After entering the house, Yang Xia first opened the refrigerator and took a look.
For a lunch for three people, the remaining ingredients inside looked a little too sparse.
However, she had already expected this.
She closed the refrigerator door and turned to the other two.
“Let’s go out and eat together.”
“Yay~”
Yang Mo looked delighted, while Qian Ling seemed indifferent and replied with a bland “Oh.”
Led by Yang Xia, the three of them were about to leave the old district, but as they passed a street near the market, Yang Mo suddenly called out to her.
“Big Sis, can we eat this?”
She pointed to a hot pot noodle shop by the roadside.
Without even thinking, Yang Xia refused on the spot, “How can we have this kind of thing for a proper meal!”
But Yang Mo was persistent and started telling her all the benefits of eating here.
“We can add rice as we eat anyway. It’s fine to treat the hot pot noodles as a side dish, plus it’s close to where we buy flowers. Wouldn’t it be convenient to go there after eating?”
“You do make a good point…”
Yang Xia turned to Qian Ling and asked, “What about you? Any objections to this plan?”
Before Qian Ling could answer, she saw Yang Mo frantically winking at her from behind Yang Xia.
Even if you didn’t do that, I’d agree…
Qian Ling didn’t know what she was so worked up about, so she told Yang Xia, “I don’t mind.”
After she agreed, Yang Mo silently gave her a thumbs up, as if to say, “Good cooperation.”
As soon as the three of them entered the shop, the lady boss greeted them warmly.
“Xiao Yang, what are you planning to eat today?”
This “Xiao Yang” was clearly referring to Yang Mo, who immediately replied, “The same as before.”
She had the look of a regular.
Qian Ling couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: This kid really is a frequent customer.
The lady boss turned to look at Yang Xia and Qian Ling, asking, “What about Big Sis? And this… classmate?”
“She’s the new little sister in our family,” Yang Mo answered with a smile.
Didn’t this same scene just happen yesterday…
Qian Ling felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
The only difference was, today there was someone else on the spot who was dissatisfied with this explanation.
“Hey! What are you…”
Yang Xia stared wide-eyed at Yang Mo in shock, but before she could voice her full reaction, Yang Mo cut her off.
“Big Sis and Qian Ling, what do you want to eat?”
Yang Mo kept smiling, ignoring her astonishment completely.
“……”
After a short moment of gnashing her teeth, Yang Xia swallowed the words she was about to say.
“Just order the same as you.”
Qian Ling didn’t bother to get involved in this topic and casually echoed, “Me too.”
Compared to the noodle shop boss from yesterday, the lady boss seemed much more at ease with Yang Mo’s complicated family relationships.
She neither commented nor asked further, only replied, “Alright, three medium bowls of hot pot noodles then. If you can’t handle spicy food, there’s vinegar on the table.”
With that, she went to the kitchen to prepare the needed ingredients.
Once they were seated and saw that no one else was around, Yang Xia couldn’t help but bring up the matter again.
She pointed at Qian Ling across the table and asked Yang Mo, “What were you doing just now, calling her our little sister? People will definitely get the wrong idea! And what’s with ‘new little sister,’ are you just trying to make things more dramatic?”
“So what!” Yang Mo lay on the table, puffing up her cheeks, “The kind of people who’d be bothered by that don’t even know when they’re coming back, so let’s just pretend they don’t mind.”
“That’s true, but…”
Faced with the reality in front of them, Yang Xia was rendered speechless.
Only then did Qian Ling realize, sure enough, Yang Mo was deliberately provoking this outcome, fully aware of the consequences.
A while later, three steaming bowls of hot pot noodles and a bucket of rice were brought to the table.
Staring at the food, Qian Ling rolled up her sleeves in anticipation.
Yang Xia sighed as she watched her, already guessing what would happen next.
She reminded Qian Ling, “Don’t be hasty, let it cool down a bit first, don’t burn yourself again.”
Qian Ling stopped halfway, chopsticks in hand, about to put the food in her mouth.
After waiting a little, she finally got to properly taste the hot pot noodles.
She picked up some noodles, tofu, and bean sprouts with her chopsticks. The first thing she felt upon eating them was the numbing spiciness.
This was probably the spiciest food she’d had since coming to this world. The reason Yang Mo dared bring her here was probably because she’d handled spicy food well before.
But aside from the stimulation on her tongue, she could also taste the rich aroma created by the blend of fermented bean paste and spices—never monotonously spicy.
As for texture, the bean sprouts were crisp, the tofu was so-so, but the real highlight was the “noodles” in the hot pot noodles: smooth, springy, and pleasantly chewy.
If there was a next time, Qian Ling hoped the lady boss would increase the proportion of noodles.
After finishing lunch, Yang Xia looked at Qian Ling with admiration.
“You really can handle spicy food.”
“It’s okay.”
As Qian Ling replied, she glanced at her and saw Yang Xia wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
She was both “Yang Xia” and the magical girl “Liuhuo,” with her flaming red hair personifying the word “fiery.”
Yet compared to herself and Yang Mo, who were completely unfazed, she was actually the least able to handle spicy food of the three.
Qian Ling found this incredibly curious.
But perhaps her own tolerance for spice was a blessing from this puppet body.
Forget spice—I could eat poison without worry.
She recalled yesterday’s battle with the Wicked Mage, and wondered what Yang Xia would think if she knew.
After that, Yang Xia paid the bill. Leaving the hot pot noodle shop, the three of them arrived at a snack street nearby.
Besides the market, this place was also close to the elementary school, so it was always crowded.
They came here to buy a bouquet for the memorial. On weekends, it was never hard to find a suitable vendor on this street.
Buying flowers didn’t require as much fuss about which shop as eating did. Yang Xia browsed as she walked, stopping to bargain with the vendor if she saw a suitable bouquet. If it didn’t work out, she’d just go to the next stall.
After several rounds of haggling, what she finally held in her hands was a bunch of white chrysanthemums.
The older generation always preferred these fresh and elegant flowers—her and Yang Mo’s grandmother was no exception.
With that, Yang Mo and Yang Xia’s next step was to go to the cemetery to pay their respects. It was time for Qian Ling to part ways with them for now.
The two parties stood on opposite sides of the fork in the road, saying goodbye.
Before leaving, Yang Mo waved and shouted to Qian Ling, “Qian Ling, remember what you promised! If you need help, contact me!”
Qian Ling nodded silently, and they all turned and went their separate ways.
Afterwards, Qian Ling could still faintly hear the sisters’ conversation drifting from behind her.
“When she says help, what could she possibly need help with?”
“Qian Ling said the other puppets are dangerous, so she wants to find it.”
“Honestly… it’s dangerous and she still wants to go alone? Is she really that unwilling to ask us for help?”
“Exactly, exactly!”
Hearing this, Qian Ling couldn’t help but smile.
She didn’t expect Yang Xia to think the same way as Yang Mo.
It seems… I’m being cared for right now.
She thought so.
And because of that, her determination to protect this peaceful life in the present became even stronger.