Kaede Kitahara slept until 7:30 p.m.
When he woke up, he felt as if his body had been emptied out, and he was so hungry he couldn't stand it.
He went downstairs to cook some instant noodles to tide him over, but found his younger sister, Chisa Kitahara, still watching TV in the living room. The TV was showing the news. When did Chisa become interested in the news? She usually only watched variety shows and dramas, didn't she?
Upon approaching, Kitahara Kaede realized.
Chisato wasn't watching TV at all; she was curled up on the sofa like a kitten, sleeping soundly with a thin silver thread of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, looking both adorable and completely defenseless.
She picked up the remote control.
Kitahara Kaede first turned the TV to mute, then covered Chisato with a blanket, and tidied up the half-eaten takeout left on the table before heading to the kitchen to cook the noodles.
She didn't make anything complicated.
She simply added some chopped scallions, a few pieces of green vegetables, and a fried egg, and a bowl of hot noodle soup was ready.
Though it was a simple home-cooked dish, the noodles were made from carefully selected fresh dough, the ingredients were meticulously chosen, and the timing and seasoning were perfectly balanced. Both the taste and presentation were far more refined and delicious than what an ordinary person could make.
As soon as it was served,
the aroma of the noodles wafted from the kitchen into the living room.
On the sofa, after finishing dinner, Kitahara Chisato had fallen asleep from food fatigue. She woke up to the aroma.
"It smells so good…"
Kitahara Chisato sat up, inhaling the fragrance in the air. She saw the blanket covering her, the TV set to mute, and the neatly tidied table, and immediately thought of Kitahara Kaede.
She clutched the warm blanket in her hands.
Kitahara Chisato's face flushed slightly. She had accidentally shown such an embarrassing side of herself in front of Kitahara Kaede… She regretted having carelessly fallen asleep in the living room earlier, but at the same time, she felt a hint of warmth from her family for the first time.
"Maybe having an older brother isn't so bad?"
The thought involuntarily popped into Kitahara Chisato's mind, but she shook her head immediately. How could she have such a terrifying thought? She must have really been sleep-deprived. She certainly didn't want an older brother who was both a shut-in and a poor student!
At that moment, Kitahara Fuyu entered the living room with a bowl of noodles.
He glanced at Kitahara Chisato: "Are you awake? Would you like to come over and eat some more?"
"I've already had dinner…"
After answering, Kitahara Chisato hesitated before saying, "Also, thank you."
"Hm?" Kitahara Fuyu asked in confusion.
"Thank you for covering me with the blanket."
"There's no need to thank me for such a small thing. We're family, after all." Kitahara Kaede smiled.
Kitahara Chisato blinked her eyes, neither refuting nor agreeing with the family claim. She stood up to take a shower and then hurry back to her room. Since she was already awake, she might as well review her lessons.
However, as she passed by Kitahara Kaede, the aroma of the noodles grew even more intense.
Kitahara Chisato glanced at the untouched noodles, a hint of longing flashing in her eyes.
In truth, she hadn't eaten enough that night, having only managed half a box of takeout. She'd only just realized that her palate had been spoiled by Kitahara Fuyu's cooking, and the takeout simply didn't satisfy her.
She remembered when she first moved in, she had been eager to grow up and become independent, to move out on her own.
But now, she occasionally found herself thinking that if she moved out, she wouldn't be able to eat Kitahara Kaede's cooking anymore.
Kitahara Kaede noticed Kitahara Chisato's longing gaze and guessed she was too shy to say it, so he gave her an excuse: "There's so much I can't finish it all. Help me eat some, will you?"
"Well, then I won't be rude. "
Kitahara Chisato blushed slightly as she sat down on the chair and began eating the noodles in small bites.
There's no comparison.
Kitahara Chisato felt that compared to the takeout from the evening, Kitahara Fuyu's noodles were infinitely better.
She still loved this taste the most...
Kitahara Chisato finished the noodles quickly and thanked him again: "Thank you for the meal. I'll go take a shower first."
After taking a shower,
Kitahara Chisato had originally planned to politely inform Kitahara Fuyu that Iino Yako was planning to come over again tomorrow for a study session, but she found that Kitahara Fuyu was no longer in the living room, so she went upstairs and knocked on Kitahara Fuyu's door.
Creak—
The door was quickly opened by Kitahara Fuyu, and the interior of the room was immediately visible.
Kitahara Kaede's room was not messy, but rather very neat, though it still had a strong otaku vibe, such as anime character posters on the walls, light novels on the bookshelves, and a pile of Mr. Panda Pan dolls in the corner.
In addition to these, there was also a display cabinet.
The display cabinet was filled with beautiful girl figurines and Mr. Panda Pan figurines...
It couldn't be said that they were all beautiful girl and Panda Pan figurines.
In addition to the beautiful girl and Panda Pan figurines, there was also a bronze statue of a man resembling a monk, which had appeared at some point. Below the statue were a few lines of indistinct text, resembling the bronze statues erected in public places, giving it an old-fashioned and unconventional appearance... She remembered seeing a similar statue at the library entrance last time, which she recalled was called the Edogawa Ranpo statue?
Her older brother's interests were getting stranger and stranger.
"It wasn't there last time…"
Kitahara Chisato had a good memory. She remembered that when she came over a few months ago, she hadn't seen that plain Edogawa Ranpo statue, but she didn't think much of it and turned to Kitahara Kaede, saying, "I forgot to tell you earlier, Kaede-kun, but Yuko-chan is coming over tomorrow for a study session."
"Yako-chan seems to be coming over pretty often lately, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, she's been coming almost every week this month."
Kitahara Chisato thought for a moment and said, "It's probably because of the exams."
"I see."
"Well, good night, Kaede-kun."
"Good night, Chisato."
Kitahara Kaede closed the door and thought about getting up early tomorrow to buy some cake and pudding.
Iino Yuko, a highly popular character in "Kaguya-sama: Love is War," was also one of the people he wanted to impress, so he naturally wanted to find ways to please her.
Over the past six months, he had been catering to her preferences.
If he kept up the effort for a while longer, he might be able to break free from the impression of being "the older brother from the friend's family."
Therefore, he was eagerly anticipating Iino Yako's arrival tomorrow.
However, before that, he needed to focus on his work.
Love requires bread as its foundation. Without working hard, relying solely on the monthly allowance from his parents, he wouldn't even be able to afford the snacks for Yami, let alone the novels and merchandise from "Love Rhythm" by Kasumi Shiharu.
He returned to his computer.
Kitahara Kaede continued his writing endeavor.
His current profession is a novelist, though not a light novelist, but a mystery novelist. He recently won this year's Edogawa Rampo Award, receiving a prize of 10 million yen and a statue of Edogawa Rampo.
Though the novel hasn't been published yet and he can't receive royalties, the 10 million yen prize has greatly alleviated his financial pressure.