Kiana's Phone

"Mm, it's delicious."

Hearing Dong Moxuan's slightly intimate words, Mei lowered her head, feeling a little unaccustomed to them.

As the sweet, rich flavor blossomed in her mouth, Mei felt her eyes grow slightly red.

Of course, it wasn't because the food was so delicious that she was moved to tears. It was just that, in this cold house, she had felt the warmth of "home" for the first time.

Even if that feeling was exceptionally faint.

"If you like it, eat more."

Dong Moxuan naturally had no idea what Mei was thinking. After hearing her answer, he said this with a beaming smile.

Although Dong Moxuan wasn't very good at dealing with girls, he was quite skilled at taking care of children.

After all, he was of the same generation as Raiden Ryoma. In his eyes, Mei was no different from a child who needed looking after.

"Mm."

Mei nodded lightly, then asked curiously, "Hey, Mr. Dong Moxuan, are all men from Shenzhou as good at cooking as you?"

While amazed by Dong Moxuan's cooking, Mei also felt somewhat frustrated.

After all, as a proper young lady, she had naturally maxed out every household skill, including cooking.

Yet today, her cooking had actually lost to a man. She couldn't help feeling defeated.

"I should be an exception. There isn't much I'm good at. I just happen to know a little about cooking."

Dong Moxuan gave a negative answer to Mei's question.

Then he looked at Mei and said enthusiastically, "If you want to learn, I can teach you!"

Girl, I can tell you have exceptional potential. Why not learn to cook with me?

"Eh? C-Can I?"

Mei was, after all, the person the captains jokingly called the "Herrscher of Cuisine," so she was clearly tempted by Dong Moxuan's suggestion.

"Of course. I've been troubling Mei-chan so much lately. It's only cooking, after all. If you want to learn, I naturally have no reason to refuse."

Although Dong Moxuan had been in this world for some time and had long since outgrown the overbearing harem-protagonist mindset of "within a hundred miles, not even a sow escapes,"

there was still no reason for him to refuse an opportunity that could raise Mei's favorability toward him.

It was only cooking skills, after all. It wasn't anything particularly important.

"Mm... Then please take good care of me, Mr. Dong Moxuan!"

Faced with Dong Moxuan's suggestion, Mei hesitated for a while before finally agreeing, her face slightly flushed.

Seeing this, Dong Moxuan smiled lightly and lowered his head to enjoy dinner.

When Mei saw that Dong Moxuan wasn't saying anything else, she also lowered her head and fell silent.

Still, compared to yesterday, the atmosphere between them was much gentler today. It was almost as if they shared the warmth of a real family.

The next day, Mei still went to school early in the morning. Just like yesterday, however, she left breakfast, lunch money, and... today's allowance behind.

After stuffing the Fukuzawa Yukichi on the table into his pocket, Dong Moxuan felt even more strongly as though he was being kept by a rich woman.

Mei hadn't forgotten her lunchbox today, so Dong Moxuan was quite free.

After all, he had come to Changkong City to wait for the Honkai that would occur a month later, and there wasn't much he could do during that month.

Dong Moxuan had originally thought he could get a good rest today, but a phone call interrupted his plans.

"Hello, is this Porn Xuan?"

"I'm sorry, miss, but there's no one here by the name of Porn Xuan."

Hearing that familiar young girl's voice through the phone, Dong Moxuan expressed his protest with a blank face.

Unfortunately, Kiana didn't seem to care about his protest at all.

"Pervert Xuan, are you free today?"

"I'm free all day today. What's up?"

Hearing Kiana's question, Dong Moxuan answered instinctively.

But he regretted it the moment he finished speaking. As expected, Kiana's next words were exactly what he anticipated.

"I'm going to the street today to buy some furniture. Since you're free, come help me move it!"

"Eh?!! Sorry, Miss Kiana, I accidentally said that wrong just now. Actually, I'm busy all day today."

"After this, we'll consider what happened yesterday settled."

"Of course, Miss Kiana. Where should we meet?"

The place Kiana had mentioned wasn't far from Mei's home, so Dong Moxuan reached the destination in just over ten minutes.

Kiana had been waiting there for some time. She was wearing the Senba Academy uniform, her arms crossed over her chest, her brows slightly furrowed, and her expression somewhat impatient.

"Porn Xuan, you're way too slow!"

The moment she noticed Dong Moxuan, Kiana immediately began complaining.

"I was already moving as fast as I could, Miss Kiana!"

Walking to Kiana's side, Dong Moxuan reached out and scratched his head, his expression slightly helpless.

"By the way, Kiana, aren't you going to class today?"

"Class... That sort of thing? Just find an excuse to skip it!"

Hearing Dong Moxuan's question, Kiana waved her hand dismissively.

Unlike Mei, who possessed extraordinary power but had values no different from those of an ordinary young lady, Kiana had fought Honkai Beasts since childhood, so her worldview was closer to that of a Valkyrie.

To Kiana, skipping classes at an ordinary girls' school was no big deal. She could just skip them whenever she wanted. After all, Senba Academy wasn't St. Freya Academy.

No, for this white-haired ball, even classes at St. Freya Academy probably weren't impossible to skip.

But this time, because of a certain troublesome Class Monitor, Kiana had actually gotten permission to be absent, despite calling it skipping class.

Dong Moxuan naturally didn't think through all those twists and turns. After hearing Kiana's words, he could only give an awkward yet polite smile.

"By the way, Porn Xuan, do you know which furniture store in Changkong City sells things that are both cheap and useful?"

Walking along the street with Dong Moxuan, Kiana asked him this question.

"...Miss Kiana, furniture that's both cheap and useful doesn't exist. Besides, I only arrived in Changkong City recently, so I don't really know the area."

"Useless..."

Kiana muttered softly.

Dong Moxuan: "..."

"By the way, Kiana, why do you suddenly need to buy furniture?"

"Isn't it because of that scammer landlord?"

The moment Dong Moxuan brought up the subject, Kiana's expression immediately became indignant.

"I was wondering how the rent could be so cheap for a place in that area with that much space. Those pieces of furniture were simply... And that bed, too. I've really had enough..."

"..."

Watching Kiana beside him enter full-on muttering mode, Dong Moxuan wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead with an awkward laugh and answered softly, "I guess trying to save money really isn't worth it..."