Before she knew it, Guo Daixuan had polished off more than half of the large plate of shrimp. It was delicious, but primarily, it was far too spicy and numbing. She had finished her beer, and her tears simply wouldn’t stop falling. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffling, she decided she needed a moment to recover.
Even while trying to catch her breath, she picked up another shrimp and began peeling it. She really couldn’t stop. These shrimp possessed a unique charm. She had never eaten food like this before—food that made her cry her eyes out yet left her hands unable to stop reaching for more. And to think, it was the Ugly Shrimp she had always despised.
Still finding it overwhelmingly spicy and numbing, she shouted toward the surveillance camera, "Butler! Bring down a case of ice-cold beer, and get a bottle of milk for Yuanyuan." Then, she turned to Gan Lan. "Do you want anything to drink?"
Gan Lan didn’t hold back. "I want a sparkling beverage, ice-cold!"
Right now, Guo Daixuan felt as if her entire body was on fire, especially her mouth. For the first time on such a sweltering day, she wasn’t enjoying the air conditioning. Instead, she sat in the heat with only the faintest breeze—which was also hot—sweating profusely as she ate. Yet, her body and mind felt incredibly refreshed.
Gan Lan washed her hands with water and let out a burp. Her lunch and dinner had both been taken care of in this one meal. But why wasn’t her sparkling water here yet? She was so hot.
"Your butler’s efficiency is a bit low," Gan Lan remarked, patting her round stomach. She had eaten half a pot of rice just pairing it with the shrimp. She was really going to turn into a butterball.
The only downside was that the stool didn’t even have a backrest. She couldn’t lean back and relax. After a meal, all she wanted to do was slouch in a chair and do absolutely nothing, but sadly, for a poor person like her right now, this small wish was an extravagant luxury.
Guo Daixuan also felt that the butler’s efficiency was a bit low today. She was in desperate need of an ice-cold beer to soothe her burning body.
"Sister, I still want to eat," a teary-eyed Yuanyuan looked at Gan Lan with grievance. Her oldest sister could eat so much, so why was she only allowed to have two? It wasn’t fair!
"Ask your dear oldest sister. I wouldn’t dare let you eat more," Gan Lan said, glancing at Guo Daixuan, who was vigorously eating and constantly hissing from the spice.
Yuanyuan pouted and called out aggrievedly, "Oldest sister..."
"Eat, eat, eat. I’ll peel it for you. But this is really the last one. I’ll have to give you some recovery agent in a bit," Guo Daixuan said. She was becoming more and more skilled at peeling the shrimp, moving with blazing speed. She rinsed the shrimp meat with water before placing it into Yuanyuan’s bowl.
Only then did Yuanyuan smile, her laughter soft, sweet, and incredibly cute.
Just as Yuanyuan grabbed the Ugly Shrimp meat and was about to put it in her mouth, her sharp eyes caught sight of a familiar man walking gracefully toward them, carrying a temperature-controlled box. She hurriedly dropped the shrimp in her hand, stood up, and ran toward the man in the distance, shouting excitedly, "Daddy! Daddy!"
Gan Lan’s eyes had been focused on the little Cutie, Yuanyuan, so she was the first to notice when the girl ran off. So it wasn’t the butler; it was her father. For a moment, she felt secretly delighted. Her third customer had arrived.
Today’s business wasn’t a failure after all. Beaming with joy, Gan Lan reminded Guo Daixuan, who was completely lost in her eating, "Your father is here! Aren’t you going to get up and greet him?" As she spoke, she stood up to welcome the guest—well, the elder’s arrival. She just didn’t know if she would be scolded for letting Yuanyuan eat such spicy food.
"Ignore him. He’s just an old pedant who only comes home once every few years. I can’t be bothered with him!" Guo Daixuan didn’t even lift her head. Her eyes were solely fixed on the broth-soaked shrimp meat. She took a massive bite, pairing it with the bowl of white rice Gan Lan had provided out of friendship, eating with immense relish and complete absorption.
The man in the distance had originally been walking over at a leisurely pace, but upon seeing Yuanyuan’s pitiful appearance, he immediately scooped her up, asking with deep concern if she was alright. Then, he hurried over to their side. In less than three seconds, he was right in front of them. With a loud BANG, he slammed the temperature-controlled box heavily onto the table and spoke in a stern tone. "Did you bully Yuanyuan?! Why are her eyes red and swollen? Even her mouth looks like this!"
Gan Lan was speechless. They were definitely blood-related. The father and daughter even asked questions in the exact same manner. Gan Lan had no desire to explain herself anymore; she left it to Guo Daixuan, who had just been startled.
Before Guo Daixuan had a chance to speak, an even harsher accusation followed. "You actually fed Yuanyuan this kind of thing? Is this Ugly Shrimp meant for human consumption?! It’s full of harmful substances and reeks horribly. How could you dare feed it to her!"
Gan Lan remained silent. "Why isn’t Ugly Shrimp meant for human consumption?" she wondered. "His two daughters were just eating it with great relish. Did this man just inadvertently insult both of his daughters?" Gan Lan automatically excluded herself from that thought. She was currently Coward Gan, just here to watch the show.
Guo Daixuan immediately grew displeased. She stuffed the remaining shrimp meat in her hand into her mouth and angrily mumbled, "Not only did I eat it, but I ate more than half the plate. Do I look like a human to you right now?! If I don’t look like a human, then are you, the one who brought me into this world, human?!"
"Right now, you don’t look human at all! Look at yourself!" Mr. Guo’s hand trembled as he pointed at this thoroughly disheveled, unfilial daughter, whose mouth was smeared with broth, whose hands were filthy, and whose lips and eyes were equally red and swollen. How dare she say he wasn’t human! Were these the words of a biological daughter?!
"WAAAH!" A loud cry halted the impending storm. "Daddy, oldest sister, stop fighting! BOOHOO... Yuanyuan is scared..."
"Alright, alright, Daddy won’t fight anymore. Let’s go home," Mr. Guo said, calming his explosive anger. He wiped his youngest daughter’s tears with heartache and prepared to carry Yuanyuan back to the house.
Yuanyuan, who had just stopped crying, immediately burst into tears again upon hearing they were going home. Her cries grew even louder and more piercing. Thrashing her arms and legs frantically, she struggled to get down. "No! I’m not going back! I haven’t finished my shrimpy! I’m not going back!"
"Be a good girl, Yuanyuan. Daddy specially went to the pastry shop opened by Master Li Tian to buy this for you. Isn’t this your favorite? You can eat it as soon as we get back," Mr. Guo coaxed gently.
"No! I want to eat my shrimpy! I want my shrimpy! Put me down, Daddy!" Yuanyuan bawled even more miserably. Her sobbing shriek reached an even higher pitch when Guo Daixuan pretended to pick up her piece of Ugly Shrimp meat and bring it to her mouth. "No! Oldest sister isn’t allowed to eat my shrimpy! WAAAH!"
Mr. Guo felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The tricks that had always worked like a charm in the past were completely useless on Yuanyuan now. Sighing, he gently set down his tragically wailing little daughter. He watched in dismay as Yuanyuan cheerfully scurried back to the table. In the past, whenever he came home, she would cling to him constantly. Now, in just two short months, his youngest daughter’s heart had changed.
Observing this scene, the corners of Guo Daixuan’s lips curled up. His other non-human daughter was about to be born.
Feeling perfectly content, she took an ice-cold beer and a sparkling beverage out of the temperature-controlled box and handed one to Gan Lan. Then, she popped the cap off her own and took a massive gulp, the liquid going down with a loud GULU GULU. Wiping the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand, she declared boldly, "Drink up! We aren’t going home until we’re drunk today!"
Gan Lan, who had faded into the background, was speechless. "You used to be such a neat freak. Why are you suddenly so uninhibited?" she wondered.
Having finally gained her freedom, Yuanyuan ran over, her little legs going PATTER PATTER. She slapped Guo Daixuan lightly with her small hand, yelling, "Bad oldest sister!" Then, she grabbed the Ugly Shrimp meat from her bowl and took a big CHOMP out of it. She had completely forgotten about her father, who rarely ever came home.
Meanwhile, the dejected old father followed his little Cutie to the small table. Looking at his two daughters eating so happily and vigorously, the long lecture he had prepared instantly died in his throat.