To avoid making further mistakes,
Kitahara Kaede finished his lunch, said a quick goodbye, and went straight home.
By the time he arrived home, it was already past 2 PM.
He opened the door and immediately saw the young girl curled up on the living room sofa watching TV.
The girl didn't seem very tall and had a rather cute appearance. Though she wasn't one of the anime characters he was familiar with from his previous life, she was no less cute than the dazzling female leads in anime.
This girl, who was a year younger than him, was his sister.
However, she wasn't his biological sister but his step-sister, Kitahara Chisato, who had come to live with them two years ago after their parents remarried.
Kitahara Fuyu greeted the girl: "Chisato, I'm back."
"Welcome back, Fuyu-kun."
Kitahara Chisato gave Kitahara Fuyu a lukewarm greeting, then turned her gaze back to the TV.
Kitahara Kaede didn't mind Kitahara Chisato's indifference. From his previous life's memories and the time they had spent together over the past six months, Kitahara Kaede roughly understood that the girl had no sense of belonging to this family. If it weren't for her mother's happiness, she would have opposed the remarriage.
Among the four family members.
Kitahara Chisato was closest to her mother, Kitahara Yuko, and held her stepfather, Kitahara Yuki, in gratitude and respect, as he had brought happiness to her mother and covered her educational and living expenses. As for her stepbrother, who was more of a nuisance than anything else, she maintained a lukewarm attitude toward him, merely coexisting under the same roof.
It was clear that she was a young woman who was very clear about her feelings of gratitude and resentment.
Since her parents worked at an import-export company and frequently had to travel for work, returning home only once every week or two, the house was mostly empty with just the two of them. After he had crossed over, he had considered trying to build a good relationship with Kitahara Chisato.
Unfortunately, all his efforts failed.
Previously, his deliberate attempts to be friendly had even drawn her displeasure, so Kitahara Kaede gave up.
He probably also knew the reason why Chisato didn't want to get along with him.
The first reason was that he liked anime, light novels, and games, and would stay home as much as possible. Even when he did go out, it was to buy light novels, figurines, and other related merchandise. These hobbies all indicated that he was a otaku.
In this country.
"Otaku" is at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and Chisato's attitude toward otaku probably isn't very favorable. If it weren't for his role as her older brother by obligation, she might even look down on him.
Fortunately, due to his role as her older brother by obligation, Chisato still respects his hobbies.
As for the second reason, it's probably because of his grades.
Chisato's grades are excellent. She graduated from middle school with outstanding grades and even entered the prestigious Shuuchiin Academy across from the private Toyosaki Academy. Entering this school means she will inevitably be part of the elite class in society.
On the other hand, he…
Before the time travel, he had above-average grades, but after arriving in this world, he struggled to adapt, and his academic performance declined instead of improving. Over the past six months, his grades have remained at a below-average level, and whether he can even get into university is uncertain. His future is likely to be that of a corporate drone.
Class consciousness is deeply ingrained in this country.
It is common for students with good grades to look down on those with poor grades.
Combined, these two reasons explain why Qian Sha keeps her distance from him, maintaining a lukewarm attitude.
He, too, only wanted to pursue the anime female leads he was familiar with from his previous life. He had no interest in this step-sister. There were so many anime female leads who were more appealing. If he got involved with this step-sister and something went wrong, it might even affect his parents' marriage.
Therefore, Kitahara Kaede directly abandoned the idea of building a good relationship with her.
Just as Kitahara Chisato treated him, he also interacted with her as a familiar acquaintance living under the same roof. Sure enough, over the past six months, things had been peaceful, and they had developed an unspoken understanding of not interfering with each other's affairs.
Kitahara Kaede pushed these chaotic thoughts to the back of his mind.
After taking a shower, he climbed the stairs to go to bed, not forgetting to say to Kitahara Chisato before going up, "Chisato, I'm too tired today. I'll probably sleep late, so I can't cook dinner for you. Can you just order takeout?"
Since Kitahara Chisato couldn't cook.
Before he had come to this world, Chisato and her previous self had both relied on takeout for their meals.
After he arrived, he voluntarily took over the kitchen, as Kitahara Feng believed that to win the heart of a goddess, one must first win her stomach. How could a proper "lapdog" not learn to cook delicious meals?
Having been skilled in cooking in his previous life, combined with half a year of diligent study,
it's no exaggeration to say that his skills are on par with those of professional chefs.
After hearing Kitahara Kaede's words,
Kitahara Chisato didn't say much, simply responding, "I understand, Kaede-kun."
Kitahara Kaede nodded and disappeared at the end of the staircase.
…
Watching Kitahara Kaede's figure disappear, Kitahara Chisato turned her gaze back to the TV screen.
She didn't feel any particular affection or dislike for this older brother by adoption. If she had to put it into words, she would say that they had nothing in common, and she also felt that Kitahara Kaede was a bit immature.
He was already in his second year of high school.
However, he still had no sense of urgency and wasn't very interested in his studies. Even at a high school like Toyosaki, his academic performance was only average at best. If he continued like this, he would never be able to get into college.
His future prospects...
With his carefree personality, he might end up living off his parents.
Even if she didn't care about her own future, she didn't want to worry her parents.
She certainly didn't want an irresponsible older brother.
She knew that Kitahara Kaede was obsessed with light novels, anime, and games. He would even get up in the middle of the night to queue for a signing event for his favorite light novel author.
It's just…
No!
He's a complete otaku.
When classmates come over for study sessions, she desperately wants her friends to know she has such an otaku older brother.
In her mind, "otaku" is a terrifying creature. TV news often reports on otaku crimes. When she first moved in to live with him and discovered her stepbrother was an otaku, her parents were often not home, and she'd wake up scared in the middle of the night.
Especially in the past six months, his otaku tendencies have become even more extreme.
She remembers one time when her stepbrother Kitahara Fuyu went to attend a book signing event for Kasumi Shiko in the middle of the night, the noise scared her into hiding in the corner and crying. Afterward, he even tried to be nice to her, and she almost called the police, thinking he had ulterior motives.
Fortunately, over the past six months, it turned out she had overreacted.
Her stepbrother Kitahara Fū's reclusiveness has deepened, but he remains the harmless type.
Nevertheless, she has no intention of improving their relationship…
Well, except during meals.
Cooking is one of the few things she thinks her stepbrother, Kitahara Fuyu, is good at. According to her friend Iino Yako, even the chefs at fancy restaurants can't compare to Kitahara Fuyu. Since Yako, who comes from a prestigious family, said so, it must be true.