My childhood sweetheart is Nishimiya Glass

Chapter 368 It's Not Good if My Future Mother-in-Law is Too Dominant
"That...that won't work either..."

Shoko felt as if she were being burned by his direct gaze; her eyes involuntarily began to wander, and her voice gradually weakened.

"It's settled then!" With that, she broke free from Tsuna's embrace, got up, and ran off, leaving the rest of her words behind without looking back:
"I'm going back to help Grandma prepare dinner!"

"Hey……"

Tsuna raised his hand to call out to the rapidly disappearing figure, but the sound caught in his throat.

"boom!"

The only response he received was a muffled slam of the door shut, which sounded particularly jarring in the suddenly quiet living room.

"..."

Night gradually seeped through the window frames.

"Tsuna, dinner's almost ready. Come over now so you can start eating!"

The notification sound abruptly interrupted his casual conversation with Nishikata.

A-Gang glanced at the time on his phone screen, said "We'll talk later," got up, grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, opened the door, and stomped downstairs.

"Click..."

"excuse me!"

The first thing to run out to greet him was the fluffy Hachiko, followed by Yuzuru Nishimiya chasing after it.

"Dinner is ready...—"

Tsuna was squatting down, casually scratching Hachiko's chin, when he was abruptly interrupted by Yuzuru Nishimiya, who had also squatted down:
"Tsuna-nii!"

Nishimiya Yuzuru leaned close to him, her face full of gossip: "My sister said you've been abandoned by your aunt and uncle these past few days, is that true?"

"..."

Tsuna couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically, muttering under his breath, "What the hell is this...?"

I gently pushed away the curious little head that had gotten too close:

"They just went to Kyoto for tourism." With that, he dusted off his trousers and stood up.

Hachiko immediately nuzzled his drooping fingers with its nose, and Tsuna took the opportunity to lightly kick its rear end before slowly swaying towards the restaurant.

As she passed through the living room, she made sure to greet Yaeko Nishimiya, who was watching TV on the tatami mat.

Seeing that the table was still empty, A-Gang turned around and rushed into the kitchen: "Grandma Nishimiya, let me lend a hand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shoko, who was busy with her back to the door, noticed him. The wooden spoon in her hand was still stained with sauce. She turned around and chased him away without hesitation.

------

"Tsuna! Tsuna...!"

Shoko called out twice in a drawn-out tone, but seeing that he was still staring blankly at the air, she simply slapped his cheek with her paw and rubbed it vigorously:
"Where's your soul? Where's your soul? Are you thinking about some woman? You're so engrossed in it!"

"what?"

Tsuna, whose face had been distorted from being squeezed, finally came to his senses. He grabbed her still-misbehaving wrist and, without thinking, changed the subject:
"I was thinking about those online cases you took on."

"Entrust? What's there to think about? It's not like we didn't pay a deposit or anything."

In recent months, and especially after the announcement of her new book, "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas," many people online still see Nishimiya-sensei on the cover and in the illustrations.

Her small Twitter account saw her follower count steadily increase, and she received a constant stream of private messages asking her to commission articles and draw portraits.

Shoko specifically chose to accept a few online commissions that required upfront deposits, as a safety net.

She no longer has to worry about pocket money.

But a few days ago, when she brought a small stack of cash home and tried to stuff it into Nishimiya's hand in the kitchen, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by a warm but strong hand.

It was Nishimiya Yaeko's hand.

The hand, grime-covered and with distinct knuckles, gripped her tightly like an iron clamp, while the rag in the other hand was still dripping wet. Yaeko Nishimiya's brows furrowed habitually, her voice low but carrying an unyielding weight as she looked down at Shoko with resolute eyes:
"You can save this money even if you don't use it. Our family isn't that poor that we need a minor like you to support us!"

This scene left a deep impression on Tsuna, who was watching from the sidelines. Later, he couldn't help but try to speak up and mediate, but...

Not even a splash.

It's not good if my future mother-in-law's personality becomes increasingly domineering...

...............

“Once these new commissions are done,” Shoko said, swiping her finger across the tablet and tapping save, “I can finally work on the illustrations for ‘Your Lie in April.’”

She put the tablet aside and looked at someone's face. His gaze was fixed on the outside as if he were nailed to the window, not even blinking.

Upon hearing this, Gang looked at her and said, "There's no need to rush. You can rest for ten days or half a month before drawing again."

"I'm afraid that if I have free time, I'll start taking on more commissions again."

"..."

Seeing this, Tsuna stopped trying to persuade her. After chatting for a while, Shoko got up to help Nishimiya prepare dinner.

He followed her, but after only a few steps, she pretended to be disgusted and chased him out of the kitchen, leaving him alone in the living room to watch TV.

Yuzuru Nishimiya took Hachiko for a walk in the park and hasn't returned yet.

Nishimiya Yaeko's off-get off work hours are not fixed, but most of the time she only rushes back when dinner is ready and they are about to start eating.

Early the next morning.

"Bang...! Bang...!"

Fireworks exploded in the sky, announcing the start of the sports festival, accompanied by the sounds of students cheering and shouts of encouragement from the stands.

"Ha~" Tsuna yawned, covering his mouth with his hand out of boredom.

This scene caught the attention of many people. Yawning seems to be contagious; as soon as one person finished yawning, another would follow.

"Miyamura!"

Ayumi Ajitani, dressed in a striking gymnastics uniform, stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, swinging her red and white striped relay baton with a loud whooshing sound.

"It's about to start, so be on your best!"

"Mhm." He nodded perfunctorily and turned to walk towards the audience seats.

The older students were engaged in a fierce competition on the track, while it was still a long time before their class had a turn.

The students took the opportunity to slip away. Some strolled back to the classroom's audience seats in twos and threes, while many others rushed to the family area to gather and greet each other warmly through the railings.

"Tsuna-nii, what time did you stay up yesterday?"

Before Tsuna could even warm the benches in the family section, Yuzuru Nishimiya's little head was already pressed against the railing of the stands, her bright eyes instantly piercing his heart:

A-Tsuna waved his hand weakly: "I forgot, I was so sleepy I fell asleep."

Before he finished speaking, he glanced at Shoko, who was chatting happily with Takagi.

"But didn't you say last night that you recently made a new friend who also studies here? Why haven't I seen her come over to chat with you?"

“There were too many people, he might have social anxiety,” she said, glancing at her phone. “I sent him a message but he hasn’t replied.”

"Socially anxious...?" Tsuna asked, puzzled. "Why can't it be just chatting with your parents?"

Nishimiya Yuzuru rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head to look at him: "He told me yesterday when he was walking Hachiko that his parents are not available today, so social anxiety is the only option."

Tsuna's eyelids were too weak to even lift an inch, and he listlessly hummed out a question in a nasal voice: "...Hmm? Yesterday?"

He shifted his position, leaning closer: "So... how long have you known each other?... How did you get in touch?"

He only uttered those two questions to keep his eyelids from drooping.

(End of this chapter)