CHAPTER 62: 57. THE THREE WOMEN OF THE KASAHARA FAMILY

"Ah ah ah——"

"Wood! Wood, Senior is a big piece of wood——"

A clear and loud voice echoed in the living room. Mrs. Kasahara, who was arranging flowers, looked over and saw her youngest daughter clutching a pillow with her legs, rolling around on the sofa, muttering curses as if venting.

After two rolls, she suddenly thumped to the floor.

"Ouch..."

"It hurts, it hurts..."

Seeing her youngest daughter rolling on the ground holding her head, made her, as a mother, feel both heartache and a bit of amusement.

"Xiangxiang, come over to mom."

"What for?"

Kasahara Asuka got up and sat opposite her mother.

In her mind, she was still angry with Wooden Senior, her lips pursed, and her cheeks puffed up.

"Who made my little darling angry?" Mrs. Kasahara couldn’t resist pinching her little cheek. Her daughter had been so adorable since childhood, and she never got tired of pinching her even after all these years.

"Mom, I’m really puzzled~~" Kasahara Asuka held her mother’s hand, looking very displeased, "Do you think Senior has something going on with Hoshimi Rinko? Otherwise, why would he leave my messages on read whenever I bring up this topic? Could Senior be secretly dating that bitch?"

Mrs. Kasahara thought for a moment and asked, "Is that shrine maiden from Hachiman Shrine also hanging out with him?"

"How would I know, Senior refuses to tell me..." Kasahara Asuka rested her chin on the table, looking bored, as she picked up a rose her mother was using for flower arranging and smelled it.

The enchanting fragrance lingered at her nose, deeply refreshing her spirit.

"Spring roses are lighter than autumn roses, both in color and scent," Mrs. Kasahara said with a smile, "But spring roses are fresh and elegant, not gaudy."

"Not interested..."

Kasahara Asuka pouted.

"You, ah, have always been impatient since childhood," Mrs. Kasahara chuckled, reaching out to rub her daughter’s head, "Tell me about your Senior, any progress with him?"

Kasahara Asuka pinched the tip of her little finger: "Just a teeny bit."

"Hmm?"

Mrs. Kasahara thought for a moment, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Oh oh oh, got it, got it." She nodded understandingly, "So you’ve hit a wall with a boy for the first time and have been sulking all night. How fresh."

"Mom——"

Kasahara Asuka raised her voice, looking displeased at her playful mother.

"What are you two talking about?"

Kasahara Fumi appeared at the top of the stairs on the second floor, having just finished her bath.

A tall and valiant beauty, dressed in a thin and soft luxury bathrobe, walked down to the living room. Under the soft lighting, Kasahara Asuka saw her sister’s fair skin tinged with a faint blush, as beautiful as the rose in her mother’s hand.

Her gaze, always carrying a slight hint of disdain and coolness, was so captivating.

"Fumi, come over here." Mrs. Kasahara beckoned, "It’s rare for you not to have to go to Section 9 tonight, come join me in flower arranging."

Kasahara Fumi sat down at the table, picked up a rose and smelled it: "Were you just discussing Fujiwara Reya with Asuka?"

"Fumi’s ears are really sharp." Mrs. Kasahara chuckled, also picking up a flower from the table, "Let’s not talk about other boys, let’s arrange flowers. Asuka, you’re not allowed to leave!"

Just as she stood up to slip away, Kasahara Asuka had no choice but to sit back down.

She didn’t like this outdated traditional art of flower arranging, she preferred new and trendy things, so being forced to stay here, she just propped her chin with her hands and watched her mother and sister discuss arranging techniques with a blank stare.

Outside the window, the moonlit night was clear, cotton-like white clouds slowly drifted by, and a slightly cool breeze blew in.

Under the bright light, Kasahara Asuka randomly arranged flowers according to her mood and preference. For most of the time, her gaze was fixed on her sister, trying to find some flaw in her.

But unfortunately...

No matter how picky she was, she couldn’t find a single flaw in her sister.

A fair, slender neck, a tall and graceful physique, with a waist so slender you wanted to hold her forever. The bathrobe’s neckline was slightly open, exposing part of a shoulder and an exquisite, fair collarbone could be seen from above.

After analyzing for a long time, realizing that she indeed couldn’t compete with her sister at the moment, Kasahara Asuka turned her attention to her mother.

Compared to her cool and valiant sister, her mother exuded a sense of majestic grace.

Elegant and poised, her face looked sweet and bore a resemblance to herself. But unlike her, her mother possessed a mature woman’s unique intellectual charm, something she currently couldn’t match...

"Ah, so annoying——"

Kasahara Asuka felt so frustrated.

"What’s the matter with you?" her mother and sister looked at her simultaneously.

"Asuka is bothered by youthful troubles!" Kasahara Asuka said angrily, looking at both faces prettier than hers: "If you don’t care about the youngest in this family, she’s going to pack up and run away from home tomorrow!"

"Where do you think she’ll go?" Kasahara Fumi asked her mother.

"I guess, just like when she was twelve," Mrs. Kasahara laughed elegantly, with eyes reflecting the light, "Taking a bunch of money, wandering around aimlessly, and then coming home as if nothing happened once she’s bored."

"I have nothing to talk about with you all!"

Kasahara Asuka mumbled.

Then, feeling somewhat embarrassed, she hid her face behind her mother, refusing to lift it up again.

"She was frustrated by Fujiwara Reya." Mrs. Kasahara turned to talk to her elder daughter, her tone just like a middle-aged woman passing gossip at a neighborhood gathering.

"Ah, no talking about that——" Kasahara Asuka took two deep breaths, then suddenly started to have a fit.

"It’s because mother spoiled you since childhood, that’s why you’re so wild." Kasahara Fumi reached out to tweak her sister’s ear, pulling her face off their mother’s back, "I’ve told you to stay away from him, can you remember that?"

Under her sister’s sharp gaze, Kasahara Asuka pouted, skillfully putting on a pitiful expression to beg for mercy: "Sister, it hurts~"

Her voice soft and gentle, like a newborn kitten, making her irresistibly adorable.

"Alright, alright, Fumi, don’t actually hurt her," Mrs. Kasahara saved the younger daughter from the elder’s clutch, gently blowing on the younger one’s ear: "No need to fear, mom will protect Asuka."

"Don’t spoil her so much..." Kasahara Fumi massaged her temples, looking very helpless.

"Hehe~" Kasahara Asuka hid in her mother’s embrace, covering her mouth with the back of her hand and letting out a citrus-scented, lively giggle.

Watching her youngest daughter’s mischievous demeanor, Mrs. Kasahara relaxed her delicate features: "Bring that child here during Golden Week, let mom take a look."

"Eh?"

The two sisters exclaimed simultaneously in surprise.

"Don’t be so shocked," Mrs. Kasahara took hold of both daughters’ wrists, looking sorrowful, "He’s captivated my two daughters’ attention, how can I just sit still?"

The sister and her younger sister exchanged a glance, each making their own little plans.

The next moment, Mrs. Kasahara switched to a joyful expression, her voice leisurely as if blown through the garden by the night breeze: "After all, sister said she’d marry the same man as her sister, mom has to check him out, right?"

"..."

Kasahara Asuka’s face froze.

"Is that true?" Kasahara Fumi looked curiously at her sister.

"No, no——" Kasahara Asuka shrieked, and then, like a fugitive from the police, she ran out the door in a panic.

Left alone in the living room, Kasahara Fumi looked at her mother.

"Ah~" Mrs. Kasahara elegantly yawned, patting her mouth with her small hand, "Didn’t you study in France for a year as an exchange student the year before? Asuka said it to me during that time."

Listening to her mother’s words, Kasahara Fumi remained silent, slightly furrowing her long brows, pondering something.

"Don’t take it to heart, just some random things kids say." Mrs. Kasahara picked up the rose’s stem, gently stroking the thorns up top, "Asuka has always been clingy to you since childhood. It was the first time she hadn’t seen you for so long, it’s natural she’d say silly things."

"But lately, she seems to be going against me." Kasahara Fumi sighed with resignation.

"It’s the rebellious phase," Mrs. Kasahara looked at her elder daughter, her gaze tender as water, "You’ve always been the most outstanding and dazzling among your peers. Understandably, Asuka, who has been following in your shadow, is constantly being reminded by those around her to emulate her sister. Hearing such things in childhood might fill her with motivation, striving long-term towards that goal, but hearing them constantly during adolescence, she’d naturally grow tired of it. As adults, we need to understand her thoughts more."

"Hmm."

Kasahara Fumi nodded slightly.

While she understood it, in any case, both sisters marrying the same man is unrealistic. She decided to warn Fujiwara Reya not to approach her sister when she first meets him.

Uh...

Of course, she wouldn’t let him approach either.

At the entrance, a small head peeks in, secretly observing the situation inside.

"I really look forward to Golden Week," Mrs. Kasahara laughed, "Can’t wait to meet that child and see if he’s worthy of entrusting my two precious daughters."

Mom is so mean, why bring up such embarrassing things... The little head turned a bit, looking at her sister.

Sister was smiling at her.

How, how annoying!

No more talking with these two old women, Asuka is going to run away from home——