I Was Sleep-Deprived at a Matchmaking Meeting and Ended Up Engaged - Chapter 34

On the drive back, Yoshinori said:

“I never thought when we went to announce our marriage at my family home, they’d tell us to change partners.

And not me, but you.”

Ahaha, Ayato laughed.

“Somehow I’m hungry.”

“You were too nervous to eat much, weren’t you?”

“I did eat.

But Father-in-law kept playing chess with me until he won.”

Time had passed, and she’d gotten hungry again.

“…You should have gone easy on him at some point too.”

“If I lost on purpose, wouldn’t Father-in-law go around boasting that he beat his daughter-in-law?”

“He might not go around boasting, but well, he’d probably mention it.”

To show others he gets along well with his daughter-in-law, Yoshinori said he’d talk about how they played chess together, and well, he’d probably mention losing too.

“Even though she’s the daughter-in-law he tried to set up with someone else?”

Ayato ended up saying something resentful.

“He may not look it, but he hates to lose.

If someone seems to be getting along well with their daughter-in-law, he might compete and mention it.”

“Ai-san said she hates to lose too, didn’t she? You really are a well-matched couple after all.”

Huhu, Ayato smiled.

“I don’t care about winning or losing at all.”

Just as she was about to say “Me too,” Yoshinori said:

“Whether I win or lose, as long as you’re by my side, either is fine.”

—Eh?

The light turned red, and the car stopped.

Yoshinori turned,

“I was told I should try doing something different from usual.”

He said.

Leaning over, he gave her just a little kiss.

Eh…

Eh…

Ehh!?

Unable to keep up with the situation, Ayato froze.

The light turned green.

“W-want to eat something?”

“Y-yes.”

Because the silence was a little scary, Ayato said in a fluster.

“Something, a little light… Like ramen?”

“Ramen, is that light?”

Well, ramen is fine, Yoshinori said.

“Or rather, now that you mention ramen, I can’t think of anything but ramen.”

“Me too,” Ayato said.

“Isn’t there a good ramen shop somewhere?”

Since the car had come near that department store, Ayato ended up saying without thinking.

“We should have asked that fortune teller.”

“…About a good ramen shop?”

“To have her tell our fortune?”

Yoshinori said.

“No, no.

About good shops around here that the fortune teller knows.”

From there, the conversation turned to how one might divine a good ramen shop.

“Like dowsing, maybe?”

Dowsing is a method of divination using crystals like a pendulum or wandering around holding L-shaped rods.

“Can that really find water pipes and such?”

While having such silly conversations, they parked the car in a nearby parking lot and decided to walk around the area for now.

“Ramen shop… Ramen shop… Which one is good, I wonder?”

Just as she muttered that, from somewhere, a really good smell of burnt sauce wafted over.

Without thinking, she turned around.

She spotted a wooden shop with red lanterns hanging on both sides of the noren curtain.

“Ah, a nice-looking yakitori place.”

The moment Ayato said that, Yoshinori looked in a completely different direction and said:

“Ah, a nice-looking bar.”

Even though they’d insisted it absolutely had to be a ramen shop, in the end, they both betrayed that.

“Betrayal… This is it.”

“But the fortune teller said one of us would betray the other. Since we both betrayed, it’s worse than the fortune said.”

Ayato said, and the two laughed together.

Somehow or other, they were a well-matched pair.

I wonder if those two are doing well.

While thinking about how they were doing, Yuya was walking down the hallway when he came across Yoshinori, who was seriously watching Ayato from the shadows.

Then Secretary Hishikawa came along.

He was greeting Yoshinori.

“Lately, it’s tiring, being with Ayato.”

Yoshinori sighed.

“Eh? Is that so?”

You look a little happy about it, Hishikawa-san.

Just as Yuya thought “Me too,” Yoshinori continued:

“Ayato is just too cute, it’s exhausting.”

…I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, Yuya thought as he turned around and went back the way he came.

Noon.

When Yuya went to the company cafeteria, Ayato was trembling like a little rabbit.

“Cheer up—, Ayato—”

Hamako and Ran said with smirks.

…They must have said something unnecessary to Ayato again.

What troublesome seniors, Yuya thought with a wry smile.

“Good work. Is this spot okay?”

When he placed his tray on their table, for some reason they happily said “Please, please!”

Sitting next to Ayato,

“Did something happen?”

He tried asking.

Then, Ayato dejectedly said:

“It seems Shirakami-san said he gets tired being with me.”

Someone must have overheard, or Hishikawa told Ran.

“Ah, that’s…”

Thinking he’d tell her for Ayato’s sake, Yuya got stuck.

I can’t say it!

Not just because I want to interfere between the two of them.

Whether the person himself is in front of me or not.

Something as embarrassing as “you’re too cute, it’s exhausting”—I can’t say that!

That guy, he looks so stiff but he’s amazing!

Yuya secretly respected Yoshinori.

“Wait, Ran-san”

Just then, suddenly, Hamako said with a serious face.

“After all, this is bad.”

For a moment he thought she’d suddenly reformed, but that wasn’t it.

“If Ayato gets scared by this and decides not to marry Shirakami-san.

Our grand plan to snag the hot guys around Shirakami-san at the wedding will be ruined!”

…What kind of plan is that.

“Huh?

Thinking she’d call off the marriage over harassment like this?

Who’d be such a wimp!?

If it were me, I’d latch onto a rich hottie like that and never let go!”

Eek!

Thank goodness I’m not a rich hottie, Yuya thought fearfully.

Next to him, Ayato, still acting like a wimp, was listlessly eating her curry.