A tired Jusis snored away on Gaius’ lap, making little gurgles the whole time. At the same time, his left arm was now a bolster for Isabelle, who was hugging it while asleep. The sun was about to set, and like all toddlers who had spent their energy playing for the whole afternoon, Jusis had tired himself out. To the others’ dismay, however, the little toddler had made his way to Gaius to sleep, despite everyone else being physically closer to him at that time.

However, since no one wanted to wake a sleeping toddler, the only thing Isabelle could do to express her displeasure was to pinch Gaius slightly…before sidling up to him and falling asleep too.

As it turned out, toddlers weren’t the only ones who fell asleep after an afternoon’s worth of playing. It wasn’t just Isabelle either; Nexus had floated over to him, before turning off like a bulb.

“Now what?” Gaius muttered. It was tempting for him to fall asleep too, and to be honest, he was also feeling rather tired too, but it would be rude for a visitor to fall asleep in the host’s home.

He decided to make do by rubbing Isabelle’s head gently, and she let out a small, happy sigh, before murmuring his name.

Isabelle’s grandmother walked into the living room, and a small smile appeared on her face as she took in the sight. “They’re all asleep?”

Gaius nodded, and in a quiet voice, he said, “Playing with children can be rather tiring at times. It’s natural for them to fall asleep.”

“It’s interesting that they gravitate towards you before falling asleep, though. Baby Jusis trusts you more than Toddler Jusis, it seems.” The old lady chuckled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not sure myself. It is something you must find out yourself.” She hobbled over to a nearby chair and sat down. Since Gaius was sitting on the floor, as a makeshift bed and bolster for Jusis and Isabelle respectively, talking to Madam Amelie required him to look up at her.

The way she looked down on him was quite different from how the great gods and familiar spirits looked down on the populace at large. Of course, this difference was natural, but Gaius had never felt what it was like to be looked at with familial care and affection before. The closest experiences he had was probably Paragon Ying Xin and Weiwu, but the tag ‘familial’ really couldn’t be appended to them.

“Maybe there’s something about me that subconsciously inspires trust?” Gaius posited.

“Who knows? But I have not forgotten how Jusis, as a baby, took a shine to you almost immediately.” She let out a quiet laugh, one pleasant to his ears. “And babies are very sensitive to one’s disposition, of all people.”

Gaius ruminated over her words, and then came to the conclusion that there was probably some awesome quality that made babies more receptive to him. It was something he could lord over the others, but other than that, it wasn’t really useful, even in the fields of childcare. If he and Isabelle ever ran a childcare service, he could foresee the children crowding around Isabelle to play, and then gathering around him to sleep.

It would decide the division of labour in childcare, and nothing else.

“Hmm. The two of you do really look like a good match, though.” The old lady looked at Isabelle, and then at Gaius, before nodding twice. “Reminds me of myself.”

“Um. Thank you?”

“How polite. So, who confessed to who first?”

“Huh?” Gaius blinked twice. “Is…that important?”

“Well, my daughter is of the belief that love is war. Whoever confesses first loses. Of course, you shouldn’t take that seriously, but it is something fun to talk about, between you and me.” An impish grin appeared on her face. “So? Who started it? What was it like, on that fateful night?”

“How did you know it was at night?” Gaius asked, discomfited.

“Please. I’ve read over a thousand romances, and more than ninety percent of them has the confession scene take place at night.” She counted off her fingers. “Actually, more than ninety-five percent.”

Gaius tried to hide his face, but with Isabelle holding on to his left arm and Jusis on his lap, there really wasn’t any way for him to wriggle out of this predicament, literally and metaphorically.

“From that look of discomfort on your face, I am ninety-three percent sure that you were the one who made the confession. Come on, let it out. I’m really interested to know how you managed to get together with her.”

Gaius blinked. It wasn’t as simple as what she said, but he couldn’t quite exactly tell her what really transpired on that day. What kind of expression would she make if she knew that Gaius was actually intending on dissuading Isabelle at that time?

He thought about it for a while, and then decided to not go into the specifics. “I asked her out for dinner, brought her to a park, talked about the future, and then played around with some sparklers.”

Gaius had briefly wondered if he should mention how Isabelle had called out to Weiwu, while getting an actual response in return, but then decided that it would be too unrealistic…even though it was the truth.

“Hmm. Simplicity, eh? Yes. I see that you have a thorough understanding of Isabelle’s character.” She paused for a moment or so. “So, who initiated the kiss?”

Gaius clamped his hand over his mouth, to prevent him from coughing and thereby waking everyone else up. He could still remember that moment, but he didn’t want to share it with anyone else. It was a moment he wanted to keep only to the two of them.

“Pardon me, but…”

“You don’t want to share.” She nodded slowly. “I see. I shall respect this wish of yours. I apologise for stepping over some boundaries.”

“It is natural for you to be worried,” Gaius replied. “I understand that very well. It’s just that I want this memory to be between the two of us only.”

“What a romantic.”

Gaius didn’t know what to say to that accusation, so he accepted it silently.

“The others will be back in an hour or so; if you want to sleep, now’s the best time. Playing with toddlers can be very tiring, after all.” Madam Amelie got up from her chair. “Rest well.”

After checking that she did leave the living room, Gaius planted a kiss on Isabelle’s forehead, and then finally surrendered to his desire for rest.