Stealing Spree

Having been in this situation many times before, no matter how much Miss Manager fumed at her seat, I was unrattled. Besides, we’re in our territory. She’s clearly only using her ‘adult’ card here and in her eyes, I was but an ambitious snot-nosed brat who wanted to fool Yue. Furthermore, despite seeing my parents and being tamed by my mother, she believed that I was nothing compared to her.

From how Miss Manager postured on her seat, I could put out a guess that she’s totally underestimating us. Most likely, she’s thinking of only pretending to hear our side and a decision has already been made which involved not letting Yue ruin herself by keeping this relationship with me.

I remained silent for a while and watched their exchanges, observing the woman through her words and actions.

Perhaps she thought I was stumped by the pressure she was exuding, I noticed how Miss Manager displayed an extremely smug look with a hint of satisfaction. It’s completely different from how she could be likened to a drenched puppy in my mother’s presence.

I wonder where she got this courage? I mean, they could so easily return. Won’t it be more embarrassing for her to suddenly flip back to wagging her tail after being this aggressive?

Uh. Maybe this was just her personality, who knows? She’s still young so she’s probably still childish on the inside…

Anyway, with this, I continue to doubt whether Yue’s description of her as kind and understanding was truly fitting.

True, she’s concerned for the girl. However, this looks like the situation with Ogawa wherein she’s just going to assume everything and flaunt her sense of justice without fully understanding the situation. Or she already had her own preconceived judgement even before coming here.

Either way, we never planned to back down against her.

“Manager, didn’t we talk about this earlier? Are you going back on your words? You said you understood…”

After around a minute where Yue and Miss Manager just stared at each other, seemingly communicating silently, the former eventually stood up, reminding the latter of what they talked about when I wasn’t here.

“I did say that, Asahi. However…” Maintaining the calm on her face, Miss Manager so easily deflected that. As they went over what they talked about, the situation quickly devolved into a one-sided conversation, wherein Miss Manager would always have a prepared ‘but’ from what they agreed on earlier.

What a sly woman. Yue was given false hope.

Nonetheless, Yue still didn’t back down after that. She still tried convincing her.

When nothing worked, Yue threatened Miss Manager that she was not coming back to Tokyo.

Unfortunately, that also failed to work.

Miss Manager still had another card up her sleeve that managed to silence Yue.

“Asahi, if you’re going to be this difficult, I will have no choice but to inform your mother.”

That’s right… Her ace was Yue’s parents.

Truthfully, Miss Manager could have easily informed them of what was happening but she didn’t. At least, not yet.

If Yue’s parents also got involved, it’s not wrong to say that it would be hard for us to get their blessing. I mean, the day we reconnected, Yue’s mother called her and doubtfully asked if she met with me. She lied at that time to stop her from probing.

At the moment, she’s probably confident to resolve this without getting them involved. And with Yue threatening not to go back, she played that card perfectly.

Or in her mind, that was perfect.

I actually have no idea why she hasn’t informed them yet. They’re also living in this city. It will be easy for them to come and give her a backup in dissuading Yue or asking me to step back for the girl’s sake.

Though we prepared for that, we both know that they’re going to be a wall that we’ll have to overcome in the future.

Acting dejected, Yue retreated to my side and muttered in a volume that only I could hear, “How is it, Ruki? Is my acting great?”

“It’s perfect. As I expected from my Yue.” I hugged the girl tightly, letting her snuggle as close as possible before praising her.

For sure, in Miss Manager’s eyes, Yue looked like she was seeking comfort in my embrace.

That’s right… Everything was an act on Yue’s part… Or rather, she already expected that Miss Manager would react this way when she updated me earlier. Yue didn’t leave out the details of the talk she had with Miss Manager.

And before ending the call, we planned what our approach would be.

At this point, the first part was a success…

It’s time for me to take the stage. To turn her into our natural ally…

“Don’t worry. No matter what Miss Manager planned, we’re going to make her accept our relationship. And help us in the process.”

As I held the girl as intimately as possible, I said all that in a loud voice which made Miss Manager raise her thin eyebrows. Anticipation welled up on her face.

She was intrigued. True but the woman quickly recovered, maintaining her perceived superiority in this situation.

Earlier, just holding Yue close made her lose her cool but now that Yue was closely snuggling with me, she’s holding herself well.

Whether that’s because of her confidence to separate us or not, it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, I better start.

While I continued gently caressing Yue’s head who’s now enjoying my embrace, I faced Miss Manager’s gaze and put on a meaningful smile, “Manager, what if I ask you to help us?”

“Are you kidding me? This is the last day you’re going to disturb Asahi’s life. Be content with that and never appear before her again.”

Her response was swift. She even straightened her back, her gaze landing on Yue’s back. She seemed so sure at that conclusion.

Well, that question was just an opening act.

“Miss Manager, aren’t you a cold woman? Where’s the kind and understanding Sister Kaoru that this girl boasted a lot to me? I thought you’d be the dependable ally that’s going to help us. Just like how you made sure that she won’t be inconvenienced by the higher-ups in your company, we’re looking forward to having this talk with you and gathering your support. Alas… it seems she’s wrong.” I intentionally shook my head in dismay before looking down on Yue.

This time, the girl was already silently giggling at my act.

In Miss Manager’s eyes, Yue probably appeared as though she was bawling her eyes out while snuggling to my chest. Her shoulders were trembling, after all. But the truth was she was just holding herself back from laughing out loud.

Anyway, because of my words and how I acted disappointed, Miss Manager was dumbfounded. She’s a little confused but when her gaze returned to Yue, a gentle expression surfaced on it followed by genuine concern.

She tried reaching her hand out but stopped midway, closed her eyes, and turned her head away. She’s struggling to keep this façade she’s showing us.

Yep. Beneath this seemingly cruel adult act that she’s showing to make Yue give up on me, she’s still just a concerned young lady who couldn’t let her ‘little sister’ experience another heartbreak. And another thing… She’s someone who likes to be appreciated for something she did.

Earlier, although brief, it showed that she was pleased to hear my apology. She probably thought that what she did was effective.

Anyway, what we’re aiming to do is simple… use those traits of her to soften her up and hear us out properly.

Yue’s act was the lukewarm water to wake her up and my words were like the ringing of the bell to prevent her from turning a blind eye again.

This time, she now had no choice but to face us without her preconceived judgement. If she still cares for Yue’s well-being, of course.

“Miss Manager, you can drop the act now… If you want to be certain that she’s going to return with you, let’s continue this talk in her unit. There, you can ask the security to send me out if you still find me as a deceitful person who returned just because Yue’s already a celebrity.”

Without waiting for her to recover, I continued with an unassuming tone. And this time, Yue also raised her head and warmly gazed at her manager.

Uh… Yue put on fake tears to keep up the act.