Chapter 17: Ai Hayasaka, the "Old Married Couple," and Graduation Again
His life right now was exhausting.
He was barely scraping by on less than six hours of sleep a day.
But there was no helping it. That was just the reality of the startup phase; neither the boss nor the employees had it easy.
However, as long as he thought about the money he was earning—money that would be enough to get Shoko better treatment and higher-quality hearing aids—he felt a surge of motivation.
Even though four years had passed since that night he made his promise, he was grateful that he still remembered the words he had spoken and the vow he had sworn.
He hadn't taken his stress out on anyone, nor did he regret it.
Of course, that didn't mean he hadn't hesitated along the way.
But all of that was in the past.
Life was getting better and better.
Haruka narrowed his eyes, feeling a faint sense of happiness.
Knock, knock, knock.
A sound came from the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
A crisp, clear female voice responded. The door opened to reveal a pure-looking young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, a braid woven on one side while the rest of her smooth, long hair cascaded down her back. Her gaze seemed crystal clear.
Upon seeing her, Haruka's expression instantly turned cold.
"What are you doing here? I recall I already rejected you."
"Ah, well, don't be so cold. I'm just here cuz I really need a job," she said sheepishly, placing her hands over her stomach and twirling her fingers in circles.
However, even though she was displaying such a cute and innocent posture, Haruka's attitude didn't improve in the slightest.
"I have no intention of changing lovers, nor do I want a mistress. Whatever scheme you're cooking up is useless. Please leave."
He knew exactly who this person was.
The "Double Agent" from the original work in his past life, the personal maid of the Shinomiya Conglomerate's eldest daughter, Kaguya Shinomiya—Ai Hayasaka.
Don't let her current pure and lovely appearance fool you. In reality, she had a gyaru mode, a maid mode, a genius butler mode...
She was a woman of many faces.
People like her couldn't be trusted.
Besides...
The Shinomiya family.
In the anime he watched in his past life, he didn't feel much, but in this reality, a massive financial conglomerate like that was truly terrifying. For the trusted confidant of such a conglomerate's daughter to come here and pursue him... no matter how he thought about it, it was weird.
Therefore.
It was better to have no desires and remain unswayable.
Of course.
He didn't deny that he was also afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would end up betraying Shoko, so he decided to eliminate the thought preemptively.
"I... I really just want a job. Isn't your place constantly hiring? Can't you give me a chance?"
She looked at him with pitiful, puppy-dog eyes.
Haruka treated her with indifference.
"Not interested. You're too pretty; you don't fit the profile. Get out now, or I'm calling security."
???
Because she was pretty, she didn't fit the profile?
Could your excuse be any more perfunctory?
Ai Hayasaka mentally cursed him, but seeing Haruka's firm attitude, she could only put on a wronged expression, looking as if she were about to burst into tears as she walked out.
In the outer lobby, the male and female employees whispered among themselves upon seeing the scene.
"The boss is amazing. He actually kicked someone like that out."
"That's why he's the boss. His will is as hard as iron; beauty is just a fleeting cloud to him. He's a role model for us men of steel."
"Heh, wake up. The boss has a girlfriend, and she's a beauty too. You might as well praise the boss for truly loving his girlfriend."
"..."
Walking out of the office building.
Ai Hayasaka looked back at the tower and shook her head slightly.
"His character is indeed good. It's a pity I met him too late, otherwise, I really might have wanted to fight for him."
As for now?
He had a girlfriend, and he was quite loyal. She wasn't about to stoop so low as to become a homewrecker.
Besides, she was just acting earlier anyway.
"Kaguya-sama, this person's character is fine, but he isn't suitable to participate in your plans. I'm afraid your resources were invested in vain."
As early as high school, during the Cultural Festival, she and her Lady had witnessed his brave and strategic side for the first time, leaving a decent impression on them.
After that, the situation within Shuchiin Academy changed—her Lady became the Student Council President—and there were upheavals within the Shinomiya family. As a result, they hadn't bothered with this candidate they had reserved for testing, dragging it out until the year before last.
Only after the dispute between the Shinomiya and Shijo families ended did her Lady finally have the time to remember this matter.
That was the reason why Haruka had more resources than others during his university's special internship.
As for why she appeared here?
The previous investment of resources was to verify his ability. Her coming here personally was to verify his character.
The results were in.
Ability: Average. Character: Excellent.
For a massive conglomerate, the current Haruka's ability was truly just average. This wasn't an insult; most people would struggle to even reach "average" by their standards and were considered inferior students.
However, even so, for the current Kaguya Shinomiya, Haruka was essentially of little value—not useless enough to discard, but not useful enough to keep.
"Sigh."
Thinking of her Lady's currently precarious situation and her own identity as a double agent, she felt a cutting pain in her heart.
"Kaguya-sama..."
Ai Hayasaka left with heavy steps.
Next.
She had to go back and report her conclusions to her Lady, letting her make the final decision.
***
[Having driven away Ai Hayasaka, you threw your energy back into your work.]
[Not long after, you discovered that your resources suddenly decreased, returning to the same level as your classmates.]
[Of course, this only limited your company's expansion speed; it didn't shake its foundation. It just meant you were more tired, often sleeping only four hours a day.]
[You spent even less time with Shoko.]
[However, you held to one rule: you would go home every day, no matter how late it was.]
Night.
Twelve o'clock.
Exhausted, carrying his briefcase, Haruka took the elevator and returned home.
He opened the door as quietly as possible.
But he saw that the living room was still lit up.
Walking closer, he took a look.
A sakura-colored figure was slumped over the table, asleep. On the table, dishes were covered to keep them warm.
Looking at Shoko, Haruka shook his head helplessly.
No matter how late he came back, Shoko would always wait for him and warm up the food.
This was what home felt like...
He gently draped his coat over her shoulders.
Haruka uncovered the dishes.
Two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup.
Due to the time, even with the covers, the food had become lukewarm. Haruka could only speed up his eating.
As he was eating.
Suddenly, he felt the sensation of being watched.
He looked up.
Shoko was resting her chin on her hand, a smile on her face, staring at him foolishly as he ate.
Their eyes met, and suddenly, both felt an inexplicable sense of shyness.
[The two of you were like an old married couple.]
[The company gradually stabilized, and life got better day by day.]
[But in your exhaustion, you failed to notice that the hearing aid in Shoko's left ear was missing.]
[Time passed, and another year went by.]
[You graduated from university.]
[However, you did not gain the qualification to join the academic clique. It seemed because your performance wasn't dazzling enough; your senior told you that you still needed to grow a bit more.]
[You didn't care. You felt content. You prepared to use the money you had saved to get Shoko a more comprehensive examination and treatment.]
[And to help Shoko speak. You had always remembered that. Now that you had some economic foundation, you felt you could finally do it.]
***
From now on, anyone who gives polite suggestions, leaves normal comments, or offers real criticism will have their comments stay.
Anyone who insists on acting like a whiny b*tch about every little thing will have their comments deleted.
Webnovel doesn't have a "ban" option, but if I ever see that person commenting on my fic again—whether it's praise, hate, or even a 5-star review—I'll delete it on sight.
If you're not satisfied with the story, or you think you didn't get what you wanted and feel even slightly "unsatisfied," then I'll ask you to do one thing:
Move on.
Go read a fic that actually fits your taste.
Lastly, I will write this story exactly the way I want to. I won't follow suggestions.
You can still share your ideas—I'll read them—but unless they fit the plan I already have, they won't be added to the story.
***
My dear readers, I really need your support!
For the fanfic to reach more people and for me to stay motivated;
your comments, your Power Stones, and—if you enjoyed the story—your reviews are extremely important to me.
So I prepared a few small perks for you:
📜 Every 5⭐ review → +1 extra chapter ( max 7/10 shots)
📜 Every 100 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter
Thank you in advance for your support. See you in the upcoming chapters!
---
🔥 If you want to see extra character visuals,
🔥 Or if you want to read +20 chapters ahead,
I'm waiting for you on p 4trƐon.
You can search "Demonic_Fiction" on p 4trƐon, or you can find my p 4trƐon link in the synopsis or on my profile.