On the other side, Hikari had no idea how complicated the thoughts were in the hearts of the Asakawa sisters.
After leaving the Asakawa house, he soon arrived at Ino Shrine and followed Jinno Sumire to the Jinno residence.
As soon as they got there, just like she had said on the phone before, Jinno Sumire first took him to meet Jinno Takashi.
The meeting went quite smoothly, even a bit too calm.
After meeting Jinno Takashi, Hikari chatted with him just like before, and Jinno Takashi's attitude was still fairly warm.
It was as if what happened that night at Ino Shrine had never occurred, or as if he did not care at all that this son-in-law had once gone against him, his father-in-law.
In short, from beginning to end, Jinno Takashi's attitude during this meeting with Hikari was pretty good.
That made both Hikari and Jinno Sumire feel surprised.
At the Jinno residence, in the spacious reception room.
Hikari, Jinno Sumire, and Jinno Takashi were chatting together, and the atmosphere looked very harmonious.
After talking for about half an hour, Jinno Sumire found an excuse and pulled Hikari out of the reception room first.
"Hikari-kun, do you think my father still cares about you grabbing his hand at the shrine the night before last?", After pulling him to a quiet courtyard, Jinno Sumire asked.
"Well… judging from Family Head's warm attitude just now, it seems like he doesn't care that much anymore," Hikari paused, then said, "But I feel like deep down, he still hasn't really let it go."
Hearing that, Jinno Sumire nodded, "Yes, your feeling should be right. My father is the kind of person who cannot tolerate the slightest disobedience. The fact that you dared to go against him that day, he definitely won't forget it so easily."
"Although on the surface he looks completely unconcerned and very warm toward you, he might already have quite a big opinion of you as his son-in-law."
Hearing this, Hikari looked at her thoughtfully and asked, "Then what should we do?"
Jinno Sumire shook her head, "I'm not sure. Let's just take it one step at a time."
At the beginning, asking Hikari to act as her husband had gone as smoothly as planned. Jinno Takashi not only believed in Hikari's identity as his son-in-law, but even seemed to have a good impression of him.
But indeed, no one expected that Hikari would dare to directly go against Jinno Takashi. Of course, since it was already done, neither Hikari nor Jinno Sumire felt regret. Still, when something unexpected like this happened, Jinno Sumire truly had not thought beforehand about what to do.
After thinking for a while, Jinno Sumire said, "The main reason I asked Hikari-kun to pretend to be my husband was to make my father hand over the family power."
"Once I gradually take control of the Jinno family, and… and once you help me have a child, that should ease these troubles."
"Anyway, I'll just work hard to fully take control of the Jinno family as soon as possible. Once I successfully control the family, we won't need to keep pretending anymore."
Hikari nodded, "Mm, that would be best."
Seeing him nod lightly after hearing her words, as if it did not matter much to him, Jinno Sumire felt a little heavy inside, strangely uncomfortable.
Although their husband and wife status was fake, it wasn't like they hadn't done what husband and wife do. It had been so intense at the time. It couldn't have been only her who felt good. Yet now he looked completely indifferent.
Jinno Sumire's emotions were complicated, but her face remained calm like still water. She even smiled sweetly at Hikari and said, "Hikari-kun seems quite happy that we won't need to keep pretending to be husband and wife. As expected, acting with an old lady like me every day must be annoying, right?"
Seeing this mature and beautiful shrine maiden, smiling on the surface but hiding a trace of resentment in her eyes, Hikari found it a bit funny.
He put on a serious look and explained, "It's not annoying. It's just that Aunt Sumire said before that we are still elders and juniors in identity, and that this fake relationship should end as soon as possible."
"Mm… I did say that, that's true, but… forget it, it's nothing!", Hearing him repeat what she had once said herself, Jinno Sumire felt a bit blocked in her chest.
But she had nothing to argue with. After all, she had indeed said those words herself.
"What Hikari-kun said is right. But since we're still pretending, then properly pretend for auntie," As she spoke, Jinno Sumire intimately hooked her arm around Hikari's and pulled his arm into her embrace.
Feeling this slightly resentful yet intimate move from her, Hikari smiled.
Then he was not polite at all. Since she wanted to pretend properly, he pressed his elbow firmly against that fullness.
He even rotated it a few times. The touch was excellent.
Feeling his movement, Jinno Sumire rolled her eyes at him.
But she did not say anything.
She just kept holding his arm closely.
The two of them stuck close together like a married couple and walked back toward the house.
But after walking dozens of steps along the wide and quiet side corridor of the Jinno residence, just as they reached a corner and were about to head out, a figure suddenly walked out from around the corner.
They ran into each other.
Seeing this figure that suddenly appeared, Jinno Sumire's expression changed.
Hikari also slightly raised his brows and looked at the delicate figure in front of them.
And the figure that appeared was staring at the two of them.
The girl who had just come around the corner was none other than Jinno Ai.
"Hik-Hikari-kun, and Mo… Mom?"
Jinno Ai had just returned home and entered the house not long ago. She was about to head back to her room when she ran into someone on the way.
She took a closer look and immediately saw the very familiar Hikari, whom she often used at night as material for her before-sleep magic practice.
So she subconsciously opened her mouth to greet him, "Hikari-kun…"
But halfway through, she saw that her mother, Jinno Sumire, was also there.
Jinno Ai subconsciously became nervous.
However, when she looked more carefully, she saw that Jinno Sumire was intimately holding Hikari's arm.
That scene made Jinno Ai freeze instantly. For a moment, the girl's mind stopped working.
She stared blankly at the two of them and stammered, "Mo… Mom, Hikari-kun… you… why are you… together… like this… um…"
"Come over here first, then we'll talk!", Feeling the chest pressed tightly against his arm rising and falling quickly, clearly extremely nervous, and seeing Jinno Ai staring at them blankly while maids seemed about to appear nearby, Hikari reacted quickly. He pulled both mother and daughter into a nearby empty room.
Then he directly closed the door, to avoid their relationship being exposed in public by Jinno Ai and seen by others in the Jinno family.
After being pulled into the room, Jinno Sumire also came back to her senses.
But when her eyes met Jinno Ai's puzzled gaze, and she realized she was still tightly holding Hikari's arm out of nervousness, Jinno Sumire could not help breaking into a cold sweat.
Holding her daughter's childhood friend so intimately while being stared at like this, she truly did not know what to do for a moment.
"Mom, why are you and Hikari-kun so… close? You two are…", Jinno Ai seemed to have come back to herself, but she still asked with a confused look.
"Th-this… I… this…", Faced with her daughter's question, Jinno Sumire was so nervous that she stammered and could not answer clearly.
Seeing this, Hikari spoke up to explain, "Ai, there's a reason why Aunt Sumire and I are standing so close."
"Oh? What reason?", Hearing him speak, Jinno Ai turned her head and asked him with a smile.
"To fool your grandfather," Hikari explained, "Ai, you've probably heard your grandfather urging Aunt Sumire to remarry soon and have another child for you, right?"
"Aunt Sumire has been urged constantly and is getting tired of it. And since she happened to meet me, she asked me to help her act for a while, so that your grandfather would stop pushing her to remarry. That's why today we're acting so close in the Jinno house."
Hikari told Jinno Ai the truth, basically without lying.
After hearing this, Jinno Ai nodded thoughtfully at him.
But she still turned to Jinno Sumire to confirm, "Mom, is it like Hikari-kun said?"
By now, Jinno Sumire had mostly calmed down. Although facing her daughter's bright eyes still made her feel a bit guilty inside, she maintained her mother's authority on the surface and nodded slightly, "Mm, that's right."
After getting confirmation from both of them, Jinno Ai nodded to show she understood.
She did remember that her grandfather, Jinno Takashi, often urged her mother to remarry and have more children for the Jinno family. He had even told her to hurry up, graduate, get married, and have kids.
"I understand. Grandpa really does keep urging Mom to remarry and have children for the Jinno family. He's even said that to me."
"I was wondering why Hikari-kun and Mom were so close. So that's the reason!", Jinno Ai smiled, looking like she completely understood.
Hearing her words, Jinno Sumire also let out a breath, "It's good that Ai understands."
Seeing the mother and daughter clear up the "misunderstanding," Hikari nodded in satisfaction.
Then he said to Jinno Ai, "Ai, since you understand the relationship Aunt Sumire and I are pretending to have, I hope you can cooperate with our acting."
"Huh?", Hearing this, both Jinno Sumire and Jinno Ai turned their heads at the same time, widening their beautiful eyes at Hikari.
"The matter of us pretending to be husband and wife will sooner or later be known by Family Head that Ai knows about it. So it's better to discuss it in advance," Seeing Jinno Sumire looking a bit confused, Hikari explained to her.
Hearing that, Jinno Sumire also understood.
Indeed, if Hikari was really going to be her "future husband," it would be impossible for Jinno Ai to remain unfamiliar with him forever.
The first time Hikari came to the Jinno house for dinner, Jinno Takashi had asked why Jinno Ai was not there and said he wanted to introduce them. At that time, she had sent Jinno Ai away with an excuse. But that could not last forever.
Now that they had already told Jinno Ai the "truth" and laid everything out, having her cooperate was indeed the best choice.
"Yes, Ai, when you're in front of your grandfather, remember to cooperate with our acting," Jinno Sumire said to her daughter.
Hearing the words of the two people closest to her, Jinno Ai did not hesitate much and directly agreed, "Okay, I'll cooperate with Hikari-kun and Mom's act… acting."
"But… what should I do?"
Hearing that, Hikari explained, "First, in front of Family Head, you definitely can't act too familiar with me."
"Then, you can show that you've already met me and roughly know me a bit."
"Also, you must show that you agree with Aunt Sumire remarrying and support us being together."
"So, how about Ai, you try calling me Dad first?"
Hearing this, Jinno Ai's beautiful eyes widened and her pink lips parted slightly, "Ah?"
Not just Jinno Ai, even Jinno Sumire beside them widened her eyes and looked at him somewhat speechless.
'Seriously? Even if it is for acting, how could Hikari-kun have the nerve to ask Ai to call him Dad?'
Jinno Ai also stared at Hikari in a daze, 'So cooperating means cooperating like this?'
She was already in her teens, yet she had to call her childhood friend, who was the same age as her, Dad.
That was way too embarrassing.
'Although it's not… not impossible…'
Seeing both mother and daughter staring at him blankly, Hikari asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
When he looked at her, Jinno Sumire felt strangely shy. Her mature and pretty face turned slightly red as she said, "It doesn't seem like… there's any problem. But it still depends on Ai's own thoughts."
Hearing the word Dad, Jinno Sumire suddenly remembered that night when Hikari had even made her call him Dad. Even when addressing Jinno Takashi, she always used the more formal Father.
Yet she had actually called Hikari, a junior, Dad. Thinking about it that way, him asking Jinno Ai, who was his peer, to call him Dad did not seem that strange… except it absolutely was strange.
Although Jinno Sumire did not find any obvious problem with what he said, she still felt he was not being very proper, so she puffed her cheeks slightly and looked at him.
As for Jinno Ai, after noticing Hikari's gaze on her, she did not show any dissatisfaction.
Her pretty face just turned slightly red.
"Hikari-kun… um… um…"
Jinno Ai stammered. Jinno Sumire thought she wanted to reject his suggestion but was too embarrassed to say it, so she seemed shy and conflicted.
But what Jinno Sumire did not expect, and even Hikari felt a bit surprised by, was that, Jinno Ai suddenly stammered and softly called out to Hikari.
"Da… Daddy!" [T/N: I felt a great disturbance in the force. As if hundred of zippers were suddenly opened.]
Although her voice was as soft as a mosquito, there was no noise in the room, so the word clearly reached both Hikari and Jinno Sumire's ears.
Hearing her own daughter call Hikari Daddy, Jinno Sumire did not know why, but her heartbeat suddenly sped up.
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