"Mama!"
"Mm."
"How does your body feel? Do you still feel weak?"
"Very good."
"That's good then… Mama? Mama? What are you looking at?"
Togawa Mizuho's dazed gaze finally retracted from the tall, upright figure of the young man standing beside her father outside the window. She turned back to look at her daughter in front of her, patted her head, and revealed a gentle smile like spring blossoms.
"I was just thinking, my little Sakiko… has finally grown up~"
The girl was still wondering, 'Was the way Mama looked at the President a little too focused?'
It didn't feel like looking at the love interest brought home by a daughter, but rather more like.
But before she could think deeper, she heard such a teasing remark, and a shy blush crept across her cute little round face. Her fair fingers instinctively twisted together, showing a somewhat bashful demeanor.
"I-I don't understand what Mama is talking about…"
"That Kaito-kun, isn't he the boy you like?"
But Togawa Mizuho wasn't willing to let her off. Though she looked gentle and graceful, this mature lady was also stubborn and headstrong in her youth, Togawa Sadaharu had suffered quite a bit under her.
In front of the fully armed Mama, the soft little Sakiko was still too green, with no strength to resist. She could only lower her head in shame and wordlessly play ostrich.
'What a useless daughter.'
Togawa Mizuho tapped her little head, seemingly with deeper meaning, "When facing someone you like, you should make a move early. Otherwise… he might get snatched by someone else, you know?"
"Th-That kind of thing won't happen…", Togawa Sakiko couldn't help but rebut, but her tone really lacked confidence.
She thought of that President's girlfriend, whom she had never even met, and even the joy in her heart from her mother's recovery was diminished.
Her beloved President, so noble and pure like the bright moon in the sky, had been deceived by some scheming bad woman, and from then on, the bright moon was stained.
The only thing Sakiko could use to comfort herself now was: given the President's indifferent and ascetic personality, even if that unknown bad woman had succeeded through despicable means, in such a short time they probably hadn't had a chance to do more intimate things yet.
In other words, the President's body very likely… still bore no marks of any other woman.
'Though the first love may be missed, the President's first kiss, even first… cough cough, in any case, betting on the name of Togawa, I must not lose.'
———
"Regarding Mizuho, thank you for stepping in."
Outside the ward, Togawa Sadaharu broke the silence after a long pause.
This old man, who normally held the majesty of a lion, now spoke with sincerity, completely shedding the cold and hard iron face that others saw. He even showed a bit of humble posture.
"The one you should truly thank is Sakiko," said Kaito, "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be here."
After healing Togawa Mizuho, he didn't linger in the ward but left the space to the mother and daughter who hadn't seen each other in a long time.
"These two things aren't in conflict."
Togawa Sadaharu smiled slightly. It seemed he didn't smile often, so the expression was a bit awkward, like gears that hadn't been lubricated in a long time, "Without Sakiko, you wouldn't have appeared, yes, but just Sakiko alone couldn't have saved Mizuho either."
The Togawa family had few descendants. Because of this incurable hereditary illness, like a curse, any member who lived past fifty was considered unusually long-lived. Mizuho's mother, Sakiko's grandmother, also passed away at that age.
Togawa Sadaharu managed to survive all these years not out of luck, but simply because he was a son-in-law of the Togawa family and not related by blood. The hereditary illness had nothing to do with him.
As a female-led family, it was Togawa tradition to bring in excellent men from outside as husbands, a practice that had lasted for hundreds of years.
In fact, not just the Togawa family, but all of Japan had a thriving "mukoyōshi" (adopted son-in-law) culture. Simply put, it meant adopting the son-in-law as both a son and a husband, double identity, kin on top of kin.
According to government statistics, each year over 80,000 Japanese households establish adoption relationships with young men, 98% of whom are males aged 20 to 30, and most of the adopters are corporate executives.
This practice wasn't hard to understand. Handing the family business over to a capable, promising son-in-law/adopted son could ensure decades of prosperity. But giving it to a biological child who only indulged in drinking, gambling, and fooling around, bankruptcy would be right around the corner.
Togawa Sadaharu was getting old. Although, compared to others of the same age, he was still relatively sturdy, he could clearly feel his energy waning.
Sakiko had been too rebellious in the past and was always snapping at him. His daughter Mizuho's health was also poor. This home could only be supported by the old man himself.
But now, the rebellious granddaughter no longer snapped at him, and the daughter's health had been restored.
With most of his worries cleared, he couldn't help but start to concern himself with his granddaughter's future.
"What do you really think of Sakiko, sir?"
'Of course I look at her with my eyes. If I didn't, I could still use spiritual sense.'
But Kaito thought for a moment and still gave an answer, "A very competent secretary."
After a pause, he added, "And an irreplaceable friend."
Togawa Sadaharu wasn't disappointed by this answer. Being friends now didn't mean they'd stay friends forever.
The most abundant thing in this world was friendships gone bad. As long as there wasn't dislike, there was room to grow.
So, he straightforwardly extended an olive branch.
"Interested in going a step further with Sakiko?", This silver-haired but still sharp-eyed old man promised in a firm tone, "A few years from now, everything of the Togawa family will be handed over to you."
Although currently the old man was only the acting head and had no direct authority to appoint the next heir, Sakiko alone had that qualification.
But since his granddaughter's heart was completely tied to her President, doing whatever he said, whether it was her or Kaito as the successor didn't seem to make much difference.
To show sincerity, he even took a step back, "You don't need to change your surname to Togawa. As long as in the future, one of the children between you and Sakiko takes the Togawa surname, that's enough. How about it?"
"I'm not interested in anything of the Togawa family," Faced with such generous terms, Kaito didn't even hesitate for a second.
No matter what the future relationship between him and the little secretary might become, whether friends or something more, it shouldn't be tainted by these external factors.
"…Is that so?", Togawa Sadaharu fell silent for a while and finally nodded, "I understand. But the kindness you've shown Mizuho, the Togawa family will still remember it."
Seeing that the mother and daughter in the ward seemed to have finished talking, Kaito said nothing more, just responded with an "Mm" and was about to take a step when he seemed to remember something and turned his head.
"Have you ever heard the name sumimi?"
Togawa Sadaharu was stunned for a moment, his expression changed slightly, and once he calmed down, he gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"I have a friend who really likes them," Kaito walked past him, "If sumimi disbanded, she would probably be very sad."
"That's it… just because of that?"
"Of course, not just that."
To the old man's surprise, the youth who had his back to him suddenly stopped walking. He seriously thought for a moment and added—
"That time in the café, the girl named Sumita Mana, she paid my bill."
Then he turned and left, leaving Togawa Sadaharu standing there, a face full of astonishment.
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