Crossing over, and then being blocked by a rich JK.

Chapter 543 Conditions for Equivalent Exchange

"You say."

Hearing her mother say that, Risa Yasuhara immediately perked up.

She sat up straight, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.

This time she really asked the right person; You really does have a solution!

She had tried so hard before but couldn't convince her mother, but he's only been here a short time and the results are already so immediate. So he really is the perfect cure for her problem?

"Don't look so tense. Relax, we're just having a casual chat."

Shizuka glared at her, signaling her to stop pretending.

How could she not understand the piece of flesh that fell from her own body?

That serious expression and demeanor were all an act.

She simply wanted to know the 'request' as soon as possible, but she wouldn't agree to Risa's request so hastily. Just as she had said, she wanted to hear what she wanted to hear from her daughter.

This prerequisite must be met.

"According to you, if I don't answer well, I won't have the freedom to choose."

Having grasped her mother's implied meaning, Risa Yasuhara raised her head and, steeling herself, began to argue.

Just as her mother understood her, she understood her mother just as well.

only……

Even though she had been working for so long and had been away from her mother for some time, she knew even more clearly that her mother could no longer discipline her like before. But when she saw her mother's sharp eyes, she still felt her scalp tighten.

Perhaps this is the bloodline suppression etched into our DNA?
If that's the case, then it's really bad.

"If you keep arguing, everything I said before is null and void."

Without wasting any words, Shizukako Yasuhara issued an ultimatum.

If Risa continues like this, they'll inevitably drag things out for ages, eventually ending up back here, and then her patience will run out.

Thinking about it carefully, that's how they used to communicate, and then she would lose control and become assertive, even throwing a tantrum.

It seems Watanabe was right; in family conversations, getting straight to the point is the best way to resolve issues.

"...I was just joking."

After thinking for less than half a second, Risa Yasuhara made her choice. She chuckled and scratched the back of her head, giving a fawning look that said, "I didn't think before I spoke."

Between being stubborn and admitting her mistake, she chose to be pragmatic.

She wasn't going to let this hard-won opportunity slip away easily.

"Humph."

Shizukako Yasuhara gave a nonchalant snort, then waved her hand, indicating that the topic was over and should not be brought up again.

"So tell me, what are your thoughts? Watanabe and I talked before, and I realized that there might really be a problem with my communication style, so let's take this opportunity to lay it all out."

She genuinely didn't understand why her daughter was so resistant to marriage.

Or rather, the reason for being so resistant to blind dates.

She felt that the 'reasons' her daughter had given her were entirely avoidable.

But now it seems that she may not have fully understood her daughter's meaning, and her daughter most likely misunderstood her thoughts.

"My thought is that I don't want to be forced into marriage."

Risa Yasuhara lowered her eyes; the once cheerful and generous woman now looked somewhat dejected.

"Even by the general standard of marriageable age, I am already considered a grown woman."

She was actually well aware of this, but she had always been unwilling to bring it up before.

Of course, part of the reason is that she deals with high school students every day, so she always has a youthful mindset and doesn't realize that she is already over twenty-five and will be thirty in two years.

"we do not have……"

Just as Shizuko Yasuhara was about to argue, she suddenly realized something, and the words "We didn't mean to force you" were swallowed back down her throat.

Think about it carefully.

Even if she had acted in the best interests of her daughter, from an objective standpoint, weren't her previous actions still putting pressure on her?
No matter how positive the language used to describe it, this fact cannot be concealed.

Just like what I said to my mother back then, what you call doing it for my own good is not what I think at all.

As time goes by, I once swore that I would never be a mother like that, but now it seems that the dragon slayer has become the dragon in the end.

But it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.

"We're sorry, we didn't consider your feelings."

After hesitating for two seconds, she finally said those words.

In her view, apologizing to her daughter was not something difficult to say.

In her eyes, the so-called face of elders was less important than a shoehorn; otherwise, she wouldn't have played with Risa so readily when she was little.

After all, that's how her mother treated her back then.

After she said those words, her usually decisive and efficient mother fell silent. Ten seconds later, to her surprise, her mother looked into her eyes very seriously and then apologized to her.

Even now, she remembers that scene very clearly.

It was a rather hot summer afternoon. The air conditioning in the house was blasting, and the TV was turned up very loud, but the words that weren't spoken were still so clear.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Risa Yasuhara was taken aback at first, and then her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

She never expected her mother to say such a thing, and she never expected that her mother, who usually said that she was just making excuses, would suddenly agree with her today.

A mixture of resentment and relief left her speechless.

If Watanabe Yu and Amamiya Ayana weren't here, she might have burst into tears.

But they are there.

So, as a teacher, she could only obediently hold back her tears, and couldn't even let out a sob.

Because once it's released, she'll lose all face.

“We were too harsh before and didn’t consider your feelings.”

Shizuka Yasuhara paused for a moment, and then began to sort out her own emotions.

Her daughter's expression was moving, and how could she not be moved as well?

It was at this moment that she finally understood how her mother had felt back then.

The regret of forcing my daughter to do something that was entirely my own wishful thinking.

“But this time, I’ve decided to set aside those worldly ‘shackles’ and have a good talk with you. You don’t need to hold back; just say whatever comes to mind.”

She hadn't realized it before, but this time, she wanted to have a serious talk with her daughter.

Just like when my daughter was a child.

She looked at her the same way, patiently listened to her thoughts, and then offered her own opinions and help.

"...I don't want to be forced to make a decision."

Risa Yasuhara took several deep breaths, and after calming herself down, she began to frankly express her thoughts, "Especially when I have a choice, it's even more so. I clearly have a broader life ahead of me, to see and experience more things, so why should I be bound by a marriage that's been forced upon me?"
"Some people may like that lively and bustling feeling, but I prefer to be alone, or rather, I prefer to be with people who make me feel relaxed."

Because her parents were very loving, she was not opposed to marriage.

She even wondered what their life would be like if she met someone she liked.

But she couldn't accept being 'forced' or completing this major life event that belonged only to her in the way of 'completing a task'.

This is what she has been emphasizing from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, before, or more specifically, up to this very moment, my mother had generally and bluntly assumed that she didn't want to get married.

Her claim of non-resistance was, in his eyes, just an excuse, a phrase used to appease and delay.

But that's really what she thought.

Even now, she still thinks that way.

"I understand you; I used to be like that too."

Hearing her daughter say that, Shizuka Yasuhara sighed.

The feeling of frustration welled up again.

It turns out she had been misunderstanding all along. What her daughter said before was never an 'excuse,' but the truth from the bottom of her heart.

At the time, I was even thinking to myself, "How come my daughter has started making excuses too, and such lame excuses at that?"

Looking back now, I realize she was judging others by her own petty standards.

"So the more you force me, the more I resist."

Risa Yasuhara paused, raised her eyebrows, and a complex emotion appeared in her eyes. "I know you're right. We were able to be free when we were young because our parents helped us."

"As we grow older and our parents age, the responsibility of life will ultimately fall on our own shoulders."

"The further you go, the fewer people you can rely on. On the contrary, those who are close to you will rely on you. In this process, freedom will gradually become an unattainable dream."

She wasn't unaware of these things; on the contrary, she knew them all too well, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to speak so calmly.

—She had anticipated this and had prepared herself mentally accordingly.

But she felt she could handle the consequences, and who knows? She wasn't opposed to marriage anyway, so what if she met someone who could take responsibility?

If she starts a family, wouldn't all the things her mother was worried about disappear completely?
Just now...

She doesn't want to be pushed forward without meeting the right person.

That's why she repeated it so many times; she felt like she was being 'forced' rather than doing it voluntarily.

"you are wrong."

Shizukako Yasuhara shook her head, a hint of sadness appearing between her brows.

She always thought that her way of communicating with her daughter was already very good, much better than the so-called 'family education master' courses on the market.

Now it seems that it wasn't much better.

At least in terms of what she wanted to convey, there was a significant difference between what her daughter understood and what she meant.

“What I worry about is that as we grow old and die of natural causes, you will be all alone. At that time, it will be difficult to have someone you can completely trust and rely on. To put it bluntly, you will no longer have a companion who shares your joys and sorrows.”

As she said this, her voice trembled slightly.

It's not that people are afraid of death. When people reach middle age, their fear of death is often not because of themselves, but because of their families.

He feared that after he left, his wife (husband) would not live well, his children would live in poverty and be bullied, his family would be homeless and looked down upon, and his relatives would shun him.

"You might say you still have good friends, but you have to remember that even the best of friends get married, and once they get married, they no longer belong to themselves."

It still belongs to the family.

She silently added that sentence to her mind.

"I……"

Risa Yasuhara opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words back.

Just as her mother misunderstood her meaning, she seemed to have misunderstood her mother's true intentions as well.

The mother wasn't eager to see the continuation of her bloodline; she seemed to just want to have some 'insurance' for her future so that she could feel completely at ease.

Thinking about it that way, she became incredibly willful.

“Even if you have the most loyal subordinates, their loyalty will begin to be questionable as you grow old.” Shizukako Yasuhara paused, then began to teach earnestly, “Without a successor, they will have their own selfish motives.”

“I used to be quite resistant to ‘bloodline inheritance,’ but now that I think about it, it makes sense.”

"As long as the elders provide proper guidance while they are alive, they will know how to cherish the property passed down from their own direct relatives."

"At the same time, because you are their direct relatives, those hardworking and meritorious people in the company will naturally be close to you. The reason is simple: as long as the company continues to operate normally, their children will also be protected."

"Therefore, Mom is really worried that you will never get married in your life."

This is the real reason why she was so assertive before.

She was genuinely afraid that her daughter wouldn't find a boyfriend.

She hoped her daughter would have a new support, so that when she closed her eyes, she could close them without any worries.

"Of course, this is a rather pragmatic way of putting it, but that's the reality, because ultimately, the family business will need you to take over."

If Risa had a younger brother, she could do that, but unfortunately, life doesn't offer "what ifs".

People only start to reflect on why they didn't try harder when they encounter problems they can't solve, and think that if they were like XXX, they could have solved those problems.

"Mom, I..."

Risa Yasuhara sensed the care in her mother's words, and her nose tingled uncontrollably, the emotions she had been forcibly holding back welling up again.

"Okay, I got what I wanted."

Shizukako Yasuhara didn't respond to her daughter's question, fearing that she would lose control of her emotions if she did.

"Now, let's talk about that matter."

She took a deep breath and, without giving her daughter a chance to respond, stated her request.

“I respect your choice, but you also need to put my mind at ease. I only have one requirement: show me your ability to handle future risks on your own.”

She paused and then continued.

"This might be a bit general, so I'll break it down into three points."

If she could, she wouldn't want to resort to such petty tricks, but since her daughter was adamant, she decided to respect her daughter's choice and had no choice but to "pay the price."

"First, study diligently and develop a detailed personal financial independence and retirement plan so that I can feel at ease about your future life." Shizukako Yasuhara sighed inwardly and continued, "Second, learn a hobby that you can maintain for a lifetime."

"This can give you a way to shift your focus when facing difficulties and can provide you with spiritual fulfillment."

Third, utilize the resources around you to achieve a breakthrough in your career.

It was a swift and decisive move.

If Watanabe Yu and the Amamiya family's little girl were to see them embracing and crying, their image would probably be irreparably damaged.

So let's focus their attention on this condition that seems difficult, but is actually not simple either.

(End of this chapter)