boyutpedia Chapter 36 Christmas Eve
Chapter 36 Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve in 1986, it did not snow in Tokyo.
Dry, cold air enveloped the Kanto Plain, resulting in exceptionally high visibility. From a high vantage point in the port area, the entire city resembled an overturned jewel box, with countless dazzling lights flowing across the horizon, converging into golden rivers.
The music in the disco in Roppongi was deafening.
In a high-end restaurant in Ginza, couples are cutting expensive steaks.
Even next to the vending machines by the roadside, several young people with flushed cheeks were drinking hot coffee and talking about their skiing plans for next year.
Noise, joy, restlessness.
This is the unique temperature of the eve of the bubble era.
But deep within Azabu-Juban, at the end of the slope called "Yamizaka," there was only deathly silence.
A black construction netting was strung along the towering wall, with a warning sign hanging on it that read "Saionji Construction - Entry Prohibited". Through the mesh of the netting, only the dark shadows of trees and the outline of a building wrapped in layers of scaffolding could be seen.
This was formerly the residence of Count Kyogoku.
The current codename is "The Club".
"Click."
The padlock on the side door was opened.
A beam of flashlight pierced the darkness, illuminating the scattered rubble and steel rebar on the ground.
"Father, watch your step."
Satsuki walked ahead, carrying a large flashlight. She was dressed very warmly today, her white down jacket making her look like a snowman, and she wore a pair of non-slip engineering boots.
"fine."
Shuichi followed behind, carrying a wicker picnic basket. With his other hand, he held onto the cement stairs that didn't yet have handrails, his leather shoes echoing hollowly on the dusty steps.
A complete renovation is underway here.
The rotten wooden floorboards had been completely removed, exposing the foundation. The load-bearing walls had been reinforced, and the originally narrow windows had been expanded into floor-to-ceiling frames. The air was filled with the smell of wet cement, sawdust, and a musty, musty odor—the peculiar smell of an old house, stubbornly clinging to the bricks and stones even after renovation.
"That madman Ando actually wants to tear the roof off the courtyard."
As Shuichi walked uphill, he looked up at the exposed steel beams overhead.
"He said he wanted to build a full glass dome so that moonlight could stream directly into the dance floor. That alone added 200 million to the budget."
"Let him do it."
Satsuki's voice echoed in the empty stairwell.
"If it weren't crazy, it wouldn't be the Rokumeikan we wanted."
The two climbed all the way to the third floor.
This was originally the room where the legendary "maid hanged herself," and it also has the best view in the entire building.
Now, that wall has been broken through, extending outwards into a huge semi-circular terrace.
The terrace wasn't paved with tiles yet, just a rough cement surface. The railings weren't installed either; just a few bare steel bars stood there, making it look somewhat dangerous and desolate.
But the scenery here is enough to take anyone's breath away.
Directly ahead, less than a kilometer away.
Tokyo Tower stands like a giant, burning orange candle against the night sky.
The steel frame structure of the tower is clearly visible under the lights, and the aviation obstruction lights at the top of the tower flash on and off, as if it is breathing.
It was so close, it felt like you could reach out and touch its scalding heat.
"call--"
A gust of cold wind blew by, stirring up cement dust on the ground.
Satsuki put down the flashlight and stood it upright on the ground. The beam of light shot straight into the night sky, like a lightsaber.
"This is fine."
She walked to the edge of the terrace, found an abandoned wooden table piled with blueprints, and casually wiped the dust off with a tissue.
Xiuyi walked over and placed the picnic basket on the table.
Open the basket lid.
Inside was a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne, a bottle of deep purple premium grape juice, two crystal tulip glasses wrapped in cotton cloth, and a box of roast chicken that was no longer steaming.
This is the Christmas feast for the head of the Saionji family on this night.
"Pop".
The cork was pulled out with a soft click.
White mist billowed from the bottle opening and then dissipated in the cold wind.
Shuichi poured a glass of champagne; the golden liquid swirled in the glass, delicate bubbles rising gently. Then, he poured Satsuki half a glass of grape juice.
"For 1986."
Xiu Yi raised his glass, his voice low.
"So that we could survive."
"Cheers."
Satsuki held the cup and gently touched the rim of her father's cup.
The crisp sound of glass colliding was particularly pleasant in this unfinished ruin.
Shuichi took a big gulp of alcohol. The cold liquid slid down his throat, bringing a spicy sensation that made him shiver, but then a warm feeling rose in his stomach.
He walked to the edge of the terrace, placed his hands on the cold steel bar, and looked at the flowing sea of light in the distance.
"Satsuki".
"Um?"
"Do you remember what we were doing this time last year?"
Satsuki sat on the wooden table, swinging her legs, looking at the juice in her glass.
"Remember."
She said it calmly.
"Back then, we were eating something similar to this box of cold roasted chicken we have now. Except back then, you were worried that the bank might come and seize our family's house next month."
"yes."
Shuichi gave a wry smile.
"Only one year."
He stretched out a hand and reached out into the void, as if trying to grasp the tail of time.
"Just one year."
"At that time, I felt like the sky was falling when I was 200 million yen in debt. I couldn't sleep at night, thinking about how to beg my relatives and how to sell my family property."
"And today..."
Xiu glanced back at the briefcase on the ground. It contained the copy of the land title she had acquired during her shopping spree a few days prior.
"Today, we hold 12 billion worth of land. We have a printing press in Ginza. We have a soon-to-be-completed money pit in Akasaka. We have hundreds of workers in Shanghai sewing clothes for us. We own Microsoft stock in the United States."
"We even have hundreds of millions of dollars in cash lying in our overseas accounts."
Shuichi's voice trembled slightly.
This isn't fear, but rather a feeling similar to dizziness. It's like someone who's been hiking a mountain trail is suddenly strapped to a rocket and launched into space.
weightlessness.
Extreme weightlessness.
Sometimes I wonder, is this really true?
Shuichi turned around and looked at his daughter sitting in the darkness.
"Could all of this have just been a dream I had on New Year's Eve? When I wake up, nothing has actually happened, and the Saionji family is still that empty shell on the verge of bankruptcy?"
"This is not a dream."
Satsuki jumped off the table.
She walked over to Shuichi and placed the juice glass in her hand on the concrete railing.
"If this were a dream, the wind wouldn't be this cold."
She stretched out her hand and pointed to the dark courtyard below.
"Father, do you think we can run fast?"
"Fast. Too fast," Shuichi answered honestly. "It's so fast that it feels like it's violating the laws of physics."
"No."
Satsuki shook her head.
The red light of the Tokyo Tower was reflected in her eyes, making her pupils appear to be burning.
"We're not fast enough; we can go even faster."
"You could even say we've only just finished warming up."
She turned around, her back to Tokyo Tower, and opened her arms as if to embrace the biting cold wind.
"Father, do you know what Uncle Kato meant by that 2.5% interest rate cut?"
Xiu Yi pondered for a moment: "It means lower capital costs, which means inflation."
"That's what the textbooks say."
Satsuki chuckled.
"In reality, that means... gravity has disappeared."
She kicked a small pebble on the ground. The pebble rolled and fell into the darkness below, the sound of it hitting the ground only heard after a long time.
"In the normal world, pigs cannot fly because of gravity."
"But next year."
Satsuki's voice softened, yet carried a chilling certainty.
"Next year, the central bank will turn off the gravity switch."
"By then, it won't matter if it's a gold brick or a pile of dog poop; it won't matter if it's a magnificent building or a piece of rubbish where you can only park bicycles."
"As long as it's an 'asset,' it will take off."
"The wind is coming, Father."
Satsuki looked at Shuichi, her eyes flashing with fanaticism.
"That's a wind that can blow pigs into the sky."
As Xiu Yi listened to his daughter's words, he looked at the buildings of varying heights in the distance.
In Satsuki's description, the heavy steel and concrete structures seemed to have truly lost their weight, swaying and floating in mid-air.
"And what about us?" Shuichi asked. "Are we pigs too?"
"No."
Satsuki leaned against the railing, gazing at the distant night view, her face still bearing a reserved and elegant smile. But the words she spoke were arrogant and domineering.
"We are dragons."
"A dragon that can summon wind and rain."
She turned her head and looked at Xiuichi.
"Pigs fly to die from a fall. But we..."
"We stand on the ground, with the net spread out, waiting for them to fall."
Looking at his daughter, Shuichi suddenly realized something.
Over the past year, all of Satsuki's plans—those scattered plots of land, those seemingly unrelated industries—have actually been part of weaving that net.
That net was big enough to catch all the wealth in Tokyo.
"I've seen Ando's design drawings."
Satsuki suddenly changed the subject.
"He dug a huge wine cellar under the courtyard. It is said to be able to store 20,000 bottles of red wine."
"Hmm." Xiu nodded. "He said it was to let the red wine 'sleep'."
"Next year, fill that wine cellar."
"Satsuki gave the order."
"Buy all the classified growths in Bordeaux. Lafite, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild. No matter the cost, buy them all."
"Why? We haven't opened yet..."
"Because after next year, the Japanese will have drunk all the red wine in the world." Satsuki shook the grape juice in her hand. "At that time, the price of a bottle of Lafite will be ten times what it is now. And even if you have the money, you won't be able to buy it."
That's "liquid gold".
"……good."
Shuichi had gotten used to no longer asking why.
He picked up the champagne bottle and refilled his glass.
"There's one more thing," Satsuki said, looking at Tokyo Tower. "Has the name been decided for this building in Azabu-Juban?"
"Not yet. For now, it's called 'Rokumeikan Showa,' but I think it's a bit too retro."
"Let's call it 'The Club'."
"Sugatsuki said."
"Simple, direct, arrogant."
"No prefix is needed. I want people in Tokyo to know that mentioning 'that club' means this place."
"The Club..."
Xiuichi kept repeating this name.
The English pronunciation sounds a bit stiff in the context of Japanese, but it does exude an air of unparalleled arrogance.
"Okay. Let's call it The Club."
Shuichi raised his glass, pointing it towards Tokyo Tower.
"A tribute to The Club."
"Respect the wind's edge."
Satsuki held up her juice.
"bite."
Let's clink glasses again.
Just then, a firework suddenly rose in the direction of Roppongi in the distance.
"Bang!"
Green fireworks exploded in the night sky, followed by red and gold. They were fireworks set off privately by a wealthy person to celebrate Christmas Eve.
The dazzling light illuminated the night sky and also the unfinished ruins.
In that fleeting flash of light, Shuichi saw his daughter's face.
That youthful face still carried a faint smile.
But her fervent and restless eyes betrayed her.
The fireworks quickly faded, and darkness enveloped everything once more.
...
"It's time to go back."
Xiu put down his wine glass, feeling the chill finally penetrate his coat.
"Fujita is still waiting in the car downstairs. It's too cold here, and you're still growing."
"Um."
Satsuki nodded obediently, jumped off the table, and picked up the flashlight.
"Let's go, Father."
She turned around, and the beam of light illuminated the path downstairs.
"This time next year, it will be warm like spring here."
"And it will be very noisy."
Shuichi picked up the picnic basket and followed behind his daughter.
"Quarrel?"
"That's the sound of gold coins clinking together."
Satsuki's voice came from below the stairs.
"Back then, the most powerful people in all of Tokyo would crowd here, begging us to take their money."
Xiu smiled and followed with light steps.
The two of them, one in front of the other, walked down the stairs that had no handrails yet, step by step, into the darkness.
On the terrace behind me, the bottle of champagne, still half-finished, stood quietly in the cold wind.
The golden liquid swayed gently in the bottle, reflecting the ever-burning Tokyo Tower.