茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

It was time for the nursery school’s group activity class today, where several classes come together. Xiao Mei naturally gravitated towards Liu Shiling and asked her this question in a hushed voice.

“She’s my incredibly awesome sister.” Liu Shiling responded as always, with her measured tone, but her expression betrayed a hint of pride and self-satisfaction.

Xiao Mei curiously asked, “Why is she incredibly awesome?”

Of course, Liu Shiling wasn’t going to say, “Because my ‘Grilled Chicken Wing Sister’ can perform ‘magic’, she’s an incredible ‘magician’, and you need to respect a good magician’s need for confidentiality!”

Reflecting on yesterday’s conversation with Xia Libing, she looked at the sky through the window and asked, “Do you know why it rains?”

Xiao Mei also looked out at the white clouds and blue sky, whispering, “Because there are clouds?” She remembered watching a cartoon that explained that rain came from the clouds.

“And where do the clouds come from?” Liu Shiling asked again.

“Clouds? Are they made by Ms. Fairy in the heavenly palace?” Xiao Mei gave a rather “romantic” answer that she thought was fitting.

Liu Shiling gently shook her head: “That’s feudal superstition, it’s unscientific. Have you ever boiled water? The steam that rises when the water boils, that’s clouds.”

Xiao Mei paused for a moment and then blinked, realizing, “Oh… right, that is a cloud, clouds are made of water, so clouds would naturally turn back into water and fall down…”

Liu Shiling nodded, and went on to ask, “Do you know why there is thunder and lightning, how lights work, where electricity comes from, or why we eat food, and where the food comes from?”

Xiao Mei listened with a dumbfounded expression, it took her a while to whisper, “You know all this? Shiling, you’re amazing!”

“The sister who came to pick me up yesterday knows all this! She knows everything, which is why she is incredibly awesome!” Liu Shiling’s voice finally revealed her pride, and she was also relieved, although she forgot or didn’t understand 98% of what “Grilled Chicken Wing Sister” had explained to her yesterday, there were still a few less complex things she managed to remember.

Hearing Liu Shiling speak, Xiao Mei unconsciously nodded in agreement and felt that both Liu Shiling and the really beautiful lady, well, the sister, were really amazing. She admired them both.

“What about the bald… the bald guy who came with that sister?” Xiao Mei asked again.

“‘Uncle Bald’ is a very, very powerful person.” Liu Shiling once again made her assessment.

Xiao Mei nodded, sensing the progression in the adjectives Liu Shiling used to describe him. It was impressive, but she didn’t understand why.

Also, everybody knows that an uncle has a higher rank than a sister.

As soon as the morning class ended, Shiling’s mom, along with Xiang Kun and others, came to pick her up and asked for a leave from nursery school’s teacher.

That’s because Shiling’s mom found out that Tang Baona, who had recently arrived, was the ‘beautiful sister’ who had been teaching her daughter to paint through video calls all this while.

After all, unlike elementary schools, nursery schools don’t have a set curriculum to follow, so taking advantage of Tang Baona’s visit to Star City, Shiling’s mom wanted to give Liu Shiling the opportunity to spend as much time playing with them as possible.

She still has fresh memories of seeing her daughter chatting with Xia Libing last night, and realised that her daughter may be slightly more mature than the children of her age, thus, she enjoys spending more time with these admirable older sisters.

When they reached the entrance to the nursery school, Liu Shiling slowed her pace when she saw Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er standing next to Xiang Kun. She scrutinized their faces to confirm their identities before running towards them with delight and shouting:

“Pretty sister! Old fairy sister!”

Liu Shiling originally intended to rush toward Tang Baona, but Yang Zhen’er crouched down halfway to “intercept” her, gently holding her little face and complaining, “Little Lingdang, it’s not ‘old fairy,’ I am… But never mind. You’re so cute that I’ll let you call me ‘old fairy.’

Though Yang Zhen’er usually had a thick skin, as Shiling’s mom was standing nearby, she didn’t have the nerve to let little fatty girl call her “Ms. Fairy.”

The six of them hailed two cars and headed towards a well-known restaurant in Star City.

The night before, Xiang Kun had researched a restaurant that served a celebrated rabbit dish, which had garnered high praise online.

So when Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er came over, Xiang Kun suggested they all go and try the dish together so they could compare it to the same dish served at their “Youlong Restaurant.”

Of course, Xiang Kun was fully confident in the rabbit dishes he prepared. However, with everyone gathered in Star City, they needed some noble-sounding excuse, right?

Everyone was carrying this attitude of “judgement” and “comparison.” On the way back from lunch, except for Shiling’s mom, everyone else was extremely critical and nit-picky about the rabbit dish.

Even Old Xia, who usually wasn’t picky about outside food, objectively listed all the flaws of the rabbit dish, from how the ingredients were handled to the details of seasoning.

Just listening to their descriptions would make one think they’d just eaten at a terrible restaurant.

However, Xiang Kun, who had prepared with a super-connected object stone before the meal, had tasted the dish and thought it was actually pretty good. It was definitely worth the price, and its online fame was not entirely undeserved.

Not only the rabbit dish but also the other dishes were quite good. After tasting and deducing the cooking methods, Xiang Kun had a few more recipes in mind. The chef at the restaurant clearly knew his craft.

But he also understood why Tang Baona and Old Xia had such evaluations. After all, they were accustomed to eating dishes specifically tailored to their tastes by him.

A dish, if first tasted made by someone else, and then had its flavors adjusted by Xiang Kun, would make people feel that Xiang Kun’s version was getting better and better, while their memory of the previous version would gradually fade, without leaving a deep impression. But if people were used to a dish specifically seasoned by Xiang Kun and then tasted the same dish made by someone else, the difference would be very noticeable.

Perhaps this was what they called “once accustomed to the vast sea, it’s hard to appreciate smaller bodies of water.”

Although Shiling’s mom had eaten the rabbit dish made by Xiang Kun, at that time, Xiang Kun had just started learning to cook. Even though he progressed rapidly and had made some targeted adjustments to their Hunan-Chu taste, he didn’t have the same opportunity to receive real-time feedback during meals or to make many adjustments to the taste, as he had done with others. Therefore, she didn’t have the same experience of tasting Xiang Kun’s “customized” “master-chef” level cooking as Tang Baona and Xia Libing.

Little Fatty Girl Liu Shiling, after moving to Star City with her mom, hadn’t eaten the food cooked by Xiang Kun that was tailored to her taste. But during her first dream fusion with Old Xia, she tasted the rabbit dish made by Xiang Kun manifested in Old Xia’s dream.

Although the rabbit dish in Old Xia’s dream was specifically adjusted to her taste, Little Fatty Girl would still be influenced by Old Xia’s emotions in the dream, with the emotions and food being “bundled” together.

This dream tasting experience also directly affected Liu Shiling’s real-life taste expectations for the rabbit dish.

Added to the fact that her beloved and admired older sisters all made similar remarks after eating, she naturally joined in and said, “me too.”

As they chatted, Yang Zhen’er proposed that Xiang Kun should cook a “true rabbit dish” in the evening.

Upon hearing this, except for Shiling’s mom who felt embarrassed to ask a guest to cook, everyone else agreed. Naturally, Xiang Kun also agreed with a smile.

Yang Zhen’er, as the proposer, then decided she would go grocery shopping herself while the others stuck with the original plan of taking Little Fatty Girl to an amusement park.

Shiling’s mom offered to go shopping for the groceries. Tang Baona, based on past experience, didn’t feel comfortable letting Zhen’er shop alone, afraid that they’d only discover something was missing when Xiang Kun started to cook in the evening. So, she also wanted to go along.

To everyone’s surprise, Liu Shiling also expressed that she didn’t want to go to the amusement park but wanted to go grocery shopping with them instead.

So… the party of six spent the afternoon “grocery shopping” together.

If Xiang Kun were shopping alone, he would undoubtedly have thought ahead about everything he needed to buy. Upon entering the supermarket, he’d use his extraordinary sensory abilities to gather environmental information, analyze the location of each section and the current flow of people, and immediately plan the most efficient shopping route. Then he’d buy everything he needs quickly, check out and leave.

If he were shopping with just Old Xia, employing a “divide and conquer, quick foraging” strategy, they’d be even more efficient.

But now they’re a big group of six people shopping together in the supermarket. Plus, they have the little kid, Liu Shiling. Naturally, the focus is no longer on the end result but becomes the process itself.

It may seem that grocery shopping is a simple and dull affair, nothing noteworthy. But when it involves characters as eccentric as Yang Zhen’Er, as eternally curious as Liu Shiling and as universally adept as Xiang Kun, it can become a very interesting affair.

Fresh produce section.

Liu Shiling points to a live fish and asks Xia Libing standing nearby, “Sis, what kind of fish is that?”

Xia Libing casts a glance at it and says, “It’s a grass carp.”

“Was it caught by a fisherman out at sea?” Liu Shiling asks again.

“No, it’s a freshwater fish that lives in lakes and rivers. But the ones sold here are likely farmed. The sea fishes are over there.” Xia Libing points to some sea fishes laid on ice blocks.

“Is it tasty?” Liu Shiling asks, biting her lip.

“Whether it’s tasty or not depends not just on the ingredients but also on how you cook it. This type of fish can be cooked into a delicious Sichuan-style Boiled Dish, but it has to be really, really spicy!” Yang Zhen’Er interjects from the side.

Tang Baona immediately retorts: “Not true, cooking it into a fish soup is even better. Last Christmas, the fish and tofu soup Xiao Kun made was particularly good, so fragrant. I still remember the sensation of the first sip… it was really… absolutely heartwarming to drink. And the fish was also really tender and delicious…”

“But the soup that Brother Xiang made back then was not made from grass carp, right?” Yang Zhen’Er inquires.

“We are discussing cooking methods right now.”

“Old Xia, what do you say, is Sichuan-style Boiled Fish more delicious, or clear soup?” Yang Zhen’Er asks Xia Libing.

“Red-braised is not bad either.” Old Xia’s answer is as simple as ever.

Yang Zhen’Er then queries Xiang Kun: “Brother Xiang, if it were you cooking, how would you prepare this fish?”

Xiang Kun replies with a smile: “We’re not cooking fish tonight.”

So it goes, the group of them can talk about anything from an item’s characteristics to its texture, and then discuss various cooking methods. They often also bring up dishes they’ve had before, which gets Liu Shiling licking her lips constantly.

If it weren’t for Xiang Kun getting the fresh produce purchases done and forcefully diverting their attention, these few would probably willingly spend a few hours in here discussing this sort of stuff.

While in the condiment section buying some seasonings, Xiang Kun notices a young man sneaking pictures with his cell phone from the snack area across the aisle. Judging by the angle of the lens, he’s obviously trying to take pictures of Xia Libing, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen’Er.

So Xiang Kun subtly shifts his position to perfectly block the young man’s camera angle.

The young man, however, is not discouraged. Pretending to be absorbed in choosing snacks while glancing at his phone, he slowly changes his position to continue his clandestine photography.

Xiang Kun is slightly annoyed but doesn’t turn to look at the young man. Instead, he controls a few ball bearings to “crawl” out of his pocket, slip into his sleeve from the inside of his jacket, and with an “accidental” flick, he sends the ball bearings shooting out from the base of the floor shelf, “ambushing” themselves near the young man’s position.

Right as the young man zeroed in on Tang Baona’s profile through his phone camera and prepared to press the shutter, the screen went black. No matter if he pressed the power button or tried unlocking with his fingerprint, his phone remained unresponsive.

After a few dozen seconds, his phone finally came back to life, but by then, Xiang Kun and his companions who had been at the opposition condiment area had relocated.

At the checkout, Liu Shiling counted one by one the items that Xiang Kun was taking out of the shopping cart. Using her tiny fingers to press lightly, she asked Old Xia about any words on the packaging bags that she didn’t recognize. Old Xia patiently explained each one.

Of course, Liu Shiling might not necessarily understand, but she enjoyed listening nonetheless.

“Sis, what’s the difference between chili and Sichuan pepper?” Liu Shiling looked up and asked.

Xia Libing gave a simple explanation: “Chilis are mainly spicy, while Sichuan peppers are mainly numbing.”

“Oh.”

Seeing Liu Shiling somewhat lost, Yang Zhen’er gently squeezed her chubby face and said, “If you eat too much chili, you’ll go ‘Wow! Wow wow wow!’, and if you eat too much Sichuan pepper, it’s more like ‘Ssss~~~~~~~’, do you understand now?”

This time, Liu Shiling’s nod was much more affirmative.

Because Xiang Kun had insisted on paying for lunch earlier, Shiling’s Mom wanted her to pay for the ingredients they bought for dinner. Xiang Kun couldn’t really refuse and since the items purchased were not too many, he and Tang Baona went ahead to wait for them at the exit. In this way, they wouldn’t clog up the checkout line and obstruct those waiting in line to pay.

“Who would have thought, Old Xia and Zhen’er are quite skilled at handling children.” Tang Baona glanced at Yang Zhen’er who was chatting and laughing with the little fatty girl, and said this to Xiang Kun standing beside her.

“That’s because Xiao Lingdang isn’t an ordinary child.” Xiang Kun laughed.

Tang Baona turned her gaze back towards Xiang Kun and said, “It feels like you’ve changed quite a bit in these few days that we haven’t seen each other.”

“Oh? What’s changed?” Xiang Kun blinked, then asked.

There certainly was a change. Upon returning this time, he had completed his routine blood consumption and also swallowed another “mutant”. Naturally, there were quite a few evolutionary changes happening within him.

But after every blood consumption, he would inspect and record his external appearance. Even though there were clear changes in his sensory abilities and other inners aspects after these last two blood consumptions, when it came to his outer looks and physique, the changes should have been minimal and hard to notice. Old Xia would’ve reminded him if they were very apparent.

Tang Baona replied, “It feels like you’ve become more cool and collected in the way you speak and act. Yeah… like you’re more confident.” As she spoke, she couldn’t help but laugh, “I remember when I first met you, you would immediately start looking around, observing everything the moment you arrived anywhere. Old Xia said this was due to your strong sense of caution and insecurity, but now, I hardly see you observing your environment.”

Xiang Kun chuckled, “After all, I’m going to be a boss and start my own company. There must be confidence.”

Internally, however, he gave a bitter smile. It’s not that he didn’t observe his surroundings anymore, it’s just that he didn’t need to use his eyes to do so.

In fact, his scope of observation was now much bigger than before, and the types of information he received were more diverse. Furthermore, he didn’t need to focus his attention to observe and analyze the sensory information he received. This had become his instinct. Therefore, from an external perspective, it didn’t seem like he was distracted or observing his environment, as everything was under control.

Such changes in his actions would indeed be noticed by people who knew him well – of course, Tang Baona was particularly sensitive.

Xiang Kun once more thought of his earlier actions when he prevented others from surreptitiously taking photos, as well as his just-arriving-in-Star-City actions yesterday when he helped the plainclothes police officer spot the “fish that had slipped the net”.

The more information he knew and the more abilities he had, the more he felt an increasing desire to influence and control things within his grasp. His desire for control was also growing stronger.

Having noticed this psychological change in himself, Xiang Kun decided to find time to “consult” Old Xia, the psychiatrist, in the future.