"I said--" but before he could repeat himself and compliment her again when he realized what she was still on. He laughed and shook his head. "Aoko," he said, "if you were a cop, you'd be a good one. Probably the only one." Maybe that'd get through to her. "I lived in a bad neighborhood," he said, as if that would help. "Nobody wants to go down into those places. I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't afford cram school." Nor would his father care.

He hadn't even gotten too far yet, his father was just one factor. But, for the moment his lips were sealed. But God knows how long that would last around her.