Chapter 414: Chapter 414: Old Acquaintance

After finishing their grocery shopping in the supermarket and getting some yogurt from a popular shop in a nearby mall, the group finished their “grocery shopping activity” and went straight back to Liu Shiling’s house.

“Wow! ‘Custard Pie’! It looks even cuter than it does in the videos!”

As soon as they walked in the door and saw ‘Custard Pie’ scramble towards them to “greet” them, Yang Zhen Er couldn’t contain her excitement and took off her shoes to pet the cat.

‘Custard Pie’ was taken aback by the sudden attention and, demonstrating a quickness contrasting with its chubby figure, dashed back into Little Fatty Girl’s room and hid under the table.

However, with the help of Liu Shiling and the lure of various cat snacks, Yang Zhen Er finally managed to hold ‘Custard Pie’ in her arms and enjoyed petting it.

She even took several photos and posted them on her social media with the caption “I have a cat too!!!!!!!”

Even Tang Baona, while condemning Yang Zhen Er’s “disingenuous showing off”, couldn’t help but hold ‘Custard Pie’ and take several photos herself.

There was no helping it. The chubby ‘Custard Pie’ was just too adorable, especially with its reluctant but tolerant expression under the temptation of snacks. No girl could resist giving it a few strokes.

Well, except for Old Xia.

Xiang Kun went to prepare the ingredients, while Tang Baona, Yang Zhen Er, and Xia Libing checked out Little Fatty Girl’s drawings.

Shiling’s Mom initially wanted to help in the kitchen, feeling bad about letting Xiang Kun do all the work alone, but after a while, she realized she wasn’t much help and was tactfully encouraged by Xiang Kun to go guide her daughter’s drawing with Tang Baona and the others.

“Xiao Lingdang, why are you so insistent on adding wings to ‘Custard Pie’? This is ‘Custard Pie’, right?” Yang Zhen Er asked with a laugh, looking at the orange cat with many pairs of wings in the drawings. She remembered that when Nana was teaching Little Fatty Girl to draw via video call, the child also drew a duck with many wings, seeming to have a special fascination with wings.

Liu Shiling answered, “Because with wings, it can fly.”

“But isn’t one pair of wings enough?” Yang Zhen Er asked again.

“The more wings, the faster and higher it can fly, plus it has to carry me,” Liu Shiling answered matter-of-factly.

“Then can you draw one pair of extra-large wings? I mean the larger the wings, the stronger the wind they can generate, right?” Yang Zhen Er said, “And one pair of wings is more pleasing to the eye compared to so many pairs!”

But Liu Shiling retorted, “If there’s only one pair of wings and it gets injured, wouldn’t it be unable to fly? It’s safer to have more wings.”

Yang Zhen Er was taken aback, suddenly feeling that Little Fatty Girl had a point.

With that thought in mind, looking at those drawings of cats with backs full of wings, she suddenly felt that it looked quite harmonious and even had a sense of unexplainable artistic charm.

On the other hand, Tang Baona didn’t interfere with what Little Fatty Girl wanted to draw and even affirmed her unrestrained drawing style. She primarily taught her some drawing techniques, like how to arrange so many wings without them overlapping and looking too chaotic, how to start certain lines, what to focus on when drawing a cat or a person, how to determine proportions, etc.

Of course, Little Fatty Girl seemed to be listening and nodding along, but Shiling’s Mom by her side knew well that the child probably didn’t understand half of it.

According to Shiling’s Mom, Little Fatty Girl’s progress in drawing was already significant. For a kindergarten child who hadn’t systematically learned it, this level of improvement in just a few days was extremely satisfying and a source of pride for her as a mother.

This was why she had a very favorable impression of and deep gratitude for Tang Baona, the “pretty older sister” who taught her daughter to draw via video call.

After viewing the drawings, they all “reviewed” Little Fatty Girl’s dance routine that she learned at the kindergarten in recent times and the song “Learning to Meow” she learned from “Xiao Pingguo” a few days ago.

Even though she liked and felt close to all three older sisters, the sight of them and her mom sitting on the couch and watching her perform with expectant and caring eyes made Little Fatty Girl somewhat shy and nervous, causing her performance to be somewhat hesitant.

During the song, she often forgot the lyrics and had to lower her voice and mumble her way through them or simply sing meow along with the lyrics.

However, her awkwardness was what made her all the more adorable to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er, who both wore amused smiles on their faces. After the performance, they kept praising and encouraging Little Fatty Girl, causing her to doubt herself – did she actually sing well just now?

Compared to drawing, Tang Baona had much more to teach about singing. The last time Yang Zhen Er got “Apple” to teach Little Fatty Girl was because Tang Baona wasn’t there.

Just as Tang Baona was teaching Liu Shiling a new children’s song, Xiang Kun finished preparing dinner.

With seven dishes and two soups on the table, it was quite a feast for the six of them.

While the others were quite familiar with Xiang Kun’s cooking skills, Shiling’s Mom was somewhat stunned by the sight of these delicious dishes.

She finally understood why Miss Yang called Mr. Xiang a “chef”. Without even tasting it, the spread already screamed ‘professional chef’.

After trying a few dishes, especially the “Dry Pot Rabbit Meat” which looked similar to the dish they had at the restaurant during lunch, Shiling’s Mom was even more astounded.

Although she was the first one to promote Xiang Kun’s cooking skills to Tang Baona, Yang Zhen Er, and Xia Libing in the elevator, calling it “chef-level skill”, she had only thought of Xiang Kun as one who was good at cooking rabbit meat and didn’t actually believe his cooking skills could compete with a top chef’s.

But after tasting the “Dry Pot Rabbit Meat” prepared by Xiang Kun and comparing it with the expensive dish from the famous restaurant at lunch, the taste was overwhelmingly better which made her think “That’s how it’s supposed to taste”, making her somewhat incredulous.

Had Xiang Kun’s cooking skills improved so much in just a few months?

Could he really be opening a restaurant?

Previously at dinner, didn’t Miss Tang and Miss Yang mention that Xiang Kun was setting up a gaming company?

Why is a programmer so adept at cooking?

Not just her, but also her daughter, Liu Shiling, who was savoring each bite with oil smeared around her mouth and an ecstatic look in her eyes – as though she was living in a dream of “Grilled Chicken Wings’ Sister”.

Compared with the mother-daughter duo of Liu Shiling, Tang Baona and Old Xia felt that today’s food was not as delicious as usual. Of course, they knew that it was because Xiang Kun had purposely adjusted the taste to accommodate Liu Shiling and her mother, so they didn’t say anything. Hunan cuisine is indeed on the spicy side.

As for Yang Zhen’er, she normally enjoyed spicy and strongly flavored foods, so tonight’s dishes, which catered to her style, brought her immense satisfaction.

The selection of dishes for dinner had been tailored by Xiang Kun to suit the taste preferences of Liu Shiling and her mother. Earlier, when they lived in unit 706, Xiang Kun had not dined with them; but since they had moved to Star City and had eaten rabbit meat at two joint dinners, real-time feedback helped him identify their taste preferences. Especially for Liu Shiling who had the “emotion infused” chopsticks to facilitate emotional communication; this ensured an extremely accurate grasp of her preferences. Influenced by the food in Old Xia’s dreamland, she found Xiang Kun’s cooking irresistible and incredibly delicious.

After dinner, Yang Zhen Er suggested that Liu Shiling and her mother try out the voice-controlled game Xiang Kun had developed.

Hearing that they could play a game, Liu Shiling enthusiastically agreed, and Shiling’s mom, who had heard them talking about Xiang Kun starting a gaming company, was curious and willing to play as well.

Seeing their eagerness to play, Xiang Kun set up the gaming environment using the hardware that was available in Liu Shiling’s house, connected it to the server, and installed the client on Liu Shiling and her mother’s mobile devices.

Liu Shiling naturally used her tablet, which she had always used for video calls with Xiang Kun and for her online studies.

Because of the time taken to set up the gaming environment and help Liu Shiling and her mother get the hang of the game, it was almost eleven by the time they finished their first game.

The game they played was an adventure and treasure hunt in another world. Except for Xiang Kun, who acted as the “customer service” and didn’t join the game, all five of them were members of an “adventure team”.

Leaving aside all the fun and laughter in between, the final outcome was quite dramatic with Liu Shiling and Yang Zhen’er being the last ones standing.

Yang Zhen’er tried to attack Liu Shiling in hopes of seizing the treasure they found during the adventure, but she was pounced on and killed by a large tiger that Liu Shiling had tamed along the way. This aggravated Yang Zhen’er who accused Little Fatty Girl of “cheating” and the system of being “biased”.

Shiling’s mom, on the other hand, was a bit worried watching her daughter who was still chuckling with the tablet in hand even after the game had ended. She was concerned that her daughter would become addicted to this game. However, with Xiang Kun, the game’s creator, Miss Yang, and Miss Tang around as well, she felt awkward expressing her concerns.

Xiang Kun noticed her worry and reassured her quietly, “Don’t worry, this game hasn’t officially launched yet and is just being tested internally, so it can’t be played all the time. Also, even after it’s launched, Shiling won’t get addicted. For her, this kind of game won’t be of great interest. The reason she is so happy now is mainly because she enjoyed playing with Zhen’er, Nana, and Old Xia.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Seeing that Shiling’s mom was still somewhat skeptical, Xiang Kun didn’t elaborate. He obviously couldn’t say that, the Little Fatty Girl was attracted more to the “magic games” in real life than virtual games.

“Sister Lin, after you drop off Shiling, why not play test our games during your free time? We need to focus on collecting data from genuine players like you. Of course, your efforts will be compensated.” Suddenly, Yang Zhen’er suggested to Shiling’s mom.

“Ah? Well… I’m not a professional gamer and I’m not very good either… I couldn’t stop laughing just now…” Shiling’s mom replied, somewhat embarrassed.

“Oh, please! There’s no such thing as a ‘professional’ player for our game. We want real user experiences, and you, exactly like you, are our target users. Your experience is the most genuine market feedback. If you don’t help us, we’d have to hire someone from a company to do it!” Yang Zhen’er replied.

“I see… well… I’ll give it a try, but if my feedback isn’t good…” Shiling’s mom hesitated.

“No worries! Like those comments you made right after we finished playing the game were really useful, precise user feedback!” Yang Zhen’er said decisively while stroking the “Custard Pie”- her pet that she coaxed over with dried fish.

Seeing Shiling’s mom had been convinced and agreed to participate in the game testing during her free time after dropping off Little Fatty Girl at kindergarten, Xiang Kun chuckled inwardly and applauded Yang Lao San for her expertise.

Originally, his plan for inviting Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er to Star City was to expand their circle of friends, thereby creating a better influence on Shiling’s mom, so that when she and her daughter need help, they could offer assistance in the most natural way possible.

If it were only Xiang Kun, despite their good relationship due to Liu Shiling, Shiling’s mom might still see him as a “former neighbor” – an opposite-sex “former neighbor” with whom she had interacted only a few times. When faced with any significant issues, especially those involving large sums of money or other serious matters, she might not readily ask Xiang Kun for help due to her personality. Therefore, proactive assistance from Xiang Kun might be rejected.

However, if the entire friend circle is involved, then getting to know Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Old Xia gives her more channels and ways to receive help and support in the most natural way when needed.

Just like what Yang Zhen’er had just done.

It was not Xiang Kun who gave her any prior instructions or hints, but Yang Lao San’s own choice. She might not be aware of Shiling’s mom’s financial difficulties and her suggestion might simply be based on the fact that Shiling’s mom, who currently was taking care of Liu Shiling alone had a lot of free time and could feel bored.

In terms of becoming fast friends with others, Yang Zhen’er was indeed a top-level expert.

Seeing that Liu Shiling and “Custard Pie” started yawning, Xiang Kun said goodbye to Tang Baona and the others.

At the entrance to the community, Xia Libing suggested, “It’s close anyway, let’s walk back to the hotel.”

Yang Zhen’er immediately raised her hand in agreement, “Sure! Let’s walk along the riverside, it has a nice view.”

Tang Baona looked up at the night sky and agreed too, “Hmm, the moonlight tonight is beautiful too, it would be nice to walk back.”

All three agreed, so Xiang Kun had no objection either, although he noted Old Xia’s suggestion, suspecting he had other intentions.