The boy's mother was not a cunning and mean snob as Hatoyama Keiko had feared before.
The boy's home is a very ordinary old house in the old city. There is a window in the house facing the street. Although there are curtains in the window, a corner of the curtain has fallen off. I don't know if it is due to time. , standing here you can barely peek into the house.
After leading Hatoyama Keiko to the door, the boy opened the door with the key.
"Come in with me."
The old housekeeper behind him did not follow him in, but walked to the window and took a look inside.
This is a small house. From this angle, you can have a clear view of the living room and kitchen.
Except for a few necessary pieces of furniture, there is nothing more inside, and it can almost be described as a bare house.
In the kitchen, the old housekeeper vaguely saw a busy figure, who seemed to be a woman.
"I'm back."
The boy shouted and walked into the house, with Hatoyama Keiko following closely behind him.
"Food will be ready soon."
The next second, a response came from the kitchen. It was a woman with a nice voice.
Following the boy to the living room, Keiko Hatoyama tilted her body and looked curiously into the kitchen.
The person in the kitchen was indeed a woman. She was dressed very simply. Although she could only see her back, the temperament exuding from her body allowed Hatoyama Keiko to roughly judge that the woman was in her thirties.
She must be the boy's mother.
"Mom, I brought..."
On the side, the boy put his schoolbag on the chair, glanced at Keiko Hatoyama, then looked in the direction of the kitchen, and said with slight hesitation:
"Bringing a friend back."
Only then did he suddenly notice that he didn't seem to know Hatoyama Keiko's name.
Although I had heard from the neighbors in the past that there was a very frail eldest lady in Hatoyama's family not far away.
But when those chatty aunts talk about this matter, they usually describe it as "the eldest lady of such-and-such family" or "the daughter of such-and-such family", and never call the other person by name.
And the boy is not a person who is interested in such gossip, so although he has heard a lot of gossip about Hatoyama Keiko for so long, he still only knows that the other person's surname is Hatoyama.
"Eh?"
In the kitchen, the woman who was busy at first put down the kitchen knife in her hand and walked out after hearing this. She also said at the same time:
"Friend? From school..."
As soon as the woman turned around, she saw Keiko Hatoyama, who was leaning over and looking at her curiously outside the kitchen.
The two looked at each other, with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. Among them, the surprise on the woman's face was even greater than that of Hatoyama Keiko.
As for Hatoyama Keiko, the moment the two people's eyes met, she had already looked at the woman's whole body, straightened her body immediately, lowered her head, and said to the woman politely:
"Hello, Mrs. Baihe, this is my first visit. I am a friend of Xiao Qingqing's. You can just call me Keiko."
She deliberately concealed her last name.
After all, anyone can see that the Baihe family's family situation is not good. She is not worried that the boy and his mother will "see the money," but she is worried that the woman will show embarrassment after learning her identity, making the boy feel uncomfortable. She lost face in front of her.
Although Hatoyama Keiko has been very cautious in this regard, the boy's mother is already in her thirties after all, and she still has the most basic social experience and perspective.
The expensive kimono on Hatoyama Keiko, as well as the incredibly clean and fair skin, made the boy's mother guess that she was definitely not a child of an ordinary family just by looking at it.
She was surprised and confused as to where the boy had brought back such an extraordinary girl, and she was also nervous about what attitude she should take to face such a girl.
So much so that after looking at Hatoyama Keiko, the boy's mother froze on the spot, so nervous that she didn't know what to say.
"Yes, it's Keiko, um, I..."
"Mom, let's cook first."
At the critical moment, it was the boy who had already started to sit on the chair to do his homework who spoke up to help her.
"Yes! Cook! Cook first!"
The boy's voice made the mother quickly return to her senses. Although she was still a little nervous, she no longer looked at a loss as before.
"Well, Hui, Huizi, you and Xiaoqing can chat over there for a while, I, I'll go cook..."
After saying that, the boy's mother quickly retreated into the kitchen.
And as she said, Hatoyama Keiko took a deep look at her, then moved a chair next to her and sat directly next to the boy who was doing homework.
"Is this homework?"
She asked curiously, looking at the boy who was writing furiously on the notebook.
Due to physical reasons, Hatoyama Keiko never really went to school, and the tutor who was invited to teach her at home would never leave homework for her. Even during class, she was very careful, for fear that she would not Be careful if something unexpected happens to your body if you overuse your brain, and then you are buried in Tokyo Bay...
Although Hatoyama Keiko has always felt that she is not vulnerable to this level, she can't help but be afraid of them.
Because of this, she has never enjoyed something as painful as homework.
"Um."
The boy's reply was still extremely simple, and he answered her with a slight hum.
"Xiaoqing, are your grades good in school?" She leaned over and continued to ask curiously.
"Um."
"Are you the most powerful one in school?"
"Um."
"So Xiaoqing, do you have a girl you like at school?"
This time the boy stopped talking. He stopped writing and turned to look at Hatoyama Keiko. A trace of doubt appeared in those beautiful eyes again. He might not quite understand her brain circuit.
Why is it that one second you are still asking about your academic performance, and the next second you are asking about the girl you like?
"Because Xiaoqing, you study well and are good-looking. In my opinion, many girls will like boys like this." Hatoyama Keiko looked at him and said seriously.
Their faces were very close to each other at this time, and the boy seemed to be able to vaguely feel the touch of Hatoyama Keiko's breath blowing across his face when he spoke.
Being sincerely praised by a beautiful girl is a fatal attack for most boys, but boys do not seem to be in this range.
Hearing this, his expression didn't even change, he looked away and continued to do his homework.
"I don't fit in with others," he replied simply.
And Keiko Hatoyama, who thought she had reached the "tenth level of fluency", also instantly understood what he meant.
He is unsociable and has no friends in school, so naturally there are no girls who like him.
"Then...Xiaoqing, do you have anyone you like?"
∠( ∠)＿
(End of chapter)
