How to raise a random guy's wife

“Eri,” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at her, “do you hate me?”

"I......"

“Think about it,” Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lower lip lightly, “Think carefully before you answer me.”

The emotions that had been hidden in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart in the past now seemed to overflow from her eyes, overwhelming Eriri.

“Kasumigaoka Utaha,” Eriri grinded her fangs, “Have you no conscience? If I hated you, I would have called the police and had you arrested! If I hated you, would I have cooked for you? I’ve never cooked for myself before! I hated you, yet I stayed up all night drawing in a style I’m not good at for you? I hated you, yet I lived with you for three years?”

"I knew you didn't hate me." Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips curled up, the surging emotions in her eyes just moments before instantly turning into simple smugness, as if her previous deep affection was all an act.

wrong......

Eriri grabbed Kasumigaoka Utaha's collar, "Were you faking it all just now?"

“Hmm…” Kasumigaoka Utaha blinked, “Not entirely.”

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

“Alright,” Kasumigaoka Utaha grasped Eriri’s hand. “I know you don’t hate me, you hate the way I do it, right?”

"I...I didn't...I didn't..." Eriri subconsciously looked away. "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Looks like I guessed right."

"no!"

“In your imagination, I should have used a gentler approach.” Kasumigaoka Utaha paused. “Or perhaps, it should have started with the most basic confession.”

"What nonsense are you talking about...?"

"I'm sorry, I was too impulsive." Kasumigaoka Utaha gently kissed Eriri's fingertips. "But I feel like you should be able to understand me."

"Understand what?"

“My fear.” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked up. “We’ve been living together for three years. You’re in my life, and I’m in yours. We’ve gotten used to each other’s presence, to each other’s company, and to our relationship. We’re so used to it that we don’t want to change. We’re afraid that any action that’s different from the past will completely change our accustomed life.”

Eriri wanted to cover her ears. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

An instinct was preventing her from listening any further.

Another impulse is resisting the instinct to resist.

“We like our current relationship, and because we like it so much, we want more. It’s also because we like it so much that we dare not ask for too much,” Kasumigaoka Utaha whispered. “Those restless thoughts eventually turn into cautious hands at night.”

"I was..." Eriri began, but then met Kasumigaoka Utaha's gaze.

For some reason, faced with such a gaze, the lies I wanted to tell just wouldn't come out.

“I don’t deny that I’m acting impulsively right now, but I’m even more afraid of losing this impulse. I’m afraid that I’ll get used to our current relationship and won’t dare to take it any further,” Kasumigaoka Utaha murmured softly. “So I came here, in this way, to make you see my thoughts clearly. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to run away.”

“Kasumigaoka Utaha…” Eriri’s cherry lips parted slightly, then closed again.

Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed Eriri's hand onto the pillow. "I'm about to begin..." she whispered in Eriri's ear, "I can stop anytime if you want."

Eriri turned her head to the side, "What's the use of me thinking? You're so strong..."

"Is it really... that big?" Kasumigaoka Utaha released Eriri's wrist.

Next, Kasumigaoka Utaha's hands have an even more important task.

for example......

For example, what was it again?

Eriri opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.

That was... a dream?!

Even though they had reached a crucial moment, Eriri was suddenly jolted awake by a sense of bewilderment.

Eriri felt like Kasumigaoka Utaha was about to do something strange, but she didn't know what it was, and then she woke up.

Eriri tightened her arms around the blanket, her fair legs unconsciously rubbing against it.

She felt that Kasumigaoka Utaha was a bit strange, with an undeniable sense of unease.

Moreover, he's incredibly accurate at guessing what she's thinking.

It really was a dream...

Eriri breathed a sigh of relief.

If Kasumigaoka Utaha really did that, Eriri really wouldn't know what to do.

Thank goodness it was just a dream... wait.

Eriri suddenly realized something serious.

Chapter 897 The Interpretation of Dreams

“Dreams…” Kobayashi Megumi raised her hand and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Dreaming is normal. Everyone dreams.”

“I know that.” Eriri leaned against the wall and took a sip of her lemon black tea. “I mean… um… it’s just…”

Did you dream about something that's bothering you?

"That's right..."

"I've had similar dreams before, but this one is very different from the others?"

"Mmm." Eriri really enjoys chatting with Kobayashi Megumi.

Kobayashi Megumi could easily summarize the things that she couldn't express or expressed poorly.

"You feel like this dream represents something, but you're not quite sure. The content of the dream is a bit embarrassing to talk about, so you don't feel comfortable confiding in anyone or asking for advice?"

"Correct!"

Megumi Kobayashi looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was playing with Ran Kobayashi.

No wonder Eriri didn't play with Ran Kobayashi like usual after Eriri and Utaha Kasumigaoka came today.

It turns out she had something on her mind.

"Daddy~" Kobayashi Megumi called softly.

"Hmm?" Kobayashi Sora, who was making coffee, looked up.

"What is a dream again? The one you told me about before."

“Dreams are a manifestation of the subconscious,” Kobayashi Sora gently tapped her forehead to help her recall the memory. “This is from Freud’s ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’.”

Eriri's eyes lit up, feeling that it might be helpful to her. "The Interpretation of Dreams?"

She needs this right now.

"Freud's *The Interpretation of Dreams* is the first book in history to analyze and study dreams using scientific methods. Freud called it the most valuable part of all his discoveries, an insight he would only have once in his life." Kobayashi Sora put down the kettle. "Wait a moment."

He went into the study, took out the book, and handed it to Eriri. "This is it."

During her pregnancy, Megumi Kobayashi often had dreams.

Therefore, Kobayashi Sora read this book many times long ago.

"Hmm..." Eriri flipped through a couple of pages, feeling a little dizzy. "What was it about?"

"The main point of the book can be summarized simply as follows: whether it's a good dream or a nightmare, it's fulfilling some kind of human desire. Because of the existence of a spiritual force that audits the fulfillment, dreams cannot directly fulfill human desires, so they usually disguise themselves." Kobayashi Sora summarizes succinctly without even turning the pages of the book, "The material of dream content comes from recent, minor events and childhood impressions. The disguise of dreams is achieved through condensation, displacement, and embellishment."

"Hmm...hmm?" Eriri could understand the first sentence, but she was confused by the second. "Inspector?"

"This requires starting with the purpose of dreams." Kobayashi Sora organized her thoughts. "After analyzing and demonstrating a large number of cases, Freud believed that the basic purpose of dreams is to satisfy certain desires deep in a person's heart. Everything created in a dream revolves around this purpose. Therefore, dreams can also be regarded as a psychological activity that uses psychological satisfaction to release psychological pressure."

“Wish... release...” Eriri carefully considered these two words, her eyes sparkling.

“Dreams are fake. If you want to use fake dreams to release real stress, the dream doesn’t have to be too fake.” Kobayashi Sora explained with an example, “Just like a conman who wants to swindle money can’t be too conman-like.”

Eriri asked impatiently, "Then what is the purpose of the inspection?"

"Let's take scammers as an example again. If a scammer wants to cheat you, they'll definitely offer you something tempting. But at that point, you'll become wary and wonder, 'Is there really such a good thing?' This wariness will cause the scammer to fail." Kobayashi Sora pointed out the key point, "Just like how an investigation makes people realize that the dream is fake and can't achieve the purpose of releasing stress."

"So, just like a conman posing as a good person, dreams can also disguise themselves?"

“The condensation process is like a raw material transporter, selecting and collecting various elements from the dreamer’s different life experiences to form the ‘roadbed’ of the dream; the displacement process is like a road surface finisher, processing various materials according to the dream’s blueprint to form a rough ‘road surface’; the polishing process is like a road roller, using powerful force to crush the dream’s materials processed by the first two colleagues, combining previously unrelated materials together, making the originally bizarre dream content appear harmonious.” Kobayashi Sora summarizes, “These three processes, through the methods of selection, adjustment, and connection, create stories that do not exist in the world, which is the dream.”

Eriri hesitated before asking, "So dreams are all fake, and the connections between them are all fabricated. We shouldn't worry about them too much, right?"

“Hmm… Although dreams are false, the psychological state they reflect is real. Or rather, it is precisely because of the real psychological state that false dreams exist.” Kobayashi Sora carefully chose her words. “By dissecting the elements in a dream and making free associations, we can still find corresponding symbolic meanings deep within our hearts, thus gaining a glimpse into the various emotions in our subconscious. These emotions are more direct and real than what we outwardly express.”

"More direct and real?!" Eriri's face flushed red at a visible speed. "This...isn't...I..."

Seeing Eriri like this, Kobayashi Sora felt that her mission should be over and turned to look in Kobayashi Megumi's direction.

While he was explaining to Eriri, Kobayashi Megumi had already made coffee and given it to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Xiaolin Ran looked on curiously and wanted to try a bite too.

Then I got sick of the bitterness and asked my mom for a serving of orange pudding.

Kobayashi Sora turned his head and met Kobayashi Megumi's gaze. Seeing her walk over, he blinked: Eriri seems a little troubled.

Kobayashi Megumi's eyes flickered slightly: "Have you explained everything about the dream?"

Kobayashi Sora waved her hand at a low position: what she was struggling with was a deeper issue, not the purpose or disguise of the dream, but the interpretation of the dream.

Kobayashi Keio's lips parted slightly, and her mouth twitched: I understand, I'll talk to her.

Kobayashi Sora leaves Eriri, who is deep in thought, and plays with building blocks with Kobayashi Ran.

Dream interpretation inevitably involves some private dream content, which Eriri can't discuss with Kobayashi Sora, and Kobayashi Sora isn't suitable to listen either. Kobayashi Megumi is more appropriate.

Moreover, dreams can reflect a person's emotional state to some extent. In terms of emotional intelligence, Kobayashi Megumi is a much, much better listener than Kobayashi Sora.

Chapter 898 The Wish of a Dream

“When I was pregnant, I often had a lot of very vivid dreams.” Instead of trying to find out Eriri’s thoughts, Kobayashi Megumi talked about her own experience first. “When I dream, it feels so real, and I believe everything. But when I wake up, it just doesn’t feel right. Things that seem reasonable in the dream suddenly seem full of loopholes when I think about them again.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Eriri nodded vigorously, “I feel the same way, that kind of thing could never happen…”

“Instead,” Kobayashi Megumi chuckled, “it’s precisely because it feels unlikely to happen in reality that we dream about it.”

“No…it won’t happen…” Eriri’s lips twitched. “Yeah, it’s impossible, um…yes, it can’t happen.”

Kobayashi Megumi's eyes flickered slightly. "It's not entirely impossible."