Chapter 69: Sengoku Chihiro, Your Sins Are Unforgivable!
Although surprised internally, Shunsuke maintained his composure, politely bowing slightly. "Hello, I'm Fujii Shunsuke. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The woman smiled happily. If her fiancé's child could accept her, it couldn't be better. This suggested a harmonious family life ahead.
"So, you're Shunsuke-kun? He's been praising you a lot. Now that I've met you in person, you're even more outstanding than he described," the woman said politely, making small talk. "Alright, you two should come over and introduce yourselves as well."
The sense of déjà vu in Shunsuke's mind grew stronger. At this point, he had already figured it out—Japan is really small... my foot!
Looking at Tachibana Hina and Tachibana Rui walking over, Shunsuke found it hard to process.
Even though his last name was Fujii, Hina was his teacher, and during their first meeting, he had a rather "friendly exchange" with Rui, he hadn't connected the dots because...
What the hell? Isn't my name supposed to be Fujii Natsuo?!
Why did my name suddenly change to Fujii Shunsuke? Could it be because I was born handsome?
Shunsuke couldn't figure out why his name had suddenly changed.
"Fujii-kun?"
As Shunsuke pondered, Hina, who had walked to the doorway, covered her mouth in shock upon seeing him.
Even the usually stoic Rui couldn't maintain her poker face—her small mouth slightly opened, and her crimson eyes were filled with disbelief.
After a brief pause, Hina was the first to recover. She exclaimed happily, "Are you serious? Fujii-san's son turns out to be Fujii-kun? That's such an incredible coincidence!"
"Isn't that perfectly normal?" Hina's mother, still unaware of the situation, responded nonchalantly.
"Um... do you two know each other?" Shunsuke's father asked cautiously.
Initially worried about how his son and his fiancée's daughters would get along, he now began to think that they might just hit it off right away.
—Not only do we know each other, one is my teacher, though we're not too close; the other I just met, but we've already reached... intimate proximity, and I was her first.
Shunsuke complained internally but kept those thoughts to himself.
Instead, he nodded. "She's a teacher at my school. We've known each other for about a year."
"Not just that," Hina added with a bright smile. "I even had Fujii-kun over yesterday for tutoring. Rui said Fujii-kun taught her very well!"
Shunsuke glanced silently at Rui. The "taught very well" you mentioned—are we talking about academics?
Rui glared back at him fiercely.
Mrs. Tachibana didn't notice the subtle exchanges of glances between her youngest daughter and Shunsuke.
She simply smiled happily.
For single parents bringing their families together through marriage, the hardest part is usually getting the children to get along.
Seeing that Shunsuke seemed to get along well with both of her daughters, her worries eased considerably.
After welcoming the Tachibana family into the house, Shunsuke took the initiative to prepare tea.
Both families then sat at the table, introducing themselves to one another.
What should have been an awkward and formal meeting quickly broke the ice, thanks to the fact that the children already knew each other.
Hina was already calling him "Shunsuke, Shunsuke" with ease.
As they chatted casually, the doorbell rang again—this time, it was the food delivery.
But it wasn't your typical takeout.
Shunsuke's father had splurged on a lavish meal from a high-end restaurant, complete with plating services.
The only downside was the cost—each person's meal came to 28,000 yen.
To Shunsuke, who had just earned 150 million yen through his own hard work, 140,000 yen was nothing. But for his father, an "ordinary office worker," it was a significant expense, practically half a month's salary.
Mrs. Tachibana, or Tachibana Tsuzuko, kept saying things like "What a waste" and "You didn't have to go to such trouble," while Shunsuke's father scratched his head and waved it off, claiming it was no big deal.
Shunsuke, however, could see through his father's bravado but chose not to call him out—after all, men do have their pride.
As the dinner began, Hina, without hesitation, grabbed a bottle of beer and began chugging it.
After finishing with a hearty "Ahhh," she sighed like an old man. "There's nothing better than a beer after work!"
Shunsuke looked at this completely different side of his teacher, feeling conflicted. "Tachibana-sensei, you really like beer, huh? Is it really that good?"
"Shunsuke-kun, you're still just a kid," Hina teased, pouring herself another glass. "Beer is a treasure, an absolute treasure! I didn't always drink it, but Sengoku-sensei introduced me to it, and once I tried it, I got hooked."
—So it's that drunkard's fault again!
Shunsuke had always wondered why every mature woman around him seemed to love drinking, and now he had his answer—it was all thanks to Sengoku Chihiro!
Of course, he wouldn't normally care about someone drinking casually.
However, having grown up taking care of a perpetually drunk Mrs. Izumi, he couldn't stand women who drank themselves into oblivion.
He much preferred someone like Shizuka, who enjoyed drinking but always stopped at the perfect point, radiating the elegance of a pleasantly tipsy beauty.
Unfortunately, the woman in front of him was clearly not that type.
Watching Hina down glass after glass, Shunsuke suddenly recalled a scene from the original story: if it weren't for Rui interrupting him, "he" might have used the first night their families moved in together to steal a kiss from Hina—or even push things further if he had been bold enough.
Wait, moving in together?
Shunsuke glanced around the apartment and realized this could be an issue.
The current Fujii household wasn't tiny, but it was just an ordinary apartment.
It was spacious enough for three people, and four could manage if they squeezed a bit.
But with five people, it would definitely be too small.
Moreover, to maintain appearances and demonstrate the man's "capabilities," they couldn't afford to make a bad impression on the other side.
Both practically and symbolically, a move seemed inevitable.
This realization made Shunsuke uneasy.
Who knew where his father planned to move? If it was far from here, visiting Mrs. Izumi as often as he did now might become a hassle.
With that in mind, Shunsuke casually brought up the topic, feigning nonchalance.
"Well, nothing's set in stone yet about living together," his father said bashfully. Then, as if unable to hold back, he pulled a property brochure out of his pocket. "But I've already bought a second-hand house. It might seem a bit sudden, but I've also sold this place. We're moving in together next week."
"Pfft—!"
Shunsuke almost spat out his food.
His father not only bought a house without telling him, but he'd already sold their current home?
When did this even happen? And how had he missed it? When did people come to view the place?
Oh, wait.
Considering how often I stay out for an entire day, not knowing actually makes sense. Never mind, then.
Shunsuke took the brochure and studied it carefully. Sure enough, the new house was outside their current neighborhood, in a quieter area farther from the train station, where land was a bit cheaper.
It was a small villa—not bad, but definitely a shift from their current location.
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