It wasn't narcissism, but Hikari could feel it. Jinno Ai's feelings for him had been building up since childhood, and they ran deep.
And she was a rich young lady. Since she was little, she had lived in luxury without a single worry. Almost anything she wanted, she could get.
Yet Jinno Ai actually said she was willing to serve him together with Jinno Sumire.
That kind of thing was honestly hard to believe.
"It's true!", Seeing that Hikari didn't seem to believe her, Jinno Ai quickly nodded and stressed it again.
As if she was afraid he couldn't accept it, she even grabbed his hand and said anxiously, "Hikari-kun, I care a lot about both you and Mom. I can't let go of either of you."
"So I really hope you can accept Mom and me being with you together, even if that might make things difficult for you."
"You might find it hard to accept, but I really can't give up on you, and I can't take away Mom's happiness either."
"So I hope Hikari-kun can take care of both Mom and me at the same time. If it really makes you uncomfortable, then Little Ai being your… your daughter isn't impossible either…"
Looking at Jinno Ai's pitiful expression as she pleaded with him, Hikari subconsciously reached out and rubbed her head.
His thoughts were still a bit messy and surprised, because before this, he truly hadn't expected it.
Jinno Ai could actually accept that she and Jinno Sumire would share one husband.
Hikari had thought before that this problem would probably happen sooner or later, after he and Jinno Sumire had already formed a deeper, intimate relationship.
At the time, Hikari had assumed he would need to spend some effort to get Jinno Ai to accept him being together with her mother.
But what he didn't expect was that Jinno Ai not only accepted it, she even wanted to join in, and was persuading him to accept her as well.
How should he put it? It really felt like a kind mother and filial daughter.
Jinno Ai was still standing there, promising and persuading him to accept both her and Jinno Sumire at the same time.
Seeing how hard she was trying, Hikari felt too embarrassed to refuse. He stroked her head and agreed, "Alright. I'll try to accept both Aunt Sumire and you, Little Ai."
After getting his promise, the anxious look on Jinno Ai's face immediately turned into a bright smile. She hooked her little finger around his and gently shook it as she said with a grin, "Let's pinky swear. Hikari-kun has to always be Little Ai's dad from now on, and stay with my mom, Jinno Sumire."
"And then, Hikari-kun also has to take good care of Mom and me."
"And if Hikari-kun wants Little Ai to be his daughter, that's fine. If you want Little Ai to serve you together with Mom, that's fine too~"
Hearing her words and looking at her youthful, pretty, yet serious little face, Hikari couldn't help but give a helpless smile.
"Alright, alright. I'll take good care of you," Hikari said.
Jinno Ai smiled and added, "Mm-hmm. Since Mom might not be able to accept this yet, I'll help Hikari-kun and make her accept the three of us together as soon as possible~"
"Okay, okay," Hikari smiled and shook his head, agreeing again.
Just as the two of them quietly reached their agreement in the back garden, Jinno Sumire, who knew nothing about this, walked out of the Jinno family reception room with a displeased expression.
Her face was gloomy, and it was clear she wasn't in a good mood. The maids nearby kept their heads down and didn't dare say a word.
The reason Jinno Sumire was in such a bad mood was because of what Jinno Takashi had just said to her in the reception room.
Just now, Jinno Takashi had hinted both openly and indirectly that she should hand over the authority and industries she currently managed back to the Jinno family, which really meant handing them over to him personally.
The family authority was one thing, but many of the industries in her hands now had been built up by her from scratch.
And now Jinno Takashi wanted her to return them with just a few words. That was something Jinno Sumire absolutely couldn't accept, and it made her extremely upset.
On top of asking for power, Jinno Takashi had also said some things about Hikari, this so-called "live-in son-in-law."
Earlier, in front of Hikari and Jinno Ai, Jinno Takashi had acted generous and very kind toward this son-in-law. But in private just now, he had belittled Hikari several times.
His attitude was obvious. The warm behavior and all the talk about how suitable they were as a couple had all been fake. Just for show.
It was clear that after that night at the shrine, when Hikari had refuted him and even laid hands on him, Jinno Takashi had become dissatisfied, and perhaps even wanted to get rid of this son-in-law.
Given Jinno Takashi's personality, he couldn't tolerate anyone going against him, much less a live-in son-in-law like Hikari.
The reason he hadn't said anything in front of Hikari before was probably to lull him into thinking everything was fine, and then suddenly strip him of his position and kick him out of the Jinno family, making him feel deep despair.
From Jinno Takashi's point of view, as the head of the Jinno family and the most respected person in Ino Town, doing that would be very easy.
But for Jinno Sumire, that was something she could never accept.
Compared to Hikari, whom she now knew inside and out, she absolutely couldn't accept finding another husband.
And their relationship had already crossed the line long ago. That night under the moonlight, they had already been tightly entangled, inseparable.
At a time like this, to follow Jinno Takashi's will and discard Hikari, this "husband," was impossible for her.
After all, the extreme pleasure of that night was impossible to forget…
'No! No! No! That has nothing to do with it!'
"The reason I refused that old guy is mainly because Hikari offended that old man because of me. So I can't turn around and stab him in the back out of ingratitude."
"Yes, that's it!"
'It's definitely not because I like that guy who doesn't care about seniority or status.'
Thinking about that night, when Hikari, as a junior, had pinned her firmly against the door panel so she couldn't move, Jinno Sumire's face flushed red.
What made her even more embarrassed was that… deep down, she didn't seem to resist that feeling at all.
"Ah! Forget it!"
Jinno Sumire shook her head, tossing those messy thoughts aside for now, and quickly walked toward the restaurant where she had agreed to meet Hikari and Jinno Ai.
———
When Jinno Sumire arrived at the dining room, she saw that Hikari and Jinno Ai were already there.
"Mom, all the dishes are served. Come eat," Jinno Ai greeted her immediately.
"Mm, alright," Jinno Sumire nodded at her daughter, then glanced at Hikari, who was sitting a bit close to Jinno Ai, before taking the seat next to him.
"Wash your hands and get ready to eat," Jinno Sumire was about to say they could start.
But Jinno Ai suddenly smiled and said, "Mom, can we wait a bit before eating?"
"What is it? Something wrong?", Jinno Sumire looked at her daughter in confusion.
Jinno Ai explained, "Um, I want you and Hikari-kun to show me again how you usually act when you pretend to be husband and wife. I want to take a closer look and think about it, so I can cooperate better with you in front of Grandpa."
"Alright… alright," Hearing that, although Jinno Sumire felt a little embarrassed, she thought it made sense.
She immediately stood up, and Hikari stood up with her.
"Your hand," Jinno Sumire extended her hand toward him.
Hikari didn't say anything. He simply raised his hand slightly, and Jinno Sumire skillfully linked her arm through his.
The two of them stood close together and even walked a few steps.
Seeing how natural their act looked, Jinno Ai couldn't help clapping and praising them with a smile, "Mom, you two look so real."
"Hikari-kun has such a great presence. He really matches Mom. And Mom did great too. You really look like his wife. You two look perfect together…"
Listening to her daughter's praise, Jinno Sumire's pretty face turned slightly red.
First, being praised like this by her daughter made her feel a bit embarrassed and strange.
Second, she realized that the arm she was linking with Hikari was either intentionally or unintentionally brushing against her full chest.
Jinno Sumire immediately shot him an embarrassed glare. Hikari looked completely innocent.
"Alright, that's enough acting. Let's eat before the food gets cold," Jinno Sumire let go with a flushed face and told them to hurry up and eat.
The three of them sat down.
Because of the earlier demonstration, Hikari and Jinno Sumire now sat on the same side of the long rectangular table, while Jinno Ai sat across from them, slightly facing her mother.
Perhaps because of the awkwardness from before, Jinno Sumire ate in silence. As the elder, since she didn't speak, Jinno Ai and Hikari didn't talk much either. The three of them just ate quietly.
But suddenly, Jinno Sumire's brows tightened, and she looked at Hikari with shame and annoyance.
Because she felt a foot under the table secretly rubbing against her calf.
There was no way it was her daughter. There were only three people at the table. Excluding that wrong answer, it had to be Hikari.
Brushing against her when they linked arms was one thing. Now, while eating, he even dared to stretch his foot over.
'Really… too much!'
After she kicked at him several times and that foot still refused to withdraw, Jinno Sumire deliberately knocked her chopsticks to the floor, then bent down and crouched.
Looking at Hikari at close range, she gritted her teeth and bit him in anger.
———
In the exquisitely decorated dining room of the Jinno residence, Jinno Ai was eating fresh river clam in small, ladylike bites.
After savoring the tender clam meat and slurping the sweet, slightly fishy broth inside, she wiped the corner of her mouth, then looked in confusion toward the empty seat beside Hikari. She asked curiously, "Eh, Mom, why are you still crouching down there? Why aren't you getting up?"
Jinno Sumire, who was still under the table, quickly opened her mouth to explain, "I… I can't find my chopsticks… ugh! Mm… I don't know where they went. I'll look a bit more!"
"Eh…", Jinno Ai sounded puzzled, "Should I help you look?"
"No need! No need!", Jinno Sumire hurriedly refused her daughter's help.
Another ten seconds passed, and Jinno Sumire finally came back up, holding her slender chopsticks, and sat down again.
Maybe because she had crouched for too long, her cheeks were clearly red, though her expression looked calm. Only her throat moved slightly as she swallowed.
Jinno Ai looked at her curiously, studied her for a moment, then asked strangely, "Mom, why do your lips look a little swollen today?"
Jinno Sumire quickly swallowed the leftover mushroom soup in her mouth, wiped her lips, and said unnaturally, "It's… it's nothing. Maybe I've had too much heat lately."
"You should take care of your health," Jinno Ai said thoughtfully.
"Mm. Eat your food," Jinno Sumire replied, clearly not wanting to talk more.
"Okay. Hikari-kun, all this seafood was freshly caught today. It's super fresh. Try this big abalone. It's really delicious," Jinno Ai placed a thick, three-finger-wide abalone into Hikari's bowl.
"Mm, it really is fresh," Hikari put it in his mouth and chewed the slightly fishy sweetness, nodding at her.
"Yes, Hikari-kun, eat more. These oysters and scallops, have more of them!", Jinno Sumire suddenly added several pieces of seafood into his bowl too.
Looking at his bowl, now suddenly full, Hikari turned to look at her.
This mature, cool beauty with a soft, water-like charm was staring at him with bright eyes. There was a hint of embarrassment and annoyance in her gaze, along with a faint spark of fire.
"What are you looking at? Eat!", Jinno Sumire urged awkwardly.
"Alright, alright. Since Aunt Sumire served me, I'll eat it all," Hikari smiled and put the oysters into his mouth one by one.
Watching him eat the nourishing seafood in big bites, Jinno Sumire turned her head away in satisfaction.
Jinno Ai, however, observed this scene from the corner of her eye while eating. Her beautiful eyes flickered slightly, but she said nothing.
Half an hour later, lunch ended.
"Little Ai, you're going to the shrine for prayers today, right?", After finishing the meal and eating dessert, Jinno Sumire suddenly asked.
"Mm, yes, Mom. I'll head there in about an hour," Jinno Ai nodded.
"You should go a little earlier. As a member of the Jinno family, you can't just enjoy the benefits of the status. You also need to set an example," Jinno Sumire said.
"Mm… alright!", After thinking for a few seconds, Jinno Ai nodded.
Then she stood up and walked out of the Jinno residence.
Not long after Jinno Ai left, Jinno Sumire put down her dessert, strode over to Hikari in a few quick steps, and grabbed his wrist.
"Aunt Sumire?", Hikari, who still had a pink cherry from his cake in his mouth, looked at her in confusion. Her beautiful eyes were wide, and it looked like flames were burning in them.
"Come. Into the room with me!", Jinno Sumire didn't explain at all. She spoke those five words quickly and firmly, then pulled him up from his seat.
Hikari was dragged along into the separate courtyard house that belonged to Jinno Sumire.
With a loud bang, the door to her room was shut forcefully.
[T/N: All the characters and events in this novel are imaginative, do not attempt it in the real life. 🤣]
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