Simple Joys (Part 1)

When a typical young woman is complimented on her appearance by a cute little girl like Liu Shiling, her normal reaction would be something like, "Oh, thank you, Shiling," "You're so sweet," "Little Bell, you're cute too!" or "I'm not that pretty!"—a thank you, a humble response, or a round of compliments in return.

Xia Libing, who was holding Liu Shiling's hand, opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated for a moment and ultimately said nothing.

Shiling's Mother, standing nearby, didn't think anything was wrong, assuming Xia Libing was just a little embarrassed or naturally introverted and shy. But Xiang Kun almost burst out laughing.

He knew, of course, that Lao Xia wasn't shy or embarrassed by the praise; rather, Lao Xia had instantly discerned the Little Chubby Girl's true needs. She had just begun trying to control the "Super-Linked Object" Coin on her body and activate the "Fantasy Manifestation" ability, but clearly realized that the current situation was not suitable for using "Fantasy Manifestation."

As for what Lao Xia wants to present, it's obvious—either roasted chicken wings or crispy pork knuckles.

Oh right, now Ice Cream can be made too.

After picking up Liu Shiling, the four of them didn't go home, but instead planned to find a restaurant outside to have dinner together.

The Little Chubby Girl was originally excited to have dinner with Xiang Kun and Xia Libing, but she didn't forget about "Egg Pie" who was listless at home. She looked up at her and said, "Uncle Baldy, let's go home and save 'Egg Pie' before we go eat!"

"Don't worry, Lao Xia and I came from your house first, the 'Egg Pie' is all set," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

Liu Shiling was at kindergarten. After he and Lao Xia arrived in Star City in the afternoon, they naturally went home first. Shiling's Mother was home and first took them to "visit" "Egg Pie," who was still curled up on the sofa cushion.

Upon hearing Xiang Kun mention this, Shiling's Mother felt a sense of admiration.

This afternoon, Mr. Xiang brought Ms. Xia to my home. After exchanging only a few pleasantries, he asked to see "Egg Pie".

The moment she led Xiang Kun into Liu Shiling's room, the cat, which had been listless for almost two days, immediately seemed to sense something and sprang up from the sofa cushion. However, perhaps because it hadn't eaten much for the past two days, it immediately went limp and lay down on the floor, allowing Xiang Kun to pick it up.

Xiang Kun held "Egg Pie" and massaged its entire body for a while, as if he were giving it a full check-up. He explained to Shiling's Mother that he had learned some veterinary knowledge and that "Egg Pie" was fine. It was just that the temperature change and the fact that Liu Shiling had no one to accompany her during the day after starting kindergarten had caused some fluctuations in her mental state. He said that stimulating her acupoints with the pet massage techniques he had learned would help improve her blood circulation.

Shiling's Mother was a little confused. Although she felt that what Xiang Kun said was a bit far-fetched, it also made a lot of sense. Moreover, his tone was particularly confident and certain, which gave her the feeling that Xiang Kun was very professional and beyond question.

But Xiang Kun himself said that he had only learned a little bit of related knowledge...

However, in the end, it turned out that Xiang Kun's pet massage technique was indeed effective. After being petted and pinched for a while, "Egg Pie" really regained its energy, and its meows sounded full of vitality.

When they went out to pick up Liu Shiling from kindergarten, "Egg Pie" had already run off to munch on its cat food.

This made Shiling's Mother sigh inwardly. Mr. Xiang. Xiang was truly capable. Not only was he able to buy a house in a first-tier city on his own, but he was also very good at cooking. He even knew about pets when they were sick. No wonder he could win the heart of the beautiful Ms. Xia next to her. Although Xiang Kun only introduced them as friends, she had already tacitly accepted that Xia Libing and Xiang Kun were a couple.

In fact, Xiang Kun knew nothing about veterinary medicine, and what he said was all made up on the spot. The so-called massage of "Egg Pie" was actually him checking the cat in various ways.

In addition to observing through infrared thermal imaging, Xiang Kun can also examine and detect the body structure of the "Egg Pie," such as its bones, muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs, through his "sixth sense."

The inspection process gave Xiang Kun a very strange sense of familiarity, a complete familiarity with the "Egg Pie" from the inside out.

This familiarity is partly similar to his relationship with "Gold Glitter," which is probably because "Egg Pie" was partially brought into the "Super-Sensing Item System" by the Little Chubby Girl in a special way.

The other part is simply familiarity and understanding of cats as a species.

At first, Xiang Kun was a little confused because he hadn't specifically studied cat physiology and hadn't had much contact with cats in real life. Logically, he shouldn't have such a clear understanding of a cat's anatomy.

But he instantly realized what was going on. This information wasn't something he could memorize using his traditional senses; it required the aid of his "sixth sense" to read it. He then understood—this was the ability of the "Mutated Parasite," which must have parasitized a cat before.

After inspecting the "Egg Pie," Xiang Kun still didn't understand how the Little Chubby Girl had partially pulled the "Egg Pie" into the "Super-Sensing Item System," but he roughly knew its current status within the system.

For now, "Egg Pie" is merely a small system that can be connected to at the level of consciousness within the Little Chubby Girl's own "built" system. At its core, this system is constructed from two Super-Linked Object Coin named "Chocolate" and "Ice Cream".

It doesn't grant "Egg Pie" any direct abilities, but it allows it to establish a conscious connection with Little Chubby Girl. Of course, this connection is far less significant than that between Little Apple and "Gold Glitter," and Little Chubby Girl herself isn't even aware of this super-connection with the cat.

However, after receiving the three new "Super-Linked Object" Coin that Xiang Kun sent to Little Chubby Girl, and after she began to familiarize herself with and integrate the three new Coin into her own local system, "Egg Pie" began to feel uncomfortable, and a barrier appeared in the communication between her and Little Chubby Girl's consciousness.

For it at present, it's like it's missing a part of its sensory abilities, which has led to a sense of aversion to its surroundings.

The solution was quite simple: Xiang Kun directly gave it a "recognition" attitude, allowing it to be formally integrated into the "Super-Sensing Item System".

In this way, it can adapt to the local system established by the Little Chubby Girl using Xiang Kun's "Super-Sensing Item System".

As for the connection between it and the Little Chubby Girl, the Little Chubby Girl needs to realize this herself and help "Egg Pie" update its contact information.

Xiang Kun could only guide her on the specific methods, but he couldn't do it for her, because he didn't know how the Little Chubby Girl did it either.

We ate dinner at a Japanese restaurant because the Little Chubby Girl said she'd never eaten Japanese food before, and Xia Libing saw grilled chicken wings on the signboard outside the restaurant...

Yes, a Japanese restaurant's signboard actually features grilled chicken wings.

Although the Little Chubby Girl had known Xiang Kun for longer, during the meal, she leaned against Xia Libing, whispering various questions as she ate.

At first, these questions were limited to some basic physics knowledge, Xia Libing answered without any problems. She was not afraid of being asked follow-up questions; if the Little Chubby Girl dared to ask, she could answer.

But gradually, the Little Chubby Girl's questions began to wander wildly, such as why horses have four legs, why humans have two legs, why flies have eyes all over their foreheads, why birds have feathers on their wings, why pterosaurs don't have feathers, why cats can't grow as big as tigers, why airplanes can fly without flapping their wings, and why chicken and duck taste different, etc...

Xia Libing explained everything to her from the perspective of biological evolution, showing no impatience whatsoever, as if she could handle any question.

Of course, Lao Xia doesn't know everything, but she can use her knowledge to explain any question to some extent, even if it's superficial. She can always say something, making her seem like she can answer any question. Even questions that are completely unanswerable, absurd and naive in their proposition, she can still offer some explanation, solemnly correct the way the question was asked, pose the "correct" question, and then answer it herself.

As for the Little Chubby Girl, she didn't understand 98% of Xia Libing's explanation, but that didn't stop her from tilting her little face up slightly, opening her little mouth slightly, and listening with a look of admiration and respect.

Indeed, a true magician should be like the Roast Chicken Wing Sister, who knows everything!