Chapter 281: , The Angry Bird

Upon learning that Uesugi Muneyuki had only come to pick someone up, the teacher from the Tsukuba University High School academic affairs office breathed a sigh of relief: "Then, may I ask what your relationship is with Saito Asuka?"

"I am Asuka's mother," Ishihara Mikoto said with a smile. "I came to pick her up to go home today."

"Mother???" The high school academic affairs teacher was stunned.

The professional beauty before him looked to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and Saito Asuka was confirmed to be 16; fine, even assuming she took excellent care of herself and was around thirty-five this year, that would still mean she gave birth before she was twenty!

A beast!

The director of the academic affairs office then cast his gaze toward Uesugi Muneyuki.

Wait, that's not right; everyone knows Uesugi Muneyuki is only 23 this year.

"She is my Assistant," Uesugi Muneyuki said casually.

"Oh, oh, oh, I see~" The academic affairs teacher finally understood.

"Uesugi-san! And... Mikoto." Saito Asuka arrived in front of the two. The cute girl was extremely excited to see Uesugi Muneyuki actually take the initiative to pick her up for once; her little face was flushed red, and she couldn't help but lower her head shyly when facing the man's gaze: "Why so suddenly today..."

"I was passing by while running errands, and I happened to hear that your Home Economics Club burned down, so I stopped by to pick you up." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded. He was still very doting toward the girl; she had already suffered too much, and what he needed to provide now was a stable and peaceful environment.

"Mm!!!" Asuka giggled and trotted all the way to Uesugi Muneyuki's side. She instinctively wanted to take his arm, but quickly realized that wasn't appropriate, so she reluctantly took Ishihara Mikoto's arm instead.

That's all you're good for.

The angry bird shot a look of disdain at Ishihara Mikoto, warning her: Don't think that just because you are my guardian you can do whatever you want! My family is only Uesugi-san!

The Forensic Beauty revealed a mocking expression, likewise blinking her seductive, silk-like eyes to signal: As your guardian, I can interrupt the Contract at any time and make it so you can't be a full-time Housekeeper, and the bond between Uesugi and me is beyond your imagination. Guess who he will listen to when the time comes, me or you?

Ngh!

The first round of skirmishes between the fake mother and daughter: Saito Asuka suffered a total defeat!

However, this round of secret skirmishes was completely unknown to outsiders; once Uesugi Muneyuki appeared, everyone's attention had shifted entirely to him.

"Oh, oh, oh! It really is that Legendary Forensic Uesugi-san! The descendant of the Dragon of Echigo, Lord Kenshin!"

"Peerage, truly Peerage! This is exactly what we imagined it would be like!"

"So young~ Why is he so young? He's only 23 this year, right?"

"I can't take it, sisters, I'm screaming~"

"What exactly is the relationship between Uesugi-san and Saito Asuka? Why does it look like they not only know each other but also..."

"Could it be? Is Uesugi-san Asuka's father? And that beautiful woman is Asuka's mother?"

"The age doesn't add up, right? Hey! By that calculation, Uesugi-san became a father at 7? Monstrous, that's just monstrous~"

"Monstrous Uesugi, no wonder he's so good at Autopsy, case closed! (Laughs)"

"Speaking of which, when can we watch that live case-solving episode on Fuji TV? I can't wait, bring it on already!"

The crowd in front of the school gate was buzzing with discussion. From the current situation, there was likely no doubt that Ishihara Mikoto was Saito Asuka's mother, but as for Uesugi Muneyuki being Saito Asuka's father, no one believed that.

The legendary rookie Forensic Pathologist of Tokyo couldn't be that monstrous!

"Um, Uesugi-san, I've always been your fan, could you please give me an autograph?" Before the words were finished, a short girl with twin tails and a rather cute, round face rushed up first, offering her notebook.

"Uh, I'm not an entertainer or a public figure, so let's skip it." Uesugi Muneyuki hurriedly waved his hands: "My handwriting isn't good either."

"That doesn't matter at all!" The girl shook her head desperately: "I beg you, this is a request for my whole life!"

"Alright... what is your name?" Uesugi Muneyuki took the pen, and after getting the name from the girl, he signed a line: "TO Akimoto Manatsu, study hard and improve every day, BY Uesugi Muneyuki."

"I want one too!" "Me too, Uesugi-san, sign one for me!" "Uesugi-san, please, you must sign one for me too~" "Uesugi-san, can you sign your name here for me?"

After Uesugi Muneyuki signed for one girl, everyone immediately swarmed over. Most of them were girls, but there were quite a few boys as well.

What is this, an Idol meet-and-greet? Are there handshake tickets too? Uesugi Muneyuki complained inwardly.

He signed a few at random, then cast a look of appeal toward a teacher nearby. Tsukuba University High School was a prestigious school after all, and the teaching staff was highly capable; the academic affairs teacher understood immediately and shouted for them not to disrupt school order, finally managing to get the students to disperse.

Seeing this scene, Saito Asuka's face turned black. She was angry and annoyed, thinking: These shameless bitches! How are they all just like that fat woman, shamelessly clinging on!

The JK niche belongs to me alone!

The girl pouted, which made Ishihara Mikoto beside her find it somewhat amusing.

However, it was also at this moment that a Toyota Century at the school gate caught Ishihara Mikoto's attention, thinking it was a very high-end car.

The Toyota Century is known as the "Rolls-Royce of Japan" and is Toyota's most high-end luxury model. Moreover, judging from the open door, the interior decoration was also quite luxurious—handcrafted wool fabric and wood trim.

A very dull and thin boy, looking unconfident, lowered his head and hunched his shoulders slightly, slowly getting into the car under the service of several attendants in suits. A noble lady in a Western dress was also sitting in the car. The boy looked at Asuka timidly; seeing that Asuka hadn't noticed him, he felt a bit dejected. He spoke a few words to the noble lady, who shook her head repeatedly, and the attendant closed the door and left.

"Who is that? Asuka-chan." The Forensic Beauty asked with interest.

"That's Yuto-kun, the one who burned down the Home Economics Club." Asuka couldn't be bothered to look at him again: "A blockhead."

And just at this moment, a Maybach also pulled up to the school gate.

"My dad is here, so I'm heading back. Asuka-chan, goodbye!" Another boy with dyed yellow hair came up specifically to say hello: "See you tomorrow!"

"Oh, see you tomorrow." Saito Asuka curled her lip and only maintained basic politeness. As if she had seen through Ishihara Mikoto's confusion, she took the initiative to say: "His name is Mikami Ryoki, a classmate."

What she didn't say was that this yellow-haired boy had been struck by her beauty the moment he saw her and had launched a frantic pursuit.

"It seems Asuka-chan is very popular at school~" Ishihara Mikoto patted the bird's head, having already guessed roughly, and teased: "Then I can rest easy."

"I don't want that!" The girl said awkwardly: "Also, don't touch my head!"

Saito Asuka was quite proud of being particularly popular at school. If the girl previously had a sensitive and inferior side to her nature, now with Uesugi Muneyuki backing her, Asuka only showed that sensitive and inferior side to Uesugi Muneyuki; toward the outside world, she was quite cold and arrogant.

It's just, why can't Uesugi-san feel my charm?

I am clearly super popular at school, super well-liked!

Could Uesugi-san have been bewitched by that fat woman?!

That woman's appearance is unhealthy and abnormal!

Just as Asuka was thinking this, Uesugi Muneyuki, having broken free, approached with a smile: "Is that boy who greeted you an acquaintance? A good friend you know from class?"

"Absolutely not!!!" Seeing the teasing look on Uesugi Muneyuki's face, the girl turned into an angry bird: "Not at all! I'm not close to him, Uesugi-san, don't misunderstand!"

"I'm not misunderstanding, Asuka-chan, you should always make more friends at school~" Uesugi Muneyuki said very earnestly.

"I don't need to! Except for Uesugi-san, I don't need anyone else~ at all!" The angry bird's face turned red, and she defended herself desperately, terrified that Uesugi Muneyuki would misunderstand.

If he were to misunderstand that she was seeing someone at school, wouldn't that be a disaster?

"Hahaha~" Uesugi Muneyuki didn't say anything, just laughed: "Let's go, we'll have your mother drive us to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities and fruit; I've been craving strawberries lately~"

The three of them left in the Lexus that Uesugi Hironori had retired and given to Uesugi Muneyuki, yet the Maybach at the school gate remained where it was, unmoving.

The middle-aged man in the car and his son were both staring blankly at the backs of Ishihara Mikoto and Saito Asuka.

"Linghui, is that super-grade office lady beauty Saito's mother?" The middle-aged man looked to be about 40 years old, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, meticulous in his attire, with his hair combed until it was slick and shiny, though his hair volume was very sparse.

"Yeah, that's right, she seems to be Asuka's mother. This is actually my first time seeing her mother!" The blonde youth nodded repeatedly and sighed: "What a beauty, no wonder Asuka is so kawaii; if the mother is a beauty, the daughter is naturally a beauty. I just wonder who Asuka-chan's father is?... Father?"

The blonde youth spoke for a long time, only to find his father completely unresponsive. He looked up and discovered his father staring blankly at the departing Lexus, drool even dripping down.

"Father?!" The blonde youth called out again.

"Oh? Oh!" At this moment, the middle-aged man had only one thought in his heart.

I'm in love! I'm in love again!

Father and son looked at each other, and suddenly they shared a tacit understanding.

"Father! So you too?" "Linghui! I will definitely come to the next parent-teacher meeting!"

The two men's hands gripped each other tightly: "Long live understanding!"

The alliance between father and son was established!

……………………

Uesugi Muneyuki took Ishihara Mikoto and Saito Asuka shopping at a large supermarket. He casually picked up a box of strawberries, saw the "Shocking Price 1,980 Yen" on it, and couldn't help but click his tongue and shake his head.

The cost of living in Tokyo is quite expensive, especially for fruit.

The cheapest fruit Uesugi Muneyuki has ever eaten in Tokyo was five bananas about to rot for 100 yen; other than that, the price of fruit in Japan is truly expensive, even to the point where some fruit is sold by the slice or by the piece.

For example, the famous Japanese watermelon often sells for 100 yen for a single slice, or 300-500 yen per catty. When Uesugi Muneyuki was young and didn't understand prices, he once bought a Kumamoto watermelon that weighed in at 4,800 yen (excluding tax) for a single one, which completely numbed him.

However, it would be unfair to judge Japanese watermelons as particularly expensive based on this. In reality, when Uesugi Muneyuki went to the countryside with his father and mother, the melon farmers' mountain melons were placed by the side of the road, 300 for small ones and 500 for large ones, pick whatever you want, though the taste and appearance weren't guaranteed.

The watermelons that can be stocked in Tokyo have all been screened by the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives to control their appearance and sweetness, guaranteeing both texture and flavor, but the price just happens to be several times higher~

It's specifically harvesting the leeks of big-city residents!

Uesugi Muneyuki took a box of strawberries and picked out some grapes, when he saw a man in a suit and leather shoes who looked like a manager walking over quickly: "Excuse me, are you Uesugi Muneyuki-san from the Metropolitan Police Department?"

"???" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

"That... may I ask if a case has occurred nearby? Does this supermarket need to cooperate with an investigation?" The manager said cautiously with an apologetic smile: "If not, could you explain it to everyone? Otherwise, it will cause panic."

Uesugi Muneyuki: "…………"

He raised his head and only then discovered that many people in the distance had stopped shopping and were standing in a row, pointing at him with curious expressions.

It's over!

He suddenly had a feeling that his previously peaceful life was drifting away from him.

Damn it, it's because I only appear where there is a case, not that there is a case wherever I appear!!!

I miss you, Senior Mai, I need your invisibility ability!

I need it so much!!!

(End of chapter)