Chapter 45

(First pov)

Five years of working together. I knew Grandpa had been working hard all the time. I respect him as a man, and I'm glad that he's my family. Even though I have a system, the reason I became the man I am today was because of him, not the system.

"This might be too sudden for you two, but Grandma hopes for your consent," Sayuri said with a slight bow.

"That's right. I know Chizuru loves your Grandpa, Katsuhito, that much. However, I will protect you with my life, as I've always thought of you as my granddaughter as well, and I will keep doing so," Grandpa said with a slight bow.

Seeing them both this serious, neither Chizuru nor I objected to their marriage.

"Masamune, you have to take responsibility. Accompany Chizuru when she buys new glasses, got that?" Grandpa said to me.

Beside me, Chizuru waved her hand at him. "Grandpa, it's alright. I can buy them myself after my class is over."

"Don't say that, Chizuru. This punk still needs to take you out for a nice dinner as well."

"D-dinner? Ahaha, there's no need for that, Grandpa."

Grandpa then glanced at me, silently saying, You know what to do.

"Hachiro, I think she's right. I bet Masamune is busy, right? Why not leave it to her boyfriend?"

"Grandma!"

Turning my head, I saw Chizuru become awkwardly nervous.

"WHAT? YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?"

Chizuru looked at him, then waved her hands frantically.

"It's a long story..."

Then I saw Grandpa burst out again, "WHO DARES?! Chizuru, bring this man here at once, or break up with him!"

"EHH?! B-b-b-break up?! That's a bit..."

Why is Chizuru getting so nervous? Girl, just call him over and introduce him to the old man. Hey, don't look at me like that.

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(Chizuru pov)

Why is everything escalating so fast?

First, my grandma remarried Grandpa Hachiro. Well, I wasn't too shocked about it. After all, it's been six years since my grandfather died in a car accident. If it hadn't been for Grandpa Hachiro providing us with financial support, we would have struggled, especially with the hospital bills he helped cover.

When I heard they wanted to marry, I had no reason to stop them. Honestly, I was glad it was Grandpa Hachiro who would be with Grandma.

On the other hand, the secret I've been trying to keep is getting harder to hide, especially from Grandpa Hachiro.

"So, you're the guy dating my granddaughter?" Grandpa Hachiro asked sharply, his arms crossed as he eyed the man beside me. With his white hair and muscular build, Grandpa had an intimidating presence. The guy next to me on the sofa flinched, lowering his gaze and clenching his hands tightly on his lap.

"Y-yes! It's nice to meet you, sir. My name is Kinoshita Kazuya. I'm a freshman at Tokyo U this year."

"Tokyo U? So, you're quite smart, huh? No wonder you met Chizuru there. What's your major?" Grandpa asked, stoic.

"Y-yes, I'm in Business Administration."

"That's good for you. How old are you?"

"I'm... 20."

"I see... so you're a gap year student."

"Y-yes—"

"Still, what makes you think you're worthy of dating Chizuru?"

Hearing this, Kazuya grew even more nervous under Grandpa's piercing gaze, like a sword aimed directly at him.

Sigh, why is this happening to me?

Meanwhile, Masamune was talking with Grandma in the background. After a while, a nurse entered to take a blood sample.

"Oh my~ Ichinose-san, is this young man your grandson?"

At the nurse's question, my grandma suddenly had a smug expression.

"That's right. Masamune is the youngest," Grandma said, and the guy sitting next to her smiled at the nurse.

"Hello, nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of Grandma all this time."

"Oh my, you're so handsome~"

"I'm flattered. You're beautiful as well... um?"

"It's Sakura."

"Well then, Sakura-san, I'll step aside so you can work without me getting in the way."

Then he walked over and sat on the sofa to my right.

This guy didn't even seem interested in joining Grandpa in interrogating Kazuya. He just sat there, scrolling through his phone.

I glanced at Masamune.

A tall guy, around 5'9", in a formal white shirt, leaning back on the sofa while casually using his phone. Is he younger than me? But his build... wide shoulders, broad chest visible through his shirt, and a slim waist without an ounce of fat. Plus, that handsome face, sharp jawline, and nose... is he a model?

I heard Grandpa say that his grandson runs his company behind the scenes and is the actual owner. Does that mean he might be the same age as me?

"For now, you don't have my approval, though I respect Chizuru's decision. But if I ever hear you've hurt her... we'll be meeting again, Kazuya."

"Y-yes, sir," Kazuya replied with a loud gulp.

After a while, visiting hours ended, and both Kazuya and I had to leave. As we walked out of the room, Kazuya started stammering nervously.

"Mi-Mizuhara, what should we do? Your grandpa might actually kill me if he finds out the truth."

"We?"

I looked at Kazuya, clicking my tongue in frustration.

"This is your fault to begin with. You're the one who dragged me into this situation, remember?" I sighed.

"Th-that's true..."

As we continued talking outside Grandma's room, Masamune suddenly walked out, now wearing his suit jacket.

"Hm?" He glanced at us, then at Kazuya. "Sorry about Grandpa. Sometimes, older people can be really annoying, especially when they insist on meddling in their kids' business," he said with a faint smile.

Wait, so he's actually a little kind?

"Ahaha... I understand that," Kazuya replied with a meek smile. "Well, I'll get going now."

"What about your girlfriend? Just take her with you," Masamune said, looking a bit bewildered.

"I have something to do now, and Mi—I mean, Ichinose has to go to work too. Well then, excuse me."

Kazuya said, then quickly left.

Watching him leave, I sighed.

"Why sigh like that? Disappointed with your boyfriend?" Masamune asked with a smirk.

"As if! Also..." I opened my bag and took out the money he gave me. "Here, I only needed 15,000 yen. Take back the other 35,000."

"If you insist." He smiled at me. "Still... let's get along, since we'll be family now, Chizuru."

"Uh... um..."

What was that just now? Why am I looking away from him?! Ugh! At first, I thought he was just an annoying rich kid. And this guy who bumped into me is actually Grandpa Hachiro's grandson? That haughty attitude and sharp tongue? But it turns out he has a good side too.

Maybe I can't judge him based on first impressions, even if he did try to force money on me.

As we walked through the hospital hallway, he spoke up.

"Since your boyfriend's too busy to see you home, I'll give you a ride."

I glanced at him.

"It's fine. I don't want to trouble you. And can you stop talking about him already?"

We stopped at the elevator, and he pressed the button.

"What? Am I wrong?" he chuckled. "I'm not talking bad about him; I'm just pointing out that he left his girlfriend with another guy."

"Erm..." I looked away slightly. He had a point. "Well, you're not a stranger anymore right? You're my cousin now."

"Technically, we're still strangers..." The elevator dinged as the doors opened in front of us. "We'll only be cousins once our grandparents formalize their marriage."

"Well, that's true. But I don't care about the details."

I stepped into the elevator first, and he followed, standing beside me.

"I do care. I mean, why would your guy leave his girlfriend alone in the elevator right after Grandpa roasted him? Sigh... Men these days are so weird. If he can't handle that, why not stay single like me?"

I glanced up at him, tilting my head slightly because of his height. "Why are you so fixated on Kazuya?"

"Hm?" He looked at me with a sly smile. "Well, you're cute, Chizuru."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. If I were him, I wouldn't leave you alone with any guy like this."

Wh-wha-what?! How can he say something so embarrassing so easily?! This guy! I knew it; he's a player. I bet he says the same thing to every girl.

Finally, we reached the ground floor. I quickly walked out of the elevator, wanting to put some distance between me and this smooth-talking player.

"Chizuru, wait."

I stopped and looked back.

"What?"

He walked over to me calmly, reaching into his suit jacket.

"Why are you running away like that?" He chuckled. "And by the way, it's even funnier when you wear those broken glasses."

"Hey, don't jinx it."

"Haha, fine. Take it easy. Here..." He handed me a glasses case. "I don't know if these suit you, but try wearing these instead."

"Eh? Oh... okay?"

He smiled at me. "Give them a try."

I opened the case to find a simple pair of square glasses. When I put them on, I immediately felt more comfortable. Wait... my lenses never felt like this. Does that mean my eyesight got worse?

"How is it?" he asked.

"Uh! It's... it's good. Thank you."

Thank god he made me aware!

As we walked to the parking lot, I suddenly realized I'd been following him without even thinking about it.

"Hop in, Chizuru."

Masamune unlocked his fancy black Lexus sedan. So bossy.

Once I sat in the front seat and put on my seatbelt, I said, "Hey, I'll borrow these glasses for now, okay? I'll return them once I get a new pair. By the way, which university do you go to?"

Right. It's only polite to return them in person. And maybe he's at Tokyo U too? But why haven't I heard about him from my friends if he's such a looker?

He started the engine, then said, "Don't worry about it. And for the record, I'm in my senior year... in junior high."

Wait... what?

"Huh?"

I looked at him in disbelief, and he didn't seem to be joking.

"For real?"

"For real."

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