"Mm, very pretty," Hikari answered honestly.
"Auntie wasn't asking if it's pretty. I was asking whether it's appropriate," Hearing Hikari's comment, Jinno Sumire was indeed a bit displeased. Her pretty face flushed slightly as she spoke to Hikari in a serious tone.
Hikari knew why Jinno Sumire reacted this way, because at this moment, Jinno Sumire still regarded him as her daughter's friend, as a junior.
And being commented on by a junior in a tone like that of a peer, or even a boyfriend, naturally made Jinno Sumire instinctively feel a bit awkward and embarrassed, even shy.
Seeing Jinno Sumire's reproachful look, Hikari chuckled lightly and said, "Auntie Sumire, didn't you tell me earlier that today I should treat you as my wife, and you should treat me as your husband?"
"Uh… that's true," Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Sumire was instantly left speechless.
After all, if viewed from a husband's perspective, there was nothing wrong at all with Hikari's comment.
It was just that when she thought about his childhood-friend relationship with her daughter Jinno Ai, Jinno Sumire felt something was off, something felt strange.
"Even so, you're still Little Ai's friend, and also kind of like Auntie's nephew. Today we're just acting. We only need to perform for my father to see," Feeling awkward, Jinno Sumire couldn't help but emphasize this.
"Mm, I understand. I call Little Ai my little sister, she calls me Dad. We each go by our own," Hikari nodded, saying it as if it were perfectly reasonable.
"You…", Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Sumire couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. It felt both ridiculous and a little embarrassing, and in the end she could only shake her head.
"Forget it. Just keep it like this today. Maintaining this attitude toward Auntie actually makes it less likely to give anything away," In the end, Jinno Sumire still affirmed Hikari's approach.
After all, she was the one who asked Hikari for help.
Hikari naturally had no objections.
Next, Hikari followed Jinno Sumire out through the quiet, deserted back entrance of the shrine.
They were preparing to get into the car Jinno Sumire had arranged in advance and head for the Jinno residence.
As they walked, Jinno Sumire quickly went through the plan in her mind again. Only after confirming there were no loopholes did she pull her attention back to reality.
She turned her head and glanced at Hikari beside her a few times. Originally, she wanted to carefully check if there were any flaws, but once she really observed him, her gaze was suddenly drawn to him.
Seeing Hikari now, neatly dressed and looking much more mature, Jinno Sumire couldn't help but feel her eyes light up.
After all, she really had never seen such a good-looking man in her daily life.
In terms of personal preference, Jinno Sumire actually liked more mature men.
Because the man she had previously been arranged to marry was not mature enough at all. He had been scared off directly by her. The two of them never even had any contact, not even holding hands, and they had only met once, and even then from far away.
For someone so weak, even if he hadn't run away, Jinno Sumire wouldn't have let anything happen between them. She might even have personally driven him away.
After all, Jinno Sumire herself was highly capable and competent, able to manage Ino Shrine and nearly half of the Jinno family's industries in an orderly manner. If not for her father Jinno Takashi refusing to completely let go of power, the Jinno family would probably be even larger than it was now.
So an independent, mature, capable woman like Jinno Sumire naturally preferred mature men as well.
But humans, at the end of the day, still like good-looking people.
Originally, as her daughter Jinno Ai's childhood friend, Hikari's looks were something Jinno Sumire, as a mother, did acknowledge. She was just worried he might be unreliable, and disliked how young and immature he was.
But now, Hikari, who was already good-looking to begin with, had been styled into a mature look that perfectly hit her preferences. After carefully observing him, Jinno Sumire's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up a little.
"Auntie, what's wrong?", Hikari noticed Jinno Sumire looking at him from time to time and asked.
"Ah! N-no, nothing!", Jinno Sumire hadn't expected Hikari's observation skills to be this sharp. Her furtive glances had actually been noticed.
This made her, whose heart had just been beating a little faster, feel a sense of shame, like being caught peeking. Her jade-white pretty face became slightly unnatural.
"Ahem!", To avoid the awkwardness, Jinno Sumire smoothly changed the topic, "Right, once we get to the Jinno residence, you'll go with me straight to see my father."
"My father is just as observant as you are… uh, in short, extremely sharp."
"So to avoid anything going wrong, we'd better rehearse a bit before we go in."
"Whether it's your words or your behavior, you should try to act a bit more intimate with me, understand?"
Hearing Jinno Sumire's words, Hikari nodded, "Mm, I understand."
"Then… stretch out your hand," Jinno Sumire said to Hikari.
"Okay," Hikari extended his hand.
Jinno Sumire raised her own small hand and gently placed it in Hikari's palm.
"H-hold… hold my hand," Jinno Sumire said a bit awkwardly.
"Okay," Hikari nodded and tightened his grip, holding Jinno Sumire's soft, boneless little hand in his.
Though there was an age difference, Hikari's build was clearly much larger than Jinno Sumire's, and his palm naturally was as well. Contrary to their ages, he could completely envelop Jinno Sumire's hand.
Although Jinno Sumire was the noble person in power of the Jinno family and the dignified shrine priestess, her little hand was as tender and smooth as a young girl's. Holding it felt like grasping a piece of warm, soft jade, incredibly comfortable.
And once her entire hand was enveloped, a wave of heat also traveled from Hikari's palm into Jinno Sumire.
That scorching sensation instantly warmed Jinno Sumire, whose hands were usually cold, and her body trembled inexplicably.
'What's going on… why does this feel so comfortable? It's just holding hands.'
Jinno Sumire's mind even froze for an instant, as if she had been electrocuted.
She remembered that the last time they had discussed the plan, the two of them had also shaken hands. At that time, she had already noticed that Hikari's palm was very warm, but there was nothing unusual about it.
So why did being held by him today make her feel as if she were about to burn up?
Jinno Sumire couldn't quite understand it.
She didn't know that Hikari, as a pure-love champion, came with a built-in aura effect.
But despite the information gap, when Jinno Sumire realized that she was about to play husband and wife with Hikari, and even engage in more intimate physical contact like holding hands and hugging, she still felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
After all, although she already had a daughter, she had actually never had any physical contact with a man.
She had never dated, and that nominally arranged-marriage husband had long since run off to who knows where.
If not counting that last handshake with Hikari, the first man to ever have physical contact with her was actually Hikari.
The first man to touch her body turned out to be her own daughter's love interest.
Looking at the handsome, striking Hikari beside her, this man who would very likely become her future son-in-law, Jinno Sumire felt something strange in her heart.
But after all, the plan to act as husband and wife was something she had proposed herself. Hikari was here to help her, and the plan was already about to reach its crucial stage.
So Jinno Sumire still suppressed the discomfort in her heart and raised her other hand, letting Hikari hold that one too.
After roughly getting used to holding hands, Jinno Sumire quickly had Hikari let go.
Once their hands separated, Jinno Sumire realized that her palm was covered in sweat.
She didn't know if it was because she lacked experience and was too nervous. Jinno Sumire looked at Hikari somewhat awkwardly, afraid she might have dirtied his hand.
Noticing Jinno Sumire's look, Hikari smiled and handed her a tissue, saying casually, "It's fine."
Hearing that Hikari, who clearly understood but said nothing extra and just handed her the tissue, Jinno Sumire felt a warmth in her heart.
"Thank you!", She reached out to take it, thanking him as she wiped her hand.
Now Jinno Sumire roughly understood why her daughter Jinno Ai liked this childhood friend, Hikari, so much.
'If I was a bit younger, maybe…'
'Forget it. I should focus on what is in front of me and stop letting my thoughts run wild.'
Jinno Sumire quickly cut off the random thoughts that had suddenly surfaced in her mind. After wiping her hands dry, she looked at Hikari again.
"Hikari-kun, we've practiced holding hands. Next, let's rehearse hugging," Jinno Sumire said to him.
Jinno Sumire wasn't sure whether Jinno Takashi would ask her and Hikari to hug for him to see, but hugs between husband and wife were completely normal.
Being cautious by nature, she naturally wanted to be prepared whether it would be needed or not.
Hearing Jinno Sumire's words, Hikari immediately agreed, "Okay. Should I hug you, Auntie, or do you hug me?"
Even though she was the one who suggested it, hearing Hikari ask so directly made Jinno Sumire feel a hint of shyness in her heart. Her pretty face flushed slightly as she said, "I… I'll hug you first. Then you hug me. After all, you're playing the role of a live-in son-in-law."
"Alright then. Live-in son-in-laws have no human rights," Hikari shrugged with a smile.
Seeing Hikari slightly raise his hands, clearly signaling for her to hug him.
Jinno Sumire didn't dawdle. Enduring the discomfort and embarrassment in her heart, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
As her jade-like arms gently encircled Hikari's waist, a sensation she had never experienced before, that of a man's body, was clearly conveyed to Jinno Sumire.
Hikari's waist wasn't thick, but it was solid, without any excess fat, giving a feeling of strength and reliability. She could vaguely feel the firm muscles beneath the skin, making the woman holding him unconsciously feel a sense of reassurance.
'No! What am I thinking!'
Jinno Sumire threw these sudden stray thoughts out of her mind. Coming back to her senses, she pretended there was nothing more to it and said to Hikari in a calm tone, "Hikari-kun, I'm hugging you now. You can also h-hug Auntie."
To prevent the strange feeling from intimate physical contact with Hikari from expanding further, Jinno Sumire deliberately used the term "Auntie."
Hearing Jinno Sumire's words, Hikari nodded, lowered his head slightly, raised his hands, and skillfully wrapped his arms around Jinno Sumire's slender waist.
Although Jinno Sumire held considerable power in Ino Town, her figure wasn't particularly large. Compared to Hikari, she even seemed a bit petite, aside from certain parts below the neck.
Set off by her magnificent, proud chest, Jinno Sumire's waist looked slender like a willow branch.
But once Hikari wrapped his arm around it, he realized her willow waist was even more light and graceful than it looked. Even through the thin fabric of her dress, he could feel the softness and smoothness of the skin beneath.
When her waist was suddenly held, Jinno Sumire's delicate body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
It was from nervousness. After all, this was also the first time she had ever had a man hold her by the waist.
But fortunately, she had already noticed how hot Hikari's hands were when they held hands earlier, so the faint warmth at her waist was something she could barely adapt to.
'This is all just rehearsal to see that old man, all to better fake things and fool him…'
Jinno Sumire silently repeated this in her mind, clarifying the purpose of this seemingly intimate and ambiguous behavior today.
The two of them maintained this mutual embrace for about ten seconds.
When the inner sides of her fair, lotus-root-like arms began to lightly bead with sweat, Jinno Sumire suddenly felt something was off.
Hikari was more than a head taller than her. Looking somewhat petite, Jinno Sumire had no choice but to lift her head and ask Hikari with a puzzled expression:
"Hikari-kun, is there something wrong with the way we're hugging? Why do I feel so uncomfortable? Are couples actually this uncomfortable when they hug? How do you feel?"
"I'm okay, but I think I understand what's going on," Hikari lowered his head and looked at Jinno Sumire in his arms, whose posture was indeed a bit awkward at the moment. Ignoring the deep, snowy cleavage that naturally fell into view from above, he nodded lightly.
Pointing at his own chest, Hikari explained, "Auntie Sumire, when you hug me, you should rest your head here. Otherwise the distance is a bit too far, and it'll feel uncomfortable. Come a bit closer. That way it won't feel strange."
Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Sumire immediately realized the problem with her posture. It was probably because of the faint sense of unease in her heart that she had subconsciously not held Hikari very close.
"S-so that's how it is!", Hearing Hikari's instruction, Jinno Sumire, wanting to rehearse properly and finish quickly, followed his words and gently rested her cheek against Hikari's chest.
'Ah… what am I doing!'
The moment her head rested against his chest, Jinno Sumire, who was holding Hikari by the waist, realized just how submissive and delicate her posture was.
Thinking about how serious she usually looked as a shrine priestess, and then thinking about how she was now leaning against the chest of a boy close to her daughter's age, Jinno Sumire couldn't help but feel ashamed. Her usually cold pretty face even became a bit hot from embarrassment.
And because she was flustered by the awkward posture, Jinno Sumire hadn't yet noticed that after resting her head there, the distance between her and Hikari had become extremely close, and her proud fullness was already pressed against Hikari's chest.
Waves of soft, intoxicating sensation accompanied by a pounding heartbeat were clearly transmitted into Hikari's heart.
That dense texture, as warm and soft as jade, made his heart involuntarily ripple.
However, Hikari didn't say anything extra. He simply continued guiding her calmly, "Mm, that's it. Auntie Sumire, lower your head a bit more, sink into it a little, then move your hands a bit lower on the waist. Don't be too tense."
"O-okay!"
Feeling that most of her body was pressed against Hikari and her heart filled with unfamiliar sensations, Jinno Sumire no longer knew what she should do next. From originally giving Hikari orders, she had completely switched to following his instructions.
Under Hikari's skilled guidance, the two of them successfully hugged each other closely, looking just like a couple deeply in love.
Maintaining this intimate embrace for more than half a minute, once Jinno Sumire, who felt a bit dizzy, thought she had more or less adapted, the two of them finally loosened their arms and separated.
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