Rumble~

The roar of the engines gradually stopped, and the planes from the north came to a steady stop on the long runway.

Asuka Kobayashi, who was wearing sunglasses, looked at the familiar scenery outside the window and was silent.

"Miss, we're here," a middle-aged woman who looked like an assistant next to her whispered in her ear.

Asuka Kobayashi nodded, then got up without saying a word and walked to the plane door.

The sun in Fukuoka is much more fierce than the sun in Hokkaido, and Asuka Kobayashi, who had just left the hatch, subconsciously raised her hand to cover her eyes.

It's just February, and the temperature here is almost 20 degrees. Compared to sub-zero in Hokkaido, there is a world of difference.

And she was still wearing a thick winter coat in the morning, but she had already changed into a thin coat at this time.

Feeling the stark difference between the two places, Asuka Kobayashi couldn't help but think of him who still stayed in Hokkaido.

Shirakawa-kun, solemnly.

The assistant next to "Miss" reminded him again that Asuka Kobayashi woke up from his memories.

"Let's go," she walked down the gangway first with her sunglasses.

On the side of the runway, there were several staff members in black suits, waiting quietly.

Kobayashi Asuka ignored them and sat in the middle of several black cars without saying a word.

Soon the personnel returned to the team, and the car slowly started and drove out of the airport.

Asuka Kobayashi, who was sitting in the car, turned her face sideways to the window and quietly watched everything on the street.

Outside, the streets of Fukuoka flash past the car window without leaving a trace.

Fukuoka has changed a lot, and every time I come here, I feel like I'm in a new place.

I think this is especially true for people who haven't seen Fukuoka for many years.

"Miyoko-san, let's go see my brother."

"Eh" The female assistant was slightly surprised.

However, she saw that Asuka Kobayashi's face was calm, and she was very interested in asking the driver to change lanes directly, instead of confirming it again.

Soon the car they were in gave a signal and turned into another lane, followed by several other cars.

Hirao Cemetery, near Chuo-ku, Fukuoka.

It is located halfway up a hill and overlooks the bustling neighborhood of Fukuoka City.

The park is full of cherry trees and other flowers and trees, and the environment is beautiful and quiet.

Although it is a spiritual garden, because of the good scenery, people often walk and jog here.

And the Kobayashi family has a hill of their own here as a family cemetery.

At this moment, Asuka Kobayashi gently put the bouquet in her hand in front of the tombstone, and the female assistant and other entourages behind her stood not far away without saying a word, quietly watching here.

Ignoring the people behind her, she squatted down and stretched out her hand to gently caress the young photo on the tombstone, looking sad.

"Brother, I'm coming to see you again."

The young man in the photo is handsome, he looks no more than twenty-two or three years old, and even his face is still a little similar to Kobayashi Asuka.

"Time flies, I'm about to graduate from college. No, I might say I've graduated.

In the past, graduation was the happiest day for me, because it meant that the holidays were coming.

I didn't have many friends at school, so I always looked forward to coming home from vacation and pestering my brother.

But..."Kobayashi Asuka's eyes gradually moistened, "Since my brother went to study abroad, the holidays are no longer as worth looking forward to as before." ”

Crackling, tears slid down the porcelain-white cheeks, drooped to the chin and dripped onto the bluestone platform in front of him, turning into a drop of wet marks.

"And now I say goodbye to the other most important person in my life, also in the graduation season."

On the sad cheeks, the tears are like pearls with broken threads, falling drop by drop, and then falling and shattering.

Until this time, the sadness in Kobayashi Asuka's heart could no longer be suppressed, and she buried her face in the crook of her arm and whimpered.

"I hate graduation season~" In a whimper, she no longer had the calmness and composure she had before.

It was only here that Asuka Kobayashi revealed the softest and most sensitive part of her heart.

In the quiet spiritual garden, the sun is shining, the flowers and plants are luxuriant, and the insects are chirping.

However, Kobayashi Asuka's mood was the opposite, and it took a while for her to raise her head and wipe her tears while lying on her stomach.

Finally, she glanced at the photo in front of the tombstone, and after putting on her sunglasses again, she returned to her calm and solemnity.

Sighing softly, Asuka Kobayashi turned around and left without looking back.

"Miss, where are you going now?"

"Coming Home"

…

Hokkaido, Otaru.

Shirakawa Kaede frowned and looked at the rather generous old man in front of him.

Also sitting on the mountain opposite him, he also carefully observed Shirakawa Kaede.

This is the first time the two have met, Shirakawa Kaede doesn't know Yamagami, but Yamagami has already known Shirakawa Kaede.

"Tatsuya Yamagami, from Fukuoka. Shirakawa-san, fortunately. ”

The mountain is not in a hurry to owe the debt, and the attitude is humble and polite.

"Kaede Shirakawa, I'm lucky."

It's this one, who just claimed outside the door that he had something to talk to about Asuka Kobayashi to talk to.

Without him asking, the mountain had already taken the lead.

"Miss has already returned to Fukuoka, so don't worry about Shirakawa-san."

Miss? Fukuoka?

As soon as the other party spoke, Shirakawa Kaede keenly captured two key words.

However, he did not rush to ask for information about Asuka Kobayashi, but asked patiently.

"How did Your Excellency prove your relationship with Asuka-chan?"

Yamagami smiled, he didn't feel offended by Shirakawa Kaede's vigilance.

On the contrary, he even had a little more appreciation, and sure enough, he was a well-known industrialist, who maintained enough sanity at all times.

"The letter that Miss left for Shirakawa-san, I think Your Excellency has already read it.

Regarding her departure, Miss may not explain it so clearly, so I'll talk to Shirakawa-san in detail. ”

Hearing this, Shirakawa Kaede finally believed that the person in front of him had a close connection with Asuka Kobayashi.

As for the letter she had left for herself, not even Sama knew about it in the room except himself.

And the other party can say this in one bite, and even insinuate, which shows that the "Miss" in his mouth is indeed Asuka Kobayashi.

At this time, the other party appeared here, either entrusted by the former, or with her acquiescence to have the current meeting.

"Where's Asuka-chan?" Since the identity of the other party was confirmed, Shirakawa Kaede also eagerly asked about the news about Kobayashi Asuka.

The other party left in a hurry, and Shirakawa Kaede was completely unprepared.

He had so much to say to her at the moment, and too many questions to get answers from her.

However, unlike Shirakawa Kaede's eagerness, Yamagami replied with a smile, "Fukuoka."

"You..."Shirakawa Kaede subconsciously wanted to stand up.

"Shirakawa-san is a little restless," Yamagami still looked at him unchanged, "Miss naturally has a forced reason to leave, please sit down and listen carefully." ”

Boy, you've taken advantage of enough cheap, don't be so aggressive.

The mountain is actually very aggrieved for his own young lady, and he likes a person, but he can't pay like this.

So in the face of Shirakawa Kaede, his mood is also quite complicated, some admiration and some complaints.

Shirakawa Kaede also seemed to realize that his attitude was a little inappropriate, and he took a deep breath and slowly sat down.

"So Yamagami-san, can you tell the contemptible about Asuka-chan now?"

Yamagami nodded with satisfaction, although he was occasionally impulsive, but young people could understand.

"About the Kobayashi family, I guess Shirakawa-san doesn't know a lot."

Shirakawa Kaede's eyes became a little serious, and the other party's first words attracted his attention.

Indeed, for Kobayashi Asuka's family background, even now he has some ignorance.

So far, he doesn't even know the specific address of Asuka Kobayashi in Fukuoka.

It's a pity that the other party is far away in Kyushu, too far away from Tokyo, and Shirakawa Kaede can't find out even if he wants to.

Many ancient neon families are not all prominent in the world.

Although some are not famous, their background is no worse than those chaebol families.

"Kobayashi used to be the name of a place in Nanbu Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, which was rich in mining and salt during the Edo period.

Countless traders lived because of them, but eventually some of them grew into giant merchants, ruling over the metal and salt mines there.

The Kobayashi family originated here, and at its peak, the towns there were renamed Kobayashi City.

However, after the Meiji Restoration, the change came, and in order to avoid suspicion, the place name of Kobayashi City was abandoned.

Because of the conflict of interests, the Kobayashi family gradually migrated north, until they settled in present-day Fukuoka.

However, because of the change, the Kobayashi family's industry began to shift from the traditional industry to the downstream processing industry.

For example, metal processing, chemical industry, rubber and other fields are all within the business scope of the Kobayashi family.

A quarter of the clubs in the Kitakyushu Industrial Belt are more or less connected to the Kobayashi family, such as Kanto Chemical, Idemitsu Shokai, and Kokura Steel.

This is the influence of the Kobayashi family in the field of traditional industry, but in recent years, with the development of the economy, the manufacturing and processing industry and the tertiary industry have also become the next areas to get involved.

These are roughly the industrial distribution of the Kobayashi family, and the specific business situation will not be introduced one by one. ”

Yamagami gave a rough introduction to Shirakawa Kaede about the general situation of the Kobayashi family from its origin to the present.

Although many areas are only roughly discussed, Shirakawa Kaede still feels the huge heritage of his family after hearing it.

He had thought that Asuka Kobayashi was from a wealthy businessman's family, but he didn't expect to be so rich.

Although her family is most likely, it only exists as a behind-the-scenes shareholder in these companies.

But to be able to lay out so many industries and develop so far, the energy behind it no longer needs to be thought about to know that it is amazing.

Kobayashi-san, it's really impressive.

In the process of getting along with her, Shirakawa Kaede didn't feel the gap in identity at all.

Even when he first entered Meiji University, the other party was a little coquettish at best, and it had nothing to do with the unruly lady or anything.

Kobayashi-san's gentleness and kindness are really engraved in his bones, and Shirakawa Kaede sighed again.

He raised his gaze and looked at the mountain opposite, with a sincere expression, "Then the mountain mulberry, what is the unspeakable hidden of Asuka-chan that needs to be said goodbye?" ”

(End of chapter)