Volume 1 Chapter 52: You Are Not My Daughter
Compared to Tang Xingwan, who was nervous and full of distracting thoughts, Bai Muxue was still half-asleep, lost in a dream.
Even though her mind was unclear, she could still feel touches on her skin from time to time. Soft, warm, and slightly wet. The burning discomfort all over her body slowly faded away. Because of that, Bai Muxue, who normally slept very lightly, unexpectedly entered a deep sleep.
When Bai Muxue slowly opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a kitchen.
It was not the large and luxurious kitchen in the Bai family mansion where she lived now. A bright, spacious place she would never step into.
Instead, it was the small kitchen of the tiny apartment where she had lived for twenty years.
In front of her was a kitchen knife casually placed to the side. On the wall hung an apron covered in old oil stains. The pots and pans had been darkened and polished by years of fire and use.
The faucet handle had been worn smooth. Deep scratch marks from time could clearly be seen inside the sink.
The sound of running water broke her wandering thoughts.
What was I just about to do...?
“Feels like I made plans with someone... hmm, no, that’s not right. I should be cooking, right?”
She muttered uncertainly to herself, then nodded with confidence.
“That’s right! Cooking!”
That little girl Xingwan had been studying all afternoon. As her father, I should at least make something tasty for her!
I’m just an office worker always running around at the Disaster Management Bureau. I see coworkers every day, and I already lost contact with friends from high school and college...
What is there to contact them for?
“Haa... time to cook!”
The girl shook her head, patted her flat chest, and opened the old refrigerator. Its surface had turned yellow with age, and several faded discount coupons were still stuck to it.
She took out some vegetables and frozen meat. After skillfully tying the apron around herself, Bai Muxue was about to start cutting vegetables when she suddenly frowned.
“Strange... did the stove get taller? Or is it just my imagination?”
“It must be my imagination.”
She tilted her head, then skillfully sliced the meat into thin pieces. She added some oil to the pan, waited for it to heat up, then quickly put the meat in and stir-fried it with a spatula.
She had repeated these same steps many times in this tiny kitchen.
The meat quickly changed color under the high heat and gave off a delicious smell.
“Mm... this should be about right!”
The girl busied herself in the kitchen for a while, then wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded in satisfaction.
“Xingwan! Dinner!”
Holding the finished dishes, she called out as she walked out of the kitchen.
Tang Xingwan was already sitting at the table.
Although she seemed to be seriously doing homework with her head lowered, the pair of fair little feet swinging under the bench revealed her true mood.
After placing all the dishes on the table, Bai Muxue untied her apron and sat across from Tang Xingwan.
“Oh? Just sitting there waiting for me to feed you?”
She looked at Tang Xingwan, who was still working on her papers, and laughed teasingly.
“Stop doing homework for now. You need balance between work and rest too. Eat, eat!”
“Mm, sorry...”
Tang Xingwan raised her head and showed a gentle smile.
“Father is right. But I am not very skilled at cooking. If I help, I might only cause trouble for you, so it is better for me to sit quietly. Still, I’m really looking forward to the food you made, Father.”
“Haha, little girl, you really know how to talk. This old father feels very pleased.”
Bai Muxue laughed softly and moved the plate of stir-fried meat and a steaming bowl of egg noodles closer to Tang Xingwan.
“Alright, time to eat. You’ve worked hard all day. Homework can wait until tonight.”
“I understand.”
Tang Xingwan neatly folded her homework papers and placed them to the side. Then she nodded to Bai Muxue, gracefully picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks, slightly opened her mouth, and carefully placed it inside. She chewed slowly.
Bai Muxue looked at her with a smile and asked softly, “Well? Is it good?”
Tang Xingwan swallowed the slice of meat. The rich smell still seemed to remain in her mouth, so she could not help licking a little sauce from her lips with her tongue. Then she nodded.
“Yes, it’s very good.”
After picking up another slice and chewing carefully, Tang Xingwan looked at Bai Muxue with eyes full of approval.
“The taste may be a little sweet, but the sweetness balances the oily feeling of the meat perfectly… I like it very much.”
“Hey, hey, didn’t I tell you to watch fewer food review videos? Now you’re even copying food bloggers and giving reviews?”
Faced with the girl’s serious comment, Bai Muxue lightly tapped her on the head in amusement. Then she picked up some noodles with her chopsticks, placed them into the soup bowl, and handed it to Tang Xingwan.
“Eat the noodles, eat the noodles. They’ll get soft if you wait too long!”
Tang Xingwan leaned forward slightly and carefully looked at the carrots and eggs floating on top of the noodles. She blew gently on the hot steam and carefully took a sip of the soup.
Her eyes blinked.
“Very nice. The flavor of the soup itself mixes with… ah!”
“Mm, I started again. Sorry…”
A little embarrassed, she stopped talking and lowered her head to obediently eat the noodles.
She picked up a slice of meat, a piece of carrot, together with egg and a little noodle, and placed them all into her mouth.
“The noodles are very tasty too…”
Seeing Tang Xingwan’s cheeks slightly puffed out as she ate, Bai Muxue smiled warmly and added more noodles and carrots into her bowl.
“Of course they are. Your old dad made this himself. How could it be bad?”
“Sometimes I really think, if I weren’t tied down by the Disaster Management Bureau, I could probably work as a chef in some five-star hotel…”
She raised an eyebrow slightly, a proud look appearing on her pretty face.
But although it was clearly a joke, Tang Xingwan stared directly at Bai Muxue, her eyes shining with seriousness.
“Although your cooking skills are indeed good, Father, there is still a small gap before becoming a professional chef… But if you keep practicing, one day you will definitely achieve something great!”
“Oh dear, there you go again… Didn’t I tell you not to say things like that just to tease your old dad?”
Seeing the girl seriously answer again, Bai Muxue could not help laughing helplessly.
“No!”
But when Bai Muxue denied it, Tang Xingwan suddenly seemed anxious.
“I’m not joking. I’m speaking to you very seriously!”
“Oh? Really?”
Bai Muxue sounded a little doubtful.
“Yes! Absolutely true!”
Tang Xingwan quickly nodded many times.
“Ah… is that so?”
Steam rose from the hot soup, forming a thin mist that hid Bai Muxue’s expression. For some reason, after hearing that, she did not speak again.
A strange silence spread over the dining table.
Bai Muxue faced Tang Xingwan’s slightly confused gaze and let out a soft sigh.
“As expected…”
“As expected what?” Tang Xingwan quickly asked when Bai Muxue finally spoke.
Bai Muxue placed her chopsticks down, looked toward the bright sunlight outside the window, and spoke with a hint of emotion in her voice.
“You really are not my Xingwan.”
“I’m still dreaming right now, aren’t I? Who are you? Why are you pretending to be that little girl?”