Auntie Yue paused. Then her expression darkened and she muttered, "That's true. Big Sis and Brother-in-law completely abandoned you here with me..."
I put on an innocent smile and said, "Miss Blumgren will understand. And it's not like I'm missing anything really."
Well, I'd be away from April for a while. But we could write letters. And I'm sure I could get her fun gifts.
...To be honest, I should probably get away from April for a bit to sort my thoughts about her anyway. Like the fact that she was a literal child right now and NOT the one I remembered.
Auntie Yue sighed. "...You really are Big Sis's son. Too smart."
"I blame Auntie~ You're smart too, you know?"
"You brat." Auntie Yue's mouth twitched into a smile for a bit before she forced it to a neutral expression. "If I wasn't driving I'd swat your head."
"You wouldn't~ Auntie loves me."
That time, Auntie Yue couldn't hide her smile. Instead, she huffed and said, "You're terrible. I really do need to keep you on the straight and narrow. At this rate, when you grow up you might start having a collection of consorts."
I played dumb and said, "Consorts?"
Auntie Yue froze and turned a bright red. "F-Forget about that. A-Anyway..." She cleared her throat and said, "I noticed you've been using that laptop a lot recently. Have you been having fun on it?"
"Mmhm." I nodded, idly swinging my feet on my chair. "I like solitaire and pinball."
And the fact that I could store all my future plans on it without anyone being able to find them due to the fact that computer knowledge was FAR from common at this time.
Like, the old rename a .txt file to an image as well as dropping it into the system directories weren't well known at all. Not to mention the fact that I knew how to code in C++, which was practically black magic at this point in time.
...Hell, with how vibe coding had taken over in the future, it practically was black magic then too, now that I think about it.
But anyway, good stuff. A bit slow, and the lack of fast internet was kinda pissing me off, but c'est la vie.
Auntie Yue smiled and said, "That's good. I was worried I'd have to tie you down to stop training like a mad man. Good to see I just need to put you in front of that computer screen."
Oh, the irony...
I smiled back at her and said, "I'm a good boy, Auntie. You don't have to worry about me."
Auntie Yue reached over and tugged my cheek. "That's EXACTLY why I worry about you, Little Fatty. You're TOO good of a kid. "
"Ow! Focus on the road, Auntie!"
Auntie Yue huffed and pulled her hand back, continuing to drive us back to her condo. As she did, she said, "Are you sure you're fine being with me though, Alex?"
Sensing her serious tone, I was serious too and nodded. "Of course, Auntie. I love you, so I want to stay. Can't I?"
Auntie Yue bit her lower lip and said, "Of course you can. It's just..." She glanced at me and said, "...Do you really not miss your parents?"
Ah.
Right, I supposed it WOULD be weird.
I was a five year old. Despite that fact, I was clearly more comfortable with my aunt, who was pretty much just out of being a kid herself, instead of my mom and dad.
Then there was the fact that my parents barely checked in on me too.
Of course, *I* knew that was because they were probably just guilty about not being able to give me a proper childhood and they were in absolute grind mode now that I was safe with Auntie Yue.
But Auntie Yue didn't know that.
And judging from her reaction, she probably thought my home life was really bad.
Mm.
Well.
It wasn't like she was WRONG either.
I mean, considering how I didn't remember much of my childhood the first run around, it probably WAS really bad.
After all, while it wasn't like my parents neglected me, being absent for most of a child's day takes its toll too.
And it definitely DID in my past life.
After thinking about all of that for a bit, I eventually said, "I do miss Mommy and Daddy. But they're busy." I put on a bright smile and said, "Auntie Yue's enough for me."
Auntie Yue stared at me for a bit. Then she murmured, "Fucking brat. Making me emotional..."
"What was that, Auntie?"
"Nothing, Little Fatty." Auntie Yue quickly brushed her eyes and said, "Argh, whatever. I'll make it work. I'm sure I can drag you around to my jobs somehow."
"Yay~"
Huh. I was getting way too good at pretending to be a kid. Probably concerning.
Meh. We were like 20 years too soon to be even thinking about mental health issues anyway.
Auntie Yue chuckled. Then she said, "So that girl back at school... That fated person or whatever. Tell me about her."
"Oh, April?" I nodded. "She's new. Miss Blumgren introduced her today. I made her my friend."
Auntie Yue blinked. "You... 'made' her your friend." She paused and slowly said, "...Why do I see you just grabbing her and declaring that she's your friend now."
"I did!"
"...You're something else, Little Fatty." Auntie Yue sighed and shook her head. "...Well, I suppose I should be happy you have a friend at all. She looks nice at least." She paused and said, "Why DON'T you have any other friends anyway? Don't kids your age usually have some?"
I tilted my head and said, "Shouldn't someone as pretty as Auntie Yue have friends too?"
Auntie Yue's ears turned red and she said, "Th-that's different! I was busy!"
"Me too!"
Auntie Yue blinked. Then she groaned. "...Dammit. This is my fault isn't it?"
"Probably~"
"Little Fatty."
"Yes, Auntie?"
"We're eating tofu tonight."
"Jokes on you, Auntie~ I like tofu!"
"You...! Argh, whatever. Stupid smart nephew. Stupid cute face. Stupid loving bastard..."
I stuck out my tongue. After that, I pulled out my notebook and started practicing my usual sketches while Auntie Yue drove us home.