Anime Girls are Moist

Chapter 1178 1,177: Surprised and Girls' Love

"You've been wondering why I suddenly appeared in your room, haven't you?"

His voice was low, as if he were sharing a secret.

Miyuki Yukinoshita's brow lifted slightly. She raised her head from the hollow of his neck and looked into his eyes.

There was still a lingering mistiness in her gaze, but her eyes had already regained some of their usual clarity—

along with the sharp perception and insight that had always been hers.

"I thought you came to me on your own," she said lightly, "to give me a surprise."

That was what she said, her tone casual, as if she were talking about something trivial.

But in her heart, she had already guessed the truth.

It just so happened to be timed for when she was alone, before she had gone to sleep.

And in the entire Yukinoshita household, there was only one person who could pull something like this off—and would dare to.

Haruno Yukinoshita.

Her eldest daughter.

Rei Ao let out a soft laugh, his fingers gently pinching her chin with a touch of indulgent affection.

"Haruno said you'd been feeling lonely at home lately, so she asked me to come keep you company."

Just as she thought.

A flicker of complicated emotion passed through Miyuki Yukinoshita's eyes.

There was helplessness in it, amusement, understanding—and a trace of emotion she didn't want to admit was gratitude.

She had known this had to have something to do with her eldest daughter.

Haruno had always been a child no one could ever quite read.

She was nothing like Yukino, who was rigidly principled and saw everything in black and white.

Haruno had always moved in shades of gray, never letting anyone see what she was truly thinking.

She had been quick-minded and brilliant since childhood.

When other children were still playing in the dirt, she could already read financial reports.

When other children were still memorizing multiplication tables, she could already read the room at family meetings and judge the direction of the situation.

She had inherited everything good about the Yukinoshita family—beauty, intelligence, skill, poise.

And that natural charisma that made people want to follow her without even realizing it.

But her intelligence was not the kind that flaunted itself.

She was far too good at hiding it.

In front of outsiders, she was always the Yukinoshita family's perfect eldest daughter—sweetly smiling, elegant in manner, flawless in speech.

Her smile was always perfectly measured, her jokes graceful and appropriate, her actions always leaving room to maneuver. No one could find even the slightest fault with her.

But only those who truly knew her understood what kind of mind lay behind that lovely smile.

She looked carefree, as though she didn't care about anything, but in truth, she calculated everything with perfect clarity.

Like a master chess player, always seeing three or five moves further than everyone else.

Quietly laying out the board, calmly placing her pieces.

And by the time you realized what had happened, you were already caught in her trap—while still thinking it had all been your own decision.

But even so, Miyuki had never expected Haruno to do something this direct, this bold, this completely unreasonable.

Not subtly playing matchmaker.

Not quietly creating an opportunity.

But directly sending Rei Ao into her room.

At that thought, Miyuki Yukinoshita let out a quiet sigh.

There was helplessness in that sigh, but even more indulgence.

She knew her daughter too well. Haruno always did things like this—appearing outrageous on the surface, while every step had in fact been carefully calculated.

She wasn't reckless.

She was simply using the most direct possible method to shatter all the rules and restraints her mother had placed on herself.

Miyuki lifted her hand and laid it over the back of Rei Ao's.

Her palm was warm, her fingertips slightly cool.

She had beautiful hands—long fingers, elegant joints, neatly trimmed nails without any polish, left in their most natural state.

These were hands that had done many things—signed countless documents, shaken countless hands, and in countless late nights had clenched tight and slowly loosened again in solitude.

"So it was that girl's doing."

There was no blame in her voice at all.

Instead, there was indulgence, and even the faintest trace of a smile.

Rei Ao raised a brow, something probing in his gaze. "You're not angry? She dragged even her own mother into her scheme."

Miyuki Yukinoshita shook her head lightly, her hair rustling softly over the pillow.

She looked up at him, and the affection in her eyes was so rich it seemed impossible to dissolve—like aged wine, deepened and mellowed by time.

"It doesn't matter," she said softly. "As long as the one who came was you, it doesn't matter who passed along the message."

She truly did not mind.

Or rather, part of her was even grateful for Haruno's meddling.

For all these years, she had kept herself wrapped up tightly.

She was the head of the family, a woman who seemed flawless in everyone's eyes.

But no one knew how empty her heart felt on those late nights, when she lay alone in this large bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the wind outside.

She had once had a girlhood, too.

She had once dreamed of love.

But that had all been a very, very long time ago—so long ago that she had nearly forgotten what it felt like for her heart to stir.

Until she met Rei Ao.

At first, she hadn't paid much attention to him.

She had assumed he was just another young man with a bit of talent and far too much confidence.

But it hadn't taken long for her to realize she was wrong.

This man, who looked so young, possessed power and vision far beyond anyone else.

And he was just as mysterious as he was extraordinary.

From that moment on, bit by bit, her heart had begun to settle on him.

It was a strange kind of feeling, like standing in winter sunlight—warm, gentle warmth that spread from her skin all the way into her heart.

But because of her position, and because she still had two daughters, she had buried those feelings deep inside and never dared show even the slightest trace of them.

She had thought that for the rest of her life, she would only be able to hide those feelings in her heart and watch him from afar.

She had even prepared herself for it.

Once Yukino came fully of age and became independent, she would hand over the position of family head completely.

Then she would find some quiet place and grow old there alone.

And yet she had never imagined that today, he would suddenly appear in her bedroom and shatter all the restraint and distance she had so carefully maintained.

At that thought, Miyuki Yukinoshita's eyes grew faintly red.

But she blinked quickly and forced the moisture back.

She was not someone who showed weakness easily.

Even in front of the person closest to her, she was unwilling to cry so readily.

Rei Ao noticed the change in her emotions, but said nothing.

He only tightened his arms around her and held her a little closer.

His chin rested lightly against the top of her head, and every breath he took was filled with her scent.

~~~

No more Chapters. This Fanfic is dropped