The old man had not intended to reveal this secret to the girl, or rather, not to reveal it to the girl so early.
On the one hand, she felt that the girl was still young and did not need to know such a secret. On the other hand, she still felt that the girl was still young and that children could not keep secrets and might get into trouble.
Now, seeing the girl who guessed the truth and knew how to verify it, she felt that there was no point in hiding it, as the girl's mind was already very mature.
"No need for identification." She repeated what she had just said, looking into Akino's eyes.
The look in the girl's eyes was very dull. The old woman interpreted this dullness as a fog and a confusion. She felt pity for the girl and hugged her tightly in her arms.
"Mom is your mom," she said.
The Ichinose family announced that Akino was the adopted daughter of Ichinose Shiori from a distant relative.
This is not what Akino wanted to know. She took her mother's hair just to verify her father from the side.
She asked, "Where's my uncle?"
"Uncle..." The old man didn't know whether to say, "Wait a little while, Akino will go ask uncle."
She threw the ball to Minami Yuki.
"How long is a while?" Akino continued to ask.
The old man recalled the time when the young lady went out and came home, and guessed, "About four or five hours later."
The old man and the girl stopped talking. The old man carried the girl to the bathtub and washed her body.
In the rising mist, they were all thinking of a man.
The old man stared at Akino's little face, and found the shadow of Minami Yuki in the background color of the girl's eyes and the glow of her skin.
She thought, no wonder the young lady chose Mr. Nan. If she were forty years younger, she would be happy to pay for him!
…
Mr. Minami and Ms. Ichinose are playing in the swimming pool.
After Akino left, Ichinose Shiori wanted to follow her daughter to take a shower, change clothes, and then go to the villa with Minami Yuki to take off her clothes.
Judging from the results, the process of changing clothes was a bit redundant, so Nan Youxi, who focused on efficiency, stopped her.
Ichinose Shiori turned her head, and the man's warm palm covered her exposed, slightly cool shoulder, and the strength from his ten fingers restrained her steps.
"This place is fine." Minami Yuki made a suggestion that surprised Ichinose Shiori.
She looked back at the blue pool water, hesitated slightly, then followed the force of Nan Youxi's hand and fell into the pool water with the man.
This was indeed a good idea, she thought, as it would allow her to continue her interrupted swimming training.
Outside the glass dome, the sky darkened, and in order not to disturb their joy, the sun consciously pulled the curtain of clouds.
The wind gradually picked up, covering up the sound of the water.
Old man Chiyo's inference was very accurate. Five hours later, after experiencing the swimming pool, bathtub and bedroom, Minami Yuki and Ichinose Shiori temporarily relieved the heat in their hearts. They hugged each other, one looking at the decorations on the wall and the other looking at the pattern on the ceiling.
They were not looking at each other, but they were looking at the space that filled each other's existence. Just like lovers embracing, they often close their eyes and use their sense of smell to experience the beauty of each other.
This is another form of fiery love, which is more relaxed, leisurely and elegant than the endless words that you want to say with the help of ventriloquism, or the endless kisses that you want to have three heads and six arms.
Ichinose Shiori was a little tired. She stretched out her white arms, lifted a corner of the camel-colored curtains, glanced at the sun in the west, and closed her eyes.
The world was blocked out of her sight, and only the firm chest of the man on her back remained in her perception.
Her consciousness gradually became dim and her perception was no longer clear. That feeling lingered around her and turned into a gentle hand, stroking her hair and coaxing her to sleep.
She didn't know how long it had been, but between being half asleep and half awake, an unnecessary stimulation disturbed her sleepy balance and collided with the warm feeling surrounding her.
She moved her feet instinctively, and then her slow consciousness realized from her actions that something was touching her feet.
After she dodged, the other party persisted and stroked her calf again.
She became a little more awake, but at the same time, she felt even sleepier. She reached out her hand and pushed the person on her lap.
The other party still did not retreat, but became more aggressive and climbed to her waist.
She frowned, but still couldn't open her eyes.
She pushed the person on her body again: "Let me sleep for a while, and come back when I wake up."
"What?" came the response from the other side, in a childish voice.
Ichinose Shiori suddenly woke up and made eye contact with Akino on her body.
"What's next after waking up?" Akino asked, she was a little curious.
"Come and play with Akino again." Minami Youxi picked up her daughter and placed her against her chest.
He glanced at Ichinose Shiori, his eyes full of smiles.
Ichinose Shiori pinched Minami Yuki hard with her hand under the quilt. The man knew his daughter had come in, but he didn't remind her. The daughter climbed on her, which must have been the man's instruction.
"Why did you come in? Didn't you go out to play with ponies?" She pinched her daughter's nose, thinking about how to get rid of the little light bulb.
"The pony has gone to accompany its parents." Akino supported Nan Youxi's chest, sat up, and looked down at her uncle's face. That face gave her a feeling of closeness.
"So I came to see Mom and Dad too," she continued.
Minami Yuxi was shocked. He looked at Ichinose Shiori and asked what was going on.
He had no intention of hiding his identity, but he was not prepared to take the initiative to explain it. Their relationship was dominated by Ichinose Shiori.
"Then you've found the wrong place. You should look in the garbage dump." Ichinose Shiori yawned, not caring about what her daughter said.
Minami Yuki watched her daughter's face puff up, she clenched her little fist and punched Ichinose Shiori's chest.
Nan Youxi hurriedly stopped her. He held the girl's fist in his palm and said, "You can't hit her here. This is uncle's treasure. Hit her somewhere else."
This time, it was Ichinose Shiori who hit Minami Yuki hard in the chest.
"Dad." Akino pointed at Nanyouxi, then at Ichinose Shiori: "Mom."
Ichinose Shiori sighed and took her daughter back from Minami Yuki's arms. She smiled and said, "What evidence do you have?"
The only one who knew Akino's life story was Chiyo, and it was impossible for Chiyo to reveal it to Akino, so it was only possible that Akino herself discovered the truth.
It sounds amazing that Akino, who is three and a half years old, can guess who her biological parents are, but it is not surprising. It just depends on whether the child has a clear concept of parents. She has never concealed her closeness to Yuuki, and it is not the first time that Akino has climbed onto her and Yuuki's bed.
If Akino had just made a guess based on intuition, Ichinose Shiori would not admit it.
"I got my mom and dad's hair." Akino lowered her head, "but grandma threw it away."
"What are you going to do with your hair?"
"Paternity Testing."
"As expected of my daughter." Ichinose Shiori's smile became even brighter. She admitted it.
Nan Youxi was listening at the side and was very surprised.
You know, he and Nao's daughter Miu didn't know her life story until the end of his life. Although this is related to Miu's lack of initiative to find out the truth, it also shows Akino's precocity.
The subsequent conversation between the mother and daughter surprised him even more.
Ichinose Shiori continued to ask: "What do you want to do in the bedroom?"
"Grandma asked me to ask you guys." Akino first gave the superficial reason, and then said her backup plan: "I'll get two more hairs."
"Not bad." Shiori Ichinose stroked her daughter's hair, feeling very pleased.
She then asked, "What if mom doesn't admit it?"
"Go find Aunt Yimei and ask her to help with the paternity test."
"Kazumi, did you lose your hair just like Grandma Chiyo?"
Akino was silent for a while, then said, "Then there's nothing we can do."
"Very good." Ichinose Shiori kissed her daughter's face, "It's just as Akino thought."
Minami Yuxi felt a headache after hearing this. He interrupted the conversation between mother and daughter and asked Ichinose Shiori:
"Is this how you usually take care of your daughter?"
Ichinose Shiori's questions are a test of Akino's ability to handle events. Especially the last question, Akino said that if both Chiyo and Ichimi refused to help her do a paternity test, she would give up the investigation.
The girl was well aware of the boundaries and knew that she could not extend the search beyond the Ichinose family.
Knowing this, even if she achieves nothing in the future, at least she won't bring trouble to her family.
Facing Minami Yuuki's reproachful question, Ichinose Shiori glanced at him and said, "Akino is very smart. Isn't this a good thing?"
"We should be more carefree." Nan Youxi expressed the ideas of ordinary people.
"Worry is never brought by intelligence. If you pursue foolish happiness, you will become a bug." Ichinose Shiori let Akino lie between herself and Minami Yuki.
She yawned again. After solving her daughter's problem, she felt sleepy again.
She asked Nan Youxi in return: "What were you doing when you were Akino's age?"
Nan Youxi fell into recollection. If it was her original self, when she was three and a half years old, she was catching tadpoles and playing with dogs. If it was her own self, when she was three and a half years old... she was curious about and studying why the sister next door wore one more piece of clothing than her.
Come to think of it, Akino was just more methodical and much healthier than he had been when he was a child.
"Can't say it?" Ichinose Shiori smiled smugly. She closed her eyes and spoke slowly and lazily, "I didn't teach her anything. She just likes to stay by my side when I'm doing something."
After saying this, she fell into a deep sleep.
Akino was not sleepy. She got up and sat on Nan Youxi's waist to look at Nan Youxi who had a new identity.
Nan Youxi felt nervous when she saw her daughter's emotionless face. When she thought about her identity being exposed, she felt a mixture of guilt and nervousness.
"Let mom sleep. Akino and I are going out to play." Nan Youxi held her daughter and sat up.
Akino shook her head, she didn't want to go out and play.
"So what does Akino want? Anything is fine." Nan Youxi made a promise.
"I want a sister, or a brother."
“… This is not something that can be solved by hard work. I will try my best.”
"Come on." The girl clenched her fists and encouraged Nan Youxi.
"By the way, what does Akino want from her sister?" Minami Yuxi looked at the girl tenderly. He thought his daughter might be a little lonely, and wondered whether he should bring Miu and the others over.
"She lied to her and said she was picked up from a garbage dump and that her mom and dad were not her real mom and dad."
"… "
Nan Youxi stared at her daughter for a long while before she was sure that this was not just sarcasm, but her daughter's true thoughts.
Do you like to pass on your troubles to others
It's like a little devil was born.
"And more." Akino said again.
"Anything else?" Nan Youxi was thinking about what other ideas of torturing people this little devil might have, but unexpectedly, the wish her daughter expressed this time was very ordinary.
"We need to take a family photo."
“… Shoot now, I’ll hold mom up.”
With the sound of a mobile phone clicking, a family photo taken on the bed came out.
In the photo, the father's smile is a little stiff, the daughter has a blank expression, and the mother has her eyes closed. Judging from the mother's posture, she is supported from behind.
Nan Youxi thought that this photo could be submitted to a supernatural magazine.
Akino liked it very much and sat in her father's arms, watching the phone non-stop.
After a while, she suddenly remembered something and jumped off the bed: "Dad, come on, give me a little sister."
She took Nan Youxi's cell phone and ran out of the bedroom.
Minami Yuxi looked at the closed door, then at Ichinose Shiori who was sleeping soundly beside him. He really wanted to explain to Akino that having a younger sister would not only require his efforts, but also require Ichinose Shiori to wake up and work hard.
Wait, maybe it’s okay for Shiori Ichinose not to wake up
Nan Youxi discovered a new world.
…
Akino lay at the door, listening to the noise inside for a while, then stood up in disappointment. The bedroom was too soundproof, and she couldn't hear anything.
She walked out of the inner bedroom. There was a room for rest and work outside the bedroom. She sat down on the sofa in the outer bedroom and looked through Nan Youxi's phone.
Dad probably thought that she took the phone so that she could continue watching the family photo. Dad was too naive, so Mom would not have given her the phone.
She opened TWI, INS and TIK in turn, looked through the records inside, and opened AMA to check the shopping cart and shopping bill to collect information.
Finally, she opened LINE, found the accounts of the five women, and sent them the family photo.
She didn't forget to blur the faces, and pasted watermelon, strawberry, and blueberry on her father, mother, and herself. The stickers only covered half of their faces, but people who knew them could still recognize them through the other half.
She thought that her father's vixens would be very angry when they saw the photo and would drive her father out of the house so that she could stay with her mother forever - and have a younger sister with her mother.
After her younger sister was born, she also threw the hair out of her younger sister's hand and told her to go and ask for it herself.
Soon, replies came from five people.
Four women sent messages and one woman sent a picture.
There were some Chinese characters in the message that she didn't recognize, but thanks to the read-aloud function, she successfully deciphered the message.
"Akino is cute!"
"So you, senior, like this kind of sleep-on-sleep play?"
"Is this what you do when I'm working overtime?"
"A few more!"
One of the pictures is a photo of a big-breasted older sister posting a selfie with a "V" sign, and there is a little deer next to her.
The message had already left Akino confused, and the selfie made the girl wonder if she had sent the wrong picture.
Why is it different from what others say? The girl was a little distressed.
She withdrew the photos and deleted the message records. She pretended nothing had happened and ran to the door to listen to the noise inside.
(End of this chapter)