Climbing the creaky stairs while checking the supermarket receipt, Miyuki Shirogane muttered:
"Eggs went up another 50 yen today. Prices keep skyrocketing these days."
"I'll use one less egg for lunch tamagoyaki. Otherwise, we'll overspend on groceries again this month."
Still calculating quietly, Miyuki pushed open his front door with a plastic bag full of cabbage and eggs:
"I'm home!!"
"Yo, Miyuki! Lost on the path of life again?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Miyuki stepped inside in his slippers and turned to see his father with a handsome young man about his own age:
"Dad, do we have a guest today?"
Shirogane maintained a perfectly straight face as he lied:
"Yes! This is my new boss, Luo Shu-san. I'll be working at his company from now on."
"Eh?"
Miyuki was startled - this young man was his father's employer?
"Ah, I'm Miyuki Shirogane. Thank you for looking after my father."
Watching the bowing Miyuki, Luo Shu nodded slightly before telling Shirogane:
"Mr Shirogane has raised an excellent son!"
"Haha, you flatter me. Compared to you, my foolish son still has much room for improvement."
Though admittedly a bit dense in some aspects, Shirogane still considered his son truly excellent.
But when measured against someone like Luo Shu, a young director, there was still some gap.
"If not for special circumstances, I might not measure up to your son, Mr Shirogane."
"You're far too modest. My worthless son still needs to work much harder."
'These two...' Miyuki watched their mutual admiration with exasperation.
Just as they were exchanging compliments, Kei Shirogane hurried out of her room, dragging a suitcase:
"Dad, could you pack my toiletries? Oh, but don't touch the cosmetics - I'll handle those myself."
"Got it!" Shirogane responded, but made no move to act, instead turning to Miyuki Shirogane and saying: "Miyuki, go help your sister pack."
"Huh?" Miyuki Shirogane walked towards the kitchen while asking blankly, "What's up with Kei? Why's she suddenly packing?"
"Ah, Kei's going to stay at Luo Shu's place for a while."
Having said that, Shirogane slapped Luo Shu on the shoulder and laughed heartily:
"I'm entrusting my hopeless daughter to your care, Luo Shu!"
Hearing this, Miyuki Shirogane froze.
What the hell? What's going on here? Why is his little sister going to stay at his dad's boss's house? And why is his dad asking said boss to look after her?
Isn't there something seriously wrong with this picture?!!
Just as Miyuki Shirogane was reeling in confusion, Kei Shirogane popped up out of nowhere and lightly kicked Shirogane:
"You stupid old man, what kind of nonsense are you spouting now?!"
"I'm moving into a dorm, not Senior's house! It just happens that Senior's dorm is in the same place!"
'Though it's practically the same as my house...' Luo Shu silently added in his mind, but kept the thought to himself.
At that moment, Miyuki Shirogane finally caught on and stared speechlessly at his father:
"Old man, what nonsense are you spouting? Kei's clearly going to a dorm. The way you said it made me think something else was going on!"
"Such cruel children. Your poor father just wants to find Kei a good home," Shirogane clutched his chest dramatically, putting on a wounded expression:
"I just want to find a rich son-in-law! What's so wrong about that?"
"Drop dead, you rotten old man!" Kei Shirogane hurled a pillow at him in fury, which Shirogane deftly dodged.
"Ah, my daughter's grown up now - can't take a joke anymore. When you were little, you used to say you'd find a super handsome boyfriend," Shirogane deadpanned, leaving Luo Shu standing by with an awkward smile.
But what could he do? Their daughter was beautiful, and facing his potential future father-in-law, Luo Shu could endure this.
Just then, Miyuki carried groceries into the kitchen before heading to the bathroom to organise toiletries.
That's when it struck him as odd.
Kei moving into a dorm - what kind of dorm was this? Why would his father's boss be living there?
Though puzzled, seeing his father's cheerful demeanour made Miyuki suppress his questions for now. Emerging from the bathroom with toiletries, he asked:
"Speaking of the dorm, is there really such a hurry to move in?"
"I'm not in a hurry!" Kei, still packing clothes into a suitcase, flushed red as she protested loudly: "Chika just invited me to stay with her for a few days, that's all."
Nearby, Luo Shu picked up the tea Kei had brewed earlier, taking a sip while thinking with dead-fish eyes:
'Actually, you are in a hurry. Your eyes practically sparkled when I mentioned the dorm is actually a luxury apartment...'
But voicing this would only provoke Kei, so Luo Shu kept quiet.
Instead, it was Shirogane who calmly remarked:
"Speaking of which, that Miss Chika's father is the current Minister of Agriculture, isn't he? Honestly, getting a call from someone like that was rather startling."
"You say 'startling' but your face shows nothing," Miyuki muttered under his breath. With guests present, though, he could only grit his teeth and accept his sister's temporary departure.
Something felt off - like his father and sister were hiding things from him. Was it just his imagination?
Just then, Shirogane suddenly offered: "Oh, right, Luo Shu, would you like to stay for a simple meal?"
"Absolutely not! Dad, do you really want Senior to eat tamagoyaki with salad greens with us? Have some dignity!" Kei glared at her father in exasperation. Had the old man never noticed how monotonous their meals were?
She and Miyuki only ever bought the cheapest vegetables and eggs - their 'meat' was just starch-filled sausages!
Inviting guests to eat this? The shame!
Shirogane crossed his arms, frowning thoughtfully: "But Kei, isn't saying that out loud even more embarrassing?"
"Only because you brought it up!"
Kei Shirogane didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Why bring up such an awkward topic!
"Anyway, if you want to thank me, wait until payday and treat this Senior to a meal outside."
"I've finished packing, so I won't be eating at home today."
"Chika is still waiting for us, so I'll be leaving with Senior first."
With that, Kei Shirogane snapped her suitcase shut, slung the bag Miyuki Shirogane had prepared over her shoulder, and still had a free hand to pull Luo Shu along:
"Anyway, you two remember to take care of yourselves!"
"Be careful on your way!"
Father Shirogane watched his daughter leave with another man calmly. Only after the door closed did he turn to look at the dumbfounded Miyuki Shirogane:
"Miyuki, in a few days, we'll also be moving to the dormitory."
"Huh?"
'So the whole family is moving to the dorms together?' Miyuki Shirogane immediately looked exasperated.
'This damn old man, always misleading people with his words.'
Seeing Miyuki's expression, Shirogane realised his son had misunderstood and added:
"That child Kei has quite a talent for mathematics. Luo Shu seems to be planning targeted training for her, so she'll probably get assigned a dormitory too."
"Eh? Targeted training?" Miyuki Shirogane was somewhat surprised by this.
Some large companies would provide targeted training to recruit special talents.
This involved offering support to select students, having them pursue specific majors, and then directly employing them after graduation.
Miyuki wasn't surprised that Kei would receive targeted training - his younger sister was indeed excellent. He was just shocked she'd been selected by a major company while still in middle school.
"Dad, what kind of company does Luo Shu work for?" Miyuki asked somewhat tactfully.
Seeing his son's expression, Shirogane knew precisely what he was getting at and calmly replied:
"It's a company affiliated with the government. By the way, Luo Shu also holds a position at the Metropolitan Police Department."
"I see. That's fine then." Miyuki was completely reassured now. A company with government ties was unlikely to have issues.
Noticing this, Shirogane calmly remarked:
"It seems Miyuki also approves of this brother-in-law. But Miyuki, you should occasionally assert some authority as the elder brother. The bride's family needs to be firm so Kei won't be bullied."
Hearing this, Miyuki sighed:
"Kei was right!"
"You really are a damn old man!"
Watching his son curse at him before rushing off to cook, the old man Shirogane felt somewhat depressed:
'I just think Kei and Luo Shu seem very well-matched? Why do you all have to scold me?'
'The thoughts of young people are truly hard to understand!!'