Tokyo: Starting with a fake boyfriend

Compared to him, Shiratori Osamu is at most a little younger, what else is there?

In terms of looks, Shiratori Osamu is at most nine-tenths as handsome as he was in his youth.

In terms of charm, he was a heartthrob in Kyoto when he was young, and the girls who liked him could line up from Kamigyo Ward to Shimogyo Ward.

In terms of wealth, Shiratori Shu is no match for him.

In terms of strength, what strength does Shiratori Osamu possess? His strongest feat is merely a 1v6 victory against six delinquents—a display of brute force.

Moreover, as a father and grandfather, he has a deep bond of blood with Xiaoxue and Xiaonan.

He doted on his daughter and granddaughter, treating them like precious treasures and fulfilling their every need.

That's the case, so why is he treated worse in this family than someone who's determined to leave?

As time passed, a sound finally came from the entryway—a clear and gentle voice:

"I am back."

Before Hojo Ryoma could even react to his granddaughter's voice, a scene unfolded that made his eyes widen in horror and his blood pressure spike.

When her daughter, who was sitting on the sofa waiting, heard the noise, she jumped up and ran towards the entrance in her slippers.

Although he didn't know exactly how his daughter reacted when she heard his doorbell ring on Saturday noon, he was certain that her reaction then was definitely not as excited as it is now!

At the same time, Shiratori Osamu, who was following Konan home, closed the door behind him and heard the clattering sound of someone running in slippers.

Noticing the commotion, Shiratori looked up and saw his mother-in-law jogging over.

This was the first time he had ever seen his mother-in-law run. Although it wasn't exactly an earthquake, it was certainly quite a sight to behold.

"Welcome back, Minami, Shiratori-kun."

She rushed over to greet him immediately. Hojo Yuki stopped in front of him and noticed that Shiratori Shushin had arrived as promised. She tidied her slightly messy hair and spoke gently.

"Excuse me, Aunt Hojo."

Upon hearing her warm welcome, Shiratori Shu deactivated the auto-aiming mode and quickly responded.

Although he already knew his mother-in-law had a great figure, he learned something new today; she really is someone important.

“My father isn’t coming anytime soon.”

Hearing this unpleasant nickname, Hojo Yuki frowned in displeasure, glanced back to confirm, and then whispered a reminder.

"mother in law."

Seeing this, Shiratori understood why she had run all the way to greet him, and had no choice but to go along with her wishes.

"These are your slippers."

Hearing him call her "mother-in-law," Hojo Yuki was immediately satisfied. She then took out Shiratori Osamu's slippers from the shoe cabinet next to her and placed them on the steps between the entrance and the hallway.

Because her father was present the day before yesterday, she was unable to fulfill her duties as a host and show hospitality, so Xiao Nan did it for her. She must make up for it today.

"Thank you."

Faced with her warm hospitality, Shiratori Osamu couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

Xiao Nan, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle when she saw this.

The sight of her mother secretly doing something naughty behind her grandfather's back made her feel very excited, reminding her of the adorable way her mother quietly went downstairs with her slippers on Saturday.

After this little incident, Shiratori Osamu and Yamabuki Minami quickly changed their shoes and followed Hojo Yuki into the house.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hojo."

Upon entering the living room, Shiratori Osamu saw Hojo Ryoma sitting on a single sofa and greeted him from a distance.

"Shiratori-kun, you're here! Welcome, welcome!"

Hojo Ryoma did not ignore his greeting, but turned around and spoke.

"???"

Although his words were polite and enthusiastic, Shiratori Osamu felt that something was off.

The old man seemed to be in a bad mood today, with a forced smile and a cold look in his eyes, as if he were hiding a murderous intent.

What's going on? Weren't they allies who reached a consensus just two days ago?

"Shiratori-kun, please have a seat."

Noticing his confusion, Hojo Ryoma gestured to him towards the sofa next to him.

"Then I shall respectfully comply."

Although Shiratori Shu didn't know what was wrong with the old man, he was upright and had nothing to fear, so he calmly walked to the sofa and sat down.

Perhaps the unexpected convergence of timelines caused a distorted perception in him, but he still acted according to the original plan.

Aside from the few planned activities, he exchanged contact information with his mother-in-law... His mother-in-law has been greeting him with "good morning" every morning for the past two days, and she's been surprisingly clingy.

It's unlikely the old man would have discovered these small interactions on Line, unless he was also monitoring his daughter's phone.

"Shiratori-kun, please sit down for a while, I'll go get you some water."

After seeing him sit down, Hojo Yuki left a message and went to the kitchen.

"I'll go back to my room to put my things away first."

As usual, Minami Yamabuki, with her delicate heart, wanted to wash her face and feet as soon as she got home.

"..."

After they left, only two grown men remained staring at each other in front of the sofa, and the atmosphere became very dull.

Hojo Ryoma didn't speak, but instead scrutinized him from head to toe with piercing eyes, scanning him repeatedly.

"What happened?"

Since the two people wouldn't be gone for long, Shiratori Shu didn't want to miss the chance to be alone with them, so he took the initiative to speak.

How did you do that?

Faced with his initiative to break the ice, Hojo Ryoma couldn't help but ask.

He really couldn't understand why his daughter and granddaughter were so excited about his arrival.

Even though he bought the house, when Shiratori Osamu came to this home, he seemed more like the head of the household than he was.

My daughter had been waiting for Shiratori to arrive for half an hour, and she ran to greet him as soon as she heard the noise.

Faced with such blatant discrimination, he was furious and incredibly jealous.

Chapter 130 Doubting Life

What do you mean?

Shiratori Shu had just arrived at the Hojo residence and was still confused about the situation.

Although he maintains a dual form, he is not a true god, and his calculations and understanding still require information.

"Why are Xiaoxue and Xiaonan so good to you?"

Hojo Ryoma wished he could kill him and take his place, but he realized that wouldn't work, so he had no choice but to humbly ask for advice.

Why are they so nice to me?

Shiratori Osamu repeated his question and fell into deep thought.

In fact, he had thought about this question more than once: why Xiao Nan and his mother-in-law were so good to him.

To be more precise, the questions he was thinking about were on a deeper level.

For example, why is Minami Yamabuki so dependent on him? Sharing a bed and sleeping close together can certainly warm up feelings, but this is too much.

On Saturday afternoon, he simply called out "Xiao Nan," and Xiao Nan's reaction—she burst into tears of joy—completely baffled him.

There's also the issue of Hojo Yuki; her friendliness towards him is so high that he suspects she might actually like him.

Moreover, Hojo Yuki is very clingy and tries to get him to call her "mother-in-law" whenever she gets the chance.

In Japanese, there are three ways to address one's mother-in-law: "婆婆" (pópó) and "義理の母" (giri no mǔ). These two are more formal. In everyday face-to-face interactions, one can simply call her "妈妈" (māma).

He calls her "go-ri no mo" (義理の母), but for face-to-face daily communication, he simplifies it to "go-mo" (義母), which is neither too distant nor too intimate, a perfect compromise.

"I don't know either, and that's what's giving me a headache."

After thinking for a moment, Shiratori shook his head, unable to answer the question.

"You have a headache?"

After waiting for more than ten seconds, Hojo Ryoma received this reply, which made him laugh in exasperation.

If it weren't for the possibility that his daughter and granddaughter might return at any moment, and if he hadn't overheard their words, he would have slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "What a joke! You bastard!!"

The treatment he desperately wanted was a headache for Shiratori Osamu; he was completely unaware of his good fortune.

"They were so good to me, so good that I was overwhelmed and felt guilty."

Upon discovering his envy, jealousy, and resentment, and how incredibly sour he was, Shiratori Xiu defended him to avoid causing him unnecessary malice.

"Guilt? I can't see even a trace of guilt in you."

Hojo Ryoma's sharp, eagle-like eyes swept over his calm, expressionless face, his anger barely contained.

Ever since he secretly saw three people sitting around a long table two days ago, enjoying a happy and relaxed scene, but he couldn't replicate that at the dinner table, he had been feeling depressed.

"This is because I am in a rational state. If I were in another state, I would also be angry and feel guilty."

Based on his conversation with his sister-in-law yesterday, Shiratori decided to separate his daily state from his dual state.

"Then switch personalities. You should be able to switch at will, right?"

Hojo Ryoma was surprised to see that he had a sense of self, and then said.

"I can switch freely, but I don't recommend doing so."

"why?"

“If the class monitor and the aunt see that I am unhappy, they will definitely misunderstand what you said to me. If you are only happy when you see me feel guilty, my suggestion is to wait until later, when we are alone.”

"Wow, you really dare to say that."

These words were so arrogant that Hojo Ryoma straightened up a bit, and couldn't help but rub his chin and look him up and down.

'Those who consider themselves rational are often the most irrational.' Such people are characterized by self-righteousness and stubbornness, and are commonly seen among science students who graduate from prestigious universities.

Based on this theory of judging people, although he recognized that Shiratori Osamu was very self-aware, he still subconsciously wanted to re-evaluate him.

Human nature is very complex, and his contact time with Shiratori Osamu was too short. Without mind-reading ability, there is still room for observation.

"I have no intention of offending anyone; I am simply stating my opinion."

Shiratori Osamu remained calm in the face of his scrutiny.

"Just switch personalities already. I want to see how they react when they find out you're unhappy."

Hojo Ryoma didn't believe his nonsense and wanted to see if his daughter and granddaughter would really misunderstand him as he said.

Are you sure?

Shiratori Osamu immediately guessed what he was thinking when he saw that Shiratori had said this after careful consideration.

This is the most common mindset among those in positions of power: acting unilaterally and stubbornly.

I don't care what you think, I care what I think. I'll only accept reason after I've been hurt badly and the facts speak louder than words.

Although he hadn't had much contact with those in power in his past and present lives, he'd seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork; that's how it's written in history books.

“I’m sure,”

Hojo Ryoma nodded in affirmation.

With his confirmation, Shiratori Xiu didn't waste any more words and directly deactivated his dual form.

"Whoa!"

This wasn't the first time Hojo Ryoma had seen him switch personalities, but seeing it again still left him quite astonished.

The feeling was incredible, as if a button had been pressed, and one's expression, eyes, temperament, and even the entire feeling of a person changed.

Unlike the day before yesterday, Shiratori Osamu looked very tired today. It wasn't physical fatigue, but a lingering melancholy and confusion in his eyes, as if his heart was weary.

"To be honest, I prefer you like this. You still dare to call yourself 'I' in front of me. You seem more like a human being."