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In Japan, there is a profession known as geisha—something like the ancient courtesans who sold their art but not their bodies.
To ordinary people it seems refined and classy, but in the eyes of the truly powerful, whether it's selling art or selling the body makes little difference.
There's a classic line from the movie Hail the Judge:
"I played with her and didn't pay—so it doesn't count as buying, right?"
Yuriko Takagi's mother had once been exactly that kind of geisha.
Thirty years ago, on the day she first stepped onto the stage, she met Saya's grandfather—a former military officer from a certain Japanese unit.
Man of wealth, woman of beauty. They met like golden wind meeting jade dew.
Perhaps condoms weren't widespread back then, or perhaps they simply didn't use any.
The very next day, Yuriko's mother discovered she was pregnant. It was both unexpected and perfectly inevitable.
But Saya's grandfather already had a family and a son at the time.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting her give birth to a child of uncertain origin. He simply gave her a sum of money and sent her away.
Yet Yuriko's mother—whether because she dreamed of using the child to enter the Takagi family through "mother by virtue of son," or simply because pregnancy had awakened overwhelming maternal instinct—ultimately chose not to abort. Instead, she secretly gave birth to Yuriko and raised her alone.
Although the Takagi family eventually learned of Yuriko's existence, perhaps because she was a daughter, they didn't make things too difficult for the mother and daughter. They even sent a regular sum of child support every so often.
Beyond that, there was almost no contact between them.
This continued until Yuriko graduated from university.
She had studied finance at a prestigious American university.
Whether due to extraordinary talent or an almost supernatural sense for financial investment, during her Wall Street internship she displayed shocking ability in a major financial event and shot to fame overnight.
After that, Yuriko rose like a rocket and quickly became the most dazzling female powerhouse on Wall Street.
It was right at the peak of her career that she met Sōichirō Takagi—Saya's father—who had come to the United States on business.
Sōichirō was completely stunned by her. He admired her ability and also had the private thought of finding a stepmother for his daughter.
He immediately began pursuing her.
But at that time Yuriko was in her prime, deeply immersed in the financial world she loved, stirring storms across Wall Street.
How could she possibly accept someone's pursuit and abandon her beloved career to become a good wife and mother?
Especially a stepmother?
So of course she gave Sōichirō the cold shoulder.
Though disappointed, Sōichirō didn't act like a clown or do anything untoward.
Later, after returning home and taking over the family business, he suddenly noticed that the Takagi family had a fixed annual expenditure sent to the same account every year.
Curious, he investigated further—and discovered that Yuriko was actually his half-sister from the same father.
Overjoyed, he then sought out Yuriko's mother.
No one knows what agreement he reached with her, but he successfully convinced her to persuade Yuriko to abandon her American career and join the Takagi family to assist him.
Sōichirō succeeded.
Although Yuriko was unwilling at the time, she couldn't ignore the debt she owed her mother—who had raised her alone—and the long years of child support the Takagi family had provided. On top of that, it was exactly during the financial crisis.
With no other choice, she retired at her peak and entered the Takagi family.
As for why she ultimately became Saya's mother?
It had nothing to do with anything sordid between her and Sōichirō.
Even if Sōichirō had no shame, she still had hers.
Everything stemmed from one beautiful misunderstanding.
When Saya was born, her biological mother died from complications during childbirth.
As the father, Sōichirō did what most single parents do.
He lied!
He kept telling little Saya that her mother had gone to a very faraway place.
As time passed and Saya grew up, never having seen her mother, she gradually began to question her father's story.
It was at that exact moment that Yuriko entered the Takagi family.
With just one glance, Saya recognized her as her mother and threw herself into her arms.
And Yuriko—perhaps seeing her own childhood self in the girl, remembering how hard it had been to grow up in a single-parent home—felt a surge of compassion and didn't reject the title Saya gave her.
Thus, a wonderful misunderstanding was born.
If nothing unexpected happened, this misunderstanding might have continued forever.
But of course, the unexpected happened.
Shuya appeared!
Before today, Yuriko had only known of Shuya through Saya's stories.
Thanks to her past as a Wall Street powerhouse, she had easily deduced that the reason his history grades were so poor—keeping him at only second place in the grade—was most likely because of his Tokyo University background.
A genius with his own ironclad principles.
That had been her impression of him before they met.
Until today, when she finally saw him in person.
She was instantly stunned.
As everyone in the investment world knows, the real rule is: you don't invest in the project—you invest in the person.
The moment Yuriko laid eyes on Shuya, she knew with absolute certainty that he was the single most valuable investment opportunity she had ever seen in her entire life.
It was like a transmigrator arriving in the Qin Dynasty and suddenly meeting the young First Emperor.
She couldn't suppress the burning investment desire in her heart.
As for the Takagi family?
Her mother had passed away several years ago. After everything she had done to expand the family's influence until they were a major force in Bedmaster City, she felt the debt of gratitude had long been repaid.
More importantly, the terrifying zombie crisis had erupted in Bedmaster City today without the slightest warning.
From her investor's eye—trained to see the tsunami from a single ripple—this meant either Japan was finished, or Bedmaster City was finished.
Either outcome pointed to the same conclusion: the Takagi family was doomed.
If Shuya had shown any interest in Saya, there might still have been a chance to salvage things.
But unfortunately, when she mentioned Saya, he rejected her outright because of the Takagi family's political leanings.
Therefore, for her, only one choice remained.
She would bet her entire life on the best investment she had ever seen.
Shuya!
The story ended.
Yuriko looked at him, blinked playfully, and said with a smile:
"So, Shuya-kun… what do you think? Are you interested in accepting big sister's investment?"