Eriri Sawamura's smile, which had been just about to form, froze instantly. She began to tremble with pure rage. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine Ren would say something like that right in front of Sayuri.
This time, Eriri truly couldn't hold it back. Her eyes, already reddened, began to drop "little pearls" of tears.
"You... how can you be like this!"
Watching Eriri brush away her tears with her hands while sobbing and pointing an accusing finger at Ren, Sayuri felt both exasperated and amused. In the first place, when Eriri had begged her to help, Sayuri had gone and looked into the entire process of the dissolution of Tomoya Aki's club.
Ren hadn't interfered in a single part of it; it was simply that Tomoya's actions this year had disgusted Ren, and coincidentally, they had disgusted the principal as well. Yet, after being fooled by a bit of Tomoya's nonsense, Eriri had rushed off to confront Ren without a second thought. It was fortunate that Ren knew Sayuri; otherwise, Eriri would have really suffered for her impulsiveness.
Knowing her daughter was in the wrong, Sayuri had no intention of playing peacemaker. She just sat back and watched the two of them interact. A little friction was fine, as long as it happened under her roof. It was certainly better than Eriri going out and being deceived by others again.
Seeing that Ren had made the young girl cry, Mahiru gave him a very discreet poke in the ribs. When Ren looked at her, she returned a pleading and helpless gaze. Her eyes seemed to say: Ren, if you want to tease someone, can we do it when we're alone? We're guests in someone else's home; it's really not good to bully their daughter right in front of her mother...
Ren understood the meaning in Mahiru's eyes and nodded to show he got the message. Turning back to the sobbing Eriri, Ren reached out, placed a hand on her head, and said seriously, "Still crying? Eriri, if you keep crying, I'll make sure Tomoya Aki's parents lose their jobs. I'll put the blame entirely on you when it happens."
Mahiru: "..." Sayuri: "..."
Eriri, whose face was still covered in tears, stopped crying instantly upon hearing Ren's threat. Her expression turned blank. She already couldn't save Tomoya's club from being disbanded. If she caused his parents to lose their jobs too...
A wave of guilt washed over her. Eriri kicked off her small leather shoes, pulled her feet onto the sofa, and hugged her knees helplessly. She looked at Ren with watery eyes, a few stray tears still clinging to her lashes.
"I... I won't cry... I'm not crying... Ren... please don't let Tomoya's parents be fired, okay...?" she said aggrievedly, trying her hardest to restrain herself. After speaking, Eriri leaned closer to Sayuri, seeking a sense of security. At home, she had always been the pampered one and had never faced such a direct personal threat.
"Why do you think the club's dissolution is because of me?" Ren began to guide her, seeing that she was finally capable of a rational conversation.
"Tomoya... he said it was your fault, and that day you even hung me and him..." Eriri's voice grew smaller and smaller until it was barely audible.
"Why are you so certain about his guess? Did he ever show you any useful evidence?" Ren countered. "And Eriri, have you ever considered that even though Tomoya is the one who caused all of this, you're the one who has to solve it?"
"Clearly, you are the most innocent victim in this mess, but look at you now. You've become the one most entangled in the consequences."
Eriri began to think. It seemed there was nothing wrong with what Ren said. The trouble was caused by Tomoya, she was dragged into it and hung on a tree, and now she was even being threatened by Ren.
Ren didn't disturb her thoughts. He picked up an orange from the fruit plate, peeled it, and popped a segment into his mouth. The fruit was plump and juicy—very sweet. After confirming it was good, he broke off a segment and held it to Mahiru's lips. The girl ate it naturally.
"Is it good?" "Mm." "I'll peel some more for you then."
Sayuri didn't make a sound, quietly waiting for Eriri to finish her self-reflection. Seeing her daughter actually start to use her brain only brought Sayuri relief. It also strengthened her resolve to "abduct" Ren into the Sawamura family. She looked at the intimate interaction between Ren and Mahiru, then at the hollow-eyed Eriri beside her, whose thoughts were drifting who-knows-where.
It seems bringing him into the family might be impossible, Sayuri decided to change her strategy. I'll just pack Eriri up and send her to Ren's household instead!
Ren, currently enjoying the PDA of feeding Mahiru, picked up another orange. After eating a segment, his expression didn't change, but he discreetly broke off another piece and forced it into Eriri's mouth.
Still deep in thought, Eriri assumed it was just her mother's usual feeding and swallowed it without hesitation. An extreme sourness exploded in her mouth, causing her face to contort instantly. Snapping back to reality, she noticed Ren standing in front of her, still holding the "feeding" pose.
"REN!"
Boundless rage suppressed her internal fear. Eriri shouted at him.
"Tomoya Aki's parents, unemployed," Ren countered casually, using the same threat again.
Eriri immediately deflated. In a pathetic show of protest, she buried her head in her knees. "Ren, you're so annoying! Why do you only know how to bully me?"
It was like that before, and it was like this now. Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato were there that day too, but Ren only targeted her. Today, both her mother and Mahiru-chan were here, yet he still bullied her.
The grievance in her heart grew infinitely large, but fearing that her crying would cause Tomoya's parents to lose their jobs, Eriri suppressed her tears. Her shoulders trembled as she fought to stay quiet.
"Eriri, I'm curious. Why do you care so much about his parents losing their jobs? Even if it really happened, it would be my doing. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, does it?" Ren asked curiously, stopping his teasing.
He truly didn't understand how someone could love carrying someone else's blame so much. Eriri quietly raised her head, glanced at Ren's serious expression, then buried her head again, refusing to answer.
"If you satisfy my curiosity, maybe I can help you keep the club from being disbanded~"
"Re... Really?" Hope sparked in Eriri's eyes again.
Ren didn't speak, simply meeting her gaze.
"Actually, it was because of something in the past..."
Eriri began to recount her childhood history. After finishing the story, she looked at Ren for confirmation. "Ren, can you really help?"
Meeting her innocent, ignorant eyes, Ren's eyes crinkled with a wide smile.
"Of course I was..."
"...lying to you~"
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