I Started Dating Someone By Taking Advantage Of Her Weakness, But I Was Actually Dating Her Mother - Chapter 77-78: Detour Date (Part 2&3)

“I’ll carry it.”

“Is that okay? Thank you.”

The supermarket that Jin and Yoriko stopped by was a typical store that mainly dealt with groceries like those found in many places. When Yoriko entered the store, she took one of the shopping baskets that were stacked near the entrance. Then Jin gently reached out his hand, indicating he would carry it, and Yoriko, thinking it would be rude to refuse, handed the shopping basket to Jin.

(Oh no. I wanted to be with him so I just entered the store, but won’t he look at me strangely if I only buy discounted items?)

After handing the shopping basket to Jin, Yoriko suddenly thought about what to buy this time. Then she remembered that the Tsukimizato household mainly purchased discounted items nearing their expiration dates to save on food expenses. She worried that shopping this way while together with Jin might give him a bad impression of her.

(It’ll affect the household budget, but today I’ll splurge a little and avoid the discounted items.)

Actually, Jin often bought half-price discounted bento boxes and such, so he wouldn’t have minded at all what Yoriko was worrying about, but Yoriko was putting on airs in a strange way.

“Let’s start with vegetables.”

(Ah, there’s a 30% off daikon radish over there…)

While looking at the vegetables with discount stickers, Yoriko picked up a regular-priced daikon radish and put it in Jin’s shopping basket. Even after that, she continued putting regular-priced vegetables into the shopping basket while being mindful of the vegetables with discount stickers.

“Next is meat.”

(The discount stickers here are tempting, but domestic and foreign products have different prices…)

“Shopping with Tsukimizato-san feels somehow fresh. It’s like we’re living together.”

“Eh? Hmm, now that you mention it, it might feel that way. Oh, how about next Sunday we buy ingredients together and I cook for you at Kaneda-kun’s house? Just kidding.”

“That sounds great. I’d definitely like you to come.”

Hearing Jin’s words, Yoriko jokingly suggested going to Jin’s house on her next day off to cook for him. Jin immediately agreed to this.

“Eh? Is that okay? Don’t you have family members there?”

“Huh? Didn’t I mention it? My father was transferred for work and was living alone, so my mother went with him. I don’t have any siblings either, hence I’m living alone now.”

“Oh, is that so? Then maybe I’ll intrude on you.”

Learning that Jin was essentially living alone, Yoriko impulsively said she’d like to visit his house.

“Then it’s decided. After we finish shopping, let’s discuss the time and meeting arrangements.”

“Yes, I understand.”

With Yoriko’s agreement, the two made plans to meet next Sunday.

(Now, about the meat, Kaneda-kun is watching, so I’ll exclude the discounted items, but should I choose domestic or foreign?)

The price had already increased by not choosing discounted items, but choosing domestic would raise the price even more. Yoriko was torn between putting on airs and choosing domestic meat or considering her wallet and choosing foreign meat.

“Tsukimizato-san, is something wrong?”

“Eh? N-no, nothing’s wrong at all.”

(Fine, it’s not kind to my wallet, but I’ll go with domestic!)

When Jin called out to her, worried about Yoriko standing frozen at the meat section, she came to her senses and, putting on airs, picked up domestic meat and put it in the shopping basket.

“I guess this is about it.”

After that, Yoriko went around putting the necessary items into the shopping basket that Jin was carrying, and finished putting everything she had planned to buy.

“Kaneda-kun, we’re done now, so let’s go to the register.”

“Got it. But is this really all you need?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

(Actually, there were other things I wanted to buy, but it looks like it would cost more than expected, so I’ll have to hold back.)

Since Yoriko had been calculating while shopping, she judged that purchasing any more would affect the household budget, so she didn’t put items that could be postponed into the shopping basket. The two of them headed straight to the register to have their items rung up.

“That’ll be… yen. Please pay at the payment machine.”

The cashier lady took out the products from the shopping basket one by one, scanned the barcodes, and when the calculation was finished, she directed them to pay at the payment machine installed next to the register.

“Um, ah—”

“Today’s my treat.”

Just as Yoriko took out her wallet and was about to take out money to put into the payment machine, Jin’s hand quickly reached out and inserted bills into the payment machine. They were immediately swallowed up, and the payment was completed.

“I can’t let you go that far.”

“I promised that today’s date would be my treat, so let me take care of everything until the end.”

“Oh, Kaneda-kun…”

Yoriko was hesitant since these were ingredients for use in her own home, but she was delighted by Jin’s words and decided to accept his offer.

“Is Tsukimizato-san’s house close from here?”

“Yes, about a 5-minute walk.”

The supermarket they had stopped by this time was close to Yoriko’s house and reasonably priced. There were even cheaper stores on the way to work, but unless she was stopping by on her way home from work, this one was more convenient. When Jin asked about the distance from this store to her home, Yoriko told him the approximate time.

“I see, it’s convenient to have a store like this nearby. Near my place, there’s a convenience store close by, but stores like this are a bit farther away, so when I’m feeling lazy, I end up using the convenience store.”

“I see. But if you’re living alone, convenience stores are easier for getting food quickly, so I can understand wanting to use them.”

After that, Jin and Yoriko left the store, with Jin walking to match Yoriko’s pace. The two walked toward Yoriko’s house while making small talk.

“What time and where should we meet next Sunday?”

“Let’s see. Considering we’ll also be buying ingredients, how about in front of a supermarket near Kaneda-kun’s house?”

“Sounds good. Then how about 10 AM in front of this store?”

“Oh. This area is a residential district, isn’t it? So Kaneda-kun’s house is around here. I know this store, so that’s fine. I’m looking forward to next Sunday then.”

On the way, Jin and Yoriko discussed their next date. Jin showed her a map on his smartphone and suggested a meeting place. It was a bit far from the Tsukimizato house, but since it was within walking distance, Yoriko agreed to the meeting place.

(Oh, I wasn’t thinking about it, but if he finds out where my house is, it might cause trouble for Otowa.)

Such a thought suddenly crossed Yoriko’s mind.

“S-sorry. This is far enough.”

“Huh?”

Yoriko stopped at a point where the location of her house couldn’t be identified and told Jin that this was far enough. Jin looked surprised by the sudden development.

“Kaneda-kun, thank you for carrying everything this far. I had a really fun time today. Please take care of me next Sunday too. Well then…”

“Huh? Oh, see you later.”

Jin could only respond to the sudden turn of events. Before he knew it, Yoriko had disappeared, and Jin was left standing alone on the sidewalk.