Makoto met the Yukinoshita couple at the restaurant entrance.
Both of them were dressed formally, but since mature men's clothing usually fell into the "restrained" category, Mrs. Yukinoshita's well-tailored light-colored mid-length coat and skirt happened to highlight the unique charm of a mature woman.
Although Yukino was her daughter, she wasn't like Yukino at all: short while standing, and absolutely short when lying down.
As for Makoto, he was tall standing up—and still tall lying down.
After exchanging greetings, Mrs. Yukinoshita walked beside Makoto and spoke softly, "I asked around for you. If you ever want to get involved in the film industry, I have the connections to help."
"Thank you very much," Makoto replied, having already anticipated this.
Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled and said, "It's me who should thank you. Without your introductions, we wouldn't have been able to meet Director Nakano so quickly."
Makoto asked casually, "Is Mr. Nakano that hard to reach?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita nodded.
"His social circle is extremely small. He almost never sees guests unless it's for serious business in the medical field. Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to meet him."
"I see."
Makoto then turned to the quiet Mr. Yukinoshita and said, "Uncle, you're being very quiet today."
Mr. Yukinoshita coughed awkwardly. "You were talking about serious matters, so I didn't want to interrupt."
Makoto teased, "Could it be that you still clearly remember what happened when you were drunk?"
Mr. Yukinoshita replied, "Makoto, let's not bring up the past..."
Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help but smile at the scene.
She had a very good impression of Makoto—whether it was the strange sense of warmth he gave off, or his talents and personality.
If this boy could join our Yukinoshita family...
This mature woman couldn't help but entertain a few thoughts.
When Makoto and the couple returned to the previous table, the Nakano father and daughter were clearly surprised, but they still stood up quickly.
After polite greetings and taking their seats again, Nakano Maruo spoke directly, "I really didn't expect the people you called, Fushimi, would be you two."
Mrs. Yukinoshita chuckled.
"It's perfectly normal for you to be surprised. Makoto and I are already quite familiar with each other... Speaking of which, Director Nakano, I believe the last time we met was about two months ago?"
"That's right."
Nakano Maruo was struggling to keep his composure. He'd never have imagined that Makoto would bring the Yukinoshita couple.
Ichika was equally stunned.
Ever since she sat back down, she had been sending questioning looks to Makoto: What is going on here?
Makoto gestured for her to calm down and sent a message from his phone.
Ichika quickly picked up her phone and saw the message:
[Because I helped the Yukinoshita family out last time, this auntie felt we had great potential and took the initiative to exchange contact info with me.]
Ichika: [We?]
Makoto: [Of course, that includes you five sisters too.]
Ichika glanced at her father, who was chatting with the Yukinoshita couple, and suddenly understood.
Something about this situation felt a little strange.
Judging by the Yukinoshitas' attitude, if she were to become close with Yukino in the future, they would likely be even more pleased.
Fortunately, she wasn't an ordinary girl—she quickly adjusted her mindset.
But then she noticed something: Makoto was still playing with his phone!
The problem was, she hadn't received any messages.
So… who was he chatting with?
Ichika grew anxious.
But with three adults around, she couldn't just lean over to peek.
Was he chatting with another girl?
The thought made her feel uneasy.
And as it turns out, she was right—Makoto was chatting with Yukino.
More accurately, Yukino had just sent a message:
[I did a lot of research after I got home today. You mentioned wanting to shoot a short film. That's actually a very complicated endeavor. Are you sure we can manage it on our own?]
Makoto: [Who do you mean by "we"?]
Yukino: [You've made it pretty obvious. The club you're trying to form must be related to the short film, right?]
Then she sent another message:
[I can even guess your true motive for forming this club—it's more about looking after Nakano-san, isn't it?]
Makoto: [You guessed right.]
Seeing how straightforward his reply was, Yukino couldn't help but think again: He really does treat Ichika better.
But she would never say that out loud.
Yukino: [Since you already know what you're doing, I won't press further.]
Makoto: [Are you heading off to do something now?]
Yukino: [I was planning to read. Why?]
Makoto: [I'm chatting with your mom right now. Anything you want me to tell her?]
Yukino: [?]
Yukino froze with her phone in hand.
What the heck is he trying to do?
She typed with a tense face:
[Pardon me for asking, but… are you and my mother close?]
Makoto: ["We're old friends now. Also, don't forget—I'm your big brother."]
Yukino's blood pressure rose as her fingers typed faster:
[Then let me ask you—are you aiming to become the Yukinoshita family's son-in-law?]
Makoto: [Why not have you come over instead?]
Yukino: [Excellent. I'm no longer interested in chatting with you.]
Makoto: [No problem. I can chat with your mom.]
Yukino: [???]
Seeing the question marks from her, Makoto swiftly turned off the screen and pocketed his phone.
All in one smooth motion.
Objective of the day: Successfully poked Yukino's curiosity—complete!
He turned to Ichika, who had been sneaking glances at him, and signaled: I'll explain later.
Only then did Ichika look away.
At that moment, Mrs. Yukinoshita brought up Makoto:
"Mr. Nakano, are you familiar with Makoto? He's not only top of his grade—he's also incredibly talented in creative writing. My daughter told me that personally."
Makoto blinked. What was she getting at?
Across the table, Nakano Maruo raised an eyebrow. "Creative writing?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled. "Yes. According to my daughter, not only has he written many stories, he also seems to have a talent for screenplay adaptation."
This time, instead of a blood pressure spike, Nakano Maruo felt the pressure in his head rise.
A good-looking boy, eloquent, and talented too—could he really keep his daughter safe?
Mrs. Yukinoshita flashed Makoto a meaningful smile, and he immediately understood.
She was helping him.
No wonder—such a sharp and mature woman could size up the situation in mere moments.
Makoto made a mental note.
Mrs. Yukinoshita's assistance had succeeded in increasing Nakano Maruo's regard for Makoto.
And with that, neither Makoto nor Ichika had much else to do in the conversation.
Mrs. Yukinoshita, with her strong sense of ambition, had been offered an opportunity by Makoto—and she intended to make full use of it.
As a favor in return, she would change Mr. Nakano's negative perception of Makoto.
After finishing his meal, and seeing that Ichika had also put down her chopsticks, Makoto stood up.
"We'll take our leave now—don't want to interrupt your business talk."
The Yukinoshita couple responded politely.
Nakano Maruo hesitated for a second.
Makoto smiled. "I'll walk Ichika home."
Only then did Maruo reply with a lukewarm, "I'll leave her in your care."
After leaving the restaurant, Makoto noticed Ichika seemed distracted and tossed out a direct pitch:
"If you wanna hold hands, just say it. Why act all shy about it?"
Huh?
When did I say I wanted to hold hands?
Wait—no, that's exactly what I want!
Ichika's brain answered before she could think, and she lifted her fair, delicate hand with a beaming smile.
Makoto took it in his grasp. "I was just chatting with Yukinoshita about the club stuff—but I think I may have pissed her off a bit."
Just as expected—his strategy worked.
Feeling the warmth in his palm, Ichika had already forgotten her earlier irritation.
She lowered her head, gazing at his hand with sparkling eyes.
Her slender fingers curled, gripping tight.
This time, I'm not letting you go so easily!
She lifted her head in delight—only to find Makoto staring right at her.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, trying to hide her shyness with a smile.
Makoto answered bluntly, "I've been meaning to say this for a while—you have beautiful legs."
Ichika smirked playfully. "That totally sounds like something a pervert would say. But if it's you, Makoto, I won't get mad~ So? You wanna touch?"
Makoto: "Exquisite—absolutely divine!"
"?"
Ichika blinked. Something felt off. Why did the conversation seem to be getting more and more perverted?
That wasn't her original intention when teasing him.
So she pretended not to notice, smiling sweetly. "As far as I know, boys who are into legs tend to be big fans of different legwear."
Makoto: "Like what?"
"Ankle socks, black tights, white stockings… or maybe something bolder like fishnets?"
"You don't have any of those. Why are you listing so many?"
"You never know~"
Ichika smiled mysteriously.
Exquisite, huh?
Then you better come and take them off yourself.
That's what she was thinking. She didn't actually own any tights—but Nino had a bunch of white knee-high socks. Maybe she could borrow a pair and wear them for him?
If Makoto knew what she was thinking, he'd definitely give her a thumbs up and praise her:
That's a smoking-hot reward. Bring it on!
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