Chapter 57: Takeo Kobayashi, A Crafty Hero?

Whether it was actually seeing her cousin in person that made Norika Harada nervous, it nevertheless triggered such a stroke of quick wit from her!

Quillan couldn’t help but inwardly give Norika a thumb-up. He could clearly see the face of Norika’s cousin—Takeo the Crafty Hero... ahem, Takeo Kobayashi—instantly fall the moment he heard Norika’s intimate form of address toward Quillan.

Crafty Hero?

The corners of Quillan’s mouth curled up slightly into a meaningful smile as he looked at Takeo Kobayashi. Deep down, he felt that this Takeo was weak beyond belief—his disappointed expression was written all over his face, devoid of even a shred of a "crafty hero’s" demeanor!

It seemed that this cousin Norika was so worried about was nothing more than a novice!

Quillan felt much less concerned now. Originally, he had expected that pretending to be Norika’s boyfriend this time would bring some trouble, especially after seeing how wary Norika was of her cousin, which had prompted him to make a fair share of mental preparations.

Looking at him now, though, someone like Takeo Kobayashi wasn’t particularly shrewd at all.

Relieved, Quillan generously reached out his left arm and draped it over Norika’s shoulder. Norika’s body trembled slightly, yet she didn’t push him away. Right in front of Takeo Kobayashi, she didn’t dare to do so.

Thus, she had no choice but to let Quillan hold her like that. Quillan, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world, extended his right hand toward Takeo Kobayashi and said, "Hello, Cousin!"

"Uh..."

In contrast to Quillan’s composure, Takeo Kobayashi appeared a bit flustered. Looking at Quillan’s outstretched hand at a loss for words, he didn’t even reach out to shake it. Instead, he asked Quillan with a somewhat stiff nod, "Are you American?"

"That’s right!" Being refused a handshake didn’t leave Quillan feeling embarrassed in the slightest; on the contrary, he felt even happier inside.

From the looks of it, Norika’s cousin was a complete rookie!

He didn’t even know how to hide his inner thoughts. Acting so aggressive during a first meeting only proved that he knew nothing about playing nice to your face while stabbing you in the back, nor did he understand how to scheme behind the scenes. He only knew how to immediately express his anger and unhappiness, venting his displeasure right then and there. People like this were the easiest to deal with!

As the old saying goes: A biting dog doesn’t bark!

Why? Because if a dog barks, people will naturally be on guard, and it won’t get a chance to bite!

Norika’s brows knitted slightly. Now that she considered herself Quillan’s girlfriend, she naturally looked out for him. Seeing her cousin Takeo act so impolitely to someone he was meeting for the first time—not only refusing to shake hands but speaking in an interrogative tone—she put on a stern face and asked Takeo, "Cousin, is my father inside?"

"Yes..." Takeo nodded. Though it was just a single word, his tone sounded extremely stiff!

"Pardon us, then!" Norika pulled Quillan along as she walked into the room, saying, "Please excuse us, Cousin!"

Takeo felt a wave of bitterness. Seeing his beautiful cousin acting so intimately with a young man—and even seeming to get angry at him for the sake of a boy so much younger than himself—left a sour taste in his mouth.

Wait... younger...

As if Columbus had discovered a new continent, Takeo’s eyes suddenly lit up!

He had felt all along that something wasn’t quite right. As her cousin, Takeo had heard long ago that his cousin Norika had disliked dealing with boys since childhood and was an exceptionally conservative woman. How could it be that the moment she heard she was to be engaged to her cousin, she suddenly found herself a boyfriend?

And this boyfriend wasn’t even Japanese—he was from America!

Did his cousin really think her mother and father would agree to marry her off to America?

Setting all that aside, what left Takeo most speechless was: Why on earth is that kid so young? Why?!

Although Quillan was wearing a suit that made him look less tender under the backdrop of mature clothing, a discerning eye could still tell at a single glance.

This guy was clearly just a wet-behind-the-ears kid—he probably wasn’t even eighteen yet!

Quillan and Norika walked into the suite’s living room. Seated on the sofa was an elderly man who looked to be nearly sixty years old, his hair half-white but his spirit lively, dressed in a traditional gray Japanese men’s kimono. In front of him by the low tea table, a woman dressed in a traditional Japanese women’s kimono knelt on the mat, smiling as she prepared tea.

It was evident that the woman was also over fifty years old, yet she was extremely well-preserved, without a single strand of white in her hair.

These two elders were presumably Norika Harada’s parents!

"Father!"

Norika stepped in front of her father and bowed, then turned toward her mother with a nod, calling out, "Mother!"

"Hoho, Norika, take a seat!" Norika’s mother replied with a gentle smile, gesturing for Norika to kneel on the opposite side of the tea table, positioned right to the front-right of Norika’s father. Quillan, meanwhile, stood behind Norika.

Now it was Quillan’s turn to step up and greet the two elders. Quillan felt no worry or nervousness whatsoever at this point, because he knew that at this stage, the more you worried, the easier it was to make a mistake, and the more nervous you were, the easier it was to be exposed!

So Quillan simply walked over comfortably to the open end of the tea table, bowed his head toward Norika’s father, and introduced himself: "Hello, Uncle. My name is Quillan, and I come from America!"

Lifting his head, Quillan turned to the other side and gave the same self-introduction to Norika’s mother!

Once Quillan finished his introduction, Norika’s father furrowed his brows, looked at Quillan, and asked, "You are American—why have you come to Japan? And... how old are you this year?"

Before Quillan could answer, Takeo Kobayashi chimed in, "Looking at this kid, he clearly hasn’t even reached sixteen yet, right?"

Quillan was clearly turning seventeen soon, alright?!

Rolling his eyes, Quillan looked toward Takeo Kobayashi, who happened to be glaring back at Quillan at the exact same moment.

Their eyes met—Quillan maintained a calculating, evaluating expression, whereas Takeo carried an extremely enraged look, as if he wanted to devour him alive!