Matsuzaka Satou had always been searching for what love was.
Because ever since she was little, she had never truly loved anything, nor had she ever been loved by anyone.
That was related to her tragic background.
Her parents had died when she was young, and she had been raised by an aunt who was practically abnormal.
Through both words and actions, that aunt had poured a twisted form of love into Satou.
Every so often, all kinds of people would come to their door.
Ugly ones, handsome ones.
Men, boys.
Middle-aged men, young men.
Fat ones, thin ones.
No matter who came, her aunt would always smile and lead them into her room.
Young Satou would stand nearby and listen to the sounds inside.
Intimacy, violence, none of it mattered.
Her aunt accepted all of it.
And when she came out, even if new wounds had appeared on her body, she would still smile happily at Satou.
“Satou-chan, this is also love~”
Was that really love?
Young Satou had always asked herself that question.
Love could not be seen with the eyes or touched with the hands.
She could not feel what shape it had.
Nor could she taste what flavor it was.
But…
Why did her aunt smile so happily?
Why did her aunt say this was love?
Although Satou hated that person, she was still extremely confused about this matter.
She wanted to know the answer.
She wanted to know what everyone thought love was, in their own different ways.
[Matsuzaka Satou, Desire +1]
Suppressing the shock and excitement in his heart, Ren plucked the [Desire] from above Satou’s head.
Then Ayanokouji Ren also thought for a moment.
Love?
Although he had already collected [Love] from several people, to be honest, this question still stumped him.
Because his cheap parents’ love had been very easy to obtain.
Ren had only personally made them breakfast when they woke up in the morning, and somehow, he had obtained [Love] from them.
As for Yanami Anna, all he had done was say, “I would like you,” and give her a strawberry sundae.
Somehow, he had obtained [Love] from her too.
So when faced with Satou asking him so directly, Ren really did not know how to answer what love was.
After all, he had never loved anyone either.
At most, he simply had a higher favorability toward certain people.
So in his opinion, [Love] and [Like] should be about the same.
Even if he swapped the two in the explanation earlier, it would not feel out of place.
“Love…”
But he still fell silent.
He originally wanted to say love was like, and like was love.
The only difference between the two was that, during the development of a matter, once it passed a certain point, quantitative change would lead to qualitative change.
That was the theory of quantitative and qualitative change from Marxist philosophy.
But Ren suddenly wondered if Marxist theory would be too difficult for a young school girl to understand.
And exactly what amount was needed to cause a qualitative change?
Why would it change qualitatively?
Ren himself was not very clear on that either.
The air fell silent.
Satou’s breathing became very light as she waited for a deeper explanation.
Then, suddenly, she heard big sister’s voice coming from her pocket.
“Ren really does have a problem…”
“We have to contact a psychiatrist and get him a counselor!”
“How can he say things like that to his auntie?!”
Satou’s body suddenly froze.
Only then did she remember that her phone was still connected to Ayanokouji Yumi.
She wanted to take it out, but Ren was one step faster.
“…”
Ren looked at the words “Call in progress: 1 hour 27 minutes” displayed on the screen, and his expression instantly became wonderful.
No wonder the system had kept popping up with [Ayanokouji Yumi, Anger +1].
Ren had thought those were leftovers from his earlier argument with her at the station.
He never expected it was because Satou’s phone had been on call the entire time!
One hour and twenty-seven minutes.
That was enough for his parents, far away in the Arctic, to hear his entire sick confession.
“Explain yourself right now!”
Realizing that everything had been exposed, Ayanokouji Yumi’s hysterical roar instantly came from the other end of the phone.
“What did you say to Satou just now?
What did you do to her?
Why did you do that?!”
Ren took a deep breath, grabbed the phone, and quickly walked toward his bedroom on the second floor.
“Ren…”
After the door slammed shut, Satou lay alone on the spacious leather sofa.
She looked up at the gorgeous crystal chandelier on the ceiling, replaying everything that had just happened in her mind.
“Once I brand you, you’ll belong to me forever…”
“Pinned inside a specimen frame.”
She softly repeated those words, her fingers unconsciously brushing over the place on her cheek where Ren had kissed her.
Aside from being hugged for the first time earlier, this was also the first time someone had kissed her cheek.
It was warm.
And she did not seem to hate it.
I see…
She slowly curled up and buried her face in a pillow that still carried Ren’s body warmth.
“So this is what it feels like to be marked…”
Her mind kept thinking about him.
Ren had been right.
After being marked, she really did keep thinking about him.
This change made Satou feel as if she had touched the edge of something important.
Something about emotions.
Something about the connection between people.
In that case, if you liked someone, you really did have to leave your own mark or brand on them.
Then what about love?
Satou suddenly opened her eyes.
She slowly held onto the staircase railing, went up to the second floor, and walked to the door of Ren’s room.
Then she pressed her ear against the door to eavesdrop.
This was rude, but no one had ever taught her that she should not do this. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
From the other side of the room, she could faintly hear Ren being scolded.
But Satou did not mind.
She did not feel offended.
What she cared more about was how Ren would explain things to his parents.
And how big sister and the others would view this matter.
…
“Mm, I understand.”
Ren nodded in agreement.
The female voice on the other end of the phone was furious.
“Every time I say something, you say you understand.
What exactly do you understand?”
As expected, he was scolded harshly again.
She even said that when they came back, she would take him to see a counselor.
Ren accepted the criticism expressionlessly, but inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At least a counselor was much better than a psychiatrist.
Although they were basically similar in essence, at least the former did not require hospitalization.
His father suddenly cut in.
“Ren, do you really like her?”
Ren was the only son of the Ayanokouji family.
Although there had been two sons in the previous generation, meaning his father still had an older brother, unfortunately, his uncle had only daughters.
So when it came to carrying on the family line and inheriting the family business, there was no hope there.
They could only count on Ren’s father.
But his father had been rather shy when he was young, and as he grew older, his energy also became limited.
So he could only hope his son would be an early bird.
What kind of bird?
Never mind that.
Uh…
Ren did not speak for the moment.
Honestly, as someone who had lived two lives, he had little interest in sweet romance, affection, or love.
Even the heroines from anime whom he often encountered were the same.
For example, a certain girl with the surname Shinomiya.
He basically had no intention of taking the initiative to get close to her.
Observe the shadow, and stop at the shadow.
Ren remembered a senior once saying something like that.
He felt it was very true.
After all, girls in anime were all super problematic girls.
A character without problems could not attract an audience at all.
So if they were already that hard to deal with in anime, what about in reality?
After provoking Matsuzaka Satou, he had already vaguely seen a future where he might get stabbed.
Thankfully, he had supernatural powers.
So if not for those powers, his attitude toward everyone would probably be more or less the same: polite and refined.
“He already has a fiancée!”
His mother was scolding his father.
The fiancée she mentioned was Shijou Maki.
However, unlike what Ren had told Yanami Anna, their two families had not arranged the engagement to strengthen their business map, integrate resources, or maintain social status.
It was simply because when Ayanokouji Yumi was young, she had been close friends with Shijou Maki’s mother.
Now, naturally, she wanted the two families to become even closer.
They had made a promise that if one of them gave birth to a son and the other to a daughter, they would pair them together.
Before his grandfather passed away, he saw that the other party was also from a powerful family and nodded in agreement.
Ren’s father did not say anything either.
But in the end, it was still only a verbal agreement.
They had never formally become engaged.
So this became his father’s reason to refute her.
“Besides, isn’t it better to let the child choose the girl he likes and date her himself?
When have you ever heard Ren say he liked a girl?”
“Now that he finally has one, shouldn’t we let him try?”
That was what his father meant.
This was also related to the fact that he himself had been in an arranged marriage.
He did not dislike his current wife, but he supported free love more.
“But Ren said at the station that he hated Satou-chan!”
His mother was trying to figure out which of Ren’s statements was true.
Recently, she understood less and less what her child was thinking.
It seemed a trip to a mental hospital was definitely necessary.
“What do you know?
That’s just the little game young people play these days.
Isn’t that how anime does it now?
Tsundere.”
“It’s the same as couples who argued back in our day.
When I was young, I argued with girls too.”
His father seemed to understand a bit too much.
Ren moved the phone farther away to prevent Ayanokouji Yumi’s yelling from damaging his ears.
Still, his mother was right.
He did still have a fiancée.
But then Ren thought about how he was not actually that familiar with his fiancée, Shijou Maki.
After the marriage agreement was made, he only visited the Shijou family during holidays and New Year’s.
His impression of Shijou Maki was that every time he went there, she would hide behind a corner of the wall.
Occasionally, her twin tails would peek out as she secretly looked at him.
Her twin brother would stand nearby, glaring at Ren with a fierce look.
At the same time, he would occasionally push his sister out and tease her.
“Big Sis, hurry up and go out.
Your husband came to see you.”
Shijou Maki’s reply would be:
“W-Who said he’s my husband?!”
The elders at home would laugh and tease them again.
That made it even harder for Maki to show her face.
Even Ren felt so embarrassed that he wanted to dig into the floor with his toes.
Because of that, Ren had never known what condition that losing heroine from the anime was in now.
Had her personality changed?
And should he just follow his mother’s arrangement and marry her?
Back then, when he was not yet seven years old, he had thought:
“There’s still plenty of time anyway.
I’ll leave the problem to my future self.”
And now, the problem had arrived in his hands.
The argument on the phone was still ongoing.
Ren moved Satou’s phone a little farther away and casually observed the door.
Satou might be eavesdropping.
He knew that.
Soon, he saw her through the peephole.
Although Satou was not tall, the little strand of ahoge on top of her head still entered his view.
Mm—
There was no way to hide the matter of his fiancée.
So Ren turned on the speakerphone and loudly said, “Mother, you’re right.
I was too impulsive and forgot that I still have a fiancée.”
Through the peephole, Ren saw that strand of hair twitch.
Then Satou took two steps back, revealing her full face.
Her expression was a little stiff.
But immediately afterward, she pressed herself against the door again.
Ren suddenly pulled the door open, exposing Satou.
However, her face only showed panic for one second before instantly becoming calm.
Ren did not even need to gesture to her.
He placed the phone between the two of them so Satou could hear as well.
“It’s good that you know.
And she’s your auntie!
Even if you aren’t blood-related, she still counts as your elder.”
Ayanokouji Yumi spoke clearly.
“Also, get Satou’s suitcase back for me!”
“Mm, okay.
The suitcase came back a while ago,” Ren said.
“But the first part is impossible.
I refuse to acknowledge her as my auntie.”
Ren hung up the phone and stuffed it into Satou’s hand.
“?”
Why was it impossible?
Satou opened her mouth but made no sound.
Ren did not explain either.
He only stroked Satou’s beautiful pink hair, pinched one of her buns, and asked, “So, Satou, what about you?”
“Do you want to be my auntie?”
“Or do you want to know what love is?”
After a moment of silence, Satou raised her head.
“Can’t I have both?”
Ren forcefully held back the urge to roll his eyes.
“No.”
Satou lowered her head.
Her voice no longer carried the excitement she had shown in the living room earlier.
“Then I want to know what love is.”
“Mm.
I actually thought about that question for a long time too.”
The moment had come to decide whether he would be stabbed in the future.
Ren’s face was serious.
“But I’m not sure either.”
“You don’t know either, Ren?”
Satou raised her head.
“Then can I regret my choice and pick being your auntie?”
Because she felt deeply attached to both options.
“…No.”
Ren rejected her.
“But you said you don’t know.”
Satou spoke softly.
“I know, but I can’t guarantee it’s definitely correct,” Ren answered.
“Love should be when you’re willing to sacrifice or give up something else for what you like.”
“For example, I want to give up my fiancée for you.”
The air fell silent.
Satou’s pupils shrank slightly.
After staying silent for a while, the expression on her face became completely calm.
“That seems…
quite reasonable.”
“But I still don’t feel it.
I still don’t understand.”
That was right.
Whether she searched online or listened to other people explain what love was, she had already done this many times.
But in the end, she still could not understand.
No matter what she heard, what she did, or what she saw, she still could not feel anything.
For example, this time.
Even though she was the person Ren was choosing over his fiancée, Satou still could not feel anything.
Of course Satou could not feel anything.
After all, she was not the one making the sacrifice or giving something up.
So troublesome.
Really troublesome.
So annoying.
Why are there so many steps?
Looking at Satou’s calm, water-like face, Ren felt that if this continued, his own emotion of [Disgust] would come out!
Speaking of which, could he collect his own emotions?
He really wanted to test it.
So Ren forced a smile at Satou and tried to send her away.
“It’s fine.
When you reach my age, you’ll understand.”
“?”
Satou asked in confusion, “Love isn’t divided by age, is it?”
“That’s true.”
Ren brought Satou to the door of her own room and opened it.
Her suitcase had already been placed beside the bedside table.
“But you’re still too young.
You and I can’t have that kind of adult love yet.”
“?”
Satou’s mind felt a wave of confusion.