Welcome Home

"But does your friend cosplay? That white hair and those violet-blue eyes are a wig and colored contacts, right?"

"Auntie Liu, you... know about that?!" Lin Yu was stunned!

He hadn't expected Auntie Liu to know about cosplay?!

"Look how shocked you are-you're making me look so out of touch." Auntie Liu looked at Lin Yu with a face full of disdain.

"My daughter likes those things too, so I made a point of learning about them so I could talk to her."

"Your daughter is so lucky to have such a thoughtful mother, Auntie Liu."

Firefly, who had been forgotten off to the side, grew interested after hearing their conversation.

She poked her head out from behind Lin Yu and said, "Lin Yu, what's this cos you're talking ab-"

Before she could finish, Lin Yu clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Mmph! Mmmph!!"

"Uh... Auntie Liu, sorry to trouble you with the package. We've got something to do, so we'll be going now-!"

Auntie Liu watched the two hurry away and shook her head. "Young people these days are still too reserved~"

After taking Firefly some distance from the parcel station with his hand over her mouth, Lin Yu finally let go.

"Phew~ Ah..."

"Lin... Lin Yu, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly pull me out of there...?"

Firefly gasped for breath, two patches of red on her cheeks and her twin peaks rising and falling dramatically. She tugged at the clothes around her shoulders, seemingly a little uncomfortable.

The alluring sight made Lin Yu too embarrassed to look straight at her, so he turned his back and said, "If we'd stayed there, we might have been caught and grilled about everything!"

"I don't want to feel like I've been stripped down to my underwear again." Just thinking about the four-hour interrogation he'd endured before, like he was a criminal being questioned, made his voice tremble.

"But... I thought Auntie Liu seemed quite kind."

"No! Firefly, you just haven't been through it. Auntie Liu might look easy to get along with, but once she gets the chance, she'll definitely make you stay and get to the bottom of everything about you."

"It would be bad if the fact that you crossed over came out."

"Though I don't think Auntie Liu would believe it, it's better to be careful-but this was my fault. I didn't think it through."

Lin Yu smiled awkwardly and pointed at Firefly's hair. "I forgot that white hair is still rare around here. It really stands out."

Firefly touched her hair and wondered, Is white hair rare? There were plenty of people with it where she came from.

Still, she trusted Lin Yu. He knew this place best, so he surely couldn't be wrong!

By the time they got home, it was nearly noon, so Lin Yu began preparing lunch.

He had Firefly stay beside him and explained how to cook while he stir-fried the dishes.

He still had to go to work and sometimes might not be able to come back to cook, so he needed to teach Firefly a few simple dishes to keep her from going hungry.

He made a few simple dishes for lunch that day-stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, pork with green peppers, and pork rib soup with radish and corn.

It wasn't exactly a feast, but they both enjoyed it.

After eating, Firefly took charge of clearing the table and carried the bowls and chopsticks that needed washing to the sink.

Watching Firefly wash the dishes so diligently, Lin Yu couldn't help feeling as though his daughter had grown up.

Seeing that Firefly was already quite skilled and didn't need him, Lin Yu left the kitchen and went straight to his room.

He picked up the spare phone he'd given Firefly earlier and prepared to download some videos.

He had to go to work later and couldn't take Firefly with him.

Since Firefly couldn't read the writing here, Lin Yu thought he'd prepare some videos for her to learn Chinese so she wouldn't get bored.

"Firefly, I'm going to work. Stay at home this afternoon and don't go running outside," Lin Yu said as he put on his shoes.

"You're going out?" Firefly sat on the sofa watching TV, glancing over at him from time to time.

"Yeah, I'm scheduled to work this afternoon. I'll be back around dinner."

"While I'm gone, watch the videos I downloaded to your phone, Firefly. They teach Chinese characters, so you can learn them."

"Okay, got it."

After putting on his shoes, Lin Yu picked up the keys from the shoe cabinet and jingled them in his hand. "Call me if you need anything. I'm off."

Lin Yu rode his electric scooter to a coffee shop in Jiangcheng called the Time-Gathering Corner.

After parking, Lin Yu pushed the door open and walked in.

Ding~

As soon as he entered, a middle-aged man behind the counter, with his hair slicked back and wearing something like a tailcoat, greeted him. "Hey~ Lin Yu, you're here."

"Yeah, it's my shift, after all, boss." Lin Yu gave an awkward laugh, went into the back, changed into his work clothes, and came back out.

As soon as he emerged, a customer called, "Server, I'd like to order!"

Lin Yu picked up an order pad and walked over. His workday had begun.

At Lin Yu's home, Firefly sat at the desk, watching a video on Chinese characters on her phone with rapt attention. Its title was "Super Easy! First-Grade Chinese Lessons."

There were five more videos like it, covering everything taught during the six years of elementary school.

After watching the first video, she declared that she had learned it all!

"Chinese is easy to learn." Firefly stood with her hands on her hips, looking rather pleased with herself.

"All right! I'll keep up the momentum and finish learning the rest!" And so Firefly became completely immersed in a sea of knowledge, unable to pull herself away.

At the coffee shop, Lin Yu sat bored behind the counter, looking at his phone. The manager had said he had something to do and left him alone.

Luckily, the shop didn't get many customers, so he could manage even on his own.

Looking around the coffee shop, Lin Yu couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

He'd been working here for almost two years now.

He'd first come here in his sophomore year-he had happened upon its job advertisement while looking for part-time work.

He'd come for an interview thinking he might as well give it a try. To his surprise, he'd passed on his first attempt and become an employee, and he'd been working here for two years.

The job was pretty relaxed, though. Most of the customers were regulars and easy to talk to, and the decor was quite nice too.

It gave the place a sense of time having settled there, and combined with the shop's location in a corner of the city, it had a strong nostalgic, retro feel.

That also complemented the shop's name, the Time-Gathering Corner.

Pleasant working hours always flew by. When Lin Yu saw the person on the next shift arrive, he greeted them, changed out of his work clothes, and got ready to head home.

But before leaving the shop, he remembered Firefly was still at home.

She's probably tired from studying. I'll take her something to eat.

With that thought, Lin Yu went to the dessert counter, took out a chocolate mousse, and packed it up to take away.

The manager had said before that employees could eat the shop's desserts for free, but not too many.

They were for sale, after all, so he couldn't eat too much.

When he got home, he saw Firefly's figure busy in the kitchen.

Why does this feel like a husband coming home from work to his wife cooking at home?

The corners of Lin Yu's mouth lifted slightly. Still, it felt pretty nice to have someone waiting for him to come home for dinner.

Firefly, who was in the kitchen, noticed the sound and turned around to see Lin Yu at the door. A smile appeared on her face.

"Welcome home."

"Mm, I'm home."