Is the Emotional Life of Young People Today So Complicated?

"I am the student council counselor and also the original talent exchange meeting instructor... You should know this, right? He has signed the parental consent form for you."

Mafuyu took a deep breath, and after sufficient mental preparation, she was able to face Shinichi's mother calmly.

Actually, there was nothing to worry about. Shinichi was a student, and she was a teacher; neither of them had done anything extraordinary, so there was no need to feel guilty when facing the other party's mother.

After reflecting on her mistake, Mafuyu's attitude became more confident.

"A talent exchange meeting?"

Kazumi thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be true.

Although she didn't pay attention to the instructor's last name at the time, she signed it casually...

Who made a certain second-year student perform so well at school? The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her high school life was just a waste of time. For the sake of self-esteem, Kazumi focused on her love life and interpersonal relationships, and she never got tired of it.

"You say I have a signature? But I don't remember..."

Pretending not to know, Kazumi's eyes wandered, unintentionally observing the other party's expression.

"Could that kid have forged my signature? He knows everything. He should be able to forge his mother's notes and signature to avoid trouble."

In fact, the one who did this was herself during high school.

"Hmm... I don't think so."

Mafuyu shook her head firmly.

"Did you forget to sign? Forging a signature means making a false document. I don't think Asada-kun would engage in such unwise behavior."

"It's because I misunderstood him."

Without forcing too much, after realizing that the teacher in front of her had great trust in her son, Kazumi asked some more serious questions.

For example, school achievements, evaluations between teachers and students, conflicts with classmates, etc.; and all the comments received from them were highly praised, making people feel exaggerated.

Mafuyu seemed very optimistic about Shinichi. With her serious and sincere voice, she mentioned the "extraordinary achievements" he had made since April this year.

Including guiding two underperforming students to make great progress in their studies, leading transfer students to be well-received in the school forest activities, enhancing the school's prestige at the talent exchange meeting, serving as the student council president with outstanding approval ratings, etc...

It made Kazumi feel embarrassed.

She knew her son was great, but she didn't expect him to be this great. However, there was one thing Kazumi cared about.

"I know about studying. Moreover, Rizu-chan... Ogata Rizu-chan and Furuhashi Fumino-chan have both been to our house."

"Both of them have been to... your house?"

Mafuyu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and then she realized that they would go to Shinichi's house for studying, so she calmly restrained her expression.

Kazumi's expression didn't change and continued:

"All the things you mentioned earlier, like the school forest, talent exchange meeting, and student council election... Were they all completed by him and his friends working together?"

"That's correct." Mafuyu nodded seriously. "The silent bonds and understanding among them are commendable. Even if Asada-kun is crucial as a leader, without the ceaseless efforts of those kids, he himself wouldn't be able to achieve such accomplishments!"

"In my opinion, the most amazing thing about him is his charisma that can lead partners around him to advance, learn from each other, and ultimately grow side by side."

"Your son... Asada Shinichi is truly an amazing person."

As these words fell, Mafuyu seemed to smile faintly.

Seeing that bright and gentle smile, even Kazumi, who was also a woman, couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

But shortly after, she still expressed her doubt:

"I won't call my son for now, but the group of kids you just mentioned..."

"Could they all be girls?"

Mafuyu: "..."

△

"Are you asking something?"

Seeing his wife walking towards the beautiful teacher after bidding farewell, Masao asked curiously.

Kazumi nodded with a friendly smile.

"I asked about many things. In short, let's keep walking and see if we can meet more girls who know Shinichi."

"Wow wow..."

For some reason, Masao always felt that his wife's smile was a bit frightening, as if there was some kind of black energy floating around.

"By the way, that kid's father."

Kazumi turned around and suddenly asked.

"What's wrong?"

His tone sounded a bit hesitant.

"Although the chances are very small... But if the young female teacher earlier really has a special relationship with our son, maybe she will show her hand to us right after graduating..."

"What do you think we should do?"

"..."

Masao opened his mouth wide and fell silent.

He knew that his wife wouldn't make unreasonable assumptions, and making this assumption meant that she had seen something and confirmed it 80% before asking.

He didn't know how to express himself in a thousand words, but if he really wanted to say it, he only had one sentence in his mind:

Indeed, he's my son! As expected of my child!

After coughing twice, Masao calmed down and replied in a deep voice:

"Let Shinichi also become a teacher. Later, the two can establish an honest relationship as colleagues."

"You are very optimistic."

Kazumi pursed her lips and said nothing.

Before today, she was the only one tweeting about Fumino and Rizu, but now that there is a teacher, inevitably she begins to doubt whether she should trust her increasingly fragile son's integrity.

And the situation around that rascal is clearly more complicated than she imagined. Even if she has high hopes for Mafuyu now, she might get one, two, three, four, five...

Actually, is the emotional life of young people these days so complicated?

"Sigh..."

Kazumi sighed, but she didn't realize that there were calm and indifferent eyes peeking at her from the shadow of the teaching building in the distance.

△

Upon arriving at the spot next to the field where Yotsuba usually sat and rested, Shinichi and the girls spread out a picnic mat on the ground. Nino, who was careful, had brought a purple-blue picnic mat for lunch. After opening the luxurious bento set brought by Nino, a group of people sat around the bento.

"When will your parents come?" Nino asked, glancing at Itsuki who was licking her lips and taking a deep breath to suppress the "temptation of food," with a helpless expression.

"If it's later, Itsuki might cry."

"..."

Itsuki's face tensed, she concentrated on suppressing her hunger and couldn't complain, only expressing her dissatisfaction.

"They should be here soon. They said they would call..."

Looking at the time, it was exactly noon. Shinichi stood up with his phone and said, "I'll ask."

After leaving the circle of girls, Shinichi was about to call his parents to inquire about the situation when his phone suddenly rang.

The caller was not his parents.

"Hayasaka? What's up?"

He answered the phone and listened to the indifferent voice from the other end.

"I saw your parents in front of the teaching building... Don't ask me how I recognized them. Besides, they just finished talking to Kirisu-sensei and are now walking to another place. They seem to be deliberately avoiding the direction of the field."

"They're already here..." Shinichi didn't hesitate. After a momentary pause, he asked seriously, "Did they talk to Kirisu-sensei? Was it to inquire about my whereabouts? It can't be; they could have just called me directly..."

His mind spun quickly, and in an instant, Shinichi quickly found the answer.

"They don't want to meet me this soon... They want to cause trouble at Shuchi'in Academy!"

"If they wanted to visit the school, they could have called to inform me first, but to prevent me from knowing, those two secretly entered the school and want to achieve their goal before I find out... What's their purpose?"

There are too many possibilities, and even though he's thinking with all his might, he still can't get an accurate answer.

"Regardless, as long as you take your parents away now, wouldn't that be fine?" The girl's voice was like a basin of cold water poured onto his overheated head.

"Before you think about a lot of irrelevant things, let your body move first."

"...That's true. Thanks, dear."

After Shinichi finished speaking, he would return and tell everyone under the tree to bring his parents back promptly.

"You really should thank me." Hayasaka sighed softly, but there was a thin smile in her tone. "Just now, Fujiwara Chika seemed like she wanted to talk to your parents. To avoid more trouble, I used Kaguya-sama to lure her away."

Thinking about that scene, Shinichi sighed.

"...Someday, I'll treat you to dinner."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Hayasaka nodded and hung up the phone with satisfaction.