The next morning.
Another energetic new day.
Jiang Yan got out of bed, stretched lazily, and wore a satisfied expression.
On the bed, Ganyu was still sleeping.
Judging from the tired look on her face, she had clearly been tormented until very late last night.
"Hm? It's going to rain today."
Jiang Yan looked at the gloomy sky outside. Thunder kept rumbling in the distance.
Although it hadn't started raining yet, judging from the thunder, the rain today would probably be heavy.
Just then, Jiang Yan heard a clattering sound coming from downstairs.
Clang, clink—
What were Ningguang and the others doing?
Worried that something might have happened to the little ones, Jiang Yan immediately went downstairs to check.
When he got downstairs, he saw all four little kids gathered around the table.
On the table was a simple set of chess pieces.
Jiang Yan remembered that when they fell asleep last night, they were holding similar pieces.
Looking at the Inazuman characters on them, it was probably made by little Ayaka.
After all, among the kids, she was the only one who knew Inazuman writing.
The noise just now was probably from moving the board.
At that moment, Ayaka looked up at Jiang Yan and said with a smile:
"Big brother, you're awake!"
The three little ones—Ningguang and the others—also saw Jiang Yan and immediately ran over.
Jiang Yan smiled and rubbed Ningguang's little head.
"Why are you all up so early?"
Normally, with the personalities of the three little ones, they wouldn't get up until the sun was high in the sky.
"There were several loud thunderclaps this morning… so we woke up."
Ningguang said in her soft childish voice. The others were probably the same.
"Alright then. You guys keep playing. I'll go make breakfast."
Just as Jiang Yan was about to cook for them, he saw them all shake their heads.
"Master, we made breakfast today!"
Ningguang lifted her head proudly, excitement shining in her eyes.
This was the first time Ningguang, the other two, and Ayaka had cooked for Jiang Yan.
"Oh? That impressive?"
Jiang Yan was surprised.
"Mhm! Master, come try it!"
Ningguang grabbed Jiang Yan's hand and pulled him toward the table.
When Jiang Yan arrived at the table, he saw the dishes laid out.
The food was still steaming—it had clearly just been cooked.
"Big brother, try it!"
Ayaka looked at him expectantly.
After all, she had helped cook too.
Even Beidou and Shenhe, standing behind her, were watching with hopeful expressions.
"Well then, I'd better give it a proper taste."
Jiang Yan felt extremely happy.
After all, this was a meal made by several adorable little kids for him.
Even if it tasted terrible, he would still smile and eat it.
Jiang Yan sat down, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a slice of stir-fried spicy pork, and put it in his mouth.
The moment he bit into it—
The smile on Jiang Yan's face froze instantly.
It seemed… perhaps…
The little ones had mixed up the salt and sugar.
"Mm… the taste isn't bad. Haven't you guys eaten yet?"
Jiang Yan forced himself to swallow the overly sweet, greasy slice of meat and smiled at them.
"Mhm! We were waiting for Master to wake up so we could eat together!"
Seeing Jiang Yan's "delicious" expression made little Ningguang very happy.
"Cough… since you made this meal for me, how about I cook another one for you later?"
Jiang Yan didn't want the kids to realize their cooking had failed, so he said:
"After all, you made this for me. Your master should finish all of it!"
The kids hesitated.
They really wanted to taste their own cooking too.
But since Jiang Yan said so, they finally agreed.
If Master loved it so much, then they'd give it to him!
At worst, they could just cook another meal later.
And so—
Jiang Yan tearfully devoured all the dishes in front of him.
However, what surprised him was that—
Aside from the overwhelming sweetness, the food itself actually wasn't that bad.
At least nothing was burnt.
He could just treat it as having eaten dessert.
After finishing everything, Jiang Yan let out a huge burp and his eyes looked a bit unfocused.
Damn… is this an illusion?
Why is my head buzzing?
The cloyingly sweet flavor had practically sugared his brain into dizziness.
"Alright, wait a bit. I'll make you all another meal."
Jiang Yan rested for a moment before smiling and speaking.
Soon, a steaming hot meal was prepared.
After placing the final dish on the table, Jiang Yan went upstairs.
When he pushed open the door, he saw Ganyu curled up under the blanket like a little dumpling.
"Looks like I really tired Ganyu out last night."
Jiang Yan walked over and whispered softly near her ear:
"Little sleepyhead, time to wake up and eat."
His warm breath tickled her cheek.
Ganyu subconsciously shifted slightly, murmured something unintelligible, and continued sleeping.
Seeing her cute appearance, Jiang Yan simply climbed onto the bed and slipped under the blanket.
After a bit of "effort"—
Ganyu finally got up, her pretty face bright red.
"You're awful… it's so early in the morning and you still don't know how to restrain yourself."
Just thinking about the way Jiang Yan had woken her up made her face heat up again.
Jiang Yan chuckled with a satisfied grin.
After Ganyu finished dressing, Jiang Yan took her hand and brought her downstairs.
Since Jiang Yan had already eaten, while Ganyu and the kids were eating breakfast, he went to the plant room on the second floor.
Originally, as usual, Jiang Yan planned to water the branch of the World Tree with some soul power.
But when he pushed the door open—
He saw that on the branch of the World Tree, a tiny soul had gradually begun to condense into a solid form.
"Looks like it's almost time!"
Jiang Yan's eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at the small soul.
Once the soul completely condensed into physical form, he would take the branch of the World Tree to the place where the World Tree itself resided.
With the nourishment of the World Tree, little Nahida would surely emerge soon!
After Ganyu finished breakfast, Jiang Yan used the Space Gem's teleportation to send her directly to Yuehai Pavilion.
After all, judging from the weather, it would start raining soon—and Jiang Yan didn't want Ganyu getting soaked.
Because of the rain, the kids couldn't go outside.
So they simply gathered together again—
and continued playing chess. ♟️🌧️
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