Tonight was dinner at the Kents’.
Under the warm yellow light, the long wooden table was laden with a sumptuous feast.
The apple pie baked by Martha exhaled a sweet aroma of cinnamon, while the creamy corn chowder cooked by Jonathan puffed gentle steam.
Most eye-catching of all was the brisket expertly roasted by Rock.
Crispy and glistening on the outside, tender and juicy pink on the inside, its rich meaty fragrance dominated the entire table.
Sitting upright at the table, Dio looked as elegant as a young aristocrat, displaying not a single trait of a farmer’s son.
He sliced the meat on his plate unhurriedly, every cut precise along the grain, before lifting the pieces gently into his mouth with his fork to chew slowly.
On the other hand…
At the far end of the table, Clark was burying his face in his food.
He speared a massive chunk of brisket and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster’s, shiny gravy smeared all over his lips.
Glancing at Clark, then over at Dio, Jonathan couldn’t help chuckling.
“Clark, slow down.
Nobody’s going to steal it from you.”
“Mmmph-mmmph!”
Clark nodded indistinctly, but his chewing speed didn’t drop in the slightest.
In the blink of an eye, he speared a second piece of meat.
Dio’s knife and fork paused slightly.
Staring at Clark gorging himself, a vein throbbed faintly on Dio’s temple.
*That brisket…*
He wanted to devour it too!
Yet to maintain his image of being “elegant and well-mannered,” he had no choice but to cut off tiny pieces and chew slowly.
And now this bastard Clark was about to polish off the entire platter by himself!
Fortunately, Aunt Martha’s next words brought him a surge of delight.
“Clark!” Martha admonished.
“Look at Dio!
We should learn from others’ strengths to make up for our own shortcomings.”
Rebuked by his mother, Clark froze mid-action.
He looked up at Dio and saw him elegantly slicing off a tiny bit of meat.
Dio’s ruby-like eyes crinkled toward him in a sweet, well-behaved smile.
In the past, Clark would definitely have retorted indignantly: *He’s just eating too slowly!*
Today, however, having been instructed by Uncle Rock, Clark swallowed his words back down.
“Okay, Mom!”
He gave a muffled response and slowed his chewing, though it was still vastly faster than Dio’s.
Seeing Clark comply, Martha and Jonathan both beamed with satisfaction.
They didn’t expect Clark to be as perfectly mannered as Rock’s son, Dio—if he could just pick up a fraction of it, they would be content.
Dio: “?”
The fingers gripping his steak knife turned white, his knuckles straining blue.
*Damn you, Clark!*
*Why didn’t you argue back today?!*
*You bastard!*
*I want to take big bites of Dad’s brisket too!*
*Slow the hell down for me!!!*
The knife emitted a faint squeak in Dio’s grip, as though it might snap at any moment.
On the surface, however, he maintained a flawless smile, even thoughtfully pushing his own plate toward Clark.
“Clark, you should eat more.
Martha’s eyes welled slightly with emotion.
“Dio is truly such a sensible child.”
Jonathan nodded in relief as well.
“That’s right, Clark.
You should learn from your little brother.”
“Thanks, Dio,” Clark said.
He looked at Dio’s “friendly” smile, then down at the extra meat on his plate.
*Uncle Rock was right!*
*Keeping quiet really is the way to hit the jackpot!*
“Alright, alright, no need for fancy table manners at a family dinner.
We’re all family here.”
Rock, holding back his laughter, carved off a big portion of beef and put it onto Dio’s plate.
“Eat up, kid.
Don’t go complaining you’re hungry later tonight.”
“Thanks, Dad!”
Showing genuine emotion, Dio nearly shed a tear.
He knew it—his dad still loved him best.
Night fell softly, a river of stars spreading over Kent Farm as the evening breeze swept across the porch, carrying the sweet fragrance of wheat fields.
Standing beside the tractor, Rock lifted Dio by the waist with a rough, large hand and effortlessly popped him onto the passenger seat.
“Alright, kiddo, time to head home.”
Ruffling Dio’s blonde hair, Rock buckled his seatbelt for him.
“But Dad…” Dio blinked his ruby-like eyes, looking up at Rock.
“I want to play with Clark a little longer…”
*Play more?*
*I’m afraid Clark won’t be able to stop himself from throwing a punch at you, brat!*
“Play at this hour?”
Rock raised an eyebrow, deliberately scowling.
“You have school tomorrow.”
“Besides, don’t think I don’t know you snuck that copy of *Demon Deathchase: Vampire Hunter D* to read with Clark during class last time.”
“?!”
*Clark…*
Gritting his teeth, Dio glared at his oblivious older brother.
Under Clark’s bewildered gaze, Dio looked like he wanted to devour him whole.
*That guy snitched on me!*
Seeing Dio’s reaction, Rock chuckled.
He turned and waved to the Kent family standing on the porch.
“We’re heading out.
Gotta get up early tomorrow morning to harvest the wheat.”
Holding a drowsy Clark in her arms, Martha smiled gently.
“Drive carefully.”
“Rock!”
“Don’t be in such a rush.” Having finished clearing the dinner table, Jonathan strode out the door and slapped the tractor’s hood.
“It’s pitch-black out.
Just stay over tonight. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
We’ve got a room kept for you anyway, and Dio can sleep in Clark’s room!”
Just as Rock was about to refuse, Dio tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Dad, I’m a little cold.”
*This little bastard is acting again…*
*He’s probably waiting to pull something big once he’s sharing a room with Clark.*
*What on earth did Clark ever do to you?!*
Rock looked down and glared at Dio, scaring the boy into instantly shrinking his neck back and faking a sneeze.
Martha immediately felt sick with concern.
“Oh dear, the night air is chilly.
What if the child catches a cold?”
Jonathan chimed in too.
“Exactly!
That beat-up tractor of yours doesn’t even have a windshield.
How is a kid supposed to handle that?”
Rock: “…”
“Jonathan, are you sane?”
“My house isn’t even three hundred meters from yours…”
“It’s right next door!”
“?”
“Oh, right.” Jonathan scratched his head sheepishly, then burst into laughter and waved.
“Well, hurry on off then!”
The roar of the tractor shattered the silence of the night, its headlights casting swaying beams of light onto the dirt country road.
The Kent family stood in the warm light of the porch, watching them depart.
Martha pulled her shawl tighter and sighed softly.
“Who would have thought Rock could raise Dio to be so sensible?”
Watching the tractor’s taillights fade into the distance, Jonathan smiled and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“Tell me about it.
When Rock first arrived at the farm, that dark look in his eyes gave me the creeps.
But now…” He paused, looking at Clark, who had somehow fallen fast asleep in Martha’s arms.
“Maybe becoming a father matured him.”
“By the way, haven’t you noticed?”
“Dio only shows his childish side when he’s around Clark.”
Martha chuckled suddenly.
“Just like how you used to love teasing Rock back in the day.”
“I did no such thing!”
Jonathan blushed, though his voice automatically dropped an octave.
Moonlight bathed the bumpy dirt road.
Dio curled up in the passenger seat, flipping through the novel—*Vampire Hunter D*—by the faint glow of the dashboard.
The pages rustled softly under his fingertips, his hanging blonde hair obscuring his expression.
Rock kept one hand on the steering wheel.
Seeing from the corner of his eye that Dio had turned to the chapter titled “Weaknesses of Vampires,” he finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“Dio.”
“Hmm?”
The boy didn’t even look up, his voice unnaturally cheerful.
“Why are you always targeting Clark?”
“I knew you’d say that, Dad.”