10 minutes later ~ ~ ~
Fu Hua used whatever materials were at hand to simply pile up and build a makeshift stove, preparing in advance for the upcoming cooking; Nicole went out alone to the market to purchase fresh ingredients.
The two of them shared a tacit understanding, simultaneously choosing to avoid the line of sight of the “Phaethon” siblings.
In the once-warm kitchen, a new “bird hole” had somehow appeared on the wall at some point.
Cold wind was howling inward through the hole, carrying a bit of post-dusk chill as it swirled around the narrow space.
By the time Nicole pushed open the door and returned with the purchased ingredients, the sky outside the window had long since grown completely dark.
The last afterglow of dusk had completely sunk into darkness, and the night completely shrouded the entire city.
Fu Hua had already taken off her beige coat, casually draped it over the back of a nearby chair, tied a clean apron, and stepped toward the makeshift stove she had built with her own hands just a moment ago.
In the kitchen, accompanied by the gentle cold wind, Fu Hua rolled up her shirt sleeves, her actions of washing and cutting vegetables remaining steady and meticulous.
She cut the carrots into uniform fine shreds and sliced the tomatoes in half, every single knife stroke being clean and crisp.
A stack of chopped scallions piled up on the cutting board, and steam rose from the counter.
Anby leaned against the kitchen doorway, clutching a snack Fu Hua had just handed her, chewing slower and slower with each bite.
Her gaze fell on Fu Hua’s hands as she cut the vegetables.
The kitchen knife was very steady in Fu Hua’s hands, the spacing of each cut was almost identical, and the blade rose and fell without a single superfluous arc.
After finishing her candy, Anby used her incisors to bite open the third notch on the plastic packaging, saying nothing.
Before long, the aroma drifting from the kitchen made the people in the living room unconsciously sniff.
Billy lay prone on the counter, his mechanical eyeball staring in the direction of the kitchen, his voice carrying a dazed tone:
“This smells way too good?!
Even more fragrant than that plate of scrambled eggs last time!
Boss Nicole, when can you install a digestive system and taste system that can eat human food for me?
I want to…
Uh, pretend I never said that.”
Belle was already so hungry she was lying flat on the table, Eous squatted on her head, and even Wise held a book without turning a page for a long time.
Fu Hua placed the stir-fried dishes onto the table one by one: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried greens, a plate of golden-brown pan-fried fish, a small basin of tofu boiled with lean meat, and a dish of braised pork.
Those few inferior mustard greens bought from Nicole in the morning had already been dealt with by her beforehand “gently” and “at a small cost”.
Belle picked up a piece of braised pork and put it into her mouth, chewing faster and faster, and then decisively picked up another full pair of chopsticks’ worth and covered it in her own bowl.
Looking at the half plate of braised pork in her bowl that had been swept away by Belle before she even used her chopsticks, Nicole’s greenish-yellow eyes flashed with red light:
“Your bowl is piled up like a mountain!”
Belle retorted with her mouth full of oil,
“It’s because Brother hasn’t eaten yet; I picked it for him.”
Wise calmly picked up his bowl to avoid Belle’s outstretched chopsticks:
“No need, I’ll get it myself.”
Belle’s chopsticks turned toward Anby.
Anby held her bowl and hid behind Fu Hua, only to be stopped by Fu Hua, who was dishing out soup, reaching out without turning her head:
“Sit down and don’t run around.
There’s still plenty of braised pork.”
Anby was steadily pressed back into her chair by that hand.
She lowered her head to look at the mountain of meat piled in her bowl, and then looked at Fu Hua’s back as she turned around to continue dishing out soup.
The subtle actions she had observed at the kitchen doorway earlier were confirmed once again at this moment.
Fu Hua’s knife skills were steady to a degree that an ordinary store clerk shouldn’t have.
Every slice of meat she cut had almost the same thickness, and while her back was turned to dish out soup, she was able to reach out and stop her without turning her head before she could react.
This faster-than-expected reaction and precision were very similar to those combat-experienced enemy forces she had seen.
Anby hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she couldn’t resist the temptation, picked up a piece of braised pork, and slowly began to eat.
After the meal, the Cunning Hares party began to tidy up their things, preparing to set off and leave.
Nicole grabbed the last piece of tofu on the table, stuffed it randomly into her mouth, her cheeks bulging roundly.
Speaking with full of food residue, she laughed vaguely and casually, murmuring, “We’ll come over for a free meal again next time!” The moment her voice fell, she was abruptly reminded by Belle out of nowhere that she still owed the commission fee from two months ago, instantly showing a trace of a guilty expression.
Anby quietly gathered and neatly arranged the bowls and chopsticks on the table one by one, her movements neat and steady.
When she stood up and passed by Fu Hua, her footsteps paused slightly for a second, and she spoke softly in a calm yet earnest tone:
“A-Hua’s cooking is very delicious; you can come to the Cunning Hares to cook next time.”
Without waiting for Fu Hua to respond, she turned and walked away directly, her expression remaining cool and detached.
Meanwhile, Billy had already tidied up his magazines at the door and put his firearms in order.
Turning back, he gave Fu Hua a bright and confident thumbs-up, his tone full of enthusiasm and chivalry as he loudly said:
“Partner!
If you encounter danger during a Hollow commission next time, just come to us.
The starlight knight never refuses those who need help!”
Changing the subject, he added with a carefree and confident air:
“No, no, it should be me protecting you.
Anyway, even if you have a lot of strength, you’re not very good at fighting!”
Before his voice faded, he was grabbed by the hand of Anby not far away, and half-pushed and half-dragged out of the shop door.
Nicole followed behind the two of them.
As she was about to reach the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, raised her hand toward Fu Hua, and said earnestly with a hint of urgent instruction and an imperceptible trace of guilt in her tone:
“Um…
don’t just wander around the market casually in the future; there are lots of bad people in the market.” After saying that, she hurried her steps, catching up with Anby and Billy ahead.
Billy leaned against the door waiting for them, still holding that handgun.
Watching Nicole’s slightly flustered back, he casually exposed Nicole with a knowing look:
“What Boss said the most today was actually’Sorry, A-Hua’.”
Anby glanced faintly in Nicole’s direction, her tone calm and waveless, and softly acknowledged with a sound.
Nicole’s back ahead suddenly stiffened for a fraction of a second, the tips of her ears burning slightly.
She immediately quickened her pace and walked away without looking back.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”