In order to take care of Sora, Cao Shuang took a day off.
"Hello, Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei... cough, cough, cough... I'm feeling really terrible today, like I'm about to die, so I'm applying for a day off to go see a doctor."
Shizuka Hiratsuka was a teacher at Cao Shuang's school. Although she seemed cold on the surface, she actually cared quite a bit about her students—not to mention her long legs and white lab coat were a sight to behold.
"..."
"I'm really suffering, Shizuka. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your student, right?"
"..."
"Cao Shuang, you'd better be at school by 9:00 AM, or else... hehe..."
"Alright, Hiratsuka-sensei, I'm heading to the hospital now. We'll talk once I've recovered."
Without another word, Cao Shuang hung up the phone and took the wet towel off his head.
"Heh, how come I can't ever fool that woman?"
Naturally, he wasn't sick, but he did have business to attend to. He had to take Sora to the police station to send the little one back.
"Are you all packed, Sora?"
There wasn't much to pack—just the few sets of clothes Cao Shuang had helped her buy and some snacks.
Did Sora want to leave? Naturally, she didn't. Compared to that so-called home, Cao Shuang's place made her feel much more at peace. Sora had tried staring at Cao Shuang with cold, distant eyes, as if to say she didn't want to go back.
But it was pointless. Sending her to the police station was the best choice.
Clutching her rabbit doll, Sora didn't speak; the girl's personality seemed to be perpetually cold. It was likely the influence of her foster home.
Cao Shuang had called the police station in advance before leaving. By the time they arrived, Sora's foster parents and the police were already waiting.
The policewoman was quite pretty, and Cao Shuang followed her to give a statement. It was called a statement, but it was really just a chat.
"The relationship between that child and her foster parents is pretty bad. Even if she's taken back, she'll just run away again. Sigh, I was actually the one who handled the case when her biological parents had their accident."
The policewoman sighed softly. She understood the psychology of children like this all too well; even if they are found and brought back, they can't stay in that home. At the very worst, they just get sent back to the orphanage.
"Plus, the little thing has a bit of an illness, so being unwanted is..."
After finishing the statement, Cao Shuang walked out and saw that the parents' expressions were actually quite hideous. The woman was heavily pregnant, and she and her husband stared at Sora without a word.
In reality, they probably hoped Sora would never come back after running away. Yet, they had been summoned here by the police. The family wasn't exactly wealthy, and adopting Sora had already pushed them to their limit; unfortunately, the woman had gotten pregnant again, leaving Sora as the "extra" child.
For some reason, a ripple of emotion stirred in Cao Shuang's heart. A silent young girl and foster parents who treated her poorly.
Tsk... what kind of punishment game is this?
Sora knew that even if she were brought back, she wouldn't receive good treatment. She had a mild case of albinism. Even just the treatment would cost a lot of money, and no one was willing to bear her ongoing medical expenses, so she was the redundant one.
Back when her parents were alive, the relatives used to praise her, saying how cute and beautiful she was, wishing they had a daughter just like her. But after her parents passed away, all those past compliments turned into snide remarks, and she was kicked around like a soccer ball.
As the girl was about to be led away, she stole one last look back at Cao Shuang. It was a lifeless gaze, as if she were falling from heaven straight into hell.
Rubbing his head, Cao Shuang cursed under his breath and stepped forward.
If he stood by and watched while a loli this cute had a look like that in her eyes, would he even be human?!
"We need to buy toiletries, and a quilt. Oh, is there anything you especially like to eat?"
In the supermarket, two figures—one tall, one small—walked hand-in-hand through the aisles. Sora shook her head, her eyes fixed tightly on their intertwined hands.
"I see. Then let's have something simple for dinner tonight."
At the checkout, Cao Shuang felt a pang of "wallet-ache" as he handed over his card. Sure enough, the consequence of an impulsive move was that he'd have to struggle a bit until his next royalty check came in.
Since coming to this world, Cao Shuang knew money was vital, so he started writing novels. After all, as someone who had read countless light novels, seeing that this world lacked those specific titles, it would be a waste of his brain not to write them. And the money he earned had indeed come in handy!
Cao Shuang had used a sum of money that was hard to refuse to shut the foster couple's mouths and get them to hand over Sora's custody to him. Although he couldn't legally "adopt" her directly, that didn't mean there weren't other ways.
So, as a matter of course, Cao Shuang's life now included a younger sister at home.
Sora didn't quite know how to feel. Happy? Joyful? Or... blessed?
Probably a bit of everything. When Cao Shuang first sent her back to the station, Sora had thought about running away. But she couldn't do that; she'd just cause trouble for him...
So she had planned to sneak out again after returning to that "home"—this time to somewhere even further away. She just... kind of wanted to stay with this big brother, even though Sora understood that it was probably impossible.
That was why, as she was being led away by those parents, her only thought was to look at him one last time...
She never expected that the end result would be Cao Shuang choosing to take her in. It left Sora feeling both surprised and at a loss.
"Won't it be a lot of trouble?" Sora said softly.
Cao Shuang knew exactly what she was talking about. Carrying the bags with one hand, he rubbed Sora's head with the other.
"Of course not."
"Oh, right, we haven't had a formal introduction yet, have we? Hi, my name is Cao Shuang. You can call me Big Brother Cao Shuang."
"Sora Kasugano... you can call me Sora."
Sora pursed her lips and introduced herself using the same format he had used.
And so, in Cao Shuang's solitary life in a foreign land—Japan—there was now a sister who needed his careful protection. However, a problem followed: his house seemed a bit cramped, especially that bedroom—it couldn't fit two beds at all! What was he going to do?
After thinking it over, Cao Shuang figured he'd be sleeping on the floor for a while. Tsk tsk... I guess I'll have to suffer a bit until those royalties hit.
Thinking of this, Cao Shuang tightened his grip on Sora's hand. This made Sora, who was clutching her rabbit doll, freeze for a moment as she looked at him, somewhat confused.
"Let's go. Let's go home."