Chapter 100: 100: I Long for His Approval (2)

"You only beat me by one point in the last mock exam, right?" Even without any tricks up his sleeve, Takashi felt confident he could beat him. The gap between them wasn't huge. Miyuki retorted stubbornly, "A point is still a point!" He said that, but his tone lacked conviction. He couldn't help it. He had the elite Four Heavenly Kings miles ahead of him, and Takashi right behind, breathing down his neck. The pressure was intense. "Let's go, senpai." Just as Takashi was about to respond, Kei returned, pushing her bicycle. "Right." Takashi didn't want to waste this rare chance to go fishing on some pointless back-and-forth. He wasn't some online keyboard warrior. He put on his helmet and started the engine. "Vroooom~" The bike's exhaust rumbled, drawing the attention of a few neighbors who poked their heads out their windows. "I'm heading out." He gave Shirogane Miyuki a slight nod, twisted the throttle, and rode off. Kei found it odd that her brother didn't try to stop her, but said nothing and pedaled away. Study! Takashi's words from earlier had lit a fire under Shirogane Miyuki. Right now, his mind was entirely focused on studying. As for stopping Kei— After finding out she was with Takashi, he lost the will to. Even if they were from different schools, Takashi had a great reputation. Several students from Shuchiin who'd met him had nothing but praise. Even Shinomiya Kaguya had called him "Not bad." It annoyed him a little, but anyone who could earn Shinomiya Kaguya's approval couldn't be all that bad. She had good judgment. Of course, the main reason was that Shirogane Miyuki knew—when it came to rebellious kids, the more you pushed, the harder they resisted. Takashi didn't actually make Kei ride her bike all the way to the fishing spot. They went to the nearest station, parked their rides, and took the train to the same fishing spot as last time. Takashi looked around and noticed that the old fisherman from last time wasn't there today. "Which rod do you want?" "Anything's fine." Wanting to look after the newbie, Takashi handed Kei the new Ichi-Sakura rod he'd just bought. He set up the line and bait for her, and soon they were both quietly fishing. "Got into a fight with your brother again?" Takashi asked casually, eyes on the water. The place the Shirogane siblings rented wasn't anything like Takashi's. That place only had one merit: it was cheap. And cheap often meant poor quality. Their argument had been so loud, Takashi had heard bits of it even from outside. Kei bit her soft cherry-colored lip and gave a soft "Mhm" through her nose. When he didn't follow up, she spoke first. "My brother's great at everything, but he always treats me like a little kid!" Takashi smiled. "You want his approval, don't you?" Kei looked at him in surprise. "Senpai, how did you know?" She was realizing just how well Takashi-senpai understood her. Still watching the lake's calm surface, Takashi replied, "I've been your age before. I get it better than anyone." "Who did you want to be acknowledged by, senpai?" Kei couldn't help but ask. Takashi casually lifted his fishing rod and answered, "My dad." Earning his mother's approval meant he should shoulder the sky. Earning his father's meant he could. Every man, deep down, yearns for his father's approval. "My whole life, I've been chasing that." The father-son dynamic in traditional families is one of the most complex relationships in the world. They're monarch and subject, enemies, friends—and only when one lies on their deathbed are they truly father and son. "..." Kei stared at Takashi in silence. "When my favorite dish was on the table, my mom would always pile it into my bowl. My dad would just avoid eating it." "I used to have a temper like his—but I was even more useless." Takashi had always hated his father's temperament. But unfortunately, it was the part of him he most resembled. "I couldn't endure the same hardships. I couldn't hold up the sky like he did." "I looked down on our rundown house. But now, I don't even have one to look down on." As he said this, a faint, self-deprecating smile curled on Takashi's lips. "Sorry, that was kind of random." The argument between Kei and her brother had made him think about all this without meaning to. Kei asked softly, "But senpai, you're so amazing now—surely your father recognizes that, right?" "No." Takashi paused, then said, "Probably never will." A father-son relationship is like a major exam—there's no way to study beforehand, and no chance for a retake. "Sorry." Kei looked apologetic. She shouldn't have brought that up. Takashi shook his head, not particularly bothered. He had already grown used to accepting everything. "There's a fish on the hook!" "Huh?" Kei instinctively looked toward the surface of the lake. "There's nothing." "I meant your line." "Ah!" An hour later. Takashi glanced at his fish bucket. This was the first time he'd ever seen it completely full. Although... not a single one of them was caught by him. In a full hour, he hadn't caught a single fish. Even after swapping rods and changing fishing spots with Kei, his luck hadn't changed—still nothing. Meanwhile, Kei had caught over twenty fish in just that one hour. Her catch rate was so fast that Takashi began to question reality. "Is she the Dragon Girl or something?" He was now seriously suspecting that Kei was the daughter of the Dragon King. "Senpai, quick, come here! There's another one on the line—it feels big!" Hearing her call, Takashi's body tensed. "Coming!" The two of them grabbed the rod together, preparing to pull in the fish. But this one seemed especially large—so much so that even with their combined strength, it was still difficult. Left with no choice, Takashi began teaching Kei how to play the fish properly. The two of them battled it out with the fish for a long while, and finally, they managed to reel it in together. "It's huge!" Kei's eyes sparkled as she looked at the massive fish. That could feed a lot of people in one meal. "Senpai, how much does it weigh?" It was the first time she'd caught such a big fish. Kei had completely forgotten about pretending to be cool—her face was full of excitement. This fish had to be a record-breaker. Takashi weighed it. "Let me see... Whoa, ten pounds!" "Eh? Isn't it just over eight?" Kei leaned over and noticed something wasn't right. It was clearly just a little over eight pounds. "That's how fishing is. You wouldn't get it." As everyone knows, fishermen who catch a one-pounder will claim it's three, and a four-pounder becomes six. Takashi had even seen someone call a 1.5-pounder a solid three! "Oh." Kei nodded in confusion. "Come on, come on, take a picture for me." Gotta post it in the friend circle, right? Time to show off a little. Takashi handed his phone to Kei, then picked up the "ten-pound" fish himself and flashed a big, gleaming smile full of white teeth—radiant and proud. As soon as Kei took his phone, a barrage of notifications popped up one after another. Kasumigaoka Utaha: [If you feel wronged, you don't have to come. I didn't force you to do anything.] Shijo Maki: [Takashi!!! Tsubasa's asking me out this weekend—what style of outfit do you think I should wear?] Eris Spencer Sawamura: [Takashi, there's a comic convention this week. You're coming with me!] Kashiwagi Nagisa: [I'm really looking forward to our date this weekend~ (smile)] Katsura Kotonoha: [Takashi, how was the lemon water this morning? I wonder if it suited your taste.] Kitagawa Marin: [Takashi-kun~ don't forget, you promised to take pictures of me at the con this weekend! ♥♥♥] ... Kei's smile slowly faded, her gaze turning cold. She stared at Takashi as if she were looking at the lowest form of human trash. ___ 20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you! Don't forget to leave a review too~ Check out the other translations too ___