"Whimper... I'm so scared, I’m sorry..." Mrs. Akiyama trembled and pleaded for mercy, looking like a little girl who had been scolded for making a mistake.

  "Your mom is..."

  Shuichi Chiba couldn’t find the words. Even though she was a mother of two, she was reag like this.

  Tsuki Akiyama was also at a loss, feeling a headache ing on as she said, "There’s nothing I do. My mom is terrified of Granny Mutsuki."

  Upon hearing their versation, Granny Mutsuki snapped, "If she did things right, I wouldn’t have to be such a nagging old woman."

  "Ah, Granny Mutsuki~ I missed you~"

  At the critical moment, An Akiyama, Tsuki Akiyama's younger sister, came downstairs and immediately rushed toward the sixty-something-year-old woman, startling Tsuki Akiyama, who quickly rushed to stop her.

  "Are y to kill her? If you pounce like that, Granny Mutsuki ha?" Tsuki Akiyama scolded as she grabbed her younger sister's cheek, pulling it and making her cry out in pain.

  "It's fi's fine. An- is still so cute. It's been a while since you've had Granny's ramen, right? How about you try the ramen I made for breakfast today?" Granny Mutsuki smiled kindly and asked.

  "Huh? But I want to eat mom's ramen." An Akiyama said, blinking her clear, i eyes.

  "..." Granny Mutsuki's smile faltered. She shot a rather unkind g Akiyama Tamako. "How could your mom's rameter than mine?"

  "But mom's ramen has beeer than Granny's tely.” An Akiyama said bluntly, without a hint of malice, delivering a heavy blow to Granny Mutsuki.

  "Don't be mad, Granny Mutsuki, she doesn't know what she's saying, you know how she is..." Tsuki Akiyama quickly covered her sister's mouth.

  "Although the css president doesn't speak, she doesn't lie either," Shuichi Chiba shamelessly chimed in from the side, "Granny Mutsuki, you might want to try Mrs. Akiyama's cooking. Mrs. Akiyama’s cooking skills have really improved retly."

  Though, aside from him, everyone else would only experience about fifty pert of the improvement, but even that would be top-notch.

  Granny Mutsuki g him, then looked thoughtfully at Tsuki Akiyama, tapping the table. "Stop hiding, make a bowl of rame me see what level you're at now."

  Seeing that she wasn’t being scolded any further, Mrs. Akiyama finally dared to show herself, even sp a small sense of pride. "I'm really good now, Granny will definitely be surprised!"

  "Let’s hope so," Granny Mutsuki sighed, not optimistic about this silly girl—at her age, she saw all three of them as mere children.

  Mrs. Akiyama rolled up her sleeves and got serious, preparing to show off her skills. Meanwhile, Granny Mutsuki, curious, pulled Tsuki Akiyama aside and whispered, "Is this boy someone from you or An-’s..."

  "her," Tsuki Akiyama quickly shook her head.

  "What’s there to be shy about with Granny?" Granny Mutsuki smiled kindly at Shuichi Chiba. "No matter who he is, if he’s been reized by Tsuki-, he must be a good kid."

  Tsuki Akiyama suddenly felt a pang of guilt. With all the messy things she and Shuichi Chiba had been through, if she told Granny Mutsuki, the old woman would probably faint right there on the spot.

  Shuichi Chiba didn’t know what this obsessed css president was w about. At this moment, he was being introduced to Granny Mutsuki and then started chatting with her.

  "You seem to have lost some weight. Boys o eat more. You and Tsuki- are in the same grade, right? Do you live arouoo?"

  Granny Mutsuki wasn’t the gossiping type. She was mainly ed about Mrs. Akiyama awo daughters, w if this boy lived nearby so she could ask him to take care of them.

  "Yes, we’re in the same grade. I live door." Shuichi Chiba replied politely.

  "I see..." Granny Mutsuki felt relieved. "Then, please take good care of Tamako and the others. There are only women in the household, and life is really tough for them."

  "Not at all. Actually, it’s Mrs. Akiyama who’s been looking out for me."

  When the familiar word "looking out for" was mentioned, Shuichi Chiba’s hand instinctively reached toward Tsuki Akiyama’s skirt, causio stiffen immediately.

  Usually, it was fio make small moves in front of her mom and sister, but this time, it was in front of Granny Mutsuki!

  Tsuki Akiyama mentally screamed, afraid of exposing herself.

  Fortunately, Shuichi Chiba quickly realized that the situation was inappropriate and withdrew his hand.

  "Chiba-kun has been really good to us. He charges a really low rent. He’s a great person. It’s just that my sister always has issues with him." An Akiyama ily interjected.

  Upon hearing this, Granny Mutsuki chuckled and, with experience, said, "Girls who are iionships be a bit picky with their boyfriends, but it’s just a way of ag cute."

  In her era, this advice made perfect sense.

  "Retionship?" An Akiyama looked at her sister suspiciously. "Sis, are you hiding something from me? You bad-mouthed Chiba-kun to me, the off and started dating him?"

  "???" Granny Mutsuki froze. Did... both of these girls have feelings for the same boy?

  Although Tsuki- wasn’t the type of girl with bad iions, if it were about love, she might actually do something like this.

  Shuichi Chiba wasn't particurly surprised. After all, it was normal for the css president to say silly things.

  Tsuki Akiyama was almost half furious. Did this silly sister really think Shuichi Chiba was a good person? Someone who got along so well with someone like her, a pervert, how could he be a good person?

  "When have I ever lied to you? We’re not dating, stop thinking about useless things. Use that tiny brain of yours for studying instead." She said tiredly.

  "You lied to me the night before st! You drank white peach soda and then lied and said you didn’t," An Akiyama gave her a look that said "Don’t treat me like an idiot."

  "..." Tsuki Akiyama was pletely speechless and didn’t want to deal with this silly sister anymore.

  White peach soda…

  Remembering that day, with the damp legs that smelled of white peach cocktail, Shuichi Chiba couldn’t help but salivate.

  An Akiyama had a short memory and quickly got distracted by the aroma of food that Mrs. Akiyama reparing, her little witg, much like a little puppy.

  Granny Mutsuki also turned her gaze toward the a of Mrs. An Akiyamad immediately frowned.

  The small habits she had repeatedly corrected in the past had still not been fixed. Where was the progress?

  In her eyes, some of Mrs. Akiyama's methods were dht "eye-watering." How could anything made this ossibly taste good? If it mao surpass her own cooking, it would be a miracle!

  Granny Mutsuki was getting frustrated watg, but she gritted her teeth and held her temper. After all, the three children still o eat breakfast and go to school. She could scold her ter when they were gone.

  However, when the ramen was finished, pced in a bowl, a in front of her, Granny Mutsuki suddenly felt something was off.

  Why did it seem that the aroma had bee even more inteer it was served in the bowl?

  She suspected it was because she was getting older, with parts of her body "rusting" and causing a misperception. She suppressed the doubt in her mind and decided to taste it first before jumping to clusions.

  She took a sip of the broth with a spoon, closed her eyes, and savored it for a while. The more she tasted, the more tightly Granny Mutsuki furrowed her brows.

  She then picked up her chopsticks again and took a small bite of the noodles. Her brows immediately furrowed.

  , she tasted the char siu and other toppings. After sampling everything, Granny Mutsuki put down her chopsticks and fell into silence.

  This series of aade Mrs. Akiyama uneasy, clutg the pot lid and brag herself for a scolding at any moment.

  "This doesn't make sense..."

  Shuichi Chiba, with his keen hearing, caught the barely audible muttering of Granny Mutsuki.