That evening, the two brothers returned to their grandfather's house after spending the entire afternoon training with the Second String.
"Glug glug—" The meat rolled in the pot as the broth slowly seeped into it.
"How was it today? After we toured the school, we saw you were still training," Mr. Sasaki asked. Shen Qing sat on the sofa nearby, feeding the two children. Whenever they came to the table, they always clamored to eat the same food as everyone else.
Kōshū kept picking meat and vegetables into Shen Qing's bowl. "Not bad. So far, we can adapt. Right, Lang Zhi?"
"Not at all. Because of the entrance exams, all the training progress I made before is gone. I have to start from scratch." Lang Zhi had entered through the recommendation exam in January and resumed his old training in February, but his body was clearly heavier than before. "During the tests this afternoon, I obviously could've caught more balls."
"Alright, alright." Kōshū distributed everything from the pot into everyone's bowls, then added more meat and vegetables. The steam made the lid rattle. "We're staying at school tonight."
"Mm," Mr. Sasaki agreed.
"Ah, but the whole family is here. Why can't we sleep here?" Lang Zhi was reluctant.
"Didn't you move in this afternoon? You moved all your things into the dorm. There's nothing for us to sleep with here."
"Oh..." Lang Zhi sounded dejected. Kōshū sighed. In truth, moving in together, having the family eat together in a house beside Seido—none of that had ever been part of his original expectations. Yet he could clearly feel how reluctant the family was to let them go.
There had been separations before, of course, such as going to Training Camp. But that was different. After Training Camp, they would always come