Chapter 523: Really Bad Parents

The clouds in the stratosphere look a bit like early morning frost when viewed from close up. The cool breeze blows on your face, and condenses into a light mist when it touches your skin.

Large patches of dark clouds were pressing very close overhead. Looking down from the plane, Tokyo looked hazy like a mirage.

The KAC transport plane, with its lights off, circled quietly over the metropolis of Tokyo, as quietly as if it were traveling at night.

The old man stood in front of the open hatch, holding the guardrail of the emergency life-saving device with one hand. Looking down, the old man found that the scenery here was completely different from the scene in his memory. Seventy years ago, he was also at this height, looking down at them from a high position. At that time, Tokyo was only gray and black. The broken walls were piled up by them to make their own huts. The survivors of the war were crowded in such a small shed in groups of three or five. Some of them were relatives, some were family members, but most of them were strangers, both men and women... It is said that in order to save the population crisis, Neon later issued a series of orders that made the vice president uneasy.

Now, seventy years have passed. Looking from a distance, the buildings blending into the background of the sky do not stand out at all. Office workers and students in a hurry swarm out from various building groups, gathering into groups and gradually connecting into a thick black line. The black dots move very fast, but their movements are regular and orderly, like densely packed black dots like ants running on an invisible iron track, and it is rare to see the black dots deviate from the track.

Directly below is an area where pink, white and light green are interspersed. It looks like a crudely made handkerchief. But if you look closely, you will find a blue ribbon flowing through the handkerchief, and the handkerchief suddenly becomes graceful.

The pink and white dots look like small flowers embroidered on the green, and in the center is a cone-top building, as if guarding everything.

"Please buy me a ticket to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Norma."

The old man looked down, his long silver hair dancing wildly in the wind, his plaid jacket making loud noises, his free hand supporting the tortoise-shell glasses on the bridge of his nose, smiling faintly.

Opening the hatch in the stratosphere will allow a large amount of strong wind to rush in. The sound of the wind will almost frantically blow the eardrums, which is tantamount to using a high-power hair dryer to output the sound to the ears.

The old man's voice was as light as if he was drinking afternoon tea, and his leisurely and elegant appearance made people feel that he was like an old violin made by a famous craftsman, which was inexplicably touching.

"Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden tickets alone cannot change your illegal trespassing. I don't recommend that you do that."

A smart and gentle female voice came from the plane's broadcasting system, speaking softly and with a bit of the nagging of an old woman.

"Don't worry, 2500 meters above sea level doesn't belong to Neon."

"Okay. May I ask why you chose this method of landing?"

"A week ago some asshole stepped on my desk like this, and I suddenly understood him a little better."

"You also want to attract young girls this way?"

Judging from the woman's answer without hesitation, she seemed to know that too.

"Oh no, I just can't wait."

"why?"

"You don't understand me girl. For someone like me, there aren't many chances left to see old friends again."

"I see. Good luck to you then."

"Oh, by the way, remember to take a photo for me and send it to A-ha."

"clear."

The old man withdrew his hand from the guardrail, and the next moment he was sucked out by the air pressure difference in the strong wind.

……

Zhuo walked into the house, sat on the sofa, took out his mobile phone and clicked on the message.

"I'm here, where are you guys?"

After a moment, Sa Chiko replied:
"Hey, Zhuo, why did you come a day early?"

The next message followed.

"Mom and Dad are at the Bund. I thought you wouldn't be home until tomorrow. If we go back now, it will be around eleven o'clock." Sachiko replied.

Zhuo remained silent and locked the screen silently.

It's really bad.

So...how should we deal with the next thing?

Zhuo unlocked the screen again and tried to send a message to his father Shuichi. In order to prevent Sa Chiko from interfering, Zhuo thought he should be more tactful.

"Where have you been?"

Then soon, the second inquiry received a response.

"Zhuo, can you please stop sending us messages? Mom and dad also need some space." The sender of the message was shown to be the father Shuichi, but the tone was clearly that of Sachinko.

Maybe it was guessed, or maybe these two are just hanging out with each other right now - Zhuo thought silently in his heart.

What to say.

When I get home on weekdays, my parents always walk back and forth in front of me, making me feel uncomfortable.

Now that she is sure that there is no need to worry about her son, she has become so carefree and willful that she believes that he will buy Forget-me-not milk soon. Her behavior pattern is developing like an ordinary romance novel - except that it is twenty-two years late.

But she is no longer the old maid who drags Zhuo around all day long.

I feel a little lost.

But apart from this, Zhuo was happy for his parents from the bottom of his heart.

After all, they were finally able to free themselves from the vortex of taking care of children.

She shook her head, getting rid of the inexplicable thoughts from her mind, and noticed from the corner of her eye that on the tatami at the edge of the sofa, the pink and white princess dress had shrunk like a deflated hydrogen balloon and turned into a soft ball.

Zhuo continued to stare at the phone screen without looking away.

"Eri, don't take off your clothes casually."

The shriveled hem of the lace skirt was grabbed by a pair of white arms like lotus roots, and then lifted up and held in the arms.

"follow me."

"Eri's room is on the third floor, Rei, you know where that is."

"Ah."

Zhuo didn't look at Ling who was leading Uesugi Eri upstairs, and then promptly explained the arrangements of the room.

I guess I got home safely.

Thinking back to what happened today, Zhuo was confused. Rather, he couldn't remember whether the Caesar trio had landed in Izu. He could only vaguely remember that it was at the seaside and that they had sneaked in.

The scene of being chased by the police was not unexpected. After all, it was a very impressive thing... just like the girl bowing before jumping off the Tokyo Tower... Having said that, the result of the text description is really different from the scene witnessed with one's own eyes.

Although it's unfair to Zero to say this. That should be the most charming scene of a woman that Zhuo has ever seen in his life. Although he hasn't seen Zero deliberately flaunting himself... Because Zero was sitting in the car in Tokyo Park, and the environment was dim at the time, plus he couldn't judge the standard of shooting, although he thought it was very cool.

But, Kumai~ (I’m sorry~) At this time, Ling, who had just finished touring the room with Uesugi Eri, came over and looked at Zhuo, who had a look of regret for some reason, and asked with a puzzled look:

"What are you thinking about?"

"Well, I was thinking that if you were to wield swords and guns, you would be even more handsome."

Perhaps he immediately figured out what Zhuo was referring to, and after sitting down, he paused for a moment before moving closer to him.

"……probably not."

"Why do you deny it so straightforwardly?"

I thought Ling would coldly ask about the matter, but she ignored it, or didn't mention the word "more" that Zhuo deliberately left out. It's impossible to say that she didn't hear the truth, but just subtly denied Zhuo's compliment. Zhuo couldn't hide his surprise.

"Is it because I feel I don't have the advantage over Yabuki Sakura in terms of body shape?"

"Please don't suddenly sound suspicious at a time like this. Don't worry about weird things~"

"I am just stating the objective facts of my body shape."

"Oh, ok, sorry."

Unexpectedly, Ling calmly lectured him and Zhuo apologized subconsciously.

It should be said that Zhuo's unnecessary actions gave the impression that he had something to hide. Although this is biased, it is not wrong to say so. So Zhuo apologized frankly.

"...By the way, you should take care of Eri while she takes a bath. It would be bad if she runs around without clothes again."

"Is it okay if I don't go to see it?"

"I won't watch."

If she did that, Ling would definitely feel emotions that were difficult to express, so Zhuo wouldn't look at it, otherwise she might not want to talk to herself for a while.

Zhuo gave Ling a look that implied "I won't look at everyone", but she didn't think so and whispered, "It seems like I really want to see it."

By the way, Zero was trying hard to glance at the corner of the table in the opposite direction, so that should be Zero's attempt to cover up the delusion that came from his own wild thoughts.

Ling's face was about to reveal the embarrassment caused by Zhuo's forced pursuit and looking at her. He avoided Zhuo's sight and whispered, "When I came back three years ago, I saw her hair under the pillow."

If I complain now, "You're only bringing up something that happened three years ago now!?!?", Zero would probably hit me with an iron fist that reached the limit of his patience, so Zhuo simply pretended not to hear it. Zero's thoughts should come from his concern for himself, and Zhuo believed that it was not due to suspicion like contradiction.

"Oh, you guys seem to be having a great time chatting—"

Just when Zhuo was thinking about how to coax Ling who was about to escape, Sa Chiko's voice suddenly came from the direction of the entrance.

Turning around, it seemed that Sachiko and Shuichi had just gone out to buy some items they liked, and they had no intention of leaving them alone at home to do anything naughty. While putting the things into the storage box next to the shoe cabinet, they walked over with a leisurely smile.

It's really bad.

The reason why he replied to Zhuo like that was probably to see this scene - Zhuo now couldn't understand Sa Chiko's desire to see such a loving scene between her son and daughter-in-law, but he could probably think of Sa Chiko's love for Zero himself and her interest in teasing him, so he could roughly guess the result.

Zero, who didn't expect to be seen by Sachinko who suddenly returned, blinked, then stood up straight and greeted her politely.

From her excellent posture, there was no sense of shame and anger that she was about to jump up and beat Zhuo on the head after her delusion and the secret hidden in her heart were seen through. Since her attitude was completely different from that of two different people, it was no wonder that Zhuo froze in place.

"It's been a long time since I last greeted you, Sa Chiko, Shuichi's father."

"You're too polite. Just call me dad. Sa Chiko also wants to hear you call her mom."

Shuichi smiled and replied, and after conveying Sa Chiko's thoughts, Ling bowed his head again. That well-behaved look made Zhuo want to laugh again.

"What were you talking about just now?"

"… talking about what we just saw."

As Shuichi asked him, Zhuo looked away and gave a gentle answer.

Even if it is a common joke between couples or lovers, it would be awkward to tell it to parents, so there is no way to say it directly.

Such a scene made Sa Chiko blink her eyes, and seemed to arouse even greater interest.

"Hey, what are your hobbies?"

"Well... observing humans? Zero is usually quite attentive and pays attention to other people's physical conditions."

It is not wrong to say that I am observing humans (watching girls); paying attention to other people's physical condition also refers to the figures of Yabuki Sakura or Uesugi Eri, which is not a lie. Although it is not accurate.

"So Ling-chan, what do you think of our Zhuo? Is he healthy?"

"Well... I think it's pretty good. I knew Zhuo started to focus on physical exercise very early on, so now it's paying off..."

Zhuo felt that they were definitely talking about something weird. Are you sure they were talking about health? Really? I don't believe it - but he didn't want to complain in front of his parents. If he brought up more topics, it would be too much for them.

Zero also understood this, so he simply said a few words and then remained silent.

Judging from Sa Chiko's smiling face, she had indeed thought of something strange. She lifted her father's sleeves to show off and repeatedly stroked her father Shuichi's strong and healthy arm with her palm.

I don’t know who he is showing off to.

This mom is so bad.

While Zhuo looked at Sa Chiko with disdain, Ling remained silent and chose to be a bystander like his father.

She just took advantage of the time when Zhuo and Sa Chiko were distracted by looking at each other and secretly touched Zhuo's belly. It seemed that she was still influenced by Sa Chiko.

Zhuo pulled her hand away and scolded her, "Do this when you're just two people." Ling then realized what he had done in front of his parents and froze for a moment.

"I think you guys still look the same as you did in high school. You seem very happy and work very hard. This makes us feel relieved."

"Oh, how bold! They must be even better at home, right?"

"Well, you can see that even I, who was watching from the sidelines, would be stunned."

"Hey, stop talking nonsense—"

"Hate it, I'm not kidding, this is all true. Right, Rei-chan?"

Shuichi was probably agreeing with Sachinko's fun of playing tricks on the two of them. He smiled a different smile than usual and praised Zhuo and Ling highly, while Zhuo wanted to pull Ling away from here.

Just imagining the scene of him and Ling being affectionate with each other in his parents' minds made Zhuo want to leave this place immediately.

(End of this chapter)