Miyuri suddenly leaned in close towards Hikari.
Hikari only felt himself being tightly embraced by Miyuri again, though this time it wasn't a "facial cleanser".
While his chest was being pummeled by the shocking waves, two moist, slippery, pink lips pressed against his cheek.
Smooch!
A light sound.
Miyuri had actually kissed Hikari on the cheek.
After letting go, Miyuri confidently looked at Hikari, wanting to observe the expression on this young nephew's face.
But to her great surprise, Hikari showed not the slightest sign of blushing.
Although he looked somewhat surprised, he just calmly wiped his cheek.
"Aunt Miyuri, things like rewards really aren't necessary."
"The main reason I'm helping you keep the secret is that we have a good relationship, and I trust you."
"I'm not like that guy Yoshizawa Takeo...", Hikari said with an air of righteous conviction.
Hearing this, although Miyuri felt somewhat defeated, she couldn't help but laugh, "It's not a reward, consider it a bribe, a one-sided bribe from me, alright?"
"It's both a thank you for helping save me today, and a bribe for helping me keep the secret."
"But I misunderstood you, Hikari-kun, you really are a good person full of a sense of justice."
Hearing this, Hikari righteously straightened his back.
Actually, what he had wanted to say earlier was, 'I'm not like that guy Yoshizawa Takeo, what kind of person do you take me for? I'm not the kind of character who can be swayed by trivial benefits. If it's a reward, it should at least involve real action, tangible effort, right? You should know, empty talk harms progress, real work brings prosperity. What's the skill in just firing blanks...' [T/N: LMAO! Facts!]
Of course, these were just remarks that subconsciously popped into his head.
Facing Aunt Miyuri, who was, after all, an elder, Hikari maintained the proper courtesy and didn't act cheeky.
Moving her ankle slightly, feeling it was truly fine, Miyuri got up and walked to the refrigerator.
"By the way, Hikari-kun, what do you want to eat tonight? Auntie will make your favorite dish," As she spoke, Miyuri pulled out an eggplant and a cucumber, holding one in each hand, and asked Hikari.
Hikari glanced at the large, plump eggplant, then at the slender, firm cucumber, and finally swept his gaze over the beaming smile on Miyuri's beautiful, captivating face.
He said casually, "I'll have tomatoes. I feel like having scrambled eggs with tomatoes today."
Miyuri smiled and nodded, "Okay, then it's scrambled eggs with tomatoes! Auntie will make it super delicious, make sure to come over for dinner on time!"
Hikari nodded, "Mhm. I'll head back now then. If that guy Yoshizawa Takeo bothers you again, Auntie, remember to tell me."
Miyuri quickly stepped forward, "Mhm! Mhm! If that guy dares to come again, I'll definitely contact you right away, Hikari-kun. Thank you so much, Hikari-kun! If it weren't for you today, Auntie really wouldn't know what to do!"
Gratefully, Miyuri gave Hikari another round of "facial cleanser" before letting him leave.
———
Stepping out of Miyuri's house and standing at the front gate, Hikari didn't leave immediately.
He first checked the Pure Love Alert Paper Crane bound to Miyuri and found no alert. Then he checked the Pure Love Radar and found no red light symbolizing a cuckold in the vicinity. Only then did Hikari feel relieved and leave.
But he had only walked a few steps away from Miyuri's house when Hikari ran into Miyuri's fiance, Natsuto Kazuto, who happened to be returning.
"Hello, Uncle Kazuto," Hikari greeted him politely.
"Oh, it's Hikari-kun. Having a good time in the countryside, right? After all, you're so handsome, Hikari-kun. Are the girls in our Ino Village pretty?", After returning the greeting, Natsuto Kazuto suddenly said to Hikari with a wink and a smirk.
"Huh?", Hikari looked puzzled, watching Natsuto Kazuto's suppressed laughter and winking gestures, feeling completely baffled.
"Still pretending? Hikari-kun, you have a girl you're close with in the countryside, right?", Natsuto Kazuto pointed at Hikari's face, then pointed to his own left cheek, before turning away with a strange laugh.
Hikari hurriedly took out his phone, switched to selfie mode.
And then he saw clearly...
On his cheek, there were actually two bright red lipstick marks.
"Damn it!"
'Aunt Miyuri!'
Hikari quickly wiped off the two lipstick marks left accidentally after Miyuri kissed his cheek.
'Dammit, I was almost caught by Aunt Miyuri's fiance.'
'No, I have already been caught.'
Fortunately, Natsuto Kazuto was rather easygoing and didn't notice anything wrong with Hikari, who had lipstick on his face and had just come out of his house.
This wasn't surprising, after all, he completely failed to notice that his fiancee and his younger brother Natsuto Akito had a somewhat improper relationship, and he even actively invited that blond-haired Yoshizawa Takeo into his home.
Natsuto Kazuto always seemed to be missing a screw in that regard.
Otherwise, if he, a Pure Love Warrior, got mistaken for a Cuckold Warrior because of this, wouldn't that be a gross injustice?
Wiping his face as he went, Hikari hurriedly headed home.
Because he was busy wiping his face, he didn't pay much attention to other people on the road.
Some people seemed to recognize him and looked like they wanted to greet him, but he didn't really acknowledge them.
———
Swish! Swish!
Sitting on a small stool in the courtyard, Arisa was scrubbing clothes with a brush.
When she saw Hikari's figure passing by her doorway, her eyes lit up, and she immediately wanted to greet him.
But before she could even speak, his figure hurriedly disappeared through the crack of the door.
Arisa sighed, reverting to her previous expression of boredom, listlessness, and a touch of sadness.
Growing up in Russia, Arisa lost her parents early and initially made a living doing odd jobs in a Russian monastery before becoming a nun.
As she grew older, the monastery closed down.
Then, Arisa happened to meet her current fiance, Suzumura Kouta, who came to Russia on business.
He said it was love at first sight and started pursuing her.
Arisa naturally didn't agree right away.
But Suzumura Kouta was sincere, saying they could try dating or even get engaged first. [T/N: What a messed up sequence.]
If she didn't feel anything, she could cancel the engagement immediately.
During this time, he would respect her conservative views on male-female matters due to her nun background, wouldn't do anything inappropriate to her, and would also cover her living expenses.
Suzumura Kouta's attitude was very sincere, so Arisa tentatively agreed.
Suzumura Kouta indeed kept his word, and his personality wasn't bad either.
But not long after, Suzumura Kouta said he had to leave Russia to continue his business and wanted to take her back to Japan.
Having a good impression of Suzumura Kouta, and with no parents or relatives to worry about, Arisa impulsively agreed.
She did want to go abroad and see.
But after coming to Japan, unexpectedly, Suzumura Kouta not only said he had to transfer to go elsewhere for business talks mid-journey, but after she arrived in the Japanese countryside, he only met her once before saying he had to go abroad again for business.
He just left her alone here in his hometown, to live with his older brother whom she had never met before.
Although Suzumura Kouta's attitude was still good, and he indeed didn't force himself on her or anything and gave her enough money for living expenses, Arisa couldn't help but feel annoyed and depressed.
After all, being in a village in a foreign country was really unsettling and boring.
After her fiance left, she, a traveler in a foreign land, knew no one and was unfamiliar with the place. Even though she could speak Japanese, she couldn't share her true feelings with anyone.
Moreover, the older brother named Suzumura Kenta, whom her fiance trusted so much, was very annoying.
Today, after her fiance Suzumura Kouta left, the older brother Suzumura Kenta also greeted Arisa, even initiated conversation, and his attitude was very enthusiastic.
But Arisa noticed that this brother named Suzumura Kenta would often look at her with lecherous eyes and secretly check out her chest, butt, and other sensitive areas.
Coupled with his greasy attempts at conversation and an overly enthusiastic attitude that felt off, Arisa was already getting a bit fed up.
In short, this so-called 'family member'.
Didn't give her as much sense of security and comfort as Hikari, whom she had only met once today when he saved her on the bus.
After all, Hikari had genuinely saved her and helped her greatly, and he was upright, completely unlike that guy Suzumura Kenta, who secretly looked at her, his brother's fiancee, with lecherous eyes.
Moreover, she and Hikari got along very well; Hikari seemed to understand the loneliness she felt as a traveler in a foreign land.
From Hikari, she found a lot of resonance, as if he too had come to this part of Japan from a foreign country, just having stayed longer than her.
In short, Arisa truly considered Hikari a very, very good friend.
If Hikari were willing, she would really love to pull him aside and talk for hours, telling him all her depression and loneliness.
"Ah! It's a pity there are no 'if onlys', it's really so lonely...", Arisa scrubbed the clothes in her hands, gazing wistfully at the house where Hikari lived.
———
On the Other Side—
Hikari had no idea that in the house next door, there was a lonely, lonely wife whose mind was full of his image.
At this moment, after wiping his face clean, he had just returned to his home in the countryside.
But just as he pushed open the courtyard gate and had only taken a few steps inside, Hikari suddenly stopped.
Because he keenly noticed, it seemed someone had been in the house
The walls of houses in this kind of village aren't very high, actually quite easy to climb over.
And the doors aren't very sturdy either; getting in directly isn't that difficult.
Based on the condition of the lock and some changes in the courtyard, Hikari felt that there had definitely been a visitor.
He just didn't know who it was.
'Could it be... that guy Yoshizawa Takeo came to ambush me for revenge?'
Full of vigilance, Hikari walked towards the courtyard.
But when he reached the entrance of the house.
There, lying quietly on the shoe mat, was a pair of black high heels.
This pair of black high heels was clearly worn by a woman, completely unlike the kind of shoes that someone like Yoshizawa Takeo would wear.
However, Hikari still lowered his footsteps and quietly moved further into the house.
But when he reached the house door and saw a beautiful young woman dressed in light, cool clothing kneeling on the floor, diligently wiping it with a cloth, he completely relaxed.
Hikari quietly walked up to the young woman and greeted her with a smile, "Aunt Sayoko, long time no see."
Hearing Hikari's voice, Sayoko, who had been concentrating on mopping the floor, suddenly looked up.
Seeing Hikari's familiar, handsome face with a touch of youthfulness, she couldn't help but show a look of pleasant surprise in her eyes.
Accompanied by a gust of fragrant wind, Sayoko stood up directly and abruptly hugged Hikari.
"It's Hikari-kun! You're finally back!"
Sayoko, tightly hugging Hikari, was full of the joy of reunion after a long separation.
And Hikari, held tightly in Sayoko's embrace, experienced another round of the very familiar yet distinctly scented "facial cleanser".
'Why do all these older aunties love to do such rude and vile things to me, an honest and pure-hearted young boy?'
Hikari silently complained in his heart while struggling to breathe.
After a few minutes of being excitedly treated to a "facial cleanser" by Sayoko, Hikari finally managed to free himself from that warm embrace.
"Aunt Sayoko, I've grown up now. Men and women shouldn't be too intimate."
Hearing Hikari's words, Sayoko smiled and shook her head, her tone affirmative yet dismissive as she laughed, "Yes, yes, Hikari-kun has grown up! Become a handsome young man!"
[T/N: There's a 🎉 discount 🎉 ongoing in my P@treon till Dec 6. Consider joining if you want to read more chapters, read new fanfics, and appreciate the effort I put in. Have a great read~]
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