"Wait a second, Soyo, did you misunderstand something?"
Nagasaki Asuna felt like her CPU was a little overloaded, 'Me? Make a move on Kurumizaka-kun?'
'Send me to whichever Lostbelt this is, is this still the original boundary?'
"Misunderstand?"
Soyo was also a little confused, 'Could it be… I really misunderstood?'
"Kurumizaka-kun helped mom with a small favor, and mom was just grateful. Plus, she thinks he's a very good candidate for a son-in-law, so she invited him over as a guest and wanted to try to match you two up."
Nagasaki Asuna helplessly tapped her daughter's forehead, annoyed, "You little girl, just what kind of person do you take your mother for?"
'No matter what, I won't go so far as to make a move on a handsome young boy who can practically be my son, right?'
"I-Is that so?"
The girl stammered and pointed at herself, her face slowly turning red, "So… actually, I misunderstood?"
"What else could it be!"
Nagasaki Asuna pinched her daughter's soft cheek in annoyance, kneading and stretching it, "Just what kind of image does mommy have in your heart? No matter what, I wouldn't do something that makes you call a boy your age 'dad,' okay?"
"Ugh… I got it wrong~", Soyo's voice was a bit muffled, but the huge stone in her heart fell to the ground with a thud.
'My mom hasn't turned into a bad woman who preys on younger men, and Kurumizaka-kun's innocence is preserved.'
'A-And as for me…'
The girl's light eyelashes drooped slightly as she shyly lowered her head, her toes unconsciously tracing circles.
"I… don't dislike Kurumizaka-kun."
But Nagasaki Asuna wasn't planning to let her off the hook so easily.
"Just don't dislike?"
She sighed theatrically, "Looks like Soyo is still forcing herself. Since that's the case, as an understanding adult, of course mom won't pressure you."
"I'll go entertain Kurumizaka-kun now, repay his kindness, and from now on, bridge is bridge, road is road. That matchmaking thing, just pretend I never said it—"
She said as she lifted her leg to leave, but had only taken one step before her hem was pulled.
Soyo still had her head down, but the tips of her ears hidden in her brown hair were unbelievably red.
"D-Don't go…"
Nagasaki Asuna felt like teasing her daughter more, 'Who told you to imagine your mom in such a terrible way!'
She pretended not to hear and deliberately leaned her ear closer, "What did you say?"
"I said! Don't go!"
Soyo stomped her foot like she was throwing caution to the wind, lowering her voice, her pretty face flushed with shame and anger, "Did mom hear clearly now?"
Used to seeing her daughter's gentle and considerate demeanor, Nagasaki Asuna was seeing Soyo flustered and losing composure for the first time, she couldn't even recognize a joke.
She actually wanted to tease her more, but seeing that Soyo was reaching her limit, she didn't go too far.
She only gave a sincere reminder, "If you like him, then go after him boldly. Don't wait until you miss the chance and end up full of regrets."
"The battlefield of love is like the business world, Soyo. Hesitation leads to defeat."
"I-I got it already…"
Soyo's face was still red, and her heart hadn't had time to cool down when her mom already leaned in with a mischievous grin:
"By the way, Kurumizaka-kun is way more popular than you think, you know? Just his assistant lady alone is already a very outstanding beauty."
'Assistant?'
'Probably that girl named Miura Yumiko we saw last time at Tsukinomori?'
Soyo indeed felt a sense of urgency.
'Miura-senpai really is very pretty. Well-proportioned, slender waist, long legs, and most importantly, has the upper hand by being close to him.'
'It would have been enough if I was just in the same school as Kurumizaka-kun, but she is even in the same club!'
'Mom is right.'
'Looks like… I really have to speed things up.'
Though the conversation between mother and daughter seemed long, it only took a few minutes.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Nagasaki Soyo didn't delay any longer, so as not to appear rude to Kaito waiting in the living room.
So together with her mom, she carried all the dishes from the kitchen.
Because she lived alone most of the time and didn't like ordering takeout, Soyo had developed quite good cooking skills, and always ranked high in home economics class at school.
Tonight's dinner was all made by her own hands, with full effort, guaranteed to give Kurumizaka-kun a perfect taste experience.
The dinner was in a western style overall, rosemary-seared French lamb chops, cheese-baked shrimp, tomato meat sauce spaghetti, with a side of bacon potato chowder… all home-style dishes, but the taste was excellent, even comparable to those in fancy restaurants.
Ms. Nagasaki had specially bought some expensive sake. Although there were laws in Japan prohibiting drinking under 20, and convenience stores weren't allowed to sell alcohol and tobacco to minors, rules were dead, people were alive.
As long as it was just a little drinking at home and not going out shouting it on the streets, the police wouldn't bother.
Kaito rarely drank, but didn't mind trying something new, so he drank a few small cups.
Sake usually wasn't strong in alcohol content. It tasted light like water at first sip, but had a strong after-effect.
Three rounds of drinks, five courses of food, and very quickly, Nagasaki Asuna couldn't hold back and subtly started the main topic of the evening.
"Kurumizaka-kun, where are you from?"
"Do you have a girl you like? What's your ideal type?"
"Speaking of which, my Soyo has also reached the age where she should enjoy love. But sadly, she just can't find the right person."
"It's also my fault for being too busy usually and not being able to give her the company she deserves. I really hope a mature and reliable boy can appear and take care of her in my place."
"Hmm, a foreign boy, with a two-word name, a university student, 180 centimeters tall, with a surname that's a fruit, and a given name that's an ocean."
Kaito: "..."
'Ms. Nagasaki, you might as well just say it outright.'
These familiar questions gave him a strong sense of déjà vu, he couldn't help but think of Mrs. Gotou from before.
But compared to Mrs. Gotou who almost wanted to recite little Bocchi's ID number, Ms. Nagasaki clearly used a different tactic, shifting the focus of the conversation onto him.
For the still-naive Soyo, such bold and open probing had already far exceeded a girl's shame threshold.
To stop her mom from saying something even more outrageous, she quickly changed the topic, "Actually, Kurumizaka-kun and I have known each other for quite a while, so mom, don't nag about this here!"
Nagasaki Asuna was surprised, "Really? How did you two meet?"
"A friend once organized a group event with Shuka, and we happened to meet there," Soyo pressed her cherry-pink lips together, and secretly winked at Kaito beside her. A hint of pleading flashed in her sky-blue eyes.
Just like how Ms. Nagasaki didn't want to tell her daughter about encountering evil spirits, fearing it would worry her, Nagasaki Soyo also didn't want to tell her mom about being possessed by a ghost.
She knew very well how much her mom cared about her. Ever since her parents divorced, the two of them had depended on each other and become each other's only family.
Because of that, Soyo even changed her surname from the original "Ichinose" to her mother's "Nagasaki."
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