The moment Kurenai saw the look in Aoba's eyes, she knew she hadn't guessed wrong. She couldn't help but rub her forehead slightly, then asked again.
"Which of you two took the initiative?"
"Anko-nee."
He had been pushed down in reverse.
"I knew it."
Kurenai's face was full of helplessness. Aoba might be a bit of a scumbag, but she knew Anko's personality even better.
"Aoba, that girl Anko may have a lot of problems, and her brain doesn't always work right, but she's still a good person. From now on, I'll have to trouble you to take care of her more."
Aoba felt a little strange inside, 'Why does this feel so much like parents entrusting their daughter to someone?'
"I'll take good care of Anko-nee, it's just...", His words suddenly shifted, his tone turning strange as he said, "Kurenai-nee, Anko-nee actually wants me to take you down together too."
At these words, Kurenai, who had still been reminiscing about the past, suddenly froze, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly, "Words like that, just take them as if she's farting."
"..."
When no answer came, Kurenai couldn't help but tilt her head to look.
And then she saw that Aoba's expression was very serious at this moment, and her heart instantly panicked.
"You... you can't really be thinking that, right?"
Aoba's serious expression faded away, replaced by a gentle smile, "How could that be possible? Of course this kind of thing depends on your opinion, Kurenai-nee."
"I..."
"By the way, how did you feel about the kimono I gave you last time? Did you like it?"
At these words, Kurenai was slightly stunned. Thinking about that finely made kimono, she subconsciously nodded, "I like it."
"That's good. It's almost mealtime, Kurenai-nee, I'll head out first."
After speaking, Aoba waved to Kurenai, then quickened his steps and disappeared.
Leaving Kurenai standing alone, disoriented in the wind.
'This guy really does have ideas about me, doesn't he?'
'What should I do?'
———
Aoba quickly arrived at the entrance of the Hyuga compound. From afar, he saw two figures, one big and one small, standing at the gate, holding hands.
"Hinata! Hanabi!"
"Aoba-kun!"
"Aoba-nii!"
The big and small pair immediately sandwiched Aoba in the middle, surrounding him as they walked inside.
"How long have you two been waiting outside?"
"Not too long. Actually, Onee-san was secretly using Byakugan to..."
"Hanabi!", Hinata circled around Aoba and knocked on Hanabi's head, cutting off her attempt to sell out her Onee-san.
But Aoba had already understood what Hanabi meant.
A few drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Hinata really was a peeping addict.
He didn't know if she had seen the things he had done.
Aoba quietly sized up Hinata's expression again. Seeing her looking embarrassed, she probably hadn't found out.
After all, most of the time he had set up barriers.
If she really had discovered anything, he probably wouldn't make it out of the Hyuga compound alive tonight.
Hinata also noticed the slightly strange looks he occasionally cast at her, and her heart grew a little flustered.
"Aoba-kun, I just wanted to know when you'd come. I didn't mean to peek."
"You're not mad, right?", Hinata asked cautiously.
Being followed, overheard, spied on, those were all signs of mistrust.
Not being trusted by his girlfriend, even being spied on by her, could Aoba-kun accept that?
"How could I?", Aoba couldn't hold back his laughter, "It just means you care about me. I'm really happy."
Besides, Aoba had good self-awareness. As a boyfriend, he truly wasn't worthy of trust.
He had just been relieved she hadn't discovered anything yet.
"Really?", Hinata's eyes widened.
"Really!"
Out of a certain sense of guilt, Aoba intertwined his fingers with hers.
Then directly lowered his head and kissed her.
At first, Hinata fully embraced it, sinking into Aoba's tenderness.
Until her peripheral vision caught sight of Hanabi staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes.
Hinata's body suddenly stiffened, and she gently pushed Aoba away.
"Onee-san, is it tasty?"
Seeing this, Hanabi asked with a face full of innocence.
Hinata's cheeks flushed red, unable to speak.
Instead, Aoba pinched Hanabi's little face and teased, "Your Onee-san's very tasty."
Hanabi's big eyes looked at Aoba full of anticipation, "Then can I have a taste too?"
"?", A question mark popped above Aoba's head.
Hinata instinctively blurted out, "No!"
"Tch! Onee-san, you're so stingy."
Hinata only glared at Hanabi. If she dared say one more word, she'd be sleeping on her stomach tonight.
Hanabi felt a chill on her backside, sensing the dangerous aura, so she hid behind Aoba and went quiet.
The three entered the residence. Hyuga Hiashi was already waiting in the living room.
Hyuga Ayako and Hyuga Natsu were preparing dinner.
Whether it was just Aoba's imagination or not, today Hiashi's gaze on him seemed a little sharper.
But he still politely greeted him.
"Hiashi-san."
Hiashi nodded slightly, a trace of a smile appearing on his stern face, "Aoba, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"Geez, why is it every time Aoba-nii comes over, Dad, you always have something to talk about!", Hanabi pouted unhappily.
Aoba could clearly see a tic-tac-toe mark appear on Hiashi's forehead.
Both his daughters' elbows were pointing outward, making the father feel stifled.
"Hanabi, let me first discuss something serious with Hiashi-san. I'll play with you later."
Hearing Aoba's words, Hanabi obediently took Hinata's hand and left.
Which, without a doubt, made Hiashi feel even more stifled.
The two sat down in the guest room.
"My younger daughter has troubled you."
Hiashi first spoke politely.
"No need, Hiashi-san, just say what's on your mind."
Aoba got straight to the point.
Hiashi's expression turned solemn, and he said directly, "Natsu has been with you for some time now. About the caged bird issue..."
Aoba understood. It was natural for the Hyuga clan head to care about the caged bird seal.
He explained his research results and the possible solutions he had thought of so far.
Hiashi's expression clearly grew more animated.
"I didn't expect that in such a short time, you could achieve results like this? Aoba, you truly are exceptionally gifted."
"Hiashi-san, if you want to resolve the caged bird..."
"Let's put that aside for now."
Hiashi raised his hand to stop Aoba's words, his expression turning even more serious.
"Let's talk about Hinata and Hanabi."
"Hm?"
Hiashi continued, "Between Hinata and Hanabi, one of them must inherit the Hyuga clan. You should know that, right?"
"Yeah."
Aoba nodded a little awkwardly.
Hiashi's face also showed a troubled look.
"But right now, whether it's Hinata or Hanabi, not only are they uninterested in the clan head position, they're even pushing it onto each other..."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.