Chapter 2322: The rest of the night
On my return home, Yue messaged me about the progress of the recording for their song collaboration. It had already passed the production stage and was now in the final stages of mixing and mastering. She was so excited she couldn't contain herself and sent me a sample.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I listened to it on repeat. The soothing voices of the three girls were enough to melt away any fatigue.
According to Yue, they're planning to announce the song next month as part of their promotional efforts. As for keeping Akane and Miho's identities anonymous, they're discussing using aliases instead. It's better to have an answer ready than to dodge the inevitable questions.
She also mentioned that Chisato-nee was now working closely with her. Not only was she helping Yue pitch for more projects and event appearances or TV guest spots, but she was also actively looking for sponsors for another concert since her first one was successful enough to draw in thousands.
It seems like Chisato-nee is going all-in on investing in Mabushisa Asahi. I'm not sure how her studies in directing are going, though.
Speaking of Chisato-nee, she's supposed to visit me soon, but she's still trying to confirm who the Onoda Clan will send to visit us.
I'm not particularly looking forward to that visit, but if they do come, well, I won't turn them away.
However, I have no idea how my parents will react. From what I heard from my mother, they also don't mind the clan reaching out again after hearing about me from Otoha's brother.
Maybe they're planning to let me draw my own conclusion about whether it will be beneficial for me to reconnect with the family for my future with the girls.
We'll see.
After finishing my talk with Yue, I ordered her another box of donuts. That earned me a scolding from Kaoru-san, who was mindful of Yue's sugar intake since the girl had apparently devoured an entire box the night before.
Akane, with her quirk still active, clung to me as if making up for all the time we didn't spend together today. Miwa-nee, on the other hand, was a mix of her usual teasing self and a doting elder figure, alternating between scolding Akane for being too clingy and making sure I was comfortable.
Minoru was already asleep so we got our time together.
"I've been good, right? I deserve all your attention tonight, husband!" Akane declared, hugging my arm tightly. She then started mentioning how she behaved in class and how she listened to Fuyu and the others for not making a scene from not hearing my voice after I called her during lunch break.
"Of course, you've been more than good," I replied as I patted her head, doting on her as much as possible, "But don't forget, Miwa-nee was also here. I also have to pamper her, you know?"
"What are you saying, Ruki? Go ahead. I'm fine just watching you two be lovey-dovey. I'll have my time with you once she falls asleep," Miwa-nee teasingly said as she returned with the tray of tea from the kitchen.
After serving us a cup, she sat down on my other side, her head resting comfortably on my shoulder.
And while we were sipping on the tea and basking in the silence, I remembered something, "Right, Miwa-nee. Have you met Mizuki?"
"Yes. I've been contacted by her. I told her about my plan to open a cafe. She only asked me for my capital though. After that, she said she was going to draft a proposal for my business first. She wanted to lead it herself, saying she's going to make sure I'll have a great location and uninterrupted operations once I open up shop," Miwa-nee replied.
"That girl... she's going all out, huh? But thinking about it, the ones she was working on were all for proxies. The people from her family are making use of her talent for their projects," I mused, feeling a bit of concern for Mizuki.
She's always been so independent and she's definitely still valued in the Hasegawa Family but
with her declaration of wanting to go independent, it's like she's going against the wave. In any case, we just have to brave it together.
I'm her partner, after all.