After Shizuka parked the car in the private garage next to the house, Tsuna opened the door, took Shouko's hand, and got out of the back seat.
Yaeko unbuckled her seatbelt slowly and got out of the passenger seat.
Shizuka waited for them to get out of the car and checked the things inside before getting out. After closing the door, she turned around and said to Yaeko, who was waiting for her:
"Yaeko, go and call Aunt Nishimiya to have lunch. When I came back, I told her not to make lunch."
Yaeko felt it was too much trouble for Shizuka, who had to pick them up and drop them off at kindergarten and make lunch herself. She quickly waved her hand to refuse:"No! It's too much trouble for you. You and Tsuna can come to my place to eat."
Shizuka raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Yaeko, as if she had already seen through her thoughts. She chuckled at first and said nothing.
Yaeko knew there was no room for negotiation and that she should have done everything herself. She could only sigh and nod in response to Shizuka, then left the garage first, went home, and called her mother and Yuzuru to come over.
Shouko held Tsuna's hand with her left hand and ignored her mother's departure, lovingly holding the kitten doll.
Tsuna pulled Shouko out of the garage, and without waiting for Shizuka to lock the door behind him, he turned right and walked to the front door of his house, letting go of Shouko's little fleshy hand.
He squatted down habitually, moved the third bluestone brick in front of the door, took out the spare key from underneath, opened the door, then buried the key back under the brick.
After Tsuna put the key back, he stood up and handed the puppy doll to Shouko to hold, then patted his hands clean of dust and dirt from moving the bricks.
He pushed open the half-open door and did not choose to hold Shouko's hand. He walked to the entrance and stopped, took out two pairs of children's slippers from the shoe cabinet on the left, put on his pair first, and then helped Shouko put hers on.
After Tsuna was done, he stood up, clapped his hands, smiled, and looked at Shouko as he slowly said,"Let's go, Shouko, I'll get you some candy."
Shouko held the dolls in both hands. Seeing Tsuna helping her take off her shoes, she didn't feel strange or shy. She could hear Tsuna's words through her hearing aid and understand his pronunciation. She nodded happily and responded,"Yeah... Yeah!"
Tsuna walked quickly on the wooden corridor in slippers and headed to the dining room.Shizuka walked in from outside the house, saw the direction Tsuna was heading, and shouted in a joking tone:"Don't eat secretly, Tsuna! You have to wait until Aunt Nishimiya and the others arrive before you can eat."
Tsuna didn't reply. He was used to his mother's teasing and simply raised his right hand to wave, indicating that he understood.
When Tsuna returned to the living room with a bag of milk-flavored lollipops, he saw Shizuka holding Shouko in her arms, making her too nervous to move, while her left and right hands were gently rubbing Shouko's cheeks.
Tsuna placed the milk candy on the coffee table, opened it, took out a lollipop, and rescued Shouko from Shizuka's arms. He didn't forget to complain:
"Mom, why do you always rub Shouko's face?"
Tsuna spoke while tearing open the candy wrapper and gently putting the lollipop into Shouko's mouth.
Shouko quickly waved her hand to indicate that Aunt Miyamura was not bullying her and that she was volunteering, so Tsuna didn't need to worry. She also took out the lollipop from her mouth and offered it to Tsuna, asking him to eat it and not to be angry.
Tsuna looked at the milky lollipop, now covered in Shouko's crystal-clear saliva, and nervously swallowed.
It wasn't that he wanted to eat it, but he couldn't stand the teasing look on the face of the woman behind Shouko.
Tsuna felt that if he bit the lollipop, the woman would instantly pull out her phone to take a photo of the moment.
Shouko held the lollipop and, seeing that Tsuna didn't react, thought he was disgusted and became a little angry. She gently pressed the lollipop against his lips, afraid that pressing too hard would hurt him.
A click sounded, followed by a flash of light.
Out of curiosity, Shouko looked back and found Aunt Miyamura holding a cellphone and doing something. She turned around again and saw Tsuna looking hopeless.
Shouko looked at Tsuna's expression and asked in an unclear tone:"It's not good... ah... sorry." After she finished speaking, Shouko suddenly thought of another possibility—that Tsuna disliked her.
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Shouko's eyes began to turn red, and tears welled up.
Tsuna had watched her from the moment she started speaking to when she was about to cry—it took only a few seconds.
He was still in shock over his mother taking secret photos when Shouko's expression hit him hard.
Completely at a loss, Tsuna spoke incoherently. Afraid that Shouko couldn't hear clearly, he changed his tone to an anxious but slow pace:"Delicious, delicious, this is the most delicious lollipop I've ever eaten."
After saying that, he hurriedly took the lollipop and stuffed it back into Shouko's mouth, raising his hands to gently wipe her tears.
Another white flash and a click sound followed.
Shouko recovered thanks to Tsuna's words and actions, but Tsuna's fists clenched because of his mother's infuriating behavior.
"Excuse me!" came an elderly voice from the entrance, interrupting the mother and son's moment.
Shizuka quickly stood up from the tatami and walked out to the corridor to greet the Nishimiya family.
You could still joke around with Yaeko and the others, but it was different with the seniors of the Nishimiya family. Even though they were very familiar, proper manners still had to be observed.
Tsuna saw them and greeted them politely:"Grandma Nishimiya, Aunt Nishimiya."
Both nodded at Tsuna, who had been polite for years. They were used to it.Shizuka took Yuzuru from Yaeko's arms, carried her back to the living room, and sat on the tatami, stretching out her left index finger to tease her.
Shouko followed behind Shizuka. She hadn't seen her sister for a long time.
Tsuna didn't follow them, but instead walked into the dining room, took out two empty cups, filled them with filtered water, and walked steadily back to the living room to hand them to Aunt Yaeko and Grandma Ito.
This gesture earned verbal praise from both Yaeko and Ito.
After playing with the baby for a while, Shizuka felt the time was right and stood up from the tatami. She handed Yuzuru to Ito, who was watching a comedy show on TV.
Then she took Yaeko, who was kneeling on the tatami, into the kitchen to prepare some ingredients.
Shouko moved closer to tease the baby in Grandma's arms, while Tsuna, feeling a little bored, picked up an orange from the coffee table and began peeling it.
Yuzuru was still young, and Ito didn't dare hand her over to either Shouko or Tsuna.