“I’m home, bro. Chi Zaozao’s eating at our place today.”
“Okay.”
Li Chi had already made it back and was now bustling around in the kitchen.
With just the two of them at home most of the time, cooking duties had naturally fallen to him as the older brother.
They’d started out taking turns, but after Li Guang once concocted something that looked like a slime, Li Chi had taken over the entire kitchen and strictly banned her from setting foot inside.
As for their parents… well, the family was just too well-off.
Every year, they spent three months traveling to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Of course, their parents were quite responsible. Whenever they were away, they’d hire a couple of nannies to look after the kids.
But now that the siblings were old enough to fend for themselves, the nannies showed up less and less.
“Wow! It smells incredible! What’s for dinner today?”
Li Chi eyed the sizzling, oil-dripping ribs of some unknown creature on the grill, at a loss for how to explain.
This stuff was a gift from the Dark Organization.
It was called Red Meat—a mysterious creature that spawned in magical energy, with an appearance somewhere between a pig and a cow.
The organization had cultivated it into a type of livestock, and it was supplied exclusively to them.
They’d been eating lunch when they invited him to join, then sent him home with a bunch of raw chunks.
He’d tried a piece raw—it was edible, delicious, and packed with nutrients, completely harmless to the human body.
You could tell the Dark Organization treated its employees pretty damn well.
But how the hell was he supposed to explain this to his little sister, the magical girl out there fighting for justice?
“…Bro! Bro!”
“Hmm… Ah, what?”
“What were you spacing out about? I asked what kind of meat this is?”
“Oh, right, right. I was checking the heat and didn’t catch it,” Li Chi said. He recalled the texture from when he’d eaten the raw piece—it was a lot like beef. So he went with that.
“Fresh beef I picked up from the market this morning. Super fresh. The chunks were still twitching when I brought them home.”
Just thinking about it made his facial muscles twitch. He’d seen it firsthand at the Dark Organization’s base—how a slab of Red Meat started convulsing the moment it thawed, like it was alive.
If he hadn’t eaten a piece first to confirm it was safe, he never would’ve dared bring this home for Xiao Guang.
Of course, what he’d brought back was absolutely top-tier fresh.
Xiao Guang’s face fell. She bared her teeth, furrowed her brows, and eyed the drool-worthy grilled meat with a hint of suspicion.
“I know super fresh beef can do that, but for some reason, those rumors I heard before just popped into my head…”
“Shoo, shoo, you city bumpkin. Giving you the good stuff and you’re complaining?”
Li Chi waved a hand to chase off the chattering little sister at his side, declaring she only deserved the mystery frozen meat buried at the bottom of the fridge for who knows how many years.
“Aw, come on. It’s human nature. Cut me some slack.”
Li Guang grabbed his arm with a sheepish grin, giggling.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Li Chi carried out the sizzling grilled ribs from the kitchen. The rich, savory aroma instantly flooded the whole dining room.
The perfectly seared Red Meat had a golden-brown crust glistening with tempting oil. Fine juices pooled at the bottom of the plate into a small amber lake.
“Wow—!”
Chi Zaozao took an exaggerated sniff, her eyes sparkling like stars.
“Xiao Guang, your brother is an amazing cook! This smells even better than steak from those fancy restaurants!”
Li Guang puffed out her chest proudly, like the praise was for her: “Of course! My bro’s a pro!”
The two girls settled at the table. Li Chi untied his apron and sat across from them. The second Li Guang picked up her knife and fork, ready to dig in, two faint magical ripples spread silently around her and Chi Zaozao.
“Xiao Guang!” Xiao Qi the panda plush’s voice echoed straight into her mind. “We want some too…”
“Brother can’t see the Contracted Beasts or hear you guys.”
Li Guang shot back in her thoughts, keeping her face lit up with food anticipation while her fingers tightened ever so slightly on the utensils.
“He’s just a normal person. As long as we play it cool, there won’t be any issues.”
At the same time, Chi Zaozao gave a tiny, imperceptible nod—she’d clearly gotten the message from her red pony.
With Xiao Guang’s okay, the two Contracted Beasts materialized from the ripples.
In Li Chi’s view, he could see the panda plush peeking its fluffy head out from behind Li Guang’s shoulder. The red pony hovered above Chi Zaozao’s plate, wings fluttering.
But by the rules of magic, they should’ve been completely invisible to ordinary people—of course, he was faking the ordinary part.
Li Guang sliced off a small piece of rib and popped it into her mouth.
The meat was unbelievably tender, exploding with juices on her tongue.
A hard-to-describe warmth flowed down her throat into her stomach, then gently spread through her body and limbs.
Her eyes widened a fraction. The texture… it was nothing like regular beef.
It was even purer, gentler, and more potent than any magical supplement she’d ever had.
“Delicious!” Chi Zaozao had already ditched all pretense, cheeks puffed as she mumbled her praise. “Xiao Guang’s brother, what kind of cow is this? The flavor is so unique!”
Li Chi sliced into his own portion with a straight face: “The market guy said it’s a new breed. Called… Ira Black Beef? I don’t really get it. I just grabbed it ’cause it looked fresh.”
His acting was flawless, casually inventing a breed he’d never heard of.
Meanwhile, the two Contracted Beasts were utterly fixated on the Red Meat.
“This is…” Xiao Qi’s panda nose twitched twice. Its beady black eyes locked onto the meat on Li Guang’s plate, the telepathic message laced with shock.
“Red Meat? How could this show up in a regular market?!”
“It’s definitely Red Meat!” The red pony’s voice buzzed with excitement.
“And top quality too! The gentle magical energy in it is so pure! Quick, Zaozao, Xiao Guang—eat up! This is a rare super boost!”
Xiao Qi jumped in urgently: “Xiao Guang, this meat’s great for holding your transformation and speeding up mana recovery. Eat as much as you can, but don’t act weird.”
Li Guang’s hand froze mid-cut.
Red Meat? She’d heard of it—her panda plush had mentioned it in passing.
Supposedly a rare ingredient that only spawned in super-pure magical environments. And her brother had just bought it at the market?
A storm of shock raged in her chest, but she kept her face calm.
She even frowned deliberately at Li Chi. “Bro, this meat… seems a bit too tender. You sure it’s cooked through?”
She needed an excuse for any “weird” focus she might show.
“What are you on about? The heat’s perfect.” Li Chi knew she was acting and played along with a retort.
“Your tastes are just too picky. I’d say you only deserve that synthetic beef that’s been frozen for who knows how many years.”
“I think the doneness is spot on!” Chi Zaozao immediately backed Li Chi. She’d gotten the strong nudge from her Contracted Beast and was dying to eat more. “Xiao Guang, don’t hog it all!”
“Dream on!” Li Guang sped up her slicing to defend her share, stuffing more into her mouth like the straightforward glutton she was.
Xiao Qi pulled a tiny fork from who-knows-where, secretly spearing a small cut piece from Li Guang’s plate and popping it into its sewn mouth.
It was so happy its fur quivered all over.
The red pony was bolder. It quietly dropped to the edge of Chi Zaozao’s plate, “accidentally” brushing against it, then swiftly pecked at the juices and scraps. Its little wings vibrated with joy at high speed.
Li Chi caught every bit of it. He watched his sister and her friend, hearts clearly racing, forcing themselves to act like it was just a normal, extra-tasty family meal.
He watched the two Contracted Beasts risking it all for a bite of Red Meat, stealing away with pure delight.
And himself, playing the clueless brother who knew jack about the magical world, just decent in the kitchen.
The whole table—four people, two beasts—all in on the act. Li Guang playing the “normal little sister,” Chi Zaozao the “normal bestie,” the Contracted Beasts the “non-existent ones,” and Li Chi… the “ordinary brother kept in the dark by everyone.”
The whole scene had a touch of the surreal.
“By the way, bro,” Li Guang swallowed a bite and asked offhandedly, “when you bought the meat this morning, did you notice anything… off about it? Like, the color being extra red? Or the vendor acting weird?”
Here it came—the probe. But man, the intent was way too obvious.
Li Chi got it. He set down his knife and fork, feigning deep thought. “Extra red? Nah, just normal fresh beef color. That friendly uncle even threw in two extra bones for free. Said they’d make the soup smell amazing.”
He was telling the truth—mostly. His face was the picture of sincerity.
“Oh…” Li Guang nodded thoughtfully, shooting Chi Zaozao a look that said My brother’s probably just lucky.
“Maybe it’s a new variety some mage family bred privately and it leaked to the market?” Xiao Qi analyzed in her mind while sneaking another piece. “Don’t overthink it, Xiao Guang. Eat while you can. Your brother’s got insane luck.”
Li Guang bought the explanation. Mages did dabble in normal businesses sometimes.
But this precious Red Meat? No way it hit the market at regular prices.
Just as she was about to dig deeper, she noticed the Red Meat on the table vanishing fast.
No choice. She’d have to shelve the doubts for now and dive into this unexpected feast.