Where's the Pork Knuckle?

As Xiang Kun watched the video, Alice appeared, squatting right next to him, chuckling as she watched.

"Didn't you already see that?" Xiang Kun flicked Alice away with his elbow and laughed.

Alice crouched down and shuffled over little by little, chuckling, her eyes crinkling into a mischievous grin.

Xiang Kun immediately became alert. "What are you planning to do now?"

"Boss, you allow me to show myself in front of Sister Nana because Sister Nana is one of us, right?" Alice said, resting her head on her knees.

"Hmm," Xiang Kun replied perfunctorily. He knew very well that Alice was laying the groundwork, and he had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say.

"Then Sister Little Bell, Sister Little Apple, and Zhen'er, aren't they all on our side too?" Alice said, counting on her fingers.

"Um."

"In that case... I think it would be good for Juxian to play with them too!" Alice said happily.

"Play?"

"It's about going shopping together, playing games together, and eating together!" Alice said.

"Can you eat?"

"All right!"

As Alice spoke, a roasted chicken wing appeared in her hand, which she then stuffed into her mouth, ate in three seconds, spat out the chicken carcass, and proudly displayed it to Xiang Kun: "Just like a normal person!"

Sitting on the ground, Xiang Kun turned his head and stared at her, while Alice, who was squatting next to him, also stared back at him with wide eyes and a big smile on her face.

A few seconds later, Alice's smile slowly faded, and the chicken wing bone in her hand crumbled. She said dejectedly, "Still not working?"

"Stop acting!" Xiang Kun flicked Alice's forehead and said, "Keep a low profile when we're out, don't cause any big commotion."

"Okay!" Alice naturally understood that Xiang Kun had agreed, and jumped up happily, her figure disappearing in the process.

Xiang Kun also stood up from the ground, turned around and looked at the huge crater behind him. Mr. Liang had already revealed his figure and completed another blood-drinking.

If you compare Mr. Liang now with the man he met Xiang Kun the night before, you'll find that his features have softened considerably, and he even has a slightly more defined nose. His features have also become more like those of a normal person. At the same time, his skin, covered in unique patterns, has become even more lustrous. When he moves, even when he's not invisible, it's easy for creatures that rely on visible light to lock onto their targets to lose his position.

"Was there someone next to you just now?" Mr. Liang curiously scanned his surroundings. According to the information from his drone, there seemed to be no one else within several kilometers. He wondered if it was just his imagination.

However, after hearing Xiang Kun nod and say "hmm," Mr. Liang was stunned. Was there really someone there just now?

Xiang Kun naturally knew what he was thinking and said, "He's a mischievous little guy. I'll introduce him to you next time."

Where do we go next? Or should we continue the 'hunt'?

"Next... there are some other things that need to be taken care of." Xiang Kun rubbed his hands together.

Chongyun Village.

When Xiang Kun is not around, the best dining option for Lao Xia, Yang the Third, Little Apple, and Little Chubby Girl Niu is to eat at Youlong Restaurant, followed by eating at Liu Caifu's house, then ordering takeout, then eating instant food, and the worst option is to cook together.

However, in terms of the level of enjoyment, it's the other way around—the whole process of cooking is enjoyable, except for the slightly painful moment of eating.

Of course, this kind of playful behavior can only be done occasionally, after all, they have two minors who are still growing, and they can't eat weird food all the time.

So at noon, the four of them still took a car to Tongshi Town to have lunch at Youlong Restaurant.

"Hey? Why isn't Nana answering the phone? I'm worried about Uncle Tang's condition." Yang Zhen'er, sitting in the passenger seat, said anxiously, holding her phone. "If I had known this would happen, I should have gone back to Shenhai with Nana."

Lao Xia, who was driving, suddenly said, "Uncle Tang is fine, and Sister Nana is fine too."

Yang Zhen'er was just talking to herself and muttering to herself, not expecting anyone to respond, since she was talking about Shenhai's affairs and Nana's affairs, which they had no way of knowing about here.

"Lao Xia, how did you know?" Yang Zhen'er asked curiously. If anyone else had said that, it would most likely have been just casual words of comfort, not referring to any specific event. But since it came from Lao Xia, she knew that the words meant exactly what Lao Xia meant.

"I know! Pretty sister will definitely be alright! Don't worry, Sister Fairy!" The Little Chubby Girl sitting in the back seat leaned forward and said.

Little Apple, sitting on the other side of the back seat, nodded as well. "Yes, Sister Nana is fine, don't worry, Zhen'er!"

Yang Zhen'er turned around and looked at the two girls, one big and one small, with suspicion. "Why do you two seem to have some special sources of information?"

"Don't worry, Sister Fairy!" the Little Chubby Girl said firmly.

"Mmm, don't worry!" Little Apple nodded.

"It's all so mysterious, something's fishy," Yang Zhen'er said suspiciously, glancing at the two women again. But after hearing what the three in the car said, she suddenly stopped worrying.

The GL8 continued driving towards the pedestrian street in Tongshi Town. Little Apple and Little Chubby Girl, sitting in the second row, were quietly discussing a new crosstalk routine.

As they were talking, the Little Chubby Girl and the Little Apple were suddenly tapped lightly on the shoulders one after the other.

The Little Chubby Girl turned around and was surprised to find Alice, dressed in a white princess dress, standing in front of the third row, looking at them with delight.

Little Apple also turned around. Although she couldn't "see" Alice, she sensed Alice's presence in the car before Little Chubby Girl did.

After Alice silently greeted the two men, she shuffled to her seat in the third row, kicking her legs with an air of smug satisfaction, as if to say, "I want to ride with you guys."

The first reaction of the Little Chubby Girl and the Little Apple upon seeing Alice was to turn around and look at Yang Zhen'er sitting in the passenger seat—after all, the only person in this car who didn't know Alice was there was "Old Fairy Sister".

The two little ones, "Bell-Apple Duo," suddenly stopped talking. Yang Zhen'er noticed something was off and instinctively turned around. "Are you two asleep? We'll have to wait a bit..."

Halfway through her speech, she suddenly noticed the little girl in the white dress sitting in the third row, and then she looked at the Little Chubby Girl and the Little Apple.

The three of them stared at each other for a strange two seconds—including the unseen Little Apple.

Yang Zhen'er neither exclaimed nor showed fear. Instead, she turned to look at Lao Xia, who was driving, blinked, glanced at the little girl in the white dress in the third row, and finally said, "Lao Xia, your 'Little Sprite' is out."

"Her name is Alice," Xia Libing, who was driving, introduced her simply and calmly, without taking her eyes off the road.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shiling in the second row, as if receiving some kind of signal, exclaimed joyfully and loudly, "Old Fairy Sister, she's not Little Sprite, she's a little snail... Hey? Alice! She's incredibly amazing! She can help me find textbooks for anything I want to learn, and she can even help me turn on my phone and iPad. Little... Alice, this is my Old Fairy Sister, she's incredibly amazing! She can conjure up magic robes, magic wands, and many other things for me!"

Little Apple nodded repeatedly, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons, and said with a smile, "Alice is amazing!"

As for Alice, who was sitting in the back row, she was so proud of herself that it was almost overflowing from her face when she heard the Little Chubby Girl and the Little Apple praising her.

Yang Zhen'er couldn't resist and flipped over the armrest box. She almost fell while doing so, but luckily Little Apple caught her. Then she went through the aisle in the second row and sat down in the third row next to Alice.

"Your name is... Little Alice?" Yang Zhen'er looked at the little girl next to her who looked almost exactly like Lao Xia when he was a child, and couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek. It felt smooth and soft, it really was!

Alice tilted her head, freeing herself from the "clutches," and frowned, saying, "It's Alice! I'm Alice!"

As she said this, Yang Zhen'er reached out and cupped her face in her hands, smiling as she asked, "Is the 'Little Sprite' that Nana was talking about you?"

With her lips slightly pouting from being squeezed, Alice could only helplessly say, "I am Nana's 'Little Sprite,' and I am Little Bell's 'Little Screw,' but I am still called Alice."

"Haha, Alice is so cute!" Yang Zhen'er said, pulling Alice into her arms and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

Seeing Alice's helpless expression, the Little Chubby Girl, who had turned over and was kneeling on the seat, looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and joy.

After escaping Yang Zhen'er's clutches, Alice saw Little Apple, who had also rolled over and was clinging to the seat, and reached out her hand to her.

Alice understood, obediently walked over, took Little Apple's hand, and then pressed her cheek against it.

Although Little Apple and Alice have known each other and cooperated on a conscious level for a long time, this is the first time that the two have had real physical contact.

Yang Zhen'er laughed and said, "Alice, you're so biased! You dodge when I pinch you, but when Little Apple wants to pinch you, you just go for it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Shiling reached out and gently pinched Alice's other cheek. Almost simultaneously, Alice also reached out and pinched the Little Chubby Girl's cheek, and the group laughed and joked together.

While driving, Xia Libing occasionally checked the situation of the four "people" in the car through the rearview mirror. Yang Zhen'er's natural, quick, and unhindered acceptance of Alice's sudden appearance was exactly what she had expected.

She knew that Yang the Third had discovered the various unusual phenomena that had occurred around them and Xiang Kun during this period, especially Yang the Third himself who had acquired those special abilities and had made various "game-like attempts" with Little Bell. Based on her understanding of Yang the Third, it would be very easy for him to accept Alice's existence.

Of course, the most important thing is that Alice looks like she did when she was a child, which gives Yang Zhen'er a natural sense of closeness and trust. If Alice had looked different, even if she was still a cute little girl, Yang the Third would probably have made a big fuss when she first appeared.

Seeing that Alice was allowed to appear directly in front of all of them, Xia Libing knew that Xiang Kun's "plan" might have to be brought forward.

The GL8 stopped in the pedestrian street parking lot. Alice and Liu Shiling got out of the car hand in hand and walked together into the "Youlong Restaurant" and into their usual private room.

Throughout the journey, Yang Zhen'er had been observing the expressions of the people around her. She noticed that when she first got off the bus, she took out her phone to take a picture of Alice, but Alice was not in the picture. Liu Shiling was standing alone.

However, based on what they observed along the way, the others should have been able to see Alice, especially when they entered the "Youlong Restaurant," You Meng's wife, Liang Yulong, even reached out and touched Alice's head, asking, "This little girl is quite pretty, whose child is she?"

However, what Yang Zhen'er didn't know was that when they were on the pedestrian street, none of the surveillance cameras could see their group. In other words, wherever Alice walked, the actual filming stopped, and all the footage was edited and spliced together for seamless playback on the monitor.

Several people who wanted to take a picture from afar because they thought Yang Zhen'er, Lao Xia, and Little Apple were pretty, and Alice and Little Chubby Girl were cute, would find that their phones or cameras were blacked out or had other malfunctions, making them unusable and unable to even frame a shot. They never even got to the point where Yang Zhen'er took a picture with her phone.

After the dishes were served, Yang Zhen'er suddenly noticed an extra plate of crispy pork knuckle on the table, which they hadn't ordered.

Moreover, she knew very well that the crispy pork knuckle at Youlong Restaurant wasn't shaped like this; this plate of pork knuckle was more like Chef Xiang's handiwork!

Could it be that Lao Xia secretly hid it and prepared it Chef Xiang left? No, this pork knuckle looks freshly made; judging from its appearance, it wasn't reheated.

The other four people in the private room— Lao Xia, Little Bell, Little Apple, and Alice —all immediately reached for the crispy pork knuckle and began to happily gnaw on it. Even Little Apple didn't need anyone to help her; she accurately grabbed a pork knuckle with one hand and ate it with her mouth full of oil.

Seeing that there was only one crispy pork knuckle left on the plate, Yang Zhen'er carefully picked it up, examined it for a while, and then took a bite.

Mmm... it tastes Chef Xiang's! No doubt about it! Delicious!

Yang Zhen'er squinted her eyes in enjoyment, but just as she was about to take her second bite, she suddenly bit into empty air. Then she opened her eyes and was surprised to find that the crispy pork knuckle in her hand was gone!

That's it!?

Not only was the piece in my hand gone, but the plate on the table was also missing.

As Liang Yulong entered, carrying a plate of dishes, she smiled and said, "Come on, try this cold dish. It's a new dish I just developed myself, without Lao You's involvement. What do you think? Deputy Director Liu, Brother Chu, and Brother Xia all praised it before."

After Liang Yulong left and the door to the private room closed again, Yang Zhen'er immediately asked, "Where's the pork knuckle? Where's that big pork knuckle from before? Where's yours?"

Little Apple laughed and said, "We're finished eating!"

Liu Shiling nodded repeatedly. "I'm done eating!"

"No! There aren't even any bones in front of you! Wait, where did that plate of pork knuckle come from? We definitely didn't order that dish, and it looks exactly like Chef Xiang's..." Yang Zhen'er stopped abruptly, a flash of insight striking her. She suddenly understood and looked at Alice: "I get it! Alice, you are the pork knuckle!"

Alice's eyes widened instantly, and her cheeks puffed out.

Fortunately, Yang Zhen'er immediately corrected her, "No, no, what I meant was, you and that pork knuckle appeared in the same way, right?"