Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Upon hearing Shirai Shiori's accusations against her, Takanashi Akiko held her cheek, looking troubled.

The main problem is that she doesn't know how to explain it, and she doesn't really want to say it... Originally, she wanted to keep this a secret forever.

Everyone was puzzled by Akiko's reaction.

Not shame, but distress?

Doesn't she feel any remorse at all?

She clearly loved her daughter so much, but she abandoned her daughter after getting a man?

At this moment, Mirai Takanashi stepped forward and decided to tell the truth.

"Um! No, that's not it! Everyone, let me explain!"

She originally wanted to keep it a secret, but she didn't want her mother to be misunderstood as a shameless slut.

Moreover, she was the one who initially brought her mother and Akira together, so she felt even more obligated to clear her mother's name.

Unfortunately, Mirai Takanashi had no choice but to object to everyone revealing the inside story that the Takanashi family was actually a "cobbled-together family," and Akira Kuroba was currently playing the role of both father and older brother.

Makoto and Makoto, who are childhood friends with Takanashi in the future, were not surprised when they heard this. Instead, they felt a sense of sudden realization. No wonder they had never seen a picture of Takanashi's father when they visited his house before. It turned out that her father did not exist at all!

Then Hongxiang already knew about this, as did Tongzi.

So the real surprise came from the poetry and painting duo.

Aiyuan Moe's thoughts were simpler; she was moved by the story of Takanashi's family.

"Wow...Aunt Akiko is such a great mother! I hope she will be in the future too. It's so lucky to have a mother like Aunt Akiko."

Takanashi Mirai proudly raised her head and smiled in agreement.

"Yes! I think so too!"

Shiori Shirai, however, immediately saw through the 'abnormality' in it.

Is it really possible to achieve this level?

Love, marriage, even life itself... are all thrown to the back of their minds!

Pursuing dreams recklessly... utterly insane...!

I thought that someone as gentle and mature as Aunt Akiko would be very rational, but I didn't expect her to be the most emotional one!

Clinging desperately to the spider's thread that could snap at any moment, they keep climbing upwards, unsure if they'll ever reach the top...

This unwavering passion is too intense!

There's only one thing she wants to know right now.

Shiori Shirai couldn't help but ask her.

"Aunt Qiuzi... have you ever regretted it?"

"No."

Not even once?

"I have felt regret, after all, when you're at a low point, it's easy to fall into negative emotions, but I always get rid of those feelings quickly."

"How exactly was this adjustment made?"

"It's very simple. If I regret it, it would be like betraying the choices I made in the past, so I won't regret it... and I can't regret it."

"...I see, I've learned something new."

Inspired, Shiori Shirai pondered, seeing in Akiko Takanashi's life experiences a nascent, still immature, obsession she herself was developing.

After hearing the story of the Takanashi family, Saionji Machi couldn't help but sigh, "Every family has its own troubles."

Then she continued to ask questions on behalf of everyone.

"So in the future, do you... want to give it to Aunt Akiko? Or do you prefer to marry Kuroba-kun?"

Takanashi Mirai scratched her cheek and decided to take this opportunity to reveal her 'Family Happiness Plan'.

"Let Mom... well, it's not really about letting her, I'd say I think 'anything is fine,' since Mom and I shouldn't be related, but now we live in the same house together, so whether we're married or not doesn't really matter, right?"

Then, she smiled innocently and brightly at everyone and said...

"My mom and I warmly welcome everyone to join our big family! Look! Isn't it fun to gather together at my house like this and talk about these things? We're sure to be happier living together!"

In that instant, everyone else realized something.

That is, the common sense about the future of Takanashi has collapsed.

Or rather, her sense of morality completely collapsed when she learned that Akiko was not her biological mother.

Forget about jealousy or stealing a man... this mother and daughter's thought processes are completely on another level!

As long as they don't get kicked out of the 'group chat', they don't mind Kuroba Akira having other women at all, and even welcome other people to join!

Tsk... Murasaki no Miyako clicked her tongue inwardly.

This type of woman is the most troublesome; she's like a piece of chewing gum that sticks to you and you can't get rid of her.

All we can say is that we should try to minimize the time they spend with Akira Kuroba.

On the other hand, Anri Hitomi adopted a similar strategy, not expecting them to suddenly realize something.

Now that she understood the Takanashi family's position, Saionji Machi sighed.

"Ha... It's one thing for my older sister, but even Aunt Akiko is already with Kuroba-kun..."

Hikawa Makoto rolled her eyes and poked her sister's cheek in annoyance to interrupt.

"Huh?! You brat, what do you mean?! What do you mean by calling me 'me'?!"

Then he couldn't help but point at others and challenge them.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you surprised at all by my appearance?"

"Anri Hitomi replied."

"Well, after all, Makoto, your feelings for Akira are too obvious. You were flirting with Akira right there in the Literature Club room."

Shiori Shirai points out the right path.

"That's not flirting, that's flattery."

Hikawa Makoto quickly retorted.

"W-What! I didn't fawn over that guy!"

Birdstalking the future gives a thumbs up in praise.

"Oh! That tsundere vibe is spot on! NICE!"

Hikawa Makoto held her head in her hands and complained in frustration.

"Damn it! I really wasn't trying to flatter you! Actually, I wanted to see you guys break down, so I seduced him in front of you, and secondly, I wanted to increase his Apricot Jade Points... but you guys didn't react at all?!"

She exclaimed, gesturing with her hands outstretched in bewilderment.

"Aren't you angry? Aren't you jealous? Don't you hate me? Don't you want to slap me?"

Saionji Machi covered her mouth with one hand and looked at her older sister with sympathy.

"You actually want someone to slap you? So, are you a masochist, sister...?"

"Something's not right!!!"

Makoto Hikawa almost died again.

Then Takanashi Mirai shared her opinion.

"Hmm... how should I put it, I just have this feeling of 'as expected of Makoto'..."

"What do you mean, 'As expected of me'..."

"Because, look... Makoto, haven't you always been like this? If you like something, you absolutely have to get it right away. I remember at the summer festival, the fireworks had already started, and everyone was watching the fireworks, but you were still catching goldfish, and you had to catch more than Hitomi..."

"That happened back in elementary school!"

Even Makoto blushed a little when the future brought up things from the past, feeling ashamed.

He continued to explain in the future.

"Anyway, Makoto, you always loved to compete with Hitomi for first place, regardless of the atmosphere or occasion. So if Hitomi likes Akira, you'll definitely make a move on Akira, won't you?"

"Well, that's true... but the way you put it makes me feel like a wicked woman who steals other men's love..."

What everyone is thinking:

Aren't you a bad woman...?

A wicked woman who has no self-awareness...

A purebred bad woman...

Saionji Machi rested her chin on her hands, squinting at her older sister.

"Wow, catching goldfish... You said you caught so many especially for me, and I was so touched when I was little... I felt really bad for you when they died... Turns out you were just competing with Xiaotong in terms of quantity..."

Incidentally, this was also the beginning of Saionji Madoka's fishkeeping career; the betta fish in the room were bought and kept as a hobby.

Hikawa Makoto's face stiffened. If she continued to reveal these things, her younger sister's goodwill towards her older sister would plummet!

The younger sister's adoration for her older sister has already shattered. If even the childhood filter is gone, she might be treated like trash by her younger sister!

I don't want to become the useless older sister in my younger sister's eyes!

"Stop, stop, stop! This is going to turn into a 'dark history revelations' session! We didn't get together to talk about this, did we?"

Makoto Hikawa quickly changed the subject.

"If we keep wasting time like this, that guy might wake up at any moment. We might as well decide the order by playing rock-paper-scissors now, and whoever wins goes upstairs first!"

Although she said it to excuse herself, what Hikawa Makoto said was indeed reasonable.

We're all sitting here together, and the main topic of discussion is how to allocate Kuroba Akira.

But rock-paper-scissors is definitely not a good method; it's too childish.

At this moment, Shion Murasaki, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

Her words, however, dragged the atmosphere that had just begun to lighten back into an icy abyss.