Chapter 46. Going Home
Two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and fifty-two seconds had passed since Brother left home.
Staring at the time on her phone, Seele thought blankly.
Outside was growing quieter and quieter.
The few passersby who had been walking around had now all disappeared.
The stars twinkled outside the window, and the bright moon cast a cool light.
Sitting alone on the sofa, even though it was already summer, Seele still shrank into herself.
The chat with Brother on her phone was still stuck at two hours ago.
She opened Brother's chat box, typed a few lines, then deleted them.
After repeating this several times, Seele sighed and tossed the phone onto the sofa.
On the living-room TV, diligent comedians were still doing their utmost to make the audience roar with laughter.
The pranks that usually made Seele crack up didn't catch her eye at all now.
The noisy clamor from the speakers only made her already restless heart even harder to calm.
"You idiot, you never should've let him go!"
In her mind, ever since Brother had gone out, her other self had said this for the thirteenth time.
At first, Seele would explain a few words, but later she didn't want to respond anymore.
Biting her lip, Seele whispered slowly, "Brother will come back."
"You idiot, I already said— Hold on, what are you thinking, idiot Seele?!!"
"Brother will come back..."
As if not hearing her other self, Seele, eyes a little vacant, murmured again.
"..."
Veliona suddenly felt that Seele was being a bit too extreme.
Meanwhile, upstairs on the second floor.
Sitting at her own workstation, Bronya just couldn't get anything done.
The code she'd already sorted out in her mind had twisted into a tangled mess.
With that familiar presence no longer at her side, even the ticking of the wall clock made her mood irritable.
How did she use to get by when she was alone before?
Bronya didn't want to know.
She only knew that Xander's absence made it impossible for her heart to settle down.
Her mouth had clearly said she didn't care.
But when it came down to it, she cared far too much.
On the screen, she typed and deleted until she had even fewer lines than when she started.
Bronya grew even more annoyed, so she simply closed the program and opened her favorite game.
But Homu's Adventure, which usually enthralled her, failed to spark much interest now.
Under mechanical inputs, she couldn't even beat a normal elite mob.
Watching the screen dim, Bronya lowered her eyes and put down the controller.
Was it because the other controller had no one to hold it?
Or was it…
Forget it.
Seele was probably alone downstairs too.
She should call her up to play together.
Just then, a distinct sound of the door opening carried in from the studio's open doorway.
Bronya whooshed to her feet, padded over, even forgetting her slippers, and ran to the top of the stairs to peek down.
"Brother, welcome home~"
The instant she heard the lock turn, Seele's gloomy expression instantly brightened.
Not bothering to keep up the ongoing argument with her other self, she went tap—tap— in her little slippers and appeared at the entryway right as Xander opened the door.
"Mm, I'm back~"
Seele's sweet smile washed away the jumble in Xander's head.
Then, with Seele bustling around on her own initiative, he took off his coat and changed his shoes.
However, when she got close, the unfamiliar fragrance on him—one that didn't belong to anything in their home—made Seele frown slightly.
Her two small hands immediately tugged at his undershirt.
"Brother, your clothes are dirty. Seele will wash them for you."
"It's not that bad. I just changed this afternoon."
"Seele will wash them!"
That serious little expression made Xander swallow his refusal.
He resigned himself and relaxed his body, letting Seele peel off his clothes.
"Pants too?"
"Mm, best to wash them together!"
"Wait, wait, we're still in the living room— Don't pull my underwear!!!"
In the end, under Xander's firm resistance, he finally kept his last line of defense.
Seele, with a hint of regret, hugged the clothes and went tap—tap—tap— running to the washing machine.
She tossed Brother's clothes in all at once without caring whether machine-wash would damage them.
Then she grabbed the detergent and squeezed nearly half a bottle into the dispenser.
Watching the foam gradually roll up until it covered the clothes, Seele nodded in satisfaction.
In the living room, after being stripped bare, Xander hurried upstairs to change.
But at the stairway, he was blocked by Bronya, who was staring fixedly at him.
"Bronya?"
Puzzled by her daze, Xander patted her shoulder and called out curiously.
"Huh?"
Her gaze, which had been roaming all over Xander, snapped back into focus.
Bronya coughed twice in embarrassment, then casually asked, "Why did you come back so late?"
"There was a small accident.
The girl over there scalded her hand with boiling water, so I helped her do a simple treatment.
But you…"
Xander lowered his head.
Following the half-bare, smooth calves, he could see the white jade feet on the wooden floor.
The translucent instep faintly revealed bluish veins.
The lines were elegant.
Her ankles were slender and delicate.
The tiny toes were painted with pale blue nail polish—probably the same shade as Seele's.
Food shouldn't be placed on the floor, Xander sighed inwardly.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
"Shoes? Oh, it's too hot."
Prompted by Xander, Bronya finally realized she'd forgotten to put on her slippers.
Without thinking much, she casually made up a reason.
"Alright then, let me grab some clothes and take a shower first."
Getting Bronya to make way, Xander quickly fetched his loungewear from the room and dashed into the bathroom.
During all this, Bronya's eyes barely left Xander.
In clothes, you couldn't really tell.
But who would've thought that once he took them off, he'd look this good?
That build, those muscles—Bronya clicked her tongue inwardly.
Suddenly, she felt a little envious of Seele.
And that night, Seele became even clingier.
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