Chapter 60: The Two Parents Who Became Friends
After seeing Eriri's reaction, Kaede also turned his head and saw a woman who looked about seventy to eighty percent similar to Eriri walking toward them.
He didn't need to guess; it was definitely Eriri's mother, Sawamura Sayuri.
But that wasn't all. Besides her, Kaede actually saw his own mother, and the two were walking together!
Kaede's expression was a bit stunned at the moment, and he watched blankly as his mother approached with a smile.
Eriri also saw the unfamiliar woman walking beside her mother. After two seconds of confusion, seeing Kaede's expression and noticing the slight resemblance between the two women, she immediately understood.
After Sawamura Sayuri arrived, she looked at Usami and Kaede and said, "Hello, I am Eriri's mother, Sawamura Sayuri."
"Hello, Auntie." Kaede and Usami immediately greeted her and introduced themselves.
Asakura Reiko also introduced herself, but her attention was mostly focused on Eriri.
She hadn't felt much looking from afar, but seeing her up close, the child was even cuter and looked quite shy.
And that blonde hair... what would her child with Kaede look like in the future?
She was certainly thinking far ahead.
Kaede looked at his mother and couldn't help but ask, "Mom, how did you two... meet?"
To keep the children from knowing they had met before, and sticking to their agreed-upon story, Asakura Reiko said with a smile, "We are both parents here to watch our children. We happened to sit together just now, introduced ourselves, and then realized our children were in the same club."
Sawamura Sayuri immediately followed up, "And we hit it off really well, so we quickly became friends."
"Exactly!"
So that was it. That made sense.
But Kaede felt like something was slightly off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Just then, another voice came over.
"Mizuki~"
"Ah, Mom!"
Well, here comes another one.
The short-haired beauty jogging over was naturally Usami Mizuki's mother.
Because there were other competitions scheduled for the sports field, everyone didn't linger. Kaede and the others headed to the student section, while the three mothers went off together to chat. With the number increasing from two to three, the conversation became even livelier.
After sitting down in the rest area, Eriri sighed in relief and said, "That scared me to death. Mom suddenly ran over."
Usami also said with a chuckle, "Hehe, it was definitely a surprise. But I didn't expect Asakura-san's mother to come over too."
"I didn't expect my mom to know Auntie Sayuri either. It looks like they got along really well just now."
Hearing this, Eriri couldn't help but blush, hoping her mother wouldn't say anything strange in private.
"Ah, so you were here."
Uchimaki Subaru had also searched for them and, looking at the three of them, said, "I've been looking for ages. I finally found you."
"Emmm..."
Usami looked at Uchimaki Subaru, who was standing in front of her, thought for a moment, and asked, "Uchimaki-san, did you forget you're on the White Team? This is the Red Team's area!"
"Eh?"
Uchimaki Subaru only then noticed the red ribbons tied to their heads or arms, and then he tugged at the white ribbon on his own head, laughing awkwardly: "Ahaha, I knew people were looking at me strangely when I walked over just now!"
"Seriously, there's a limit to how dense you can be!"
Usami stood up angrily, pointing at the ribbon on Uchimaki Subaru's head, and said, "Are you going to sit here for a while? If you are, hurry up and take that ribbon off!"
"Got it, got it."
Uchimaki Subaru quickly took off the ribbon. Since Kaede was already sitting at the very edge of the row, he could only sit next to Usami on the other side.
After sitting down, Uchimaki Subaru felt nothing, but Usami, who was right next to him, immediately became nervous.
Kaede, on the other side, saw the change in Usami's expression and secretly laughed inwardly.
However, Uchimaki Subaru noticed nothing. Seeing Usami's slightly flushed cheeks, he asked, "Usami-san, are you really hot? The Three-Legged Race shouldn't have used up too much energy, right? Sawamura-san isn't as tired as you are. You really need to exercise more."
"..."
Usami Mizuki couldn't help but clench her fists.
At 10 o'clock, Kaede's sprinting event was finally about to begin.
Standing up, Kaede said to the three people beside him, "Alright, I'm heading to the track."
Usami immediately cheered him on: "Asakura-san, good luck."
Eriri also smiled and clenched her small fist: "Good luck!"
Arriving at the track, Kaede saw Takasu Ryuji, who had separated from them earlier. Seeing that Kaede had finally arrived, Takasu Ryuji immediately walked over, patted his shoulder, and said, "You really are something. You ditch me the moment you see girls."
After pausing for three seconds, a smile appeared on Kaede's face, and he said, "Isn't that obvious?"
Takasu Ryuji nearly couldn't catch his breath, and his facial expression was about to crumble.
"Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding."
"No, I have a feeling you weren't kidding."
After complaining, Takasu Ryuji didn't bother saying more. After all, Kaede hadn't actually managed to win over Sawamura-san yet, and he really hoped his good friend would succeed, so he wouldn't genuinely get angry over such a small matter.
Soon, the referee came over to confirm the list of athletes and instructed them to take their positions on the track.
In the stands, Eriri nervously stood up, her gaze fixed intently on Kaede on the distant track.
Uchimaki Subaru observed for a moment and then said, "It looks a bit difficult. Two students from my class's Track and Field Club are participating."
"Uchimaki-san, don't say discouraging things at a time like this!" Usami looked angrily at Uchimaki Subaru, wondering if she shouldn't have let him sit there.
A moment later, preparations were complete, and the referee raised the starting pistol.
"On your marks~"
"Bang!"
The eight athletes on the track all dashed forward instantly, and enthusiastic cheers erupted from the nearby stands.
Eriri and Usami were also caught up in the surrounding atmosphere and shouted encouragement loudly.
After taking his first step, Kaede put all his effort into rushing forward. His quick start immediately put him in the lead, with only one person running parallel to him.
The 200-meter distance wasn't long, and in the blink of an eye, the finish line was right in front of them.