I was sitting on the two-seater couch with Xiao Lei, watching TV. Rinka was stretched out sideways on the single-seater, scrolling through her phone. Meanwhile, that little rascal Jing was in Rinka’s room playing with her collection.

Of course, Rinka’s “collection” was just a bunch of cutesy plushies—none of those fragile otaku figures. If some ill-behaved kid were to barge into a room full of delicate figures, it’d be a disaster movie in the making.

Come to think of it, Qianxia really is a well-behaved kid—she’s never laid a finger on my full shelf of waifus…

By the way, the sofa was also piled high with plushies, and with Xiao Lei wearing her pink hoodie and flopped right into the pile, she looked so adorable it was tempting to pull out my phone and snap a commemorative pic.

“I’m so hungryyyy~” Xiao Lei groaned dramatically, rubbing her stomach.

Fei and Aunt Huaying had gone into the kitchen nearly an hour ago. The delicious smells leaking through the kitchen door had been teasing our noses nonstop, stirring our stomachs into open rebellion. That buffet lunch felt like it had been dissolved entirely by a flood of stomach acid by now.

Some old movie was playing on TV—judging by the aesthetic, probably something from the last century—but I couldn’t focus. I reached over and gave Rinka’s smooth, outstretched leg a tap.

“Hey Rinka, got any snacks or biscuits or something? I can’t take it anymore.”

“Massage first,” she said, casually propping her foot up on my lap. “My calf. A little higher... yeah, like that. Hold on just a bit longer—we gotta save room for Sis Fei’s grand dinner… You can press harder, by the way.”

“But Xiao Lei’s tummy’s been growling this whole time! I’m really at my limit!”

Xiao Lei threw a plushie at my face. “That was your stomach making noise, not mine!”

Grrrrrrgle~

…Yeah, that sound definitely came from my stomach.

I was starving. And since Rinka’s apartment wasn’t that big, the aromas from the kitchen weren’t just lingering—they were trapped. The whole living room was steeped in them.

Huh? Why does Rinka’s leg look kind of like… a chicken drumstick? It looks kinda tasty…

“Eww! Why are you drooling while staring at my feet, Kai-chan? You creep!”

She kicked at me, but didn’t bother pulling her leg back. In fact, she even wiggled her pale toes a little. Since she’d been wearing knee-high socks earlier, there was still a faint sweaty scent hanging in the air.

Hmm. So this is the fabled smell of a high school girl’s feet… Not that impressive, honestly. Wait—hold on. Is this girl trying to seduce me!?

Too bad for her—I’ve practically developed an immunity to feminine charms at this point. Why? Well, clearly because I am the perfect woman already!

I retaliated by tickling the sole of her foot, making her squirm and flail like a jellyfish on land.

“Alright girls, dinner’s ready! Wash your hands first, okay?”

Aunt Huaying clapped her hands as she stepped out of the kitchen, already having removed her apron. It looked like the battle behind the stove had finally reached its conclusion.

“Yes!” ×3.

The moment I heard “dinner,” I perked up and dashed into the bathroom to wash up, then rushed to the dining table and plopped myself down. Watching Fei and Aunt Huaying bring out dish after dish, I couldn’t stop drooling—it was like someone left the faucet on.

“Sorry,” Fei said, “I wanted to give it my all for tonight’s dinner, but we were a little tight on time, so I couldn’t make anything too fancy.”

Maybe it was Huaying by her side, but Fei seemed a lot more relaxed now, even smiling softly. Still, she was clearly blaming herself again for everything.

“It’s delicious!” Rinka stuffed a chunk of braised beef into her mouth and beamed. “Seriously, this spread is more than enough! If you’d taken any longer, we would’ve died drooling on the couch!”

She wasn’t exaggerating. It really was that good.

“Wait—is this chestnut? I didn’t know you could braise meat with chestnuts and make it taste this amazing!”

Spurred on by Rinka, Xiao Lei dug in next, her cheeks quickly turning red. Tears of happiness even welled up in her eyes… Why does her reaction make it look like the dishes are laced?

I scolded them, “You two! We’re supposed to wait for everyone to sit before eating!”

Just as I finished saying that—

Grrrg~

…Yeah, my stomach again. So embarrassing.

“Pfft! You’re already starving and still trying to act all proper?”

“Exactly. Here, Kai-chan, have some meat~”

Rinka fished a chunk of something dark out of the stew and dropped it into my bowl. I looked down and snapped:

“This isn’t meat, it’s ginger, you jerk!”

Come to think of it, my real body hasn’t eaten all day. Is that really okay?

I was trying to lose weight, sure, but this seems… medically concerning. I wonder if Dad made it home yet. Kinda worried.

Fei had also taken off her apron now. She glanced around the table and asked, “Where’s Jing’er?”

“Oh, in the bedroom. I’ll go get her—”

Before Rinka could stand up, little Jing came running out on her own.

“No need. I’m here.”

Hmm? Something’s off.

She was trying to act normal, but the tension on her face was obvious. She looked seriously rattled.

I furrowed my brows. Something wasn’t right. I leaned toward Rin Hua and whispered:

“Don’t you think little Jing looks slightly… off?”

“Mm. I noticed too. Got any guesses?”

“You don’t keep anything breakable or expensive in your room, do you?”

She tapped her chin in thought. “There are two bottles of perfume Mom brought back from France. But if those broke, the whole room would reek of it by now so… ah!”

Jing silently took her seat. Rinka clammed up, clearly hiding something. It was driving me nuts.

She definitely realized what happened. But what was it? What did this little pangolin uncover?

Braised tendon, chestnut pork, yellow-braised perch, seafood stew… Well, I could list all the dishes, but you’re not getting any, so use your imagination. Point is—it was a feast.

Fei’s food doesn’t glow or make you hallucinate or cause your clothes to burst into pieces, but even with just a humble kitchen, she cooked like a pro. “So good I could swallow my tongue”—turns out that’s not just a saying.

Everyone was raving about how delicious it was. Xiao Lei even wiped tears from her eyes and exclaimed:

“It’s so good… I can’t go back to Mom’s cooking after this! Gimme another bowl!”

How bad was Mama Zhao’s cooking!?

While the rest of us were enjoying the meal, one person clearly wasn’t.

Jing was growing more and more sullen, her eyes watering. She looked like she was about to cry. She must’ve been reminded of the taste of Dad’s cooking from Fei’s dishes.

That was a good sign—it meant Uncle Feng still had a place in her heart. Maybe she didn’t hate him as much as she claimed. That gave us hope for the next step.

Then it happened—Jing suddenly stood up from her seat and threw herself into Aunt Huaying’s arms, blurting:

“Mom, before Sis Fei came to find us… she was living with Dad, wasn’t she?”

Everyone froze. Even Fei, who was dishing out a third helping for Xiao Lei, lowered her ladle.

“Yeah,” Aunt Huaying answered calmly. “She was.”

Which, to be fair, wasn’t wrong. Living with… herself. Not exactly a lie, right? Everyone lives with themselves, don’t they?

“Sis Fei’s cooking… It tastes just like Dad’s. Exactly the same.”

“That’s right,” Aunt Huaying said, “Fei’er inherited all your dad’s cooking skills.”

Still not a lie, technically.

Fei’s eyes shimmered with hope. Her daughter was asking about “Dad.” That alone gave her—and all of us—hope.

But Jing herself looked miserable. She bit her lip, her eyes glistening with tears.

“I always wondered… why Sis Fei looked so sad every time I said I hated Dad.”

Her voice was trembling now.

“I found an old suitcase in Sis Rinka’s room… It had Dad’s clothes in it. And one of my old crayon drawings…”

I glanced at Rinka—so that’s what she figured out earlier.

But none of us expected what Jing’er said next.

“Mom… is Dad dead?”

“……”

The whole room went silent. Everyone’s face darkened in unison.

What a leap.

Oblivious to the shock, the little rascal wiped her eyes and started sobbing in Aunt Huaying’s arms.

“It’s because Dad passed away, right? That’s why Sis Fei brought his things and came to us? I’m sorry, Mom… I didn’t mean it! I don’t want Dad to die! Waaaaahhh!”

And then… the floodgates opened.