'Group Event?'
Nagasaki Asuna didn't really suspect this excuse. Among students, it's indeed common to have group dating events. Though it's called a group date, in reality, it's just an opportunity to meet handsome guys and pretty girls. If the two parties find each other pleasing, it naturally leads to a relationship.
With Kurumizaka-kun's looks, he definitely wouldn't lack enthusiastic girls chasing after him. Being invited to a group date was only normal.
However, to just so happen to meet Soyo there…
Should one say, this is indeed a fated encounter?
At the mention of a group date, her thoughts instantly jumped to dating, to marriage, to having children, to holding grandchildren.
Only at such moments could Mrs. Nagasaki's thought process leap forward so drastically.
But that couldn't be helped, right?
There was no need to elaborate on Kaito appearance, and her own obedient daughter, Soyo, was likewise an undeniable beauty. Imagining the grandchild that would combine the best of both their features, just the thought made Mrs. Nagasaki impatient with anticipation.
———
[10 P.M.]
The late-night dinner had come to a complete close. Mrs. Nagasaki had drunk too much, already tipsy and fast asleep, a silly smile hanging on her face as she mumbled incomprehensible words. She looked nothing like the strong career woman she usually was at the company.
Soyo originally intended to help her mother back to the bedroom, but she clearly overestimated her own physical strength.
A girl who gets winded running 800 meters in five to six minutes trying to carry a drunk, powerless, and at least 60-kilogram adult woman to the bedroom, this was clearly too much.
"I'll help," Seeing the girl flustered and at a loss for what to do, Kaito didn't stand by idly. Together with Nagasaki Soyo, he helped send Mrs. Nagasaki back to her bed in the bedroom.
Once everything was done, looking at her mother sleeping sweetly on the bed, Nagasaki Soyo patted her rather outstanding chest (compared to girls her age), and once again showed a gentle smile, "Thank you for your help, Kurumizaka-kun. If not for you, I really wouldn't have known what to do."
"It was just a small favor."
"Maybe to Kurumizaka-kun it really was a trivial matter, but I can't think of it that way~"
Soyo clasped her hands together, her beautiful brows and eyes curved into crescent moons, "Gratitude is still gratitude. Hmm… I think there's an old saying from your country, something like: 'Don't forget small favors,' right?"
"Actually, it's: 'Do not refrain from doing a small good deed.'"
Kaito corrected her mistake, "It comes from Records of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of the First Sovereign. It was the dying words of Emperor."
"Sorry, I got it wrong."
The girl bit her lip in slight embarrassment, but quickly put on perfectly-timed sparkly eyes, "But Kurumizaka-kun even knows such obscure knowledge! That's really amazing!"
Master of tea arts—this is the art of praise.
Soyo's history grades were pretty good, so of course she knew this reference too. But being too smart only creates distance.
A little feigned ignorance actually helps human interactions.
Especially when it's a pretty girl looking up in admiration, this always triggers a boy's pride and satisfaction.
Mm... at least that's what shoujo manga says.
Soyo was a girl with strong drive. She would go all out for a goal. Just like back when she learned of Sakiko's whereabouts, she immediately went for a solo offline match, and after being cut down by little Sakiko, she delivered that shocking kneel on Asuka Mountain, leaving behind an unskippable monument in the history of Band Club arcs.
Now was no exception. Since she had already confirmed her feelings, of course she had to make a move early.
Standing on the edge of the balcony, in front of her was Tokyo's brightly lit night view. The dazzling neon lights flickered endlessly, illuminating the busy figures inside the office buildings, and also lighting up the pale profile of the girl beside him. Her brown hair gently swayed in the night breeze, adding several layers of quiet beauty to Soyo.
"About that last time, I still haven't properly thanked Kurumizaka-kun," She spoke softly, still looking out toward the distant nightscape. In those sapphire blue eyes, flickered a captivating glint of rainbow light.
"You've already thanked me many times."
Soyo smiled. It was a light, shallow smile, "It's all just words. Doesn't Kurumizaka-kun feel like it's insincere?"
Kaito thought for a moment, "Then… a special offer of five million yen?"
"Sure~", Soyo lightly tapped her cherry lips with a finger and smile, "Actually, you could offer more too. How about ten million yen? If that's not enough, I can add more~"
Mrs. Nagasaki had always felt guilty about not being able to spend more time with her daughter, so she was quite generous materially.
Soyo received about two to three million yen in pocket money every month. She didn't really have any expensive hobbies, and her personality was very thrifty. Most of her allowance had been saved.
After all this time, even she didn't know exactly how much she had saved, but it was definitely tens of millions.
"So generous?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow, 'Should I say, truly mother and daughter? Even their straightforward personalities are inherited down the line.'
"It's just some external belongings. To me, it's still far from enough to express my gratitude," Soyo brushed aside a strand of hair by her ear. Her long lashes curled up like butterfly wings touched by morning dew in spring.
'Kurumizaka-kun, you probably don't know, right?'
'Actually, after that day's farewell, I was very scared.'
'Being possessed by a ghost. Something I had only seen in movies, actually happened to me in real life.'
'That feeling of becoming a marionette was truly unbearable. If it weren't for Kurumizaka-kun entering that music classroom in time, I would definitely have been badly harmed under Mizusaki-senpai's possession. Even if I miraculously survived, I'd have likely fallen seriously ill.'
Soyo didn't dare imagine. If her working mother were to hear bad news of her being gravely ill, how devastated she would be.
But the fear didn't stop there.
Since a grounded spirit like Mizusaki existed in this world, then other types of ghosts must also exist. That's a very simple deduction.
That night, Soyo suffered rare insomnia. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see terrifying figures baring fangs and claws, rushing toward her eagerly.
It continued until she reached for her phone and happened to see that cute ragdoll cat avatar among her contacts.
And then, her panicked heart magically calmed down.
Soyo had lost her father at a very young age. Throughout her growth, the "fatherly love" role had been absent.
But in that dusk-tinged evening, in Kurumizaka-kun's embrace, she experienced for the first time a sense of calm and reliability, like that of a father.
'Luckily, there's you.'
'Luckily, it was you.'
Even if he did nothing, just silently looking at their brief chat history, those ordinary exchanges, was enough to settle her panicked heart, letting her close her eyes and fall asleep.
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