Tokyo: They say it's just dating, but they're serious about it.

As Sheng Yan was thinking, he picked up his backpack and walked to the side in just over twenty steps.

At this moment, Mikoto had already laid out the snacks and was standing with her back to Katsuhiko, setting up the tent by herself.

She frowned every now and then, looking like she was struggling.

"Is this Manager Mikoto?" Katsuhiko asked, placing his two backpacks next to a pile of snacks: cookies, juice, soda, milk, chocolate...

Mikoto turned around and looked at her, her eyes filled with surprise: "Mr. Takenaka?"

"It really is Manager Mikoto!" Katsuhiko said with a look of "surprise". He sat down next to the blue plastic sheet, grabbed the bottle of orange juice soda, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back and gulped down half of it, let out a burp, then tore open a bag of chocolates and stuffed it into his mouth, saying, "I looked at you several times just now and didn't dare to recognize you. I didn't expect you to change your hairstyle and clothes and look so beautiful."

"Huh? Oh! Uh... Mr. Takenaka, please eat slowly, don't choke."

Mikoto looked completely bewildered; this was the first time in her life she had ever encountered Katsuhiko's behavior of simply taking food and drinks without warning.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't eaten lunch yet," Katsuhiko said between bites and a sip. "It's so lucky to meet Manager Mikoto here. You saved my... hiccup... I'm alive!"

"Oh, I see." Mikoto nodded blankly, looking like she didn't know what to say.

Katsuhiko glanced at the slightly worn and bulky two-person tent and asked, "Are you setting up a tent?"

Mikoto was still holding a rope in her hand, probably intending to tie it to the tree. Two red marks had already appeared on the back of her hand from the nylon rope. The other rope she had tied was loose and not secure at all.

“Yes…” Mikoto seemed to realize something only then, and as she spoke, she turned around and continued tying ropes to the tree.

“Let me do it!” Katsuhiko walked directly to her side, took the rope from her hand, and touched it with the back of his hand. [Assets -1242 million yen]

It's commonplace for small business owners to be in debt; it's nothing unusual.

The people Katsuhiko just met at the flea market all had debts of less than ten million yen, and without a doubt, eighty percent of them were mortgages.

"Uh, thank you for your help." While Mikoto wasn't entirely comfortable with Katsuhiko's overly familiar behavior, helping out was a huge relief. Setting up a tent took too much time, and they couldn't sleep there after dark; they'd have to take it down later…

"Don't mention it. If you want to thank me, how about treating me to a meal? I haven't had lunch yet."

As Katsuhiko spoke, he tilted his head to look at the steamer. The basket next to it contained many ingredients: shiitake mushrooms, radishes, eggs, fish balls, seaweed... Oden, it would be alright.

"Uh... if you don't mind, that's fine."

“That’s fantastic,” Katsuhiko said, crouching down and quickly winding ropes around the tree. “Go and cook, I need to eat as soon as I set up the tent.”

"Uh... okay!" Mikoto blinked, turned around and placed the portable gas stove and steamer on the small table, then poured water into them...

There were also many families having dinner and picnics around here. Some even brought smokeless charcoal. The tents were all set up securely. The fathers were setting up the tents, the mothers were preparing the food, and the children were making a mess around...

Chapter 9 Family Trip

Chinatsu had returned by then and was standing next to the tent, staring intently at Katsuhiko.

Katsuhiko pointed at Chika, then gestured to the rope three steps away, asking her to bring it to him.

Chika not only ignored the instructions, but turned around and ran to Mikoto's side, then hugged her mother's leg and tilted her head to look at Katsuhiko's face.

Katsuhiko had no choice but to take the rope himself and continue setting up the tent, casually asking, "Did Manager Mikoto bring Chinatsu-chan here to play by herself?"

Mikoto had just filled the steamer with water and put down the bucket when she said, "Yes."

Where is her father?

Mikoto glanced at Katsuhiko, turned on the gas stove switch, and said nonchalantly, "They ran away."

Huh? Sheng Yan turned around in surprise, then realized that this kind of "running" was different from that kind of "running".

Basically, the heavy debt and the resulting pressures became unbearable for the husband, leading him to abandon his wife and children and choose divorce. They were able to get rid of their responsibilities, escape their debts, and pursue spiritual freedom.

A divorced homeless man, free from all responsibility and pressure, found immense joy even in scavenging on the streets. There were even reports of him running naked through the streets in his excitement…

Katsuhiko finished setting up the tent, stood up, and asked, "Haven't you come back?"

"Heh~"

Mikoto sneered and dumped the meat roll into the boiling water in the steamer, splashing some water onto Chinatsu's forehead.

"Waaaaah!!" Qianxia's small body trembled, her mouth wide open, and she cried out with her head tilted back.

Mikoto's expression changed, and she bent over, clasping her hands together anxiously, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mom didn't mean it..."

No matter how Mikoto comforted or apologized, Chinatsu just kept crying and screaming at the top of her lungs.

The water wasn't hot enough, and there wasn't much of it. Excluding the possibility of being scalded, it probably startled Qianxia. However, she was probably more upset than anything else, as she had been staring intently at the amusement park.

Chika's wailing attracted the attention of some children and parents around her, who turned around curiously, craning their necks to look, some of them laughing.

"Please, please stop crying..." Mikoto pleaded, her voice trembling with tears.

She was almost in tears when she suddenly gritted her teeth, grabbed Qianxia's arm, pressed it against her leg, and was about to spank her.

"Go cook!" Katsuhiko quickly snatched Chinatsu from his arms, hoisted her onto his shoulders, and headed towards the playground. Turning back, he said, "You've been a mom for three or four years, and you've been doing it all for nothing? You idiot!"

"I……"

Mikoto's mind went blank for a moment, and she looked around in confusion. The onlookers seemed to have lost all interest in the scene and went about their own business.

She looked at Katsuhiko again, who had already carried Chinatsu out of the grass.

Chinatsu stopped crying and leaned on Katsuhiko's shoulder, looking angrily at him while sobbing.

When Chika started crying, it was really annoying, and I couldn't bear to hit her hard... Mikoto was in a daze for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, Katsuhiko had already put Chika on the children's swing and was rocking her back and forth. Chika, who was holding onto the swing, was giggling.

Mikoto suddenly felt a sense of relief and ease throughout her body...

"What are you still standing there for? I'll watch the kids, you cook!!" Katsuhiko yelled at the top of his lungs, "Do I have to kneel down and beg you?!"

Mikoto jolted awake and almost instinctively looked around at the people, all of whom seemed to be watching the spectacle with amusement.

Her face flushed red, and she scrambled to her feet, heading straight for the portable gas stove.

Aside from their faces being identical to Katsuhiko Takenaka's... the difference between the older and younger brothers is truly enormous...

"How can there be such a person..."

Mikoto muttered to herself as she placed the seasonings from the basket onto the small table, then couldn't help but look back again.

Sitting on the swing, Chinatsu shouted in a loud child's voice, "Do I have to kneel down and beg you again?"

She giggled after she finished shouting.

Mikoto was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Mikoto didn't bring many ingredients. Apart from the snacks she prepared for Chinatsu, the other ingredients were just enough for one person's appetite, since it was oden, which could be eaten simply by boiling water.

Katsuhiko was holding Chinatsu on the slide, and Chinatsu was laughing like a silly little girl.

"Dinner's ready!"

Mikoto walked to the edge of the grass and called out to the two of them.

When Katsuhiko ran over carrying Chika, both of them were covered in dirt.

"Go wash your hands," Mikoto said, looking at the dirt on Katsuhiko's clothes. She couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you acting like a child?"

"We don't want to talk to you." Katsuhiko said with a grin, carrying Chika to the sink to wash her hands.

Chika followed suit and turned around to shout, "I don't want to talk."

“Okay!” Mikoto shrugged, then said, “I’ll buy some more food.”

“No need for all that trouble,” Katsuhiko brushed the dirt off Chika, pointed to the small snacks piled up in plastic sheets, and continued, “I’ll take Chika to exchange these for food.”

These snacks were all brought by Mikoto from the convenience store. She probably felt guilty towards Chinatsu, so she brought her a lot of snacks. There were far more than they could eat, and the neighbor's kid was practically drooling with envy...

Originally, many people would bring extra food for a picnic so they could exchange it with each other.

In no time, Katsuhiko had enough for a meal, all of which were prepared and ready to eat.

Chinatsu insisted on eating while sitting on Katsuhiko's lap, and she would cry if he put her down.

Mikoto's eyes darted around, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“That’s good too,” Katsuhiko picked up his chopsticks. “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Mikoto unscrewed a bottle of juice, casually pushed it towards Katsuhiko's side, glanced at the two worn backpacks beside him, and asked, "Mr. Takenaka, are you busy today?"

"I bought a batch of goods from the second-hand goods market."

Mikoto stirred the steamer with her chopsticks, moving the sliced ​​meat toward Katsuhiko, and asked, "Are you starting a business?"

"Without a formal job, I had no choice but to start my own business." Katsuhiko said casually, picking up a few slices of meat and putting them on Chika's small plate. Then he picked up a large slice of meat with his chopsticks, put it on his own plate, dipped it in the sauce, swallowed it in one bite, and then widened his eyes and said, "Manager Mikoto, how come your food is so delicious?"

"I didn't do this." Mikoto paused, suppressing a laugh, and said, "Is this how you usually talk?"

"I'm beholden to you because I'm eating your food, so I can only say nice things to make you happy," Sheng Yan said as he ate, not forgetting to stuff some food into Qian Xia's mouth.

“Okay…” Mikoto glanced down at Chinatsu, who was eating heartily, and held her chopsticks upright, drawing circles on her plate.

If Chika could eat like this every day, that would be wonderful...

After dinner, before it got dark, parents brought their children and gathered in the small square to play, filling the air with laughter.

Chinatsu stared intently at Katsuhiko, while Mikoto kept her head down, glancing at Katsuhiko's face every now and then.

At this time of day, Mikoto would usually be taking Chinatsu home with her.

Katsuhiko picked up Chika and turned around to say, "Look how eager you are to try it out. Let's go swing together."

“It’s Chinatsu who wants to play,” Mikoto said, rubbing her forehead. “I won’t go.”

"Let's go!" Sheng Yan grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the small square. "If you don't play with Qian Xia, you'll be a useless mother."

Mikoto let Katsuhiko drag her along, tilting her head slightly, and said, "I really can't do anything with you..."

Katsuhiko moved a little further away from Chika, leaned to the side, and whispered, "You take over in a bit. I'm going to sleep in the tent for a while; I can't hold on much longer."

Chapter 10 Family and Parent-Child Games

There were only two swing sets in the small square, and now people are sitting on them.

It's like a reserved mother holding her excited child sitting on a swing, while the fathers, looking rather uninterested, stand behind and push.

When the two fathers occasionally exchange glances, a sense of shared weariness appears in their eyes.

There were also people queuing up around.

Katsuhiko, holding Chinatsu and pulling Mikoto's hand, stood at the back of the line.