After leaving the Time Vessel Association, Xia Chuan was even kindly provided with a taxi by the organization.
After another half hour on the road, he finally returned to the area around his home.
It had only been half a day since he had left.
Yet somehow, everything around him felt different.
This place still represented his ordinary daily life.
However, the power brought by the Mangekyo Sharingan had gradually made him feel less constrained by many of the things that had once bound him.
It was almost as though, as long as he possessed enough strength, he could do whatever he wanted in this world.
If his Mangekyo could continue evolving in this world…
Then perhaps that idea really could become reality.
For now, however, that goal was still far away.
At present, he needed to focus on steadily increasing his strength.
When Xia Chuan arrived at his front door, he noticed that the lights inside were already on.
A trace of anticipation appeared in his heart.
He walked to the door and knocked.
A moment later, he sensed someone checking the peephole.
After confirming that it was him, Utaha Kasumigaoka finally opened the door.
“Your own house, and you don’t have a spare key?”
“Of course I do.”
Xia Chuan smiled.
“I just wanted to see you open the door and welcome me home.”
Utaha’s lips curved upward.
“Then should I say something like ‘Welcome home,’ Xia-kun?”
“That would be even better.”
Utaha didn’t refuse.
She stepped forward and hugged him.
Then she leaned close to his ear and softly said,
“Welcome home, Xia-kun.”
She didn’t immediately let go.
Instead, she remained there for a while, seemingly enjoying the warmth of the moment.
Several minutes later, Utaha finally released him and walked back inside.
Her relaxed attitude made her look almost like the lady of the house.
“Since Xia-kun is home, shouldn’t the master of the house start making dinner?”
“…Huh?”
Xia Chuan stared at her.
“Since you were already here, Senpai, I thought dinner would already be prepared.”
Utaha lazily stretched and walked over to the table.
Her laptop was already sitting there.
“As an author, I actually stopped writing just to come and greet you.”
“You should be grateful.”
She placed her hands on the keyboard and immediately returned to writing mode.
Xia Chuan walked over.
Utaha opened a new document and repeatedly typed:
I’m hungry!
I’m hungry!
I’m hungry…
“Seriously…”
Xia Chuan sighed.
“Fine.”
He had originally intended to rest for a while, but that plan was clearly going nowhere.
He opened the refrigerator.
It was completely stocked with fresh ingredients.
Apparently, Utaha had already prepared everything beforehand.
Taking the ingredients into the kitchen, Xia Chuan suddenly realized that he had spent most of the past two months busy with spirit extermination.
As a result, he had barely cooked for himself.
He wondered whether his cooking skills had become rusty.
…
Meanwhile, before Xia Chuan returned home, Utaha had been able to type continuously without interruption.
But once Xia Chuan came back, she discovered something unexpected.
Even when she entered her writing mode, she was starting to get distracted.
Still…
She had already been writing for nearly two hours.
That should be enough for today.
Utaha glanced toward the figure moving around inside the kitchen.
She finally gave up.
Quietly getting to her feet, she walked toward the kitchen.
She leaned against the doorway, crossed her arms, and watched Xia Chuan prepare dinner with interest.
Sensing her approach, Xia Chuan didn’t even turn around.
“Finished working?”
Since she’d already been discovered, Utaha simply walked in openly.
She leaned against Xia Chuan from behind.
“I finished the new outline.”
“I’ll work out the detailed scenes later.”
“Then I’ll look forward to Teacher Utako Kasumi’s next volume becoming a bestseller.”
Utaha didn’t respond to that.
Instead, she watched his movements with great interest.
Her teasing mode returned almost immediately.
She lightly lifted Xia Chuan’s chin with one finger.
“If it becomes a bestseller, I’ll support you financially.”
“It’s good to have dreams, Utaha.”
Xia Chuan glanced sideways at her.
“But I don’t have any dream of becoming a househusband.”
“Really?”
Utaha gently touched his cheek.
“What if I add money and rewards?”
Xia Chuan, who had initially rejected the idea without hesitation, suddenly looked thoughtful.
“I might consider it depending on the circumstances.”
Utaha laughed.
“So you really are just like any other young man with plenty of energy.”
“Since you already know that, Utaha-senpai should wait outside.”
Xia Chuan straightened his back.
“If you keep provoking me, dinner might not be the first thing we deal with.”
Utaha naturally understood what he meant.
She had always been quite shameless when it came to teasing him.
And now that their relationship had progressed this far, she had even fewer reservations.
Rather than becoming embarrassed, she pressed closer for a moment before finally stepping away with a bell-like laugh.
“I’ve always had great confidence in Xia-kun’s self-control.”
Xia Chuan took a deep breath.
He cleared his mind and continued cooking.
We’ll see how confident you are after dinner.
Still, perhaps because he was somewhat impatient, Xia Chuan increased the pace of his cooking.
By the time he brought the dishes to the table, Utaha was already sitting there with her bowl and chopsticks ready.
She waited until Xia Chuan sat down before beginning to eat.
“How does it taste?”
Xia Chuan asked.
“It’s exactly to my liking.”
Utaha gave her verdict.
Truthfully, she wasn’t particularly concerned about food.
But because Xia Chuan had prepared the meal himself, the dishes naturally tasted better to her.
Still, she didn’t eat very much.
She preferred to maintain her figure.
Before long, she put down her bowl and chopsticks.
Then she looked toward Xia Chuan.
Her teasing expression returned.
Xia Chuan noticed what she was doing and gave her an exasperated look.
Utaha seemed to enjoy his reaction.
She smiled charmingly.
“Xia-kun…
don’t you think that at a time like this, we should do something a little more meaningful?”
“Utaha, you’re starting to resemble the kind of hopeless romantic I imagined you as.”
“I am a hopeless romantic.”
Utaha didn’t deny it at all.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement, mischief, and a hint of anticipation.
Xia Chuan finally put down his chopsticks.
He walked around the table and gently wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You’ve been deliberately stirring things up this entire time, Senpai.”
Utaha naturally wrapped her arms around him.
“But I can put out the fire too.”