In the middle of the night,

the moon was high in the sky.

Koizumi Katsuko quietly pushed open the door to the hotel suite.

When she pushed open the door, the room was quiet, the lights were off, and the living room was pitch black; the sofa bed didn’t reveal her mother’s presence.

Koizumi Katsuko’s heart tensed slightly.

"I hope I wasn’t discovered?"

She quietly slipped back into her own room before daring to turn on the light.

Koizumi Katsuko scanned the room and found that the sticky notes were still on the mini fridge, and the bedroom looked exactly as it did when she left.

Checking her phone again, Koizumi Katsuko confirmed that her mom hadn’t sent her any messages and there were no missed call notifications on the screen.

"Hmm... that’s a relief."

Only then did she gently fan her face with her hand, calming herself.

The girl kicked off her shoes and curled herself into the King Size palm-colored bed in the bedroom, letting out a long sigh.

It seemed her mom had only slept halfway on the sofa before returning to her own room.

Presumably, in a half-asleep state, she didn’t realize her daughter had just sneaked out.

This was for the best.

Koizumi Katsuko, with her bright eyes, stared at the crystal chandelier in the room, pondering over her thoughts.

"How should I explain this tomorrow morning?"

She felt unafraid to tell anyone in the world she was in a relationship with Gu Weijing and was already prepared for it.

When Miss Sakai posted on Instagram, she knew her mom would definitely see it.

However, thinking about Mrs. Sakai’s stern face and her usual nitpicking at Gu Weijing behind closed doors...

The young girl actually felt a bit apprehensive.

"Mom is definitely going to be angry. Let her scold me if she wants; I’ll just keep quiet. Maybe if it gets bad, I’ll call Dad first? He has a better impression of Gu Weijing. Phew, I hope the dawn comes slowly..."

Koizumi Katsuko buried her head deeper into the pillow, adopting an ostrich mentality, bracing for The Tempest the next morning.

"No matter what... she can’t possibly package me off back to Japan, can she?"

Koizumi Katsuko mused to herself.

She casually tore off the sticky note from the fridge, ready to throw it into the trash can, but suddenly paused.

The handwriting on the sticky note wasn’t hers.

Before leaving, Shengzi had worried that if her mom discovered she was missing, she might worry, and thus left a note telling Mrs. Sakai she had gone to paint with Gu Weijing.

But now,

the writing had changed to Mrs. Sakai’s handwriting... not the reprimand she expected—

[Understood. Next time, notify the adults before leaving home. PS: Go watch a makeup tutorial on YouTube; you’re really clumsy with your eyeliner. Watching you put on makeup makes me anxious.]

Koizumi Katsuko blinked, thinking she might have read it wrong.

Her mom found out she sneaked out, and her response was... to suggest she learn makeup properly?

She sat up from the bed, holding the piece of paper in her hand, unsure whether she should cry or laugh; her eyes gradually reddened.

"What’s wrong, Shengzi, can’t believe Mom is so easygoing, right?"

The bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Mrs. Sakai appeared ghost-like at the door, casting a sidelong glance at her daughter.

"Mom, thank you."

Koizumi Katsuko gently sniffed.

She was like a student who secretly brought a sixty-point test home for a signature, only to discover her parent’s unexpectedly good mood, emitting a relieved sigh and said with a slightly damp nasal tone, "I... I thought you would be angry."

"You thought I would be angry? Hmph, of course, I was angry."

Mrs. Sakai sat on the edge of the bed, embraced her daughter, stroked Shengzi’s smooth hair, and gently wiped the tears off her daughter’s cheeks with her fingertips.

She shook her head helplessly.

"And you’ve started crying; am I really that unreasonable as a mother?"

"You think your mom is like—an old witch from a fairy tale locking her daughter in a high tower, or a snob trying to sell her daughter for a good price? Shengzi, you’re my own daughter, and we don’t lack money; your happiness with Gang Chang is more important than anything to me."

"Mom, I love you."

Shengzi was deeply moved, lightly rubbing her head against her mother’s chest, speaking softly.

"Hmm, you love me now that you fancy that Gu Weijing; if you didn’t fancy that brat, you wouldn’t love me anymore. Your beau matters more than Mom, right?" Mrs. Sakai quipped with her usual sharp wit.

"That’s not what I mean."

Miss Shengzi shook her small head, playfully.

"I actually don’t blame you... who hasn’t been young before?"

"Back in the day, I also did silly things like sneaking out of the kitchen with raw meat lasagna to bake in the oven as a midnight snack for your dad." Mrs. Sakai said softly, "I told you before, your grandma has a secret recipe for lasagna that’s quite famous in the local community, but it’s a hassle to make, so she doesn’t do it often."

"Later, I found out that your grandpa had a very important business partner coming over the next day, and the lasagna was prepared by your grandma for the family’s evening banquet."

"And then?"

Koizumi Katsuko’s curiosity was piqued.

"I was terrified when I realized the trouble I caused."

"Your grandpa already didn’t think much of my East Asian classmate I was dating at the time, even once said to me—do you want my grandchild to look like some yellow-skinned Tatar... things like that, only to have my mess disrupt his perfect family hosting event."