184: Mrs. Sawamura's Plan (2)

"Marin, are you and Takashi dating? You two seem kinda flirty."

No one was sure which girl said it, but the moment she did, Gojo Wakana's thoughts were interrupted, and Watanabe Akari's attention snapped to full alert.

"Not at the moment."

Gojo Wakana and Watanabe Akari both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not at the moment, which means it might happen in the future."

"Marin, be honest, do you like him?"

The girls continued to press.

High school girls at this age couldn't go three sentences without talking about romance.

"Well…"

Gojo Wakana and Watanabe Akari both felt their hearts lurch.

"I think…"

Marin thought about what had happened at the anime convention. 

Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment, and her legs pressed tightly together as she subconsciously rubbed them, trying not to be noticed.

"I think I do like him."

Gojo Wakana felt like he'd been struck by lightning. He stood frozen in place, unable to hear anything.

All the sounds around him began to fade away.

He couldn't understand.

Why had everything changed because of just one anime convention?

He vaguely remembered asking Marin about her relationship with Takashi before they went to the event.

At the time, she had told him, "I just see Kitahara as a friend."

She looked serious then. It didn't seem like she was lying.

So how did it change to "I think I like him"?

What had really happened during that convention?

"…"

Watanabe Akari also sat motionless, like a statue.

The sorrow radiating from her made Takamiya Saki and Ohashi Natsumi unsure how to comfort her.

We never should've arranged that group date.

Takamiya Saki and Ohashi Natsumi exchanged glances, both regretting that they had ever set up the event.

They just wanted to find someone for themselves, but ended up dragging their best friend in too deep to pull out.

"Marin, the fireworks festival is coming up. You're going to invite him, right?"

"Of course."

…

At 5 PM, when Private Toyonozaki High School officially ended club activities, everyone began to leave.

"See you, Sawamura-san."

"Bye, Chino, Yukako, Mitsuki."

Standing beside the luxury car that had come to pick her up, Eriri said goodbye to her friends and got in.

"Why did you ask me to pick you up today? You've always hated it when I came to get you."

Sitting in the backseat with Eriri was her mother, Sayuri, who smiled at her daughter.

"Mom, can you help me buy a yukata? The fireworks festival is coming up."

"Eh? Didn't you always hate wearing yukata? Said it was too much trouble?"

"I suddenly feel like wearing one. Is that so wrong?"

Sayuri watched her daughter, who was immediately glued to her phone upon entering the car, excitedly tapping and typing, a soft smile gracing her face now and then—completely lost in love. 

A trace of worry crossed Sayuri's face, still as refined as a woman in her twenties.

Ever since she saw Watanabe Takashi that day, she'd started gathering information on him.

The results shocked her.

First of all, Watanabe Takashi was a fake name.

His real name was Kitahara Takashi, a special scholarship student at Aoba High School, ranked third in the nation academically.

Secondly, even that face of his was fake.

The real "Watanabe Takashi" was even more handsome than he appeared that night.

He had become famous across the entire school on the first day just for being too good-looking.

They said it wasn't even lunchtime yet, and the entire school already knew that a freshman named Kitahara Takashi had enrolled.

Finally—and this was what enraged her and her husband the most—he was playing the field.

Girls with close relationships to him, like her daughter? At least five.

Five was only the number they could confirm—not the total.

According to the private investigator: 

"Every time I followed the kid, he was either meeting a girl or on his way to one. There were so many, I couldn't keep track. 

Honestly, I suspect he has a second person growing out of his kidneys."

When Sayuri first heard this, she felt like grabbing a gun and shooting the bastard.

Couldn't he just stick to one girl?

Cheating money was one thing—their family had money to spare.

But cheating both money and feelings? That was just too much.

Sayuri had several times wanted to expose Takashi's true identity, but every time she looked at her daughter, who was clearly head over heels in love, she couldn't bear to shatter her dream.

Sayuri glanced at the documents on her left and decided to give it one last try. "Eriri, do you like Takashi?"

Eriri blushed and whispered, "Not like."

Sayuri's face lit up, thinking she had a chance to intervene—only to hear Eriri continue, "I really like him."

"I'm the kind of person who's stubborn, strong-willed, and always puts on a tough front. 

The closer someone is to me, the worse my temper gets. Even Aki Tomoya sometimes couldn't stand it."

"But Takashi is different."

"He understands the opposite of what I say when I'm being stubborn."

"I'm headstrong and rarely give in, but he never complains."

"I'm hard to handle, but he's always patient and gentle."

"Mom, I can't live without him."

As she listened to Eriri speak, Sayuri felt like the documents in her hands were burning hot.

If only it were all out of love…

Sayuri wavered, but she still wanted her daughter to know the truth. 

"Eriri, have you considered that maybe everything about him is fake? That he's been lying to you this whole time?"

Eriri's sapphire-blue eyes met her mother's, unwavering. "Then I hope he lies to me for the rest of my life."

Love or lies—she didn't care anymore.

As long as Takashi stayed by her side, nothing else mattered.

No matter the reason.

Sayuri was silent for a long time. "And what about Aki? Don't you like him anymore?"

Eriri gave a helpless smile. 

"The place he once held in my heart was completely overtaken by someone named Watanabe Takashi, who packed up all of Aki's things and threw them out."

"Mom, you might not understand, but the day Takashi ignored me, he was all I could think about. I felt like life had lost its meaning."

"Mom, without Takashi, I might really die."

Sayuri couldn't say another word.

She didn't think Eriri was exaggerating.

She knew her daughter—she didn't fall for people easily, but once she did, not even death could stop her.

The documents in her hand could no longer be handed over.

Only now did she finally understand just how much Takashi meant to Eriri.

"Mom, don't you like Takashi?"

"How could I not, silly girl? I like him very much. I just wanted to confirm your feelings."

Sayuri gently pulled her daughter into a hug, but her eyes turned sharp.

If she couldn't tell Eriri the truth—

Then she'd deal with Takashi herself.

Even if it meant locking him up or breaking his legs, she would make sure he never left Eriri again.

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Yikes, another one to the list of "Who Wants to Keep Kitahara Takashi Captive".

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