Travels · Imperial Capital Arc (3): Today's Meal at Xiao Ling's House (Part 1)

Several years ago, in the middle of the night, at the Xiao family mansion.

"Oh dear, it's so late again." Xiao Xue finished the last stroke of her painting and glanced at the time on her phone; it was already past one o'clock.

After dinner, she locked herself in her room and started drawing fan art of Jinhsi. So engrossed was she that she didn't even notice the passage of time.

Gu~

"I'm hungry..." Xiao Xue's face deflated like a punctured balloon.

Of course, there are still food delivery services available at this time, but if my husband finds out she ordered takeout again in the middle of the night, he'll definitely give her a lecture. What's worse is that she can't cook for herself, and she finished her instant noodles yesterday. New supplies are still on their way.

Should we just go hungry all night?

Just as she was making this decision, there was a polite three-knock knock on the door.

Xiao Xue was puzzled, but out of politeness, she walked to the door and opened it.

"What are you doing here?" Xiao Xue asked irritably when she saw the person who came.

"So you weren't asleep."

At this time, Xiao Ling was not a tall man of 1.78 meters, but a short man of about 1.65 meters. Coupled with his long hair that could cover his eyebrows and eyes and his not particularly outstanding appearance, he was destined to be a background figure wherever he was placed.

"Yes, so what brings you here? If you want to complain to my dad, go ahead."

"Eat." Xiao Ling handed over the steaming hot fried rice.

?

Xiao Xue took the fried rice and felt that Xiao Ling looked a little more pleasing to the eye than before, even his tone had become less aggressive.

"You did this?"

"Yeah, I got hungry in the middle of the night, so I cooked myself a little something," Xiao Ling nodded, "And then I couldn't eat anymore."

How did you know I was awake?

You have eye bags, which means you often stay up late.

Are you so sure I'm hungry right now?

The smell of instant noodles in your room is making me feel nauseous.

"Tch... Fine, I accept your explanation." Xiao Xue said with a dark expression, "Thank you for the fried rice, you can leave now."

"Good night."

Having completed her mission, Xiao Ling said "goodnight" and left without looking back.

Xiao Xue carried the fried rice back into the house, took out her chopsticks, and was about to eat when she suddenly hesitated.

"I hope this doesn't taste bad."

But looking at the delicious-looking fried rice in front of her, the little glutton in her stomach started to protest wildly, demanding that she immediately bring the bowl of fried rice to its mouth.

With no other option, Xiao Xue had to take a gamble, since she was absolutely starving.

So, she picked up a piece of fried rice with her chopsticks and resolutely put it in her mouth.

"Hey cousin, why are you still thinking about my fried rice?" Xiao Ling's expression was full of helplessness. "You'll have plenty of delicacies to eat later, why bother with a bowl of fried rice?"

"I want to eat it, is there a problem?" Xiao Xue crossed her arms and said matter-of-factly, "Who told you to make it so delicious back then? Now I'm still craving it, right, Yaya?"

Dania nodded frantically, her little cheeks twitching like a hamster's, clearly enjoying her meal immensely.

"Yaya, what did you sneak off to eat this time?"

"Aren't you going to cook?" Dania said, puffing out her cheeks. "If you don't make me a hot meal soon, I'm going to go and steal lettuce leaves from Cart and the others."

"Oh my, look how hungry our Yaya is." Xiao Ling gently pinched Dania's cheeks twice. "It's alright, I'll get you some hot food right away."

"That's more like it." Dania nodded twice in satisfaction. "Also, I want some fried rice with eggs too."

?

"You little rascal..." Xiao Ling said helplessly, then called out to the other girls who were busy in the kitchen, "Who else wants to eat my chef's secret recipe fried rice!"

Without a doubt, not a single one of the twenty-odd people in the room raised any objections.

"Alright, then we'll have fried rice with egg today." Xiao Ling scratched his head. "But if that's the case, I'll have to find somewhere else..."

In the courtyard.

"I originally thought you were building this stove for some other purpose, but it turns out you're just using it to fry rice?" Augusta asked, looking at the newly built stove in front of him.

"There's no other way, there are over twenty mouths to feed, and that small pot in the kitchen can't handle that many." Xiao Ling huffed and puffed as he flipped the fried rice in the pan with both hands. The fried rice was emitting an enticing aroma. Just as a certain little glutton, Honey Peach, was about to sneak a bite, he slapped it back without any politeness.

"Ling, I'm hungry!" Dania grabbed Xiao Ling's hand and shook it wildly, trying to soften his heart and make him give in by acting cute.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush," Xiao Ling reassured her gently. "The food will be ready soon, so please be patient."

"But I'm so hungry..." Dania pointed to her stomach with a pitiful expression, "Look how flat it is."

"Anyway, I'm not allowing you to eat here. Why don't you go to Shorekeeper to supervise the construction and sneak a bite of hot food while you're at it?"

"Great idea, I'm going then."

After watching Dania leave, Xiao Ling continued to prepare his secret recipe fried rice.

To fully replicate his unique recipe, chili powder would actually be needed, but Dania and Sigrika don't eat chili, so he opted to use onions instead.

But that's okay, this kind of fried rice can still whet everyone's appetite.

"It smells so good!"

The little wolf, who had just run out of the kitchen, smelled the tempting aroma emanating from the big pot. He hurriedly ran over to the pot and, ignoring the heat, popped an onion strip into his mouth.

After taking a quick bite, Lupa couldn't help but give Xiao Ling a thumbs up, her tail wagging back and forth behind her indicating her initial approval of Xiao Ling's fried rice.

"Ah... ah... achoo!" Lynae was adding firewood to the stove every now and then, had a red nose because of the onions. "These onions are really potent..."

"You should put on a mask first, Lynae," Cartethyia said, walking over with a disposable mask and smiling as she handed it to Lynae. "That might make you more comfortable."

"Ah... thank you, Cart. I was just thinking of doing that. You've been a great help." Lynae nodded her thanks, then quickly tore open the plastic bag and put on her mask. The torn packaging bag fell to the ground without her noticing and was cleaned up by a passing robot vacuum.

"Hmm, the program runs without any major problems." Morning looked at the robot vacuum cleaner he had made, which was operating normally, and couldn't help but show a smile of accomplishment.

Then...

"Achoo!" Professor Morning was not spared from the onion's onslaught either, but it also brought her new inspiration.

"Hmm... should we consider making another high-powered range hood...?"

And so, the girls in the courtyard watched Xiao Ling cook the rice while each doing their own thing, filling the small courtyard with a special, lively atmosphere, and night fell in this warm ambiance.