Chapter 13: Not a Boyfriend

Asano Aiko had a very complicated dream. In the dream, she desperately wanted to apply for a certain plan to the editor-in-chief. The latter not only ignored her but also announced that her column would be cut, telling her to get out of the publishing house.

She left the publishing house in disappointment, only to meet Akiwara Yuto on the way. The other party was smiling gently while touching her face with his right hand.

Asano Aiko was surprised and uncertain. After all, the two were not even a couple, and this kind of action could be counted as molestation.

She didn't expect Akiwara Yuto to pinch her cheek hard and pinch it heavily, waking her up directly in pain.

She opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on the bed in the bedroom. Her mother was sitting beside the bed, looking at herself with a "kind" face, and her right hand was also pinching her cheek as a matter of course.

She immediately didn't do it. Good, it turns out you are the culprit who made me have a nightmare, she said unhappily: "Mom, what are you doing, let go!"

After hearing this, Asano's mother pinched even harder: "Why let go? I'm afraid that if I let go, you will run to the bar to drink by yourself. Do you know how worried I am."

Seeing that her mother was angry, Asano Aiko, who was still on the bed, immediately raised both hands and surrendered, admitting her mistake.

After she apologized several times and promised not to commit again, Asano's mother let go of her hand, allowing her to cover her face.

"No, Mom. How do you know I went to the bar?" Asano Aiko was full of doubts.

She had already made a plan to secretly go for two drinks alone, and then pretend to work overtime and go home late. This way she would never be caught. She had done this before when she secretly went shopping with her best friend.

Asano's mother rolled her eyes at her and said in a tone of anger and disappointment: "Isn't it because your boyfriend sent you back? Otherwise, I would really be fooled by you."

"Boyfriend, what nonsense are you talking about? Where do I have a boyfriend?"

"Eh, isn't it? That gentle handsome guy with temperament, you vomited all over him, and the other party said it didn't matter."

Seeing her daughter's still confused expression, Asano's mother frowned suspiciously and said in an uncertain tone: "By the way, he seems to be called Akiwara something."

Hearing this familiar name, Asano Aiko was shocked.

I was sent home by Akiwara Yuto? And I vomited all over him? God, what happened?

She ignored her mother who was still making trouble beside her, and racked her brains to recall. A part of her memory began to surface in her mind.

She then remembered that she cried and made trouble in the bar yesterday, and then was restless on the way back.

For a moment, she was dumbfounded, ashamed and unable to face anyone.

Ah, I'm going to die. How can I face Akiwara-san in the future? How will the other party look at me in the future?

Finding that she might be at her wit's end, she drilled into the quilt, not intending to show her head again, and comforted herself at the same time: Sleep, sleep, it will be fine when you wake up.

Asano's mother found it funny to see her daughter's appearance of being angry and acting like a spoiled child.

She gave up using violence, then said in a tone of coaxing a child: "It's okay, get up and eat dinner quickly, don't let others wait too long."

"Others?!"

"It's that Akiwara-san. You did such a rude behavior to others, of course, I have to keep him to change clothes, and also treat him to a meal as an apology."

"Ah!!!"

While Asano Aiko felt she didn't know how to face Akiwara Yuto, the latter was walking out of her bathroom with a helpless face.

While wiping his hair with a towel, he wondered why he was so unlucky.

After Asano Aiko got drunk, he called the editorial department, asked for her home address with the reason of connecting work, and then tried his best to help the other party up (the drunk person is very heavy), called a taxi and sent her home.

As a result, as soon as he got out of the car and walked two steps to her door, Asano Aiko suddenly hiccuped a few times and vomited all over him. That smell, he couldn't look directly at it even now.

Fortunately, Asano's mother saw it and immediately let him wash and change in the bathroom in the house, and lent him her husband's clothes to wear, otherwise he wouldn't know how to go back.

Seeing his embarrassed appearance, even a taxi driver with a good attitude would refuse to take him, right!

Akiwara Yuto complained in his heart for a while, then walked to the living room, looked at the layout of the Asano family, and found that it was a traditional Japanese-style room, simple and simple, with a warm feeling.

He thought about it and felt it was a bit inappropriate to stay, so he decided to find Asano's mother to say goodbye, and incidentally borrow a bag to pack his dirty clothes and take them back to wash.

At this time, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. He looked up and found Asano's mother walking down the stairs, and immediately said in a polite voice: "Asano-fujin, sorry to trouble you."

"No, Akiwara-kun, it is our Aiko who troubled you." Asano's mother looked at Akiwara Yuto and said with a smile.

In fact, she looked at Akiwara Yuto, the more she looked, the more she liked it, and the smile on her face was almost hidden.

Although Aiko said it wasn't a boyfriend, it doesn't mean it can't be in

Isn't this Akiwara-kun a pretty good choice? In terms of looks, he belongs to that type of refined, handsome man with delicate features and an indescribable aura. In terms of character, he was able to endure the trouble of sending her daughter all the way home, and he didn't even complain after being vomited on.

If she misses out on a man like this, she will regret it.

The smile on her face grew softer, and she decided to help her daughter seize the opportunity, so she said with a smile, "Akiwara-kun, it's getting late. Please stay and have dinner with us."

Akiwara Yuto simply took it as a polite gesture and responded courteously, "That would be an imposition on you; I had better head home."

Just then, a familiar female voice came from above, "Akiwara-san, please stay and have dinner with us."

Akiwara Yuto looked up and discovered that Asano Aiko had actually woken up. She had already changed into loungewear and looked a bit like her former self again, though her eyes were darting around evasively as she looked over.

He understood; after all, anyone who knew they had gone on a drunken rampage and vomited all over someone else would surely feel embarrassed.

Akiwara Yuto considered it for a moment. Since both mother and daughter had invited him, it wouldn't be appropriate to decline again, and he really didn't know what he would eat if he went back now, so he said politely to Mrs. Asano, "Then I will trouble you."

Mrs. Asano was satisfied; she smiled and walked into the kitchen, starting to get busy, and before long, sounds could be heard. Asano Aiko walked down the stairs, looked at Akiwara Yuto, and opened her mouth several times without saying a word.

She was truly a bit embarrassed. The relationship between the two was that of author and editor, partners struggling together in the workplace, and their relationship should be confined to the workplace. It shouldn't be like this—first acting like a drunkard, then meeting her family, making it look like they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Especially after discovering she had been rambling after drinking, she felt even more ashamed and wished she could find a rabbit hole to crawl into and wait until the other party forgot before coming out.

Akiwara Yuto noticed Asano Aiko's embarrassment and smiled helplessly. He knew she wanted to apologize, but he didn't have a single thought of blaming her.

Not to mention that Asano Aiko had suffered grievances just to help promote his work, the kindness of her discovering him among the rejected manuscripts of other magazines and saving him from being homeless was enough—what did being vomited on even matter?

Akiwara Yuto pretended that nothing had happened, took the initiative to walk up and greet Asano Aiko, and searched his mind for a few dad jokes to ease the atmosphere.

Asano Aiko also cooperated by laughing, but after a while, she still decided to properly apologize to Akiwara Yuto. She had to apologize; after all, the two would be working together for a long time, and it wouldn't be good to keep this thorn in their hearts.

She took two steps back, stood straight, bowed deeply, and said politely, "I'm sorry, Akiwara-san, I really caused you trouble this afternoon."

Seeing this, Akiwara Yuto immediately bowed in return and said sincerely, "Asano-san, I haven't taken today's events to heart, so please don't apologize like this."

He paused, then said in a firm tone, "If Asano-san wants to drink again next time, please be sure to bring me along."

He was genuinely a bit worried about her safety. No matter what, it wasn't suitable for a girl to be drinking alone in a bar, even in an environment like the afternoon when there were fewer people.

After hearing this, Asano Aiko raised her head, but her face was incredibly red, looking exactly like a "steam princess."

She suspected that her image in his mind had turned into that of a female drunkard, and she subconsciously stomped her foot, saying anxiously, "I won't go next time."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean if Asano-san is going, it's best to have someone else accompany you; if that's not possible, you can call me."

"I said I won't go, so I won't go!"

To avoid losing more face in front of Akiwara Yuto, she found an excuse and scurried into the kitchen to help, leaving Akiwara Yuto to watch TV for a while, which left him speechless.

Another half hour passed, and because the mother and daughter worked together, the meal was soon served.

The food was simple, but one could see it was exquisite: in front of each of the three were white rice, a main dish, miso soup, oolong tea, and two small side dishes.

He couldn't help but think of *Minami-ke* that he had seen in his past life; it seemed to be this kind of individual serving style.

After the food was on the table, Mrs. Asano and Asano Aiko took their seats, and then she said to him in a polite tone, "Akiwara-kun, it's just a simple meal, please bear with us."

"Not at all, it's truly exquisite food, thank you for your trouble." Akiwara Yuto clapped his hands together and said politely, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

The three of them began to eat together and started chatting while they ate. Akiwara Yuto learned that Asano Aiko's father was often only able to return home late at night because he was busy with work.

After finishing this, Mrs. Asano even took the initiative to talk about Asano Aiko's work, complaining that she had been getting busier lately and often didn't come home to have dinner with her.

Akiwara Yuto subconsciously ducked his head; after all, the person causing her daughter to work overtime was himself.

But as they chatted, Akiwara Yuto found that things were becoming increasingly strange, as more of Asano Aiko's situation was being exposed.

Mrs. Asano said that she had been attending girls' schools from childhood to adulthood and had never even had a boyfriend. Later, when she started working, she became busier and busier, and she listened even less to the advice of her and her father, making her not worry-free at all.

Akiwara Yuto subconsciously glanced at Asano Aiko and found that the latter had almost buried her face in her rice, and her ears were red to the tips.

Although he found it interesting, Akiwara Yuto felt he should still save some face for this "Editor-in-Chief"; after all, the two were only in a working relationship, and it was better not to make things so awkward.

So he took the initiative to support her by saying many good things about Asano Aiko, especially regarding her dedication to work and how she took great care of him.

But what he didn't notice was that the look in Mrs. Asano's eyes as she watched him became increasingly satisfied.

By around 9 o'clock in the evening, the dinner was mostly finished, and the three of them put down their bowls and chopsticks.

Akiwara prepared to take the train home; he didn't want to spend money on a taxi again, as the price was expensive as hell—20 minutes would cost over 20,000 yen, which was equivalent to one-third of his current rent.

Asano Aiko took the initiative to stand up and offered to walk Akiwara Yuto part of the way. Amidst Mrs. Asano's regretful look of "not being able to keep him to stay," the two walked out the door.

It was time for the two of them to talk again...