...
"Lucian, Lucian, time to get up."
The knocking on the door from outside made both Lucian and Seiun Sky in the room freeze.
"Auntie is here, what to do, what to do?" Seiun Sky hugged Lucian in a panic.
"I know you're panicking, but you shouldn't panic first."
"It's this time already, and the Trainer is still joking." Seiun Sky's face was full of helplessness. Her only hiding place now was to burrow into the blanket.
"The door is locked from the inside, don't be afraid. How about I go deal with it."
"But..." Seiun Sky pressed on Lucian's stomach. "We haven't finished yet."
"Then ignore her for now?" Lucian cupped Seiun Sky's face. "Next time I reach out, you have to remember to rest your chin on my hand."
"Who's going to do that kind of thing."
"Knock knock—Lucian? Lucian?" Lucia's voice rang out again. "Why did this kid lock the door from the inside?"
Seiun Sky glanced toward the door. "Trainer, you should go deal with Auntie first. Just say you just woke up."
"Alright." Lucian cleared his throat, faking a hoarse voice. "Mom?"
"You're awake? Don't you check what time it is? Get up quickly. Next time I won't let your dad drink with you."
"Alright, I'll take it easy first, and go wash up once I'm dressed."
"Hurry up, dinner is about to be ready."
"Got it."
...
The footsteps fading away outside the door dissipated. Seiun Sky and Lucian exchanged a glance.
"Why are you suddenly staring at me..."
"I'm thinking... Seiun from last night to today seems to be all shy attributes. That's rare." Lucian crossed his arms behind his head. "So tired, don't want to get up, don't want to move now."
"Lying there all the time and still saying you're tired, still saying you don't want to move and such..."
Lucian just looked at Seiun Sky like that, smiling without speaking, but at this moment his peripheral vision caught the lit-up phone.
"Who's calling?" Seiun Sky asked.
"This seems to be your phone."
"My phone?" Seiun Sky picked it up. "It's Spe-chan calling."
"They probably just went to your room to call you, right?"
"Oh no, oh no..." Seiun Sky hesitated for a moment, but in the end still answered the call. Otherwise, Special Week and the others would probably worry even more.
"Hello, Spe-chan, what's up?"
"Seiun, where did you go? Why aren't you in your room?"
"I-I got up early and felt like there was nothing to do, so..." Seiun Sky's whole body trembled, her voice cutting off abruptly like a cliff.
Lucian's hand climbed onto her smooth back, leaning close to her ear and whispering softly: "I don't seem that tired anymore right now."
Seiun Sky covered her mouth, shaking her head nonstop.
"Seiun? Why did you suddenly stop talking?" Special Week asked.
"Maybe Seiun is still busy?" Silence Suzuka's voice suddenly came from the phone as well.
There was a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.
Don't listen to Suzuka, or suffer right in front of you.
"Ahem... Spe-chan, I just almost... stepped, stepped into a mud pit, got a scare."
"Seiun, how are you so careless? But good that you didn't sink deep into the mud pit." Silence Suzuka said coolly. "Or have you already sunk in? Really hard to guess."
"Hm?" Special Week looked at the screen, then at Silence Suzuka.
Why did these two's conversation feel so inexplicable? Indeed hard to guess.
Seiun Sky glared angrily at Lucian, continuing to reply: "How could I be that careless? What are you thinking, Suzuka?"
The perceptive Special Week directly handed the phone to Silence Suzuka.
Silence Suzuka took the phone. "Didn't fall in? I'm just reminding Seiun."
"That's really... Mm!?" Seiun Sky suddenly let out a muffled hum.
Silence Suzuka drawled: "Looks like she fell in."
"Suzuka, quickly call Seiun back for dinner. Auntie is almost done cooking." Special Week had to interrupt the two, whispering softly in Silence Suzuka's ear.
"Seiun, Auntie is urging for dinner. You and... how much longer?"
"I-I don't know how much longer." Seiun Sky glanced at Lucian. "Should be soon, right?"
"Are you asking me? Asked the wrong person. Why not ask the right one."
"Got it got it, I'll hang up first, be back in a bit."
...
The call ended. Silence Suzuka returned the phone to Special Week.
"Suzuka, where did Seiun go? How is there even a mud pit in that place?"
"Don't know, I was just guessing." Silence Suzuka shook her head.
"Alright." Special Week aimlessly swiped through the phone pages. "Speaking of which, the Trainer hasn't come down yet. I thought he went out to play with Seiun, but Auntie said he's in his room and just woke up."
If it was playing solo tunes again, or going out to play together, then Special Week's jar of vinegar would be overturned.
"Maybe Lucian-kun fell into a mud pit in his dreams too."
"Eh?" Special Week felt like everything Silence Suzuka said today was so strange, and inexplicably carrying some resentment.
"Spe-chan, don't mind it, I said it casually. Lucian-kun is probably because he drank baijiu last night."
"Yeah, the Trainer fell asleep snoring after two cups." Special Week suddenly asked doubtfully: "But why is he still sleeping until now?"
"Pretty sleepy, or maybe he woke up in the middle of the night, then played on his phone until very late."
Special Week nodded in agreement, but Silence Suzuka seemed to have described her own night life state as well.
"Right, Suzuka, speaking of last night, when I got up to go to the bathroom, I think I heard some weird sounds."
"Hm?" Silence Suzuka's ears twitched, becoming alert. "What sounds?"
Special Week recalled for a moment. "Can't describe it now, impression is a bit fuzzy too, because when I woke up to go to the bathroom last night, I was a bit groggy."
"Maybe Spe-chan you misheard? I remember around midnight last night, we could still hear fireworks."
"Didn't Suzuka go back to your room to rest very early?"
Silence Suzuka was suddenly stumped. "Woke up from the fireworks and firecrackers sounds, then went back to sleep after a while."
"I see." Special Week nodded. "It was pretty noisy. Uncle and Auntie slept late too yesterday. They said setting off fireworks and firecrackers at dawn is also part of the custom, like the first shot of the new year?"
"First shot of the new year?" Silence Suzuka inexplicably associated it with something.
"Yeah, Suzuka, let's go help Auntie serve the dishes."
"Alright."
...