After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

He first found out about his parents' infidelity on the third day after he had acquired the mind-reading ability.

At that time, Kagura Hikaru was lying in the hospital bed, recklessly peering into the minds of everyone who passed by the ward, deriving a bizarre sense of pleasure from this activity, as if he was superior to all beings.

The worst part was that he legitimized this twisted psychology, claiming it was to collect the skills possessed by others.

He wanted to dominate all skills and become an omnipotent god.

That's what Kagura Hikaru seriously believed at the time.

Soon, he learned his lesson.

As usual, he read the minds of his visiting parents and saw something unexpected.

His mother casually lied, saying she was going back to work, but she actually wanted to rush to meet a man named 'Daisuke.'

His father expressed understanding and said he would be going out for drinks with colleagues and not to wait for him for dinner, but he actually wanted to go to another woman's house and spend time with her.

Kagura Hikaru was shocked to his core.

He confirmed it over and over again.

But in the days that followed, he occasionally read about the infidelity.

So, he became disappointed, he became despondent.

The family was already shattered, beyond repair.

Two years later, Kagura Hikaru was discharged from the hospital.

At home, his parents, now aware of the truth, erupted into an argument.

His father smashed a glass, turning the living room into a mess, and yelled at his mother.

"Traitor! Traitor!"

He shouted like this.

"You too, pot calling the kettle black," his mother mocked back, with a resentful look in her eyes, "If you can cheat, why can't I?"

Both of them displayed expressions and spoke words that they usually wouldn't.

Kagura Hikaru's attempts to intervene were futile.

They got divorced.

Since Kagura Hikaru was not biased towards either parent, custody was granted to his father, whose job was more stable.

After the divorce, his mother soon broke up with the man 'Daisuke.'

After Kagura Hikaru entered high school, she got engaged to another businessman, and it was probably only a matter of time before he would receive their wedding invitation.

It was the opposite with his father.

Less than a year after the divorce, he married his lover as his second wife.

The more affectionate they appeared, the deeper the conflict Kagura Hikaru felt inside.

This woman, arguably one of the direct causes of his parents' marital breakdown, and now he was supposed to call this person 'mother'?

How could he do that, how could he forgive...

If only she was a bad woman, then Kagura Hikaru could hate her unreservedly, labeling her as the chief culprit.

Unfortunately, she wasn't.

She could even be described as a perfect stepmother, gentle, domestic, and understanding.

No wonder his father liked her.

"...Now you know," Kagura Hikaru turned around, looking at Ayakoji Chiyoko, "It's not that I have a bad relationship with my family, it's just that I can't get over this hurdle."

"You have a complex family," Ayakoji Chiyoko said somewhat empathetically, "I can somewhat understand your situation. My father is that kind of promiscuous man, changing women like changing clothes since I was young. The shortest was one day, and the longest lasted only three years before he got dumped. Whenever I came home from school and saw another strange woman lying around the house, my feelings were like yours now."

"And your birth mother?"

"She went abroad right after having me and hardly ever meets or contacts me. She probably really hates me and my father. I heard their marriage was originally a political one."

"Your father, is it because of her that he...?"

"No, he really was lustful."

"Alright."

Kagura Hikaru mentally gave Ryoma Ayakoji, who had recently made it into the top five of the Island Nation's most desirable public figures, a big 'pervert' label.

It was surprising that the long-famous actor was such a person. He had completely misjudged him.

Talking about one's family troubles was probably a conversation that only true friends would have.

This kind of confidential information could cause a major disaster if it were ever leaked.

That was the case for both Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko.

It seemed that Ayakoji Chiyoko even revealed a slight smile as if confirming something.

Kagura Hikaru also wanted to return a smile, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.

In case anyone forgot, he had a setting where he couldn't smile.

Frankly, it was a psychological issue similar to Kiryu Hina's obsession with perfection, a negative legacy left by a past relationship.

Healers can't heal themselves.

Even though Kagura Hikaru knew very clearly that it was a psychological disorder caused by multiple stresses, it was useless; medication couldn't solve it.

Because the sources of those stresses were always lingering around him, and even if they were temporarily cured, the issues would inevitably recur if not addressed.

Ayakoji Chiyoko didn't dwell on this; since she had known him, she had never seen Kagura Hikaru smile, and gradually she could discern whether he was happy or unhappy from his expressionless face.

She could tell that right now, in his heart, Kagura Hikaru was smiling at her.

That was enough.

"Speaking of which, didn't your mother come to see the sports day?" Ayakoji Chiyoko asked as they were walking out of the men's restroom.

Of course, she meant his birth mother.

"She feels awkward seeing my father, so she hasn't come to any of my school events since the divorce, only meeting occasionally when work calms down."

"That's better than my father, who even skips parent-teacher meetings."

"Your father is a big celebrity; it can't be helped if he's busy."

"Hmph, busy? I think he spends all his free time chasing women."

"..."

After parting ways with Ayakoji Chiyoko at the entrance, Kagura Hikaru gathered his spirits to go have lunch with his family.

But they were seen together, and inevitably his stepmother interrogated him.

Kagura Hikaru found it hard to explain his complex relationship with Ayakoji Chiyoko to them and simply ended with the fact they were classmates.

Sports day afternoon.

There were only two more events that Kagura Hikaru needed to participate in.

They were the borrowing race and the three-legged race.

Both were classic sports day events often seen in animations and were not to be missed. Read new chapters at empire

The borrowing race was first.

The rules were simple: each participant would draw lots, then all would sprint towards a table sixty meters from the starting line. On the table, there was a box containing slips of paper with random words. These words might describe abstract concepts or concrete items, some easy to accomplish and others difficult, depending on the luck of the draw.

Participants needed to bring back what was written on their paper to the referees for verification as quickly as possible, and as long as the referees confirmed it was correct, they could pass.

The borrowing race was run in a relay form with students from different grades mixed into teams.

As it was a relatively easy and simple event, many students participated, including many of Kagura Hikaru's acquaintances such as Ayakoji Chiyoko, Kiryu Hina, Ai Cheng Hua Lian, Saijo Mari, Ruzaki Mami, and so on.....