[Faced with the approaching Ibuki Honoka, you choose...]
[1. "If I reject her, will she take it out on Yuko? For Yuko's sake, I'll have to endure this, as long as she doesn't find out."]
[2. "Hello, is this the police?"]
[3. "Ma'am, we are not suitable for each other."]
[4. Free Simulation.]
Staring at the simulation text, Minami Yuuki felt a headache coming on.
The one he liked was Yuko-mama, not Yuko's mother!
Although it was partly due to his own perfection, Ibuki Honoka was too forward!
It was one thing for Ibuki Yuko to be a problematic girl, but why did even her mother, Ibuki Honoka, have to be a problematic woman!
Minami Yuuki sighed deeply, looking through the dusty window towards the balcony outside. The sun had already set, and in the yellowish sky, a few unknown strange birds flew by.
There was no dilemma in choosing; he would definitely choose option three. What made him ponder was the issue represented by the options.
He recalled his previous speculations:
Ibuki Honoka's refusal to promise their marriage was due to jealousy of her daughter. If this assumption held, then Honoka's current behavior had a sufficient reason.
Honoka, after her divorce, never had a successful relationship. The most progressed one only went as far as visiting the man's home for the New Year, and she got dumped right after the holiday. She longed for marriage but remained single to this day.
Now, her belittled daughter easily found a handsome boy like a bright moon, easily completed the highest achievement of meeting the parents, and easily had that boy propose to her, stepping towards the marriage Honoka had desired for over a decade.
She thus felt jealous.
A mother being jealous of her daughter's happiness due to her own unhappiness is not uncommon.
At this point, she intervened in her daughter's relationship.
On one hand, she indeed liked the boy; on the other, she wanted her daughter to fall into the same pit of unhappiness.
Minami Yuuki thought, if I accept her seduction, her plan succeeds.
Cheating is either zero or countless times.
Even if I pride myself on my strong will, I might not be able to break this curse. It's like once you try washing your face with hot water in winter, you can hardly go back to cold water. I would cheat repeatedly, with Asano Nao, Chitose Kazumi, Ichinose Shiori...
How could Ibuki Yuko find happiness with such a frequently cheating husband?
What a vicious plan!
Minami Yuuki's heart trembled.
What worried him more was what kind of actions Ibuki Honoka, who could come up with such a malicious plan, might take if her plot failed.
Would she try other schemes?
Or would she choose to break them up directly?
For instance, holding a knife to her throat, asking Yuko whether she wants her mom or her boyfriend?
Or secretly swapping her own child with her daughter's, watching her daughter and son-in-law raise the enemy's child, satisfying her twisted mind?
Or maybe when Ibuki Yuko gives birth to twin sisters, she secretly takes one and educates her with hatred, making the sisters fight each other twenty years later?
That seemed a bit too extreme.
Minami Yuuki patted his forehead, dismissing the scenarios from bizarre stories.
Ibuki Honoka wasn't that malicious.
The damage to the eggshell is obvious, and the rot of the egg white is also traceable.
Minami Yuuki considered himself not a dull person. Having been in contact with Ibuki Honoka for so long, if the woman had such big issues, he couldn't have missed them.
He estimated that the worst development would be the first example's level.
Even if this happened, he could still develop an underground mother-son relationship with Ibuki Yuko...
And it was almost time for Ibuki Yuko to reveal her true feelings.
On the surface, Nao Asano has a social phobia, but deep down, she is actually sensitive and afraid of the pressure in interpersonal relationships, plus a bit of pessimism about the world.
On the surface, Yuko Ibuki appears to be world-weary, but what is going on inside?
Minami Yuuki couldn't be sure. He wasn't very good at dealing with girls with such indifferent emotions.
Clicking option three, he continued to look at the simulation interface.
[You avoided Ibuki Honoka's advances, using the excuse that you were drunk, and left the Ibuki house.]
[Worried about Honoka's next move, you couldn't sleep well all night.]
[The next day, Ibuki Yuko arrived on time, calling you up for a meal. At the dining table, Honoka was as playful as ever, chatting and joking with you, as if last night's incident was a fleeting dream, evaporated by the rising sun.]
[For the next week, Honoka showed no change, and you gradually felt at ease.]
[You began to contemplate your career path. Being a YouTuber is not a technical job; you have reached the top tier of video bloggers with little room for further advancement and few skills left to explore.]
I finally started thinking about my career path.
Minami Yuuki let out a sigh of relief.
Reaching this point, it should be safe now, right?
He quickly realized he was being too optimistic.
[Before you could make a decision, something unexpected shattered your peaceful life.]
[—Ibuki Honoka disappeared.]
[At first, you and Ibuki Yuko thought she was just staying out for the night, maybe she had found a new boyfriend and was busy getting intimate with him.]
[However, as time slowly passed, a day, a week, half a month, Honoka's phone was disconnected, and there was no news of her.]
[Ibuki Yuko became increasingly anxious, with dishes in the Ibuki house decreasing at a rate of one per day, and her kisses with you becoming more perfunctory.]
[You and she seriously searched the Ibuki house. A few clothes were missing from the wardrobe, the seal and bank cards were gone, and the suitcase was missing. Obviously, Honoka had left on her own.]
[You sought help from your father, who worked at the police station. However, your father had no acquaintances at the Misaki Police Station, and it would take some time to leverage connections to search for her. You couldn't wait and sought Ichinose Shiori's help to get Honoka's new number.]
[When the call connected, Honoka's attitude was very cold.]
A brief flash of memory scene appears.
Ibuki Yuko, holding the phone with both hands, carefully placed it to her ear. The number had been dialed, and the phone emitted a waiting tone.
Finally, the tone ended.
"Hello? Mom?" the girl asked softly.
"Oh, it's you." Honoka's voice came, particularly cold.
"When are you coming back?"
"I'm not coming back. You're almost eighteen, almost an adult by the new law. We should separate, and you should be able to support yourself. Besides, don't you have a little boyfriend?"
"..."
"That's it. I wish you both well."
The call ended, Ibuki Yuko looked at the phone in confusion, then at the boy beside her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.