Early the next morning, Chef Mao groggily got out of bed.
He hadn't slept well last night. Yet, even in that brief sleep, he had a dream that made him extremely uncomfortable.
In the dream, he sat stiffly in the seat of honor, his face ashen. Below him was his precious daughter, wearing a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, indescribably beautiful.
He, the old father, felt that even the A universally acknowledged beauty (acknowledged beauty) like Ningguang couldn't compare to his daughter at that moment.
Except, this beautiful daughter was currently bowing in marriage to someone whose face he couldn't see clearly.
When it came time for the'second bow to the elders,' he jolted awake.
He sat up immediately, gasping for breath.
Since he was awake, he didn't plan to go back to sleep. He just sat on the bed, staring blankly.
This night had truly been torturous, and he had such a strange dream.
Chef Mao recalled the person in the dream whose face was unclear.
The person seemed quite tall, with grayish hair, but the face was very blurry, impossible to make out.
Thinking carefully, among the people Xiangling knew, there didn't seem to be any young man like that. The only one with gray hair was a young girl.
It was absolutely impossible for her to marry Xiangling...
"Lu~"
Guoba's somewhat Indistinct voice (muffled sound) brought Chef Mao back to his senses. He glanced over; Guoba beside him seemed about to wake up.
Looking outside the window, the sky was beginning to lighten.
"It was just a dream. Better not think too much about it." Chef Mao shook his head and got out of bed.
It was almost time to open for business.
This line of work was very demanding every day. They basically had to get up before dawn to prepare.
It was also because the workers at Liyue Harbor's docks started work very early each day. If Wanmin Restaurant didn't open a bit earlier, they would have a hard time getting breakfast.
But Chef Mao had barely slept last night, so he felt particularly listless this morning.
Fortunately, his precious daughter looked full of energy, seeming very well-rested, as if all the fatigue accumulated over the past few days had been swept away.
So, with Xiangling's help, they quickly finished the preparations to open the shop.
"Haaah~" Chef Mao yawned and rubbed his eyes.
He looked outside the shop. It seemed someone was already walking towards Wanmin Restaurant.
Chef Mao instinctively checked the sky outside. There was still some time before full daylight.
Even the dock workers shouldn't come this early. And judging by the figure, it seemed to be a tall girl.
Who could it be...
Just as she was thinking, the figure also walked to the entrance of Wanmin Restaurant.
"Good morning, Chef Mao." Stelle greeted him with a smile.
"Huh!?" Chef Mao's eyes widened, as if he had been startled.
But very quickly, his expression softened, and he showed a warm smile to Stelle:
"Isn't this Stelle? Why are you here so early??"
Just now, Stelle seemed to overlap a bit with the gray-haired figure in his dream, and Chef Mao's heart jumped, almost making him grab a spatula and smash it over.
Fortunately, he came to his senses in time.
"Uh, how do I put this? Something happened last night, and I didn't sleep at all." Stelle rubbed her head, seeming a bit embarrassed.
She was telling the truth, but she couldn't tell Chef Mao the specific details.
Stelle couldn't imagine what Chef Mao's reaction would be if he found out his precious daughter had already been 'taken' by her.
Especially since she accidentally made some noise last night, almost letting Chef Mao discover them.
Thankfully, Xiangling managed to deflect, otherwise…
"I see. Come, come in quickly. Tell Xiangling what you want to eat." Chef Mao didn't mind and didn't ask further, just warmly invited Stelle inside.
After all, as Xiangling's good friend, Chef Mao was very friendly to Stelle.
Xiangling actually had many friends, but Stelle was probably the only one she cared about so much over the years.
It was only because Stelle was also a girl; otherwise, Chef Mao wouldn't have greeted her so warmly, especially after having that strange dream.
If Stelle were a boy, he wouldn't be worthy of his father's identity if he said one more word.
Stelle nodded and walked in.
Just then, Xiangling also heard the conversation outside and came out from the back room, with Guoba following behind her.
Seeing Stelle, the expression on her small face immediately became a bit embarrassed; she quickly walked up to Stelle and whispered to her for a while.
"Don't worry, it's fine," Stelle said softly.
She had been very careful when she came, deliberately taking a long detour and coming from the direction of Feiyun Slope.
Chef Mao absolutely couldn't have discovered anything amiss.
"Seriously, I was scared to death last night," Xiangling said in a low voice.
The positions Stelle had learned were indeed incredible; after experiencing them, Xiangling exclaimed that she couldn't take it.
If Stelle hadn't kept her lips covered, she probably would have made a sound, and then it wouldn't have been so easy to deflect.
"I also didn't expect Chef Mao to be outside at that hour." Stelle couldn't help but turn her head to look at Chef Mao, who was busy at the open-air stove in front.
"It's a good thing your father didn't probe… but it was quite exciting, wasn't it?"
"Ah?! Wh-where was it exciting…?" Xiangling glared at Stelle angrily, then looked back at her own father, confirming that he hadn't heard her whispering with Stelle before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"Never mind, Stelle, what do you want to eat?" Xiangling asked Stelle.
Stelle had worked hard all night yesterday and barely slept, so Xiangling planned to let Stelle have a good repair(supplement) this morning.
"I want to eat… you." Stelle put on a mischievous smile, then slowly stood up.
Taking advantage of Chef Mao's back being turned to them, she leaned down and gently took Xiangling's lips into hers.
"Luo!?" Guoba, standing at Xiangling's feet, watched this scene with wide eyes.
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