After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

She was stupid. Truly.

She only knew she had transmigrated into a rich woman, but she didn’t know that even among the wealthy, there are levels.

One hour later—

After finally finishing a list of her expenses since transmigration at the base, Jin Chaoyan stared at the astronomical figures she had spent in just a few short months and fell into a deathly silence alone in her bedroom.

Then she took out her phone, searched through the background check Kawahira had done on the Jin family, and looked at the more than twenty real estate properties under the original host’s name (which were marked by area but had no valuations), along with some trust funds and wealth management manager info. She simply sent a message directly.

“Quick question: What is the estimated value of my personal assets?”

Kawahira: “?”

He didn’t seem to understand why Jin Chaoyan would ask such a question at this moment, but seeing as she was his Super VVVIP client, he provided a rare free answer:

“The total market value of all properties under your name is approximately 1.5 billion yen. The annual interest from trust funds is about 20 million yen, and the wealth management income for this year to date is 50 million yen.”

Jin Chaoyan, who had always thought her wealth came from a super genius stock-market manager: “…”

A mere 1.5 billion or so. Compared to the money she had spent, it was truly a drop in the ocean, a drop in the bucket, nothing more than that.

Seeing her stay in her room alone since she returned, Chinari felt she had fallen into a new bout of depression and couldn’t help but knock on the door. “Madam, Miss Miura and the others seem to be researching new recipes at the base next door. Would you like to go take a look?”

After a pause, she added, “Miss Chrome, whose health wasn’t very good before, is also with them.”

Jin Chaoyan was originally feeling quite listless, but upon hearing about Chrome’s condition and remembering the scene where she saved her—as well as that A-rank fake Mare Ring—she forced herself to pull her scattered thoughts together. She got up and replied, “Understood. I’ll head over right away.”

Vongola Base, B7 Floor. Large Dining Room.

When the automatic door opened, Haru turned her head. Seeing the newcomer, she ran happily to her side. “Chaoyan, you’re back too! That’s great. How is your health?”

“I’m much better, thank you for your concern, Haru.” Hearing Haru’s high-energy voice, the slightly depressed Jin Chaoyan felt a bit infected and smiled along. Then, she saw a cute girl standing by the cooking counter wearing a green school uniform and a special hairstyle looking her way.

However, the girl was quite shy. The moment their eyes met, she shrunk back into herself, like a mimosa plant closing its leaves at a touch.

“Chrome, Chaoyan, let me introduce you to each other—”

While Haru spoke enthusiastically between them, Chrome, who hadn’t been looking at anyone, suddenly remembered something and said very softly, “I know… you are the Cloud Guardian’s wife. They said it was you who brought me back from Kokuyo Land. Thank you.”

Jin Chaoyan smiled, took out the ring she had never given her from her pocket, and handed it over on her palm. “This is the trophy you dropped back then. It’s quite valuable in the world ten years later.”

Chrome glanced at the ring, then at her, but didn’t reach out to take it. Her gaze drifted uncomfortably left and right for a long time before she whispered:

“You… you picked it up, so it’s yours.”

Eh?

Before Jin Chaoyan could say anything more, the introverted, shy girl had already turned back around and resumed chopping vegetables on the counter, completely refusing to accept the ring.

Staring at her back, Jin Chaoyan was stunned for two seconds before smiling helplessly. “I understand.” She would give the ring back when she met the future Chrome, or convert it to cash and transfer the money.

“We are making rice balls. Do you want to join us, Chaoyan? By the way, why didn’t Chinari come with you?” Haru looked toward the door again, curious that her housekeeper friend hadn’t appeared after all this time.

“She’s helping me with something.”

Jin Chaoyan remembered commissioning Chinari to find someone to value the luxury goods she had previously purchased, which brought back the thought of her astronomical debt. A thick fog of gloom settled over her brow.

At this time, Kyoko, Bianchi, and I-Pin returned carrying ingredients just harvested from the vegetable base. After they all exchanged greetings, Haru continued her questioning, “Is it something very serious? You don’t seem to be in a very good mood today, Chaoyan.”

Chrome, who was quietly chopping vegetables, also paused slightly and peeked over.

“Well…” Jin Chaoyan tried to organize her words. “It’s probably the fact that I suddenly discovered I’ve incurred a massive debt and am currently trying to find a way to pay it back?”

Haru: “?” She froze for a second. “For Chaoyan to use the word ‘massive,’ exactly how much money is it?”

The others looked over with concern as well.

“Let’s assume I start working now with a monthly salary of 200,000 yen,” Jin Chaoyan gave a simple and apt example. “If I don’t eat, drink, or spend a single cent, it’s a figure I could pay off after working for five thousand years!”

Everyone: “…?”

Haru turned to stone on the spot, Chrome’s gaze went blank, Sasagawa Kyoko’s eyes widened, Bianchi was beyond surprised, and I-Pin murmured in Chinese, “The world of adults is so hard.”

They couldn’t imagine what kind of fortune that was.

As for Jin Chaoyan, because the debt figure was too large—completely exceeding her usual reaction capacity—she felt like her tear ducts had malfunctioned. In the face of such immense suffering, she couldn’t shed a single tear.

But it wasn’t all bad news. For example, in the currently gemstone-scarce Mafia world, besides the A-rank Rain attribute ring belonging to Chrome, she also had a Lightning attribute one. Even if it wasn’t the ultra-A-rank of a Mare Ring, its market price would be at least 2 billion yen.

However—the wool comes from the sheep. This gemstone was also a gift from the future Hibari. Thinking of this, Jin Chaoyan felt that what she owed… was truly a mess of a debt.

While the other girls were still immersed in the cruel reality of the adult world, Bianchi suddenly snapped out of it. Remembering her relationship with the future Hibari and his absolute authority over the wealthy Foundation, her expression shifted from surprise to something quite peculiar.

8:30 PM.

As Japanese cuisine beginners, Jin Chaoyan and Chrome followed Kyoko and Haru to learn how to mold rice balls. Then, Chinari, having finished her work, came over to join the happy meal at the Vongola base.

Yamamoto Takeshi’s father joined the girls’ cooking team in the latter half, preparing some simple nigiri sushi in addition to the rice balls. By the end, the dinner was so lavish the table could barely hold it all.

Lambo, who had been wandering around the outside base alone, rode in on his beloved tricycle. As he turned into the kitchen, his round eyes began to glow. He jumped directly from the tricycle onto the dining table in excitement:

“All of this! It all belongs to Lambo-sama!”

“Lambo, you can’t!” I-Pin jumped up to stop him.

As the two children ran around the table, the automatic door opened again. The boys walked in covered in strange bruises, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Onii-san, are you hurt again?” Kyoko immediately rushed to Sasagawa Ryohei’s side, asking worriedly.

“Just… fell off a bike,” Ryohei looked at her expression and had a sudden inspiration to keep up the bluff. “Just a bicycle!”

Haru believed him and went straight to Sawada Tsuna to tell them to be careful, only to be snapped at by Gokudera for being annoying. Yamamoto had to start playing peacemaker. Beside them stood a new boy who introduced himself as Basil, a subordinate of the Vongola External Advisor, Sawada Iemitsu.

“Bicycle?” Jin Chaoyan repeated with a mutter after greeting the newcomer. She began to guess exactly what kind of transportation they were learning that could beat them up like this. Just then, Reborn jumped down from Yamamoto’s shoulder and stood on the table, saying to her:

“I heard Hibari agreed to return to the base next door today—”

“Perfect. If you have time, you can bring him to see these modified transportation vehicles. They operate a bit differently from usual ones and are a good choice for mobility in Choice.”

Nearby, Kyoko put her index finger to her chin and tilted her head. “Choice?”

“The name of a new sumo tournament!” Sasagawa Ryohei replied without blinking.

Jin Chaoyan nodded to Reborn. “Alright, Mr. Reborn, I’ll remember to remind him.”

The conversations ended as people took their seats around the table. Aside from Giannini, Spanner, and Shoichi Irie, who were busy with research, Lal Mirch, who had been in the infirmary since returning from the Merone Base, and Dino and Hibari, who were training outside, the large dining room of the Vongola base was rarely this lively.

After dinner, Jin Chaoyan left Chinari behind to help clean the kitchen and returned to the B5 floor, heading toward the passage connecting to the Hibari base. As she swiped her palm print and stepped onto the high-quality wooden hallway, she saw Tetsuya Kusakabe exiting the main hall.

“…Has he already come back?” she asked, pointing toward the hall.

“Yes,” Kusakabe replied, a blade of grass in his mouth, as he nodded respectfully. “Mr. Dino and Romario have also arrived at the Vongola base next door.”

“Oh no.” Jin Chaoyan lightly hammered her right palm with her left fist. “The door to my room still hasn’t been fixed. Are you free now, Mr. Kusakabe? About how long would it take to fix that bedroom door?”

With her mind previously occupied by counting debts, she had even forgotten that the Chairman was coming back tonight and hadn’t moved her tatami bed over yet.

“What door?”

The youth with the old black school uniform draped over his shoulders emerged from the hall at some point. His jacket was illuminated by the candlelight inside the hall, plated in a soft, warm hue. As he turned to look, half of his face was covered by the soft light. Even though his skin tone remained cold, his grey-blue eyes were brighter than usual.

Kusakabe: “…” He bit down on the grass root, looking at these two people who were completely oblivious to the future Kyo-san’s intentions, feeling a rare pang of guilt for aiding and abetting.

But before he could think of a suitable explanation for Jin Chaoyan, the woman had already walked forward and said naturally, “Nothing, it’s just that my bedroom door is broken and seems hard to fix. And Mr. Kusakabe has been very busy lately, and Mr. Giannini, who is good at this, is currently preoccupied with Vongola affairs…”

She felt something was off mid-sentence. Sensing a presence following her, she turned around only to realize the youth had followed her all the way from the hall.

Jin Chaoyan: “?”

Stopping at her room door, she asked in confusion, “Is there… something you need?”

Hibari Kyoya also stopped. He glanced casually to the side at the half-screen door painted with ink-wash plum blossoms lying on the floor. After a moment, he raised an eyebrow in surprise:

“This is the door that’s broken?”

“Ah, yes…” Jin Chaoyan nodded instinctively, thinking perhaps such a door was expensive or difficult to repair. She raised her hand to rub her nose, wanting to explain that it was the result of Gokudera’s Box Weapon scaring her earlier, but she had just opened her lips when—

Thud.

The youth casually flipped the screen door up with the tip of his toe. With a simple wave of his hand, his tonfa flashed a cold light in the air, the tip tapping the edge of the door’s top. When it settled, it had snapped perfectly and normally into the tracks of the sliding door.

The whole process took less than three seconds.

Jin Chaoyan: “?”

She stared blankly. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be shocked that the Hibari Kyoya of ten years ago had helped her fix a door, or that the door was apparently not as complicated to fix as she had imagined.

The youth, having settled the matter, seemed to think of something. A half-smile appeared in his grey-blue eyes as he looked toward Kusakabe. The dazed Jin Chaoyan was naturally drawn by his movement and looked at Kusakabe along with him.

Kusakabe: “…”

Don’t look at me! This was all requested by the Kyo-san of ten years later, I’m innocent!

His survival instincts as a long-time employee were triggered. Kusakabe, also an expert in the art of “bluffing,” began to clap. Amidst the forceful applause, he exclaimed with deep emotion, “Kyo-san is truly amazing! A door that gave me so much trouble was fixed by you so easily!”

Jin Chaoyan immediately believed him and joined in with “little seal” clapping:

“Truly…” “You’re amazing.”

Hibari Kyoya: “…”

He remained silent for a long time, gave a huff, and curled his lips, too lazy to expose Kusakabe’s nonsense.

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