Ichin's mom affectionately patted Utaha's head.
"It's been so long, Utaha. Come here, let me take a good look at you."
She cupped Utaha's cheeks in her hands and examined her carefully, finally nodding in satisfaction.
"Mm, still just as pretty as ever."
Utaha's face flushed red with shyness as she replied softly,
"It's not that big of a deal…"
Watching the interaction between her daughter and her future mother-in-law, Utaha's mom couldn't stop smiling.
At this point, she really didn't have anything left to worry about. Her daughter had great grades, her novels were successful, and now she even had her future partner settled. With Ichin by her side, Utaha was well taken care of in every aspect, which made her mother feel more relaxed than ever.
After stepping out from Ichin's mother's embrace, Utaha signed them in at the gate and said,
"Alright, let's head in quickly. The events have already started."
"Is Ichin over at the field?" Ichin's mom asked with a cheerful smile.
"Other than kindergarten and the occasional parent meeting, I've never been to one of his school events. This'll be the first time I've attended one of his sports festivals. I bet he doesn't know I'm here, does he?"
Utaha linked arms with both of them, smiling as she nodded.
"Yeah, Ichin has no idea. I just told him I was going to meet my mom. But I'm pretty sure his reaction when he sees you will be priceless."
They'd just taken a few steps when a familiar voice called out behind them.
"Utaha?"
"Huh?"
Utaha stopped and turned around, blinking in surprise.
"Aunt Sayuri?"
The woman calling out to her at the school gate was none other than Sawamura Sayuri—Eriri's mother. As always, she was elegantly dressed in a kimono, completely unfazed by the fact that this was a high school sports festival. Combined with her impeccable skincare and youthful appearance, she naturally drew the attention of many nearby married men.
Seeing a familiar adult, Utaha paused her steps and returned to the gate.
"Aunt Sayuri, I'm guessing Eriri has no idea you're here?"
"Oh my, you caught me, Utaha~" Sayuri replied with a giggle.
"I just happened to hear from Haruno the other day that Eriri was participating too, not just Yukino. So I decided to drop by unannounced. It's been so long since I last got some good pictures of her."
As she spoke, she proudly showed off the camera slung around her neck.
However, when Sayuri noticed the two women standing beside Utaha, a hint of curiosity sparked in her eyes.
She was already familiar with Utaha's mother thanks to their daughters' friendship, but the other woman was someone she'd never met before. Still, her features felt strangely familiar.
"You must be Ichin's mother, right?"
"Oh? You recognized me?" Ichin's mother said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jasmine, Ichin's mom. You must be Eriri's mother, right? I saw Eriri once last year and recognized her right away."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sawamura Sayuri," she said, smiling warmly.
"Your Japanese is really good."
"Oh, thank you! Although Utaha's Chinese is already quite fluent, I think it's important for us elders to make the effort too. After all, we'll need to communicate with the other set of parents eventually."
After a few friendly exchanges, the two women quickly warmed up to each other. Being parents, they had plenty of shared experiences and topics to bond over.
Now that Sayuri had joined them, the smile on Utaha's face only grew wider.
She could already imagine it—Eriri's exaggerated reaction would be even more entertaining than Ichin's. At most, Ichin would be a little surprised and happy. But Eriri? She'd probably be so embarrassed she'd want to flee the scene entirely.
The three elegant ladies chatted happily as they made their way toward the field. Utaha walked beside Ichin's mother, arm-in-arm with her.
As for her own mom?
Well, she saw her every day, so it didn't really matter.
The Sports Field Side
On the sports field, the preliminary heats for the first-year boys' 50-meter dash had already concluded, and the girls were now lining up at the starting line.
Up in the stands, Ichin let out a yawn and said with mild boredom,
"As expected, the track and field club members are the fastest. No surprises there."
Yukino, having finished her warm-up exercises, also joined Ichin and Eriri in the stands to watch the event.
Since her event—three-legged race—was scheduled for the afternoon, Eriri was leisurely sipping on a cola. After a sip, she looked at the girls on the track and said,
"Good thing our school's spring-summer gym uniform uses these cropped sports pants. If it were the type you see in anime, there's no way I'd wear them in public."
"Oh, those?"
Ichin thought for a moment.
"Yeah, those are usually only seen in sports academies… or anime. Not exactly appropriate for a regular school."
Yukino, who hadn't spoken until now, listened to their conversation and instantly understood the kind of gym shorts they were referring to—those ultra-short ones often seen in summer, resembling hot pants.
There was no way she would ever wear something like that.
"Hm?"
Turning her head, Yukino noticed Utaha approaching—with three people in tow.
One was Utaha's mother, whom she had met before. The other was Eriri's mother, also familiar to her.
And the third one…
Yukino's brows furrowed. She turned to glance at Ichin, then looked back at the woman whose arm Utaha was currently holding.
Alright, case closed.
Since they were already quite close, Utaha naturally noticed Yukino's sharp reaction. She quickly raised a finger to her lips in a "shh" gesture, signaling Yukino not to say anything.
As expected—Ichin didn't know that his mother was coming.
Yukino let out a subtle, weary sigh and gave Utaha a slight nod.
Meanwhile, Ichin's mom had already spotted her son in the crowd—alongside Eriri and Yukino.
"Utaha, that girl with the ponytail over there—is she Yukino, the one you mentioned before?" she asked.
Utaha nodded.
"Yep, that's her. You didn't get to meet her last time because she had returned to Chiba."
But Yukino could wait. Right now, everyone—Utaha, Ichin's mom, and even Eriri's mom, Sawamura Sayuri—had one thing on their minds.
Quietly and carefully, the group maneuvered around to avoid being seen by Ichin and Eriri. Under Yukino's mildly pitying gaze, they circled around to approach them from behind.
Utaha gently tapped a few of the girls sitting behind Ichin and Eriri, motioning for them to move over a bit.
Once the girls saw the group of elegant ladies with Utaha, they instantly understood what was happening and subtly shifted to make room.
Thanks to the general noise of the sports field, Ichin had no clue what was going on behind him. He rested his chin on one hand and muttered,
"Utaha's taking forever…"
"Something holding her up?" Eriri asked, before quickly shaking her head.
"No way. How many people in this school can she even have a conversation with? They're all sitting right here."
Behind them, Utaha's eye twitched at that comment. She pulled out her phone and opened the camera, switching to video mode.
Ichin's mom and Sayuri exchanged a look, trying to hold in their laughter. Then, simultaneously, they each reached out and smacked the heads of their respective child.
Ichin and Eriri turned around at the same time.
"!!!"
Their minds went blank.
Sudden cardiac arrest!
...
✨✨✨
Support This Story on Patreon/RedX43 - Advanced Chapters There!
✨✨✨