Looking at Song Qianqiu who was sleeping soundly, Haixing slowed down the movement of lifting the quilt, carefully climbed out of bed, and followed Shangzi outside.
"There is only a little food left in the evening... Let me see what else is in the refrigerator." Shangzi said.
"Ah, okay."
Haixing nodded, stood outside for a while, and then walked into the kitchen.
Shangzi stood in front of the open refrigerator and turned to look at her:
"There seems to be nothing that can be used as a midnight snack."
Haixing was stunned for a moment, a little disappointed, but didn't say much.
"Forget it if I don't, I'm actually not very hungry..."
"But I can make a few rice balls. Do you want to eat Starfish?"
"I want to eat!...Ah, I mean yes."
Shangzi smiled slightly, closed the refrigerator, then bent down and took out a jar from the cupboard.
Starfish leaned over and asked, "Carrot?"
"Yeah, pickled with miso."
She fished out a few pieces of radish and put the jar back, "Just use this as the stuffing for the rice balls, okay?"
"Yeah."
Wrapping the radish into the rice, Shangzi pinched three medium-sized rice balls, then put the rice balls aside, took out a bowl, and poured miso and other seasonings into it.
"Put the sauce on it and bake it in the oven. The taste and texture will be better." She said while stirring the homemade sauce.
Haixing stood aside and watched, but there was nothing he could do to help.
"Naoko is really good at cooking."
She just smiled.
When it felt like it was almost ready, Shangzi stopped stirring, then spread the sauce evenly on the rice balls and put them in the oven to start baking.
After staring for a while, she suddenly said: "Haixing, help me take care of this place."
"Ah, I don't know what to do..."
"You don't need to do anything. You can eat it when the oven is done. I'll go upstairs to see if Chunhai has slept."
"Oh..."
After leaving the kitchen, Shangzi went to the second floor. Through the crack in the door, he saw that the lights were still on in the room, so he knocked lightly.
"Spring Sea."
There is no response inside.
She shouted again, but it was still the same.
"Are you asleep?"
Opening the door, Shangzi took a look and saw that there was no one on the bed.
There was no one at the desk, but the window was open and the curtains were moving in the wind.
"Spring sea?"
Shangzi was startled and quickly walked into the room.
As soon as she walked around the door, she saw Naruse hiding behind the door.
"..."
She lightly punched him and hit him.
Naruse went over and closed the window, "It's so late, what are you doing if you're not sleeping?"
"I'm a little hungry. I've baked some rice balls. Harumi, let's come down and eat them too."
"Are you grilling rice balls? No wonder there has been movement just now."
Naruse followed Naoko downstairs and into the kitchen, where he saw Haixing squatting in front of the oven, watching eagerly.
"She must be hungry."
Shangzi smiled.
When Haixing heard the voice, he stood up and nodded to Naruse.
"Are you still baking?"
"Well, it will take a while to bake before it tastes better," Shangzi said.
Naruse took a closer look at the remaining time in the oven, "It's still so long, just wait."
It was a little cold in the kitchen, so he turned around twice and then turned back upstairs. Shangzi and Haixing followed him.
"Has Harumi fallen asleep just now?"
"No, I'm reading a book, but it's almost time to go to bed. I was about to close the curtains, and then I heard you coming up. Is my mother already asleep?"
"Yeah."
Naruse sat at the desk, and Naoko sat on the edge of the bed, "falling asleep." Reading
"Wouldn't it be crowded for the three of you to sleep together?"
"It's okay." Shangzi smiled.
The two of them were casual and natural, while Haixing stood aside, a little at a loss.
She didn't even remember how long it had been since she had been to his room.
Naruse had already forgotten about it, but when he saw her standing there in a daze, he still remembered to remind her to be more casual.
"Sit wherever you want."
Haixing sat next to Shangzi and looked around his room, hiding his discomfort with curiosity.
It seems that everything has changed, but her memory is blurry, and she can't remember what she looked like before the change.
Her eyes fell on the bookshelf, and she was at a loss for words: "Have all the books in the study been moved up?"
"No."
Naruse turned to look at her and did not avoid the sudden topic, "These are all bought from the Morimi family's bookstore."
"The books in the study room are all the books left by my father, and I don't want to touch them."
"..."
Haixing opened his mouth and remained silent for a moment, wondering if he should apologize.
Her impression of Naruse Mamoru, who died young, was even thinner. Most of her understanding came from growing up, but she still knew very well that this was not a topic he was willing to bring up.
Naruse didn't give her any time to hesitate, and continued: "Of course, the main reason is that I have basically read those books, and there is no need to bring them up again."
"That's it..."
That's all the starfish can respond to.
Naruse looked at her again and turned away, "Don't worry."
Looking at his side face and thinking of his words at night, Haixing somewhat believed that he was indeed showing kindness to himself - if both parties accepted to ignore a certain part of the past.
"Well..."
Naoko didn't say anything, and lay down on the quilt, then stood up and looked at Naruse.
Ding——
After a while, there was a faint sound from downstairs.
Naruse's ears twitched, "The rice balls are baked."
"Hmm... did Harumi hear the sound?" Naoko asked while lying on the quilt.
"Yeah."
Haixing looked down, still waiting for her to get up, but Naruse came over and pulled her up, "Are you sleepy?"
"Not bad..."
He took her hand and went downstairs. Haixing pursed his lips and followed behind.
Returning to the kitchen, Naruse turned on the oven, and a smell immediately hit his nostrils.
Take out the rice balls and after baking, the originally soft part has become crispy.
Just by smelling it, a smile appeared on Starfish's face again.
The three of them sat in the kitchen and ate rice balls.
"The outside layer is filled with the smell of sauce..."
Starfish took a bite of the rice ball, then stretched out her pink tongue and licked the crispy shell coated with sauce;
And if you take one more bite, you can taste the miso radish buried in the rice ball, adding another layer of texture and flavor.
“It’s delicious.”
Naoko smiled slightly and looked at Naruse, who bit the rice ball and nodded.
"Sure enough, it tastes better after being grilled."
"Hmm."
While eating the rice balls, Shangzi poured each other a glass of water and drank while eating.
The rice ball in his hand gradually became smaller and smaller. At least in terms of oral and tongue desires, Haixing was fully satisfied and his spirit was extremely relaxed.
"..."
So when she looked up, she suddenly saw Matsu Qianqiu leaning silently at the door of the kitchen. She tensed up physically and mentally, and the rice balls in her hands fell off.
"Hello..."
Naruse had quick eyes and quick hands, and quickly caught the rice ball before it fell to the ground.
"..."
The rice balls are wet.
She licked and nibbled, almost licking the sauce on the outer layer of the rice ball clean - although he also thought the sauce was salty and tasted good.
"You actually secretly eat midnight snacks."
Song Qianqiu walked into the kitchen and lay on Shangzi, "Mom wants to eat too."
"Just three."
"Then let me take a bite."
Naruse returned Haixing's rice ball to her, passed his own rice ball over, and let her mother take a bite.
"It tastes really good..."
Song Qianqiu took a bite of the rice ball and looked down at Shangzi, "Shangzi made it, right?"
"Yes." Shangzi nodded and handed her his rice ball over, letting her take a bite.
While chewing the rice ball, Matsu Qianqiu looked at the three children sitting around with a smile on his face.
"That's good..."
"What?" Naruse looked over.
"It's nothing - bring the rice ball and let me take another bite."