“Cooking? You’re here to cook for me?”
Jiang Ran looked at the rows of maids, all dressed in formal suits, which was completely different from what she had initially imagined.
‘Why would so many people be here just to cook for me?’
“Eldest Miss, what do you mean by that?”
A woman quickly stepped forward.
“You are our Eldest Miss. Cooking for you is our duty. If we have been lacking in any way, please let me know in advance. Now that the matter is clear, we won’t waste any more of your mealtime.”
Several maids arrived in the dining room and began preparing ingredients.
Their movements were skilled, worthy of a five-star chef.
Jiang Ran remembered very clearly that her past self never had such opportunities.
‘Now, with so many people taking care of me, it really feels a bit unfamiliar.’
Jiang Ran opened the APP and found there were no prompts regarding this meal service.
‘It seems this falls within the reasonable scope of the APP’s rules. This way, it’s really a bit hard to understand the rules here.’
‘Sometimes, the rules of this place are truly incomprehensible. Sometimes you can enjoy things, sometimes you can’t.’
“Miss, here is your meal. We wish you a pleasant dining experience.”
An attendant came to Jiang Ran’s side and presented a meal that had been prepared long ago.
“Please enjoy your meal slowly. We won’t disturb you any further.”
Several people retreated, leaving Jiang Ran alone in the room.
‘Have they all left? Well, it’s quieter this way. Wait, what’s this?’
Jiang Ran’s gaze fell on the tableware.
It was golden and shiny.
‘This… this couldn’t be made of metal, could it?’
Metal tableware wasn’t particularly surprising to Jiang Ran.
After all, it was stable in nature, and many nobles probably liked using such things.
‘But this design is clearly a bit too luxurious this time.’
Jiang Ran tapped it with her hand and found the metal wasn’t as hard as she imagined.
It even felt somewhat soft to the touch.
‘And this luster… it… it couldn’t be gold, could it? That would be a bit too extravagant.’
Jiang Ran recalled gold tableware and was momentarily speechless.
Even though she had seen luxurious scenes before, she had never seen anyone actually use gold for this kind of thing.
The level of extravagance was completely incomparable to what she had encountered before.
She used a fork to twirl a bunch of spaghetti and put it in her mouth, still able to taste a sweet aroma.
‘This… this is really too delicious.’
‘And the noodles are soaked in sauce. One bite, and the flavor is unparalleled.’
Beep…
‘Is that a new message?’
Jiang Ran snapped back to reality, took out her phone, and upon seeing the new screen, she froze.
“Let’s go shopping at the mall together this afternoon.”
‘This isn’t appropriate, is it?’
Jiang Ran sent a message to Su Wanqing.
Going shopping directly like this felt like there was a trick in the middle.
“How is it not appropriate? We’re about to have a performance soon. You can’t go on like this now. Naturally, we need to rehearse properly.”
“Aren’t there costumes for the performance? I think the clothes I have are enough to wear. Buying more would just be wasteful.”
“That’s still different. The ones you have are just basic styles. Besides, since I bothered you for so long before, buying you some clothes can be considered compensation.”
‘Me?’
Jiang Ran was stunned, but she still nodded, picked up the things that had been delivered earlier, and let out a long sigh.
‘Sigh, this is really troublesome. I thought I could save some effort this time.’
Jiang Ran felt a bit troubled.
At that moment, the server from earlier came back.
“I wonder if you are satisfied with today’s meal, Miss?”
“Satisfied? What do you mean?”
Jiang Ran pointed at herself, a bit confused about what the other person was saying. If she didn’t know better, she’d think this was a restaurant.
“It’s like this, Miss. You may not know, but Madam instructed a few days ago that I am to be your chef from now on. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with in the future, please tell me in advance, and I will make improvements. If you are dissatisfied with my work attitude, you can also tell me at any time.”
‘It’s that thorough?’
Jiang Ran was secretly surprised, but on the surface, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she nodded.
“The meal is quite satisfactory. But next time, you can make a bit more. You all should eat some too. I can’t finish all these ingredients.”
“What? But these are your food. We have no right to eat it. And if we want to eat, we’ll eat our own.”
“Since you’re all my employees now, don’t be so formal and distant.”
Jiang Ran smiled. Seeing the head chef still hadn’t moved, she simply picked up an egg and handed it over.
“If you don’t want to accept it, then how about this? Take these things.”
“O-okay.”
Several people took the things and left. Jiang Ran picked up her phone again, hesitated for a moment, and then called a private car.
‘If I go out in such a luxurious car, I’ll probably be questioned left and right by Su Wanqing again.’
‘It’s better to keep a low profile.’
***
At the mall, Su Wanqing, who had been waiting at the entrance, stared at the doorway. She waited for a long time but didn’t see Jiang Ran.
‘Could it be that Jiang Ran doesn’t want to come and stood me up? But that shouldn’t be the case. Jiang Ran doesn’t seem like the type to go back on her word. Maybe something came up, so she couldn’t make it.’
Beep…
A ride-hailing car stopped at the mall entrance.
Jiang Ran got out of the car, looked at the opulent buildings around her, and thought this should be the largest department store.
‘It’s quite impressive inside too.’
“Jiang Ran, you’re finally here! I thought you weren’t coming.”
Su Wanqing was wearing exquisite makeup and, compared to usual, had specifically brought a new designer bag.
“I… I just had some things at home, so I’m late. Aren’t we just going shopping? You’re so prepared.”
“Not at all, it’s just some basic preparation. And these are just a few commuter bags. If you like them, I can give you a few more later.”
“Th-That’s not necessary. I really don’t need that many bags. R-really!”
Jiang Ran waved her hands.
The two held hands and walked into the mall.
They wandered around the entrance for a while before their gaze finally landed on a newly built building in front of them.
‘What is this? Chinese herbal milk tea, ecological bread, and fruit and vegetable ice drinks? I’ve never seen any of these before.’
Jiang Ran was dumbfounded.
What kind of shops were these?
Su Wanqing was also bewildered, never expecting such things inside the mall.
“Probably newly opened stores. They feel weird. Let’s go to a bigger store and get something to eat.”
Su Wanqing led Jiang Ran in another direction.
“Over here. I used to eat here often. There’s an oatmeal porridge that’s quite good. Waiter, bring us your menu.”
Su Wanqing called out to the waiter. Soon, a menu was presented.
“Hello, ladies. Welcome to Mai Xiang Catering. How may we assist you?”
“Right, please bring us two servings of oatmeal milk porridge,”
Su Wanqing said with a smile.