The Blue Kitten

Zeref carried the copper pot over and placed it in the recess in the middle of the table.

The broth is made in-house. A thick layer of beef tallow floats on the red broth, with Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies bobbing on the surface. On the clear broth, a few slices of tomato and scallions swirl in the soup, which is milky white.

He picked up a spoon and poured the base sauce evenly into the pot. The red soup sizzled, and the spicy aroma exploded, hitting his nostrils.

Half clear broth, half spicy broth.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. Once the pot boils, we can add the ingredients."

Zeref put the spoon down beside the pot, turned around, and went back to the kitchen.

Natsu brought over the ingredients.

A plate of fatty beef was balanced on his head, a plate of tripe rested on his left shoulder, a plate of beef aorta rested on his right shoulder, three plates of vegetables were tremblingly supported on his left arm, two plates of shrimp paste hung on his right arm, and he held a plate of goose intestines and a plate of tofu in each of his hands.

His whole body swayed slightly as he walked, the plates clinking together, but none of them fell.

"Hey, could you grab this for me? Haha."

Riyao paused for a moment.

"I thought you could put it up yourself."

As he spoke, he stood up, reached out, and first took the fat beef off Natsu's head, then his shoulder, then his arm, placing them one by one on the table.

Natsu carried fewer and fewer plates, and finally regained his balance.

He stretched his stiff shoulders, and his bones cracked twice.

"That's how they play it over there in India."

Natsu scratched his head and burst out laughing.

Her hair was flattened on one side by the plate, while the other side stuck up high.

I just wanted to give it a try.

"That's not your store's specialty?"

Riyao finished arranging the last plate of tofu and looked up at him.

Zeref came out of the kitchen, saw Natsu's state, and without saying a word, grabbed his ear and pulled him down.

Natsu's head tilted to the side, and he arched his back, yelling.

Ouch, that hurts!

Sorry.

While pulling Natsu's ear, Zeref gave the Riyao an apologetic smile.

"My silly little brother loves to play, so I'll bring you an extra plate of sunflower seeds later."

"I want it spicy, please."

Riyao answered very quickly.

"OK...?"

Zeref grabbed Natsu and dragged him behind the counter.

Natsu followed with a stooped posture, sideways, taking small, quick steps, hissing in the cold air.

As he passed the counter, his head bumped against the corner of the counter, making a dull thud.

Zeref didn't let go and continued dragging.

Coincidentally, the scene at the dessert shop next door was almost identical.

Gray was shirtless, his ears were red from being pulled, and he was leaning to one side, his expression exactly the same as Natsu's.

Juvia sat in the corner, clutching her phone, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Gray.

"That girl has been sitting in the shop all day."

"What's wrong with adding someone as a friend? Give me your phone!"

Gray clutched his pocket, got a tap on the head from Ur, and reluctantly pulled out his phone.

Juvia happily scanned the QR code, accepted the friend request, then hugged his phone to his chest, curled up into a ball, and grinned from ear to ear.

Lyon stood at the kitchen doorway, his hands gripping the doorframe, his teeth clenched into the wood, tears streaming down his face.

Meredy sat by the window in the dessert shop, holding a cup of milk tea in her hand, her mouth wide open, not even noticing the straw slipping out of her mouth.

Ultear sat opposite her, reached out and gently lifted her chin, closing her mouth.

Meredy snapped out of her daze, blinked, and then continued sipping her milk tea, pretending she hadn't seen anything.

Riyao was busy cooking tripe and didn't see the commotion next door.

Otherwise, given his personality, he'd probably eat a pound of sunflower seeds to liven things up.

The red broth in the pot began to bubble and boil, with chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns tumbling on the surface of the oil, steam rising and filling the entire table with their aroma.

Riyao picked up a piece of tripe, dipped it in the red broth a few times until the edges curled up slightly, then dipped it in the oil sauce. The tripe, coated with minced garlic and sesame oil, looked shiny.

"Ah."

Mirajane opened her mouth and tilted her head slightly forward.

Riyao put the tripe into her mouth, she chewed it a couple of times, squinted her eyes, and nodded.

Lisanna sat opposite, her eyes darting around, and she imitated Mirajane by opening her mouth wide, sticking her head forward.

She deliberately made an exaggerated expression, even rolling her eyes upwards, clearly trying to make the two of them laugh.

Riyao rolled his eyes.

He picked up a peanut from the dish, aimed, and flicked it with his fingertip.

The peanut flew in an arc through the air and landed precisely in Lisanna's mouth.

Lisanna's laughter was muffled by the peanut; a muffled sound came from her throat, followed by a violent coughing fit. Her face turned red, one hand covered her mouth, while the other pounded on the table.

"Cough cough!"

She finally managed to swallow the peanuts, her eyes red from coughing.

"Sister, look at him!"

Mirajane also picked up a peanut and put it into Lisanna's mouth.

"That'll teach you to be naughty."

Lisanna chewed on a peanut, her cheeks puffed out, and snorted.

The sound was forced out of his nose, muffled.

Levy and Lucy, sitting on the other side of the table, exchanged a glance upon seeing this scene, a tacit understanding flashing in their eyes.

Lucy opened her mouth wide and let out an exaggerated "Ah!"

Levy up a piece of tripe, dipped it in the red broth in the pot, then picked it up and shook it in the air, splashing broth all over the table.

"Here comes the little flying stick!"

She held the tripe between her fingers and wobbled as she tried to feed it to Lucy.

Lucy took a bite, chewed twice, and gave Levy a thumbs up.

Riyao twitched the corner of his mouth.

"We don't have any small throwing sticks, do we?"

Lucy held up her finger and waved it at the Riyao.

"It's artistic embellishment."

His expression was serious, and his tone was self-righteous.

Riyao looked speechless.

He glanced down at his chopsticks, then at the bubbling red soup in the pot, and gave up on trying to reason with these people.

Erza walked in through the door, carrying more than a dozen strawberry cakes.

The cakes were packaged in transparent plastic boxes, through which you could see that they were covered with strawberries, and the pink cream was neatly piped up, with a whole strawberry adorning each one.

She placed the cake on the table, and the boxes were stacked into a small mountain.

I bought a strawberry ice cream cake from next door.

Riyao reached out, wanting to take a copy.

Then he couldn't move his hand anymore.

It wasn't that I was being held down, it was that I was being glared at.

Erza stared intently at his hand, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyebrows slightly lowered.

That look in their eyes was a pure, utterly soul-deep protectiveness of their food.

Riyao's hand hovered in mid-air, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Can I take one?

"Can."

Erza said this, but her eyes never left Riyao's hand.

Her eyes followed Riyao's hand, moving it millimeter by millimeter.

Riyao felt two gazes burning on the back of his hand.

He shakily reached for the top strawberry cake, picked it up, and handed it to Mirajane.

Erza snorted coldly and looked away.

She sat down, unwrapped a strawberry cake, picked up a spoon, scooped out a big bite, and put it in her mouth.

Her mouth puffed out, her cheeks stretched taut, then her expression relaxed, and a look of satisfaction appeared in her eyes.

Lucy had also reached out her hand, wanting to take a strawberry cake.

Seeing Erza's stance, he bent his finger in the air, then silently withdrew it.

She put her hands back on her knees, turned to look at the hot pot, and pretended that she hadn't done anything.

Mirajane laughed so hard she hiccuped.

She covered her mouth, rested her head on Riyao's shoulder, and her whole body was trembling.

"Haha... It's nothing, Erza just loves strawberry cake too much."

She wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes from laughing.

"There are so many portions, she can't finish them all, you can take them." Erza's action was just instinctive; Riyao is such an actor.

"It's artistic embellishment."

Riyao leaned back in his chair with a grin, crossed his legs, and put his hands behind his head.

Lucy and Levy speechless.

Lucy's lips twitched.

Levy pushed up her glasses; the lenses reflected light.

Lisanna suddenly felt something rubbing against her feet.

It was furry, soft, and slightly warm, brushing along her ankle and then back.

She looked down.

A small blue cat was crouching at her feet, rubbing its head against her ankle, its tail held high with a white tip.

"Huh, why is this cat blue?"

Lisanna put down her chopsticks and reached out to stroke the kitten's head.

The blue kitten squinted its eyes, made a series of purring sounds in its throat, and then opened its mouth.

"Aye."

The sound was short, crisp, and had a slightly upward ending tone.

Lisanna's hand froze in mid-air.

She blinked, then looked down at the cat again.

The cat looked up at her, its eyes round and bright.

Natsu emerged from behind the counter, his apron still askew, and the red mark Zeref had left on his ear.

He strode over, bent down, scooped the blue kitten up from the ground, and held it in his arms.

The kitten wriggled a couple of times in his arms, then found a comfortable position and rested its head on his shoulder.

"Happy, don't run around."

The kitten said "Aye" again.

Riyao put down his chopsticks and blinked.

He stared at the little blue cat for a full three seconds before speaking.

Is this cat behaving normally?

"Um?"

Natsu tilted his head.

"If you're not meowing, what are you doing here saying 'yeah'?"

Riyao still had a piece of tripe dangling from the pot, the broth dripping from the tripe into the red soup, creating a small splash of oil.

Natsu hugged Happy tighter and looked down at him.

"What are you doing running around like that? Be careful the guests don't stew you!"

"Won't."

Riyao immediately responded, his tone indifferent.

He stuffed the tripe into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, swallowed it, and then wiped the red oil from the corner of his mouth.

"Cat meat is sour, I won't eat it."

Natsu was stunned.

Happy in his arms was also stunned. His cat head bounced off Natsu's shoulder, his eyes staring straight at the Riyao, his pupils shrinking into two vertical lines.

Riyao picked up the milk tea and took a sip.

Wow, this cat is pretty intelligent.

Happy jumped down from Natsu's arms, his four paws landing on the ground with a soft thud.

It flicked its tail and ran towards the counter without looking back, its movements swift and decisive.

Then it jumped onto the counter, found a spot next to the cash register, squatted down, and cosplayed as a lucky cat.