The Woman I Was Flirting With Turned Out To Be A Chaebol Heiress - Chapter 5

Li Nianyi was walking along the long corridor of the Nishinomiya residence, feeling somewhat unreal. Although her generous salary alone already indicated that her employer was wealthy, she still found it hard to believe that the person who had hired her as a Chinese tutor was actually the heir of the Nishinomiya conglomerate.

The wealthy among the wealthy.

What kind of channel is this?

The Youngest Daughter of a Conglomerate Family?

In her quest for a new job, Li Nianyi had been widely sending out resumes on job sites for days, hoping to land any position.

Unexpectedly, the good news came so fast a tutoring job came knocking, paying far more than her previous three jobs combined, and requiring only four classes per week.

7,000 yen per hour, each session two hours long wasn’t this like a pie falling from the sky?

Li Nianyi did suspect it might be a scam, but after she accepted the job, the other party immediately transferred a month’s salary to her account.

Looking at the string of zeros in her bank statement, Li Nianyi seriously considered that she probably had no reason to be scammed, so she calmly accepted this “pie.”

When she saw the employer’s address was in an old and prestigious wealthy district of Tokyo, she felt even more assured. Living in such a place required asset evaluation; if the scammer had such assets, they wouldn’t be after her measly salary.

After entering the real wealthy district, Li Nianyi realized she had seriously underestimated how extravagant the rich could be. She had thought Jiang Ji’s large flat was impressive, but compared to her employer’s mansion, it was clear what “small fry” meant.

What kind of mansion is this?

This is clearly a castle!

Who moved Hogwarts here?

After composing herself, Li Nianyi pressed the doorbell.

Since she was here already, she was determined to pocket this salary, but upon seeing the family name on the doorplate, she was stunned.

Nishinomiya?

Which Nishinomiya?

The famous Nishinomiya group, one of Japan’s “Big Three” conglomerates?

Li Nianyi felt like the number of question marks in her head today outnumbered those she had while writing her thesis.

Just as she was overwhelmed with thoughts, the small screen on the door lit up, and a gentle female voice came through.

“You must be Miss Li Nianyi.”

“Yes.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Within minutes, the door automatically opened, revealing a competent woman dressed as a butler.

“Miss Li, please come with me.”

The butler slightly bowed and led Li Nianyi into the villa.

This woman’s looks matched her voice a warm and gentle presence like a flowing stream under the sun, making people feel unconsciously at ease. The wrinkles on her face seemed like gifts of time, not signs of fatigue but rather a trustworthy aura.

“Um… how should I address you?”

“I’m the Nishinomiya family butler. Just call me Ozawa.”

“Then I’ll call you Aunt Ozawa.”

Ozawa smiled warmly and agreed.

“So… the person who hired me as a Chinese tutor is…?”

“Nishinomiya Dai, the second young lady of the Nishinomiya family. She recently became very interested in Chinese culture, probably after watching some Chinese movies, and insists on learning Chinese…

But this kid, though impulsive, is surprisingly persistent she has to master every skill to the extreme before being satisfied.”

Ozawa’s soft laughter carried a teasing tone.

It was clear that although she was the butler, she was close to the family.

Following Ozawa, Li Nianyi passed through the long front yard lined with large patches of pale pink roses on both sides of the path. For a moment, she felt like she had stepped into a fairy tale.

They entered the grand hall resembling a castle, passed a European style marble spiral staircase, and went upstairs to the second floor. The corridor was long, and through the windows, one could see the garden views.

Such opulence made Li Nianyi feel oddly oppressed.

A fairy tale, but a dark fairy tale.

Ozawa led her to the door at the end of the corridor and gently knocked.

“Dai, Miss Li has arrived.”

“The door’s unlocked, let her in.”

A young woman’s voice came, objectively pleasant to hear. Though her tone wasn’t special, one could sense her boldness.

If Jiang Ji’s voice was like early spring’s reluctant melting snow seeming aloof but melting into water in your palm due to your warmth;

then this heiress was like a summer storm involuntarily making one feel she was dangerous.

Sigh, why did Li Nianyi suddenly think of Jiang Ji again? It must be because her meals were too delicious.

After Ozawa made a “please” gesture, she turned and left.

Wait, isn’t the newbie tutorial for this rich family’s story ending here?

Li Nianyi’s heart was pounding. She didn’t know if the wealthy heiress was easy to get along with or if she might be difficult or even humiliating. Should she endure humiliation to earn money or leave with dignity?

Thinking of this, Li Nianyi even admired her own vivid imagination.

She entered the room and left the door ajar.

“Hello, Teacher Li. Nice to meet you. I’m Nishinomiya Dai. I look forward to working with you.”

The smiling young girl appeared in Li Nianyi’s sight.

She looked like a high school student, still wearing a JK uniform, probably from some prestigious academy, just out of school.

Long straight black hair, straight bangs, and upward slanting cat like eyes.

Li Nianyi thought to herself:

So this is a Japanese JK?

Such a perfect embodiment of the two dimensional aesthetic, as if the heroine from a girls’ manga had stepped into reality.

No.

This description still wasn’t fitting enough.

Li Nianyi looked into the girl’s eyes and said, “Nice to meet you, my name is Li Nianyi.”

Dai looked more like a girl killer from a cult movie smiling sweetly but with a face covered in bl00d  or a sociopath in a suspense film.

This was the feeling Li Nianyi got belatedly from Dai’s smile.

“Well then, Teacher Li, please have a seat.”

She gracefully pulled open the chair beside her.

“Have you planned out my teaching schedule?”

Li Nianyi took a deep breath, pushing aside her chaotic thoughts, quickly switching into work mode.

With such high pay, she couldn’t afford to slack off. In today’s job market, without some unique competitive advantage, how could she stand out among the masses?

“Dai, may I call you that…? I heard from Aunt Ozawa that you’re interested in Chinese because of movies? If you want to improve your spoken language, we can start there…”

Li Nianyi had done some background research beforehand Dai’s interest in Chinese was for fun, not exams.

Therefore, her teaching didn’t have to be bound by rigid grammar or vocabulary rules. Starting from spoken language would also better stimulate the student’s curiosity.

She had to admit, Li Nianyi was a good teacher.

In other words, she was very perceptive, able to quickly gather information about others to understand them fast and interact within their comfort zones.

This was why many people found her easy to get along with.

Li Nianyi picked a relatively classic Chinese art film well known internationally.

Together with Dai, she watched the movie, carefully breaking down lines to explain Chinese grammar and habits, sometimes discussing hidden metaphors in the plot.

Two hours flew by, and Li Nianyi gave Dai a symbolic homework assignment: pick her favorite scene and do a Chinese voiceover.

She said, “Dai, you have a talent for languages.”

Li Nianyi smoothly complimented her financial sponsor.

The lesson passed quietly and uneventfully, nothing like the dramatic scenes she had imagined. The butler even served fruit and tea during class. It was the first time Li Nianyi worked in such comfort.

14,000 yen easily earned made her feel a little dizzy.

Just as she was packing to leave, Dai suddenly asked,

“Teacher, how do you say ‘I love you’ in Chinese?”

Li Nianyi’s brows twitched; she was caught off guard, then softly replied, “Wo ai ni.”

To help her student hear the pronunciation clearly, she slightly lengthened the three syllables.

Dai repeated the phrase in imperfect Chinese.

“Thank you, teacher, I’ll remember it.”

From her expression, Li Nianyi sensed something unusual in her feelings.

“You can say this to someone you love. If you don’t know how to express some feelings, maybe try another language.”

After leaving the Nishinomiya residence, Li Nianyi hurried back to school.

Her advisor was currently working on a project about adult attachment theory. Though not new, intimate relationships were a timeless human topic with many layers to explore.

Recently, her senior had completed thirty semi-structured interviews, only waiting for Li Nianyi to analyze the emotional expression patterns of the participants.

In the lab, the two quietly worked, occasionally chatting when the professor was away.

Li Nianyi remembered that her senior’s family was involved in business, so she casually asked:

“By the way, senior, do you know about the Nishinomiya group?”

“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“Just curious. You can tell me whatever you know; I’ll just listen like a story.”

“Nishinomiya… almost no Japanese person doesn’t know that name.”

“Is it really that powerful?”

“Of course. To be called a ‘conglomerate,’ a family must hold diversified businesses with enough financial power to influence politics…

For example, Nishinomiya’s businesses cover finance, trading companies, real estate… almost every aspect of ordinary people’s daily life.”

The senior got excited and spoke knowledgeably, making Li Nianyi feel impressed.

But then she suddenly changed tone.

“However, compared to other conglomerates, Nishinomiya has a rumor that might or might not be true.”

“Oh? What rumor?”

“It’s said  just said  that the current head of Nishinomiya group once had a scandalous past as the wife of a yakuza boss.”