My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 152

"It's true that it's tricky to have people around you automatically get things done even without any real relationship, but ultimately it depends on the mindset of the person involved, right? As long as the person doesn't care, there's no real harm in being misunderstood."

"That's right, but—..."

"What do you want, Yume?"

"I……"

The girl's expression darkened, and she stroked the glass of orange juice with her fingers.

"I just feel anxious, like I absolutely have to do something... but I have absolutely no idea what my goal should be..."

"Hmm—"

This is really difficult to solve.

Although I said there would be no real harm, it would be a big problem for Yui. Even if Yui's relationship actually came to fruition, if the misunderstanding about Higashi-kun hadn't been cleared up, Irito-kun would be seen by the relatives as "a man who not only cheated on his wife but also laid a hand on his own family."

But ultimately, the one who tied the knot must untie it...

"...Seriously. I hate you so much, Irito-san..."

"what?"

"Let me tell you, Yui, this misunderstanding can only be resolved step by step. It can't be solved in a day or two, and first of all, we need to get both parties involved—at least Irito-san—to have the willingness to do so."

"What is 'that wish'?"

"It's just that he finds it annoying to be constantly misunderstood. In other words—"

I pointed my finger directly at the woman's face.

"All I need to do is make him feel the same way as Yume."

"...Huh?"

Jie Nu blinked several times, pausing for about ten seconds.

"The same feeling as me?"

"Um."

"Y-you, you mean...what do you mean...?"

I grinned and flashed a bright smile.

"You should know this woman best, shouldn't you?"

Jie Nu's cheeks turned bright red in an instant, and then she slumped onto the table.

"...Waaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Don't panic. I won't tell anyone."

"W-why...? How did you know...?"

"It's probably because Yui is so easy to understand~"

"No way...!"

Oh my god, so cute!

There's only one thing I can thank Irito for, and that's for letting me see such a lovely Yui.

"By the way, what happened to you guys in the countryside? You've changed a lot."

"Has it changed that much...?"

"You can tell at a glance."

No...

Jie Nu got up and absentmindedly combed her long hair.

"Nothing much..."

"That would be best~"

"Eh~ But, this is too... Uh, um, don't tell anyone, okay? Just talking about it here is fine, okay?"

Ah, I'm just asking for trouble.

I noticed it immediately.

Jie Nu put on a reluctant attitude, but actually desperately wanted to confide in someone. She just couldn't stand the thought of someone showing off their love. And now, Jie Nu categorized me as "the only friend who's willing to listen to her lovey-dovey displays."

A misstep becomes an eternal hate.

By the time I noticed, she had already spoken.

"Let me tell you—"

"—And then, that guy looked so serious, but his heart was beating like crazy! And he always makes fun of my figure!"

"Ah~!"

The girl cheered happily.

Ah—it feels so good to be able to expose that fake thug's embarrassing secrets!

...Strange? I was clearly listening to what the girl was saying, so how did it turn into me talking all the time?

"Anything else? Anything else? Did anything else happen with Kawanami-kun?"

"Huh? What's going on?"

"How could there not be?"

"Hmm~ Let me think about it..."

Jie and I huddled together, laughing and recalling the memories, when suddenly we snapped back to reality.

"...No, no, that can't be right! We didn't arrange to meet up to reminisce about the past, did we?"

"Huh? Isn't that right?"

"Weren't we supposed to be discussing how to get Irito-san to clear up the misunderstanding?"

"...Ah! Right. We were having so much fun chatting that I forgot..."

Yes, I'm really happy. I don't have many opportunities to talk about dating with my friends—no, wait, I don't talk about dating at all!

"So we need to think about what to do specifically."

"what to do……?"

"Anyway, you two need to make up first. You said some really hurtful things to him because you were trying to hide your shyness, right? And then his attitude towards you became very cold, right?"

“Ugh…”

Hearing them kiss at the country festival almost killed me, but then hearing Yui lie when pressed for a reason almost made me die for another reason. How could you be so clumsy! Although, it's kind of cute in those situations! And Irito-san, really! Can't you be a little more understanding of her?! What other reason could there be for kissing someone?!

"Even though you told me to get back together with him... what should I do...?"

"Don't overthink it. In my opinion, Irito-san is actually surprisingly easy to handle!"

"Is that so...?"

"Yes, yes, once I'm even slightly moved, I won't hold it against you anymore. As for the specifics of how to do it, Yui probably knows better than I do, right?"

"I know better?"

"You've been living together for several months now, there must have been times when you and Irito got closer than usual, right? So far, under what circumstances have you and Irito been closest?"

"Closest to...the nearest..."

The girl muttered and repeated what I said.

Honestly, why did she have to confide in me of all people? I think I can understand how Jie felt when she helped Dongtou confess his feelings. She seemed to want things to go well for him, yet also seemed to not want it to…

"……ah."

"Oh! Did you figure it out?"

"……Well……"

Jie looked away, somewhat unsure of herself, and said:

"Um... let me tell you? When we first started living together, there was a time when it was just the two of us looking after the house—"

I barely managed to hold back from vomiting blood.

"Phew..."

Looking up at the damp bathroom ceiling, I let out a breath.

I wonder if Yume is trying hard right now...

I submerged my mouth underwater and blew bubbles. Honestly, how could I have given her that kind of advice? If I had to say, Irito should have been my rival. I even proposed to him back in April; those memories are so fond.

Honestly, just thinking about what Yui might be doing to Irito right now makes me feel nauseous and suffocated. But at the same time, I also hope that things go smoothly for her. A complex mix of emotions, indescribable in a single sentence, is swirling in my chest.

I... don't want to be in a relationship with Yui.

If she confessed her feelings to me, I would probably be overjoyed and start dating her. Although I would completely welcome that situation, there's another feeling that surpasses that emotion.

I think that must be... a feeling of envy.

I'm a little envious of so-called family relationships—having someone who can always be by your side, and I hope I can have a bit of that too. That's why I suddenly had the idea that everything would be solved if I just married Irito.

At that time, I hadn't let go. I was still thinking about that fatal failure from junior high school.

If I said I had absolutely no desire to make up for past failures as soon as possible... perhaps that would be self-deception...

But now—

"Hey~ how long are you going to soak?"

"It's coming out now~! Seriously, so long-winded."

As I answered in a soft voice, I stood up from the bathtub with a splashing sound.

Let me take a leisurely bath, it won't hurt. Although this is your home, we take turns using each other's bathrooms because it's too much trouble to heat water when we're home alone. So, it's called helping each other, okay?

However, this supportive relationship has only slowly become the norm over the past month—since that training camp, we've gradually returned to our previous relationship, perhaps. But in the end, it seems that guy's allergy to being liked still hasn't gotten better…

“Hmm…”

As I was drying myself in the locker room, I was thinking and something came to mind.

"I wonder... how much he can accept now?"

◆ Irito Yume ◆

After drying myself off in the locker room, I tightly rolled the edges of the towel wrapped around my body inside.

"……good."

Discussing this with Xiaoyue reminded me of something.

During the nearly five months we lived together, when were we closest to each other?

Is it during a festival when people kiss? Wrong!

That was when we first started living under the same roof—I impulsively decided to tease the guy, so I deliberately went into the living room wearing only a bath towel. What happened to us after that?

--No...no...the rules...

—Today, I'll just consider it a loss for me.

"~ ...

I covered my face with my hands in front of the mirror.

Just recalling that memory is enough to drive me crazy.

Because, at that time... something bad was going to happen in just five seconds. If Mom and the others hadn't come back then, we would have... completely—that's just how puberty is! Less than a month after the breakup, and we succumbed to lust so easily!

However… this time, I must let this sexual desire help me.

Since the relationship with Higashi-san has been misunderstood, only Mizuto himself can explain. Therefore, the best approach is for me to persuade Mizuto. As for how to persuade a boy—

There's only one trick: seduction.

The logic behind this couldn't be simpler.

Everything was prepared beforehand. I can only say that I was lucky; both Mom and Uncle Fengqiu contacted us to say they would be home late tonight. Based on past experience, this time I received verbal assurance that they would arrive home around 10 p.m.

I want to finish all my tasks before then, and then slip away at the last minute.