Uneasy daily life

Yukinoshita's father pressed, "And now?"

"Human nature is truly strange. I used to resent and be dissatisfied with my mother, but after all that fuss, I came to understand her and even felt that she wasn't so strict and terrible... It's just that we unknowingly became that kind of mother-daughter relationship. Perhaps it's because I have no interest in being a creditor and making my mother repay something."

As Yukino Yukino drove, she chuckled softly, "Maybe when I go home this time, Mother will change her mind and want me to compete with Yukino-chan for the family business again. I'll agree again because I've discovered that Mother is a little better than I thought? Hehe."

“Your mother is a woman of her word,” Yukinoshita’s father said thoughtfully. “She is equally decisive in admitting defeat, correcting mistakes, and so on.”

"I know, soldiers never admit defeat until they are defeated."

Yukino Yukinoshita chuckled lightly, "As for Yukino-chan... I guess I was a little jealous and sympathetic to her situation before. I was jealous that she wasn't as miserable as me, but I also sympathized with her because she was quite miserable. I also wanted her to be just as miserable. It was partly out of concern and care for her as an older sister. It's hard to say."

"That's hard to say," Yukinoshita's father sighed, a little nervous. "Ahem, what about me?"

"Um……"

After a moment's thought, Yukinoshita asked, "Who are you?"

puff--!

My father's blood was flowing all over the ground beneath the snow!

“Father, you really don’t need to feel like you owe me anything… I’m not your creditor, and you’re not my creditor. From a father’s perspective, you’re an excellent father. You’re the pillar of the family, yet you don’t see yourself as your child’s creditor.”

Yukino Yukinoshita said softly, "But you are my father, so I can't judge you like an outsider."

“…This is a good thing. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. What happened in the past makes me feel that I can’t be a creditor to my child, but I also feel that if I’m lenient and indulgent, I’ll spoil you and Yukino. After all, I was practically raised by your mother.” Yukino’s father replied, “I may have already missed the time to become a father. Now I’ll try my best to be Haruno’s friend.”

Yukinoshita Haruno laughed and said, "You can be Yukino's father?"

"Cough-cough-"

Yukino's father coughed twice and hesitated before saying, "Now, Haruno doesn't need to be jealous of Yukino, does she?"

"do not know."

"?"

"Does Father know that Yukino likes rascals?"

"I know." Yukinoshita's father felt a surge of instinctive murderous intent. "She also said it! In front of your mother and me!"

That despicable traitor!

“Yukino has changed a lot…” Yukinoshita Haruno said in surprise, then said softly, “I have a lot of uncertainties now. I’m not sure if I can find my way, and I’m not sure if I have the passion to do anything, especially something…”

"what's up?"

"Maybe I like jerks?"

"...?"

Yukinoshita's father thought for a moment, then slowly asked, "Yono, you might be harboring resentment towards me and feeling that things are unfair to Yukino, so you're trying to put me in a dilemma, forcing me to make a choice that leads to my death, and watching me suffer through the pain of thinking and struggling, right?"

Yukinoshita asked tactfully, "Who are you?"

"I am your father—"

"so?"

"Drive back! Let me go and die with the traitor!!"

Chapter 132 Hachiman's Occasional Confusion

"Huh? Why is it mutual destruction?"

Yukinoshita drove with great interest, clearly showing no intention of turning back.

"Neither you nor Yukino are at fault, it must be the traitor's fault!" Yukino's father's gaze was ruthless, and his words directly upgraded the threat to a whole new level, "I'll kill him first, and to avoid seeing you sad and angry, I'll kill myself—as expected of me, I can actually come up with such a perfect strategy in an instant!"

"Oh?"

Yukino Yukinoshita asked playfully, "Are you really not struggling with whether to support me or Yukino-chan?"

"Reject! Reject them all!"

Yukinoshita's father said sternly, "That traitor is the source of all this trouble! Go back now, I'm going to kill him!"

Yukinoshita Haruno shook her head and said, "Isn't this a bad idea?"

"Excellent! Perfectly fair!" Yukinoshita's father exclaimed, his face contorted with rage. "What's wrong with a one-for-one exchange?!"

“You’re only seventeen, while your father is already over forty.” Yukinoshita Haruno still shook her head. “That’s not fair.”

"Fairness is useless, so let's discard it and find other reasons!"

Yukino's father roared, "I will never forgive him! Haruno, turn back now! I want to trade one of us for one!"

Unforgivable is the biggest reason; death penalty is the answer!

"I lied to you."

Yukino Yukinoshita casually remarked.

"?"

Amidst the ruthless chaos of nature, the father, standing beneath the snow-covered ground, was taken aback: "Huh?"

"I was just kidding," Yukino Yukinoshita laughed. "Actually, I wasn't saying anything, I was asking a question."

Overwhelmed with both sorrow and joy, the father, slightly bewildered, asked, "What are you asking?"

Yukinoshita Haruno laughed and said, "Just a moment ago, besides wanting to get rid of that jerk, did you support my liking for that jerk, or did you support Yukino-chan liking for that jerk?"

"I support you in taking down the rebels together! You may be reluctant, after all, it's a life at stake, so leave it to me!" Yukinoshita's father immediately said righteously, "As a father, this is my destiny!"

Yukinoshita Haruno understood immediately: "So it means no one supports it?"

You could support both... what a load of rubbish!

Yukino's father said with a bitter face, "Yono, we've both been speaking frankly, and you're still lying to me? That's not right."

"Who can resist hearing lies? Like Mother," Yukinoshita Haruno said nonchalantly. "I guess I can't break this habit."

“Haha…” Yukino’s father chuckled twice and sighed softly, “Yukino hates lies, but you are used to them. You come from the same family and were both educated by your mother, yet the results are so different.”

"There's not much difference," Yukinoshita Haruno laughed. "It's just a matter of being powerless."

puff!

The father was speechless for a moment.

"...By emphasizing the other person's mistakes to make them feel guilty and indebted, thus benefiting oneself—I may have gotten used to a lot of bad things, even though we agreed to communicate honestly." Yukinoshita Haruno fell silent, then gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Of course, these words shouldn't be considered rhetoric... What does Mother think?"

After a moment's thought, Yukinoshita's father slowly said, "Whatever she thinks, I support you."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Yukino Yukinoshita said, "More than happiness and confidence, I can't trust you from the bottom of my heart."

"This is normal; it's because I haven't built trust."

"No, it's more like I'm used to obeying?"

Yukinoshita asked herself uncertainly.

Yukino's father squinted and said softly, "Yono should know about my youth, right? You must have heard the phone call that night... I don't remember any warmth in the family I was born into. It was probably the worst family I've ever seen. A family that failed in business, two dissolute and decadent people, and a child who couldn't be returned."

"Perhaps this can be considered a kind of luck? I understood from the beginning that apart from the piece of paper that shows the blood relationship between parents and children, everything else is blank and needs to be filled by both parties—any statement that promotes kinship without examples is a kind of deception. There is no such thing as a perfect world, and parents are not perfect people either. From my parents, I understood the complexity of human beings earlier than your mother."

"Your mother only slightly realized this when she had a fierce conflict with your grandfather, but she didn't fully realize it. Because I beat your mother in the competition, which proved your grandfather's theory that women can't support a family. She is also someone who can accept defeat gracefully."

Yukino's father sighed: "Social status, gains and losses, family power, propaganda, childhood experiences... Parents may seem powerful, but in reality they are just a grain of sand in the era. They can be arrogant, right, wrong, blind, deceived, fail, succeed, and lie."

"They will use their own understanding to judge right and wrong, they will use their own standards to define behavioral norms, and they will blindly believe that their own reasoning is the truth—the unreasonable thing is that parents can attribute their children's success to themselves and blame their children's failures on them."

“We are all going with the flow, and the problem is that we want others to step into our river.”

Yukinoshita's father laughed and said, "I have done many shameful things and made many mistakes. I used to be a delinquent. I also lied for the sake of the family's interests, and I became a spy to fight against the enemy. I have failed in my career decisions... In fact, even my love with your mother almost went astray."

Yukinoshita: "Tell me in detail."

“Ahem…” Yukino’s father coughed. “During the time after I married into the family, I finally stepped into the real world of fame and fortune. The temptations were countless. Even my personal hobby of playing games could be investigated. In order to negotiate business, the other party could even find young high school students who were good at playing games to accompany them. Of course, I didn’t do anything. It’s just that at that time, I couldn’t help but be distracted and have wild thoughts.”

"Oh—" Yukino Yukinoshita drawled, "That must have been when my mother was pregnant with me, right?"

"Understanding is enough; no need for overly detailed analysis!"

Yukinoshita's father took a deep breath: "That day, I barely managed to deal with the other party, and when I got home, my heart was pounding. When I saw your mother practicing calligraphy, I suddenly calmed down. I put my business behind me and forgot about the young high school student. I shouted confidently, 'I'm back!' Your mother just nodded in response... And just like that, twenty years have passed."

Yukinoshita nodded repeatedly and said, "Alright! I have something on you. If you don't help me, I'll tell Mother!"

“She would only reply with ‘Judging by actions, not intentions, and bringing up old grievances is not the act of a wise person’… At most, she would suggest checking my willpower.” Yukinoshita’s father remained stern and fearless, and then concluded, “We are not as sacred, powerful, authoritative, or correct as you think, as if we can represent all principles and are your natural gods… We are weak and will leave this world before you. We are powerless and will be eliminated by society before you. Our moral standards are not that high, and our thoughts may be darker than you think, perhaps even without our awareness.”

"Only when our lives come to an end, and the time we spent as father and mother is solidified into amber—whether it be sacred, great, pure, beautiful, ugly, dirty, covered in the dust of the times, or full of the light of love—can it be judged by you alone."

Yukinoshita's father smiled and said, "I hope it will be a five-star review."

"Hmm..." Yukino Yukinoshita said with a playful tone, "Father's strong reaction to that rascal, could it be due to possessiveness?"

"It is love! It is fatherly love, as solid as a mountain, sheltering us from wind and rain! It is to crush the enemy beneath us! It is to protect Yukino from being deceived by treacherous villains!"

The father replied decisively and in a resounding voice.

Yukinoshita Haruno retorted, "Isn't that still possessiveness?"

"It's the possessiveness that gives rise to love and care! When verdigris oxidizes into copper, can it still be called copper?"

"...That should be called reduction, not oxidation."

"The highest level of communication is when each other understands the meaning of the words, without misunderstanding or divergence. So what you call each other is not important, as long as the sentiment is there."

While chatting, the car arrived at Yukinoshita's house.

Yukino Yukinoshita let out a soft sigh. She really wanted to find that filial daughter state she had when she left the formation, but unfortunately, after being away for a while, she couldn't find that self-righteous, creditor-like emotion again. The depression and irritability in her heart unconsciously spread out.

It's true... that jerk just happens to be absent... even without him saying a word, I inexplicably feel a bit more confident...

Printer, I'm back again.

Yukino put her guitar in the car, got out, looked at her house, and mentally tried to calm herself down.

Today is the crucial day for Yang to return home and break the ice in their relationship!

Yukinoshita's father, fully prepared and full of fighting spirit, instructed his daughter that he would be the vanguard, then the main force, and if defeat was inevitable, the rearguard. In short, he told her to believe, believe, and believe!

The father and daughter stepped into the house, and as soon as they passed the entrance, the father called out, "I'm home!"

"Ah."

A brief response came from Yukinoshita's mother in the living room.

Yukinoshita's father gave his daughter a wink and said as they walked away, "I already had dinner out with someone today, honey, look who this is—!"

"Yo, good evening, Mother." Yukinoshita Haruno followed behind with a smile and entered the living room.

Yukinoshita's mother sat on the sofa. She glanced at Yukinoshita Haruno, and after a moment's hesitation, asked, "How was dinner?"

What kind of number is this?

Yukino glanced briefly at the person next to her, keenly catching a fleeting look of bewilderment on her father's face...

Totally unreliable.

"good."

“Hmm…” Yukino’s mother nodded. “The way she sang ‘Breaking the Cocoon’ was just so-so.”

"?"

What kind of topic is jumping around?

Yukino felt something was off—her mother had heard her sing that song? Wait! Could she have gone to see a movie?!

Father, did you know something but didn't report it?!

Yukinoshita's father was also bewildered, and chuckled, "Well... after all, it's Haruno's first time writing a song."

“I don’t really like the resentment in that song; I’m sure other people do,” Yukinoshita’s mother said, shaking her head. “Since someone likes it, that’s a good thing—where’s your guitar?”

"...in the car."

Yukinoshita Haruno is having a hard time keeping up.

“There’s room at home, you can practice here.” Yukino’s mother frowned slightly. “I’ve already explained everything to you, so there’s no need to be so timid with me. Aren’t you still preparing for the fireworks festival performance? If your level isn’t good enough, the family won’t approve your application.”