Chapter 64: Teacher, Shura Field, and the 301 Investigation

In the living room, Miyazaki was chatting with Saori.

“What show do you want to watch? There’s nothing good on at noon, just soap operas…”

Miyazaki asked Saori as she turned on the TV.

Saori didn’t answer.
She suddenly reached out and wrapped her arm around Miyazaki’s waist, leaning her whole body against her.

“What are you doing? Don’t move around like that, it’s still broad daylight, mmm…”

Miyazaki raised her hand to push Saori away but was stopped by a slender finger pressing against her lips.

“Don’t move. I just want to smell the scent on you.”

Saori leaned against Miyazaki and said in a soft, voice.

“Huh?”

Miyazaki thought she had misheard.

“Hey, Yu-chan,” Saori took one of Miyazaki’s hands, their fingers intertwining.
“Seiko-chan seems to be very busy during the summer vacation and doesn’t have time.
Let’s go out and have fun together, just the two of us… to Tokyo, to see the sea…”

‘It’s over!’

Miyazaki’s head was buzzing.

‘Saori’s in love with me, isn’t she?’

‘Saori is definitely in love with me!’

‘But I’m dating Seiko!’

‘But, although Seiko is great, Saori is also very beautiful…’

‘What should I do?’

‘What should I do?’

“Don’t you remember me, Teacher Mika?”

Mika was stunned when she heard Seiko say this.

It had been eight or nine years since she was a painting teacher.
She really couldn’t remember all the students she had.

“You really don’t remember? I’m Yamagami Seiko from Urawa Elementary School.”

“Teacher, you said you’d marry me and be my wife when I grew up.”

“Don’t you remember at all?” Seiko laughed.

Mika finally had an impression and laughed as well.
“So it’s you.”

Mika had once substituted for a pregnant friend at Urawa Elementary School for half a semester.
The children in her class were about the same age as her own daughter, so Mika had paid extra attention.
At the time, she remembered a special little girl who always came and went alone and rarely played with her peers.
Mika also noticed that the child always bought some snacks from the school store for lunch and rarely brought a proper meal.
Out of concern, Mika had made an extra bento every day, brought it to school, and invited the child to eat with her at noon.

After a while, the two became familiar.

During that time, Mika was suddenly confessed to by a male teacher.
Mika’s health was not very good at the time, and she still had a daughter to raise, so she naturally refused the confession.

At that time, the child had said, “Marrying a pretty boy like that as a wife is worse than being my wife.”

Of course, Mika didn’t take such childish words seriously.
She had smiled and replied at the time:

“Okay, if you still like Teacher when you grow up, Teacher will marry you and be your wife.”

Time flies, and Mika was quite happy to see a former student again.
She wasn’t a successful teacher, not even a qualified one.
Suddenly seeing a student who still remembered her, she felt that her career wasn’t completely worthless after all.

In a pleasant mood, Mika felt even less of a need for Seiko’s help.

Arriving in the living room, Seiko saw the two of them leaning against each other at a glance.

“What… are you two doing?”

Hearing Seiko’s voice, Miyazaki jumped half a meter to the side and sat up straight.

Saori, suddenly without support, almost fell.

“N-nothing…”

There was a clear guilt in Miyazaki’s voice.

Seiko looked at Miyazaki suspiciously.
Saori, who had almost fallen, also cast a…

Miyazaki suddenly felt her scalp tingle.

‘Date? Date? Date?’

‘Is this the legendary field of carnage?’

‘What should I do?’

‘I have no idea!’

Miyazaki, whose mind was not very sharp to begin with, seemed to have smoke coming out of her head.

“I’m going to the restroom!”

The not-so-bright Miyazaki made an even less-bright choice.

As soon as Miyazaki left, Seiko’s gaze met Saori’s.

“What did you say to her?” Seiko asked.

“Nothing at all,” Saori said with an innocent face.
“I just said that the new shampoo she’s using smells nice, and that we could go out together during the summer vacation…”

“That’s already more than enough.”
Seiko couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s so boring for just the two of you to be dating.”
Saori also revealed a cunning smile.
“Adolescent love always has to have some bumps in the road.”

Mika made a sumptuous lunch.
It was a delicious meal handmade by her mother, something she hadn’t had in a long time, but Miyazaki felt that it was tasteless… because, whether it was intentional or not, she was sandwiched between Seiko and Saori.

If Seiko wanted to eat a certain dish, she would have Miyazaki get it for her.
After Miyazaki got the dish for Seiko, Saori would cast a resentful gaze, and Miyazaki would have to quickly get a dish for Saori as well.

After Saori scalded herself and had Miyazaki wipe the corner of her mouth, Seiko would stare at her intently, and Miyazaki would have to secretly touch Seiko’s thigh under the table to appease her.

Mika watched her daughter bustling about and just thought how wonderful the relationship between her daughter and her friends was.

However, little did she know, Miyazaki was on the verge of a mental breakdown…

‘Dating is so hard!’

Fortunately, a TV news report midway through the meal diverted Seiko’s attention, and at the same time, saved the almost-snapped Miyazaki.

“According to Section 301 of the Trade Act, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has decided to launch an investigation into unfair competition in our country’s semiconductor industry…”

The 301 investigation has begun!

The U.S. Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to initiate investigations into foreign “unreasonable or discriminatory” trade practices that harm U.S. commercial interests, and to force the other party to compromise through negotiations or unilateral sanctions.
This time, the USTR believed that the Japanese semiconductor industry had numerous problems, such as “setting up trade barriers,” restricting the import of U.S. goods, and dumping products at prices below cost.

Undoubtedly, this was a heavy blow to the Japanese semiconductor industry, causing it to stagnate for a long time to come.
But at the same time, this was the last time the United States would pressure the Japanese government before the “Plaza Accord.”

Since last year, the U.S. government had been using comprehensive trade sanctions and other means to pressure the Japanese government in one round after another, demanding that the yen appreciate and that Japan open its market.

The Japanese government had already made some compromises.
The yen had been appreciating slightly since last year, and various import restrictions within Japan were being lifted.

But, helplessly, compared to U.S. goods, Japanese goods were just of better quality and cheaper.
Even with the yen’s appreciation, many Japanese still didn’t like to consume American products.

The U.S. trade deficit continued to expand.

Thus, the White House decided to devalue the U.S. dollar against major currencies like the yen and the mark all at once, which led to the birth of the Plaza Accord.

In her previous life, the Plaza Accord was signed in September 1985.

And now it was July 1985.
By that calculation, the timeline didn’t seem to have changed much.

In other words, there was still a little over a month left…

Suddenly, the thought of making a quick buck grew stronger in Seiko’s mind.