How To Melt the Ice Lady - Chapter 99
Translator: Lilo
Editor: Arya
Chapter 99: Report
Early August.
The summer vacation was almost halfway over.
The temperature was over 35°C on a very hot day, and the brilliant sun was shining down.
Under the blazing sun, a couple were walking upon the asphalt.
The sight of them sharing an umbrella and holding hands, fingers intertwined, was as dazzling as the sunlight.
It might be even hotter with them being huddled together, but there were no signs of them separating.
Their shadows mingled with each other as they paced toward their destination.
“Fuyuka, are you nervous?”
“…Of course I am.”
“You’ve met them a few times and you’ve kept in touch, right?”
“But this time it’s a different story…”
Fuyuka who was wearing a light blue dress looked uncomfortable, loosening and reclasping her linked hands.
“Aren’t you nervous, Asahi-kun?”
Fuyuka adorably tilted her head and asked her beloved boyfriend.
The broken tone of her voice was a sign of trust. It was a moment of vulnerability that you could show to someone you trust.
At the beginning of their relationship, they couldn’t get rid of how they were speaking formal language, but now they were speaking to each other in a casual manner.
“I’m more worried than nervous. I’m afraid of how those two will react.”
“You do have a very lively family.”
“If only it was just that.”
Asahi chuckled at Fuyuka’s understatement.
As he walked down a familiar street, he arrived in front of a certain house.
“I’m gonna press the intercom.”
“Uh, hmm.”
The alarm rang, and then came a voice he hadn’t heard in a while.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Asahi and…”
“Fuyuka.”
“Great that you’re here. Give me a minute and I’ll unlock the door.”
There was no surprise, as he had already told her that they were coming.
Either way, she was a person whose emotions were hard to read, so it was probably still the same by dealing with her in a casual manner.
A few moments later, the front door opened and they came face to face with a dignified looking adult woman.
“Welcome…my..”
As soon as she saw them, she already noticed a change in their relationship.
The expressionless face of hers showed an unusual small surprise.
“Mom, it’s been a while.”
“Touko-san, it has been a while.”
The two greeted her whilst holding hands, and Touko’s mouth loosened a little.
“Long time no see. Since New Year’s I believe?”
“I guess so. It’s been about six months.”
“I’d like to thank you for your help back then…Ah, Of course, I’m still grateful even now.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m doing this because I like it, so don’t be uptight.”
Asahi had heard that Fuyuka and Touko exchanged contact information and were still in touch with each other.
It started out as a way to learn how to cook, but it gradually evolved into a way to discuss other matters.
“So you finally started dating. Congratulations.”
Touko’s eyes were on Fuyuka as she addressed her congratulations.
It was clear they had a private conversation between the two of them without Asahi’s knowledge.
“Thank you very much.”
Fuyuka thanked her with a joyful expression on her face.
Looking at her profile, Asahi’s face became hotter even after all this time.
―Is this how it feels introducing your girlfriend to your parents?
She was the first girlfriend of Asahi, who didn’t had any dating experience before.
It was embarrassing for him to tell his parents about their progress from friends to lovers, even though they already knew each other.
“Now, come in. I’ll prepare some tea.”
As Asahi and Fuyuka crossed the threshold, they were welcomed by Touko.
As he followed his mother’s back, he couldn’t help but think about how everything was going to proceed.
Asahi’s worries were not about his mother. He couldn’t speak up against his mother and it was annoying if she questioned him, but she could be reasoned with.
In the Kagami family, there was one person who was like a wildfire that proceeded unilaterally, laughed wildly, and would eventually be extinguished.
Asahi thought he was going to come straight through the door, but he hadn’t seen him yet today.
Which meant, he was waiting inside the house.
“Kazuaki. Asahi and Fuyu-chan are here.”
Touko called out to the Japanese-style room.
It was eerie that he was still silent, as if he had injured his back and could not move. But that was just the calm before the storm.
“Come in.”
They knocked on the sliding door and opened it. A wild yet low voice can be heard immediately.
If you didn’t know Kazuaki, you might take a step back, thinking that he was a very strict person.
“Why are you acting high and mighty?”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”
In reality, he was a cheerful old man who was the butt of his wife’s jealousy.
“So you are Kagami Asahi, huh?”
When he saw Kazuaki for the first time in six months, he was still bearded and had his arms crossed.
The way he spoke was deliberate, theatrical, and weird.
“…Mom, what’s that?”
“I think he was influenced by a drama he saw recently. Go along with him but I will pass on that.”
“Ehー, what a pain in the ass.”
“P-please don’t say that.”
For some reason, Fuyuka backed Kazuaki up and reluctantly stepped into the Japanese-style room.
“You seem like a man with a lot of backbone… Are you ready to make our Himuro-san happy?”
Asahi immediately recognized the name of the drama that Kazuaki had seen.
Fuyuka recommended it to him last week and they just watched it together.
The story was about two strangers who end up getting married after a series of twists and turns, and Kazuaki’s line corresponds to the scene where the boyfriend greets his partner’s parents.
Apparently, the setting here was Touko, Kazuaki, and Fuyuka were a family of three.
“Himuro-san, huh? If you’re doing this anyway, why don’t you call her by her first name?”
“Kazuaki-san, you once called me Fuyu-chan, but since then, it’s been like this since Touko-san called you on it.”
“You’re pretty sensitive after all, Dad. You didn’t want her to hate you, right?”
Kazuaki’s ears perked up as the two of them talked, disregarding his performance.
“Come on, Asahi. Say ‘Please give me Himuro-san’.”
“…what a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t look like that!”
Even if you say so, I don’t like what I don’t like.
If only this would make Kazuaki quiet. As he weighed the balance, Asahi opened his mouth.
“…Please give me Himuro-san.”
When he actually put it into words, he felt a sense of shame, even though he spoke it in a monotone voice.
When he looked next to her, he saw Fuyuka looking delighted with dyed cheeks.
“I’ve been yours for a long time, though, Asahi-kun.”
“…Don’t be so quick to say embarrassing things like that.
”I mean, it is true after all.”
Fuyuka smiled and didn’t hide her affection for Asahi, who tried to hide his mouth and looked away.
On the other hand, Kazuaki, left unattended, was not tilting his head, but rather his entire body.
“Hmmmm?”
Then when he told him the truth, Kazuaki was so surprised that his eyeballs popped out of his head.
The loudness of the voice caused Touko to extinguish the fire, but the noise didn’t calm down for a while.