How to raise a random guy's wife

"I guessed it." Kobayashi Keio pursed her lips slightly. "Because I was thinking about you just now, so I guessed you must have been thinking about me too—and I was right."

“I was just thinking about how this year has been tough, with so many things happening…” She smiled gently, a sweet joy leaping from the corner of her eye to her brow, her bright eyes gazing tenderly at Kobayashi Sora, “But from the moment your figure appeared, I couldn’t remember any of those things.”

Chapter 461 I Belong to You Too

Kobayashi Megumi rested her chin on her hand, looking at her husband, "He feels like a troublemaker."

"Huh?" Kobayashi Sora didn't understand. "What kind of metaphor is this?"

“Whenever I think of something that might bother me, you come out and chase it all away,” Kobayashi Megumi said, her eyes half-closed. “Then you come and bother me.”

What's bothering you?

"I won't tell you~" Kobayashi Megumi snorted and lowered her head to continue eating her noodles.

Kobayashi Sora noticed that her ears were turning a lovely pink.

December 31st is called Omoita, and according to tradition, people go to temples to ring the bell on the evening of Omoita to relieve the troubles of the new year.

However, nowadays, not many people go to the temple at night; most go the next morning.

After finishing their soba noodles, the two, who had no intention of going to a temple, snuggled up in the kotatsu (heated floor) to watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).

A kotatsu is a combination of a table and a quilt. Originally, it was simply a cloth placed over a stove that had just been extinguished. Later, the old-style kotatsu gradually developed, with a pit about several tens of centimeters deep under the table, so that you could put your feet in it when you wanted to keep warm without having to sit cross-legged.

At that time, heating was mainly done with charcoal, honeycomb briquettes, or coal balls, which was too dangerous, and many children died as a result.

Modern kotatsu typically have a small electric heater installed on the back of the table. When plugged in, it generates heat, and the kotatsu is covered by a quilt to create a relatively sealed space, allowing the heat to stay inside better.

The rice cake was initially very curious about the inside of the kotatsu, but after crawling inside, it found it too hot and ran out, jumping onto the kotatsu.

Megumi Kobayashi moved the fruit plate containing oranges to make room for the rice cakes.

The big cat lay down contentedly with its two front paws tucked in, drifting off to sleep to the sound of a celebrity singing on the TV. Its sleeping posture gradually became more unrestrained as the singing progressed, until it lay on its back on the table with the kotatsu, its belly curled up like a shrimp, its head tilted to one side.

Even though cats can sleep like that, Kobayashi Sora feels a neck and back pain just looking at it.

"By the way," Kobayashi Megumi suddenly spoke up when the host was reviewing the year's hot topics during the song's interlude, "Speaking of which, you once talked to Hoshino about performing on the Kohaku Uta Gassen."

That was what Kobayashi Sora said when she brought the Star Group in at the very beginning of the project.

This kind of talk is basically equivalent to a high school student telling other high school students, "Follow me, and I'll get you on the Spring Festival Gala."

“At first, I felt it was too difficult,” Kobayashi Megumi chuckled. “Now, looking back, if the project had proceeded normally, it doesn’t seem so difficult.”

"We still need to take it slow." Kobayashi Sora looked at Kobayashi Megumi's smiling face. If the rice cakes weren't still on the table, he would have thought they had crawled into the kotatsu again.

So how did Kobayashi Megumi manage to give such a nonchalant smile, talk about serious topics, and at the same time rub her little feet against his calf?

Although he couldn't see it, Kobayashi Sora remembered that Kobayashi Megumi was wearing light pink princess stockings, adorned with cute white lace. In the warm kotatsu, the thin stockings accentuated her softness, and the occasional lace brushed against her skin, making his calves and heart itch with desire.

Kobayashi Sora, who was sitting to one side, noticed Kobayashi Megumi's little movements, moved closer, hugged her, and fell down with her in his arms.

"Hmm... Stop fooling around." While saying this, Kobayashi Megumi rested her head on his arm, twisted to find the most comfortable position, leaned against him, peeled an orange, broke off a segment and put it to Kobayashi Sora's lips.

"Ah-woo." Kobayashi Sora opened her mouth and took it in.

"You bad guy~" Kobayashi Megumi said softly as she pulled her fair fingers away.

“I did have some grandiose ideas at the time,” Kobayashi Sora explained. “If everything goes smoothly and the star cluster model becomes a trend, then of course there will be a chance to appear on the Kohaku Uta Gassen.”

"If things don't go smoothly..." Kobayashi Megumi broke off a piece and put it in her mouth, lightly kissing her fingertips with her cherry lips, "you could say that you originally had a chance to participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen, but because of someone's mistake, you missed the opportunity?"

Kobayashi Sora nodded, "It's so easy to find excuses for failure and shift the blame."

I could have scored 600 points, but I didn't perform well on the day of the exam, so I only got 60 points—that's roughly how I felt.

Essentially, Kobayashi Sora said something completely pointless.

If everything goes smoothly, anyone can perform on the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).

The problem is that everything is unlikely to go smoothly.

“However, compared to how easy it was before, things are really going smoothly now, and the burden is heavier.” Kobayashi Megumi poked an orange into Kobayashi Sora’s mouth. “It’s not as easy as it used to be.”

The sweet juice swelled in her mouth as Kobayashi Sora ate the orange. "Now that I have the opportunity, of course I have to give it a try. But it won't be something that can be done in a short time. Maybe three or four years."

"So long?"

"That's already fast. They're still high school students now, but in three or four years they'll be college students."

"Speaking of which," Kobayashi Megumi thought, "we'll be university students next year too."

"I estimate it will be fully corporatized by next year," Kobayashi Sora remarked. "A college student chairman, huh?"

Kobayashi Keishin peeled an orange and fed a segment to Kobayashi Sora, saying, "If you don't give it to me, it's yours."

"What do you mean by 'giving way'?" Kobayashi Sora shook her head. "You're really more suitable than me. You're capable, have a good personality, good judgment, good character, and a clean past..."

"It's not that great~" Kobayashi Megumi said, eating a segment of orange. "Mmm!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"It's so sour." Kobayashi Megumi looked at Kobayashi Sora. "Don't you feel anything?"

She had just fed Kobayashi Sora a segment, and Kobayashi Sora didn't seem to mind the sourness at all. She thought the orange was sweet, but was caught off guard by the sourness.

"It tastes so sweet."

"Really?" Kobayashi Megumi frowned slightly, then ate another slice. "It's clearly sour...try it again."

"Okay." Kobayashi Sora kissed Kobayashi Megumi's moist cherry lips, savoring them carefully.

"Mmm..." Kobayashi Megumi's curved eyelashes trembled, completely powerless to resist.

Rice Cake opened its eyes, glanced at them, jumped off the kotatsu with disgust, and left them to eat its cat food.

“It’s sweet,” Kobayashi Sora answered definitively.

"She wasn't even tasting the orange..." Kobayashi Megumi said helplessly, gently poking Kobayashi Sora's cheek. "Where's the sweetness?"

“My wife is sweet.” Kobayashi Sora took Kobayashi Megumi’s small hand. “Mmm~ she’s also fragrant.”

“You said it’s sweet,” Kobayashi Megumi fed the sour orange to Kobayashi Sora, “then it’s all yours.”

"And what about you?" Kobayashi Sora's voice was muffled. He ate everything, but what did Kobayashi Megumi eat?

"Me..." Kobayashi Megumi hugged Kobayashi Sora, "I belong to you too."

Chapter 462 First Shrine Visit in Kimono

Just now, Kobayashi Sora was thinking about the oranges, but Kobayashi Megumi's words unexpectedly shattered her thoughts.

"Isn't it a bit unfair to suddenly say something like that?"

"You broke the rules first," Kobayashi Megumi scoffed. "It was clearly sour, but you insisted it was sweet, and then you took the opportunity to kiss me."

“That makes sense,” Kobayashi Sora nodded. “Then I don’t need to follow any rules anymore.”

Under the shade of the kotatsu, Kobayashi Sora's little feet, which had been gently rubbing against Kobayashi Sora's calves, were captured. Her jade-like feet, encased in pink princess stockings, exuded a captivating warmth.

"Hmm..." Kobayashi Megumi struggled slightly, "It seems... a little hot."

"I'll help."

"What kind of help do you need?"

"When it's hot, of course you should..."

The sound of temple bells drifted from afar, one hundred and eight tolls dispelling all kinds of troubles for people.

“My dear,” Kobayashi Sora embraced Kobayashi Megumi’s soft body, “Happy New Year.”

"Happy New Year~" Kobayashi Megumi responded gently, the last syllable suddenly taking a melodious turn, carrying a soft languor and an alluring sweetness.

......

After the New Year's Day shrine visit, Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi visited Kobayashi's parents' house with gifts.

Xiaolin's mother was very satisfied with Xiaolin Hui, holding her daughter-in-law's hand and chatting with her non-stop.

In contrast, the conversation between Kobayashi and his son was much more serious.

"The matter with Malz is almost settled. I've transferred the money to your account, and the taxes have been paid."

"Ok."

“After you go to college, you can use this money to buy a house, after all, it will be your own home.”

"Ok."

“RER’s corporatization is progressing well. If they need financial support, they can tell me, and it will be considered an investment.”

"Ok."

"Now I'm Malz's largest shareholder. If there's any future cooperation, talk to your mom."

"Okay...hmm?"

“Otherwise, why do you think I bought Maltz’s shares before? Since you’ve decided to go into that industry, I don’t mind having more companies.” Kobayashi’s father glanced at Kobayashi Sora. “If I can’t even take over a small game-making company after two stock price fluctuations under my control, then I might as well quit.”

"I thought you weren't interested in this kind of industry." Kobayashi Sora initially thought Kobayashi's father was just trying to make a quick buck and leave, but it turned out he was taking everything with him.

"I'm just not interested, not incapable."

Fine.

Kobayashi Sora thought about it seriously, "I don't have any plans for cooperation in the short term. After all, RER is in a critical period of corporatization, and Megumi and I are busy with our studies. We'll have to wait until after we go to university."

“Very good. Don’t be optimistic about the future just because of your current grades.” Xiaolin’s father nodded. “When you get a little older, you will find that there are fewer and fewer things you can do, and more and more things you want to do. Then you will regret the time you wasted. But learning is something that you will never regret, no matter when you do it. Keep working hard.”

"Ok."

“It was a wise choice for you to hand over the position of president to her. Your past is not clean. Even if this is resolved, many traces of dirt will still remain. Every time it is brought up again, it will take time and effort to deal with it.” Xiaolin’s father shook his head. “You were too flamboyant before. You should learn from her in the future.”

"Ok."

"Once you're married, you need to adjust your mindset as soon as possible. As a child, your success is growing up healthy, but as a husband, your success becomes more complex. Ask your mother for specific details, but I'll just say one thing: learn to be brave enough to take responsibility, not only for yourself but also for your family."

"Ok."

"Go cook... Did you buy green peppers today?"

"I bought it."