Ever since discovering the incredible chemistry she shared with Xiangling over "special ingredients," the slight hesitation Lovia felt about approaching Wanmin Restaurant and the familiar faces from the game was largely diluted by her craving for gourmet food and the joy of finding a kindred spirit.
After all, who would have thought Xiangling was a hidden master of Melusine cuisine? This was practically the Liyue version of "Food Wars: Melusine Edition"!
Lovia even began to seriously consider whether she could hire Xiangling to handle her three meals a day. She'd just need to teach Xiangling a few more Melusine recipes; it would be perfect!
However, this idea couldn't be put into practice just yet. If she were to tell Xiangling those Melusine recipes directly, there was a chance it might scare her. She should... take it step by step!
During this time, the two volumes of "a bite of liyue" that Lovia specifically wrote for Xiangling had quietly hit the shelves. She just needed to find an opportunity to gift them to her later.
Moreover, just yesterday, she heard that Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk had actually launched a "a bite of liyue" series of dishes. She even went to take a peek, but unfortunately, the Melusine delicacies from the second volume weren't featured.
What a shame! As expected, only Xiangling understands me!
To avoid affecting Wanmin Restaurant's business (since Xiangling would stop cooking once they started chatting), Lovia chose to visit during the quieter afternoon hours or near closing time. She still kept her versatile Hooded cloak wrapped tight, but the frequency of her visits to Wanmin Restaurant definitely increased, earning her the title of "Wanmin Restaurant's Strongest Regular."
As time passed, her initial mindset of investigation (which was really just for the food) gradually shifted into truly "going to play with Big Sister Xiangling."
Xiangling was also very fond of this young guest who had unique tastes and occasionally came up with startling ideas. In her eyes, although Lovia was young and dressed oddly, she always had whimsical thoughts regarding "eating." For instance, she'd wonder if the slight numbing sensation of an Electro Slime was like biting into popping candy, or if Slime Condensate from a Geo Slime would have the heaviness of stone soup. These ideas often brought new inspiration to Xiangling whenever she hit a creative block.
This afternoon, Lovia strolled over to Wanmin Restaurant again, clutching her newly received manuscript fees. Before she even entered, she heard Xiangling's somewhat discouraged voice coming from inside.
"Sigh, it's still not right... the flavors have merged, but I feel like it's missing something. It's not surprising enough."
Lovia peeked her head in and saw Xiangling fretting over a pot of bubbling thick soup. Guoba was beside her, making "rua rua" sounds and gently patting Xiangling's leg as if to comfort her.
"Is Chef Xiangling developing a new dish again?" Lovia imitated the tone of a storyteller. "What dish has stumped our genius chef today?"
"Ah! Lovia!" Xiangling's eyes lit up the moment she saw her, as if seeing a savior. "Come here, come here! You've come at the perfect time! Help me taste this new soup!"
She quickly served a small bowl of soup and handed it to Lovia.
Lovia took it and looked down. The soup was a warm amber color, with some Mushrooms and finely minced meat floating inside. It smelled richly fragrant, but there seemed to be a hint of indescribable earthiness and the bitterness of new sprouts mixed in.
Lovia blew on it and took a careful sip.
To a human, this might have been a slightly odd-looking Mushroom and meat soup, but Lovia's taste buds sharply captured the discordance.
The earthiness was too heavy, and the bitterness hadn't transformed into a sweet aftertaste, making the overall texture of the soup feel "muddy" and not refreshing enough.
"How is it?" Xiangling asked nervously. "Be honest, no need to be polite!"
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