All the noise in the room had vanished, leaving behind nothing but silence.
"I was wrong..."
"I was wrong..."
"I was wrong..."
Irori, Yaya, and Koko sat upright on the floor with their heads hanging, no longer daring to make a fuss.
Shouko looked at her daughters, laughing helplessly as she spoke to Luo Zhen, who was sitting across from her and leisurely sipping hot tea.
"You've learned how to punish these three brats now?"
Shouko looked somewhat surprised.
In the past, Yaya and the others had caused plenty of trouble like this, but Luo Zhen had never punished them. Now, however, he had learned to use this method to rein in the three sisters, giving Shouko the feeling that this boy was truly different from how he used to be.
There was one phrase that described this feeling most aptly.
"You've grown up."
Shouko spoke those words, though it was unclear whether she was sighing with emotion or expressing relief.
After all, the Luo Zhen of the past would only join these girls in making a ruckus instead of suppressing them with the dignity of an elder, as he was doing now.
That was why Shouko felt that Luo Zhen had finally grown up.
At that thought, Shouko finally understood what had seemed strange about Luo Zhen.
It was a certain state, one called—"growth."
"Two months... What did this little brother go through?"
Shouko's gaze at Luo Zhen became meaningful.
Luo Zhen answered with a smile. He was calm and composed, indeed different from his former careless and laid-back self.
While Shouko was still pondering this, Luo Zhen finally spoke.
"In any case, it's already quite fortunate that you managed to return in time." Luo Zhen said, "I thought there was a chance you might not make it back."