Chapter 3: Live Broadcast

In the original owner’s memories, Hayami Rina had once had a happy and fulfilling family.

Her husband, Mr. Watanabe, was also a top graduate who worked at a financial company with a good salary. He could maintain a high standard of living for the whole family.

Hayami Rina was a full-time housewife, responsible for taking care of her husband and an adorable daughter.

Unfortunately, with the outbreak of the financial crisis, their happy life was shattered.

Mr. Watanabe lost his job, and the family faced a massive financial crisis.

On a dark and windy night, he leaped from the rooftop of a building and ended his own life.

Hayami Rina became a poor widow!

These memories were quite vague. The specifics were unknown, because the original owner was not the type to pry into others’ affairs.

Kitahara didn’t care much either. There would be plenty of opportunities to learn more in the future.

With his call, the system interface quickly popped up before his eyes:

"Detection complete. Hayami Rina is not currently in a state of marriage. She can be added as a girlfriend. Does the host confirm the addition?"

"Confirm!"

"Very well, addition complete. Your first girlfriend’s information is as follows:

Hayami Rina, age: 27.

Personality: Gentle, kind, understanding. Strong obedience, strong receptivity, highly tolerant.

Appearance: Above-average looks, perfect figure.

Favorability toward host: 58 points. (Spending money on her now will earn double cashback. Raising favorability to 60 points will make it triple cashback.)

Ultimate wish: To bear a son and a daughter, and become a full-time housewife.

Current mood: I’m glad Kitahara-kun is alright. That teriyaki chicken bento was so delicious. The convenience store job is so tiring..."

...

Hmm, good. Very good.

She was practically the perfect wife type, without any overly unrealistic ideals or pursuits. She only wanted to be a full-time housewife.

Kitahara greatly appreciated this kind of woman. Hayami Rina made him feel that "developing" her would be very easy.

Her understanding personality meant she wouldn’t throw petty tantrums and make unreasonable scenes like many women. Her emotions would be very stable.

This point was very important, as it related to the stability of favorability. It wouldn’t fluctuate wildly due to emotional issues.

Her ultimate wish was even more down-to-earth—so down-to-earth that it was almost excessively so. She was truly a woman who knew how to live.

Let it be stated here that Kitahara was absolutely not some lustful fiend, nor a scumbag, and certainly not someone with a special fetish for widows.

Hmm, he was absolutely not that kind of person.

He simply wanted to help this woman. She was just too pitiful, and he could incidentally earn a little money on the side.

After all, the original owner hadn’t left behind much wealth. He still had to live, didn’t he?

Just then, Kitahara noticed an icon in the bottom left corner of the interface labeled [Girlfriend Real-Time Status]. He clicked it with his mind, and the entire virtual screen immediately transformed into a scene inside a convenience store.

In the scene, Hayami Rina was wearing a convenience store apron and working. Sometimes she organized shelves, sometimes she helped customers understand products and select goods.

She was patient and meticulous, serious and responsible about her work.

A faint smile hung on her fair and beautiful face...

This... wasn’t this just a live broadcast?

Kitahara was dumbfounded!

Enjoying Hayami Rina’s live broadcast, Kitahara finished the bento box, drank all the milk, and finally was no longer hungry. He had a sense of satisfaction like surviving a disaster.

But at this moment his body was still powerless. He knew that at this time, he needed a good sleep to let his body recover.

Reluctantly turning off the live broadcast, Kitahara walked to the bedroom, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

"I’m really looking forward to the life ahead!"

"It’s just a pity that this transmigration was a soul transmigration, not a body transmigration. There’s no more Kitahara in this world. I am now Kitahara Chiki!"

...

At three o’clock in the afternoon, the former Kitahara, now Kitahara Chiki, got up from the bed.

At this point, he was finally no longer in the state of having his body drained. He was noticeably better.

Kitahara decided to go out and take a walk, to see Tokyo in this era. He was quite curious about this place. In his previous life, he had only seen it when scrolling through videos. He had never personally experienced how hot Tokyo could be!

But before that, he first organized the assets the original owner had left behind.

Speaking of it, the original owner’s background was quite tragic. He was an orphan with no parents, having grown up in an orphanage since childhood, which also led to his solitary and introverted personality.

He had published four works in total. Aside from the first one doing well, over the years it had earned him a total of 15 million yen in royalties.

The other three didn’t do well, adding up to only about three or four million yen.

Nearly 20 million yen in royalty income sounded like a lot. In reality... well, it was also quite a lot.

But the cost of living in Tokyo was too high. An ordinary bento cost over a thousand yen, and eating a nice meal at a restaurant could easily exceed ten thousand. Renting an apartment cost one or two hundred thousand per month.

So after several years of expenses, the original owner had only a mere less than one million yen left of these royalties.

This was also one of the reasons that led to his increased pressure and charcoal suicide.

Kitahara Chiki looked at the stack of bills in his hand, his heart calm as still water. It didn’t matter. Although there wasn’t much money—only a few tens of thousands of yen—having initial capital was better than having none.

Moreover, even now, the original owner’s first book from a few years ago still generated a steady stream of royalties flowing into his account. Although it was better than nothing, it could barely cover utility bills.

So next, it was time for him to turn small into big. He was going to buy something for Hayami Rina and test the system’s cashback function.

After changing into clean clothes, Kitahara came to the washbasin and examined this body in the mirror.

It was a thin and weak young man. His hair was somewhat long and messy. His features were the type that grew on you—sharp and defined, carrying a strong scholarly air.

He was just a bit too frail.

About 1.75 meters tall, and he felt like he weighed less than 65kg.

He gave off a fragile impression, lacking a sense of security.

It seemed he would need to eat more good food to nourish himself in the future, and try to keep a regular schedule. He needed to build up his body quickly.

Without a strong physique, how could one support a filthy soul?

Ah, phooey. I’m not filthy at all!

After tidying up his messy hair, Kitahara grabbed his keys, pushed the door open, and walked out of this rented apartment.

In the clean hallway, next door was Hayami Rina’s home. The door there was tightly closed at the moment. Kitahara glanced at it, smiled knowingly, and took the elevator downstairs.

Tokyo’s earliest elevator apartments began in the 1960s.

By the 1970s, elevators had basically become widespread in buildings over five stories tall.

The apartment building Kitahara rented in was built no more than ten years ago and belonged to the relatively upscale kind, so the rent was not cheap.