Chapter 121: Another Future Mother-in-Law, Settled
Mai was unexpectedly a girl who loved to act spoiled, a realization Ren had gained through personal experience.
Even when barely able to endure discomfort, she would still say "hold me"; when exhausted to the point of collapse, she would still say "kiss me." Her gaze when looking at him was filled with dependence and attachment, and the strength with which she held him while sleeping felt more like she was trying to strangle him.
Yet after waking up, she would regain her energy and return to her usual confident and proud self as Mai, only offering a gentle smile when her eyes met Ren's.
After unloading her burdens and indulging in acting spoiled all night, she was no longer troubled by the things that had been bothering her before.
"Good morning, my darling, my senpai, my lover."
Without the typical shyness of a blushing, speechless maiden, Mai lay on her side with one hand propping up her cheek while the other twirled her golden locks, gently tickling Ren's face.
"Good morning, Mai. Do you still need to throw yourself into my arms and act spoiled?"
Ren smiled faintly, changing how he addressed Mai.
"No, now it should be your turn to act spoiled with me, senpai. You worked hard last night—I'm very satisfied~"
Mai lay back down, pulling Ren over and burying his face in her chest. Even without regular skincare, Ren still occasionally used facial cleanser.
Knock knock knock
Just as they were being affectionate in bed, knocking came from outside the door.
"What a pity. Mother probably already knows about us. Are you scared, senpai?"
Despite her boldness, Mai's cheeks still carried a faint blush after helping Ren with his facial skincare. Her expression showed a mix of shyness, displeasure at being interrupted, and a hint of guilt—but no fear.
Yesterday, she had not only skipped school but also brought Ren—who was relatively unfamiliar to the housekeeper Hanatori—home. They had tested whether her bed was comfortable and whether she was... responsive.
Mai estimated her mother was likely already on her way back to the country.
"If I were scared, I wouldn't have come home with you last night. I think the one who's afraid right now is your mother, though she's probably more angry than afraid. But I've already thought of how to persuade her."
Ren had ample experience meeting parents. Different parents required different approaches, and though he hadn't met Mai's mother yet, he already had several strategies in mind.
"Me too. Some things really need to be said out loud."
Seeing that Ren wasn't afraid, Mai—who had originally felt somewhat guilty—became less concerned under his influence.
She recalled an incident from her childhood when she skipped all her scheduled activities to play with other children. Even after everyone else had gone home except Satsuki, she still didn't return home. Eventually, they played too late and she ended up visiting Satsuki's house, waiting for her mother to pick her up.
She had expected severe scolding, but Satsuki spoke up for her, and she ultimately wasn't reprimanded by her mother.
Back then, she was too frightened to understand why she hadn't been punished, but now she realized the reason.
Perhaps her mother was strict with her, meticulously planning her future, scheduling numerous activities, and maintaining high expectations—but ultimately, her mother truly loved her.
When she felt dissatisfied or even impatient with her current life, if she didn't suppress those feelings or punish herself for perceived failures, but instead communicated seriously with her mother, her life might become much easier.
This was the realization she came to after shedding her burdens through acting cute with Ren—the person one acts cute with could be a lover, or it could be her mother.
However, the person knocking at the door wasn't Mai's mother, but her housekeeper Hanatori. Similar to Ram and Rem, she served as both housekeeper and maid, and shared a close bond with Mai.
Therefore, she too had been among those shocked last night—how could their proper young mistress be won over by some guy in just one night!? Though Ren's hair was black rather than blond.
But in Hanatori's eyes, Ren was no different from any other delinquent.
Yet she was powerless to stop it, being merely a housekeeper who couldn't defy Mai's wishes. With the young mistress wanting to be willful and the matriarch absent, what could she do except worry helplessly and notify Mai's mother, Oozuka Renée, that their home had been "breached"?
Initially, Renée was puzzled by this description, knowing her daughter well enough to doubt she'd be so easily swayed. But she never anticipated that what Mai lacked most was precisely affection and the freedom to be willful.
These were things she hadn't realized herself. So after Ren accompanied her through releasing her pent-up stress, her fondness for Ren skyrocketed just like with Renako, and had become firmly locked in place.
Thus, upon seeing Hanatori's anxious expression and realizing this was no joke, she canceled her work in France without hesitation, taking the first flight back. Calculating the time, she would be arriving soon.
Hanatori informed both Mai and Ren about this, having already arranged leave for them—Renée wanted to see them.
Neither Ren nor Mai were afraid. Mai even planned to proactively meet her at the airport, but Ren stopped her, saying she wasn't in condition to go out, even just to the airport.
Mai seemed to lose all assertiveness at this, meekly agreeing with Ren before lying on the sofa with her head in Ren's lap, taking every opportunity to act cute with Ren, making Hanatori's eyebrow twitch.
Yet she still refrained from sarcastic remarks toward Ren. Her proper upbringing made her temporarily respect Mai's choice. Besides, Ren's appearance was quite pleasing to women's eyes—his good looks alone could neutralize most of her hostility.
Soon after, Hanatori went out to pick up Renée by car, returning with her shortly thereafter.
As a famous designer and CEO of a renowned brand—specifically the Shibuya Queen Rose business group's CEO—Renée was naturally no simple character.
Despite her long journey, she showed no signs of fatigue. Her expression remained placid, her attire unconventional, her demeanor cool yet elegant, her emotions unreadable. Though already aware her daughter had brought a boy home overnight, her face revealed nothing about how she felt regarding the matter, making her utterly inscrutable.
"Don't you have anything to explain to me?"
Otsuka Renée sat across from Ren and Mai with an expression of detached composure. After observing for a while how the two appeared even more unflappable than herself, she finally spoke in a cool tone:
"Hmm~ Was the journey tiring?"
With Ren present, Mai suddenly realized the stern mother she had always perceived wasn't so intimidating after all. She even found herself distractedly playing with Ren's fingers, squeezing them back with the same pressure he had used to pinch her last night.
"Hello, auntie. I'm Watanabe Ren, and as you can see, I'm currently Mai's partner. I've indulged her whims once and helped relieve some of her stress. It's unfortunate we're meeting under these circumstances, but sometimes these things are beyond our control, aren't they?"
Renée turned her indifferent gaze toward Ren, who met it without any trace of timidity as he introduced himself with a smile.
"Watanabe Ren... That name sounds somewhat familiar."
Renée didn't seem particularly intent on confrontation or breaking up the young couple. Ren detected little anger in her demeanor, sensing instead rational analysis and deliberate scrutiny.
Catching her implication, Ren responded: "I'm somewhat of a singer. I suppose you might have heard my songs, or seen my name enough times online to remember it."
Of course, this was merely a polite explanation. There actually was some connection between Ren and Renée—companies under Renée's umbrella had previously approached him for endorsement deals. However, being financially secure, he had declined such public-facing work. He hadn't known then that it was Mai's mother, only recalling the connection after getting to know Mai.
"Hanatori."
Upon hearing this, Renée showed a flicker of recognition before instructing Hanatori to pull up Ren's profile for verification. After reviewing the information briefly and confirming its authenticity, her expression remained unchanged, though her attitude toward Ren softened slightly.
"My initial intention in returning was to separate you two. I had feared my lax parenting had led Mai to develop improper conduct in her private life. Now it appears this is merely youthful restlessness between adolescents."
"As long as you can contribute to Mai's future development, I won't oppose your relationship."
"Mother!"
Renée expressed her position using starkly pragmatic terms and straightforward cost-benefit analysis, as if putting a price tag on Ren and Mai's relationship. This greatly displeased Mai, whose understanding of love remained rooted in the belief that sincere affection could overcome any obstacle.
According to Renée's logic, would she have tried to separate them if Ren held no value for Mai's future?
She and Ren would never let such materialistic concerns affect their bond.
"It's alright, calm down." Ren grasped Mai's hand to soothe her.
Others might have felt their love was being tainted, just as Mai did, but Ren didn't share that sentiment. His approach to relationships actually aligned somewhat with Renée's practical perspective.
For instance, regarding future development, he didn't need Hitori and the others to assist his career, but he could instead support them by providing a suitable platform for their dreams or futures, helping smooth their path ahead.
Take Hitori's "Kessoku Band" as an example. Even after Nijika and the others graduate from high school, with his support, the band would never disband. They wouldn't need to attend university or find conventional jobs—they could sustain themselves just by playing music.
This was the security and assistance he, as a partner, could offer Hitori, even if she remained unaware of his behind-the-scenes help. Those naive girls genuinely believed they were that capable.
While their actual skills had improved, relying solely on the band to make a living was still quite challenging. Only Hitori possessed the solid talent to scrape by online. The others—Ryo came from a well-off family, Nijika had an older sister running a shop, and Kita Ikuyo was relatively ordinary.
If Ren hadn't secretly spent money to boost their views and promote their videos, allowing this girl band to gain modest online popularity and attract loyal fans to monetize the traffic, the likelihood of them continuing the band after high school, while facing life choices, would have diminished significantly.
Even if they took jobs and used their salaries to fund the band, it would inevitably affect their personal conditions, indirectly leading to poorer band performance.
Thus, Ren could understand Renée's perspective. Adults naturally tend to consider benefits—it's normal. And he happened to be in a position to contribute to Mai's modeling career, provided she still had passion for it.
So Ren shared his thoughts with Renée. He respected Mai's wishes; if she still wanted to pursue modeling, he wouldn't refuse to step in as a spokesperson or help in the future when needed.
Renée was quite surprised, as Ren's mindset was far more mature than his peers. Normally, a young man his age, hearing her discuss his relationship with Mai in such a pragmatic tone, would have likely erupted in helpless fury.
But Ren didn't. Instead, he clearly communicated his stance and expressed willingness to support Mai's future career. This further shifted Renée's opinion of him. The reality had this advantage: if Ren could offer value beyond her expectations, she easily developed a favorable impression of him.
In just half a day, she transitioned from initial anger upon hearing the news to indifference, then to appreciation. Ren's words had already led her to acknowledge him as a son-in-law.
However, Mai wasn't as pleased. In her view, this was Ren compromising with Renée because of her. She knew well how low-key Ren was online—aside from releasing songs, occasionally reposting the girl band's updates, or when Anon logged in to post daily snippets (finding his account practically self-sustaining without active management), he posted nothing else.
But now, because she would most likely have to help promote her mother's products or appear in public as a model, the mere thought of it caused Renée's rebellious spirit to swell to unprecedented levels.
"I disagree! Besides, the modeling work has always been arranged for me by Mom. While I don't hate it that much, I don't particularly like it either. I've only persisted this long because I didn't want to disappoint her. If my involvement or this matter ends up affecting Ren's way of life, I'd rather abandon this job."
Mai voiced strong opposition, stating her thoughts with an expression and tone that brooked no argument.
She wouldn't have dared to do this before, but now she knew that Ren was her safe harbor—someone she could rely on. They could be willful together and cause trouble together. Ren was willing to change for her, and she was equally willing to change for Ren.
She had long grown tired of her mother's arrangements and the modeling work!
"?"
Renée looked at her daughter with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why she was suddenly causing a scene when she and her future son-in-law had been discussing things so well.
Was she asking Ren to work for free? Not at all—she merely intended to leverage Ren's fame to support Mai and pave the way for her career, then build them up as a golden couple who could help each other succeed.
She was going to pay for it, and given Ren's stature, the negotiations would likely involve sums in the hundreds of millions.
But now Mai was suddenly rebelling? How could that work?
Thus, the mother and daughter, whose thoughts were completely misaligned, began to argue. Even Ren found it inappropriate to intervene, so he took Mai away to let her cool off first—but not before taking Renée's business card with him.