There were still some pork chops in the fridge. Qian Xunqian simply cut off a thick piece, blanched it, then mixed starch, cornflour, water, and beaten egg into a batter. She coated the pork chop and put it on the grill.
Once it was about seventy percent cooked, she sprinkled on some black pepper, and the grilled pork chop was ready!
She fried two slices of bread, sandwiched the pork chop and a fried egg between them, and just like that, a simple little burger was done. With a big roast chicken and a small bucket of rice, it was more than enough to eat!
"Mm—That smells so good~"
Qian Xunqian was so focused on making a midnight snack that she'd forgotten about the little glutton sneaking around outside the door.
Tian Yue, the granddaughter of the Second Worship in the Worship Hall, would sneak out of her room whenever she got a late-night craving and head to the big kitchen to see if there was anything tasty left over.
Usually, she got to enjoy it all by herself. But today was different—someone had beaten her to it!
"All right! Come on in. Let me see which little glutton came here to sneak a bite."
Qian Xunqian sent her voice straight into Tian Yue's ears with Sound Transmission. The little girl shuddered in fright, then awkwardly pushed open the door and tiptoed inside.
In the kitchen in the middle of the night, the two stared at each other. Tian Yue gave a couple of sheepish chuckles and said:
"Pope Sister, did you come here to sneak a bite too?"
Qian Xunqian laughed in exasperation. Why would a Pope need to sneak food? But when she saw Tian Yue staring intently at the burger in her hand, drooling all over the place, she rolled her eyes and came up with an idea.
Taking advantage of her height, Qian Xunqian held the burger above Tian Yue's head and tapped the child's forehead with her other hand. "Want some?"
"Yes!" Tian Yue raised both hands over her head, but she still couldn't reach the tempting burger. Qian Xunqian was a real rascal, deliberately bobbing it up and down.
The moment Tian Yue managed to touch her hand, she raised it high. Just as Tian Yue was about to give up, she lowered it again, giving her hope.
Tian Yue was only nine years old, after all. She couldn't take being teased like that for long, and soon burst into tears.
"Waaah! The Pope's bullying me! I'm telling Grandpa!"
Qian Xunqian gave a smug little laugh, crouched down, and scooped the child up with her left arm. With the burger in her right hand, she was about to feed it to Tian Yue.
"All right, all right. Eat up. I won't tease you anymore..."
Little Tian Yue had learned her lesson. When the burger reached her lips, she turned her head away. Though her eyes kept darting back to it, she kept telling herself, It's a trick! She's going to tease you again!
"If you won't eat it, I will!" Qian Xunqian teased, pretending she was about to shove the huge burger into her own mouth.
Tian Yue panicked and shouted through her tears, "I want it! I want it!"
In the end, Tian Yue got the burger she'd been dreaming of. She was sitting on Qian Xunqian's lap now, clutching the big burger in both hands and taking huge bites.
After setting the mischievous Tian Yue on a chair, Qian Xunqian went back to being mischievous herself. She rummaged through the fridge and took out the remaining pork chop, cut it into small pieces, and pan-fried them in a little oil. Then she sprinkled on white sesame seeds and pepper, plated them, and added a garnish of broccoli. The fried pork chop was ready.
She poured herself a glass of milk, tore off a big chicken leg, and started eating, using her chopsticks to send pieces of pork chop into her greedy mouth between bites.
Of course, some of it ended up in Tian Yue's belly too.
Tian Yue gave Qian Xunqian a haughty glance and thought, Since your cooking is so delicious, I'll forgive you for teasing me earlier!
"Why aren't you asleep in the middle of the night? Did you come to the kitchen for a snack because you woke up hungry?" Qian Xunqian asked.
Tian Yue nodded, though what she was really thinking was that she'd simply gotten a craving.
"What did you have for dinner?" Qian Xunqian continued.
"Pig trotter rice."
Qian Xunqian smiled. "You couldn't get full from such a huge bowl of pig trotter rice? You sure can eat!"
Tian Yue rubbed her head and answered honestly, "Actually, I was full. I just wanted to eat more!"
Qian Xunqian couldn't help thinking of a future acquaintance, Xuan Zi, known as Taotie Douluo. She gave Tian Yue a curious look and furrowed her brow. Could this child have awakened a Taotie bloodline?
"Child, are you sure your Martial Soul is the Golden Crocodile King and not the Gluttony Crocodile King?"
Tian Yue puffed out her cheeks angrily. "You're the Gluttony Crocodile King! Your whole family's the Gluttony Crocodile King! I have the pure Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul, inherited from the Golden Dragon King, and I possess a trace of dragon blood!"
Qian Xunqian thought, So Taotie are dragons too, apparently!
Watching Tian Yue's exasperated expression, Qian Xunqian wiped her greasy hands and patted the child's smooth cheek, teasing, "I'll find you a husband who's a Food-type Soul Master. Then you'll never go hungry again!"
Tian Yue planted her hands on her hips and shook her head firmly. "No! Food-type Soul Masters only make one kind of thing. It's too monotonous. I'd get tired of it!"
"Yuezi, can you eat some more?" Qian Xunqian, overcome by mischief, imitated Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi and gave Tian Yue the nickname "Yuezi."
"I can! I'll eat as much as you give me!" Tian Yue patted her little chest, showing that it had plenty of room.
And so, the big glutton and the little glutton polished off a whole roast chicken, the pork chop, and a bucket of rice.
"Ugh... I'm so full! I want to sleep..." Tian Yue was still a child. After eating a heap of carbs, and with it already so late, she soon drifted off to sleep.
Qian Xunqian scooped the child up and sent a message to Uncle Sky Crocodile, then took her to her bedroom.
"Calling me Sister? No, that's not right. Our generations are all mixed up. Her father and I are the same generation!"
Tian Yue mumbled in her sleep, making the half-asleep Qian Xunqian jump. Good grief, what a thing to say.
"Hehe... Pope Sister, your cooking is so delicious. When I grow up, I'm going to marry you and bring you home, so you can cook for me every day! Big pork chops, big chicken legs..."
"All right! Tian Chen, you're even willing to sell out your own daughter just to move up a generation! You won't get your way!" Qian Xunqian hugged Tian Yue, her little living pillow, and drifted off to sleep too.
They both had fairly regular schedules and opened their eyes right on time at eight. Tian Yue rubbed her eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room. Huh? Where was she?
"Oh no! I have to go to school!" Tian Yue looked around and spotted the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was eight ten, with only twenty minutes until class!
She hurriedly threw off the covers. That was all it took to startle Qian Xunqian, who'd been hoping to go back to sleep.
A chill slipped into the bed. With no choice, Qian Xunqian sat up too and glanced reproachfully at Tian Yue, who was searching for her shoes. She stretched comfortably, rubbed her drooping eyelids, used Spiritual Detection to find the shoes, then quickly hopped out of bed barefoot and found them for the little girl.
Once Tian Yue had put on her shoes, (someone) scooped her up and left the bedroom, heading to the great hall of the Pope's Palace, where breakfast had already been laid out on the desk.