The next day, when Ethan woke up, Damian was already gone. He opened his eyes and casually surveyed the simple earthen room. The gray, dim space reminded him a little of his old home back in the countryside, but this place was even smaller and more run-down.
He had no idea how long he'd slept, but his stomach was growling insistently now. Ethan clutched his belly helplessly, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and pushed the door open.
Hearing the noise from the next room, Finn and Maeve, who were about to take a nap, exchanged glances, quickly got out of bed, and ran out.
"Shame, shame! Such a big person, sleeping until noon~"
As soon as Ethan stepped out the door, he was greeted by two small children pointing fingers at their own faces, making shaming gestures at him.
It was already noon? Ethan couldn't believe he'd slept for so long. However, having been the little terror of his own village growing up, Ethan might wake up late himself, but he didn't appreciate being called out for it by others.
He put his hands on his hips and immediately glared back at the two kids, retorting, "I don't have to work today, what business is it of yours when I sleep?" What office worker, after pulling several all-nighters, doesn't sleep like the dead? Sleeping only until noon was actually quite restrained, thank you very much. Besides, he'd been sold off to some mountain village now; he wouldn't have to work anymore. What else was there to do but sleep?
Wait! Sold off?
Ethan shivered, his sleep-fogged brain instantly clearing. He looked around. No sign of Damian, no other villagers, not even another house besides the one behind him.
Damn! Wasn't this fate helping him out? Perfect timing, perfect location, perfect opportunity! If he didn't run now, when would he?
Ethan immediately dodged past the two children and bolted...
"Why are you running? Where are you going?"
"Ethan-gege, are you going to find Dad? And what does 'work' mean?"
Seeing Ethan run, the two children started running after him. As a result, Ethan hadn't gotten more than a few steps before the two little brats caught up and blocked his path. It wasn't surprising he couldn't outrun them; he was starving, and still weak from his recent illness and injury.
"Yeah, where are you going? Dad said when you woke up, you should go to the kitchen to eat. He left food warming for you there."
There was food? Ethan's eyes lit up, his attitude changing 180 degrees in an instant. He stopped and said cheerfully to the children, "Nowhere special, I was just heading to the kitchen. Oh, right~ 'Work' just means going to do chores, like farming."
"But the kitchen isn't this way," little Finn tilted his head, looking at him doubtfully.
"Isn't it? Maybe I got turned around. This is my first time here, you know, I'm not familiar with your house yet." Ethan chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his nose. He asked coaxingly, "Could you please tell me where your kitchen is?" He decided to fill his stomach first; escaping required energy, after all.
"Oh~ So 'work' means farming. No wonder Ethan-gege said he didn't have to work today. Dad said Ethan-gege is delicate, can't do hard labor." Little Maeve nodded seriously as she spoke.
Ethan rolled his eyes, speechless. Who says I can't do hard labor? I grew up in the countryside before getting into college, you know. Whatever, adults shouldn't argue with children. Food first. "So, the kitchen..."
Before Ethan could finish, he was interrupted.
"Stupid! You have to call him Papa! Ethan-gege married Dad, so now we have to call him Papa." The twin brother, Finn, tapped his sister on the head, correcting her.
"Oh~" Maeve rubbed her head, pouting, then lowered her head and muttered softly, "Little Red said you're supposed to call him Steppapa. And Little Red also said Steppapas are always mean and will make our lives difficult." Having mumbled this, four-year-old Maeve looked up and asked confusedly, "Brother, what does 'make our lives difficult' mean?"
"I don't know either. Maybe it means he won't make shoes for us anymore, and make us wear old, small shoes," Finn replied with a serious, wrinkled face.
"That won't work!" Maeve imagined stuffing her foot into shoes she wore when she was one and shook her head vehemently. They definitely wouldn't fit. "The shoes are too small, they won't fit," Maeve pouted, shaking her head. "And our shoes don't last that long anyway." Their shoes were made by their Aunt Chloe from straw mixed with scraps of cloth. Even though they treasured them, straw shoes barely lasted a year, no matter how careful they were.
"What do we do then? Auntie got married, so now there's no one to make shoes for us anymore," Finn's face crumpled, looking like he was about to cry.
"Waaah~ I want Auntie!!" Maeve immediately burst into tears.
Ethan was exasperated. Not only were the two brats ignoring him and bad-mouthing him right to his face, but they'd managed to talk themselves into tears. What strange little creatures were these?
"Hey! Can you just tell me where the kitchen is first?" Crying was fine, but tell him where the food was! He was starving!
Finn blinked back his tears, his eyes darting around. Instead of pointing towards the kitchen, he took a step forward, tugged on Ethan's sleeve, looked up expectantly, and asked, "Papa, can you make shoes?"
"Brother's so dumb. He's a boy, of course he can't," Maeve mumbled while wiping her tears.
"Who says I can't? Forget shoes! I can even make clothes!" Ethan put his hands on his hips, glaring furiously at them. Doubting him was one thing, but doubting his professional skills? Unacceptable! In university, he wasn't just the heartthrob of the design department; he was the top student who won scholarships every year! If he hadn't been broke, he would have opened his own studio long ago instead of slaving away at a 996 job.
"Really?" Finn and Maeve's eyes lit up with surprise. Then they looked at him expectantly, "Then, Papa, can you make us some shoes? Ours are getting too small~"
"Get lost! Can't you see I'm starving? Take me to the kitchen first, then we'll talk." Faced with two little beansprouts who barely reached his waist, Ethan felt utterly helpless. His only option was to get them to lead him to the food first, then figure things out.
"Oh yeah, Papa hasn't had breakfast yet." Finn slapped his forehead, finally remembering the task their dad had given him before leaving: take Papa to eat when he woke up.
"If Papa had woken up a little later, he could have eaten dinner with us," Maeve added cheekily.
"...."
"Come on! Papa! I'll take you to the kitchen right now." With that, Finn grabbed Ethan's hand and started pulling him towards the left side of the yard.
Seeing this, Maeve also came forward and took Ethan's other hand...
Ethan didn't pull away, letting the two children lead him forward, one on each side....