"!!"
Wow, Shunan!
Nianzi was utterly astonished. She had assumed Shunan was just a baby who had only recently learned to speak, but his reflexes and emotional intelligence were surprisingly sharp—he could even read the room and understand what she was doing!
No wonder he was already on the romanceable character list at just two and a half years old. His potential as he grew up was immeasurable!
All that effort she put into raising his affection wasn’t wasted—Shunan had even covered for her. Not that she admitted or denied anything, of course.
Just as Nianzi let out a sigh of relief, Higashikata Tomoko’s expression grew even more complicated. She stared intently at Nianzi and Shunan before hesitantly asking, "...Are you still in high school?"
"Yes, second year. I just transferred recently and am still adjusting."
Normally, the protagonist’s starting point should’ve been first year, but for some reason, she had the "transfer student" backstory. According to her character profile, she was an orphan taken in by foster parents. Back in her hometown, she had nearly beaten a drunk politician to death after he sexually harassed a woman. Unfortunately, that man turned out to be the next prime ministerial candidate. Using his influence, he pressed assault charges against her. The office worker he harassed, likely intimidated, changed her testimony and refused to back Nianzi up in court, leaving her with a criminal record. Now under probation, her foster parents wanted nothing to do with her, so she was forced to transfer schools.
An absurd backstory—she had no idea how any of it made sense. But it infuriated her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed revenge—no, not revenge. Clearing her name was the goal.
For now, the priority was avoiding any sudden incidents that might land her back in police custody. That would be a nightmare.
After Nianzi revealed her grade, Tomoko’s expression shifted again. The woman looked visibly shaken. "I noticed something was off when you brought this child onto the bus earlier, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since... I kept telling myself it couldn’t be true, clinging to denial... But I have to ask—who is this child’s father?"
Huh? Shunan’s father? How would she know that?
"Uh... I don’t know his name," Nianzi averted her gaze, brushing off the question. "It was just an accident. Don’t worry about it."
"You don’t know who the father is?!"
Tomoko looked utterly horrified, her expression growing increasingly strange. "Wait... were you tricked? What did he look like? Did he say anything to you?"
This was getting weirder. Why was Tomoko interrogating her like this? But before Nianzi could respond, Shunan—ever the considerate little savior—spoke up in her stead.
"Daddy has a star-shaped birthmark on his shoulder. I’ve never met him since I was born. Also, ma’am, aren’t you prying a bit too much into personal matters?"
...Who knew a two-and-a-half-year-old could become her spokesperson? Not only did he cut off the dangerous questioning, but he did it flawlessly!
Nianzi was silently amazed by Shunan’s eloquence. His answer also seemed to stun Tomoko into silence.
"......"
Her lips parted slightly as she stared at Nianzi and Shunan for a long moment without speaking. Then, her gaze softened, filling with both sympathy and indignation. She reached out and clasped Nianzi’s hand.
"...Don’t worry, sweetheart. This isn’t over. I’ll help you."
Huh? Help her with what?
Nianzi was completely lost, but Tomoko was already muttering curses under her breath as she pulled out a worn-out business card from her wallet and dialed a number.
The call connected quickly, and soon, Nianzi heard Tomoko’s furious shouting.
"Joseph Joestar! I can’t believe you—you absolute scumbag! Did you knock up another high school girl and abandon the child?!"
Who?
Nianzi was still completely in the dark, but at that moment, the system suddenly pinged again—the avatar for the second romanceable character lit up.
Character: Joseph Joestar.
Good news—finally, a new character had appeared! Not two and a half, not four and a half. The gods had finally answered her prayers and sent someone older.
Except "older" was an understatement. This romanceable character was 68 years old, with an avatar depicting a white-bearded American man.
...?
She stared blankly at the character profile and age for a long time, making sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
...Seriously?
She’d asked for someone older, but wasn’t this too old? Was this game just that extreme?
And judging by Tomoko’s reaction, there was clearly some history here. Could it be...?
A sudden realization hit Nianzi. Tomoko was out alone in a snowstorm, taking her son to the hospital when her car got stuck. She hadn’t called her husband—instead, she’d asked a random high schooler for help. That likely meant she was divorced, had a child out of wedlock, or... her husband was dead.
Now, the "out of wedlock" theory seemed the most plausible.
So it wasn’t just her imagination. She’d thought Higashikata Josuke and Shunan looked similar due to shared character design, but apparently, others noticed the resemblance too! Tomoko must’ve suspected Shunan and her son shared the same father.
...A 68-year-old white man running around Japan, leaving illegitimate children everywhere? Honestly, that wasn’t even surprising.
The fact that this old man was a romanceable option made her question the game’s direction even more. Still, she listened carefully to Tomoko’s conversation with him.
"What? Tomoko... Wait, what are you talking about? You’re saying I did that? I’d never do something so monstrous!"
"Stop lying! That child is two years old now. You disgusting old man—preying on a 16-year-old high schooler? I can’t believe I ever loved someone like you!"
Joseph Joestar sounded genuinely shocked by the accusation, but there was also a hint of guilt in his voice, as if he was awkwardly trying to placate her.
"...It’s been a long time. I never expected our first contact in years to be about something like this. What happened back then was a mistake—I regret it deeply. I’m not trying to dodge responsibility. I don’t even know how it happened... It felt like it wasn’t even me. But a mistake is a mistake, and it was unfair to you. All I can do now is apologize and try to make amends."
The topic clearly pained him, yet he spoke as if he’d been waiting for this call, finally unloading his confession.
"You refused compensation and cut all ties. I’ve carried the guilt ever since. I know nothing I say now will undo the past, but I swear on my mother’s name—I would never do what you’re accusing me of!"
"Go to hell! I’ve already met your other illegitimate child!"
Higashikata Tomoko completely ignored what Joseph was saying, furiously roaring at him, "What happened five years ago was originally a beautiful memory for me. I haven’t forgotten any of it, and I never intended to disrupt your life. Fine, if that’s how it is, I won’t hide it anymore—I was pregnant too, and I gave birth to your son. He’s four and a half years old now. Bet you didn’t see that coming?!"
"…………"
The other end of the phone suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, Nianzi finally heard a panicked exclamation, "Oh… Oh my god!! You have a child?!"
"……"
So that’s how it was.
From their phone conversation, Nianzi roughly pieced together what had happened.
In short, Higashikata Tomoko had a brief affair with a wealthy, married older white man and secretly bore his illegitimate child without his knowledge. Because Shunan and Higashikata Josuke looked like carbon copies of each other, and Shunan had mentioned his father’s birthmark, Tomoko realized the old man had been with other women besides her.
There might even be more, Nianzi silently mused. After all, unless the game developers were lazy with character models, how else could such a coincidence happen? Plus, both Shunan and her son were mixed-race, making the possibility even higher.
What a terrible second romance option… Not only was he old, but he was also a womanizer. Did he have some kind of Yellow Fever? What kind of otome game would include such an old man as a romanceable character? Though, objectively speaking, he was a handsome older man, fitting certain niche tastes. But she couldn’t fathom anyone other than gay men wanting to pursue him.
Still, she wasn’t here to judge. All she cared about was whether this old man would be easy to romance.
If he was, she’d quickly finish his route and move on. After all, a two-and-a-half-year-old and a four-and-a-half-year-old couldn’t possibly have any romantic development—their cognitive abilities weren’t even fully formed. It’d be downright criminal. For her, it’d just be babysitting. Until other age-appropriate characters appeared, this old man was the only viable option for a normal romance… though the thought repulsed her.
She was going to murder the game’s writer.
In any case, the news from Higashikata Tomoko was so shocking that Joseph Joestar, for some reason, decided to come to Japan to meet her in person—though he still adamantly denied being with anyone else.
Everything would be settled once they met face-to-face. This was an opportunity, and Nianzi decided to stick around and see how things played out.
Who knew that doing a random good deed would unlock two new romanceable characters… and neither of them was normal.
"Don’t worry, I’ll help you," Higashikata Tomoko said indignantly after hanging up, grabbing Nianzi’s hand. "Don’t hold back—ask him for money, inheritance rights, whatever you want. Don’t let yourself get shortchanged!"
If not for her, Tomoko wouldn’t have even contacted the old man for money, let alone reminded Nianzi to demand more.
Tomoko was such a kind-hearted person, Nianzi thought.
Yet Shunan hadn’t said a word to clear things up, letting the misunderstanding linger while watching them with an innocent yet calculating gaze… Not simple at all.
Soon, Tomoko hurried back into the hospital room to tend to her son, leaving Nianzi to ponder her next move. After all, the old man had never met her. What if he denied everything and called the police?
Should she admit she’d found Shunan and return him to his real mother? But just as she was considering this, Shunan tugged at her sleeve and spoke softly.
"Sister can do whatever she wants. I’ll help you."
"Huh?"
Nianzi turned to Shunan, confused by his words.
"I want to stay with you."
Shunan gazed at her quietly, his voice eerily calm as he continued, "Actually, I was thrown out by the people at the club. My mom works a lot, always at night, and the neighbors complained, so she had to take me with her. But Sachiko, one of her coworkers, hated her. While Mom was entertaining a client, Sachiko pushed my stroller out the back door. And Mom often brought men home at night. They were so loud I couldn’t sleep, but I wasn’t allowed to make a sound—her boyfriends would hit me. But you, Sister, tied yourself up at night so you wouldn’t disturb me, and you even gave me delicious food. You’re the kindest person in the world to me. I’ve been praying not to be sent back. I’ll be good and obedient. Can you be my mom?"
He spoke all of this in one breath, so clearly and fluently that Nianzi was stunned.
Wait… Since when could a two-and-a-half-year-old articulate like this?!
System Notification:
Shunan has expressed his desire to stay with you. Your response is—
A. "Of course! I can spare a meal or two." Agree to let him stay and hide him in the closet.
B. "Absolutely not. There’s no room for a child here." Refuse and send him back to his birth mother.
C. "Let me think about it." Use the "I’ll decide later" tactic—give him hope but no promises.
