A pair of black women's shoes was placed on the ground, and next to it was Mai Sada's outdoor shoes.
Mizuno guessed that Mai Sada's class teacher had come to visit.
His trip out to buy vegetables was not in vain. There were affordable food supermarkets in the Civilian Area, and the prices of vegetables were not as exaggerated as many people imagined. Of course, some fruits that the Island nation could not produce themselves or were restricted from importing were still very expensive.
Should he look at Sada like a parent looking at a child, or should he act like an older brother?
There was no role that the Island nation's Best Actor could not handle.
Mizuno felt a little inflated.
"Hello."
He turned around the corridor and walked into the living room. The living room was simple, with only a coffee table. Since the mobile phone had replaced the function of the TV, the TV cabinet was empty except for a few flowers and plants in glass vases.
A bespectacled woman in her thirties was sitting next to the coffee table. She turned to look at Mizuno and greeted him softly.
"Sorry to disturb you. I'm Mai Sada's teacher, Morino Ki."
Behind him was Mai Sada. The little girl sat upright beside her teacher and looked straight ahead.
However, the pair of big eyes that looked at Mizuno were full of resentment. The resentment gave Mizuno goosebumps. Mai Sada's eyes were magical, and they could play out all kinds of emotions.
Among them, the disdain was the most vivid. Looking at Mai Sada's disdainful gaze, even a roadside stone would turn into a stone in a latrine pit in anger.
Fortunately, Mizuno had been receiving less and less disdainful gazes recently.
"Hello, I'm Mizuno."
Mizuno smiled and nodded.
It was the standard professional smile of a chef talking to a customer, full of "smoke and fire."
Morino Ki introduced himself. Although he had introduced himself once over the phone, he had to introduce himself again in person. This was etiquette.
The two of them first exchanged names. This step was very peaceful.
While Mizuno was sizing her up, Sen Ye was also sizing up Mizuno.
Contrary to what he had imagined, the man in front of him seemed to be only a few years older than Sada, and he didn't even have stubble.
In Sen Ye's imagination, even if the person who lived with Mai Sada was not a perverted middle-aged man, he would at least be an office worker. However, the boy in front of him did not look like an office worker at all. Instead, he looked like a middle school student.
No.
Not only did the danger not decrease, it increased instead.
Morino Ki narrowed his eyes and put his hand in his pocket.
Another possibility was that this boy might be from a rich family. His family had a property, and his parents usually gave him a lot of pocket money.
Otherwise, how could he have so much money to rent a house and buy calligraphy and paintings? He relied on his pretty face and money to trap Mai Sada.
Such a man was a cancer, a cancer to women. If he could use this trick to deceive a girl today, he could use the same trick to deceive another girl tomorrow.
And the saddest thing was that even after a breakup, women would unknowingly use this kind of standard to demand their next partner. Look at the guy I dated before. He was handsome and came from a rich family. In the end, I broke up with him and chose you. You must meet his standards. If you don't meet the same requirements, then wouldn't I be mistreating myself?
Morino Ki had seen many girls like this. She was even embarrassed to say that she had also done such stupid things.
Little did she know that the person she chose to spend the rest of her life with was the best decision she had made after considering everything. He was the best choice she could make right now, and the one she could grasp the most. However, some girls would always intentionally ignore this point and only remember the empty promises made by the boys they dated in the past. These were indeed his assets, but they were like a mirage that you could only see.
But the reason why that seemingly beautiful and prosperous relationship didn't continue was because the man had considered all aspects and decided that he couldn't be a marriage partner. But that didn't stop some people from inflating their self-worth after experiencing a dream. Look, I even dated someone like that. My future partner must be like that too.
There were only a few Cinderellas in the world.
The pleasantries were over.
Morino Ki took a sip of the slightly cold water and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
Saving Mai Sada was urgent. It was time to cut in!
"Mr. Mizuno."
"As far as I know, Mai Sada doesn't have an older brother."
Morino Ki went straight to the point and didn't spare Seiji any face.
Cutting a Gordian knot could solve many problems.
Her words stabbed right into Mizuno's throat. Mizuno even thought that this teacher would be an easy person to talk to.
"In that case, Mr. Mizuno, I think you need to explain your relationship with Mai Sada."
Mizuno's professional smile froze on his face. What happened to the gentle and elegant teacher? Why did it sound like she was going to start a war with him?
"I knew it."
Mai Sada covered her face with her hands. Just as she thought, something must have happened when the class teacher came to visit.
"I'm her …"
"And Mizuno doesn't seem to be Sada's mother's surname."
Morino Ki's body erupted with an overbearing aura.
"Uh, I'm Sada's neighbor, the big brother next door." Mizuno gestured with his hand.
"So neighbors live in the same house?"
Morino Ki's cold gaze swept across the individual rooms in the apartment. If people living in different rooms in the same apartment could be considered neighbors, then the tens of millions of families in the Island Nation would have to be reorganized.
"It's complicated, very complicated … Isn't it, Sada?"
Mizuno smiled and kicked the ball to Mai Sada.
Why don't you explain it? I'm a man and I'm explaining it. It feels like I'm a thief with a guilty conscience.
Mai Sada glared at Mizuno angrily and quickly organized her words. "I used to be neighbors with Mizuno, but something happened … I couldn't pay the rent because I was in junior high, so …
"Mizuno saw that I was in a difficult situation, so he brought me over to live with him since I was working part-time …"
Thinking of this, a warm feeling flowed through Sada Masanori's heart, but she quickly adjusted her state after a muffled groan.
She had never called Mizuno brother in real life, but she had lost count of the number of times she had mentioned it in front of outsiders.
"Teacher, you might not know much about my family situation. My mother was a member of the Takeshita …"
The Island Nation's Board of Education was very protective of its students. The information sent to the school only mentioned that Sada's mother was hospitalized due to her health condition, and his father was missing. More details, such as school bullying, were omitted.
Morino Ki's body tensed up when she heard the Takeshita's name.
Even in the current era where supernatural occurrences were frequent, the revelation of the Kaisakatsukai incident was considered an extremely serious matter in Japan. After sorting out the timeline, the Japanese believed that this was the beginning of the descent of supernatural beings. As for whether or not it was even earlier, only the government would know.
Sada had never exposed this scar in front of others. Everyone had a psychological shadow that they wanted to escape. For her, her original family was a rope that was stuck around her neck, suppressing her to the point that she couldn't breathe and couldn't breathe. Her mother becoming a madman was the most painful ravine in this scar.
She had to talk about it today.