"Of course I'm jealous..."
Aimi blurted out the truth without thinking.
Although she immediately realized what she had said, Megumi Kato had already heard every word clearly.
"So you really are jealous of me. No wonder you're so hostile toward me. As they say, envy turns into jealousy, and jealousy turns into hatred," Megumi Kato said with a smile.
Seeing that one tiny slip had given Megumi the perfect opportunity to mock her, Aimi felt both angry and unwilling to accept defeat.
So she simply pretended she had never said what she just said and shamelessly argued back.
"What's wrong with you? I hadn't even finished speaking yet, and you were already rushing to interrupt me."
"What I wanted to say was, 'Of course I'm jealous of you? As if!'"
"You were so eager to cut me off. Could it be because you were too guilty to let me finish?"
"A certain... psychologist whose name I can't remember once said that when someone is desperate to interrupt another person's words, it means they're feeling guilty."
Although Aimi did not feel particularly confident inside, she knew that if she backed down now, Megumi definitely would not let such a perfect opportunity go.
Megumi might not only tease her now, but also repeat the whole thing to Kotomi when they met later.
And afterward, every time an opportunity came up, Megumi would probably drag today's incident back out and mention it again and again.
The moment Aimi imagined that, the tiny flame of anger in her heart began blazing wildly!
Under the force of that anger, she actually gained a little confidence.
"Hehe..."
Megumi Kato chuckled and replied unhurriedly,
"If I really did interrupt you just now, then I apologize."
"But I don't think I actually interrupted you, did I?"
"It looked more like you were halfway through speaking when you suddenly realized you shouldn't have told me the truth."
"But you'd already said it, and I'd already heard it."
"So all you could do was close your mouth while desperately thinking of a counterargument."
"You just hadn't managed to come up with one before I started talking again."
"Am I right?"
She got absolutely everything right!
Aimi Izumi thought in shock.
At that moment, Aimi even started wondering whether the expression on her face had really been that obvious.
Megumi had somehow seen through every little thought in her mind as though she could read minds.
Still, shock was shock.
Even if she had no argument, she could not lose face.
Aimi Izumi naturally refused to surrender so easily!
She was not normally competitive.
But whenever she faced Megumi Kato, she always wanted to win.
Maybe it was because she lost to Megumi so often that "beating Megumi Kato just once" had practically become an obsession in Aimi's heart.
Suppressing her inner shock, Aimi vigorously shook her head and desperately denied it.
"What you said... isn't right at all!"
After denying it, Aimi suddenly had no idea what else to say.
Faced with Aimi's denial, Megumi did not say much.
She merely chuckled softly and shrugged with a slightly helpless yet unsurprised expression.
It was as though she had already guessed from the very beginning that Aimi would definitely deny everything.
"Fine. Say whatever you want."
"If you want to keep arguing with me, I'm happy to continue."
"But... do you really have time to stand here chatting with me?"
Megumi Kato smiled with a slightly mischievous air.
Then she turned her phone toward Aimi and showed her the current time.
When Aimi Izumi saw the time displayed on Megumi's phone, she froze.
Then her entire expression went blank.
Refusing to believe it, she hurriedly pulled out her own phone to check whether Megumi had deliberately set the clock ahead.
But Megumi had not changed anything.
Aimi really was about to be late!
"Huh—?! Why did time suddenly fast-forward so much?!"
For a moment, Aimi even hesitated over whether she should immediately start running to school.
But with her stamina, could she really run all the way there in one go?
Aimi's physical education grades were not terrible, but they were not particularly good either.
She was fine at sprinting.
But when it came to long-distance running, Aimi was genuinely hopeless.
"Time didn't fast-forward at all."
"You were just too busy talking to me and completely forgot that time was still passing second by second."
A faint smile curved across Megumi Kato's lips.
However, perhaps because of her tone, in Aimi's eyes that smile looked more like an evil smirk.
Having suffered yet another defeat, Aimi glared at Megumi with intense unwillingness.
Then her little legs began moving as fast as possible as she ran away.
Because if she did not start running now, she really would be late.
At the same time, unwilling to admit defeat, Aimi shouted over her shoulder,
"Don't think this means you won—!!!"
Watching Aimi Izumi sprint toward school in a blur, Megumi Kato gave a helpless little laugh and shrugged.
Then she called toward Aimi's retreating back,
"Be careful on the way!"
"Whoa!"
The moment Megumi finished speaking, Aimi happened to trip over her own feet and nearly fell flat on the ground.
Fortunately, she managed to grab a nearby streetlamp in time.
After barely regaining her balance, Aimi panted heavily and looked back at Megumi not far away.
She shouted unhappily,
"Did you do that on purpose?!"
"Of course not."
Megumi genuinely had not done it on purpose.
Even so, she suddenly had the urge to burst out laughing.
But if she laughed now, she knew she would probably infuriate Aimi to death.
Normally, Megumi might already have started laughing.
But right now, she could tell Aimi was genuinely about to be late.
To avoid making her late and to avoid angering her even further, Megumi decided to suppress her laughter for now.
At least until Aimi had disappeared from sight...
Aimi also knew Megumi had not done it deliberately.
She was simply too irritated to let it go.
Without saying anything more, she picked up her pace again and ran toward school.
Today was the first day back at school.
She definitely did not want to be late on a Monday.
Only after Aimi had completely disappeared from sight did Megumi Kato finally chuckle several times.
Once she finished laughing, she pressed the doorbell of the Izumi residence.
"Who is it?" Akina Izumi's voice came through the intercom.
"Good morning, Mrs. Izumi. It's Megumi Kato. Has Kotomi gotten up yet?" Megumi politely asked.
"Oh, it's Megumi. Kotomi is still sleeping in."
"That child really is something. She knows you come here every morning, yet she's still going back to sleep."
"It's okay, Mrs. Izumi. I'm the one who chooses to come here and wait for Kotomi."
"I usually wait for her around this time anyway."
"It's just especially cold today. Would it be all right if I came inside and waited for her?"
"Of course, of course. Just wait a moment."
Not long afterward, the front door of the Izumi residence opened.
"Good morning, Mrs. Izumi."
Megumi stepped forward and politely greeted her again.
"Good morning, Megumi."
"From now on, whenever you come in the morning, just wait inside the house."
"The temperature has dropped again lately. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Akina Izumi could tell that even if she told Megumi not to come so early every morning to wait for Kotomi, Megumi would not listen.
So she simply decided to let Megumi wait inside from now on.
Megumi Kato's feelings for Kotomi Izumi had long since been obvious to both Kaneyoshi Izumi and Akina Izumi.
They had always pretended not to notice, partly because they believed parents should not interfere too much in their children's romantic affairs.
But there was another, even more important reason.
There were simply far too many girls who liked Kotomi!
Megumi Kato was only one of them!
Her parents genuinely could not decide who they were supposed to support.
Kaneyoshi Izumi had once told Akina,
"If we decide to help one of them, we'd basically be taking sides."
"That might break some kind of balance I don't even know how to describe."
"Once that balance breaks, the whole situation will probably spiral out of control."
"So wouldn't it be better if we just pretend we know nothing?"
"That way, we don't have to help anyone, and we don't have to worry about disrupting the balance."
"We can just let things take their natural course."
Akina thought about it and decided his reasoning made perfect sense.
So she simply pretended she knew nothing.
Besides, Akina genuinely could not decide who she should support anyway.
If she absolutely had to choose one, Akina might choose to support Iroha Isshiki.
But if she did that, she would feel a little guilty toward her own younger daughter, Aimi.
After all, Aimi had liked Kotomi ever since childhood.
Not the kind of affection between family members.
It was the kind of affection where she genuinely wanted to become Kotomi's wife.
As Aimi's mother, if Akina not only refused to help her younger daughter but instead helped Aimi's close friend Iroha Isshiki pursue Kotomi...
If Aimi found out, she would probably become so angry that she cried and threw a tantrum.
Thinking about it that way, Akina decided she would support none of them.
Maintaining this balance can be Kotomi's problem.
That little playgirl can worry about it herself.
As her mother, I'll just wait and see which girl becomes the final winner and starts calling Kaneyoshi and me Mom and Dad... Akina thought.
If Kotomi knew what Akina was thinking right now, she would probably cautiously say,
"Mom, have you considered the possibility that I want to marry all of them?"
Of course, even if Kotomi knew, she would never actually say that right now.
She was afraid her mother might treat her to her least favorite dish—"bamboo shoots with pork."
"Then I'll gladly accept your kindness. Thank you, Mrs. Izumi."
"You're welcome, you're welcome."
"My Kotomi is always being looked after by you at school."
"Oh, right. Kotomi is still sleeping, but would you like to go to her bedroom and wake her up now?" Akina Izumi asked with a smile.
"Huh? Is that really okay? Won't I disturb her?"
Megumi already wanted to do exactly that.
Otherwise, she would not have chosen to come inside instead of continuing to wait outdoors.
Still, when Akina asked directly, Megumi naturally had to put on a little act.
She could hardly reveal her intentions immediately and say,
"That's right. I didn't ring the doorbell because it was cold outside. I came in because I wanted to launch a surprise attack on sleepy little Kotomi in her bedroom!"
"Of course you won't disturb her."
"Besides, she should already be getting up."
"She's only lazing around and going back to sleep."
"If you go to her room now, you can wake her up earlier so she doesn't suddenly realize she's about to be late like Aimi just did."
"Okay... Huh?"
Megumi had been about to casually agree.
But before she finished, she suddenly noticed something in Akina's words.
So she doesn't suddenly realize she's about to be late like Aimi just did.
It sounded like an ordinary sentence.
But coming from Akina Izumi right now, it was anything but ordinary.
Could it be that when she and Aimi had been trading barbs outside the house earlier...
Akina had heard and seen everything?!
The moment she thought of that, even the usually calm Megumi became slightly flustered.
For a moment, she had no idea what she should say.
Apologize?
After all, she had nearly driven Aimi insane with anger first thing in the morning.
Even though Aimi had started the provocation, it would probably still be better for Megumi to apologize proactively.
After thinking that over, Megumi decided to apologize first.
She gave a slight bow and spoke sincerely.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Izumi."
"Hehe, it's fine."
"I could tell Aimi was the one who started provoking you."
"Haah... That girl is just like that sometimes."
"She's a complete beginner who doesn't even know where the starting line is, yet she's bad at the game, loves playing anyway, and likes picking fights first."
"She always thinks she's the winner."
"Still, if you're going to spend time together, it's better to get along peacefully."
Akina Izumi shrugged after saying that.
Then she smiled at Megumi.
"I still need to clean up the kitchen, so I won't disturb you young people."
"Go upstairs and find Kotomi."
"Ah... O-Okay."
Megumi was still slightly dazed and could only nod instinctively.
Being unexpectedly lectured by her future mother-in-law really had left her somewhat stunned.
As she walked up the stairs and gradually recovered, Megumi unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good thing I didn't say anything too harsh to Aimi..."
At the same time, Megumi gained a fresh appreciation for a certain saying.
—Age and experience really do make a difference.
When she reached Kotomi's bedroom, Megumi gently pushed open the door.
She found Kotomi still wrapped in the comforter, lying in bed and sleeping lazily.
"There's still some time before school, but you really shouldn't be this lazy..."
Megumi could not help laughing softly. Then she walked to Kotomi's bedside and knelt on the tatami.
From close range, she quietly gazed at Kotomi's adorable sleeping face.
Megumi was still hesitating between poking Kotomi's cheek or pinching her little nose when—
Kotomi Izumi suddenly opened her sleepy eyes.
Her cute pink eyes met Megumi's gaze directly.
"Kotomi..."
Seeing sleepy little Kotomi suddenly open her eyes, Megumi froze.
Before she could react, Kotomi gave her a mischievous smile.
Then she grabbed Megumi by the collar, pulled herself upright, and forcefully took the initiative to kiss her on the lips.
Kotomi Izumi's surprise attack successfully gave her control for three seconds!
Three seconds later, the initiative returned to Megumi Kato once again.
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