After the intimate embrace, Hikari went on to rehearse some other everyday husband and wife behaviors with Jinno Sumire.
Things like helping brush aside her hair, tying a tie, holding her waist with one hand, linking arms, interlacing fingers, and other close gestures.
"Phew! That should be about enough. Let's get ready to head out."
Finally done with the rehearsal, Jinno Sumire let out a sigh of relief, wiped the glistening sweat off her long swanlike neck, and spoke to Hikari.
Originally, Jinno Sumire had not planned to rehearse so carefully. After all, this was just to put on an act to fool her father, and Hikari was a boy the same age as her daughter. Doing all this would easily get awkward.
But for some reason, after having physical contact with Hikari, Jinno Sumire felt a vague, hard to describe feeling, and she somehow wanted a bit more contact.
She did not understand why this was happening, and just treated it as the shame in her heart from having intimate actions with a y0ung boy like Hikari. To avoid letting that strange feeling give her away, she wanted to rehearse everything in detail. That was the reason Jinno Sumire gave herself for all this close physical contact with Hikari.
When Jinno Sumire said it was fine, Hikari naturally had no objections.
After all, Jinno Sumire's mature and seductive charm was right there, and his physique was too strong and his desires in every respect were very vigorous, so he did not want to keep going on with this kind of touching but not eating for too long.
Otherwise, in a little while, he would not need his hands or feet, and he could just lift this mature and cold beauty shrine maiden up directly.
After Hikari agreed, Jinno Sumire called her personal female driver, then pulled Hikari into the car together, and they headed toward the Jinno family estate.
.
.
.
About several dozen minutes later, the car arrived at the Jinno family mansion.
Hikari pushed open the car door, stepped out, and looked over the massive, luxurious estate in front of him.
The Jinno family truly had power and influence in Ino Town, so their residence was naturally built grandly, with carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves and decorative corners.
Under Jinno Sumire's lead, Hikari walked into the Jinno residence. After only a few steps, he saw many delicate wood carvings and gorgeous murals, all of which showed off Jinno Sumire's wealth and power.
But Hikari himself was not poor either. He had seen the world, and he even had a rich family's lady named Louisa calling him "Daddy" every day, so he was very calm about it.
What he was more satisfied with was the Jinno family's influence, because that way, when he later asked Jinno Sumire to look after Miyuri and the other aunts who had shared that deep, mutual intimacy with him, he would feel more at ease.
Walking in front, Jinno Sumire had no idea what Hikari was thinking, but seeing that he remained calm even after coming to the lavish Jinno home made her very satisfied.
After all, she had prepared so much, and she did not want Hikari to panic out of fear and mess things up later, making all her efforts go to waste.
"My father should be in the backyard. Hikari-kun, come with me."
After dismissing the maids and others in the house, Jinno Sumire took Hikari alone toward the back courtyard.
Because the Jinno residence was very large, the walk from the front yard to the back yard was quite long.
On this winding corridor leading to the back courtyard, Jinno Sumire walked ahead.
As her slim waist swayed and her steps moved like lotuses, the black dress beneath her narrow waist gently swayed, and the firm, rounded hips under the fabric, like ripe peaches, lightly trembled.
This beautiful sight that the cold beauty let slip unintentionally all naturally fell into the eyes of Hikari following behind.
It had to be said, Jinno Sumire's figure was really outstanding, curvy in all the right places and graceful, not inferior at all even compared to the charming Haitori and Sayako aunts.
Hikari did not know how her arranged marriage husband could bear to abandon such a top tier beauty and run away, leaving Jinno Blue without a father from childhood. It was truly hateful.
But thinking about Jinno Sumire's usual cold and aloof demeanor, Hikari could more or less guess what had happened.
Still, Jinno Blue no longer had a father. He could not let her be a single parent child. Let him, this childhood friend, properly be her dad.
While Hikari was thinking nonsense like this, Jinno Sumire stopped walking.
It turned out they had reached the end of the corridor, and there was a room not far ahead.
Stopping in place, Jinno Sumire turned around and looked at Hikari.
"Hikari-kun, my father is in that room waiting. We are about to go in. Are you ready?", Jinno Sumire asked him seriously.
"Mm," Hikari nodded calmly, saying nothing more, but that composure made the somewhat nervous Jinno Sumire feel at ease.
"Then hold out your hand," Jinno Sumire said.
"Okay," Hikari raised his arm.
Jinno Sumire immediately endured the slight strange feeling in her heart, slid her jade like arm through his, and took hold of Hikari's arm on her own initiative, planning to have them enter in a very intimate posture.
And as soon as Jinno Sumire linked his arm, the soft, tempting fullness in front of her lightly brushed against his arm. Hikari instinctively turned his head to look at her.
Jinno Sumire noticed his gaze, and waves rippled up in her heart for no reason, but she suppressed them and kept a very serious expression, calmly reminding him, "We are about to meet my father. As a couple to be, we naturally have to act a bit closer, so we cannot stay too far apart, and you must not show any flaws."
"Okay," Hikari replied, completely handing his arm over to Jinno Sumire.
Because Hikari suddenly relaxed, his whole upper arm pressed fully against that tall and proud side, sinking in quite a bit because it was so soft, making Jinno Sumire's heart jump hard.
Feeling this clearly, Jinno Sumire became a little uncomfortable. She did not know whether Hikari did it by accident or on purpose, and could only feel ashamed in her heart while shooting him a cold glance.
The two did not say much more, and just like that, maintaining an intimacy like lovers deeply in love, they entered the room at the end of the corridor together.
This spacious room was finely decorated but had very few items. Only a few paintings hung on the walls, and a few tables and chairs were placed around.
Directly opposite the door was a wooden tea table, and a white haired old man with a face full of wrinkles sat calmly beside it, drinking tea. Though he was clearly not young, his eyes were extremely sharp.
As Hikari, with Jinno Sumire intimately holding his arm, stepped into the room, he noticed that this old man, about fifty or sixty, was staring straight at him, those somewhat cloudy eyes faintly carrying a deep look.
There was no need to guess. Hikari knew this imposing old man was definitely his cheap father in law, Jinno family head Jinno Takashi.
"Good afternoon, Father," As soon as she saw Jinno Takashi, Jinno Sumire greeted him respectfully.
"Sumire, you are here. What brings you?", Jinno Takashi casually put down his teacup, acting as if he did not even see Hikari being held so closely by Jinno Sumire, and smiled at his daughter as he asked.
"I came today especially to introduce my future husband to you. It is this man here, the one your daughter loves most, Hikari," Jinno Sumire said with a bright smile as she introduced Hikari beside her.
Then she said to Hikari, "Hikari-kun, hurry up and greet my father."
"Greetings to the Head of the Jinno Family," Hikari followed what he had discussed with Jinno Sumire before and bowed slightly in a polite greeting to this "father in law."
Seeing his daughter suddenly bring back a husband, Jinno Takashi was not very surprised, because Jinno Sumire had already given him a rough heads up before, and it was also he who had pushed her to hurry and remarry and have children, so he was quite calm about it.
"So you are Hikari-kun," After Hikari finished greeting him, Jinno Takashi, sitting in the main seat, looked him up and down as if examining him.
As the head of the Jinno family, even though Jinno Takashi was already quite old, his presence was still overwhelming, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
An ordinary person would probably already feel uneasy under such a gaze, but Hikari remained calm, with no sign of discomfort.
Jinno Takashi immediately nodded slightly, a warm smile appearing on his face as he said in a gentle tone, "Very pleased to meet you, Hikari-kun. I am Sumire's father. No need to be so formal."
After both sides greeted each other and got acquainted, Jinno Takashi suddenly stared closely at Hikari's y0ung and handsome face and asked with a bit of doubt, "I heard Sumire talk about the man she loves before, but this is the first time I have seen you, Hikari-kun. I truly did not expect you to be this y0ung."
"Hikari-kun, are you really my daughter's beloved, her future husband?", Although Jinno Takashi's tone was gentle, the doubt in his eyes was not hidden at all.
After all, even with careful grooming, Hikari still looked too y0ung. Compared to the mature Jinno Sumire, the difference was obvious, giving off a feeling of an old grass eating tender beef.
Jinno Takashi knew he had forced his daughter to find a husband and have children against her wishes, so he naturally suspected that this young man was someone Jinno Sumire had found just to brush him off.
But Jinno Sumire had already expected Jinno Takashi to be suspicious. With a very calm face, she smiled at him and said without hesitation, "Father, I just like y0ung men now. What, is that not allowed?"
As she spoke, Jinno Sumire turned her head, puckered her red lips, and kissed Hikari intimately on the cheek.
Feeling the moist and soft lips press against his face, Hikari also smiled and cooperated, wrapping an arm around Jinno Sumire and kissing her smooth forehead.
When he turned back, he saw that Jinno Sumire's fair earlobes were already a little red, and the palm holding his hand was slightly sweaty, her fingers unconsciously gripping his tightly.
It was obvious that kissing the boy her daughter liked was far from as easy for Jinno Sumire as she looked on the surface.
But Jinno Takashi did not notice anything. Seeing their "loving" actions, he laughed loudly and instead praised them.
"Sumire is right. Liking y0ung men is good. I actually like them y0unger too. Y0ung people have more vitality, and they make it easier for you to spread the family line…" [T/N: Nobody asked.]
Jinno Takashi knew his daughter Jinno Sumire very well. In his understanding, she did not like having any close physical contact with men.
With her strong and cold personality, she had even scared her arranged marriage husband into running away.
With the Jinno family's power, even without a husband, if Jinno Sumire was lonely and wanted some men to serve her, that was all possible.
But Jinno Sumire had never had any contact with even half a man, always busy with her career. Seeing her cold and solemn manner, other men did not dare to get close to her at all.
If Jinno Sumire had been a son, Jinno Takashi would have been very satisfied. But she was a daughter, so he could only f0rce and coax her to give birth to a son to inherit the family.
Yet she had always rejected all men. Not to mention touching her, even secretly having designs on her would lead to a terrible outcome if she found out. There were even rumors that Jinno Sumire hated men.
So seeing Jinno Sumire behave so intimately with Hikari, even kissing each other on the face, Jinno Takashi believed that she had truly come around and decided to listen to him, finally finding a satisfactory husband to spread the family line.
"Good! Good! Sumire, you finally came around. This is really great," Jinno Takashi was truly laughing with joy.
But just as he laughed for a while, with Jinno Sumire and Hikari also smiling along, Jinno Takashi suddenly reined in his laughter. He turned his head and sternly questioned Hikari, "Young people have vitality, but they always have one flaw, and that is not being mature enough. My daughter is very capable, so Hikari-kun, do you think you are worthy of Sumire?"
"I am," Hikari said softly, nodding in response to Jinno Takashi's challenge.
"Oh? Very confident. I like that. But let me say this upfront. If you want to marry into the Jinno family, just saying pretty words is not enough."
"Our family does not accept useless people. So if you are just relying on this face to trick Sumire's feelings, I advise you to back off while you still can," Jinno Takashi said coldly, staring straight at Hikari.
Although he had been pushing Jinno Sumire to hurry up and find a husband and have children to spread the family line, that did not mean he had no standards for a son in law.
After all, his future grandson would inherit the Jinno family. The genes could not be bad, and if the son in law was useless and dragged the family down, he would not accept that either.
Although from Hikari's handsome appearance alone, the son he had with Jinno Sumire would surely not be ugly, someone inheriting the family could not be just a pretty pillow. He had to be smart and capable.
So at this moment, Jinno Takashi stared with those hawklike eyes, fixing Hikari with a deep gaze that carried a hint of threat.
Seeing this, Jinno Sumire's heart could not help but rise to her throat. Jinno Takashi had been family head for so many years, and his authority was overwhelming. Even she felt pressure facing him.
Hikari, being below the years, being threatened so directly, must be under enormous pressure. There was no need to say it, and she did not know if he could withstand it.
But under Jinno Takashi's intense gaze, Hikari still showed no extra expression. He only tightened his grip on Jinno Sumire's fair little hand beside him, looked at her beautiful face with deep affection, and said calmly,
"Do not worry, Father in law. I understand what you mean. I will take good care of Sumire."
Having her hand suddenly squeezed and hearing Hikari suddenly make such a heartfelt declaration to her, Jinno Sumire was startled and could not help getting goosebumps all over. Even that heart of hers that had been cold and silent for many years began to pound wildly.
'Damn it! Why does this kid have to be so good looking. Acting is acting, but he is acting way too realistically. I almost… almost believed it,' Jinno Sumire did not even dare to look into Hikari's eyes full of blazing affection, afraid she would really be moved.
Even though she did not know him inside out, she already knew Hikari was just acting, yet she was almost touched. Her father probably would not notice any problems either.
Sure enough, seeing that Hikari remained unmoved under his intimidation and even boldly showed such deep affection for Jinno Sumire, Jinno Takashi was very satisfied.
The white haired Jinno Takashi laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Worthy of being the man my daughter chose. Not only good looking, but you also have guts. A son in law of the Jinno family should be a man who fears nothing."
"I, Jinno Takashi, agree to the marriage between Hikari-kun and my daughter!"
Hearing this, both Hikari and Jinno Sumire showed happy expressions. Hikari's was an act. Jinno Sumire's was real.
Not because she was really happy that Jinno Takashi agreed to their marriage, since it was fake, but because she was happy she had finally fooled her father. This way, she could fulfill her dream and completely take control of the Jinno family.
"Hikari-kun, hurry up and thank Father," Jinno Sumire happily shook Hikari's arm, urging him to respond.
Feeling the proud, soft waves of the cold beauty shrine maiden constantly hitting his arm as she shook him, Hikari naturally cooperated, "Thank you, Father in law."
"Haha! Take good care of Sumire and hurry up and give our Jinno family more descendants," Jinno Takashi laughed heartily.
Seeing him in such a good mood, Jinno Sumire struck while the iron was hot, "Father, before you said that after I found a husband you would hand over the rest of the family businesses to me…"
Before she could finish, Jinno Takashi cut her off, "Of course I remember. Do not worry. I am very satisfied with you finding such an excellent husband. I will gradually hand over the family businesses to you."
"But…", Halfway through, Jinno Takashi suddenly turned to Hikari, "Hikari-kun, you must let Sumire get pregnant as soon as possible. Get it done within at most two years. You are so y0ung and strong, it should be no problem, right? I am waiting to hold my grandchild. If you cannot help spread the family line, that will not do."
"And you too, Sumire. You can put aside the family business and the shrine for now. Focus on getting pregnant. Spreading the family line is the most important thing."
Although Jinno Takashi was smiling, there was a trace of seriousness in his tone.
Jinno Sumire understood her father's desire for grandchildren, and immediately nodded, "We will try."
"Haha! Good, good! I believe in Sumire, and I believe in Hikari-kun. With such an excellent physique like Hikari-kun's, having seven or eight children would not be surprising. I will just wait to hold my grandkids!"
Thinking of the many outstanding grandchildren that tall, handsome Hikari and Jinno Sumire would bring to the Jinno family, Jinno Takashi was so happy he could not close his mouth.
"Then we will head back first," Jinno Sumire said, feeling helpless seeing her old father already imagining holding grandchildren.
"Good. Go get to work on getting pregnant, hahaha!", Jinno Takashi laughed loudly.
Hikari said nothing more. After Jinno Sumire politely said a few more words, she pulled Hikari and hurried out of the room.
To avoid being exposed, after leaving the room, Jinno Sumire did not stay any longer in the Jinno residence and left right away.
[T/N: There's a monthly discount ongoing on my P@treon page for the next three days. You can get 20% off on your membership. Enjoy~
p@treon. cum/AmbitiousTranslator ]