My dear wife, I still love you more.

"Huh? Ah, I see." Yui Yuigahama snapped out of her daze, glanced at Hasegawa beside her, and blushed slightly.

"Yui, are you alright? Did something happen today?" Mrs. Yuigahama asked, glancing furtively at Hasegawa. Was Yuigahama Yui's condition related to Hasegawa, or had something happened between them?

Mrs. Yuihama desperately hoped that what she wanted would happen. However, Hasegawa remained calm and composed, seemingly unaffected, which disappointed Mrs. Yuihama. Clearly, she knew that what she hoped for had not come to pass.

"It's okay, Mom. I was just thinking about something," Yui Yuigahama quickly shook her head and said.

“You can think about those things when you have time. You don’t want to think about them when you’re eating or doing other things. Anyway, you’re still young and have plenty of time, so there’s no need to rush.” Hasegawa also put down his chopsticks and said to Yui Yuigahama.

"Okay, I understand." Yui Yuigahama nodded quickly.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't seem to understand at all. Could it be that between the two of you—" Mrs. Yuihama's eyes gleamed slightly.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Yuihama. I just chatted with her about life and ideals."

"Life? Ideals? You, you, you have already, you have already done that kind of thing? You have already decided when to have children?" Mrs. Yuigahama stared wide-eyed at Hasegawa and Yui Yuigahama in horror. At the same time, when Hasegawa was not paying attention, she secretly gave Yui Yuigahama a look that said, "You did a good job, keep it up."

"Cough cough cough—" Hasegawa choked: "Mrs. Yuihama, you, you shouldn't talk nonsense. If you say this, it will embarrass Yuihama, especially if it gets out. It will make people misunderstand Yuihama."

Hasegawa said to Mrs. Yuihama with a wry smile.

"Huh? So nothing happened?" When Hasegawa heard Mrs. Yuihama say this, he had a vague feeling that Mrs. Yuihama seemed a little disappointed.

"Mom, don't talk nonsense. How could Hasegawa and I possibly do such a thing?" Yui Yuigahama said, her face flushed.

"Mrs. Yuihama, I was just talking to Yuihama about her future. It may be a bit rude, but I feel that it would be a waste for Yuihama to continue studying so hard. So I think it would be better to let her find something she likes now and work towards that goal instead of going to all that trouble to tutor her." Hasegawa said a little embarrassedly.

After all, Mrs. Yui had asked him to tutor Yui Yui, and now he was telling her to find other interests to learn, which seemed like he was shirking his responsibility.

"Hmm, I see. Well then, Yui, let's learn to cook together." Mrs. Yui's expression turned serious as she spoke to Yui.

"Cooking?" Yui Yuigahama blinked, looking a little silly and cute.

"Mrs. Yuihama, do you want Yuihama to become a chef? However, I still think that it's best for a girl not to become a chef. Compared to men, girls are naturally at a disadvantage. Unless she has a special talent or passion, I don't recommend that Yuihama become a chef," Hasegawa said seriously to Mrs. Yuihama.

"No, how could I possibly let Yui Hama become a chef? I just want Yui Hama to practice her cooking skills properly so that she can eventually master this skill and strive to become a qualified housewife," Mrs. Yui Hama explained to Hasegawa with a smile.

"Housewife?" Hasegawa looked bewildered.

"Yes. After all, Yui is so stupid, even if she were to learn something, there's probably no hope for her. In that case, let Yui be a good housewife." Mrs. Yuihama said seriously.

Hasegawa was a little at a loss for words; he had forgotten about it before. In Japan, a large proportion of women actually get married and become housewives after graduating from high school.

As for women who continue to take college entrance exams, or even find jobs and earn money after graduating from college, there are not many of them. It is only because the times have developed and the status of women has improved to a certain extent that there would be even fewer women going to college.

Chapter Eighteen has its advantages, for example, for example, for example—

Hasegawa originally intended for Yui Yuigahama to think carefully about what she wanted to do. But now she's been led astray by Mrs. Yuigahama, with things like learning to cook from her and becoming a housewife, which all seem a bit strange.

However, Mrs. Yuigahama is, after all, Yui Yuigahama's mother, and Yui Yuigahama herself doesn't object. Since that's the case, let Yui Yuigahama learn to cook first. As for being a housewife? That can wait until later.

At the same time, Yui Yuigahama can also use this time to think carefully about what she wants to do.

Anyway, she's just a high school student, and a first-year high school student at that. Yui Yuigahama has plenty of time. She can do it whenever she wants to figure it out.

After dinner, before Hasegawa had even left his seat, Mrs. Yui had already grabbed Yui's arm.

"Yui, come on, let's start now. Let's learn to cook. Hmm, we don't need to cook right now, since we just had dinner. So, let's make some cookies. We can eat them as snacks when we're free." Mrs. Yui pulled Yui Yui towards the kitchen.

Watching the mother and daughter's actions, Hasegawa smiled but said nothing. Besides, by making some cookies and other snacks, he could also get a little something for free.

Mrs. Yuigahama is a good cook, especially when it comes to making pastries. As Mrs. Yuigahama's daughter, Yui Yuigahama must also have some talent. Hasegawa thought to himself.

Curious, I followed them to the kitchen doorway. Then Mrs. Yuihama began to teach Yuihama.

However, Hasegawa, standing at the door, couldn't help but start to look strange. This Yuigahama Yui, her method of making cookies seemed... very strange. Where she should have been gentle, she kneaded vigorously; where she should have kneaded, she seemed to just give it a couple of quick, casual strokes. And the proportions of sugar, flour, and so on... Yuigahama Yui always seemed to add them incorrectly.

Even though Mrs. Yui had brought the electronic scale over, it still looked strange in Yui's hands.

Even before the cookies were baked, Hasegawa already knew that with Yui Yuigahama's skill level, the cookies she made would definitely be considered a culinary disaster.

So, Hasegawa wisely chose to leave. After all, if he stayed, who knew if he would be the one to taste the cookies once they were made?

Back in his room, Hasegawa sat down at his computer again. This newly bought computer seemed so special and appealing. He got so engrossed in playing that he completely lost track of time.

Hasegawa glanced at the time casually; it was already quite late, and he was getting ready for bed. However, before going to sleep, Hasegawa needed to go to the toilet.

But when Hasegawa came out of the room, he found that the kitchen light was still on.

Curious, Hasegawa went over to see what Yui Yuigahama's cookies looked like.

Upon reaching the kitchen door, Hasegawa saw Mrs. Yuihama looking dejected and even somewhat disheveled. Yuihama, on the other hand, was grinning foolishly.

"Um, Mrs. Yuihama, it's getting late. Haven't the cookies been made yet?" Hasegawa looked at the kitchen, which seemed a bit messy.

"Hasegawa," Mrs. Yuihama called out to Hasegawa with a wronged expression.

"Um, what's wrong, Mrs. Yuihama?" Mrs. Yuihama's appearance was incredibly charming to Hasegawa; her slightly aggrieved look was just too adorable. Even though Mrs. Yuihama was already a young woman, her actions didn't seem out of place at all.

"I... I give up. Yui, she's just an idiot, a complete disaster when it comes to cooking. I've tried so hard to teach her, but it's totally useless. Even the simplest thing like baking cookies, she can make it look like that. How could I have such an idiot daughter?" Mrs. Yuihama said, looking utterly disheartened.

"Um, no, it's not that serious, is it?"

"It's that serious. I never imagined that Yui would have such a poor talent for cooking. I was teaching her step by step, but the cookies she made were still inedible." Mrs. Yui looked at Yui Yui with a huff.

"Hehehe." Yui Yuigahama scratched her head, laughing awkwardly.

"Housewife? It seems Yui will never be a good housewife. Sigh." Mrs. Yuihama couldn't help but sigh.

“Perhaps Yuihama has unique talents in other areas. It’s just that we haven’t discovered them yet,” Hasegawa comforted Mrs. Yuihama.

"Other talents? I don't think so. After all, she's so stupid, how could she possibly have any talents? Sigh. Hasegawa, what should I do? Yuihama is so stupid, what will she do when she grows up? She can't do anything, how will she support herself, how will she find a good husband? Is she going to grow old alone?" Mrs. Yuihama looked exhausted.

“Um, Mrs. Yuihama, you’re exaggerating. Yuihama is actually quite outstanding, for example, for example, for example—” Hasegawa suddenly stammered at this point.

"Right, Hasegawa-kun, you can't find any redeeming qualities in Yui." Mrs. Yuihama said with a sad expression.

"Well, Yui is very cute and pretty. As long as a girl is cute, that's enough. Other things don't matter." Hasegawa could only offer this consolation.

"Really? Hasegawa-kun, you really think so?" Mrs. Yuihama looked at Hasegawa with a hint of surprise.

"Yes, that's right, that's what I think." Hasegawa nodded.

"Then, I'll leave Yui to you, Hasegawa-kun." Mrs. Yui grabbed Hasegawa's hand with one hand, pulled Yui's hand with the other, and then placed Yui's hand in Hasegawa's palm.

"Uh—" Hasegawa reacted as if he had been electrocuted, quickly releasing Yui Yuigahama's hand.

"See, I knew it. Hasegawa-kun doesn't even like Yui. Although Yui is cute, she's completely useless. No outstanding guy would like her." Mrs. Yuihama was even more disappointed.

"Mrs. Yuihama, please don't be like this, okay? And please don't play matchmaker. Yuihama is really cute, and there are so many boys who like cute girls, including some excellent ones, so Mrs. Yuihama, you don't need to worry about this at all," Hasegawa said to Mrs. Yuihama with a wry smile.

Chapter Nineteen: I've always considered Yui Hama as my daughter—

Hasegawa felt something was off. He had a feeling that Mrs. Yuihama was trying to sell her daughter to him. This made Hasegawa frown.

"Probably, it's just my imagination. After all, Yuihama is only a high school student, and a first-year student at that, so young. Her parents wouldn't push their daughter into a fire pit, would they? Hmm, that should be the case, so it must be my imagination," Hasegawa muttered to himself.

In fact, even though Hasegawa thinks this way, it means that his way of thinking hasn't changed yet; in other words, he's not a true Japanese yet.

Back in my past life, when Hasegawa was in school, puppy love was practically poison, something all parents and teachers avoided like the plague. If a boy told a girl's parents, "I want to date your daughter," he'd likely be beaten out of the house.

So Hasegawa's thoughts about breakfast and high school romances were still stuck in his past life. But Hasegawa didn't realize that this was Japan, and the way people thought about things here was completely different from his past life.

It's very common for girls to get married right after graduating high school, and even some get married before graduating high school. Therefore, dating in high school is perfectly understandable to Japanese parents.

They would never strongly object to high school romances being seen as poison.

Therefore, Mrs. Yuigahama genuinely wanted to find a suitable, reliable partner for her daughter. It's just a pity that Hasegawa, due to his perspective from his past life, failed to realize this.

So, Mrs. Yuigahama secretly tried her best, even in various ways, to express her position as a mother, but unfortunately, Hasegawa completely ignored it. Instead, Hasegawa came to think Mrs. Yuigahama was a wonderful person. It was all a twist of fate. Neither of them understood what the other was thinking.

……

"Goodbye, Mrs. Yuihama!"

Goodbye, Mom!

Hasegawa and Yui Yuigahama said goodbye to Mrs. Yuigahama and then went to school.

"Be careful on your journey. Hasegawa-kun, please take good care of Yui. I'm entrusting Yui to you." Mrs. Yui called out from behind.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Yuihama, I'll take care of her and make sure she's not bullied." Hasegawa smiled, waved to Mrs. Yuihama, and then turned and walked away.

Hasegawa believed that Mrs. Yuigahama entrusted Yui with her care because she trusted him. He would never betray her trust. Therefore, he began to consider more about Yui's situation.

"Yuhihama".

"Hmm, what's wrong, Hasegawa?"

"Yuhihama. I think you should also try to change yourself."

"Change yourself?"

"That's right, Yui, your image at school, well, it's not very good. You've always been isolated. Although you seemed to be trying to integrate into other people's circles after I mentioned it before, you didn't seem to be putting in much effort. So even now, you haven't been able to completely integrate into any circle. You haven't even joined a club, which isn't good," Hasegawa said earnestly to Yui.

"Um, I, I'm also trying my best," Yui Yuigahama said a little guiltily.

"Yui, perhaps you could try making some changes. You're cute and pretty; you can definitely use that advantage to integrate into a girl's circle. That way, I can feel at ease," Hasegawa said to Yui Yuigahama.

Upon hearing Hasegawa's words, Yui blushed and lowered her head, asking, "Um, am I... am I cute? Pretty?"

“Of course, Yui, even if you lack confidence in yourself, you should have confidence in Mrs. Yui. Mrs. Yui is very beautiful. As her daughter, you certainly won't be any less so. Be more confident,” Hasegawa said earnestly to Yui.

"Yes, I understand." Yui Yuigahama's lips curved into a smile, a faint smile rising on her face. Hearing Hasegawa's praise, Yui Yuigahama felt a surge of joy.

"So, be more confident. Change the image you project to others; it will make it easier to integrate into the group. At least that way you won't have to worry about others bullying you." Hasegawa stopped, grabbed Yui Yuigahama's shoulders, and said earnestly to her.

Hasegawa's actions were somewhat sudden, catching Yui Yuigahama off guard. However, upon hearing Hasegawa's words and seeing the trust in his eyes, Yui Yuigahama nodded emphatically: "Since you say so, Hasegawa, I will definitely try my best to change myself."

"This isn't for me, it's for yourself. Go for it, Yuihama!"

"kindness!"

After the conversation ended, Hasegawa noticed that although Yuigahama Yui was still the same as before, the feeling she gave off was somewhat different. Perhaps it was a change in her temperament or aura.

Hasegawa was naturally very happy to accept this change in Yui Yuigahama; in fact, it was the change he had been hoping for.

After arriving at school, Hasegawa sat in his seat and then he saw Yui Yuigahama begin to move closer to the circle centered around Yumiko Miura.

Although she still seems to be somewhat excluded, given Yui Yuigahama's abilities, she might be able to truly integrate into that circle soon if she takes the initiative.

Seeing this, Hasegawa smiled. Although Hasegawa himself didn't have any particular fondness for their circle, it was already quite good that Yui Yuigahama could integrate into it.

"Hey, you still say you don't like Yuihama-san?"