The moment Luo Shu stepped into the coffee shop, he saw Haruno Yukinoshita enthusiastically waving her hand, and Mrs Yukinoshita sitting opposite her, her face obscured.
Seeing this scene, Luo Shu was somewhat worried that Haruno might be at a disadvantage, but judging by Haruno's demeanour, it didn't seem that way.
Considering that Yukino Yukinoshita had occasionally mentioned Mrs Yukinoshita's emperor-like status at home, Luo Shu tentatively regarded Haruno as the disadvantaged party.
So this time, he felt he had come to back Haruno up.
With this thought in mind, he walked straight to Haruno's side, sat down directly, and greeted Mrs Yukinoshita with a smile.
"It's been a while, Madam."
At his words, Mrs Yukinoshita turned her head, her gaze peculiarly subtle as she looked at Luo Shu, as if regarding a seductive beauty who brings chaos to the court.
That look left Luo Shu utterly baffled.
But soon, Mrs Yukinoshita reined in her expression, sighed softly, and greeted Luo Shu:
"It has been a long time, Mr Luo."
This polite "Mr Luo" made Luo Shu raise an eyebrow, and he couldn't help but glance at Haruno beside him.
Noticing Luo Shu's gaze, Haruno mischievously extended her arm, hooking it around Luo Shu's left arm, and grinned at her mother.
Seeing this, Luo Shu paused, looked up at Mrs Yukinoshita's expressionless face, and suddenly realised his earlier assumption that Haruno was at a disadvantage was heavily biased.
This was clearly Haruno shamelessly flaunting her closeness in front of her own mother!!
'By the way, what exactly did you two talk about just now? Why do I feel like some delinquent youth riding a motorcycle to meet the parents?'
Suppressing his strange thoughts, Luo Shu discreetly pinched Haruno's thigh under the table.
Not bad, the texture was quite firm; even through her black stockings, he could feel his fingers sinking in and being pushed back out.
Considering that Haruno also regularly practised Aikido, Luo Shu suddenly felt that martial arts training was a necessary course for girls.
However, just then, Mrs Yukinoshita, across from them, suddenly coughed.
Hearing this, before Luo Shu could react, Haruno realised something and looked down at Luo Shu's hand resting on her leg.
At that moment, Mrs Yukinoshita—who had only intended to warn Haruno not to hug Luo Shu in front of her—also caught sight of the young couple's antics under the table.
Instantly, Mrs Yukinoshita's expression turned displeased.
But seeing her mother's expression, Haruno chuckled gleefully, grabbed Luo Shu's hand and pressed it firmly onto her leg, then shot a provocative look at her mother.
In response, Mrs Yukinoshita, as someone who had been through it all, merely sneered and addressed Luo Shu directly:
"Luo Shu-kun, hmm... may I call you Luo Shu-kun now?"
Luo Shu didn't see any issue with this tentative question:
"Of course."
"Good, then..." Mrs Yukinoshita now completely ignored Haruno and said nonchalantly, "Luo Shu-kun, when do you plan to get engaged to Yukino?"
Excuse me??
"Madam, are you certain you didn't mispronounce the name just now?" Luo Shu blinked, his expression peculiar as he glanced at Mrs Yukinoshita, then asked in a very hesitant tone:
"Madam, did you... just say become engaged to Yukino?"
"Yes."
Mrs Yukinoshita stared into Haruno Yukinoshita's murderous eyes, her tone calm as she said:
"There are some matters that child cannot decide for herself, so I, as her mother, must handle them on her behalf."
"Could it be that Luo Shu doesn't like that child Yukino?"
"If that's the case, I can understand, but correspondingly, we'll have to consider how to make Yukino abandon any inappropriate thoughts."
While saying this, Mrs Yukinoshita barely looked at Luo Shu, instead fixing her gaze on Haruno Yukinoshita beside her.
Clearly, those words weren't directed at Luo Shu, but were a warning to Haruno.
Choose: Will you fight your sister for a man, or will you bow out gracefully?
Aren't you the one who loves that child the most?
Didn't you say that Yukino can't compete with others, so you need to step in for her?
Didn't you decide to do this for her sake?
You wouldn't want me to order Yukino to abandon her feelings, would you?
Like the whispers of an ancient god, these thoughts echoed in Haruno Yukinoshita's ears.
It was at this moment that Haruno Yukinoshita realised her mother was no meek lamb to be bullied, but a cunning old wolf.
She's driving a wedge between us! She's completely trying to drive a wedge between me and Yukino!!
Just as Haruno Yukinoshita was losing control of her expression, Luo Shu suddenly tilted his head and asked:
"I suddenly feel that compared to Haruno or Yukino, you have more charm, Madam!"
As these words fell...
Haruno Yukinoshita was dumbstruck.
Mrs Yukinoshita was also frozen on the spot.
The awkward silence lasted nearly 30 seconds, a full half minute!!
Apart from Luo Shu, who maintained his smile, both Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs Yukinoshita wore expressions of complete bewilderment.
It wasn't until moments later, when Haruno couldn't resist pinching Luo Shu's waist, that Mrs Yukinoshita finally snapped out of it, saying with visible anger:
"Please refrain from making such vulgar jokes."
"Vulgar?" Luo Shu kept his smile, but his eyes turned icy cold: "Making a prefectural assemblyman disappear isn't difficult for me."
"Making a decent regional enterprise go bankrupt is even simpler."
"Then, by the same logic, do you think it's possible for me to make a mother and her two daughters climb into my bed?"
Mrs Yukinoshita immediately shut her mouth, and even Haruno Yukinoshita's expression became extremely uncomfortable.
After all, what Luo Shu described... he seemingly could actually do it... and quite easily at that.
Realising this, both Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs Yukinoshita quieted down.
Both seemed to have grasped a crucial point - that Luo Shu being reasonable didn't mean he actually had a good temper.
Causing trouble with people close to him would lead to serious consequences.
Facing Mrs Yukinoshita's silence, Luo Shu gradually let his smile fade, though his eyes softened considerably:
"Alright, let's end the vulgar jokes here."
"Yukino isn't merchandise whose future can be arbitrarily decided, and the same goes for Haruno."
"Shall we let them make their own choices?"
Hearing this, Mrs Yukinoshita remained silent for a long time before finally sighing:
"I understand."
This was both a compromise and a surrender.
Mrs Yukinoshita truly didn't dare gamble on whether Luo Shu would actually make her husband disappear - she couldn't afford to bet on such matters.
After delivering his warning, Luo Shu appropriately offered a sweetener:
"Please don't mind what I said earlier. After all, I'm just a normal student - I couldn't possibly make a Diet member disappear."
Upon hearing this, Mrs Yukinoshita could only maintain her silence, not bothering to explain the foolish distinction that her husband was merely a prefectural assemblyman rather than a Diet member.
After all, Luo Shu's attitude clearly indicated he could advance her husband's position as compensation for both her daughters being taken away.
To put it bluntly, it was the classic tactic of punishment followed by reward.
Everyone understood this worn-out strategy and its underlying principles.
The reason it remained effective was that the punished party would realise by this point that if they didn't know their place, what awaited them wouldn't be rewards but rather the executioner's blade.
Thus, faced with Luo Shu's firm stance, Mrs Yukinoshita could only submit.
"It seems we're all in agreement then."
Seeing the lady's silence, Luo Shu wore his smile again:
"The coffee today is on me~ I hope you won't take it too much to heart, madam."
With Luo Shu happily picking up the bill, the matter appeared to be perfectly resolved.