“He really is tall.”
On the second floor, Kashiwagi Nagisa and Shijou Maki hid near the corner and looked down, watching Ayanokouji Ren pick out clothes in the first-floor hall.
“And look at his shoulders!”
Nagisa tugged on Maki’s sleeve, her eyes shining as she studied Ren downstairs.
“He fills out his clothes so well.
He looks just like a male model from a fashion magazine!”
“Hmph.
He just has a large frame.”
Maki turned her face away.
Although, admittedly, it did make him look very dependable.
It was kind of attractive.
“I heard he did fifty-eight pull-ups during the school entrance fitness test.”
Nagisa suddenly leaned closer to Maki’s ear.
“The PE teacher said it was the highest record since the school was founded.”
“He probably stinks.
He must smell like sweat.”
Maki waved her hand with a disgusted expression.
If only the corners of her mouth would stop rising while she said that.
Nagisa covered her mouth and giggled.
Then she suddenly noticed something else.
“Wow~ Maki-chan, look.
Your husband’s eyes really are like gold.
They even reflect the light!”
Maki pursed her lips again and glanced down as if she had only done it casually.
“They’re…
they’re just normal.”
But those golden eyes really were special.
Not in the shallow, pretty way Nagisa described.
Maki still remembered when she was little, at a tea party held jointly by several families, the adults from the Shinomiya family had deliberately used difficult questions to embarrass every child there.
She and her younger brother, Shijou Mikado, had both been harshly criticized and kept their heads lowered.
Only those eyes had remained like gold.
Hard enough to make even the adults feel afraid.
Also, he always kept his back straight.
So compared with his broad shoulders, Maki admired Ren’s straight posture even more.
That confidence was something she had pursued ever since she was little.
“I am a proud member of the Shijou family!”
Maki also wanted to stand before the Shinomiya family and say that with confidence.
“So you admit he’s your husband?”
Nagisa suddenly teased.
Maki: “…”
She had fallen for it the moment she let her guard down.
Nagisa smiled and did not continue attacking.
Instead, she lowered her voice.
“Actually, I think the most impressive thing is his aura.
He’s clearly picking out women’s clothes, but somehow he looks like he’s…”
She suddenly nudged Maki’s waist with her elbow, her smile turning mischievous.
“Speaking of which, could he be picking clothes for you?”
“Probably not.
I haven’t really talked to him recently.
Maybe he’s picking something for his mother?”
Here, “mother” referred to Ren’s mother.
That was what Maki said.
But then she suddenly noticed that Ren was looking at a light-purple skirt.
It was the same shade of purple as her eyes.
“Wh-Who knows!”
Maki muttered with her face bright red.
“Who asked him to give me anything?
Doesn’t he know that giving a girl clothes before confirming your relationship is a really rude thing to do?”
Nagisa nodded.
Clothes were intimate items, often closely tied to personal privacy and aesthetic preferences.
At a stage where the relationship had not yet clearly reached dating, giving clothes could easily feel like crossing a line.
It could make a girl feel that the other party did not understand the proper distance between them.
It could seem immature, or even make her feel offended or uncomfortable.
There was also that strangely confident and cringe-inducing feeling of, “I know your fashion taste very well.”
But…
“Isn’t he your husband?
If your husband gives you clothes, then it should be fine, right?”
Nagisa covered her mouth and giggled.
“And didn’t you two bathe together when you were little?
He must know your body very well.”
Maki blushed and seriously punched Nagisa on the head.
“What kind of joke is that?”
“Eh?
You didn’t bathe together?”
Nagisa held her head.
“Of course not!”
Maki pressed her lips together, her cheeks red.
“Stop reading so much shoujo manga!”
Fine.
Actually, when they were little, their mothers had dragged them into the bath together before.
But that was way too embarrassing.
She absolutely could not let Nagisa know!
Besides, they had been far too young back then.
There was no way he knew her body very well or anything like that.
Maki could not help thinking that.
But then again, what was Ayanokouji doing here?
It did not really make sense for him to give such a girly skirt to his mother.
If anyone were to give that kind of gift, it should be his father, right?
As Maki thought about it, she suddenly saw Ren take down the light-purple skirt.
Immediately afterward, a pink-haired girl walked over beside him.
Although the girl was petite, she had a small, delicate face and a well-proportioned figure.
Just based on appearances, she was definitely a cute girl.
But why was there a cute girl beside him?
And why were they conveniently together in a clothing store?
Maki’s mind instantly went blank.
But very quickly, she reacted.
Wasn’t this obviously him taking his little girlfriend clothes shopping?!
“Maki-chan…”
Your husband might be cheating…
Naturally, Nagisa realized it too.
According to Article 770 of the Civil Code, one reason for divorce was committing an act of infidelity with someone other than one’s spouse.
This was clearly cheating, right?
It was grounds for divorce!
Although they had not actually gotten married yet.
So Nagisa looked at Maki somewhat awkwardly.
Maki was also looking at her pitifully.
Stunned by Maki’s pitiful gaze, Nagisa clenched her fists.
So what if they were not married?
Was a fiancée not a wife?
“Confrontation.
We have to go down and confront him!”
…
“Satou, do you like this one?”
Ren asked.
Satou nodded and smiled.
“I think purple is very pretty.”
Satou was not lying.
Her aunt liked wearing purple dresses.
Although Satou had no interest in that person, she had to admit that her aunt really had been beautiful in purple dresses. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
No wonder so many men had been willing to follow her into her room.
“Then go try it on.”
Ren nodded and handed the outfit to Satou.
He watched as the shop assistant led her toward the fitting room.
Suddenly, he raised his head and looked toward the second floor.
He had a vague bad feeling.
Somehow, it felt like…
He was being stared at by many pairs of eyes.
In the shadows, Nagisa held Maki’s hand and said calmly, “Don’t rush.
We have to catch evidence first!”
Maki looked pitiful.
“Mm, mm.”
But she was also comforting herself.
“She isn’t necessarily his girlfriend, right?
She looks like she’s only in middle school…”
“Hmph.
Boys love girls like that the most.
And so what if she’s in middle school?
It’s not like middle schoolers dating is rare.”
“Besides, didn’t we only just graduate from middle school too?”
Nagisa shattered Maki’s final fantasy.
She took out her phone, but Maki quickly pressed it down.
“Nagisa, don’t…
don’t take photos.”
“If those photos get out, it won’t be good.”
Maki spoke softly, looking pitiful.
Nagisa froze.
Then she sighed helplessly.
“You really…
and you still say you don’t like him.”
Maki stubbornly insisted, “I don’t like him.
It’s just that if those photos get out, it’ll definitely damage both the Shijou family and the Ayanokouji family.”
“Sigh.
You’re hopeless.”
Nagisa did not say anything more.
She looked outside.
The pink-haired girl had already come out of the fitting room.
“Ren, how is it?”
Satou spun once in front of Ren and asked with a bright smile.
Ren nodded.
The light-purple base matched perfectly with Satou’s pink hair.
The denim bow and doll collar brought out her slender, fair neck beautifully.
The white sash around her waist was like a clear stream flowing gently to both sides before meeting at her slim waist, forming a delicate belt.
The flared skirt did not need cheap patterns to decorate it.
Its simple design already suited her well.
The long white socks made her legs look neat and graceful.
The outfit was cute, elegant, and full of girlish charm.
“It really does look good, Satou.
You look like a princess from a fairy tale.”
Ren’s eyes showed genuine appreciation.
After all, he was still a man.
But the people hiding in the shadows could not help wanting to curse.
Shijou Maki and Kashiwagi Nagisa were both young ladies from high society.
Maki in particular had received many kinds of special education, including lip-reading.
“She…
she actually called him Ren directly!”
…