In the Uesugi household, the lights were on and people were coming and going.

It was better to come back early than to come back late, skipping the part where you had to help out and going straight to the part where you asked for food, of course still having to grab the chopsticks yourself.

Tonight, the Uesugi family dining table was particularly lively. On one hand, the dishes were lively, including the usual chicken curry, vegetable salad, and corn soup, as well as non-daily dishes such as smoked salmon, chikuzen-ni, and iron plate Japanese tofu. On the other hand, the attendees were lively, with not only the regular members of the Uesugi family, but also the mother and daughter from the Koga family.

Since that incident, the Uesugi and Koga families had become closer, forming a relationship beyond that of relatives.

Among them, whether it was Koga Shie's mother or Koga Mizuo, they both treated me with a special affection. I knew the reason for this, and because I knew, I also knew that I didn't have the right to accept such warm treatment.

Only someone like "Ziongzong" had the ability to complete that kind of feat in the previous child kidnapping case. If the same incident had been left to me to resolve, it would definitely not have ended so well.

First of all, as a selfish person, I wouldn't bother with something unrelated to myself. And by the time Uesugi Yuuki got involved in the incident, I wouldn't be able to do what "Ziongzong" did anymore.

Saving someone is easy, but helping them regain hope to continue living is difficult.

After understanding this, I also came to understand why I was initially attracted to Ziongzong and why I forcibly clung on to him, even if he was just an illusion, as a figure of my imagination.

Ironically, Mr. Bi Anyan taught me tools for doing evil, which in the end became the beginning of my good deeds. Truly, things are unpredictable.

As I thought about these things, the Uesugi and Koga families were happily interacting.

Koga Shie was a few years younger than Uesugi Yukino, so it was natural for them to address each other as "Yukino sister" and "Murasame sister."

I originally thought that calling her "Yukino sister" would make Uesugi Yukino seem young enough, but now I realized that the art of addressing someone was much more profound. The change from "Yukino sister" to "Yukino sister" made Uesugi Yukino appear five years younger.

If women put the energy they use to maintain their youth into conquering the world, men would definitely not be able to compete.

But it doesn't really matter. Men conquer the world, and women conquer men. Ultimately, women are the smarter ones.

With Koga's mother and Uesugi Yukino chatting like old friends, I was able to stay away from Uesugi Yukino's usual (sexual) feelings towards me.

If it were a normal meal table conversation, it would include topics like:

"Little Zong Zong, did any girls confess to you today?"

"Little Zong Zong, is the method for washing bananas that Field gave you useful?"

"Little Zong Zong, it's okay for your age to exchange saliva, but it's still too early for exchanging other bodily fluids."

It was inevitable to have (sexual) innuendos like these.

To be honest, this kind of topic was just normal conversation among boys of the same age. But in front of familiar girls at home, discussing such topics was really a test of one's thick-skinnedness.

In the end, why should it be the mother guiding the banana-peeling and banana-washing questions related to youth? Isn't that the responsibility of the father!

Imagine this, in a dimly lit room, a middle-aged father and a teenage boy, watching "educational" images on television, giving a lecture. That would be the normal scenario, right?

Discussing the issue of human reproduction and sustainable development equipment in front of the eldest daughter in middle school and the youngest daughter in elementary school during dinner, is that appropriate?

Despite my protests, I still didn't have the courage to bring up these issues with Uesugi Yukino.

Uesugi Yukino's training by Ziongzong had deeply imprinted itself in this body, causing me to tremble when I saw her now.

I wonder how Ziongzong managed to endure it in the past.

Daily life seemed to quietly and naturally return to normal.

Until the next morning.

When I woke up, I heard noises in the first-floor entrance.

Someone was talking. This early in the morning, who could it be? Newspaper delivery person? Milk delivery person? Or maybe it was someone preaching?

Out of curiosity, and also because I was supposed to get up and exercise, I gracefully rolled down the stairs and arrived at the entrance.

In the entrance of Uesugi family at 5:30 in the morning, I saw Souren Manranyama, who had two large suitcases, chatting with Uesugi Yukino.

It felt like I was still dreaming.