Breakfast

Night.

Ye Shuang rested his head on his hands. Although he could feel a faint numbness in his palms, his gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. To be precise, anyone would find it hard to fall asleep in this situation.

He was sleeping in the middle. On his left was the soundly asleep Chen Qin, and on his right was Bai Yuyou, along with Tang Keke who was hugging Bai Yuyou and snoring away. The mingling fragrances lingering at the tip of his nose made Ye Shuang feel as if his brain was shrouded in mist.

The sleeping arrangement was even proposed by Chen Qin, yet Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke had no objections at all. Even though they were just making do for one night in this room, it still gave Ye Shuang an indescribable, peculiar feeling.

"Isn't it good to be together if you like each other?" Recalling what Little Radish had said that evening, Ye Shuang subconsciously tried to raise his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, only to find that his arms were suddenly pinned down. Stuck between the slimes on his left and right, he couldn't even move.

"..."

"What exactly should I do?" Ye Shuang thought silently.

...

...

The night passed silently. The next day.

In the early morning, Bai Yuyou groggily opened her beautiful eyes and slowly sat up.

"Mmm."

Her delicate face was expressionless, just staring blankly at the sleeping Ye Shuang beside her. A few seconds later, she suddenly leaned down and kissed his lips.

A few seconds later, Bai Yuyou sat up slightly, only to notice that Chen Qin was already awake and looking straight at her.

It was a complex look. Bai Yuyou couldn't find any words to describe the look in Chen Qin's eyes at that moment. It was as if various emotions were intertwined and tightly curled together.

"..." Bai Yuyou instinctively leaned back a little for no apparent reason.

However, when the young girl looked again, she found that Chen Qin had already closed her eyes, as if the gaze from just a moment ago was merely an illusion.

Bai Yuyou lay back down. Her beautiful eyes stared at Ye Shuang's side profile for a good while, as if pondering something. Finally, she slowly reached out, tugged at his sleeve, and fell back asleep.

It wasn't until the young girl's breathing steadied that Chen Qin slowly opened her eyes. She let out a silent sigh and hugged Ye Shuang's arm a little tighter.

Ten o'clock.

After Ye Shuang got up, he realized that everyone else was already awake.

"Oh, you're up, brother. Were you too tired?" Tang Keke was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her phone. Seeing Ye Shuang get up, she greeted him.

"Morning," Ye Shuang replied, but then noticed that Bai Yuyou and Chen Qin were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they?"

"They went downstairs to buy breakfast," Keke said.

"Is that so?"

Ye Shuang got out of bed and began to freshen up. Just as he finished washing his face and walked out of the bathroom, Chen Qin opened the door with a key. Seeing Ye Shuang, she smiled sweetly, "Ah Ye."

"Hmm?" Ye Shuang looked at Chen Qin and then noticed Bai Yuyou behind her, empty-handed. "Didn't you go buy breakfast?"

"It doesn't seem very popular to eat breakfast around here. We didn't see anything that suited our tastes," Chen Qin said. "So I was just about to call you guys down to eat."

"I see." Ye Shuang nodded and looked at Bai Yuyou. "Are you hungry?"

"Mhm," Bai Yuyou nodded gently.

"Let's go then. We'll head down first." As they were leaving the room, Ye Shuang bumped into Little Radish. She was wearing a Pikachu pajama set, her face still looking a bit groggy. "Oh, who are you guys?"

She spoke with a local accent, so much so that Ye Shuang didn't quite catch it.

"Oh, are you guys awake?" It took a few seconds for Little Radish to realize.

"Yes." Ye Shuang couldn't help but smile.

"Wait, I'll prepare breakfast for you!" Little Radish pattered downstairs in her slippers.

They provided breakfast?

Ye Shuang looked quite surprised.

The first floor of the homestay was the dining area. When Ye Shuang and the others went down, they immediately saw the open kitchen. Little Radish, wearing an apron and standing on a small stool, was preparing breakfast with the air of a little hostess.

She moved quickly, and the ingredients were all semi-finished products. Microwaved refrigerated rice, curry from a packet, and miso soup cubes dissolved in hot water. In less than ten minutes, she had prepared a portion of curry rice and soup for everyone.

"Do these... count as pre-packaged meals?" Chen Qin muttered softly, looking at the set meals for everyone.

"Restaurants do it pretty much the same way," Ye Shuang smiled.

Bai Yuyou had already started eating, seemingly unbothered, even though seeing the process had somewhat ruined everyone else's appetite.

Ye Shuang also started eating. It wasn't bad.

"Is it good?" Little Radish stood by the edge of the table and asked curiously. Despite not even being as tall as the table, she could stand on a small stool to prepare food for others, which was quite remarkable.

"It's good," Ye Shuang smiled, but also asked curiously, "Are you the only one at home?"

"Nope," Yako said. "Mom and Dad came back last night. They were just practicing swordplay in the yard."

"Our family's ancestral dual-blade style goes swish swish swish... Ah, wuwu..." Little Radish made cool slashing motions in the air with both hands, making swishing sounds. But in the next second, her hand hit the edge of the table. She immediately squatted down in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

"A-are you okay?"

"It doesn't hurt," Little Radish pouted, insisting stubbornly.

She looked exactly like a certain man who would drink scalding hot water and claim it wasn't hot.

It left Ye Shuang and the others not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

At this moment, Bai Yuyou dug into her pocket and took out a piece of chocolate. "Here."

"Oh?" Little Radish looked at the candy in Bai Yuyou's palm, blinked her teary eyes, and finally accepted it. "Thank you."

After breakfast, everyone planned to go visit the shrine. Little Radish tagged along as their guide, according to her, it was only because her dad was up there and she happened to be heading that way anyway.

The shrine was on the mountain. Led by Little Radish, Ye Shuang and his group saw the torii gates, standing red along the mountain path, one after another.

"What are these frames for?" Tang Keke asked curiously upon seeing the torii gates.

"You can think of them as the paifang from back home. The torii gates here in Japan are just an evolutionary product of the paifang," Ye Shuang explained.

"Because Japan's resources were far more scarce than the mainland's, the intricate details or parts requiring heavy construction in the paifang were omitted. The materials used were even mostly wood. Such torii gates became a product of their culture, and locals also refer to them as the entrance for the gods."

"So that's how it is," Tang Keke said.

"After all, as a former tributary state, it's understandable for them to learn and adapt excellent cultures. At the very least, they honestly admit it," Ye Shuang said. "Unlike those kimchi eaters who only know how to steal culture and claim it as their own."

"That's true."