Perhaps because a daughter's status was inherently lower, Jinno Sumire, who never showed weakness in front of outsiders, kept her head bowed and remained silent in the face of her father's actions, only tears glistening in her eyes.
Just as Jinno Takashi sneered, raising the entire plate of children's cake in his hand, preparing to dump it all into the trash, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him, firmly gripping his wrist.
"Wasting food isn't a good habit."
A calm voice suddenly rang out in the annex.
This abrupt voice clearly didn't belong to either of the two originally in the room.
Jinno Sumire and Jinno Takashi immediately turned their heads simultaneously to look back.
They saw a young man standing behind Jinno Takashi. Compared to the older, slightly stooped Jinno Takashi, the young man's figure appeared exceptionally tall, straight, and robust.
"Hik... Hikari-kun?"
This suddenly appearing man was none other than Hikari, who had just finished a half-hour 'negotiation' with Jinno Ai and hurried over.
Originally, Hikari had some matters he wanted to discuss with Jinno Sumire. However, the moment he arrived at this annex, he witnessed the scene of Jinno Takashi berating Jinno Sumire.
Jinno Sumire was quite surprised by Hikari's sudden appearance, her beautiful eyes wide as she stared intently at him.
Meanwhile, Jinno Takashi, whose wrist had been suddenly grabbed, upon realizing the person who had just obstructed his action was his 'son-in-law' Hikari, immediately showed a flash of anger on his face.
"Hikari-kun! What do you think you're doing?", Jinno Takashi demanded loudly, his voice full of vigor and exceptionally resonant.
Even though Hikari stood a full head taller than him, he was speaking to his son-in-law from the position of a father-in-law.
However, in response to this 'father-in-law's' demand, the scene Jinno Takashi imagined, of Hikari trembling, releasing him, then bowing and apologizing, did not happen at all.
Hikari merely glanced at him and replied in a flat tone, "I'm stoping you from wasting food, Head of the Family, Father-in-law."
Seeing Hikari's nonchalant, calm demeanor, Jinno Takashi was furious enough to explode, "Knowing I'm the head of the family and your father-in-law, you still dare to be so disrespectful to me?"
As a big shot among big shots in Ino Town, Jinno Takashi hadn't been defied in a long time. Almost everyone spoke to him with utmost respect. Therefore, he was extremely angry at Hikari's seeming disregard for him.
"No, Father-in-law. Let's stick to the matter at hand. Setting status aside, isn't there anything wrong with you wasting food like this?", Hikari continued speaking to Jinno Takashi with an unchanged, calm expression.
"Stick to the matter? Isn't there anything wrong with me?", Seeing Hikari's impervious attitude and the way he kept holding his hand firmly, Jinno Takashi was truly about to die of anger.
He tried to shake his hand, wanting to break free from Hikari's grip.
But as a man in his sixties or seventies, how could his strength compare to a young man's, let alone a human beast like Hikari? No matter how he twisted and turned, his wrist didn't budge an inch. Only his body wriggled, looking rather comical.
Realizing this, Jinno Takashi's face flushed a purplish-red with anger.
Suppressing his rage, he barked at Hikari, "Hikari-kun, I don't know if you truly don't understand or are pretending not to. But I'll make it clear to you. You are merely a son-in-law in my family. And I am currently disciplining my daughter. You have no right to interfere! I advise you not to meddle in affairs that aren't your concern, and don't be ungrateful! Let go of me! Release me!"
If he hadn't felt it was risk-free to come to this shrine, his own turf, and thus didn't bring any men, Jinno Takashi would probably have called his bodyguards to pull Hikari away by now.
But in response to Jinno Takashi's furious words, Hikari remained just as impervious.
His response was the same as before, "Slowly put that plate with the cake down, and I'll let go of your hand. I genuinely can't stand seeing people waste food."
"You!", Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Takashi's entire old face flushed red with anger.
But you can't fight strength with weakness. After scolding Hikari a few more times and finding him still unwilling to let go, with his hand now hurting from the grip, Jinno Takashi had no choice.
He was forced to obey Hikari's words and place the plate with the cake back on the table. Only then did Hikari release Jinno Takashi's wrist.
"Good! Hikari-kun, very good!", Jinno Takashi rubbed his sore wrist while glaring at Hikari with towering rage. He repeatedly said "good" to Hikari, but the anger in his tone couldn't be more obvious.
"Thank you for the praise, Head of the Family, Father-in-law. I hope you won't waste food in the future either," Hikari seemed not to grasp the meaning behind Jinno Takashi's words, treating them as genuine praise, and nodded at him with a smile.
Seeing Hikari's expression, which made it hard to tell if he was truly foolish or just pretending, Jinno Takashi was so angry his lungs hurt.
He didn't know what else to say. Leaving behind a single 'wait for it,' he quickly strode out of the annex.
With Jinno Takashi's departure, the atmosphere in the entire annex became much more relaxed again. Now it was just Hikari and Jinno Sumire once more.
After her father Jinno Takashi's figure disappeared, Jinno Sumire, who had been sitting behind the desk, immediately stood up and said to Hikari with a face full of gratitude, "Hikari-kun, thank you!"
Clearly, her father Jinno Takashi's scolding had also been very hard for Jinno Sumire to bear. Hikari's actions had helped her out of a tight spot.
In response to Jinno Sumire's thanks, Hikari waved his hand, "It's nothing. Though, it feels a bit unexpected."
"Hmm? What are you surprised about, Hikari-kun?", Jinno Sumire asked curiously.
Hikari said, "I thought that after Head of the Family Jinno left, Sumire-san, you would stand up and scold me right away."
"Huh? Why would I scold you? You helped me," Jinno Sumire looked at Hikari strangely.
"After all, for the sake of a trivial matter like a few pieces of cake, I offended Head of the Family Jinno, your father. That might cause the plan you devised, us pretending to be a married couple, to fail. That deal doesn't seem very cost-effective," Hikari explained.
"So you were worried about that... Auntie isn't so ungrateful or unable to tell good from bad," Jinno Sumire smiled and shook her head. She suddenly became curious and asked Hikari, "But hypothetically, if I really had scolded you right after my father left for not understanding the bigger picture and ruining the plan?"
Hikari smiled, "Then I'd have simply left Ino Shrine, left the Jinno family, dissolved our fake fiance relationship, and let you find someone else, Sumire-san."
Jinno Sumire covered her mouth with a light laugh, "Hikari-kun is so selfish~"
"Selfish? I suppose so. After all, I often only consider my own satisfaction when doing things," Hikari didn't argue, just smiled at Jinno Sumire.
But Jinno Sumire smiled and said, "How do you know your actions didn't make me feel satisfied?"
Hikari raised an eyebrow slightly, "Hmm?"
He had just completely disregarded her father Jinno Takashi's face right in front of her, which also somewhat meant not giving Jinno Sumire face, and it likely affected her plan. Could she really have no objections at all?
Perhaps sensing Hikari's confusion, Jinno Sumire explained with a smile, "Actually, defying that old man's authority... I've wanted to do that for a long time. It's just that as a daughter, I can't do it, or I'd bear the stigma of being unfilial."
"Although, as you said, Hikari-kun, it really was just a few pieces of cake. Letting the plan be affected by such a small matter might indeed seem not worth it. But as you said later, whether doing something feels satisfying is important. Some things can't be measured by surface value."
"These few pieces of children's honey cake... in my heart, they really hold many important meanings. After all, this has been my favorite dessert since I was little. So, Hikari-kun... Auntie is really, really grateful to you!"
At the end, perhaps to express the sincerity of her gratitude, Jinno Sumire suddenly came out from behind the desk, walked up to Hikari, reached out to hug him, stood on tiptoe, raised her head, pursed her lips, and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek.
Smack!
At this moment, Jinno Takashi wasn't present in the annex; only Hikari and Jinno Sumire were there.
Therefore, Jinno Sumire didn't need to pretend to be an intimate couple with Hikari. That is to say, her action was likely motivated by a strong desire to express her heartfelt gratitude.
Of course, it could also be out of habit from playing the married couple. After all, according to their original relationship, even gratitude shouldn't be expressed this way if they weren't pretending.
But whatever the reason, Jinno Sumire had taken the initiative to kiss him now.
Feeling the alluring mature body of the cool, elegant shrine maiden pressed against him, Hikari didn't stand on ceremony either. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist in return. His hands even explored her body a few times, as if demanding payment for helping her defy Jinno Takashi earlier.
"Mmm~"
Jinno Sumire's cherry lips parted slightly, letting out a pant.
Whether she was still wanting to express gratitude and felt it inappropriate to pull away too quickly, or her body had gone a bit weak and lacked the strength to leave, or she simply didn't resist the contact herself.
In any case, after being embraced by Hikari, Jinno Sumire still didn't break free. She even continued kissing his cheek.
And Hikari also used his palms to carefully measure the various dimensions of this noble, dignified shrine maiden's body.
Feeling Hikari's hands gradually move down from her slender waist, becoming increasingly bold, Jinno Sumire finally hurriedly pushed the man in front of her away.
Now, the face of this noble shrine maiden was flushed. Her beautiful eyes held a mix of shyness and annoyance as she chided, "Who... who said you could move your hands around like that, Hikari-kun? You're getting more and more out of line, kid!"
Seeing Jinno Sumire's expression of feigned anger, which was actually full of bashfulness, Hikari spread his hands innocently, "But it was you who hugged me first, Sumire-san. And besides, we're a married couple. Isn't being intimate quite normal?"
Hearing this, Jinno Sumire rolled her eyes, saying with feigned annoyance, "Don't play dumb with me. Do you think Auntie is a fool? We're a fake married couple. If you marry Ai-chan later, that will be the real marriage."
"By then, I'll be your mother-in-law, understand?
"Daring to be disrespectful to your future mother-in-law, Hikari-kun, you're really going too far!"
Although she was still scolding verbally, there wasn't a trace of real anger in Jinno Sumire's eyes.
After Hikari saved her from Yoshizawa Eigen, which was equivalent to saving her life, Jinno Sumire's favorable impression of him had increased significantly.
And the scene of Hikari standing up to Jinno Takashi for her just now made her favorable impression of him skyrocket. Her feelings towards him as a person had become quite different.
Perhaps it was "knowing how to repay a debt of gratitude". In short, these actions, which would have made Jinno Sumire very angry if done by other men, didn't evoke any anger in her when Hikari did them. She just felt a bit strange inside, maybe awkward, maybe shy, or possibly... secret delight.
Seeing that Jinno Sumire wasn't really angry, Hikari smiled, "Mother-in-law? Sumire-san, didn't you always refuse to agree to me being with Ai-chan in front of her before?"
"And besides, it was you who took the initiative to hug me just now. What mother-in-law actively hugs and kisses her son-in-law?"
"Moreover, I already said I only consider my own satisfaction when doing things. And also, it seemed to me that you, Mother-in-law Shrine Maiden, were quite enjoying yourself earlier too."
Hearing Hikari's clearly rather disrespectful words, Jinno Sumire pursed her lips, "Tch, exactly! I don't want you marrying my daughter. You're such a greasy guy."
"Mother-in-law, it's no use you not agreeing. Ai-chan has already said she wants to pledge herself to me," Hikari spread his hands and laughed.
"You're deliberately provoking Auntie, aren't you?", Jinno Sumire glared at Hikari, then suddenly smiled, "Oh right, you just said you only consider your own satisfaction when doing things, yet you suddenly hugged me and moved your hands around. Does that mean hugging Auntie feels very satisfying?"
"Let me ask you a question: does hugging Ai-chan feel better, or hugging me, Auntie? And don't play dumb and say you haven't hugged Ai-chan yet, I already smelled her scent on you!", Jinno Sumire suddenly stared at Hikari and asked.
Seeing Jinno Sumire stare intently at him, waiting for an answer after speaking, Hikari immediately sensed a somewhat serious atmosphere. This question, his 'mother-in-law' didn't seem to be joking; she seemed to be asking earnestly.
She really seemed to have gotten into character.
Feeling a bit of a headache, after pondering for a moment, Hikari could only open his mouth and answer, "Both of you, mother and daughter... feel quite satisfying."
Hearing this answer, Jinno Sumire instantly reached out and pinched Hikari's side in annoyance, "Don't you know that these so-called 'pleasing both sides' answers are the most useless and greasy? Hikari-kun, who makes you feel better, me or Ai-chan? You can only choose one answer. Say it!"
"I'll say it, I'll say it! It's still you, Mother-in-law, who feels better," Hikari had already guessed Jinno Sumire might press further, so after mentally apologizing to Jinno Ai in advance, he quickly gave this answer to Jinno Sumire.
Sure enough, hearing Hikari's quick, seemingly heartfelt reply, Jinno Sumire beamed with joy. The corners of her pink lips were harder to suppress than an AK-47, impossible to press down no matter what, "Ai-chan is still too young; it's normal her charm is a bit less than mine. Oh, and Hikari-kun, don't call me mother-in-law anymore. I already said I won't let you marry Ai-chan."
"If I don't call you mother-in-law, what should I call you? According to our relationship, should I call you... wife?", Hikari asked, somewhat confused.
Jinno Sumire's pretty face instantly flushed red, "Wife? What wife? Who's your wife? Don't talk nonsense! I'm Ai-chan's mother, don't you understand? Auntie! Call me Auntie! Hikari, I think you're getting more and more out of line, with no sense of seniority or propriety."
Seeing Jinno Sumire's flustered appearance, Hikari quickly said, "Alright, alright, Auntie, Auntie, Sumire-san. I'll keep calling you Auntie, okay?"
"Hmph, it's good you know your manners," Jinno Sumire crossed her arms, her bountiful chest jiggling a few times. Then she suddenly asked Hikari again, "Oh right, Hikari-kun, you said hugging me feels better than hugging Ai-chan. What exactly feels better?"
"Hmm...", Hikari adopted a thoughtful expression, pausing for six or seven seconds before speaking, "Sumire-san is very fragrant, and also especially soft, the feel is particularly good... makes people want to keep holding you..."
If Jinno Ai were here, she'd probably shout, 'Am I not fragrant too? Am I not soft too?'
But Jinno Ai wasn't here, so Hikari could only mentally apologize to her and praise Jinno Sumire's virtues wholeheartedly.
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