"Mr. Su Chen, at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but now I can confirm—I wasn't mistaken. You really are the actor who plays the male Trailblazer in the web series Honkai: Star Rail, right?"
Aglaea placed a wine glass on Su Chen's table and prepared to pour about a fifth of red wine into it.
Su Chen reached out to block the tilting bottle. "No need, Ms. Aglaea. I'm not much of a drinker—even red wine is something I can't really enjoy."
"Then what would you like to drink?"
"Cola."
Aglaea gave a slight smile. "Sorry, we don't have cola here. If you'd like, shall I have someone go buy some?"
"No need to trouble yourself." Su Chen shifted the topic—no, dove straight into the point. "Yes, I am indeed the actor you mentioned. More than that, I'm actually the founder of Hoyoverse Film and Interactive City."
"As expected of a young prodigy. Even someone like me who doesn't watch web dramas much has still heard your name in passing. After all, there aren't many people in the world who possess a black-gold card."
Su Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Actually, it wasn't the bank that issued it to me. One of my actors went out of their way to get this card for me. I just didn't expect that right before leaving, it would get swapped—so that's how we ended up in this awkward situation."
"It's only human. Consider this meal on me then. However…" Aglaea's tone shifted. "Since you've eaten here, perhaps you could share your impressions of our hotel with the public."
"Oh?" Su Chen narrowed his eyes at Aglaea. "So Ms. Aglaea was waiting for me here all along? Hoping to use Hoyoverse's influence to endorse the Golden Grand Hotel?"
Aglaea: "…"
After a brief silence, she shook her head along with the wine glass. "I'm afraid I don't quite follow what you mean, Mr. Su Chen."
Before she could finish, Su Chen immediately stood up. "Here's the deal—I'm not someone who likes to take advantage. Paying for a meal is only right and proper. I'm not the type to welch either. Today the three of us…"
As he spoke, he pointed behind him at Acheron and Kiana. "Following the fine traditions of our country, the three of us will wash dishes for you until the bill is settled. How does that sound?"
"Not great?" Kiana pouted and muttered softly, "Auntie Aglaea already offered to comp the meal, but you still want to drag me and Acheron-neesan into it."
Hiss… Su Chen clenched his fist. The person who ate the most has the biggest opinion!
"Ahem…" He cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness. "So what do you think? On my honor as Hoyoverse, I absolutely keep my word."
Aglaea continued swirling the wine in her glass, seemingly oblivious to the single drop that had spilled onto her blouse.
Unreadable. Truly unreadable.
She had absolutely no idea what was going through Su Chen's mind.
In other words, Su Chen was turning a simple matter into something excessively complicated.
But why? Could it be because of Caenis?
But why would Hoyoverse be collaborating with Caenis?
Hm… Better to stay cautious. If he really starts washing dishes in the back kitchen, at least she can keep an eye on his every move.
Yet everything that had happened so far carried an air of strangeness.
Could Su Chen have deliberately set up this scenario just to get close to the people in the kitchen—and poach them?
No, no, no!
They're all just newcomers.
Aglaea shook her head. The world shouldn't have someone that bored!
She set down her wine glass and let out a long breath. "Mr. Su Chen, I truly admire your willingness to take responsibility. Since that's the case, I won't make things difficult for the three of you. If you want to wash dishes, I'll have someone take you to the back kitchen."
Su Chen raised an eyebrow and agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Thank you!"
——
Not long after.
Bang——
The door was pushed open by Hyacine.
Everyone in the kitchen paused what they were doing and froze for a moment. "Hyacine?"
Their gazes gradually shifted to the three people behind her.
"Who are those three behind you? Customers?" Mydei stepped forward first, carefully sizing up the trio.
Hyacine shook her head. "No. This is Mr. Su Chen, Ms. Acheron, and Ms. Kiana. Due to certain circumstances, they ate here but couldn't pay, so Ms. Aglaea arranged for them to wash dishes in the back kitchen."
"Wash dishes? There's such a thing as working off a debt now?" Mydei spoke while his eyes remained fixed on Su Chen.
So similar! Way too similar! Practically identical to the kitchen's Deliverer.
Could he be his brother?
"Phainon, come here for a sec."
From the depths of the kitchen came Phainon's voice. "What is it? I'm in the middle of making egg fried rice—right at the critical step of beating the eggs."
"Come take a look!" Mydei's tone left no room for refusal.
"Coming, coming."
A white-haired young man slowly walked over to the group.
At that moment—
Kiana shouted loudly, "Clan leader! Why are you here?"
Even Acheron couldn't help but frown slightly. "Very similar. Almost too similar. But the aura feels different."
If there was still some slight difference between Su Chen and Phainon, then Phainon and Kevin were practically carved from the same mold—no wonder Kiana mistook him.
"Clan leader?" Phainon looked at the white-haired girl in surprise. "Did you mistake me for someone else?"
"Yes, she did." Su Chen cut off the discussion.
"Huh?!" Phainon rubbed his eyes, then pinched Mydei.
Mydei yelped in pain. "Ah! What the hell?!"
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah, it hurts!"
Phainon stroked his chin. "Then I'm not dreaming. Does the world really have a 'doppelgänger' setting? This gray-haired guy looks so much like me."
"The world is big—similar-looking people are bound to exist. You actually look even more like someone else from my company. Anyway, let's not dwell on that for now."
Su Chen cleared his throat. "Everyone, my name is Su Chen. Starting today, the two behind me and I will officially become dishwashers at the Golden Grand Hotel. Please take care of us."
"Please… take care of us." The kitchen staff stopped speculating and returned polite greetings.
Soon after.
The three of them changed into white kitchen uniforms.
Su Chen scanned the room and asked Hyacine, "Ms. Hyacine, there don't seem to be any orders right now. Why are they still cooking nonstop?"
Hyacine patiently explained, "Mr. Su Chen, actually—"
"Wait." Su Chen gave a kind smile. "Ms. Hyacine, since I've become part of the kitchen today—technically back-of-house staff for the Golden Grand Hotel—there's no need to call me 'Mr. Su Chen' anymore. It feels too distant now that we're colleagues."
Hyacine blinked. That made sense. Since they'd be working together, maybe a different way of addressing him would be better. "Gray-bao, you don't mind if we call you that, right?"
Su Chen nodded seriously. "Not at all! Please make sure to call me that from now on."
"What about me?" Kiana pointed at herself. "What do I get called?"
"Ki-bao!"
"And Acheron-neesan?" Kiana's brows twitched wildly—she desperately wanted to hear "Ache-bao" or "Aqua-bao"!
"Acheron-neesan."
"Huh? Why?" Kiana instantly deflated. "Why not add a '-bao' for her too?"
Hyacine lowered her head shyly. "I'm still young… I only feel comfortable using '-bao' with people my age or younger siblings. For elders or people I respect, it feels better not to. Of course, I might use it for older-brother types I get along with really well."
I see… but how did Hyacine figure out that Dan Heng's poker face means he's easy to get along with?
"Sorry to interrupt, but I made a cake. Would the three of you like some?"
A gentle voice broke Su Chen's train of thought. He looked up to see a purple-haired girl approaching with a cake in hand.
Her features were delicate, oval-faced, with warm eyes that seemed to want to reach everyone—yet carried a faint trace of melancholy.
In summary: contradictory.
Su Chen thanked her and accepted the cake.
Hyacine cheerfully explained, "Gray-bao, this is Castorice—one of our head chefs. She hasn't been here long, but she's already amazing!"
"Then thank you, Ms. Castorice." Su Chen stared at the cake in a daze. For some reason, the image of Himeko's coffee kept popping into his mind unbidden.
He glanced at Kiana, who was already drooling. "Want to try it first?"
"Yay! Yay!" Kiana scooped a huge chunk with a spoon and shoved it in her mouth. "Mmm. Hm? Mmm! So familiar… blegh!"
After swallowing, Kiana projectile-rainbowed to the side.
Holy… Su Chen swallowed hard and gave an awkward yet polite smile. "Uh… this cake must be really good. You even ate a rainbow out of it."
Castorice's expression darkened, though she kept smiling. "Sorry… maybe my ratios weren't quite right. I'll make another one."
"No need." Acheron looked at the cake with an inexplicable sense of familiarity. She took a fresh spoon, scooped a small piece, and put it in her mouth. "Mm… not bad."
Su Chen blinked in disbelief at Acheron. So taste degradation really does have its uses?
Then why wouldn't she drink Himeko's coffee?
Hearing Acheron say "not bad," Castorice looked up in surprise—but the moment she saw Acheron clearly, she froze.
"Mas… Master?"
"No, no, no…" She shook her head like a rattle. "You can't be my master. Very similar, but it doesn't feel like her."
"I don't know why, but the cake you made feels so familiar—like I ate it when I was very young."
Kiana wiped her mouth. "I feel the same. Like I can't remember who made it, but when I really taste it, there are still some differences."
Watching this, Su Chen fell deep into thought. According to Mei-1, they were triplets.
Acheron was the second sister, Mei-1 the third, and there was an eldest sister they'd been together with as children—but lost contact with as they grew older.
Kiana had confirmed this too.
Castorice's cake carried a hint of "darkness"… Could it be… her master was…
"Ms. Castorice, I can guarantee the person beside me is definitely not your master. So could you tell me who your master is?"
"Sorry, sir. I didn't look carefully just now—I really did mistake her." Castorice sighed. "I don't actually know my master's full name. Everyone just calls her Master Shadow."
As expected… Su Chen was inwardly shocked. He now admired Castorice's talent even more and sincerely gave a thumbs-up.
"Castorice, your culinary talent is truly top-tier. With just this much skill tree, you still manage to leave people with a sliver of survival chance. Look—Kiana's still full of energy. Just reset her skill points and she'll be fine."
"See, Die-bao? You don't need to care what other people think at all!" Hyacine grinned and pulled Castorice's hand. "Alright everyone, now that you're familiar with Gray-bao, Ki-bao, and Acheron-neesan, let's all get along harmoniously from now on. I still have to go back to the lobby to serve guests."
Hyacine gave everyone a bright smile and left the kitchen.
Just then—
BOOM——
A violent explosion erupted exactly where Mydei had been standing.
"HKS!"
Mydei cursed and rushed back to his station. "Damn it, how did it explode?!"
Phainon seized the chance to twist the knife. "Your 'suspended blade dictionary' doesn't even have recipes in it, and you still dared to cook pomegranate juice. I told you you added too much, but you wouldn't listen."
"HKS, why don't you just focus on your egg fried rice? Salvation cuisine—'cook' as in cooking rice!"
"Is that the only word in your dictionary?"
"Not convinced?" Mydei extinguished the fire, then aimed the extinguisher at Phainon. "Heavenly punishment for you."
In an instant, the two were inexplicably brawling.
Su Chen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Ms. Castorice, are they always like this?"
Castorice nodded slightly. "I don't know why, but they've always gotten along very well. They fight for a bit, then make up right away."
Bang——
Thud——
Duang——
Su Chen sighed helplessly. "Good grief, they're literally fighting for their lives. My suggestion: just throw them both into an octagonal cage."
Then he changed the subject. "By the way, I have a question. Hyacine said you three haven't been at the Golden Grand Hotel for very long. So why is the entire back kitchen just the three of you?"
"Uh…" Castorice was silent for a long moment before slowly speaking. "It's all because of the shareholder reshuffle…"
Su Chen frowned but didn't interrupt—he simply nodded for her to continue.
Castorice's eyes once again showed a trace of inferiority. "I don't know the specifics. All I know is that in a few days, the Golden Grand Hotel will be participating in the God of Cooking Competition. That's why we've been practicing nonstop every day. Ms. Aglaea even deliberately lowered prices just to give us more chances to train."
"I see."
Su Chen muttered to himself internally. I have to figure out what's really wrong with this hotel so I can prescribe the right cure.
For now, the priority was to find a master chef with truly formidable skills to give them a crash course—it should still be possible in time.
Who though?
Jiaoqiu? No way—he's addicted to spice. I still can't forget his devilishly spicy mung bean soup.
Rina? Even worse. If she came, it'd basically count as poisoning. Might even become a criminal case—getting arrested would be more trouble than it's worth.
Dan Heng is on vacation—better not disturb them.
Who else has good cooking skills?
Oh!
I've got an idea!
He pulled out his phone and dialed Nicole.
Beside him, Kiana scratched her head. "Didn't you lose your phone?"
"It's a mature phone now—it learned to grow legs and run back on its own." Su Chen made a shushing gesture. "Nicole, where are you guys?"
Nicole's voice came from the other end. "Boss Su Chen, we're almost there. The moment we heard free food, we rushed over without stopping."
"Then turn around right now and go back—bring Jane Doe with you."
"Wait, Boss, I'm just here to freeload a meal with the whole family—do we really need to turn ourselves in to the sheriff?"
"Get her here, and I'll cover your food expenses for the whole month."
"Mission accepted immediately! Anby, turn around!"