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 âgrocery shopping activityâ and went straight back to Liu Shilingâs house.
âWow! âCustard Pieâ! It looks even cuter than it does in the videos!â
As soon as they walked in the door and saw âCustard Pieâ scramble towards them to âgreetâ them, Yang Zhen Er couldnât contain her excitement and took off her shoes to pet the cat.
âCustard Pieâ was taken aback by the sudden attention and, demonstrating a quickness contrasting with its chubby figure, dashed back into Little Fatty Girlâs 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 âCustard Pieâ in her arms and enjoyed petting it.
She even took several photos and posted them on her social media with the caption âI have a cat too!!!!!!!â
Even Tang Baona, while condemning Yang Zhen Erâs âdisingenuous showing offâ, couldnât help but hold âCustard Pieâ and take several photos herself.
There was no helping it. The chubby âCustard Pieâ 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 Girlâs drawings.
Shilingâs 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 wasnât much help and was tactfully encouraged by Xiang Kun to go guide her daughterâs drawing with Tang Baona and the others.
âXiao Lingdang, why are you so insistent on adding wings to âCustard Pieâ? This is âCustard Pieâ, right?â 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, âBecause with wings, it can fly.â
âBut isnât one pair of wings enough?â Yang Zhen Er asked again.
âThe more wings, the faster and higher it can fly, plus it has to carry me,â Liu Shiling answered matter-of-factly.
âThen can you draw one pair of extra-large wings? I mean the larger the wings, the stronger the wind they can generate, right?â Yang Zhen Er said, âAnd one pair of wings is more pleasing to the eye compared to so many pairs!â
But Liu Shiling retorted, âIf thereâs only one pair of wings and it gets injured, wouldnât it be unable to fly? Itâs safer to have more wings.â
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 didnât 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 Shilingâs Mom by her side knew well that the child probably didnât understand half of it.
According to Shilingâs Mom, Little Fatty Girlâs progress in drawing was already significant. For a kindergarten child who hadnât 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 âpretty older sisterâ who taught her daughter to draw via video call.
After viewing the drawings, they all âreviewedâ Little Fatty Girlâs dance routine that she learned at the kindergarten in recent times and the song âLearning to Meowâ she learned from âXiao Pingguoâ 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 â 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 âAppleâ to teach Little Fatty Girl was because Tang Baona wasnât there.
Just as Tang Baona was teaching Liu Shiling a new childrenâs 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 Kunâs cooking skills, Shilingâs Mom was somewhat stunned by the sight of these delicious dishes.
She finally understood why Miss Yang called Mr. Xiang a âchefâ. Without even tasting it, the spread already screamed âprofessional chefâ.
After trying a few dishes, especially the âDry Pot Rabbit Meatâ which looked similar to the dish they had at the restaurant during lunch, Shilingâs Mom was even more astounded.
Although she was the first one to promote Xiang Kunâs cooking skills to Tang Baona, Yang Zhen Er, and Xia Libing in the elevator, calling it âchef-level skillâ, she had only thought of Xiang Kun as one who was good at cooking rabbit meat and didnât actually believe his cooking skills could compete with a top chefâs.
But after tasting the âDry Pot Rabbit Meatâ 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 âThatâs how itâs supposed to tasteâ, making her somewhat incredulous.
Had Xiang Kunâs cooking skills improved so much in just a few months?
Could he really be opening a restaurant?
Previously at dinner, didnât 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 â as though she was living in a dream of âGrilled Chicken Wingsâ Sisterâ.
Compared with the mother-daughter duo of Liu Shiling, Tang Baona and Old Xia felt that todayâs 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 didnât say anything. Hunan cuisine is indeed on the spicy side.
As for Yang Zhenâer, she normally enjoyed spicy and strongly flavored foods, so tonightâs 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 âemotion infusedâ chopsticks to facilitate emotional communication; this ensured an extremely accurate grasp of her preferences. Influenced by the food in Old Xiaâs dreamland, she found Xiang Kunâs 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 Shilingâs 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 Shilingâs house, connected it to the server, and installed the client on Liu Shiling and her motherâs 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 âcustomer serviceâ and didnât join the game, all five of them were members of an âadventure teamâ.
Leaving aside all the fun and laughter in between, the final outcome was quite dramatic with Liu Shiling and Yang Zhenâer being the last ones standing.
Yang Zhenâer 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 Zhenâer who accused Little Fatty Girl of âcheatingâ and the system of being âbiasedâ.
Shilingâs 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 gameâs creator, Miss Yang, and Miss Tang around as well, she felt awkward expressing her concerns.
Xiang Kun noticed her worry and reassured her quietly, âDonât worry, this game hasnât officially launched yet and is just being tested internally, so it canât be played all the time. Also, even after itâs launched, Shiling wonât get addicted. For her, this kind of game wonât be of great interest. The reason she is so happy now is mainly because she enjoyed playing with Zhenâer, Nana, and Old Xia.â
âOh, is that so?â
Seeing that Shilingâs mom was still somewhat skeptical, Xiang Kun didnât elaborate. He obviously couldnât say that, the Little Fatty Girl was attracted more to the âmagic gamesâ in real life than virtual games.
âSister 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.â Suddenly, Yang Zhenâer suggested to Shilingâs mom.
âAh? Well⊠Iâm not a professional gamer and Iâm not very good either⊠I couldnât stop laughing just nowâŠâ Shilingâs mom replied, somewhat embarrassed.
âOh, please! Thereâs no such thing as a âprofessionalâ 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 donât help us, weâd have to hire someone from a company to do it!â Yang Zhenâer replied.
âI see⊠well⊠Iâll give it a try, but if my feedback isnât goodâŠâ Shilingâs mom hesitated.
âNo worries! Like those comments you made right after we finished playing the game were really useful, precise user feedback!â Yang Zhenâer said decisively while stroking the âCustard Pieâ- her pet that she coaxed over with dried fish.
Seeing Shilingâs 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 Zhenâer to Star City was to expand their circle of friends, thereby creating a better influence on Shilingâs 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, Shilingâs mom might still see him as a âformer neighborâ â an opposite-sex âformer neighborâ 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 Zhenâer, 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 Zhenâer had just done.
It was not Xiang Kun who gave her any prior instructions or hints, but Yang Lao Sanâs own choice. She might not be aware of Shilingâs momâs financial difficulties and her suggestion might simply be based on the fact that Shilingâs 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 Zhenâer was indeed a top-level expert.
Seeing that Liu Shiling and âCustard Pieâ started yawning, Xiang Kun said goodbye to Tang Baona and the others.
At the entrance to the community, Xia Libing suggested, âItâs close anyway, letâs walk back to the hotel.â
Yang Zhenâer immediately raised her hand in agreement, âSure! Letâs walk along the riverside, it has a nice view.â
Tang Baona looked up at the night sky and agreed too, âHmm, the moonlight tonight is beautiful too, it would be nice to walk back.â
All three agreed, so Xiang Kun had no objection either, although he noted Old Xiaâs suggestion, suspecting he had other intentions.