Inside the room, the lamplight was dim.
Half an hour had passed since the maid Rangiku left, and Jinno Sumire's cheeks were already sore from chewing. She finally finished the late-night snack that Hikari had prepared for her.
Seeing Jinno Sumire at this moment, exhausted to the point of rolling her eyes just from eating the snack, panting as she collapsed onto the mattress, Hikari's gaze became somewhat complicated.
Because from observing her during the several rounds of feeding her the late-night snack just now, Hikari realized that Jinno Sumire truly had not lied at all. She had been telling the truth from start to finish. She really did rarely eat at night and had very little experience with late-night snacks.
Although given her age and status, she really should not be this inexperienced, that was simply the reality.
As the head of the Jinno family, Jinno Sumire was extremely clumsy, whether it came to using her hands or her mouth. She was very, very inexperienced and truly needed a lot of practice.
This originally made Hikari feel somewhat uneasy. After all, the two of them were deep cooperation partners, the kind who were trading several hundred million. If Jinno Sumire was unreliable, it would really put him in a difficult position.
But fortunately, Jinno Sumire's identity and status were there.
Whether as the proud and aloof head of the Jinno family, or as the dignified and holy shrine maiden of Ino Shrine, or as the gentle mother of his childhood sweetheart, all of these identities added quite a bit of weight in Hikari's heart and greatly improved the experience of cooperation and interaction.
So after a round of cautious and strict assessment, Hikari ultimately decided to hand over those several hundred million in massive funds.
All of it was cashed out through overseas import-export trade channels and handed to Jinno Sumire.
After the transaction was completed and it was confirmed that Jinno Sumire was full from the late-night snack, in order to avoid embarrassing her, Hikari did not say anything more.
He simply went to the bathroom first, then came back, closed his eyes, and comfortably drifted into sleep.
On the other side, Jinno Sumire, who had just been forced by Hikari to eat a massive amount of late-night snacks and had nearly passed out, was only now regaining clear consciousness.
After all, she had never eaten that many sweet late-night snacks at once in the evening before. She truly was not used to it, and her throat was still burning with pain.
Although she had regained some awareness when Hikari went to the bathroom earlier, in order to avoid awkwardness, Jinno Sumire pretended she still had not fully recovered.
Only after seeing that Hikari seemed to have fallen asleep did she quietly get up and head into the bathroom herself.
After carefully brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, Jinno Sumire quietly returned to the bed.
At first, she lay with her back turned, not daring to look at the boy beside her.
But with her thoughts in turmoil, she could not fall asleep right away. After roughly sensing that Hikari seemed to be asleep,
Jinno Sumire finally turned her head with a complicated expression and secretly glanced at Hikari.
Those alluring, beautiful eyes were filled with a jumble of emotions, completely chaotic.
There were traces of resentment and reproach, along with surprise, gratitude, and a sense of satisfaction. In short, it was extremely complicated.
After staring at Hikari for more than half an hour, Jinno Sumire, whose lower abdomen was slightly distended, whose throat was sore, and whose cheeks ached, gradually drifted into sleep.
———
The next day, early morning—
"Aunt Sumire, it's time to get up…"
Jinno Sumire, who was in the middle of a face-burning dream, suddenly saw the man in front of her opening his mouth to wake her up.
Drowsily opening her eyes, Jinno Sumire saw that young, handsome face from her dream seamlessly appear in her field of vision.
After the initial joy came shock. Seeing the man sleeping right beside her, Jinno Sumire blurted out in surprise, "Hikari-kun? Why are you here?"
"Aunt Sumire, please take your hands and feet off me first," Seeing Jinno Sumire still half-asleep, Hikari guessed that her mind was probably not fully clear yet and spoke helplessly.
"Eh?", Jinno Sumire lowered her head and only then discovered that one of her hands and one of her legs were both draped over Hikari, as if she had been half-hugging him earlier.
Feeling her full chest pressed against Hikari's back, Jinno Sumire's pretty face flushed red.
She hurriedly pulled her hands and feet back and then retreated a good distance.
"S-sorry! I'm really sorry, Hikari-kun! I sometimes move around when I sleep!", Jinno Sumire explained awkwardly, her face red.
At this moment, she had fully regained her senses and also realized why Hikari was sleeping beside her. Feeling her throat still a little sore, Jinno Sumire's cheeks flushed again.
"It's fine. I understand."
Hikari did not blame her at all and nodded slightly.
Feeling the soft touch against his back suddenly disappear, although it instinctively stirred a trace of regret, Hikari did not linger on it.
He simply reminded Jinno Sumire, "It's already getting late, Aunt Sumire. A maid already came to wake us earlier. I'll go wash up first. Aunt Sumire, you should hurry too. We should probably head out together later."
"Mm!", Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Sumire quickly nodded in response after coming back to her senses.
It was better for the two of them to leave together today. After all, they had spent the entire night pretending to be a loving couple. To avoid any possible slip-ups, they could not let their guard down yet.
In order to head out as quickly as possible, not long after Hikari went into the bathroom to wash up, Jinno Sumire followed him in as well.
Hikari, who was using the toilet, saw the figure suddenly appear at the doorway and slightly shifted his body.
And Jinno Sumire, upon entering and seeing Hikari in that state, could not help but blush in embarrassment.
At the same time, her heart jumped violently, startled.
Even though she had already seen it yesterday, and had even tasted it, the instant she suddenly saw Hikari's dangerous weapon now, she still instinctively jumped in shock. It was simply too terrifying.
"Sorry, I thought you were brushing your teeth, Hikari-kun, so I came in without thinking," Seeing Hikari turn his back to her, Jinno Sumire quickly apologized.
"It's fine," Hikari shook off the water droplets, pressed the flush button, and only then turned around.
Unlike Jinno Sumire, the cold, beautiful married woman who seemed as inexperienced as a teenage girl despite clearly having a daughter, Hikari, although he looked young after being reborn in Japan, already had extremely rich experience.
So after last night, when he and Jinno Sumire had played fake husband and wife and nearly turned it into the real thing, with that intimate oral interaction between them, Hikari was no longer very embarrassed about Jinno Sumire seeing him.
Thus, as Hikari walked over to the sink, he said to the still somewhat awkward Jinno Sumire, "Aunt Sumire, come brush your teeth and wash your face together so we can head out faster."
"O-okay!"
Hearing Hikari's words, although she was still a bit embarrassed, Jinno Sumire did not want her behavior as an elder to look worse or more shy than that of a junior. So after seeing Hikari squeeze toothpaste and start brushing, making space for her, Jinno Sumire lifted her leg and walked over.
In the not-very-large bathroom, Hikari and Jinno Sumire washed up together.
After splashing her face with cold water, Jinno Sumire also squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush and began brushing.
Usually, Jinno Sumire did not brush her teeth for very long, because her daily work was extremely busy. After all, she not only served as a shrine maiden at Ino Shrine, but also had to manage many affairs of the Jinno family.
So while Jinno Sumire did not brush carelessly, she was not particularly meticulous either, and did not spend too much time on such small matters.
But today, Jinno Sumire brushed her teeth for an unusually long time, because she felt as though there was still a strong lingering scent in her mouth.
Perhaps it was left over from the extra meal before bed last night.
It was not particularly foul, but that faint lingering taste made her, as a holy shrine maiden, feel uncomfortable.
So Jinno Sumire brushed a bit longer. When she saw Hikari finish washing up and walk out, she could not help but stare at his back several times while brushing her teeth.
After Hikari finished washing up and left the bathroom, Jinno Sumire was still lost in her thoughts, scrubbing her white teeth and moist mouth with extra force.
Hikari sat on a chair and waited for quite a while before Jinno Sumire finally came out of the bathroom after finishing.
At this moment, Jinno Sumire was not only clean and refreshed, with her hair neatly done, but she had also changed into a clean shrine maiden outfit.
Her shapely, full figure, wrapped in the red-and-white shrine maiden robes, looked dignified and graceful. Combined with her noble aura, it made her seem even more like a holy and elegant shrine maiden.
Perhaps because the contrast was too strong, seeing Jinno Sumire in her current noble and composed state, Hikari could not help but think of how she had looked last night when she knelt on the floor, pitiful yet full of allure.
The cold beauty's pitiful face as she gagged repeatedly after choking on a late-night snack was worlds apart from her current noble demeanor, making Hikari look at her a few more times.
But he did not dwell on it. After seeing that Jinno Sumire was ready, Hikari said, "Aunt Sumire, let's head out together."
"Okay…", Jinno Sumire nodded in agreement.
Just as Hikari was about to open the door and leave, he saw Jinno Sumire suddenly step in front of him. Her white teeth gently bit her red lips, and those alluring, beautiful eyes stared straight at him.
Hikari immediately looked at Jinno Sumire in confusion, a strange look in his eyes, "Aunt Sumire?"
Facing Hikari's gaze, Jinno Sumire seemed to struggle internally for a moment. Then she suddenly took a deep breath and said seriously to Hikari, "Hikari-kun, Auntie is very grateful that you cooperated with Auntie's plan to play the role of a husband. Thank you so much for helping Auntie."
"But… our relationship is ultimately fake. You are Little Ai's childhood friend, and Auntie has always treated you like a nephew. You should also see Auntie as an elder, right?"
"So… so about what happened last night, Auntie hopes you can forget all of it."
"After all… that was just an accident, an accident that will never happen again."
"So… although Auntie still needs you to continue helping with the act, let's treat that incident as if it never happened. Our real identities are still Auntie and nephew, elder and junior, okay?"
It was unclear whether it was because she was too nervous and spoke too much in one breath, or because her throat had been scalded and hurt while eating late-night snacks yesterday, but Jinno Sumire's voice sounded a bit hoarse.
Seeing Jinno Sumire staring straight at him with her cheeks slightly flushed and an extremely serious expression, Hikari immediately understood and nodded, answering, "Mm, don't worry, Aunt Sumire."
"Just as you said, what happened yesterday really was just an accident. I'll forget it."
Hearing Hikari's words, Jinno Sumire let out a long breath. Her previously tense, voluptuous body relaxed, and her full, high chest suddenly rose and fell in a dizzying rhythm, clearly much more at ease.
As for Jinno Sumire's reaction and request, Hikari was not surprised at all.
Because just as Jinno Sumire had said, what happened yesterday truly was just an accident.
Jinno Sumire, as the head of the Jinno family and a shrine maiden of Ino Shrine, might not be literally one person above all others, but she was absolutely among the top of the elite in Ino Village.
Yet yesterday, this noble, cold beauty had actually served him, a high school student.
Not only did she personally help him cash out funds, she even used her mouth to move several hundred million in capital.
This kind of thing truly could not be known by others.
And Hikari was also Jinno Ai's childhood friend, which probably made it even more awkward for Jinno Sumire when she thought about it.
So just as Jinno Sumire said, it was best for yesterday's events to fade away together into the past.
After all, Hikari was a devoted pure-love warrior, not one of those scumbags.
After taking advantage of a beautiful woman once, then using it as leverage to threaten her and keep exploiting her, that kind of behavior belonged to scumbags. Hikari would never do that.
Moreover, although Jinno Sumire was as beautiful as a flower, with top-tier looks and figure, Hikari had already experienced quite a few top-tier beauties. Naturally, he would not cling to Jinno Sumire, the mother of his childhood sweetheart, over a single accident.
So Hikari agreed without hesitation to forget the accidental interaction between him and Jinno Sumire last night.
And hearing the sincerity in Hikari's response, Jinno Sumire also felt relieved and gained even more goodwill toward the young man in front of her.
'Hikari-kun's character really is solid, just as solid as his physical strength… no, no, what am I thinking again! From what I've seen recently, Hikari-kun truly has good character and is a good person. Once this fake husband plan is over, I can consider letting him date Little Ai. I'm just screening him for my daughter, that's right.'
Staring at Hikari's young, handsome face, Jinno Sumire acknowledged him as someone who could potentially become her future son-in-law.
Although if Hikari really did end up with Jinno Ai and married her in the future, seeing him might remind her of that awkward moment last night, but since both of them had decided to forget that incident, it should be fine.
By then, their identities would become mother-in-law and son-in-law, which would surely be less awkward.
'Yes, exactly!'
After thinking it through, Jinno Sumire felt there was no problem and finally put her mind at ease.
On top of that, having received Hikari's promise to "forget it all," Jinno Sumire was in a very good mood.
A rare, beautiful smile appeared on her flower-like face as she turned to Hikari and asked, "Hikari-kun, would you like to go have breakfast together?"
In response to the invitation from this beautiful shrine maiden, Hikari shook his head and said, "Thank you for the invitation, Aunt Sumire, but I won't eat. If I stay in the Jinno house any longer, I feel it'll be easier to expose flaws, so Aunt Sumire, just see me off."
"Alright," Jinno Sumire nodded in agreement.
Then, naturally, Jinno Sumire linked her arm with Hikari's, and the two walked out of the room together looking like a loving couple.
When the maids outside the courtyard saw them, they hurried over to ask if they needed any help.
After dismissing the maids, Jinno Sumire personally escorted Hikari to the front gate of the Jinno house.
Only after watching Hikari's back disappear did Jinno Sumire return inside, preparing to eat breakfast.
Jinno Sumire came to the dining room and sat down at the table.
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