Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

In the early morning, the air in Hachihara is filled with the tranquility of grass and trees.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the Fujiwara family's courtyard.

Sumire Kikawa was standing on the wooden veranda, helping Aunt Touko hang up the washed clothes. Satoru Gojo followed behind him, helping out.

He is tall, so he can easily hang his clothes on the highest clothesline without having to stand on tiptoe.

He moved with practiced ease, shaking out the clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles, and hanging them on the hanger in one fluid motion.

Aunt Tako was standing in the kitchen window, watching this scene with a smile. She couldn't help but turn to Uncle Zi, who was drinking tea, and exclaim, "That white-haired gentleman is surprisingly good at housework."

Despite having such a handsome and dazzling face, and an aristocratic air that made him seem like a young master from a wealthy family who knew nothing of human suffering, he was surprisingly skilled at tidying up and washing.

Uncle Zi put down his teacup, looked at the tall figure outside the window, and said gently, "It seems that he is also a child who has learned to take care of himself since he was a child."

Aunt Ta watched their tacit interaction without saying anything more, but the love in her eyes deepened.

After hanging up the clothes, Aunt Tazi took a pair of gardening shears and walked to a corner of the courtyard.

There was a small flower bed that she had carefully tended, with a few thin bamboo poles next to it, and a few ripe red cherry tomatoes hanging on the vines.

"Xiao Cheng, Mr. Gojo, the tomatoes are ripe. Would you like to pick a few? We can make a salad for lunch." Aunt Touko waved with a smile.

"Okay." Gojo Satoru immediately became interested and followed Sumi Kichikawa over.

"Auntie Touko, where's Natsume? I didn't see him this morning?" Sumi Kikawa asked casually as she helped clear away the vines.

"Takashi went to town early this morning," Aunt Tago explained with a smile.

"A relative sent some seafood to the station in town, and he went to pick it up for him. By the way, he said that his actor friend, Mr. Natori, is filming on location in town today, and Takashi said he would go visit him on set after picking up the seafood. He probably won't be back until a little later."

"I see." Sumire Kichikawa nodded.

"You can just pick them with your hands," Aunt Tazi instructed, then picked up the scissors to trim the hydrangeas on the other side, leaving space for the two of them.

Gojo Satoru squatted in front of the thin bamboo pole and casually plucked off a ripe red cherry tomato.

He turned and held the tomato to Sumi's lips: "Sumi, ah—"

Kikawa Sumi lowered her head slightly and, using Gojo Satoru's hand, took a bite of the tomato.

The peel cracked, and cool juice oozed out.

Kikawa Sumi's soft lips inevitably brushed against Gojo Satoru's fingertips.

Gojo Satoru then nudged his finger toward his mouth, feigning a complaint: "Sumi almost bit my hand just now."

"I didn't get a bite." Sumi Kichikawa swallowed the fruit, her tone calm and her eyes gentle.

He took a tissue from his pocket, gently pulled Gojo Satoru's wrist, and wiped away a bit of tomato juice that had accidentally gotten on his fingertips.

"But they are really sweet, let's pick a few more."

The two stood side by side in front of the vines, their shoulders almost touching.

While picking and choosing tomatoes, Gojo Satoru bantered with Kikkawa Sumi, who calmly chimed in and occasionally reached out to clear away branches and leaves that were blocking his view.

Not far away, by the flower bed, Aunt Tazi was holding scissors, quietly watching this scene.

She looked at the unguarded physical distance between the two of them.

Gojo Satoru's actions of feeding the child were too natural, and Kisakawa Sumi's bowed head in acceptance was too submissive. Even the way the two wiped their hands revealed a tacit understanding that flowed smoothly between them.

They stood so close that when they were together, the air around them seemed to soften and become exclusive, forming a small world that no one else could enter.

Aunt Tazi paused for a moment in her hand holding the scissors.

The atmosphere was clearly not quite right.

Even the closest same-sex friends will maintain an instinctive social distance when they are together. They would never stick together so closely, even feeding each other in such a natural and intimate way.

Especially since they are two boys.

But Aunt Tazi didn't think about it any deeper.

She assumed that the two children had grown up together in a foreign land, which was why they had developed such an extraordinary, close bond, like that of family.

She gently shook her head, a relieved smile on her lips, and turned to walk back under the eaves.

After the two finished picking tomatoes, washed their hands, and sat down to rest on the porch, Aunt Tazi came over with a wooden tray.

"Thank you for your hard work. Here, have some handmade pastries to tide you over."

The tray held two cups of hot tea and several delicate pastries.

Aunt Tako specially picked out the biggest and plumpest piece and gently placed it in front of Gojo Satoru.

"Mr. Gojo, eat more," Aunt Toko said gently, looking at him.

"You're so tall, but you're too thin. If Xiaocheng is too busy with work to take care of you, you'll have to learn to take care of yourself and eat more."

Gojo Satoru was taken aback for a moment.

He sensed the natural intimacy between an elder and a younger person in Aunt Ta's words.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Sumi Kichikawa sitting next to him.

Sumire looked at him gently, a faint smile on her lips.

Gojo Satoru turned around and looked at Aunt Touko, who was still looking at him gently, and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Thank you, Aunt Tazi."

He then accepted the pastry with both hands, a bright, unguarded smile spreading across his face. "I'll take good care of myself!"

In this delicate and warm atmosphere, footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"I'm back." Natsume's voice came from outside the door, sounding somewhat helpless.

The door was pushed open, and Natsume was carrying a cardboard box full of seafood, with a man following behind him.

He was a tall and slender man.

He was wearing a well-tailored casual suit and a low-key hat. Even though it covered half of his face, it couldn't hide his dazzling aura, as if he had his own spotlight.

A refined and elegant smile played on the man's lips as he looked up, his gaze passing over Natsume and landing on Sumireki and Satoru Gojo, who were sitting in the corridor.