolutely delicious, I'm telling you.

"We also have beef and offal here. Come on, have a drink." Lin Yi said, raising his bottle.

Come on, Uesugi Kenichi smiled and clinked glasses with Lin Yi, then took a big gulp.

Kenichi Uesugi peeled a shrimp, dipped it in a little chili sauce, and ate it in one bite. The tender and bouncy shrimp meat gave people only a sense of freshness.

"How is it? Not bad, right?" Lin Yi asked.

Kenichi Uesugi gave a thumbs up: "Dad, your cooking is still so good, much better than Mom's."

Uesugi Kenichi laughed and said, "Your mother can only cook two simple dishes. I wouldn't even bother cooking those. Come on, keep eating. Finish all of this for me tonight."

"If Mom hears you say that, do you think she'll still cook?" Uesugi Kenichi mumbled, stuffing another shrimp into his mouth.

"I've gone too far with her, how dare she not do it?" Lin Yi said, sounding a little unsure. "If she won't do it, I'll do it myself." It took about an hour to finish all the food.

After tidying up the mess on the table, Lin Yi brewed another pot of tea.

"Dad, are you all alone here?" Uesugi Kenichi couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Lin Yi, holding a cup of tea, said, "Yes, I'm the only one here tonight. Everyone else is local and goes straight home after work."

Your dad's job here is actually quite easy. I can get up whenever I want in the morning. A few trucks come in the afternoon and evening, and my job is to check the goods to make sure there are no problems and record them.

Sometimes a car will come around midnight, but otherwise there's nothing much to do. I just drink tea here every day, but it gets a bit boring after a while.

I watch so much TV on my phone every day that I don't even know what to watch anymore.

The tea was ready. Lin Yi poured a cup of tea for Uesugi Kenichi, opened a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes that Uesugi Kenichi had given him, lit one, and said, "Tell me, what's the story behind you saying you made so much money?"

Uesugi Kenichi straightened his posture and looked at Lin Yi, saying, "In July, I wrote a book online, and quite a few people read it. In September, I received my royalties, more than seven million yen!"

Lin Yi looked incredulous: "You can earn over seven million in two months writing a book? Do you think your dad is easy to fool?"

Uesugi Kenichi smiled and said, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. Here I am, the facts are right here. The book I wrote was ranked number one on the website last month."

As he spoke, Uesugi Kenichi took out his phone, logged into the author's backend, and explained in detail the meaning of each data point. He then showed him the balance on his bank card.

"Now you should believe me, right?" Uesugi Kenichi said, looking at Lin Yi. And it's not just this month; next month, and the month after that, it won't be less either, although it might not be as much as this month.

Lin Yi was quite receptive to these new things. He quickly understood what Uesugi Kenichi was talking about, and after checking it online, he no longer had any doubts.

Lin Yi was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter: "I didn't expect you little Japanese devil to have the makings of a writer."

Now you can come home with me, right?

Yes, I'll go back, but I'll have to wait a few more days. I can't just leave like this, right? I'll talk to my boss and ask him to find someone to take over my work as soon as possible. To be honest, my boss has been pretty good to me.

We'll go home after he's made the arrangements.

Kenichi Uesugi: "Okay, it's settled then."

It was already past 10 o'clock after we finished our tea.

After checking the time, Lin Yi went outside and sprayed water into the sky with a dust cleaner.

Kenichi Uesugi, finding it amusing, went over to help operate it. After it was finished, he took a hot shower.

After washing up, I went to bed to prepare for sleep.

The place where they slept was Lin Yi's room, which had a cement floor and only one bed, which was made up of two single beds joined together.

Uesugi Kenichi felt restless no matter how he slept on it. He drifted in and out of sleep all night, vaguely sensing that Lin Yi had gotten up several times. ...

Around 8 a.m., Uesugi Kenichi was awakened by a commotion outside. He got up and looked around, only to find that Lin Yi was nowhere to be seen.

After getting out of bed and putting on his shoes, Uesugi Kenichi went outside. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Lin Yi standing on the open ground next to him, with several other people chatting and laughing together.

Chapter 357

Upon seeing Uesugi Kenichi, Lin Yi greeted him with a smile: "You're awake? There's a breakfast shop at the intersection outside. Let's grab something to eat."

Uesugi Kenichi acknowledged that he understood, then took the toothbrush Lin Yi had prepared and went to a tap to wash his face.

"Old Lin, is this your son?" someone next to Lin Yi asked.

"Yes, my son," Lin Yi said with a hint of pride.

Lin Yi was quite popular here. Within two hours, the news that his son had come to visit him had spread throughout the construction site.

When the auntie who cooked lunch found out, she specially cooked two extra dishes.

After dinner, Lin Yi talked with his boss for a while. After learning about his situation, the boss readily told Lin Yi that he could go back tomorrow and notified the finance department to settle his salary in advance.

In the afternoon, Uesugi Kenichi didn't go anywhere. He just took a stool and sat down next to Lin Yi, chatting with him every now and then.

I had already set up the scheduled chapter release at home before leaving yesterday. After checking my phone and seeing that all 11 chapters had been uploaded normally without any problems, I felt relieved.

The next morning, after having breakfast with Uesugi Kenichi, Lin Yi packed his luggage.

Actually, there wasn't much to pack. I folded up all the bedding and left it here. After some picking and choosing, I packed everything into a big backpack.

As Lin Yi boarded the bus, he kept gazing at the place. He had lived here for almost five years, and it was practically his second home.

He knew that this departure might be his last, and he couldn't help feeling a little reluctant to leave.

As the vehicle slowly drove away, Lin Yi's slight reluctance faded away. Compared to home, what was this place?

At 4:30 pm, the bus slowly came to a stop.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Uesugi Kenichi and Lin Yi both breathed a sigh of relief. After a day's journey, they had only had instant noodles for lunch to save time, and both of them were quite hungry.

On the way back, Lin Yi specifically instructed Uesugi Kenichi not to tell his mother that they were coming back today, wanting to give Zhao Wanrou a surprise.

Uesugi Kenichi couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking, "How old is he? Still playing these tricks."

When they arrived at the door, Lin Yi carefully took out his key and opened the door, with Uesugi Kenichi following quietly behind him.

After entering the room, he looked around and found no one home; Zhao Wanrou was not there.

Lin Yi sat down on the sofa, lying down like a lump of mud without any regard for his image, and said, "Call your mother and ask her where she is. Don't tell her I'm back too."

Kenichi Uesugi gave him an OK sign and sat down on the sofa.

I took out my phone and dialed the number; the call was answered quickly.

Hello, Mom, it's me.

"It's Xiaoyu. What's wrong? Do you miss your mom?" Zhao Wanrou smiled immediately when she heard it was Uesugi Kenichi.

From the voice on the other end of the phone, Kenichi Uesugi knew that his mother was currently promoting the quintessence of Chinese culture—playing mahjong.

Uesugi Kenichi silently mouthed to Lin Yi that she was playing mahjong.

Lin Yi also whispered, "Tell her to come back quickly."

Mom, where are you? I'm at home now, and I'm so hungry. Please come back and cook me some food.

"Oh? You're back! Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll be right back." Zhao Wanrou's voice also revealed a hint of surprise.

Uesugi Kenichi only went home once this year, in May, so it's no wonder Zhao Wanrou misses him so much.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Wanrou said, "I'm done after this round. My son is back."