章 210: Making a Call

After dealing with Yuuta's matter, Sasaki walked home, recalling his conversation with Aunt Kyouka last night.

Since leaving the hospital, he hadn't called Sister Hisato yet.

Even though he and Azuma Norihito didn't get along, that didn't mean he should ignore her.

After all she had always been kind to him, and Sasaki wasn't ungrateful.

Scrolling through his contacts, he found the number saved as [Sister Hisato] and dialed it.

"Hello~"

Although she answered quickly, her voice was drowsy and indistinct, indicating she'd just woken up.

"Hey, Aunt Hisato, were you sleeping..."

Before he could finish asking, the voice on the other end snapped, sounding like a cat whose tail had been stepped on:

"It's sister! I'm only twenty-nine, you little brat! How many times do I have to tell you? I swear, one of these days, I'm going to come over and teach you a lesson!"

Without showing any fear in response to her more teasing than reprimanding tone, Sasaki smiled and replied:

"Then Sister Hisato, you should come visit soon~ It's been so many days, I really miss you~"

"Yeah, right~."

Though her dismissive grumble couldn't hide the pleased, happy lift in her voice, Azuma Hisato spoke with a hint of grievance:

"You little rascal, you only know how to say sweet things. If you had really missed me, you wouldn't be calling just now."

"That's not true. I think of you every day~ I have saved up all my thoughts and will turn them into a big hug when we meet."

"You little guy must have sweet-talked many girls at school with that mouth of yours."

"Ah, you're changing the subject. You haven't said you miss me yet?"

"I've been asking Sister Kyouka about you. I didn't call because I didn't want to bother you."

"Pfft~ Excuses. If you didn't call, you didn't call."

A bit helpless against Sasaki's dissatisfaction, Hisato scratched her head, put the bulky items hanging from her chest on the table, and looked at the reheated food in front of her, smiling:

"Okay, how about I apologize?"

"No need to apologize. Just say you miss me a few times, and that'll be enough."

Since Sasaki's parents had passed away and she herself loved children, Hisato had long considered herself his sister.

So she found his request perfectly reasonable.

Clearing her throat a few times, she spoke with a smile:

"I Miss you, miss you, miss you~"

"Is that enough?"

"Hmm~ A bit perfunctory, but it'll do."

Hearing his slightly dissatisfied response, Hisato changed her posture, propping her face with her left hand and holding the phone with her right.

She laughed softly and scolded:

"You little rascal, you're so hard to please. Are you just trying to mess with me?"

"Look at that, I just asked for a few more words, and Sister Hisato is already acting like this. Fine, fine, I shouldn't have said anything."

His strange, almost resentful tone made Hisato laugh, though she felt exasperated.

So, with a smile tugging at her lips, she comforted him:

"Okay, okay, I'll say it one more time, but you better behave."

"Alright, I'm listening~"

"Really, I don't know what to do with you~"

Waiting for her husband to come home could be quite boring.

And since Hisato saw Sasaki as her child or younger brother, so she naturally wouldn't mind playing some small games with him to enhance their relationship.

Clearing her throat again, afraid of being criticised by Sasaki, she this time put all her feelings into it, speaking lovingly.

"I Miss you~ I miss you~ I miss you~"

Her soft and sweet voice—a blend of mature womanly charm that could fold a young man instantly and the crispness of a young girl, adding to the coquettishness, sent shivers down Sasaki's spine.

Luckily, there was no one around him.

Otherwise, hearing that kind of voice would have been as socially mortifying as playing inappropriate videos loudly on a subway.

Though Azuma Hisato wasn't fully aware of how sweet and alluring her voice sounded, she still found speaking in such a coquettish manner to be very embarrassing.

Hence, her speaking pace wasn't particularly fast, but she didn't deliberately slow down either, quickly finishing what she had to say.

"Is that enough, you little rascal? If you keep being picky, I'll get really mad~."

Ignoring her words, Sasaki cleared his throat and said with the same longing:

"Sister Hisato, I miss you too~."

Propping her face with her left hand, Azuma Hisato, who had a slightly more casual posture now, had already a slight blush on her face from the earlier embarrassing words, adding a charming redness to her fair face that she had neglected to care for due to long housework,

And when she heard Sasaki's sincere confession, it felt like a bowl of hot soup on a cold night, warming her heart that felt a bit lonely while waiting for her husband.

'This must be how Norihito-san feels when he comes home and hears me say "welcome back"~'

Since she only saw Sasaki as a younger brother or even a son, and was already married, Hisato didn't interpret his words as anything ambiguous.

Instead, she subconsciously put herself in her husband's shoes.

After all, as a full-time housewife, apart from caring about trivial matters such as food, oil, salt, ginger, vinegar and tea, the only person she could care about was her husband.

With a gentle, happy smile, Azuma Hisato, whose face still retained its beauty despite the lack of care, gently tapped the table with her slightly rough fingers due to cooking and cleaning, and replied with a smile:

"You little devil still have a conscience."

"I'm not happy with you saying that, Sister Hisato. What do you mean I have a conscience? I've always remembered Sister Hisato's kindness."

"If Norihito... Sister Hisato encounters any difficulties in the future, I will definitely help you."

Although she did not hear the first part of Sasaki's muttering, she didn't care and just smiled and said:

"Alright, alright~ You're the best kid, Sasaki~ If I ever face any troubles, I'll count on you."

"Absolutely!"

"And don't call me a kid, I'm not that young."

Hearing his dissatisfied tone, she teased with a smile:

"I'm older than you, so you're the kid. Besides, what should I call you if not kid? Big bro? Big ghost?"

"What kind of weird names are those? Can't you just call me by my name?"

"You didn't listen before, so you get this."

Knowing this was her payback for him often calling her 'Aunt', Sasaki didn't bother to correct her anymore and instead asked about the unclear part of her earlier words.

"By the way, were you sleeping earlier, Sis?"

Hearing his question, Hisato, who indeed had fallen asleep waiting for her husband, didn't hide it since it wasn't something to be ashamed of.

"Yes, I was waiting for your Uncle Norihito to come back for dinner."

"Does he always come back this late?"

"Late? If he comes back around this time, it's considered early."

Feeling helpless and distressed about her husband who leaves home early and comes back late, Hisato explained the reason:

"Although, before he used to come back late but it was atleast at a reasonable hour.

However, recently, he's preparing to sign a big deal and has a lot of social engagements. Sometimes, he doesn't come back at all."

"Social engagements... I remember his drinking capacity isn't great. This..."

"You should remind him, Sister Hisato. The pitfalls at a drinking table are more than the cups of alcohol there. Tell him to be careful. It's okay if he doesn't close the deal; he doesn't need to force it."

"I don't want you, Sister Hisato to be dragged down by him."

"What do you mean by dragged down and something? We're a couple. I'll remind him, don't worry. You haven't even graduated yet, little rascal."

As soon as he heard her tone, Sasaki knew that she didn't take his words to heart.

Though he didn't care much for Azuma Norihito, he couldn't ignore Hisato.

Knowing she usually made decisions at home, he used some reverse psychology to nudge her:

"Will he listen to you? Or will it go in one ear and out the other? Well...never mind.

That's actually quite normal."

Feeling her authority in the family was being undermined, Azuma Hisato lowered her supporting hand, straightened her posture, and held the phone with both hands, sternly questioning:

"What do you mean, you little brat? Do you think I can't control Norihito?"

"I didn't say that, Sister Hisato..."

"But that's what you meant!"

Interrupting his defense, Hisato raised her delicate eyebrows at the phone screen and said firmly:

"When did it become your turn to question me, you little brat? At home, he dares not disobey me! Let me tell you, he..."

Listening to her retort, Sasaki knew his words had an effect.

"Then Sister Hisato, make sure to keep him in line~"

"Hmph, don't worry."

Hisato, having grown up and faced society, knew very well that Sasaki's words were out of concern for her.

Although she believed that her husband knew his limits at work, she would not refuse Sasaki's kindness again and again.

After all, it was just like he said, money can be earned slowly....

Confirming that she took his advice to heart, Sasaki, having nothing else to do on his way home, chatted with Hisato about trivial matters in their lives.

And for a full-time housewife often alone at home, having someone to chat with was a delight.

So, during the conversation with Sasaki, Hisato smiled more in that short time than she had in the past week.