In the latter half of 1999, Japan's economy still showed no signs of recovery, and society was blanketed in a dead atmosphere.

Relatively speaking, the people of Hokkaido, thanks to Xiu Xin's meticulous efforts to win their hearts, were living fairly well, but starting from the second half of the year, there was a constant feeling of a chilling atmosphere in the air.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly where this feeling originated from.

It was only when they happened to see the soldiers whose training had noticeably increased that they suddenly realized the reason.

In October, Xiu Xin, along with his sister-in-law, his seven-year-old son Aoyama Tianze, and five-year-old son Hironari Aoyama, made a trip back to Tokyo to celebrate his elder brother Aoyama Sosuke's birthday.

After arriving home in Tokyo, when Asai Ayumi finished work, the family of five took a car to Aoyama Sosuke's house.

Opening the door for them was sister-in-law Ashida Kazuko.

"Sister-in-law, sorry for the intrusion."

Asai Ayumi greeted with a smile and a slight bow.

"Welcome." Ashida Kazuko replied warmly.

Dressed identically, Aoyama Tianze and Hironari Aoyama obediently bowed and greeted, "Hello, Auntie."

"Tianze and Hironari, come in and play with your brother," Ashida Kazuko bent down, patted their heads, and stepped aside, slightly bowing to Xiu Xin, "Please come in, Sosuke is in the study."

Xiu Xin nodded and began changing his shoes.

"Second Uncle!" As he entered the living room, a young boy about ten years old ran down from upstairs, throwing himself into his arms, "I missed you so much, Second Uncle."

"Did you miss me or the gifts I brought you?" Xiu Xin exposed him.

Aoyama Sosuke appeared at the corner of the stairs, "Definitely the gifts you brought him."

"No way! I missed my Second Uncle," Sosuke's son argued back then added, "Of course, having gifts is even better."

"Ask your Aunt," Xiu Xin patted his face and nodded in greeting to Aoyama Sosuke.

Aoyama Sosuke understood and the two went out to the backyard lawn, where he handed over a cigarette.

Xiu Xin took it, lit it, and began to smoke.

"Prime Minister Yan Chuan is done for; he has been hospitalized twice this month and is likely to officially announce his resignation soon." Aoyama Sosuke spoke of recent events, expressing worry, "You and Xiao Quanyi don't get along, and he's about to take power."

"Big brother, don't worry, I will pull him down," Xiu Xin smiled slightly.

Aoyama Sosuke blinked, "What leverage do you have against him? When do you plan to release it?"

"None," Xiu Xin shook his head.

Aoyama Sosuke was puzzled, "Then how will you pull him down?"

"Like this, reach out, grab his collar, and pull him down," Xiu Xin gestured.

Aoyama Sosuke's face darkened, he took two furious puffs and said irritably, "When the time comes, and he assumes power, it won't be good for you, or for me. Don't expect Prime Minister Yan Chuan to protect you; as soon as he steps down, Xiao Quanyi's position changes completely."

"I'm not joking," Xiu Xin seriously emphasized, staring intently at him.

Aoyama Sosuke stared at him for a while, seeing that he wasn't joking, becoming even more perplexed.

"Xiu Xin, what do you mean by this?"

Xiu Xin turned his head, looking into the distance, slowly exhaling smoke, "Big brother, there's something I haven't told you, afraid it might affect your state, but as the days draw near, I feel it's necessary to give you a psychological preparation. After all, siblings fight side by side, we are brothers, and we must always advance and retreat together."

"What are you trying to say? What are you hiding from me?" Aoyama Sosuke felt uneasy.

Xiu Xin turned his head to him, smiled faintly, and said, "Do you know who was most instrumental in finalizing the year-end US-Japan joint military exercise?"

"Of course, it's Xiao Quanyi." Aoyama Sosuke answered without hesitation, scoffing, "He wants to celebrate his election with this military exercise and boost the public morale, having tirelessly worked the Americans for this cause."

"It was me," Xiu Xin answered, pointing to himself with his thumb, "I was the one who first proposed and strongly facilitated this joint military exercise."

"Why?" Aoyama Sosuke was bewildered.

Xiu Xin candidly replied, "Because I want to transfer all the troops to Kyushu; because I want the Hokkaido troops to have a legitimate reason to move toward Tokyo; because I intend to initiate a coup!"

"What!" Aoyama Sosuke was thunderstruck, his mind exploded, his heart pounding as he looked around before growling softly, "Are you out of your mind? It took so much for our Aoyama family to reach where we are today…"

If the word 'coup' came from someone else's mouth, he would suspect it as a joke, but from his audacious brother's mouth, it only sent chills down his spine.

"Are you satisfied then?" Xiu Xin interrupted him and said, "Our Aoyama family deserves a higher status, and I have been planning this for several years now; now the arrow is on the string, and has no choice but to shoot, it's too late for me to stop now."

Aoyama Sosuke's chest heaved, staring at Xiu Xin in silence for a long time, before finally gritting his teeth and asking, "What can I do for you?"

"You don't need to do much, on the night of the action, I need you to find a reason to invite all the Cabinet Ministers for a gathering and leave the position for me," Xiu Xin said indifferently.

Aoyama Sosuke exhaled breath and nodded slightly, his hand holding the cigarette trembling, wanting to take a puff to calm his heart, but somehow it just couldn't reach his mouth.

"Big brother, relax, we went from having nothing to having everything, even if we fail, it's just going to jail, nothing to fear."

Xiu Xin cheerfully comforted.

"Shut up! Can't you say anything positive? I don't want to go to jail." Aoyama Sosuke glared at him fiercely, then frowned, asking, "Does Ling know about this?"

"She doesn't need to know, men's affairs don't require women's involvement," Xiu Xin said domineeringly.

After all, it wasn't the time when he was down-and-out anymore.

Now his tone was much tougher.

Just then, Ashida Kazuko called over, "Sosuke, Xiu Xin, it's time for cake cutting."

"Let's go, big brother, today's your 37th birthday," Xiu Xin patted his brother's shoulder.

A group of people gathered around a table, where a large fruit cake with candles in it was placed in the middle.

"Happy Birthday to you~ Happy Birthday to you~"

Three children clapped and shook their heads as they sang the birthday song, staring eagerly at the cake.

Xiu Xin, Asai Ayumi, Qingzi, and Ashida Kazuko also smiled and kept time, but the birthday boy, Aoyama Sosuke, wore a heavy expression.

"Uncle, make a wish and blow out the candles so I can eat cake," Hironari Aoyama urged after singing.

"Alright, I'll make a wish now." Aoyama Sosuke came to himself, smiled gently, closed his eyes, put his hands together, and shortly after, blew out all the candles.

His eldest son curiously asked, "Dad, Dad, what wish did you make this year?"

Aoyama Sosuke looked at Xiu Xin, patted his son's head, and smiled, "Wishes won't come true if you say them aloud, alright, let's eat the cake."

Xiu Xin smiled slightly.

He guessed the wish his brother made.

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