Sunday, December 20, light snow.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, when Li Guangzhi came out of Kabukicho Street, small snow particles like salt foam had already drifted in the sky.

He stopped under a fish-shaped sign at the entrance to Ichiban Street and looked up to feel the intensity of the snow particles swept by the wind hitting his face. After hesitating for a moment, I dispelled the idea of going back to get the umbrella. He just put up the collar of the "London Fog" brand rainproof windbreaker he was wearing outside, and then lowered his head and walked along Yasukunuk-dori Street in the direction of Isetan Department Store.

In the past ten days since the opening of the case, because the business of the store is too good, and many things need him to make the final decision. Therefore, his range of activities during this period was almost limited to Kabukicho Street, and he hadn't been outside for a long time.

Along the way, he noticed that the music coming from the shops he passed by was almost all "JingleBells" and "WeWishYouAMerryChristmas". Only then did he realize that Christmas was coming.

Christmas is arguably one of the most important foreign festivals in Japan. Businesses of all sizes in Tokyo's business districts will start to make a fuss about Christmas half a month to 20 days in advance.

Today is the 20th, and there are only a few days left until Christmas Eve, which is the time when the festival atmosphere is at its strongest in the streets of Tokyo.

On Yasukunuk-dori Street, there are more decorations such as ribbons, bells, and pine branches in the doors of shops on both sides of the street, and small Christmas trees full of colorful lights and gift boxes are placed in the windows of some shops. Most commonly, the windows and door glass of almost every store are sprayed with white self-spray paint with the word "MerryChristmas" in the shape of snowflakes.

When he walked to Isetan Department Store, he saw a Christmas tree at least five meters high erected in the square in front of the store, and next to it was a huge cartoon suede boot with a cuff filled with a colorful gift box.

Next to the giant Christmas tree, there are many department store employees dressed in red Santa Claus costumes, handing out leaflets to passers-by. As Li Guangzhi passed by, a young female clerk stopped in front of him and bowed, then handed him a leaflet.

When he took the leaflet, he took advantage of the situation to look at the young woman "Santa Claus" who did not have a white beard. Her little red skirt with a furry white rim and two stockinged thighs peeking out underneath made her look less like Santa Claus and more like a bunny girl in some kind of bar.

Japanese businesses like to use women to attract the public's attention, and it is already a very common means in this era. Even a major store like Isetan Department Store is not exempt from this.

As he walked towards the main entrance of the Isetan Department Store, he casually glanced at the leaflet he had just received.

On this leaflet, except for some colorful product photos and brand logos, the rest are all bold black characters framed with explosion symbols commonly used in comics, "5 cut introduction にする (5% discount)", "40% off", "SALE" to make people like to take advantage of the careful thinking of making a little bit of a profit.

Even Li Guangzhi was attracted by the discount information on this, because he had come here to buy gifts today.

Today is the day when Yami participates in the semi-final of the English Speech Contest.

At the beginning of December, he was entangled in the preparations for opening the store, and he couldn't go to Yami's preliminary competition to cheer her on, and he had already made the girl mutter to him on the phone several times. This time, Masami called him three days in advance and asked him to watch her rematch anyway.

And, since the time of the rematch is scheduled in the afternoon. The girl said that at noon, she and her mother would officially invite Li Guangzhi to a high-end restaurant to eat together to express their gratitude for tutoring Yamei English before.

He is now running to Isetan Department Store to prepare a gift for Masami that will surprise her. If you win the rematch in the afternoon, you can use it to congratulate. If you are unfortunate enough to not get the first place, having such a small surprise as a comfort can also keep the girl from being too depressed.

The last time Isetan Department Store came with Masami, he was a little impressed. He searched the shopping guide on the escalator on the first floor and found that the Chanel and Burberry stores he was going to were located on the third floor.

Chanel, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton, these three brands are considered to be the international luxury brands that are tied for the first place in the minds of Japanese women. If he wants to surprise Yami, the gifts he prepares are naturally best chosen from these three major brands.

Although the prices of these brands are expensive, Li Guangzhi is not the poor man he was when he first came to Tokyo. Sun Dayong and Li Xiaomu are grateful for his generosity in the distribution of shares, and have long promised that all the first month's income in the store will go to him.

These days, the commission income settled from the contracted store, except for some daily necessary expenses, the rest is basically handed over to him. Now he has nearly 8 million yen in his bank account. Buying something like a donkey-branded leather bag or a Chanel suit is no problem for him now.

In his previous life, Li Guangzhi's income, he had never been to the stores of these brands. When I go shopping with my wife, I occasionally pass by, that is, I look outside the door a few times to see what is new. Now that he has money in his pocket, the first time he walked into such a place, although he couldn't talk about the nervousness, but the excitement that his curiosity was finally satisfied, there was still a little bit of excitement after all.

Perhaps due to the current economic downturn, even on Sundays during the Christmas season, there are only seven or eight customers scattered in the spacious 80-square-meter store of the Chanel store, which seems very deserted.

When Li Guangzhi walked into the store, a young female clerk with exquisite makeup and dress hurriedly greeted him. Probably because he was a young man, the female clerk took the initiative to ask, "Do you want to prepare a Christmas gift for a female friend?" Do you need to introduce you to a few new products that have just been launched and are very popular with women? ”

Li Guangzhi basically doesn't know much about the luxury goods of these fashion brands. He looked around the store for a week, but he didn't see anything suitable for Masami as a gift. The only thing that made his eyes stop for a moment was a champagne-colored backless evening gown worn on the model.

He imagined in his mind what it would be like if Masami, who had long hair like satin and skin like snow, would look like in this evening dress. The image in his mind actually made his heart beat a little faster.

It's a pity that if something like an evening dress is used as a gift, the meaning represented is a little too intimate, and today's occasion is with Yami's mother. So he had to shake his head, let the image in his mind dissipate, and dispel the idea of giving this as a gift.

Eventually, on the recommendation of the female clerk, he bought a vintage women's handbag, which was discounted for 160,000 yen. The sheepskin bag feels quite comfortable to the touch, but the black leather strap with the golden chain in the middle always gives him the feeling of a man with a gold chain.

However, the female clerk repeatedly strongly recommended that it be the most popular style among young women in Tokyo. Li Guangzhi, who didn't have much research on these things, had no choice but to accept the advice of the female clerk when he couldn't find any better alternative.

After coming out of Chanel's store, he turned into the Burberry store not far away. Today is the first time I have met Maami's mother, and although it is not an official visit, it is etiquette to prepare a gift for her.

In Burberry's shop, he didn't hesitate to choose a camel-colored cashmere scarf made up of red, black and white lines. For no other reason, Burberry's classic style has been popular until 20 years later. Even Li Guangzhi, who had no research on fashion brands in his previous life, could recognize at a glance which brand this plaid pattern belonged to.

This classic style is naturally perfect for women of Yami's mother's age.

After paying the bill, after the clerk wrapped the scarf in soft paper, he walked out with two shopping bags. Masami had made an appointment with him at half past eleven o'clock in the afternoon, and he had just looked at his watch, and it was almost 10:40 now.

Li Guangzhi's current height, among the Japanese in this era, can give people a feeling of standing out from the crowd. At this time, he was wearing a suit and leather shoes, wearing a neat trench coat outside, and walking in the department store with two big-name shopping bags of women's brands in his hands, which attracted the attention of many women shopping.

Under the eyes of many women, he walked out of the Isetan department store feeling good all the way, and was blown by the cold wind outside, and then suddenly thought of a question.

The gift I prepared for Masami was intended to be a surprise after her speech contest. If you just carry two shopping bags to meet her so grandly, what other surprises can there be?

Thinking of this, he had to quickly find a convenience store on the road, went in and asked the clerk for a big black plastic bag to pack the Chanel paper bag, and then continued to walk in the direction of Yasukuni Street.

The restaurant they set for them is in a five-star hotel called Tsubaki Villa. Li Guangzhi has not been to this hotel, but he knows that it is near Edogawa Park.

Now that he has money in his pocket, although he knows the approximate route, he is too lazy to toss first the subway and then the bus, and there is not a lot of time left, so he naturally chose to reach out and stop the taxi.

It's Sunday, it's Christmas again, and the road conditions in Tokyo are terrible. On National Highway 20 and Shinmejiro Street, which you pass along the way, the traffic is very slow. Li Guangzhi sat in the taxi and anxiously kept looking at his watch, but the taxi was still moving forward in the traffic at a speed of less than 20 kilometers per hour.

It was easy to get through the Edogawa Bridge, and the road was finally smooth. But by the time Li Guangzhi got off the bus outside the lobby of the Chunshanzhuang Hotel, it was already past 11:50.

As soon as he walked into the revolving door of the hotel lobby, Maami, who had been waiting in the rest area for a long time, trotted over.

The girl stood in front of him with an angry expression, her cheeks puffed out and her eyes wide and she glared at him angrily, but she did not speak. Seeing this, Li Guangzhi hurriedly lowered his head and said with a smile: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Masami-chan, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect the traffic on the road to be stuck like this. ”

Yami pouted and continued to stare at him for a while, before she spoke: "Brother Guangzhi, you just didn't take your agreement with me to heart at all!" Today is a banquet specially arranged by my mother to express her gratitude, and you, as a guest, are so late. Mother will definitely think that Brother Guangzhi, you don't understand common sense, you are an unreliable person! ”

"Common sense" here refers specifically to some customs and common rules in Japanese society. It's hard to explain the word in a sentence or two. However, in Japanese society, if a person does not know common sense or "does not know anything", then this is a very serious accusation. It's like saying, "You can't survive in this society at all."

Li Guangzhi didn't mention how long she had been waiting when he saw Yami, but was simply worried that he would leave a bad impression on his mother. Moved in his heart, he said to the girl very sincerely: "Yami, don't worry, I will definitely apologize to my aunt later, and I will definitely try to win her understanding!" ”

Hearing this, Yami glanced at him helplessly, and said sullenly: "Okay, let's go to the restaurant quickly, my mother is still sitting there alone waiting for us." ”