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

She closed the door again, slowly turned around, and looked at Asano Makoto with an embarrassed expression.

However, the moment their eyes met, she lowered her head again.

Makoto Asano was initially puzzled by Eriko Miyajima's series of actions.

But as if he had just remembered something, a knowing smile suddenly appeared on his face.

He already knew the reason for the other party's strange behavior.

Last night, after his surprise "confession," Eriko Miyajima awakened a new attribute—morality value.

Makoto Asano took a closer look and found that the "immorality value" attribute was somewhat similar to the "favorability" rating, but there were still some differences in the details.

Simply put, the "immorality value" only increases when the target of the romance feels "heart-fluttering" and the person realizes this and feels sorry for their partner.

In other words, once the target's moral depravity increases, it means that the other party has developed some romantic feelings for Makoto Asano.

What this means for Makoto Asano is self-evident.

This at least shows that his efforts during this period have not been in vain, and that his chances of completing the task have greatly increased.

Thinking of this, Makoto Asano smiled and looked at Eriko Miyajima, who was looking down and dared not meet his gaze.

"What's wrong, Ms. Miyajima? Don't you want to see me?"

Despite his sarcastic expression, he spoke in a very sad tone, "We were having such a good time chatting last night, and now we've drifted apart. It's really heartbreaking..."

Chapter 11 Her Adorable Appearance

This might sound a bit vulgar, but Makoto Asano was actually doing it on purpose.

At this moment, Eriko Miyajima's heart was filled with embarrassment and shame after realizing that she had done something wrong, and she did not even notice that Makoto Asano was teasing her.

Makoto Asano deliberately spoke in this way to better arouse Eriko Miyajima's sense of shame, so that he could take advantage of her vulnerability.

He wasn't afraid that this would make the other person dislike him, after all, he had increased Eriko Miyajima's favorability a lot yesterday, and it was already at 22 points.

Such a harmless little joke will not cause the other person to feel disgusted.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, Eriko Miyajima quickly explained, "How could that be! Mr. Asano, please don't misunderstand, I was just... just..."

Eriko Miyajima was speechless, because she didn't know what had gotten into her or why she had done such a thing.

Seeing her adorable expression as she racked her brains to explain things clearly, Makoto Asano just smiled gently and didn't tease her any further.

As a love expert whose theoretical knowledge rivals that of the Yongle Encyclopedia, he knew that if he didn't handle the teasing properly, he might actually lose favor with the character.

So Makoto Asano stopped in time and even gave Eriko Miyajima a way out.

"It's alright, Ms. Miyajima. I was just joking with you. I didn't mean to blame you."

He then straightened his expression and said sincerely, "Also, I think I was a little drunk last night and may have said some offensive things. I must apologize for that, and I hope you won't take it to heart, Miss Miyajima."

Eriko Miyajima initially seemed relieved, but upon hearing the second sentence, her body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

She had never encountered anything like this before, and she didn't know what to do.

Finally, Eriko Miyajima could only blush and wave her hand, stammering, "Ah... um, no... it's okay, I know."

As for what she knows, even she herself probably doesn't know.

Makoto Asano didn't dwell on the topic, but instead changed the subject: "By the way, is Yamada-kun alright? He drank so much last night, and so fast. I'm worried about him..."

[Eriko Miyajima's affection level +1, pure love value +10]

Before I could finish speaking, a notification sound rang out.

Asano Makoto, who was pretending to be worried, suddenly brightened up, not expecting such an unexpected gain.

At this moment, Rieko Miyajima showed a gentle expression and said with a smile, "Yes, Yuta is fine. I made him some hangover tea last night, and he was much better when he got up for work this morning."

Makoto Asano chuckled softly and said, "That's good. Actually, I was quite worried that he might be late for work today, or that he might not be able to work properly because of a hangover and end up getting criticized by his boss... But since you're here, Ms. Miyajima, that shouldn't happen, right?"

Thinking of his throbbing headache from a hangover that morning, Makoto Asano sighed again, genuinely lamenting, "I'm really starting to envy Yamada-kun more and more. I wish someone could make me a cup of hangover tea."

Eriko Miyajima was stunned after hearing this.

Perhaps it was because she was thinking about what happened last night, or perhaps she simply hadn't figured out how to respond to Makoto Asano's subtle compliment.

Although her face turned slightly red, she didn't say anything more.

Seeing that this time the praise didn't increase Eriko Miyajima's favorability like before, Makoto Asano was somewhat disappointed. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able to so easily increase her favorability by praising her anymore.

However, he also noticed Eriko Miyajima's predicament and quickly changed the subject, saying, "I see you're carrying a handbag, Ms. Miyajima. Are you getting ready to go out?"

Eriko Miyajima nodded immediately, as if grasping at a straw, and replied, "Yes, because we just moved in yesterday, we're still missing some household items, and we need to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries."

"Do you know the way? Although the supermarket is quite close to us, it's still easy to get lost if you're not familiar with it."

"Don't worry, Mr. Asano, you can find it on the map app on your phone."

"I see. But you sounded like you have a lot of things to buy. Do you need my help?"

"No need, Mr. Asano, how could I keep troubling you!"

Eriko Miyajima quickly waved her hand in refusal; she really didn't want to trouble Makoto Asano any further.

But more importantly, her instincts told her that it was best not to have any deeper contact with Makoto Asano. If she continued like this, she would definitely go down the wrong path and get deeper and deeper into trouble.

On the other hand, seeing that the other party refused so decisively, Asano Makoto did not press the matter further, but simply nodded to indicate that he understood.

Although their favorability rating has increased considerably, they have only known each other for a day and, strictly speaking, are still just nodding acquaintances.

In fact, before even asking, Makoto Asano had already prepared himself for the possibility of being rejected.

As Eriko Miyajima finished speaking, the topic ended, and the two fell silent.

After a while, seemingly unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, Eriko Miyajima took the initiative to start a conversation for the first time.

"Mr. Asano, are you heading to work? You've been chatting with me for so long, won't you be late for work?"

Makoto Asano shook his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "Actually, I don't have a job right now. I went out to... well, I went out to look for a job."

He originally intended to tell the truth, but when he thought that his image as an unemployed person might leave Eriko Miyajima with a bad impression of him as a person who lacks ambition, he decided to tell her a little lie.

Eriko Miyajima nodded and comforted him, "It's okay, Mr. Asano. You'll definitely find a job you like soon. Please believe in yourself!"

"Then I'll take your kind words." Asano Makoto said with a smile and thanked him.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become awkward again, and that he had indeed wasted a lot of time, he said goodbye to Eriko Miyajima, "Ms. Miyajima, I won't disturb your shopping any longer."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "However, if you need my help, please let me know as soon as possible. You can contact me by phone or Line."

Seeing his politeness, Rieko Miyajima bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Asano. If I need any help, I will definitely call you."

"Yes, please don't be shy."

The two ended their conversation there and prepared to leave the apartment building to do their own things.

However, they all seemed to have forgotten that if they wanted to go downstairs, they would have to take the same elevator.

Inside the elevator, Makoto Asano remained calm, simply watching Eriko Miyajima standing opposite him.

Eriko Miyajima appeared very reserved, keeping her head down and avoiding Asano Makoto's gaze.

She seemed to want to talk to Makoto Asano, but didn't know what to say.

And so, she would occasionally raise her head and open her mouth, then immediately lower her head and close her mouth with an annoyed expression.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief only after the number on the elevator jumped from 2 to 1 and a "ding" sounded.

Just then, Asano Makoto, who had been quietly admiring her adorable appearance, suddenly spoke up as if he had remembered something.

"By the way, Ms. Miyajima, do you have time tomorrow?"

Eriko Miyajima, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again.

During their chance encounter that morning, she was completely under Makoto Asano's thumb.

Chapter 12 Quarrel

"……what?"

Eriko Miyajima paused for a moment, clearly not understanding why Makoto Asano had asked that question.

Makoto Asano immediately explained, "It's about what we talked about yesterday."

He didn't stop walking while he was speaking; instead, he stepped out of the elevator.

Eriko Miyajima had no choice but to follow her outside, while pondering what Makoto Asano meant by "that matter."

It wasn't until the two of them walked out of the apartment lobby and came to the roadside that she realized Asano Makoto was talking about helping with the cleaning.

"Do you want me to clean? I'm free tomorrow."

"Thank you so much."

Makoto Asano thought for a moment and continued, "How about 9:30 tomorrow morning? Yamada-kun should already be at work by then, and we'll have plenty of time."

Although she felt something was off about what she was saying, Eriko Miyajima nodded and agreed, "No problem."

"Then you go ahead and get busy, I won't bother you anymore."

"Okay, Mr. Asano, I wish you the best in finding a job."

Makoto Asano smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards his original destination without saying anything more, showing no sign of lingering.

Behind him, Eriko Miyajima did not leave, but stared blankly at his departing figure, lost in thought.

……

Makoto Asano naturally didn't notice Eriko Miyajima's "reluctant" gaze; otherwise, he would have turned back and chatted with her a few more times to see if he could gain some more favor.

He had already arrived at his usual gym.

Then he was surprised to find that the gym had mysteriously disappeared.

Or rather... they ran away.

Makoto Asano was somewhat speechless, because he had purchased a one-year membership card here.