“Jinai, you came and didn’t even say a word,”
In truth, Luo Zining didn’t have much affection for her youngest sister, but after all, they were family, so she gave her a warm welcome.
“Because I just happened to drop by.”
“How many days are you staying? Have you eaten yet? We’re making dinner right now, and we’re using all kinds of high-class ingredients we never usually touch! We’ve already gone through several Ise Lobsters!”
“Mm, mm, I want to eat, I want to eat!”
“Ah, ah, ah, wait a minute! This is a rare chance, I’ll call Mengmeng Jie and have her come over too!”
Luo Zining rushed straight into her room, moving at lightning speed.
Before Ji Yue could stop her, the call was already made.
Helpless, Ji Yue couldn’t show too much on her face, so she simply let Luo Zining do as she pleased, settling into the living room to chat idly with Jinai, exchanging some family gossip.
Luo You, on the other hand, returned to the kitchen and focused on tormenting those gold-digging, inferior ingredients!
[Humph! You Ise Lobster, you always wrap yourself up so tight, but now you’re being stripped bare by me, aren’t you? Look at that… I’ve touched every inch of your flesh worth a thousand gold! And there’s nothing you can do about it! You can’t run away!! Struggle all you like, hahaha! With a body this alluring, you were meant to be played with by me in this very moment!]
Wo~~
Jinai watched Luo You handle the lobsters, and even as an outsider, she could see those sinister, almost inhuman thoughts behind her cooking.
Indeed, cooking is an art.
She made a point of stepping into the kitchen, curious, crowding in next to Luo You to see the aftermath of the lobster’s torment, and said,
“Hey, you’re Zining’s mother, right? Is your name Luo Youyou?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah.”
Luo You was absorbed in her tormenting of the gourmet ingredients and had no mind for conversation.
“You’re planning to stew these lobsters in cream, right? Let me help.”
She didn’t wait for Luo You’s response, and simply started helping out.
Nani?
Luo You looked displeased; she didn’t like having some half-baked helper messing up her groove when she was concentrating.
That was why she’d just kicked Luo Zining out earlier.
People who only get in the way should just go play elsewhere!
“Here, I’ll devein the shrimp for you. Should I cut off the heads?”
Looking at the beautifully split backs of the shrimp, Luo You blinked, “Oh, sure, go ahead and cut.”
“Okay, I’ll put them here. Want me to simmer the shrimp roe? I’ve got the seasoning ready.”
“Fine, get things ready.”
Seeing Jinai’s neat handiwork, Luo You could tell this girl must often cook at home.
And not just regular home cooking—she was restaurant-level.
“Have you decided on dessert?”
Jinai asked.
“Not yet, can you make something?”
“No problem, leave it to me.”
Jinai took eggs out of the fridge, along with a pile of ingredients, and got to work with astonishing efficiency, as if she’d done it a thousand times before.
Unlike with Luo Zining, earlier Luo You and Jinai were perfectly in sync except for dessert—it just felt right.
Wow, this kid gets more and more likable the more I look at her!
At that moment, after chatting with Mengmeng Jie for over ten minutes, Luo Zining slowly came down from the second floor.
“Wow~ Youyou, you’re amazing! We’re always on the same wavelength!”
“Mmm, you’re not bad, definitely a promising talent.”
“Ah~ It feels like we’re a mother and daughter who got separated for years~”
Jinai said loudly.
Luo Zining, just coming down the stairs, immediately tensed up at these words.
She turned and saw Jinai and Luo You working together seamlessly in the kitchen, with a satisfied look on her mother’s face—a look she’d never seen directed at herself!
She remembered now.
She had the impression that her relationship with this younger sister had never been good, and Jinai was always provoking her.
Luo Zining didn’t know why—she was sure she’d never wronged her.
***
“I’ll join in too! I still haven’t finished my dumplings!”
Luo Zining squeezed into the kitchen.
“Hmm? Zining, you don’t need to trouble yourself. Youyou and I can handle it.”
“Heh, it’s fine. I’m great at cooking! I do all the cooking at home, Old Lady here only ever helps me out.”
Luo You was the first to shoot over a questioning glance.
Do you even hear yourself talking right now?
If it weren’t for my pots and spatulas back in the day, you’d have been killed off by your Li Kui French Fries ages ago!
“What?”
Luo Zining was annoyed by Luo You’s skeptical look.
No matter how dense a parent is, they wouldn’t tear down their child in front of everyone at a time like this, right?
“No, nothing at all~~ Looking forward to seeing what you make.”
Luo You caught on and decided to give Luo Zining room to play.
She’d at least try believing in this rebellious daughter.
No matter what, since she went to college, this girl had changed visibly for the better compared to her high school days.
Even if she boasted like crazy, maybe her cooking had really improved?
Let’s see.
So the three of them crowded in the kitchen, each busy with their own tasks, but Luo Zining still kept to herself, not bothering to coordinate with anyone else.
After about an hour—
“It’s done! Cream-braised Ise Lobster, served with shrimp roe red wine sauce, cheese chowder, and…”
Luo You listed a whole string of dishes, covering more than half the table.
At this moment, Mengmeng Jie arrived as well.
“Ah, Mengmeng, you came at just the right time.”
“Wow… Youyou, you made so many dishes! Amazing!”
Mengmeng Jie delightedly took out her phone to snap some photos, but…
A magical girl’s abnormal state could never escape Luo You’s notice.
[Huh? What happened between her and Aunt?]
Luo You squinted slightly.
Aunt leaving her in the hotel for two or three days was most likely related to this.
“Mine are done too!”
Just as Luo You was pondering the reason, Luo Zining brought over a plate of pan-fried dumplings, a plate of steamed dumplings, and a pot of soup dumplings.
Luo You tasted them, then turned her gaze away with disdain.
Seriously?
After all that talk earlier, you produced this mess, and you still have the nerve to claim you’re an adult?
Not qualified, not qualified!
“Let’s eat, then!”
Jinai brought over the last dish.
“Once we’re done, my dessert should be chilled enough.”
***
Seeing Jinai, a spark of life returned to Mengmeng Jie’s previously listless eyes.
“Jinai? Wow! You… you haven’t changed a bit!”
“Mengmeng Jie, neither have you.”
“I… hehe, yeah, about the same.”
The two sisters, reunited after a long time, sparked a lively chatter.
Luo Zining and Ji Yue joined in too, and the unusually dense conversation reminded Luo You of New Year’s in her childhood, with a house full of relatives chirping all around her.
…This big family, Luo You always felt a little out of place in it.
Among this den of magical girls, she—a witch—couldn’t help but feel just a bit alien.
But it was all right; there was still one normal person here.
Jinai, this kid, Luo You really liked.
Why hadn’t she seen her back at the orphanage?
If she had, maybe her own daughter wouldn’t have turned out to be such a rebellious handful, always imagining she’d be chopped up for Star Fury power.
Or maybe, even if she’d adopted any random girl back then, it wouldn’t have turned out to be anyone more outrageous than Luo Zining.
Jinai, now, was the best possible choice.