Uneasy daily life

Father-in-law, you're really ruthless!

"I'll work out with you tomorrow!"

Yukinoshita's father immediately agreed.

"And then the eldest brother did nothing." Bai Ying said casually, "People have countless reasons for doing things, but after things have settled down, the more they recall, the more they regret it. People always like to focus their thoughts on the unchangeable past and the unpredictable future, and just let the present pass by naturally."

"Why didn't I realize it sooner? Why did I think that way back then? Why couldn't I make a better choice? Why was I so stupid...?"

Yukinoshita's father nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes... that's the feeling."

Grandpa Yukinoshita said calmly, "I may have made mistakes back then, but..."

“But you’ve already regretted it,” Bai Ying suddenly interrupted. “You have a clear conscience, so you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Grandpa Yukinoshita frowned: "What kind of nonsense is this?"

“Although I was wrong, you were wrong too. Let’s offset each other and not bring it up again.” Bai Ying shrugged. “It’s always when we have to have some free time that we start to think about our inner thoughts, take out the past and examine it carefully, and find that we may have done something wrong. But deep down, we will make excuses for ourselves. After all, it’s tiring to have emotions… My godfather is probably used to being in charge. If he shows a good face, we’ll consider it done and let the matter drop.”

Yukinoshita's father aptly remarked, "It sounds like an emperor."

Grandpa Yukinoshita squinted at the two outsiders: "So you two aren't from the Yukinoshita family?"

"The Yukinoshita family is across the street," Shiro said, gesturing with her lips. "Even our godfather doesn't dare go over there to take charge, so he can only come here to chat with the two of us?"

Yeah, I really don't understand...

As the old man was reflecting on the snow, he suddenly realized what he meant.

How could I possibly go to the women's bathhouse!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Where Are You Going!

"How fussy and indecisive!"

After pondering for a while, Grandpa Yukinoshita grew annoyed and glared at him, saying, "Three grown men are discussing these long-winded matters. You two brats, just get to the point! What are you even here for?!"

"Of course I've come to visit you."

Yukinoshita's father quickly said, "As for what she's thinking... it's mainly this kid's problem—wait a minute! You know Dad lives here, did she tell you?!"

"Otherwise what?" Bai Ying spread her hands and said, "This should be obvious, right? I'm Auntie's person."

"But she said you can't come with her..."

Yukinoshita's father suddenly changed the subject halfway through his sentence—why did the Great Goddess tell him and the Lesser Goddesses not to call themselves White Shadow?

Because she informed her father-in-law of their retirement location, Bai Ying was able to set off ahead of schedule.

The wicked one has lost the trust of the Great Goddess (×).

The wicked child has won the trust of the great goddess (√).

"Heh." Yukinoshita said indifferently, "She didn't mention this to you?"

Yukinoshita's father's expression twisted as he glared... glared at the white figure.

“Because it’s unnecessary,” Bai Ying shrugged. “It’s precisely because of her love for her older brother that Auntie was able to break free from her emotional dependence on her godfather. If Auntie wants to confirm her feelings, of course she doesn’t need to tell her older brother.”

Old man Yukinoshita's eyes twitched, and he said irritably, "Alright! Stop rambling. What exactly are you and her doing? A bunch of messy, messy stuff..."

"Godfather, I know you're panicking, but don't panic," Bai Ying said earnestly. "Given Auntie's style, she really hates it when you pack your things and go home; she won't say much to you."

Grandpa Yukinoshita snorted coldly: "No matter what, we are father and daughter. What right do you, an outsider, have to judge us..."

Bai Ying said in deep agreement, "Yes—although I have never praised my daughter and have never had a good opinion of her, and everything she has done is meaningless, we are still father and daughter. As the saying goes, death settles all debts. As long as we put the past aside, everything will be alright!"

Yukinoshita's hands in the hot spring sometimes formed claws, sometimes clenched into fists, creating ripples on the water's surface.

Very well! As expected of you, you wretched child, attacking your father-in-law on equal terms!

Under the snow, the father remained calm, but suddenly felt a sense of amusement, like watching tigers fight from the sidelines. No wonder people have enjoyed things like cricket fighting since ancient times.

"Anyway, enough with the nonsense!" Yukinoshita got straight to the point. "Since you and she have discussed this, tell me what she meant?"

"I wasn't there, how would I know what the aunt meant at the time?"

Bai Ying leaned comfortably against the bamboo wall, exuding a lazy aura: "Besides, Auntie won't cut off Godfather's pension. He killed his father with an axe in his dream and pulled the tubes out in front of the ICU. Auntie just doesn't want to talk about her true feelings in front of Godfather's urn, so she brings up the past—Godfather might as well keep quiet and let it go. It's too embarrassing to lose face and pride and be pointed at by people."

“You can’t say it like that…” Yukino’s father gradually understood everything. His eyes flashed, and he seemed to be trying to smooth things over with a smile. “Dad knows that’s just her personality. She has to be straightforward and clear about any issues, even if it seems like she’s making trouble out of nothing.”

Grandpa Yukinoshita narrowed his eyes: "Hmm? What's your complaint?"

Yukinoshita's father subconsciously looked at his ally, and Shirokage chided him, "Big brother, what kind of talk is that? Auntie is being clear about right and wrong, upright and incorruptible, sticking to her principles, investigating and correcting problems as soon as they are discovered, instead of dragging things out. She is a super warrior in action. How can you say that is making trouble out of nothing?"

"Hmph!" Yukinoshita snorted coldly, and under the bewildered gaze of Yukinoshita's father, she suddenly seemed to be on his side again. "She's always liked to go against me since she was little. She has to meddle in things that aren't her business. She doesn't listen to this or that, but in the end, she still thinks the same way as me..."

Bai Ying said with interest, "So, in Godfather's eyes, Auntie has always been a rebellious child."

The conversation between the three suddenly fell silent.

Grandpa Yukinoshita couldn't help but ponder... Speaking of his daughter, she had indeed been going against him since she was little. He told her not to think about inheriting the family business, that it wasn't suitable for a girl, but she just wouldn't listen. She even reiterated her idea of ​​inheriting the family business every now and then. Later, he didn't see her mention it as often anymore, and he thought she had gradually given up on the impossible idea...

Instead, she left home to work, refusing her own suggestion that she should "go on a blind date, get married, have a child, and become a mother," and continued to do the opposite.

Then, she took her fiancé home directly. This wasn't just going against her; it was practically an open rebellion!

"Auntie's meaning is quite simple, isn't it? She's told you all about her changing feelings for you and the reasons behind them. Next, of course, it'll be Godfather's turn to say what he used to think." Bai Ying clicked her tongue, which annoyed Grandpa Yukinoshita. "Could it be that Godfather's thoughts are not easy to express?"

"What's so hard to say?" Grandpa Yukinoshita shook her head. "She's quite honest. She's always said what she thinks since she was little, and she's very opinionated..."

Bai Ying nodded and said, "I see. You say things you shouldn't say. You're such a stubborn person who doesn't listen to reason and likes to go against your own will."

“It wasn’t that exaggerated,” Yukinoshita recalled, continuing, “She was also very independent. I remember that shortly after she started university, she told me I didn’t need to give her living expenses anymore; she was able to support herself through scholarships and various activities…”

Bai Ying frowned and said, "How dare you! How could I refuse a gift from my parents? You won't even take the money offered to you? Do you have a problem with your family?"

Grandpa Yukinoshita looked at him expressionlessly.

"Ahem..." Yukinoshita's father smoothed things over, "Dad, he was just talking nonsense."

"I'm not spouting nonsense!" Bai Ying declared confidently. "It's clear that my godfather is lying!"

"Where did I lie?!" Yukinoshita retorted, displeased. "What do you know? My feelings for her..."

"Of course you love her now—oh dear, thinking about it this way, I did do some things that weren't quite right before, and my daughter isn't that rebellious or immature. Using my current love and thoughts to beautify what happened is certainly not insincere."

Bai Ying leaned out and retorted sarcastically, "In order to achieve a certain goal, everyone will embellish themselves to a certain extent in order to obtain the desired result... My godfather must have been the kind of person who acted one way in public and another way at home, right?"

"you--!"

Grandpa Yukinoshita and Shiroki stared at each other from a distance, with Yukinoshita's father, who looked like they were about to start arguing, standing between them and ready to mediate.

"Calm down, let's talk this out..."

The next second, probably because they found the person in the middle particularly annoying, the two of them reached out at the same time, and Yukinoshita's father was pulled forward and fell into the hot spring water, splashing up a big spray.

Grandpa Yukinoshita and Shirokage locked eyes. Grandpa Yukinoshita glared angrily, while Shirokage fearlessly glared back. After a two-second standoff, Shirokage suddenly raised his hand and swung a handful of hot spring water at Grandpa Yukinoshita's face.

Grandpa Yukinoshita sneered, "Your childishness..."

*Splash!* A splash of water landed on the old man's face under the snow.

"#!"

When the father emerged from the hot spring under the snow, a large spray of water splattered and hit his face, causing a sharp, painful sensation.

He quickly wiped his face and took a few steps back before he could see where the splashing water came from.

Huge splashes of water were violently erupting. Two immovable figures stood on the left and right, constantly slapping their palms to shatter the water's surface, creating bursts of water that splashed towards each other, making a particularly terrifying spectacle.

I...I'm a cultured person, I don't use violence, that's right, that's exactly it!

"What kind of bullshit are you spouting, kid!" Grandpa Yukinoshita roared. "A man has to support his family and learn how to survive..."

“I have done what I need to do for my family. I don’t want to think too much. My daughter is my daughter, and my wife is my wife. I do what I should do, and they do what they should do. There’s no problem.”

Bai Ying smiled incisively: "Is this the reason your godfather makes himself feel at ease? When he realized that he seemed to have been criticizing Auntie all along and never praising her, he found this reason to ease his guilt? After all, the most important thing in the scales of one's heart is balance, and as for the weights, one can have as many as one wants."

Grandpa Yukinoshita made a mistake when a splash of water hit his face. In the instant he instinctively closed his eyes, the white figure lunged forward, grabbing Grandpa Yukinoshita's shoulder in time with the splash, and sneered, "Father seems tough, but he's actually quite shrewd! You clearly understand what Auntie means, but you just find all sorts of excuses not to do it, not to answer many things that would be contrary to your fatherly image. Even if Auntie tells you exactly what's in your heart, you still won't answer—answer how you see Auntie, and why you see her that way!"

The old man under the snow stubbornly resisted: "You don't know anything..."

“Of course it’s immature of your daughter to go against you! It’s normal for a child to do that. You can’t be bothered to talk to her and just refuse her outright. You didn’t take her attitude to heart at all!” Bai Ying stared into Yukinoshita’s eyes and rattled off a string of words. “I don’t know when Godfather realized that Auntie was serious, but after retiring and having more free time, he realized that he was just too lazy to talk to Auntie. Because home is a haven for relaxation and rest, and you, who are exceptionally patient and observant when it comes to your career and other people, have always been authoritative, taciturn, and unyielding at home. You didn’t expect your daughter to be so rebellious and aloof. She started to become independent after starting university and gradually had less contact with her family, striving for success in her studies and career. You began to worry about your rebellious daughter’s future and could try to get her to start a family and become more mature and stable…”

Grandpa Yukinoshita stepped back: "This..."

"You don't even know that she's had a boyfriend for many years. When she brings him to meet you, or even gets pregnant, you just feel that your daughter's rebellion has reached its worst point. She's done something wrong and still dares to go against you. You're annoyed, helpless, and you have to admit that maybe she's talked to you about inheriting the family business, but you still don't think that's something she should be considering, or that it's a dream. It's just your daughter's rebellious delusions."

"Out of caution and to ensure your daughter's interests, you had her boyfriend move in with her family and even signed a legally binding contract. This infuriated your daughter, and perhaps even led to a heated argument? Maybe your daughter even made the absurd suggestion of leaving with nothing and dividing the family property? This makes you think that your daughter is blinded by love and completely doesn't understand the wickedness of people!"

Grandpa Yukino panicked: "Wait a minute, I am..."

"You acted out of good intentions, showing care and taking action!" Bai Ying pressed closer, forcing the other party to back down again. "For example, wanting a son to inherit the Yukinoshita family? For example, monitoring your son-in-law's behavior and finding fault with him? As time goes by, you get older, your energy is not what it used to be, and you gradually become more accepting of your son-in-law, whom you were initially dissatisfied with, and gradually let him take control of the company... You gradually accept everything, until the birth of your second granddaughter—yes, you subconsciously sighed for your regret, but you didn't expect your daughter to get angry again."

"This time, you feel you should be at fault, yet you also feel you haven't done anything wrong; you just made a remark. This daughter is ultimately rebellious, and besides, you've already accepted your son-in-law. Now that you're free of trouble, it's time to retire and leave this family..."

Bai Ying squinted and said, "You used to think everything was right, until a long period of free time, your daughter and son-in-law still visited from time to time, your daughter seemed to have stopped being rebellious, and although your son-in-law was annoying in various ways, you approved of him. It's just that your daughter never brought her two granddaughters to see you—you felt that she had grievances, and you had already let go of external factors, so you started to think about the past..."

"Perhaps it was a coincidence? Perhaps it was a chance encounter? Perhaps it was a conversation with someone? Perhaps it was a sudden, inexplicable trigger? Now you're starting to realize that you made some mistakes in the past, such as placing too much emphasis on the differences between male and female inheritance, neglecting your daughter's 'rebelliousness,' lacking care for your two granddaughters, and your daughter's continued dissatisfaction with you—of course, those things you thought were wrong are now considered reasonable. Only today do you realize that your daughter was never rebellious, nor did she have any dissatisfaction with you..."

Grandpa Yukinoshita grabbed his footing and suddenly exclaimed, "I have no complaints, but why didn't she bring her granddaughter to visit me?!"

"Huh?" The white figure's eyes widened. "Didn't you say that yourself?"

I?

Grandpa Yukinoshita was taken aback, remembering that he had said before that he wanted his daughter to have a son... because he felt that he wouldn't be happy to see two granddaughters, so he didn't bring them over?

This……

"Godfather, you don't still think Auntie is always going against you, do you?" Bai Ying said softly. "Because of neglect, because of impulsiveness, because of anger at having your authority challenged—you dug out your mistakes from your past memories, dug out all the flaws in yourself that were not right, and now you want to bury them back in self-comfort? Or do you treat others the way you would a stranger, be a kind and good grandfather, and perhaps you can inadvertently apologize, so that you can find solace in those actions and avoid blaming yourself?"

Grandpa Yukinoshita stood there stunned for a long while, looking listless as if his soul had been drained, and unusually showed signs of old age: "I never thought she actually admired me..."

"Godfather, wake up!" Bai Ying hurriedly said with concern, "Auntie probably already removed the filter she had for you when she became boyfriend and girlfriend with Big Brother! Now she's just wiping her eyes a little further—after all, she always felt that she was imitating her father, becoming a dignified, strong, and serious person, but in reality, her father is a person who is good at putting on airs and always smiling in public and at work."

Grandpa Yukinoshita shuddered, his expression somewhat ferocious, and then couldn't help but ask, "Tell me... what exactly does she think of me?"

"What do you think of her?" Bai Ying asked in return, "From a rebellious and troublesome daughter to a likable and excellent one?"

Grandpa Yukinoshita didn't speak, piecing together and comparing a series of completely different impressions in his mind.

A rebellious, absurd, indifferent, vengeful daughter who is just one step away from becoming a delinquent.

She has dreamed, worked hard, felt relieved, and been angry; she is a daughter who seeks answers to all her questions.

Various images are pieced together to represent a person from different periods, and efforts are made to piece together a corner of a person from different periods. However, these images are all outdated, and those things are things of the past.

"She is my daughter."

Yukinoshita found a vague option that neither admitted nor denied.

"My aunt also treats my godfather as her own father."

Bai Ying said slowly, "The pure and intense emotions that once floated in our hearts will eventually cool down and settle, sinking deep into our souls—the lofty and sacred things that the world proclaims are shattered by real experiences, the utilitarian judgments of choosing between interests are negated by true feelings, and time will eventually bring everything to a close..."

"Don't give me that nonsense." Grandpa Yukinoshita sighed with a complicated expression, and then asked, "What do you think I should do to tell her?"

"Just say what you mean." Bai Ying shrugged. "My historical mission is to betray my adoptive father, not to defend him. Auntie has clearly expressed her hopes, disappointments, anger, and sighs, and even said that she doesn't need to forgive you and doesn't think you need to do anything about what's in the past. Does my adoptive father have to feel guilty while trying to show that he's forgiven himself?"

Bai Ying suddenly laughed, "The brave one simply thinks about family understanding, harmonious coexistence, and a good relationship—tsk tsk tsk, she even misread the question, subconsciously thinking about the formula of conflict, conflict resolution, and a happy ending… Longing, love, dislike, annoyance, anger, plus the misaligned and then corrected understandings, time solidifies numerous emotions into a part of the heart, even shaping a person's personality and way of thinking. This is not about whether there is a conflict, who is right and who is wrong, or whether there should be reconciliation…"

"This is……"

Bai Ying frowned and thought for a moment. He looked at Yukinoshita and pondered for a while before saying with some regret.

"Oh, I see."

So this is ah……

The old man felt that the snow was particularly fitting.

"By the way, when Godfather speaks, don't subconsciously glorify yourself or find justification for your behavior—maybe Auntie thinks that since that's the case, she should visit you less often in the future, so as not to upset you."

Bai Ying uttered a single sentence before quickly getting up and leaving the hot spring pool.

What a terrifying form of psychological manipulation! It mercilessly wounds someone half to death and then lends a helping hand, yet somehow manages to do something virtuous...

The father watched the white figure leave with a solemn expression.

To be honest, this is quite an eye-opener. The goddess used to have such high hopes for her future father-in-law? Oh, because she met herself, she no longer has those hopes.

The man's possessiveness was satisfied.

Then I met the gaze of another man.