Tokyo Soft Rice King

"Don't worry, I'm not going to send you back, but you must let your parents know where you are, otherwise things will become more troublesome."

Hei Yu knew that Granny Kobayashi was different from those gossipers who liked to watch the fun. She was a person who preferred to keep her distance and avoid trouble.

Granny Kobayashi always resolves the source of conflicts promptly and decisively before things become a mess.

It should be the same this time.

So when Murasaki looked at Kuroba Akira and asked what to do, Kuroba Akira passed the ball to Granny Kobayashi.

"Leave it to your mother-in-law. She won't harm you."

"Okay... I'll write it to you now."

Grandma Kobayashi nodded and went to get paper and pen.

Then, she watched Zi Zhigong write down a string of mobile phone numbers while talking about the past.

"Actually, I have a son too. But when he got married, he had a big fight with my old man, and he never came back to visit us. My old man has never called him either."

"As a result, father and son didn't even get to see each other for the last time. At the old man's funeral, my unfilial son was quite regretful... Seriously, father and son have exactly the same stubborn temper..."

"Anyway, I'm not saying this to persuade you to go home. I'm just telling you that no matter how much you dislike your parents, parents will still worry about their children, and children will still care about their parents. This is the instinct of blood ties."

Murasakimiya Shion listened silently, as if she couldn't even feel the spiciness on her tongue.

Parents worry about their children...blood-related instinct...

She believed that even though they were not related by blood, her current father would still worry about her because her new father was a good man.

But mom...will she really worry about me?

She wasn't sure, and she didn't dare to be sure.

After dinner, Kuroba Akira was responsible for washing the dishes, Murasakimiya was responsible for wiping the table, and Grandma Kobayashi was making a phone call on the landline in the living room with the speakerphone on.

"Hello, is this Mr. Murasakimiya?"

"Yes, it's me! How do you know this phone number? Could it be that Ziyin...?"

"Calm down, your daughter is fine, she's at my house now."

"May I ask you are?"

"I'm Kobayashi Mika."

Grandma Kobayashi didn't say a word to introduce herself, as if the other party would naturally understand who she was as long as she gave her name.

The other party didn't even ask in detail, is Granny Kobayashi so prestigious? Is she a user of the Face Fruit?

"Did you help Ziyin?"

"It wasn't me. It was a resident of my house who picked up your daughter. He's the same age as your daughter, a poor high school student."

"Uh……"

Old woman! Stop talking so much! Why are you so honest? You must be doing this on purpose!

Hei Yuming shouted in his heart.

Listening to the anxious tone on the other end of the phone, I knew that this father must be a daughter-obsessed man. If he knew that his daughter was picked up and brought home by a boy of the same age, wouldn't he come to his house with a knife and chop himself up?

But what I didn't expect was that Grandma Kobayashi's name was so effective. The other party was not angry at all, but spoke with full trust.

"Since she is your guest, she must be a reliable person. And with you looking after her, my daughter shouldn't be in any danger."

Grandma Kobayashi looked bored. In her opinion, a father who would not be angry because his daughter was close to a strange man was not a good father.

Are you not that worried because she's your stepdaughter?

"Humph!"

Granny Kobayashi snorted coldly and continued.

"I don't know what happened at your home, but your daughter said she doesn't want to go home yet, so she's staying with me first."

That wasn't a negotiation tone, it was just a notification.

Whether you accept it or not, this is an established fact.

Mother-in-law, you are so domineering!

But you clearly refused to take in Zi Zhigong just now...

"...I understand. I will transfer the money to your account. Please take good care of Ziyin for me."

Oh wow?

rich?

Hei Yuming became excited after hearing this information.

If you can get some start-up capital, you can choose other training routes.

Uncle Zizhigong... Oh no, Dad! Please give me more money!

You don't want to see your daughter being wronged by me, right?

Chapter 26: It Turns Out to Be the Eldest Miss

Although Hei Yuming was very curious about how much money Murasakimiya's father would give, Grandma Kobayashi didn't seem to be interested in it.

She did not ask for the specific amount, but just gave a number and said that if she wanted to transfer money, she could transfer it to this account.

"Well, I have something else I want to say to Ziyin. Could you please convey it to me?"

"You can talk to her yourself. I'm on speakerphone."

"..."

Then there was a period of silence. Uncle Zi Zhigong was probably thinking about what to say to his daughter.

Murasakimiya Shion, who was responsible for wiping the table, stopped her hand. After her eyes met with Granny Kobayashi, Granny Kobayashi nodded, so she put down the rag and stood near the phone waiting.

"Ahem... Ziyin... are you listening?"

“…Yes, I’m here.”

"Huh... That's great. Although I was willing to believe what Master Kobayashi said, I'm completely relieved after hearing your voice."

Kuroba Akira noticed that Uncle Murasakimiya addressed Grandma Kobayashi not as Kobayashi-san, but as Kobayashi-sama, or SAMA, which is a very solemn and respectful address.

For example, during the day today, Kuroba Akira addressed the squad leader as "Squad Leader SAMA", but that was mostly teasing and joking, whereas Uncle Murasakimiya's respect for Granny Kobayashi was genuine.

Although Kuroba Ming had already had some vague awareness of this before, the Kobayashi family was indeed not an ordinary family.

Of course, the fact that the Kobayashi family can buy a detached house in Chiyoda Ward, a central area of ​​Tokyo, shows that they have enormous power.

Therefore, Hei Yuming was very curious about what kind of glorious deeds Grandpa Kobayashi, as a senior time traveler, had left behind, and whether it was related to the development of Neon in this world into what it is today.

On the other side, the conversation between father and daughter was still going on, but it was mainly Uncle Zi Zhigong who was speaking unilaterally.

"Have you eaten? I've been worried about your health these past two days, afraid that your body won't be able to hold on."

"Ate."

"That's good. I believe the food provided by Master Kobayashi's family will be very good."

But it's not good at all, uncle. Your daughter almost cried because of the super spicy curry rice.

There isn't much food in the Kobayashi family, so the money you gave me is very important.

Whether it is a daily curry hotpot hell or you can eat something good depends on how much money you can afford.

Hei Yuming kept repeating to himself, "Give more, give more," and after Uncle Shizumiya asked about his daughter's health and recent situation with concern, he finally talked about the problems at home.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't expect things to turn out like this... But I have to tell you, don't think it's your fault, Ziyin. This incident is all my fault. It has nothing to do with you."

"..."

Uncle Zi Zhigong took all the responsibility and blamed himself for the mistakes, hoping to relieve Ziyin's psychological burden.

Because he didn't know the specific details of the matter, Hei Yuming couldn't be sure whether Zizhimiya Shion had done anything wrong.

However, observing Zi Zhigong's expression, one can find that she is still very solemn and does not feel relaxed because of these words, so she probably still thinks that the fault lies with her.

"I was so stupid. I didn't realize your mother's thoughts and intentions, nor did I take her feelings into consideration. That's why I said something that hurt her."

"...That sentence was just the trigger for Mom's outburst, but this emotion had been building up for a long time."

Zi Zhigong said so.

"I understand. That's why she suddenly broke down. But I originally had the opportunity to slowly heal her heart, but I missed it and even caused her to become like this... The day you called me father, I was truly happy from the bottom of my heart, as if I had a real daughter. Maybe this happiness made me forget everything, so I said things that I shouldn't have said..."

"Mom, is she... awake?"

"She's awake, but she's still emotionally unstable. I've taken Fumiko to see a psychiatrist, and the doctor said she needs to be mentally prepared for long-term treatment."

"I'll leave my mother in your care...I won't go back."

"Ah, I understand why you don't want to go home, Ziyin, so I won't ask you to go home. And it's really not appropriate for your mother to see you now... But I will always be by your mother's side, comforting her. No matter how long it takes, I will make her recover. One day, you and your mother will be able to meet again, so before that day comes, Ziyin, take care of yourself."

"Yes……"

"Also, I'm not saying this to comfort you, but Fumiko really regrets saying that to you. Even if someone has been hurt, they shouldn't continue to hurt others, let alone their own daughter."

"..."

Zi Zhigong gave a bitter smile. Those words had indeed caused her great harm, so much so that she couldn't get over it on her own.

However, thanks to a conversation with a strange guy, she regained the courage to live.

"If you want to continue your studies, I, your dad, will help you with that."

"No need, I have already decided on the path I want to take."

Zi Zhigong looked at Hei Yuming not far away, and there was no more confusion in his eyes, because he would help him point out the direction.

"Is that so... Well, no matter what you want to do in the future, Dad will support you, and the Murasaki Palace will always be your home. That's all I want to say to you... I hope you'll be healthy and safe."

"Well... Dad, you too, you must take care of your health."

"Ziyin...!"

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very excited, and it seemed that he was really happy to hear Ziyin call him dad.

"And the boy who brought Ziyin home, are you listening too? I'm very grateful that you helped Ziyin. If there's a chance, I hope to talk to you in person."

"Uh……"

I don't want to see you at all, Dad.

Hei Yuming felt very guilty because he really had intentions towards Ziyin.

Although I'm not greedy for her body, I'm greedy for her face and talent.

But if the other party knew that it was this guy Hei Yuming who made Zizhigong Shion give up the bright future of continuing her education and choose to "go into the sea" instead, he might want to strangle Hei Yuming to death.

Moreover, this face-to-face conversation revealed a dangerous atmosphere, as if they were interrogating a prisoner.

After the conversation between father and daughter ended, Kobayashi's mother-in-law took over.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing I need to tell you. The security near my home is very good, so please keep your people away from my home and don't cause unnecessary disputes."

"You are right. I will have them come back right away. It won't cause you any trouble."

"Hmph...that's all, hang up now. Call me back if you have anything else."

After saying that, Grandma Kobayashi hung up the phone without any courtesy.

No wonder Uncle Zi Zhigong believed Grandma Kobayashi's words so easily. He must have sent people to secretly follow his daughter and understand her movements in real time, so he also knew that his daughter had indeed entered the Kobayashi family.

In other words, if Kuroba Akira really had any bad intentions in the abandoned shrine before, she would probably be dragged out and killed by the people who were secretly protecting her before she could even get close to Murasakimiya Shion.