After learning of Junichi Se's determination to turn over a new leaf (and stop being a sycophant), the Hayakawa mother and daughter stopped dwelling on the matter.

However, after Junichi Se expressed his desire to be discharged from the hospital, it was repeatedly opposed by Misae Hayakawa.

In Hayakawa Misae's words, as your mother, she has to be responsible for her son's life and safety. If Junichi suffers any further injury, it will be her dereliction of duty as a mother, and she will have no face to face her husband in the afterlife.

These words naturally moved Junichi Sei deeply.

However, Junichi was moved, while his stepsister stared wide-eyed.

Both of them lost their biological fathers, so why does the mother treat them differently?

I still remember the day I entered the Sei family home. My mother told me coldly: "We are living under someone else's roof now. No matter what, you can't make your Uncle Sei and your brother angry, unless you want to go back to live with your grandparents."

Hayakawa Sakuno was almost stunned at that moment. She couldn't understand why her usually gentle mother would say such a thing to her.

Unaware of the seriousness of the problem, she immediately retorted: "But if this father and son make excessive demands on me, should I just put up with it?"

Hayakawa Sakuno had heard from some of her classmates that if a girl remarries with her mother, there is a high probability that some unspeakable things will happen.

At first, Sakuno Hayakawa naively denied it, believing that her kind mother would definitely protect her.

But to everyone's surprise, her mother coldly said, "I will take care of your Uncle Lai. As for his son, you have no blood relation to him, so you can handle it yourself."

In that instant, Hayakawa Sakuno felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, and even felt that her mother in front of her was completely unfamiliar.

Although in Japan, the royal family or some large families often have internal unions in order to maintain the orthodoxy of their bloodline.

However, no matter how you look at it, this is something that Hayakawa Sakuno finds hard to accept.

Hayakawa Sakuno knew very well what kind of people her deceased alcoholic father's relatives were, and if she went to their side, she would probably be doomed even more.

Therefore, clinging to the hope that her mother simply wanted her to follow the rules, she temporarily moved in with her.

Fortunately, her stepfather wasn't as bad as she had imagined. In fact, he was a workaholic who was always away on business trips, leaving even her mother with little time to take care of him, let alone her.

As for the older brother who was originally the biggest threat, well, he's just a stinky otaku and a super sycophant.

She had meant well and wanted to get along with the other party, and had even kindly reminded them of something. She never expected that the other party would turn around and bite her, saying that she could insult him, but not his Ellie.

She was truly speechless at this idiot!

But this is good, it suits her just as she wanted, so she no longer has to worry about being harmed by the father and son.

Even though Hayakawa Sakuno had tried her best to comfort herself over the years, she still couldn't hide her dissatisfaction when she heard her mother's maternal words directed at a stepson with whom she had no blood relation.

Damn it, that man is gone now, why are you trying so hard to please his son?

Where do you put your own daughter?!

[Ding! Hayakawa Sakuno's dislike level +5!]

? ? ?

Junichi, who was pondering how to persuade his stepmother to let him leave the hospital, suddenly looked up at his stepsister with a puzzled expression.

what happened?

This is a bit sudden.

"What...what are you doing?"

Suddenly being stared at, Hayakawa Sakuno felt a little guilty and forced herself to glare back calmly.

"Sakuno!" However, before Junichi Se could even speak, Misae Hayakawa, who was showing concern for her stepson, quickly called out.

"I... Hmph~"

Sakuno Hayakawa puffed out her cheeks in anger and turned her face away to the other side.

hateful!

Junichi touched his chin and felt that his stepmother seemed to be spoiling him a little too much. Was it just his imagination?

Never mind, none of that matters anymore.

Right now, I should be thinking about how to get discharged from the hospital and the mortgage issue.

Oh, right, the mortgage!

Junichi finally remembered the important matter and slowly looked at Misae Hayakawa: "Mother, did Father leave any savings?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sei Junichi immediately noticed the unnaturalness in the other person's expression. Her lips trembled slightly, and even her delicate neck shrank back subconsciously.

Misae Hayakawa thought that the other party would find out sooner or later anyway, so she gritted her teeth and said, "Because your father had an accident while on a business trip, the company did issue a compensation payment."

Junichi's eyes lit up: "Just as I thought!"

Even with a system at your disposal, it would be ideal if it could alleviate the pressures of life.

Hayakawa Misae, who was standing to the side, continued with her head down, "Even though I tried to keep your father's funeral as simple as possible, it still consumed most of our savings. As you know, we also have a heavy mortgage. So after paying the mortgage, your father's salary was barely enough to cover the family's daily expenses. The compensation is now less than 2 million yen."

The mortgage payment is 380,000 yen per month, and after deducting the monthly living expenses of 80,000 yen, we can last for about 4 more months.

Of course, if you have any objections to the accounts, your father's lawyer will check them with you again after you are discharged from the hospital.

As for me, since your father has been working away from home all these years and has been regularly providing me with daily living expenses every month, so... so I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to share the burden of this family properly.

But... but I'll work even harder from now on. Junichi-kun, you just need to focus on your studies with Sakuno. I'll go out and get a part-time job.

"Mother……"

Seeing her mother so humble and submissive, Hayakawa Sakuno felt as if something had gripped her heart. Her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say.

On the other hand, after seeing Hayakawa Misae's frightened appearance, Junichi Sei roughly understood why his stepmother was so attentive to him.

It is likely that his father made a will before his death or before his second marriage, and it is very possible that this pension is not his only remaining property.

Since lawyers have been arranged, it's reasonable to assume that there are some private savings or other assets left behind.

A divorced woman, especially a housewife in a country like Japan where she has virtually no status, would definitely be treated like a slave and trampled upon if she remarried.

A stepmother who lacks social resources and the ability to survive will naturally want to depend on you.

In addition, Sei Junichi will graduate in the second half of the year and can start working, which means he can share the burden of life. Moreover, the university he got into is not a bad one, just making it into the top 20 in Japan. Compared to his daughter who will eventually get married, Sei Junichi's status in the other party's heart is self-evident.

After all, it's difficult for a woman who has to live with her single mother after marriage to find a marriage partner in Japan.

Just as Hayakawa Misae was extremely anxious, she felt a chill on the back of her hand, and then a slightly pale hand, with an IV tube inserted, gently placed on the back of her delicate hand.

She lifted her delicate face, which was buried deep in her hair, and met Junichi's face, which was covered by his bangs, with a faint smile on his lips: "Don't worry, everything will be alright."

While the woman in front of him may have her own ulterior motives, given her circumstances, they are understandable.

At least, she has been dutiful and responsible in the years since the other person became her mother.

Although she couldn't see the other person's exact expression, the magnetic and deep voice made Hayakawa Misae feel inexplicably at ease.

With her daughter present, Hayakawa Miya couldn't help but feel her face flush slightly at this rare closeness. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, but after thinking about it, she gave up and said, "Mm."

Junichi is a kind child. I can't let this child distance himself from me again, now that I've finally managed to overcome the misunderstanding.

Normally, Hayakawa Sakuno, as the daughter, would have already spoken up to stop it. But this time, when she learned from her mother the inside story that she had never known before, her expression became very interesting. She clenched her fists for a long time before finally letting them go in a dejected manner.

That youthful face seemed to have matured considerably in an instant.

She had never known that her mother had such a hard life...