With a soft thud, the car door closed.
The vehicle began moving forward under the driver's control.
Inside, Sayuri Sawamura waved cheerfully through the window at Luo Shu and Kisara until they were out of sight, then looked down at Eriri, who was resting on her lap.
Gazing at the peaceful sleeping face, Sayuri gently smoothed Eriri's split ends before sighing helplessly:
"Honestly, you're only this well-behaved when you're asleep."
Sayuri pinched Eriri's cheek lightly. Though the touch was gentle, the discomfort made Eriri instinctively bat her hand away.
"Stop bothering me..."
Eriri mumbled, turning over to find a more comfortable position before drifting back to sleep.
Seeing this, Sayuri could only sigh again:
"Sleep, sleep, all you do is sleep!"
She tweaked Eriri's nose, only to have her hand swatted away once more. Realising she couldn't wake her daughter, Sayuri gave up:
"What a shame. I really wanted to ask how Eriri met Luo Shu..."
This puzzled Sayuri.
How had her daughter, whose social circle was as limited as her figure, encountered such a good-looking, decent young man?
Logically speaking, apart from Aki, Eriri's social circle shouldn't include any boys at all.
No, to be precise, Eriri didn't even have female friends, let alone male ones.
Her 'hobbies' had forced Eriri to avoid deep connections with others since childhood.
If her secret were exposed, she'd undoubtedly face ostracisation from classmates, possibly even bullying.
Recognising this educational misstep early on and understanding mainstream Japanese social values, Sayuri had taught Eriri self-protection methods urgently.
She'd crammed a complete set of procedures into Eriri's mind.
Though this essentially accelerated Eriri's social understanding from elementary school level to high school maturity, it further worsened her social life.
Fearing her secret might be discovered, Eriri kept all her peers at arm's length - no close friends, not even a single female classmate who visited formally throughout her childhood.
Moreover, because she constantly had to disguise herself and worry about her secret being exposed, she became highly repressed, leading her further down the path of drawing doujinshi with increasingly peculiar tastes.
This vicious cycle meant that apart from her neighbour, Tomoya Aki, who shared the same otaku interests, Eriri had no real friends growing up.
Originally, Sayuri Sawamura had resigned herself to this fate—after all, it was her mistake as a first-time mother that had led Eriri astray.
Since there was only one person Eriri could get along with and share hobbies with, Sayuri Sawamura had no choice but to consider Tomoya Aki as a potential son-in-law.
Of course, it wasn't that Tomoya Aki was particularly excellent. He was average in talent, and his personality was just passable at best.
But Sayuri Sawamura knew full well that, given Eriri's circumstances, boys from prominent families were definitely out of the question. As for other boys, given Eriri's nature, she'd likely end up being deceived for money or affection.
In that case, it was better to let her choose someone she liked—a boy the parents knew well enough to take in as a live-in son-in-law.
Unfortunately, when it came to Eriri, Sayuri Sawamura's plans never kept up with reality.
During middle school, Eriri had a falling out with Tomoya Aki because she didn't want to reveal her identity as an otaku, fearing exclusion from mainstream society. At the same time, Tomoya believed hobbies should be openly embraced.
It had to be said that Tomoya was quite bold in that regard. If he were just the neighbour's kid, Sayuri would have respected his choices and watched as society knocked him down. But with Eriri involved, things became complicated.
Sure enough, her reluctant candidate for a son-in-law ended up clashing with Eriri, and her daughter fully embraced a path of no friends, no social life, eccentric tastes, a prickly personality, and a life destined for loneliness.
Sayuri had already resigned herself to Eriri's choices, even making arrangements to adopt a child from the family under Eriri's name.
But then...
"This child actually started interacting with boys again in high school?"
Sayuri laughed helplessly as she stroked Eriri's hair:
"From childhood, she's always gone against mainstream societal views, but of all things, she learns about romance in high school!"
As for whether Eriri and Luo Shu were actually dating, Sayuri wasn't sure.
But one thing she knew for sure was that Eriri had no guard up around Luo Shu—and that was enough.
There had been no options before, and suddenly, a seemingly decent candidate appeared, so naturally, she had to seize the opportunity.
"A prospective son-in-law who came knocking on his own."
Sayuri gazed out the window, recalling Luo Shu's circumstances:
"Bit of a mess, though. That room had several girls sleeping in it, and judging by the attitude of that pink-haired girl, Kisara, she doesn't seem like the type to give up easily."
Sayuri wasn't stupid. Kisara's intentions were glaringly obvious.
Well, having a girlfriend was the simpler issue—childhood friends losing to new arrivals was practically a societal norm.
The real problem was Eriri's personality.
At this thought, Sayuri's expression clouded with worry.
With her daughter's tsundere tendencies, prideful stubbornness, and habit of saying hurtful things, could she really compete with those other girls?
Should she... teach Eriri a few dirty tricks?
Sayuri's gaze deepened as she looked at Eriri.
"In a fair competition, Eriri would definitely lose. So... sorry, girls. Auntie here is a dirty adult."
Of course, before deciding whether to play dirty, Sayuri needed to confirm one thing.
What exactly was Eriri thinking?
But that would have to wait until Eriri woke up tomorrow.
And until then...
"Next time, I'll have to teach Eriri that when drinking with the boy she likes, she absolutely mustn't choose the ridiculous option of getting genuinely drunk."
Drinking with the boy you fancy late at night, and you really just drank?!
"When will this child finally wise up?"
Amid Sayuri Sawamura's complaints, the car gradually made its way towards the Sawamura residence...
...
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Hidden Management Department's headquarters.
Having seen off Sayuri Sawamura, Luo Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile:
"That lady certainly has quite the personality."
Kisara, standing nearby, muttered under her breath:
"That's not personality—it's harassment, isn't it?"
As she said this, Kisara grew wary.
A demon's intuition told her that Sayuri Sawamura definitely had some ulterior motive towards Luo Shu.
Moreover, Kisara was well aware that Luo Shu's attitude towards Sayuri was also rather ambiguous.
For two people meeting for the first time to get along so harmoniously, Kisara considered a terrifying possibility.
'Could it be... after the Kasumigaoka vixen, now it's the Sawamura philandering cat?'
'No, I must stay vigilant. I absolutely can't let Shu-kun be taken advantage of by an older woman like that.'
While Kisara was scheming in her mind, Luo Shu had already picked up his phone and dialled Haruno Yukinoshita's number.
Originally, Luo Shu didn't have this number, but since he had unlocked Yukino's phone...
After unlocking it, he saved the number and dragged the data over.
After a few busy tones, hearing the call connect, Luo Shu immediately asked:
"Where are you now?"
The other end seemed momentarily stunned by the sudden question from an unknown number before realising something and retorting:
"Did the Director-san think I live in Tokyo?"
"You're in Chiba?" Luo Shu sounded genuinely surprised.
"Wrong answer!"
Haruno Yukinoshita, driving while balancing her phone against her shoulder, replied cheerfully:
"I happened to come to Tokyo these past few days to visit some old friends. I'm in Minato Ward right now—I'll be there shortly."
"'Happened to'?" Luo Shu couldn't resist teasing: "Could it be you were worried about your sister and deliberately stayed a few extra days?"
Hearing this, Haruno blinked before quipping:
"Having too vivid an imagination will make you unpopular with girls, Director-san."
"Then do you dislike me?" Luo Shu asked playfully.
Beside him, Kisara immediately pricked up her ears, her eyes vacant.
After a brief silence, Haruno suddenly adopted a gossipy tone:
"Has Director-san been rejected by Yukino and decided to target me, her older sister, instead?"
"My, my, Yukino's charm must be formidable—to have the Director falling for her in just a few days!"
"Alright, enough joking. Hurry up and come collect your sister, or I can't guarantee what might happen."
"Saying that just proves Yukino has indeed caught your interest. How impressive of her."
After this last jab, Haruno glanced at the ended call, her expression abruptly darkening.
"That man... couldn't he actually have taken a liking to Yukino?"
With a strong sense of unease, Haruno Yukinoshita pressed the accelerator, driving her car towards Akihabara.