Chapter 3: Why don't you take a look back?
It's only six o'clock, which is not the time when Morofushi Sora'aki usually gets up. After talking with his brother for a while, Morofushi Sora'aki rubbed his eyes, looking sleepy again.
Morofushi Hiromitsu simply let Morofushi Sora'aki lie on his bed and gently coaxed the little boy to continue sleeping for a while.
After coaxing his younger brother back to sleep, Morofushi Hiromitsu noticed that his brother's cheek was slightly swollen from lying on his side, and his mouth was slightly open. He couldn't help but reach out and poke his brother's cheek.
Because of his chubby cheeks, his hair was soft and comfortable to touch. Morofushi Hiromitsu carefully withdrew his hand and then tidied his younger brother's bangs.
He stood up quietly, picked up the documents and books on the table, put them in his bag, and then carefully left the room.
After closing the door, Morofushi Hiromitsu silently breathed a sigh of relief, then quietly walked downstairs.
At this time, Mother Morofushi had already woken up. After coming downstairs, Morofushi Hiromitsu noticed the noise in the kitchen, poked his head out, and greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Mom."
"Good morning, Hiromitsu." Mother Morofushi was a very gentle lady with a pair of beautiful blue cat eyes, making it easy to tell which of the three brothers inherited their eyes from.
"Has Sora'aki gone back to sleep?" Mother Morofushi asked softly.
Clearly, the "pat-pat" footsteps of Morofushi Sora'aki in the morning had also caught the attention of his mother, who was sleeping on the first floor.
"Ah… I was just about to tell you this." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and said, "Sora'aki is asleep in my room. If you need to wake him up, just go to my room. Oh, by the way, Mom, you don't need to tidy up the things on the table for me. Just leave them there."
"I understand. Are you going out? I remember you didn't have class today," Mother Morofushi asked again.
"Yes, I'm going to the library with Zero!" Morofushi Hiromitsu said cheerfully.
"I see. Are you coming back for lunch?"
"Hmm... I won't be back at noon. I think I'll be back around 4:30 this afternoon for dinner!" Morofushi Hiromitsu calculated his plans for the day: "If I'm not coming back, I'll call ahead."
"Okay." Mother Morofushi smiled, placed the plate containing fried eggs, bread, and fried sausages on the table, and took out milk from the refrigerator: "Eat breakfast before you go out. You didn't keep Rei-kun waiting for you, did you?"
"We arranged to meet at seven, so there's no rush." Morofushi Hiromitsu hung his bag aside, sat down at the dining table, and clasped his hands together. "Let's eat."
Looking at her second son, who was enjoying his meal, Mother Morofushi thought for a moment and then asked, "Should we prepare a portion for Rei-kun?"
"As for Zero... ah, he probably hasn't eaten yet. Then I'll trouble Mom to bring him some later."
So, while Morofushi Hiromitsu was eating, Mother Morofushi made another portable breakfast, packed it up, and handed it to him. As Morofushi Hiromitsu walked to the door, she said, "When you come back for dinner, remember to call Rei-kun. I'll make a little extra."
"I understand!" Morofushi Hiromitsu waved his hand and left home with light steps.
When Morofushi Sora'aki rubbed his eyes and came out of the room, it was already around eight o'clock. He walked down the stairs step by step in his fluffy slippers.
When he saw his father sitting at the dining table with a newspaper, Morofushi Sora'aki mumbled, "Good morning, Dad."
"Good morning, it's bright." Father Morofushi nodded, then continued to look at the newspaper.
Then, Mother Morofushi poked her head out from the kitchen: "Sora'aki, go wash your face and brush your teeth first, then come and have breakfast."
"Oh." Morofushi Sora'aki was so sleepy that his head was nodding off.
Watching his youngest son, still dazed, go back upstairs, Father Morofushi looked up from his newspaper, exchanged a glance with his wife, their eyes filled with a tender helplessness.
"This child always needs to be reminded," Father Morofushi shook his head.
"He clearly has a good memory, but he's always been quite forgetful when it comes to these little things." Mother Morofushi laughed as well.
But that's kind of cute too.
When Morofushi Sora'aki finished washing up and came downstairs again, Father Morofushi had already put down the newspaper, and there were three breakfasts in front of him.
Morofushi Sora'aki sat down in his seat, then glanced at the empty seat: "Has brother gone out?"
"Yes, he went to the library," Mother Morofushi explained first, then gently asked, "Does Sora'aki want to go too?"
Morofushi Sora'aki thought for a moment and then nodded.
So Mother Morofushi smiled and said, "Then when your brother doesn't have class next time, He'll take you with him, okay?"
Morofushi Sora'aki agreed.
Father Morofushi is an elementary school teacher, so he went out after breakfast. Morofushi Sora'aki is on leave from school, so now it's just him and his mother at home.
When his mother started doing housework, Morofushi Sora'aki ran to the study on the second floor, brought out two thick books, placed them on the coffee table in the living room, and slowly turned the pages one by one.
Because Morofushi Sora'aki doesn't have any particular hobbies—or rather, no hobbies that he's particularly interested in besides his family have been discovered yet—the only things that can keep him occupied for a little while, besides daydreaming, are books.
Furthermore, because Sora'aki would never flip through a book again after finishing it, his bookshelves at home became increasingly cluttered with books, even including some inexplicable manuals for engineering machinery.
Out of curiosity, Mother Morofushi walked over and glanced at the cover. After seeing the name on it, she fell silent.
Because the book that Morofushi Sora'aki hadn't yet read was titled "Postpartum Care of Sows".
With a smile, Mother Morofushi walked into the study, picked out another book that Morofushi Sora'aki hadn't read yet, and took the nursing book away.
Then, under the puzzled gaze of Morofushi Sora'aki, she said gently, "It must be that your father bought the wrong thing. I'll have him return it later."
Morofushi Sora'aki tilted his head slightly, not paying any attention to this, and lowered his head again.
Morofushi Sora'aki reads very slowly, but the intervals between page turns are almost the same. Whether the book has more pictures or dense text, his page-turning speed is not much different.
Rather than reading, Morofushi Sora'aki seemed to be using reading as an excuse to daydream.
Moreover, Morofushi Sora'aki never picky; even if it's a boring dictionary, he can read through it page by page.
What's most surprising is that even so, Morofushi Sora'aki could remember what he had seen and even repeat the information.
At that time, the other members of the Morofushi family realized that this child probably had a photographic memory.
So they will be more careful when speaking in front of this child.
When only Morofushi Sora'aki and his mother were home, the house was mostly quiet. When Morofushi Sora'aki got tired of watching, he would rest his head on his mother's lap and close his eyes.
Because he doesn't have to go to school—or rather, even if he did, Morofushi Sora'aki's daily life is very simple.
The only difference every day is...
Morofushi Sora'aki stared at the blond boy who had returned with his older brother at the door, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, but the curve was so small that no one could notice it.
"Welcome home, Hiromitsu, Rei-kun." Mother Morofushi poked her head out from the kitchen: "You two play by yourselves for now, dinner will be ready soon."
Furuya Rei bowed slightly at the entrance: "Excuse me!"
Furuya Rei stiffly changed his shoes in the entryway and walked into the living room. Looking at Morofushi Sora'aki, who was sitting on the sofa with his eyes fixed on him, he almost had the urge to run away.
Meanwhile, Morofushi Sora'aki noticed that the bag Furuya Rei was holding belonged to Morofushi Hiromitsu. He ran over, took the bag from Furuya Rei, and hid behind Morofushi Hiromitsu, tugging at his older brother's clothes.
Furuya Rei's expression became even more rigid.
—Hiro, it was a pleasant surprise that your brother stopped treating me like a stranger, but now he treats me like an enemy! His hostility is practically tangible! Why don't you at least look back, Hiro?!
Morofushi Hiromitsu, however, only saw the surface of the scene and was even more moved: "You two have gotten along better."
Furuya Rei: ...Then turn around! Your brother's emanating black energy is coming out of him!!!