A peaceful life

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'll get some tea."

Zhuzhi turned and headed for the kitchen, her steps light and unhurried. Soon, the sound of water heating drifted out, along with the gentle clink of cups and saucers.

The living room fell quiet.

Shoko shifted closer to Zhiyan and leaned toward his ear, lowering her voice.

"Zhiyan."

Zhiyan tilted his head slightly.

"Hm?"

Shoko glanced toward the kitchen, then whispered.

"So, she must be your cousin's wife, right?"

Zhiyan fell silent for a moment.

"Probably."

A mischievous glint flickered in Shoko's eyes.

"This seems... a little different from what you told me."

Zhiyan knew what she meant.

Wana called Toji her "scumbag cousin." According to the rumors in the Zenin Clan, Toji was "that waste of space," "that good-for-nothing," and "the guy who spent all day lazing around." In the Jujutsu Society, he was the "Sorcerer Killer," a man who worked for money and never showed mercy.

But here...

Here, he had a gentle wife, an adorable son, and a tidy home.

It was nothing like the rumors.

Zhiyan looked toward the kitchen, conflicting emotions in his eyes.

Honestly, based on what he knew of Toji-

That man should have spent his entire life in misery and grown old alone.

Flighty, unreliable, without a place to call home, living for the moment.

Yet everything before him completely overturned his understanding.

He shook his head helplessly.

"I don't know either."

Shoko looked at him, her eyes curving with her smile.

"Looks like you don't know everything after all."

Zhiyan said nothing.

But he was wondering too-

What exactly had that guy Toji been through?

Beside them, Wana had already sprung into action.

She sat at one end of the sofa, her eyes sparkling as she watched little Megumi standing nearby.

The child stood beside the coffee table, his little hands clutching the hem of his shirt as his big, round eyes secretly studied them.

Wana beckoned to him.

"Megumi, come sit down."

Megumi looked at her, then at Zhiyan and Shoko, and hesitated.

Then he shuffled over, one tiny step at a time.

He moved so slowly that he might have been measuring the floor tiles.

He reached Wana's side but didn't sit down, merely standing there and keeping a little distance.

Wana patted the spot beside her.

"Go on, sit."

Megumi hesitated for a while.

Then he carefully sat down.

He sat a little far from Wana, though.

About two people's worth of space separated them.

Seeing how wary the little fellow was of her, Wana felt the urge to tease him.

She deliberately scooted toward Megumi, leaning closer.

Megumi stiffened slightly but didn't move away.

Wana put on the stern expression of an elder and spoke with exaggerated seriousness.

"Megumi."

Megumi raised his head and looked at her.

His big, round eyes were full of confusion.

Wana cleared her throat.

"Hasn't your dad told you?"

Megumi blinked.

"Told me what?"

Wana's expression grew even more serious.

"I'm your aunt, you know. Your dad's cousin."

Megumi froze for a moment.

Wana continued.

"You're keeping so far away from me. Do you hate me?"

Megumi's little face instantly went blank.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but had no idea what to say.

What?

How did that mean he hated her?

She had to be fair!

They'd only just met!

He looked toward the kitchen for help, but Zhuzhi was still busy inside and hadn't noticed what was happening.

He looked at Zhiyan and Shoko next.

Oh no. They were all in this together.

No one was going to save him.

Megumi withdrew his gaze and looked at Wana again.

Wana was watching him with an expression that said, "I'm deeply hurt."

Megumi's little mind raced.

Although this was their first meeting, and he knew nothing about these people, Mom had said they were Dad's relatives and he should treat them well...

Besides, she said she was his aunt...

That should... make her an elder, right?

He agonized for several seconds, his little face shifting from one expression to another as though he were making some terribly difficult decision.

Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke softly.

"A... Auntie."

His voice was sweet and childish, soft and tender, yet carried the resolve of someone throwing caution to the wind.

Wana's eyes lit up instantly.

She smiled in triumph and reached out to pat Megumi's shoulder.

"That's right-my dear nephew!"

Megumi: "..."

He suddenly felt that this aunt of his seemed a little unreliable.

He sneaked a glance at Wana,

Thinking to himself-

If this aunt was like this, surely that uncle wasn't the same?

He quietly glanced toward Zhiyan.

Unexpectedly, just as he looked over, Zhiyan happened to look at him too.

Their eyes met.

Megumi froze, then immediately looked away.

He lowered his head, his little hands clutching his shirt as he pretended nothing had happened.

But his slightly reddened ears gave him away.

Watching the little fellow's reaction, Zhiyan's lips curved upward.

Interesting.

Wana was still teasing him beside him.

"Megumi, how old are you?"

"Three."

"Three is a great age! Three-year-olds are the cutest!"

"...Oh."

"What do you like to eat?"

"Mom's cooking."

"What do you like to play?"

"Playing with Dad."

"Then who do you like better, Dad or Mom?"

Megumi raised his head and looked at her.

His eyes held a hint of wariness.

"Both."

Wana laughed.

"You little rascal."

Megumi didn't know what "little rascal" meant, but he figured it probably wasn't anything bad.

Just then, the lock turned.

A moment later, the door swung open.

A tall figure appeared in the doorway.

"I'm home-"

His voice still had that same careless lilt.

Toji stood in the doorway with several shopping bags in his hands. He wore simple casual clothes, his hair slightly tousled, and looked no different from before.

The moment Megumi saw Toji, his eyes lit up.

As though he'd spotted his savior.

He immediately slid off the sofa, pattered over, and threw his arms around Toji's leg.

"Dad!"

Toji looked down at him and reached out to ruffle his hair.

Megumi refused to let go, burying his little face against Toji's leg as though he had found a safe harbor.

Toji raised an eyebrow.

He looked at the people on the sofa, his gaze lingering on Wana for an extra second.

"Oh, everyone's here?"

Wana looked at him and huffed.

Toji smiled, set the shopping bags on the floor, changed his shoes, and came inside.

Then he picked the bags up again and headed for the kitchen.

"Zhuzhi, I got everything."

Zhuzhi's gentle voice came from the kitchen.

"All right, just leave it there. Dinner's almost ready."

Toji put everything in the kitchen, then came back out carrying a tray.

A teapot and several cups sat on it.

He walked into the living room, crouched beside the coffee table, and poured a cup of tea for each of his guests.

"Have some," he said. "It's nothing fancy, but it should be decent."

Zhiyan picked up his cup and took a sip.

Not bad.

Toji poured himself a cup too, then sat on the sofa.

The moment he sat down, he felt someone staring at him.

He turned his head and met Wana's gaze.

Wana held her teacup and watched him, clicking her tongue again and again.

Her expression couldn't have been more disdainful.

Her stare made Toji a little uncomfortable.

"What's with that look?"

Wana clicked her tongue once more.

"Nothing. I was just wondering..." She looked him up and down. "How did someone as unreliable as you end up with a wife and son?"

Toji laughed.

"How am I unreliable?"

Wana rolled her eyes.

She couldn't even be bothered to explain.

If she listed all those incidents one by one, she'd be talking until tomorrow morning.

Toji laughed at her expression.

He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs.

"You don't get it," he said. "A reformed rogue is worth his weight in gold."

Wana scoffed.

"A reformed rogue? You?"

Toji raised an eyebrow.

"What, can't I be?"

Wana looked at him, then toward the kitchen, before her gaze finally settled on Megumi.

Megumi sat beside Toji, his little hands wrapped around his father's arm, his small face full of trust.

Her expression grew complicated.

Honestly, she really did find it hard to believe.

That irresponsible scumbag of a cousin had actually started a family.

He had a gentle wife and an adorable son.

And from the looks of things, he was even a pretty good husband and father.

She looked away and took a sip of tea.

"Forget it," she said. "For little Megumi's sake, I'll let it slide."

"Well, thank you so much."

Wana gave a little huff.

Just then, Zhuzhi poked her head out of the kitchen.

"All right, everything's ready! Come sit down and eat!"

Everyone stood and headed toward the dining table.

The table was already covered with dishes.

Steam rose from them, carrying mouthwatering aromas.

There was fish and meat, soup and vegetables, along with several dishes that looked like simple home-style stir-fries. It wasn't an extravagant feast, but every dish radiated warmth.

Zhuzhi stood beside the table, warmly ushering them over.

"Sit down, sit down! Make yourselves at home!"

She sat beside the head of the table and patted the seat next to her.

"Wana, come sit beside me."

Wana obediently went over and sat down.

Zhuzhi turned to the others.

"Zhiyan, Shoko, you two sit over there. Toji, sit beside Megumi."

Everyone took their seats.

Megumi sat between Toji and Zhuzhi, his little face full of anticipation as he looked at the food.

Zhuzhi picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of fish in Wana's bowl.

"Try this. It's my braised fish. Toji said it was pretty good."

Wana accepted it and took a bite.

Her eyes lit up.

"It's delicious!"

Zhuzhi smiled.

"Then have some more."

She added another helping of vegetables to Wana's bowl.

Wana accepted everything and ate with relish.

Watching her, Zhuzhi's smile grew even brighter.

Throughout the meal, Wana's bowl never emptied.

Zhuzhi kept serving her food, placing every tasty morsel in her bowl.

"These meatballs are good too. Try one."

"I only bought these greens this morning. They're very fresh."

"This soup simmered for a long time. Have some more."

Wana ate with bliss written all over her face, her opinion of her cousin's wife soaring to new heights.

Gentle, considerate, a wonderful cook, and so attentive.

A woman like this was practically an angel!

She stole a glance at Toji.

Toji was eating with his head lowered, occasionally serving Megumi some food with easy, practiced movements.

Wana looked away, her feelings growing even more complicated.

She couldn't understand it.

She really couldn't.

How had Toji managed to find such a wonderful wife?

After dinner, Zhuzhi began clearing the dishes.

Toji stood and glanced at Zhiyan.

"Kid, come help with the dishes."

Zhiyan paused in surprise.

Then he stood and followed Toji into the kitchen.

The kitchen faucet was running, water rushing noisily.

Toji rolled up his sleeves, stood at the sink, and began washing the dishes.

Zhiyan stood beside him, rinsing the washed dishes in clean water.

The two were silent for a while.

There was only the sound of running water and clinking dishes.

Then Zhiyan spoke.

"Don't you want to explain?"

Toji's hands kept moving.

"Explain what?"

Zhiyan looked at him.

"All this," he said. "Your wife, your son, your... family."

Toji handed him a washed bowl.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Zhiyan took the bowl and rinsed it in the clean water.

"Do they know?" he asked. "About all that."

Toji knew what he meant.

The Jujutsu Society.

His past.

All that ugly business.

"She's an ordinary person," Toji said evenly. "So she doesn't need to know about any of that."

He paused.

"As for the kid... we'll talk about it later."

Zhiyan said nothing.

He placed the rinsed bowl on the rack beside him.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

"Are you... serious about this?"

Toji glanced at him.

"Serious about what?"

Zhiyan didn't answer directly. He only looked toward the kitchen doorway. Through the curtain, he could faintly see the living room lights and hear Zhuzhi's gentle laughter and Wana's chatter.

Toji followed his gaze and fell silent for a moment.

Then he looked away and continued washing the dishes.

"Kid," he said, "there are things you won't understand until you've lived through them."

Zhiyan neither agreed nor disagreed.

Toji went on.

"I used to think this was all my life would ever be. Taking jobs, making money, drinking, drifting through the days. Didn't matter if nobody remembered me after I died."

He paused.

"But then I met her, and things changed."

His voice still had its usual flippant tone, but anyone listening closely could hear something different in it.

"She doesn't know about any of that. Doesn't know about cursed spirits or jujutsu sorcerers, or what I used to do. To her, I'm just an ordinary guy."

He handed Zhiyan another bowl.

"It's nice that way."

Zhiyan took the bowl, rinsed it clean, and set it on the rack.

He didn't ask anything else.

Now that Toji had found this kind of life, Zhiyan naturally wished him well.

Whatever his past had been, he now had a home, a wife, and a child. He should make the most of it.

The two continued washing the dishes.

Only the sound of running water filled the kitchen.

After a while, Toji suddenly spoke.

"Hey, kid."

Zhiyan looked at him.

"Hm?"

Toji didn't look back, simply continuing to wash the dishes.

"When are you getting married?"

Zhiyan's hands paused.

Toji continued.

"You and that girl Shoko have been engaged since you were kids, haven't you? It's been so many years. Isn't it about time you went through with it?"

Zhiyan fell silent for a moment.

"It's still too early."

"Too early?" Toji raised an eyebrow. "You're already sixteen, and it's still too early? Zhuzhi and I got married a year after we met."

Zhiyan didn't respond.

Toji handed him a washed bowl, then suddenly spoke again.

"Oh, right-"

His tone turned a little suggestive.

"Make sure you use protection."

Zhiyan's hands froze again.

Toji continued, a teasing note in his voice.

"Don't get yourselves into trouble. You might be engaged, but there are still things you need to be careful about."

Zhiyan's expression darkened.

He turned to look at Toji.

His gaze was cold enough to freeze someone to death.

Toji met his gaze, still grinning.

"What? Am I wrong?"

Zhiyan tugged at the corner of his mouth, producing a "smile."

"Even without you telling me, I'd-"

He paused, realizing he'd nearly fallen into Toji's trap.

"It's still too early for any of that."

Toji laughed even harder at his reaction.

"Sure, sure. Too early, too early."

He wisely refrained from saying anything else.

But his expression plainly said-

You're awfully touchy about this, kid.

Zhiyan looked away and continued washing the dishes.

The sound of running water filled the kitchen once more.

From the living room came the faint sound of Zhuzhi's laughter, along with Wana's chatter and Megumi's sweet little voice.

Listening to those sounds, Zhiyan suddenly thought-

Maybe this wasn't so bad either.

Whatever kind of person Toji had been before, he now had happiness of his own.

That was enough.