By the time he returned home, it was completely dark.
Xiao Cheng pushed open the door, and the aroma of food rushed over him. Four dishes and a soup sat on the table: steaming mushroom-braised chicken, stir-fried spirit bamboo shoots, braised rabbit meat, vegetables with minced garlic, and a large bowl of white fish tofu soup. Mu Wan was carrying a bowl of rice out of the kitchen. Seeing Xiao Cheng standing in the doorway, her eyes curved into crescents. "You're back? Perfect. Wash your hands and eat."
Xiao Cheng looked at the spread of food and froze for a moment. "Mom, what's the occasion? This is so lavish."
"You haven't come home for a single meal in the past two months." Mu Wan set the rice on the table, then lightly smacked the back of Xiao Cheng's head. "It's fine to focus on cultivation, but you can't keep going nonstop. How long has it been since you came home? Can't you let me worry a little less?"
Xiao Ran strolled out of the study with a file still in his hand. Seeing his son, he gave a normal grunt. "You're back. What was the Zhang Family's attitude?"
"Eat first." Mu Wan shot him a glare. "No matter how important it is, it can wait until after dinner."
Xiao Ran tucked the file behind his back and replied evenly, "Fine. Dinner first."
At the table, Mu Wan kept piling food onto Xiao Cheng's plate while chattering away. "You've gotten thinner, thinner. Conditions in the secret realm must have been bad. You definitely weren't eating well. I specifically had these Soft Bone Rabbits and Flame-Tail Chickens delivered from the breeding farm outside the city. They're all thousand-year ones. Eat more, eat more."
Xiao Cheng stuffed a piece of chicken into his