My wife believes me; how could I be a cuckold?

Yuta Yamada then sat down.

Seeing his actions, Makoto Asano didn't know what to say.

Yes, it's true that I'm a guest and it's not appropriate for me to do chores, but shouldn't you, as my boyfriend, help me out?

Makoto Asano shook his head inwardly and prepared to sit down with Yuta Yamada.

But he suddenly caught a glimpse of Eriko Miyajima's movements in the kitchen.

Wearing an apron, Eriko Miyajima rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair in a knot at her chest with a hair tie, and then took off the diamond ring on her left middle finger and carefully put it away.

"What a beautiful ring."

Makoto Asano made a seemingly unintentional remark.

Upon hearing this, Eriko Miyajima smiled sweetly, looked up at Yuta Yamada, and explained to Makoto Asano, "Yes, it really is beautiful, because it was Yuta's proposal to me—"

But before she could finish speaking, Yamada Yuta asked blankly, "Huh? A ring? What ring?"

Eriko Miyajima's sweet smile vanished, and Seiya Asano fell silent.

Dude, how did you manage to win over Eriko Miyajima like that?

Why don't you start a class? I'd definitely be the first to sign up.

Makoto Asano glanced at Yuta Yamada with pity, who was still unaware of what had happened, and then sat down.

At this point, Yuta Yamada finally understood what the two were talking about regarding the ring.

He wasn't really that stupid. After realizing that his words had upset Eriko Miyajima, he quietly apologized to his girlfriend and then started talking to Makoto Asano about the ring.

Taking this opportunity, Makoto Asano learned more about the story between the two.

Yuta Yamada and Eriko Miyajima are both from Chiba, and they were high school classmates.

Because they weren't in the same class, they didn't get to know each other until their second year of high school, at the school's sports festival.

The reason the two met is quite interesting. Since neither of them is very good at sports, they both pretended to be sick and went to the infirmary to slack off on the day of the sports festival.

That's how they got to know each other, gradually became familiar with each other, and eventually got together.

However, unlike Yuta Yamada, who always had excellent grades and eventually went to Tokyo, Eriko Miyajima's grades dropped drastically after she fell in love, so she did not get into university and stayed in her hometown after graduation to help manage her family's small shop.

During the four years that Yuta Yamada spent studying at university in Tokyo, the two kept in touch by phone, only able to meet once a year when Yuta returned to his hometown for holidays.

For all couples in the world, long-distance relationships are a tough test, and most of them end up breaking up.

But Yuta Yamada didn't want to end the relationship.

After graduating and finding a job, he planned to bring Eriko Miyajima to Tokyo and settle down there.

At that time, he used his entire first month's salary to buy a necklace and a diamond ring, and then secretly took leave to go home and meet Eriko Miyajima.

Eriko Miyajima was naturally delighted that her boyfriend appeared before her at an impossible time.

However, when Yuta Yamada invited her to go to Tokyo with him, she hesitated.

This is no small matter; she needs to think it over carefully and should ideally discuss it with her family before making a decision.

Just then, Yuta Yamada took out a ring, knelt down on one knee, and said to her earnestly.

"Eriko, I know I'm not mature yet, and it may take me a long time before I can give you a good life."

“We will experience all sorts of things in the future. There may be arguments or other conflicts, but I swear, I will only love you for the rest of my life.”

"I promise I will work hard and earn money. Once I buy a house in Tokyo, I will marry you."

"Eriko, would you like to come to Tokyo with me and walk towards our future together?"

Women are emotional.

After hearing Yuta Yamada's heartfelt confession, Eriko Miyajima cried and then nodded vigorously.

Yuta Yamada took the opportunity to put a ring and necklace on her and brought her to Tokyo.

While the two were chatting, Eriko Miyajima in the kitchen didn't say anything, just kept her head down and kept working, seemingly not hearing anything.

But in reality, her face was already flushed, too shy to look at the two people at the table who kept casting glances at her.

Makoto Asano watched quietly as Yuta Yamada recounted his story with a sweet expression, and Eriko Miyajima's cheeks flushed red.

While marveling at the beauty of their love, he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt.

But that's all there is to it. He can't give up the mission or his pursuit of Eriko Miyajima just because of this.

Because this also relates to his future.

Call him selfish or lacking in empathy, none of that will change his resolve.

The man who used to live on gutter oil but cared for the whole world is dead.

He is now Makoto Asano, the yellow-haired cow warrior from Tokyo.

No one can make him give up his happiness.

Thinking this way, Makoto Asano suppressed the slight guilt in his heart and successfully convinced himself.

Meanwhile, Eriko Miyajima finally prepared dinner.

The meal was quite plentiful, with each person receiving a grilled fish, several boiled shrimp, a few pieces of teriyaki chicken thigh meat, a thick omelet, a vegetable salad, and a bowl of tofu miso soup.

Although they look like simple home-cooked dishes, this is already more substantial than most ordinary Japanese families' dinners.

Since they had invited Makoto Asano to their home, the food couldn't be too meager.

Yuta Yamada had already picked up his chopsticks and was saying, "I'm starting to eat," ready to taste the flavor.

But Makoto Asano, as if savoring the aroma of dinner, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then he muttered to himself, "Hmm... what a sumptuous dinner, it looks delicious..."

As he spoke, he opened his eyes again, smiled and nodded to Eriko Miyajima beside him, saying, "You've really worked hard, Ms. Miyajima."

[Eriko Miyajima's affection level +2, pure love value +20]

Eriko Miyajima smiled and said, "I hope it suits your taste, Mr. Asano."

At this point, Yuta Yamada belatedly spoke up: "Ah, you've really worked hard, Eriko. Don't be busy anymore, go and take a rest."

Eriko Miyajima shook her head with a smile as she untied the black apron from her waist: "It's alright, Yuta. You and Mr. Asano eat first. I'll go get you some drinks."

As she spoke, she walked towards the master bedroom, and soon came out with two bottles of liquor.

Seeing that Eriko Miyajima had placed the sake on the table but showed no intention of sitting down, Makoto Asano was somewhat puzzled: "Ms. Miyajima, aren't you going to sit down and eat with us?"

In fact, at most Japanese family dinner tables, especially when entertaining important guests, women are not allowed to sit down to eat until all the guests and men have finished eating.

However, because he rarely interacted with people in the past and there were no women in his family, Makoto Asano was unaware of this matter, and he still held onto his previous life's beliefs about women eating at the table.

Therefore, when he casually invited Eriko Miyajima to sit at the table for dinner, both Yuta Yamada and Eriko Miyajima showed surprised expressions.

Chapter 9 Rapid Progress

Eriko Miyajima sat down at the table at Makoto Asano's request, but she felt rather out of place there.

She stared blankly at Asano Makoto, seemingly unaware of why he was so insistent on her sitting down.

Surprisingly, she felt that the other person respected her.

[Eriko Miyajima's affection level +3, pure love value +30]

Upon hearing the notification tone, Makoto Asano naturally noticed Eriko Miyajima's gaze. He said nothing, but simply gave her a sincere smile.

For some reason, seeing Makoto Asano's smile made Eriko Miyajima's heart suddenly flutter, and she quickly looked away.

After everything was prepared, Yuta Yamada ignored the food on the table and picked up the bottle of sake.

"Asano-kun, come and try my treasured shochu. This is a limited edition from Mori Izo, one of the top three shochu makers. It's very hard to find on the market."

Yuta Yamada mentioned that the Mori Izo Limited Edition is a 25% ABV taro shochu, priced at around 15,000 yen, which is considered a relatively expensive and high-quality sake.

Just by looking at this bottle of wine, you can tell how much the two of them valued Makoto Asano's visit.

However, after hearing Yamada Yuta's words, Asano Makoto hesitated and asked, "Want to drink?"

It's not that he can't drink; in his previous life, when he was a corporate slave, he often went out for business dinners, and naturally, he drank quite a bit of alcohol.

However, he doesn't like Japanese shochu, as it's not pure enough and contains many impurities, making it easy to get drunk after drinking it.

He only drank a little that time, but when he woke up the next morning, his head felt like it was splitting open, so he simply stopped drinking it altogether.

"Of course! Asano-kun, a man can't do without drinking!"

As he spoke, Yuta Yamada filled his own glass with wine and then poured some for Makoto Asano.

Seeing Asano Makoto hesitate as he picked up his glass, he smiled and asked, "Asano-kun, do you not know how to drink? Or have you never had shochu before?"

Makoto Asano didn't speak, he just nodded.

Yuta Yamada looked somewhat regretful: "That's a real shame. If Asano-kun really can't drink it, then dilute it with some water first. As for me..."

As if demonstrating to Makoto Asano, he downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp and said smugly, "I can just drink it like this!"

"Yuta, you should drink slower. Drinking so fast is bad for your health," Eriko Miyajima advised worriedly from the side.

But before she could finish speaking, Yuta Yamada waved his hand to interrupt her: "Eriko, don't worry about me! I need to show Asano-kun what the proper way for a man to drink is!"

Yuta Yamada's face was flushed red. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, or perhaps it was because Eriko Miyajima had repeatedly embarrassed him today. He usually spoke softly, but this time his tone was very impatient.

Eriko Miyajima didn't say anything more, but the worry on her face deepened.

Seeing this, Makoto Asano followed Eriko Miyajima's words and began to "persuade" Yuta Yamada to stop drinking.

As a result, Yamada Yuta, whose pride was aroused, drank the entire glass of wine in one go.

Makoto Asano sighed, exchanged a glance with Eriko Miyajima, their eyes filled with helplessness.

See, I advised him to stop drinking, but he insisted on drinking on his own. I didn't force him to drink.

About ten minutes later, Yuta Yamada passed out drunk.

Seeing Yamada Yuta lying unconscious on the table, Asano Makoto shook his head and took a small sip of the shochu mixed with water from his glass.

Eriko Miyajima awkwardly explained on behalf of her boyfriend, "Mr. Asano, Yuta isn't usually like this, it's just..."