Chapter 14: Past Life Remnants and Genius Son

“Spare me, please spare me…”

“Those were eight Silicon Valley Banks, sixteen million fraudulent accounts, and tens of billions of dollars gone missing!”

“If we didn’t do this, no one would let us live.”

“Beckett is already dead.”

“We didn’t deliberately betray you.”

“Spare me, I beg you…”

Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the last plea for mercy fell silent.
The young man, dressed in a wrinkled suit, with messy hair and a haggard face, held a handgun.
He stepped over the chaotic mess in the office, walked to the window, and sat on the broken windowsill, looking at the burning nightscape.
He was utterly alone.
Suddenly, the hand holding the gun began to tremble without warning.
Not knowing where to go, not knowing what to do, as if everything had become meaningless and utterly uninteresting…
Endless pain, confusion, and emptiness swept over him, almost tearing him apart, devouring him…
A long time passed.
He raised the gun to his temple, but his trembling hand made it almost impossible to aim.
Finally, he had no choice but to shove the gun into his mouth, biting down on it with his teeth…

Bang…
A soul abruptly plummeted into an endless, icy darkness.
Falling, falling, falling…

“Huu huuu huuu…”
Seiko suddenly woke up with a start, sitting upright.
The thin blanket slipped, revealing her naked, youthful, and beautiful body directly in the morning light.

“Had a nightmare?”
Saori, who had already woken up and was sitting by the bed watching TV, asked with concern.

“Mm…”
Seiko gradually regained her senses, rubbing her temples.
It had been a long time since she had such a clear dream about her past life.
She had thought she had forgotten everything, yet in the depths of her memory, such profound remnants still remained.
In her past life, after personally killing almost all the traitors, Seiko, unable to find a purpose in life and truly unable to conceive of any meaning in existence, chose to abandon herself to suicide.
However, Seiko had never imagined that the world after death would be so terrifying.
That dark, cold, and endlessly long world almost drove one to madness, but even madness was not an option.
Seiko’s soul seemed to float in that world in a fixed form.
Until one day, she accidentally touched a glimmer of light…
And then, Seiko was reborn as Seiko.
When she first reborn, Seiko truly wanted to just lie flat and be useless.
She didn’t want to struggle anymore, and she dared not commit suicide again… so what else was there to do but slack off?
Moreover, the Yakuza had good prospects for development in this era, so lying flat and being a wealthy young lady was actually a good option.
If it weren’t for Yamagami Akira being so incompetent, and the Yamagami family showing signs of collapse, Seiko wouldn’t have wanted to interfere with the Yamagami-gumi’s affairs.

“What are you watching?” Seiko asked languidly, leaning against Saori.

“Sukeban Deka,” Saori said.
Sukeban is a neologism from the Showa era. Broken down, it’s suke girl and ban  leader, which translates roughly to delinquent girl, tough girl, or gang leader.
Hence, the Hong Kong version of the TV series was translated as The Delinquent Detective, and the Taiwanese version as Flying Girl Detective.

“Is it good?”

“Not bad, quite interesting.”

“Hmm, is that Saito Yuki? She’s quite cute, isn’t she?”
As the lead actress appeared, Seiko’s eyes immediately lit up.
Sukeban Deka was Saito Yuki’s debut work.
At just nineteen years old, Saito Yuki was truly fresh and adorable.
Her image in the drama was both cool and delicately pitiful, and she became an overnight sensation after the show aired.
Saori looked at the TV, then at Seiko, and suddenly said seriously, “I object.”

“You object to what?” Seiko was puzzled.

“While I don’t mind you being unfaithful, but…” Saori bit her lip, clutching her chest, looking like a bullied young wife, “But, this kind of woman clearly looks like a fickle hussy, she might not even be a virgin anymore. This bad woman will definitely destroy our family, please…”

“You’re having another fit.”
Seiko’s forehead sported a black line as she deadpanned, speechless.
“I just think she’s cute; it’s not like I want to sleep with her.”

“Oh, so that’s it,” Saori laughed again, “It seems I misunderstood.”
Seiko rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with this one.
However, even though Saori was a bit of a wild card, her judgment was quite sharp.
Saito Yuki was indeed a woman prone to illicit affairs.
Not long after filming Sukeban Deka, Saito Yuki had an affair with actor Ken Watanabe (who was married); this matter was only exposed by Watanabe Ken’s wife decades later.
Later, Saito Yuki was again exposed by the media for an affair with Ozaki Yutaka (married).
After Ozaki Yutaka passed away, she had an affair with Kawasaki Mayo (married).
After she herself got married, she was photographed by paparazzi having an affair with her family doctor, who was also married.
‘Why does this person, who looks so cute, specifically like other people’s husbands?’
Seiko didn’t quite understand, only concluding that perhaps the term “married men” just particularly hit her sweet spot.

While Seiko and Saori were idly chatting about Saito Yuki.
Aiko, still in her nightgown, suddenly rubbed her eyes and pushed the door open: “Sister, the TV…”
Aiko didn’t finish her sentence, shocked by the scene before her.
She quickly covered her eyes and said, “Sister, Saori-neechan, why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
Seiko was startled, quickly pulling the blanket up to cover her chest, her gaze flicking to Saori: ‘Why wasn’t the door locked?’
Saori blinked, looking innocent and apologetic: ‘I forgot.’

“Sister?” Aiko said again.

“Well then…”
Seiko was still trying to think of a reasonable explanation for an elementary schooler, but Saori had already spoken.

“It’s because Saori and I are both girls,” Saori said with a smile.
Aiko’s small hands, covering her eyes, slightly parted her fingers, her eyes full of confusion: “We don’t need to wear clothes if we’re both girls?”

“No, not only do you have to be both girls, but you also have to be good friends. If you sleep together, you don’t need to wear clothes,” Saori explained in a serious tone.

“Mm…”

“It’s the same for boys. If they’re good friends, two boys sleeping together also don’t need to wear clothes,” Saori added.

“Mm!”
Aiko’s eyes widened, as if she had just discovered a new world.

“Alright, you can shut up now,” Seiko interrupted Saori’s nonsense, no longer prim, and calmly put down the blanket.
After all, her own sister seeing her breasts wasn’t a big deal; it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen them before.
“Aiko, why aren’t you at school?”

“It’s Saturday,” Aiko said, holding up six fingers in confusion.
“Oh…” Seiko massaged her forehead.
Ever since she started getting involved with the Yamagami-gumi’s affairs, she had lost track of the days of the week, as Yakuza don’t have weekends.
“So, is there something you needed me for?”
At this, Aiko’s eyes turned red again: “Sister, the TV says Matsuda Seiko-chan is getting married.”

“I’m getting married?” Seiko was startled. ‘It’s on the news? How come I don’t know?’

“Matsuda Seiko,” Saori reminded her.

“Oh…” Seiko realized.
Matsuda Seiko had indeed announced her marriage to Kanda Masaki.
Seiko wasn’t surprised at all.
However, what did surprise Seiko was that her own sister was apparently a fan of Matsuda Seiko.

“Why is Seiko-chan marrying that person?” Aiko’s voice was even choked up.

“I don’t know either…”
‘Although my name is also Seiko, how would I know why Matsuda Seiko fell for an old man more than ten years her senior?’
Seiko looked at her sister.
Aiko’s hair was messy, on the verge of tears, yet she was trying hard to hold them back, a lovable sight that, even though Seiko prided herself on being a hard-hearted tough guy, couldn’t help but move her.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.

“How about, Aiko, you go and ask her yourself?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“But, but how can I ask Seiko-chan?”

“Aiko can, like Seiko… Matsuda Seiko, try becoming an entertainer. That way, you’ll be able to meet Matsuda Seiko on TV shows, and even sit with her. Then you can personally ask her why she’s marrying Kanda Masaki,” Seiko coaxed, “How about it? Want to give it a try?”

“Can… can I?”

“Of course you can!”
Seiko answered with great certainty.
‘My own sister is crying so infectiously; how can such talent be wasted?’
Seiko had already decided to adapt the breakout work of a certain child prodigy actress.