After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

Page 154

This description made Yawata Kairin raise an eyebrow. She was unwilling to accept it, but she also didn't think that Mori Minami was simply exaggerating.

When Toyokawa Sadaharu was embroiled in controversy and forced to step down early because of the information he provided to the Toyokawa branch family, Toyokawa Yuu did a lot of things that made people resentful in order to help Toyokawa Shoko secure her position.

It was during that time that I took the opportunity to team up with Minami and Nami to squeeze into that circle.

Even so, it cannot be described in this way...

Just as she was about to open her mouth to argue, a series of dial tones reached Hachiman Kairin's ears. After getting angry with her, Mori Minami had already hung up the phone.

I have a feeling that her motives aren't so simple...

Taking a deep breath, Hachiman Kairin gradually calmed her emotions.

What Minami told herself was indeed important, but it wasn't helpful in the current situation.

After all, even if she didn't say it, he planned to take Toyokawa Yuu away from Tokyo, otherwise he wouldn't have come to visit so late at night.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that once she realized that Ruoye Mutsu and Mortis were unreliable, she actually lost someone who might have been able to cooperate with her.

Indeed, coming to find her was the right decision.

She pulled out the key, got out of the car, and Yawata Kairin rang the doorbell outside the courtyard wall.

Before long, the door to the house in the courtyard opened, and a pink-haired figure appeared in the night. When she saw that the person who came to visit at night was actually Hachiman Kairin, the figure was obviously stunned for a moment, and the two looked at each other across the fence.

"Come in first."

In the end, it was Chihaya Aine who spoke first, opened the fence of the courtyard, and led Hachiman Kairin into the house.

"What do you need me for so late?"

After making a cup of tea for Hachiman Kairin, Chihaya Aine returned to the sofa and sat down, picking up her guitar again.

However, considering the time of day, she did not do anything that might disturb the neighbors, such as playing at night. Her fair fingertips merely pressed lightly on the strings without making a sound.

"I hope you can help Youyu and Aiyin."

Looking at the pink-haired beauty in the gray trench coat in front of her, Hachiman Kairin's expression was serious and her tone earnest.

“I’ve already returned the guitar to him. What can I do to help him now? I no longer belong to this city, and I have no power or influence to help the head of the Toyokawa family. I shouldn’t even appear in front of him. If I continue to contact him, Xiangzi will be angry.”

Upon hearing Hachiman Kairin's words, Chihaya Aine paused, then shook her head as if to feign indifference.

She had nothing left to do to help Toyokawa Yuu. That guitar was her last entanglement with the past, and now it had been returned to its rightful owner.

"But now, the only one who can truly help Youyu is you."

Despite Chihaya Aine's self-pitying words, Hachiman Kairin's expression remained quite serious.

“I understand Youyu’s personality. He is gentle but stubborn. He doesn’t really care about many things, but he is unwilling to let go easily no matter what. If someone tries to pry his fingers open to force him to give up, he would rather drown in those things.”

"Even you say so, so what role can I play? I can't offer any benefits, just verbal comfort... I was even ridiculed for being too frivolous and not being able to provide any real help."

Despite putting down her guitar, Chihaya Aine remained unmoved by Hachiman Kairin's words, which seemed to emphasize her own uniqueness.

She knew very well that she was someone Toyokawa Yuu didn't really need.

If Yuu Toyokawa wants to live a better life, he cannot provide any essential services himself. The people he needs to contact are Shoko Toyokawa, Mutsumi Wakaba, or even Kairin Hachiman and Sosei Nagasaki, but not her.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have slunk away alone ten years ago.

However... Yuu Toyokawa herself couldn't let go, and even Aine Chihaya herself didn't understand what made her so special.

So many people are willing to give him tangible benefits, and he will only act for tangible benefits, but he can't let go of his own vague and illusory verbal comfort.

That's why Chihaya Aine realized she shouldn't contact Toyokawa Yuu anymore; it would only distract him.

Besides... why should I help him? He's the one who's never been honest from beginning to end.

Having finally mustered the courage, only to entrust it to utter delusion, what else can I do but run away again?

“…Aine, you told me last night not to be so self-righteous, and now I’m going to give you the opposite of that.”

After a moment of silence, Hachiman Kairin looked back into Chihaya Ayane's eyes, her face full of reluctance, as if she did not want to admit what she was about to say.

“Don’t underestimate yourself. If Yuu stays in Tokyo, unless Xiangzi can climb out of his coffin, he has absolutely no chance of surviving. But neither I nor Ruoye Mutsu would willingly let him go with us. The only person who can persuade him to leave is you... When it comes to escaping, he will only listen to you, which is something no one else can do.”

"...He never listened to me."

Turning her head away, Chihaya Aine no longer looked at Hachiman Kairin, but stubbornly whispered.

This time, however, Hachiman Kairin did not press the matter further.

She simply got up and told the person behind her, whom she didn't really want to face, about the maximum amount of her plan she could manage.

"Tomorrow, like the day Xiangzi was buried, I will have Ruomai attend. She will find a way to bring Youyu out, and then I will send him away."

“But Youyu will definitely not agree. He is not the kind of person who runs away. Unless you can join and persuade him, I will have to take a hard line against him, and there will be unexpected complications along the way.”

"This is dangerous and could get you into trouble. I can't guarantee your absolute safety either... Think it over carefully, or you could just run away."

After uttering these words, Hachiman Kairin turned and left, leaving Chihaya Aine alone in her seat, looking out at the bright moon.

She didn't want to get involved in such troublesome matters, nor did she want to encounter the so-called danger that Hachiman Kairin had mentioned.

With her naturally short attention span, she could easily see that the effort required for the task Hachiman Kairin had invited her to do was disproportionate to the sense of accomplishment it would bring, and moreover...

If they knew they were embroiled in some powerful family feud, their parents, far away in England, would be extremely worried.

so......

"I'm sorry, Dad, Mom..."

Chihaya Aine was stunned as she apologized to the bright moon, seemingly surprised that those were the very words she had uttered.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have been better off not being so cheerful."

Chapter 141 A Morning with Wakaba Mutsu and Mortis

The first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the carved windows into the guest room, where the curtains were not drawn.

Toyokawa Yuu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the exceptionally clean ceiling of the Wakaba family home. Before he could fully wake up from his sleep, he felt a little unwell.

To be more precise, my arm hurts and feels numb from being pressed down.

Turning her gaze, Toyokawa Yuu noticed that the two were no longer sleeping in the clearly defined positions they had been in the previous night.

Ruo Yemu was lying next to her, pulling her arm over as a pillow, while her original pillow seemed to have been kicked off the bed long ago because of her restless sleeping posture.

Is Xiao Mu's sleeping posture really that bad, or is it because Mortis controls her body...?

Ignoring the discomfort caused by the numbness in his arm, perhaps because he had already gotten used to the feeling in his sleep, the almost numb arm did not cause Toyokawa Yuu much discomfort. He even had the leisure to wait for the golden-eyed beauty sleeping next to him to wake up while thinking about other things.

He felt none of the shame that one would feel for a widower who not only didn't care about his deceased wife's funeral today, but was even sleeping in someone else's house and in someone else's bed.

However, it's not entirely true that she doesn't want to say anything; at least in one respect, Toyokawa Yuu does have some expectations.

At least this time, I should be able to see Toyokawa Shoko's remains.

As a former fiancé and now a widower, Yuu Toyokawa couldn't help but wonder how Toyokawa Shoko had managed to solidify her death, leaving him still feeling like he was dying and coming back to life.

Ha, as a widower, to actually look forward to seeing his deceased wife's face after death, he's probably the only one in the whole world like himself.

As she mocked herself inwardly, Toyokawa Yuu suddenly felt the beautiful woman lying next to her make a slight movement.

She turned over from her supine position, lying on her side towards Toyokawa Yuu. The feeling of her soft hair pressing against her arm could be transmitted to Toyokawa Yuu's mind even through her numb nerves.

"Youyu..."

Slowly opening her golden eyes, the beautiful woman with light green hair still looked a little dazed as she gazed at the widower who was practically right next to her, and slowly sat up from the bed.

That slightly sleepy look gave her back some of the girlish charm she had ten years ago.

Even now, she is only twenty-six years old, which is still considered to be within the realm of youth.

"are you awake?"

As the arm that had been under pressure was relieved, blood flowed smoothly again, and with the return of sensation, the numbness became even more pronounced.

"Hmm, I didn't feel comfortable sleeping at all; the pillow wasn't high enough..."

The beautiful woman with golden eyes complained softly, her tone seemingly a little resentful because she hadn't slept well the night before.

However, this also confirmed for Toyokawa Yuu that the person in front of her now was Mortis, not Wakaba Mutsu. That quiet and well-behaved girl would never complain about not sleeping well like this.

“After all, my hand isn’t a real pillow, so please make do with it, Mortis.”

With his more mobile hand, he brushed away the slightly messy strands of hair on Mortis's forehead, which were still a bit disheveled from just waking up.

Although she couldn't feel much in one of her arms yet, and the numb and sore feeling was not pleasant, Toyokawa Yuu suddenly felt a little happy.

Mortis is cuter when she acts like a child and acts cute.

The villa manager, though not entirely reliable but clearly much more mature, was quite agreeable, but still not someone Toyokawa Yuu was familiar with.

Ironically, whether it's Wakaba Mutsumi, Mortis, or even Hachiman Kairin at this stage, they might not be someone I can completely trust in theory, but at least they can be considered as one of my own.

However, their mature appearance, which made them seem somewhat unfamiliar to her, made Toyokawa Yuu feel a little uncomfortable.

It wasn't so much resistance as it was more like... he had always taken care of and accommodated them, but now, due to circumstances, he was forced to be taken care of by them in return, which made him feel a sense of disorientation, as if the tables had turned.

In contrast, his time with Senmina last night gave him a strange sense of relaxation.

It wasn't that the old woman's attitude was particularly good; on the contrary, it was precisely that same viciousness, exactly the same as it had been ten years ago, that made Toyokawa Yuu feel familiar with it and even somewhat adept at dealing with it.

The old woman was almost unchanged from ten years ago, which made Toyokawa Yuu feel a strange sense of familiarity and reassurance.

Now, Toyokawa Yuu felt that familiar feeling from ten years ago again in Mortis, which is why he didn't pull him out even though his arm was almost numb from being pressed down.

After all, this is the only way to make sense. Mortis... no, and even everyone else, has always been a source of trouble for us.

This rather bizarre idea lingered in Toyokawa Yuu's mind, like a drop of ink spreading in clear water, so faint as to be almost imperceptible, yet undeniably present.

The smile on his lips unconsciously became more genuine, just like when he applied medicine to Hachiman Kairin's leg in his office after confirming it was injured... relaxed.

"Sit down in the chair, it's time to comb your hair, we have to go back in a bit."

He patted Mortis on the shoulder, gesturing for her to sit on the dressing table to the side.

The golden-eyed beauty naturally had no objection to Toyokawa Yuu's arrangement. She sat obediently in front of the dressing table and even handed the comb to the man.

She sat down excitedly in front of the mirror, looking somewhat expectant. She even reached out and fiddled with her long hair, making the already messy strands even more disheveled.

Seeing this childish behavior, Toyokawa Yuu didn't say anything, but simply gestured for her to sit down and began to slowly comb the beauty's long hair.

The rustling sound of a wooden comb brushing through her hair gradually filled the room, and there were no other sounds, creating a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Ruo Ye Mu narrowed his golden eyes slightly, using his eyelids to conceal the strange surging within them, preventing Toyokawa Yuu from noticing it through the mirror's reflection.

In her mind, Mortis was already on the verge of tears.

【Xiao Mu is such a big bad guy! I was the one who begged You Yu, you can't steal my chance to have my hair combed.】

You've been holding Youyu all night; now it's my turn.

Closing her eyes, completely blocking out any strangeness that might be conveyed through her gaze, Ruo Yemu savored the ease and tranquility of the moment.

In countless past mornings, did Xiang also have Youyu help her comb her hair before leaving her room to maintain the dignity and elegance of a head of the family?

............................................................

"Good morning, Yu-Yu-Jun. How does it feel to be holding my daughter in bed on this morning, just after my wife passed away?"

Just as she stepped down the stairs, before her foot had even completely left the stairs, a laugh that was both gentle and sarcastic reached Toyokawa Yuu's ears.

Minami Mori was wearing an apron in front of the stove, and she turned around to look at Yuu Toyokawa, who had just come downstairs, with her golden eyes that were exactly the same as Mortis's.

Those eyes were filled with narrow-mindedness and suspicion; just looking at them was enough to make one uncomfortable.

"Do you really enjoy speculating about your daughter? Ms. Minami, you should have stopped Mortis from coming over last night."

He retorted without hesitation. Even though Minami's demeanor gave Yuu Toyokawa a familiar sense of relaxation, it didn't mean he would like this attitude that might stab him in the back at any moment.

"I didn't see Youyu kick my daughter out. I thought you were enjoying the feeling of living with my daughter again, just like ten years ago, and you didn't want to leave."

Not paying much attention to Toyokawa Yuu's words, Mori Minami seemed even more at ease, turning around and leaving the man with only her beautiful back view.

The table was already set with bowls and chopsticks for breakfast, and several dishes were even prepared, emitting a warm aroma.

Clearly, these items were prepared by Minami Nami early in the morning.

"Moreover, my daughter is now the one in charge of the Ruoye family. What ability do I, an old woman who has been idle for many years, have to interfere with her decisions?"

"Minami, stop using these words to disgust me, and don't try to sow discord between me and Yuu. When have you ever treated me as the head of the family?"

Mortis's voice came from the second floor. The beautiful woman with golden eyes had her light green hair, which had just been styled by Yuu Toyokawa, coiled up at the back of her head. She was wearing a black suit jacket and was tying a white collar, a symbol of mourning, around her neck as she went downstairs.

In any case, today is the day of Toyokawa Shoko's burial.