Yukino's emotions were somewhat complicated at this moment.
Before today, she thought the meeting wouldn't go very well and might even cause Makoto to develop some thoughts about her family.
After all, her mother had subtly suggested over the phone that she should carefully manage her friendship with Makoto.
This meant her mother was definitely trying to probe Makoto's family background and possibly set plans in her mind.
Given what Yukino had come to know about Makoto recently, she didn't believe he hadn't noticed this.
But the atmosphere of their conversation today was not only excessively pleasant, but Makoto's performance could even be described as leisurely.
It was just like when they first met, and he set an alarm for a minute to save that mother and son with perfect timing.
Yukino's surprise and doubts were no less than that day.
"Actually, you don't need to overthink things," Makoto's voice broke the silence.
Yukino quickly regained her composure and looked at his calm face. "You already know?"
"Know what?"
"My thoughts."
Makoto laughed. "Your thoughts are practically written all over your face, how could I not know?"
Yukino suppressed the impulse to touch her face and adjusted her mood. "Why did you ask my parents to treat you like an equal peer?"
Makoto had expected this. "Because I don't want them to treat me like a child."
His answer wasn't a lie.
With the system tasks, of course, he wanted to become Yukino's "elder."
At least in terms of address, he was determined to do so.
Yukino stared at him for a few seconds but couldn't detect any lies.
Yukino's expression became subtle. "Do you still care about this kind of thing?"
"Why wouldn't I care?" Makoto asked in return.
Yukino glanced quickly at the living room and lowered her voice.
"You said you spent a long time in the time loop. You shouldn't have such a youthful desire to grow up."
Makoto smiled calmly. "It's exactly because I've experienced so many things that I don't want to be treated like a kid."
Yukino paused.
This reasoning made sense.
She even thought it was quite reasonable.
"How about it? Are you willing to call me Onii-chan?" Makoto brought the topic back.
Yukino suddenly asked, "You mentioned wanting to make short films to practice and possibly develop in the film industry, is that true?"
"Yeah, it's also a way to keep myself busy. Otherwise, wouldn't everything I've learned go to waste?" Makoto answered patiently.
"Are you planning to create a club yourself?"
"Yes."
"I understand."
Yukino took a breath and gazed into Makoto's eyes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join your club."
"You were already in my plans for membership," Makoto said.
Somehow, Yukino felt a bit happy inside.
It was happiness from being recognized and trusted.
A faint smile appeared on Yukino's face.
Makoto asked again, "Can you call me Onii-chan now?"
Yukino's smile froze, and she finally showed an expression of dislike. "Are you really that concerned about it?"
Makoto lazily dropped the bombshell. "If I ever go through the time loop again, I can take you with me."
Thump!
Yukino's heart skipped a beat.
Unconsciously, she clenched her little fist.
This guy was fishing!
He knew I wanted to get to the bottom of things, and yet he willingly threw out the bait!
But Makoto didn't stop there.
"Remember what I said that day? Except for you, everyone else just treats the time loop like a joke, so that's why I trust you so much."
He looked directly into Yukino's beautiful eyes.
Yukino felt the intense emotion in his gaze.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her body a little, trying to hide her shyness behind her hair.
This heavy trust made her feel embarrassed for the first time in her life when facing someone of the opposite sex.
She stayed silent for nearly three seconds.
Finally, she shyly whispered, "When's your birthday?"
"January 1st," Makoto understood her meaning.
Yukino pretended to be calm and nodded. "You're two days older than me."
This was her way of finding an excuse.
Then, she still didn't make eye contact with Makoto and turned her face slightly to softly call out, "Nii-sama."
It wasn't an intimate "Onii-chan," but a more formal "Nii-sama."
Makoto smiled contentedly.
Because he heard the mechanical sound of the system's notification.
[Congratulations, host, you've completed the newbie task.]
[Task reward (All-round Girl Badge): This is a gift from the genius girl Yukinoshita Yukino, who truly considers you a friend and appreciates your care and concern as an elder. With this badge, everything you do will have far superior efficiency, and your improvement speed will be several times faster than normal people.]
Makoto's first thought upon receiving the reward was: Does this mean Yukino will never be able to surpass me in studies?
After Yukino awkwardly called out "Nii-sama," she secretly observed Makoto's expression.
Seeing that he was simply smiling contentedly without teasing her, she relaxed.
This guy had been helping her all along, and now he was even planning to help her improve her relationship with her mother. This was exactly what an elder would do.
As she thought about it, her emotions gradually settled down.
But just as she was about to speak, Makoto suddenly said, "From now on, we're brothers."
Yukino: "?"
Makoto: "If anyone bullies you at school, just report my name as your brother."
Yukino: "???"
As expected!
This guy still had some mischievousness in him!
Yukino couldn't hold it in anymore and shot him a fierce glare, her face turning red.
How cute.
Makoto was in a good mood.
He then said, "When you're with your mother, you can relax a bit. She's probably pleased with your growth. I'll continue to help you, so you don't need to stay tense when interacting with her anymore."
Yukino froze.
She felt her cheeks heating up again.
This time, she didn't avoid Makoto's gaze and softly said, "Thank you."
"No need for such words between brothers," Makoto waved it off.
Yukino, who disliked such topics, pretended not to hear. "I remember you used to call me Yukino, why did you start calling me Yukinoshita later?"
Makoto: "Because I felt you weren't comfortable with it."
Yukino fell silent.
She indeed felt uncomfortable.
But she could tell that this wasn't Makoto's real reason.
Thinking about how he now directly calls Ichika by her first name, the familiar feeling of disparity rose in her heart again.
He's nicer to Ichika!
"Alright, we should head back," Makoto's voice came through.
Yukino gave a soft "mm" but didn't voice her thoughts.
Just as she was about to return to the living room, her peripheral vision caught Makoto extending his left hand, already reaching behind her.
Yukino frowned. "What are you doing?"
Makoto: "I told you, you can completely relax. Don't stay so tense. At least now, Aunt Yukinoshita is easy to talk to.
Especially since she sees how well we get along, she'll be even happier and will naturally have a better opinion of you."
Yukino felt a little embarrassed. She had indeed been thinking about facing her mother again, and the feeling of tension unconsciously rose within her.
Smack.
Makoto gently patted her on the back.
The girl glared at him with a stern face.
Makoto also maintained a stern expression. "Stay sharp, we're all from the same school, don't embarrass yourself!"
The two of them returned to the living room. As Makoto had said, Mrs. Yukinoshita was exceptionally kind.
In her eyes, her daughter and Makoto had already become close enough to exchange whispers, which made her even happier.
Yukino gradually relaxed in this atmosphere.
It was all thanks to him.
Her heart felt a little chaotic.
Makoto knew Yukino and her husband very well. He had also read summaries by some experts online, so the atmosphere during this lunch was very pleasant.
Mr. Yukinoshita was in a good mood from their conversation and even poured himself a glass of sake.
Women generally have smaller appetites, so it wasn't long before Yukino and the others were done eating, while Makoto was still chatting and laughing with Mr. Yukinoshita.
Mrs. Yukinoshita glanced at Mayu, who was clearly looking at Makoto, and smiled. "Matsukaze-sensei, would you like to move to another place to chat?"
Mayu paused and nodded with a smile. "Sure."
Yukino knew her mother couldn't help but probe for information. After hesitating for a moment, she gathered her courage and stood up.
Mrs. Yukinoshita glanced at her daughter but didn't reject her.
The three of them went to the study, and just as Yukino had guessed, her mother's first question was, "Matsukaze-sensei, you seem to be very familiar with Makoto? Can you tell me about that boy?"
Mayu answered honestly, "Sure, Makoto is very good at his studies, and he's also good at drawing... Oh, and he can even fix pipes."
Mrs. Yukinoshita listened patiently, although she wasn't interested in this kind of information.
Yukino, however, was very attentive, thinking to herself that he knew so many things.
After a while, Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled and asked, "Besides these everyday things, do you know anything else about Makoto?"
"Eh?" Mayu was a bit innocent and didn't quite understand.
"For example, Makoto's family situation."
"Sorry, I really don't know about that."
Mrs. Yukinoshita didn't show any disappointment and softly said, "It's okay, I was just asking casually."
Then she smoothly changed the topic.
"Yukino and Makoto seem to be good friends now, and I'm happy about that because she rarely has friends, let alone someone she brings home to meet me."
Mayu looked at Yukino in surprise.
"Really? I thought a girl as outstanding as Yukino would have a lot of friends. Like, her relationship with Ichika seems really good. They even went shopping together."
She added, "This is what Makoto told me."
Mrs. Yukinoshita immediately turned to look at her daughter.
Yukino remained calm. "I do know Ichika, and yes, we've had a meal together."
That's something only good friends would do, right?
Mrs. Yukinoshita's smile deepened.
The Nakano family was someone she had been paying attention to.
After all, their father had quite the connections.
Now that Mayu and her daughter had confirmed it, she was even happier.
The three of them chatted casually for a while before ending their conversation.
However, when they reached the study door and saw what was happening in the living room, all three women were completely stunned.
Because Mr. Yukinoshita was flushed from the alcohol, with his arm around Makoto's shoulders, holding a wine glass, and slurring drunkenly,
"Alright, no need to say anything else. From now on, we're brothers! I haven't met someone like you in a long time. Everything you said, it really hit home. You really understand me!"
Makoto raised his juice glass. "Big bro, stop drinking, you're already drunk."
Usually, when a drunk person hears something like this, they would argue. But Mr. Yukinoshita was different.
"What do you mean drunk? I'm always like this, okay? Have you been practicing your observation skills over the years? Come on, let's keep drinking."
After saying that, he grabbed his wine glass and took a gulp.
The three women at the study door were dumbfounded.
Yukino held her forehead, thinking, "Makoto, you really are something. You not only managed to handle my mother but also my father."
Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help but show a slightly embarrassed expression and coughed lightly. "He got my husband all hyped up."
Mayu blinked. "Well, now they really are peer friends."
Yukino was stunned.
That guy called my dad his brother and called me his brother, so what does that make our relationship?
___
Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics
Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!
Don't forget to leave a review too~ Actually, please leave one.
Check out the other translations too
___