Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Um, I'll continue wearing the sailor uniform..."

"You've been wandering around for two days now, you should wash your clothes."

"Well……"

Girls are very conscious of their body odor, and Murasaki no Miyako is quite clean, so she really couldn't stand wearing that sailor uniform anymore.

Seeing Murasaki's troubled expression, Granny Kobayashi sighed and said to Kuroba Akira.

"Stop arguing, I'll find you some loungewear. I remember there are a few clothes my old man used to wear..."

"You actually still have the old man's clothes?"

Even the usually composed Granny Lin froze at this question, covering her eyes with her hand as if to hide her embarrassment.

Generally, the clothes worn by the deceased during their lifetime are disposed of, but Grandma Kobayashi secretly kept a few pieces because of personal feelings.

These details show that Grandma Lin still deeply loves her husband, and their feelings for each other have not faded at all because of his passing.

Although she was a little embarrassed, since it was the truth, there was no point in hiding it, so Grandma Lin simply decided to throw caution to the wind.

"I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I kept it. What, is that not allowed?"

"Of course, but why didn't you bring out such a good thing sooner? I'm still wearing my school uniform to school in this sweltering heat."

"You're not at all shy, are you? Those are clothes worn by a dead person."

"What do I have to be superstitious about? Grandpa Xiaolin is a role model for us all. I respect him more than anything."

"Humph……"

Although Kuroba Akira only responded with a cold snort, the smile on Granny Kobayashi's lips showed that she was actually very happy.

It's impossible for a wife not to be happy when her husband is admired.

Grandma Kobayashi greeted Kuroba Akira as she walked towards her room with her hands behind her back.

"Come with me, I'll go look for it."

"Since you're here, I'll offer some incense to the old man while I'm at it."

Kuroba Akira followed, and seeing that he was about to be left in the living room, Murasaki Nyonomiya also raised his hand and asked cautiously.

"Um, Grandma Kobayashi, can I come along too?"

"Of course you can. My old man loves pretty kids like you, Ziyin-chan. He loved his granddaughter the most when he was alive."

"Thank you."

The two of them followed each other into Grandma Kobayashi's room on the first floor.

Grandma Kobayashi's room has an altar for the memorial tablets of her deceased relatives. On it are a portrait of Grandpa Kobayashi, some fruit, water, incense sticks, and a 'spirit horse' made by Akira Kuroba using an eggplant and chopsticks.

It's not usually like this; the altar was only set up recently for the Ullambana Festival.

The Obon Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival or Japan's Qingming Festival, is usually held from August 13th to August 16th. Japanese office workers also get three days off during this period, so it is also called "the summer vacation for working people".

Although the Obon festival was over, Grandma Kobayashi missed her husband and didn't rush to put away the ancestral altar.

Kuroba Akira lit incense, and Murasaki no Miyako quickly followed suit to offer her prayers.

After she finished paying her respects, she had a chance to examine the portrait closely and discovered that Grandpa Xiaolin was a kind-looking old man with a smile on his face, looking very benevolent.

"Oh, I found it. Sure enough, there's a Jinbe that the old man wore when he was young."

The Jinbe mentioned here doesn't refer to the fish-man who knows karate, but rather to a type of traditional Japanese clothing, which is men's loungewear worn in the summer, somewhat like the sauna clothes worn when going to a sauna.

Grandma Kobayashi handed the clothes to Akira Kuroba, but as Akira took them, Grandma Kobayashi held onto the clothes and solemnly gave him some instructions.

"You better not ruin his clothes, and wash them clean. Don't wear them with your dirty body..."

"Fine! Are you going to give it to me or not?!"

"Hey... Go ahead, remember to take your gym clothes down and let Shion-chan wear them after you're done washing."

"Yoshi! I'm off right now!"

After grabbing the clothes, Kuroba Akira dashed out of the room, leaving Murasaki no Miyako and Granny Kobayashi inside.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and Murasaki Palace appeared quite reserved.

"Don't be so nervous, Shion-chan. Relax and just treat this place like your own home."

"Yes……"

"I'm sorry about earlier. Although I have other houses elsewhere and could provide you with temporary accommodation, I won't break my promise to my husband. You're not someone I should help, so I really can't take you in under the name of the Kobayashi family."

So that's how it is; it was an agreement.

Just like the agreement I made with the wise ruler.

If it were me, I certainly wouldn't want to break this agreement either.

Thinking of this, Murasaki no Miyako naturally smiled.

"It's okay, I understand you. Mother-in-law, you must love your husband very much."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Lin did not show a happy expression, but instead said with a wry smile.

"I both love and hate him... but overall, I think love outweighs hate."

This answer surprised Shizune. Seeing how much Grandma Kobayashi cherished Grandpa Kobayashi's clothes, Shizune thought that Grandma Kobayashi was a woman who devoted everything to love, like her mother. But now it seems that this is not the case.

"Huh? Why do you hate him? Isn't he your husband?"

Grandma Lin suddenly became excited, clenched her fists, and her fists hardened.

"Of course I hate him! I hate him so much that my teeth hurt just thinking about it! I can only say this because he's dead. Do you know how many women I argued with because of him back then?"

　"Well……"

"Don't let his harmless appearance fool you; he has a silver tongue. If he were to recount his romantic escapades, he could go on for three days and three nights. He's said to have had lingering relationships with widows since his student days, stayed at geisha houses, and some even say he has many local wives..."

"Is Grandpa Kobayashi really that kind of person?"

"Unfortunately, these are all true."

"..."

Murasaki no Miyako remained expressionless, but was inwardly shocked. Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

The imaginary image of Grandpa Kobayashi, so majestic and imposing, also crumbled.

Turns out he was a scumbag grandfather.

"But in the end, I still won, humph!"

Grandma Kobayashi raised her left hand, showing off the platinum ring on her ring finger.

"The reason I can have the surname Xiaolin now is entirely due to my own efforts."

"My mother-in-law is so amazing..."

"So, Shion-chan, you should also keep a close eye on things."

"Huh? Me?"

"I see my old man's shadow in that kid. If you're really interested in him, you'd better keep a close eye on him, or you'll regret it later."

This is based on the experience of someone who's been there.

Kuroba Akira, who hadn't even become a scumbag yet, was labeled a potential scumbag.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Sealed Love

Despite being kindly reminded, Murasaki was more concerned about being mistaken for Kuroba Akira's lover by Granny Kobayashi, so she clarified once again.

"Um... Mother-in-law, he and I aren't in that kind of relationship..."

"I understand, you're only at the stage where you're a little interested in him right now."

"Hmm... because Mingjun is indeed a very incredible person."

My child, this is the beginning of love... and also the beginning of a chaotic battleground.

Grandma Lin sighed inwardly.

When she was young, she fell in love with a man named Dewan Lin at first sight and stayed with him for the rest of her life.

This relationship was by no means smooth sailing; they almost broke up countless times before finally achieving a happy ending.

Even after marriage, some women would still come to give gifts, trying to take her place. Grandma Lin had gotten angry about these things countless times.

However, even though she was usually the one who got angry, he was the one who walked away first with a carefree attitude... This left Grandma Lin feeling both amused and exasperated.

"I've only known that kid for six months, so I can't say I know him very well, but from what I can see, he's likely to become very popular."

"Humanity?"

"He'll be surrounded by a lot of people. Although he doesn't seem to have many people around him right now, that's only because he hasn't started dating anyone yet... Once he starts expanding his social circle, he'll probably attract a bunch of women very quickly. Actually, you were tricked into coming here by him with just his words, right, Ziyin-chan?"

"Well……"

"Don't feel ashamed, because they are so special that they seem like people from this world."

In reality, that's not the case.

"So you have to cherish the present moment, because he only has you by his side right now."

“…Mother-in-law, I don’t want to think about these things right now. I want to focus on my future career and be able to support myself first before thinking about anything else.”

"It seems you don't crave love, Shion-chan."

Boys and girls of this age all yearn to have a lover and experience a passionate or bittersweet romance.

But Shion Murasaki locked her feelings away in the deepest part of her heart.

This may be related to her family environment and the reason why she ran away from home this time.

"I just feel that... we can't have illusions about love."

"You can't say you're wrong to think that way. If you always expect to get everything from love, you'll lose everything when you lose love, even your soul will be taken away."

"Even so, should one still pursue love? Since one knows from the beginning that one will get hurt, why not simply give it up?"

"Because love is a beautiful thing, it would be a pity to give it up."

"I don't understand..."