My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 341

"Let's see how long you can keep up that expert act."

After saying that, Jie Nu turned her eyes back to the book in her hands.

I soon finished my toast and had no reason to stay in the living room any longer.

...That's such a normal reaction.

Does this guy even know what the situation is?

Irito Yume ◆ Day 2, Part 2

I have an advantage.

The day before yesterday, I did witness Mizuto hiding condoms in his pocket. But! Mizuto was completely unaware of my witnessing.

In other words—from the perspective of the water bucket, it's impossible to determine whether I have that kind of determination today.

Only I know that he's obsessed with this. In this situation, even if I show a hint of something, as long as I intersperse it with a nonchalant attitude, he might not realize I'm seducing him! I can completely pretend to be innocent and let Mizuto's mind wander.

On the one hand, I want the water bucket to have that desire, but on the other hand, I don't want it to be something I bring up myself.

Having such a huge advantage is tantamount to having victory in my grasp—I will make full use of it and spend a day luring the water bucket.

Once night falls, launch a full-scale attack and conquer him in one fell swoop! This is the sure-win move!

Irito Mizuto ◆ Day 2, Part 3

Staying in my room all the time wasn't a solution, so I made an excuse to go down to the living room on the first floor.

Jie always stayed in the living room, as if waiting for me to come over, but I had nothing to say to her, so I immediately turned around and went back to my room. This made it seem like I had returned empty-handed, which started to hurt my self-esteem.

Around 3 PM, I felt a little hungry, so I used that as an excuse to go downstairs. We had udon noodles for lunch, but it seemed too easy to digest. Hopefully, I could find some snacks.

As expected, Jie was still in the living room. She had probably finished the book she was reading that morning; she was watching TV and scrolling through her phone. She had completely become the mistress of the living room.

As I opened the cupboard to look for snacks, I caught a glimpse of Jie Nu turning her head to look at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Would you like some cookies?"

Turning my head, I saw a plate of cookies on the table in front of the sofa.

"How did this happen?"

"I learned it from Xiaoyue on Valentine's Day."

"Did you make this yourself?"

She really does do things that are typical of girls.

The woman smiled wryly and said:

"My mom usually scolds me for doing these things."

"Oh, indeed..."

When children start doing things they don't normally do, parents always come around asking a barrage of questions without hesitation. Part of the reason I didn't tell my dad I had a girlfriend during middle school was because I was afraid of being bombarded with questions and feeling embarrassed.

I didn't find anything edible in the cupboard. I think I'd better just accept her hospitality.

As I walked toward the sofa, Jie Nu moved aside slightly to give me some space.

I obediently sat down in the empty seat.

"……Um?"

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I took it out and saw a familiar name on the caller ID screen—Higashito Izana. I pressed the answer button and put the phone to my ear.

"It's me, what's wrong?"

"Hey, hey~? I'd like to discuss something with you~"

"What's up?"

I remember the illustration for April Fool's Day is already finished, and she should be drawing illustrations unrelated to the festival now... Whenever Isana seriously consults me, it's usually not for anything good.

"My nipples are erect."

"I knew it."

"I'm not talking about myself!"

"Okay. And then?"

I remained patient and listened to her talk about a topic that, to an outsider like myself, seemed suspicious.

He was speaking halfway through...

Suddenly, Jie Nu leaned against me from the side.

"…………?"

"Mizuto-kun?"

"Ah, no...it's nothing."

Like someone dozing off on a tram, Yui rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't turn my head, but just glanced at her face.

The woman looked at me with a pleading gaze.

Do you want me to keep her company...? But I'm on the phone with Isana right now. She's not some cat that's interrupting my work.

"So what I mean is, this girl doesn't wear a bra at home!"

I listened to Isana's passionate speech with one ear, and silently moved my lips to tell Yui, "Don't lean on me yet." However, Yui also mouthed "No" back and began to rub the back of my hand affectionately.

Was it because the person on the call was Isana... or because it was today?

"Right now, my heart is pursuing a beautiful girl who exists only in my fantasies, a girl with infinitely durable Cooper's ligaments! For this, I must discreetly, but clearly, show that she's not wearing a bra!"

"I told you, you can tell just by whether or not the bra strap is there..."

"Stop arguing! Let me draw your nipples!"

"Isn't this the result?"

While I was on my phone, I casually dealt with Jie Nu with one hand.

After dealing with it for a while... the situation then entered the second phase.

As if sliding down my shoulder, Yui rolled lightly down and lay on my lap.

I looked down at the girl who had just settled into a lap pillow position, and saw her grin mischievously and with ulterior motives.

"I want to be all lovey-dovey with girls whose nipples are erect! I tell myself not to look at them, but my eyes just keep drifting to their nipples. That's the kind of guy I want to be all my life! Even the nipples I occasionally draw as an all-ages illustrator have their own value!"

Stop talking about nipples incessantly, in this situation.

I stole a glance at the woman's expression on my lap to see if she had heard me. Just then, she turned around and reached for the table. She picked up a cookie from the plate and brought it close to my mouth.

Ah~

The girl mouthed these words to me while grinning. I figured even if I ignored her, she wouldn't give up.

I had no choice but to open my mouth slightly, and the cookie was immediately shoved into my mouth. So sweet. Although the texture was a bit hard, the taste was passable. I crunched and chewed.

"Are you eating something?"

"Sorry, I ate the cookies I had on hand."

"They're talking to you seriously!"

Okay, by Izana's standards, this is probably a serious matter, but thinking about it makes me a little embarrassed. If she saw this scene on the other end of the phone, which could only be described as flirting, Izana would definitely be even angrier. She would probably say something like, "I never thought I could only satisfy myself with fantasies!"

However, the woman in question at this time was certainly not the unguarded type that Isana had described.

She wore an off-the-shoulder knit top, which she often wore at home, and a pleated mini skirt. She also wore familiar black tights. Although she was at home, in the still chilly season, perhaps only Isana herself could dress as she described.

Yui kept taking cookies from the plate and feeding them to my mouth. While she continued to feed me, I said to Isana, who, if left unattended, might endlessly indulge in delusions—correction, I mean, unleash her imagination:

"Okay, I'll allow it. The condition is that you draw it discreetly enough."

"Really!"

"After all, if brand management is too geared towards all ages, it may prevent you from drawing the content you want in the future—but you must keep it within the range that won't scare away female fans."

"Leave it to me! I'm a girl, after all, in biology!"

"That's why I'm worried, okay?"

"I'll send you the sketch once I've finished it!" Isana said, and then ended the call.

I then took the phone away from my ear and glared at the woman who was still lying on my lap.

"Hello."

"Didn't you get caught?"

Jie kept chuckling softly, as if to say that it didn't matter if the mistake was exposed.

"What will you do if you get caught?"

"What can we do? We're dating anyway."

"But we're at least talking about serious business—"

"—No, because…"

Jie Nu rolled over on my lap and buried her nose in my abdomen.

"Sometimes I wish... I could be like Dongtou and spend all my time with you."

Her gentle and adorable yet willful demands made me lose my composure deep inside.

I know that feeling. Back in junior high, I was completely swayed by this so-called "cute," "respectable," or endearing feeling.

I feel a little more awkward now than I did back then.

I didn't honestly show my feelings; I gently picked up a strand of the woman's hair with my fingers and muttered softly:

We haven't been spending much time together lately.

"But it existed before."

Is it really that exaggerated?

"When we were watching a movie here before, you let Dongtou lie on your lap..."

"Oh, right..."

"The atmosphere at that time was so exaggerated that even if you suddenly started touching Dongtou's chest, it seemed normal."

"If I do that, that guy will really get angry."

She might just say, "Please tell me before you touch me."

After glancing at my face briefly, Jie Nu turned over and changed her position.

Turn into a supine position.

Like a dog surrendering—spread out its arms.

"...I...I won't be angry..."

That position, as if my breasts, which were supporting my knitted top, were at my mercy, made me stop breathing for a moment.

Could it be that...?

Has that moment finally arrived?

No, but it's still daytime! No, no, no, although there's no law that says you can only do that at night.

...about a year ago.

I remembered when we first started living together—Yui once teased me by wearing only a bath towel.

We both had a moment of carelessness back then, and almost crossed the line we shouldn't have crossed right here on this sofa.

If Aunt Yu-jin hadn't come back at that time, and we had kissed like that—

Otherwise, we wouldn't be where we are today.

"...Come on, don't give me that."

I'm postponing the process again.

"You'll get angry—saying I don't know how to read the time and place or anything."