Chapter 23

"As much as we would like to stay longer, we have other matters to attend to as well." It was Elliott who spoke.

Malia's performance was over an hour ago. Nothing much happened after that except for Ian asking her a bunch of questions one after another, while the others kept listening to her made-up stories about the song. She didn't go overboard with the exaggeration to give it some truth.

In addition, the twins vowed to purchase her album upon release while Daniel didn't say anything.

Daniel was also preparing some things as he planned to welcome Anastacia who would arrive later at 4 or 5 pm. "I need to leave too, perhaps we'll all see each other for dinner."

"Okay, let's go," Matthew nodded at his friends then faced Malia. "I'll pick you up at your dorm by six o'clock for dinner, is that a good time?"

"Mmm, that's fine...I just hope they offer a different menu later..." Malia suddenly felt that the people in the room went silent, "what? don't tell me..."

"Uhm. Actually, it's the same menu later." Matthew awkwardly smiled; he just remembered that Malia started cooking as she didn't like being served the same food twice in a week.

Malia grew dispirited. 'Ugh, everything was wonderful the first week, but eating the same thing all year would drive anyone insane, especially a woman from the twenty-first century! Sure, my family wasn't wealthy, but the meal alternatives varied even though they are simple in the modern age.

'Wait! Malia had a brilliant idea at that moment: 'Look at this tiny kitchen—wouldn't it be an excellent space for cooking?'

"You don't have to pick me up later, brother; I'll prepare dinner here in the shed."

"What?! You don't have to! I know you know how to cook but cooking here is a little…" Matthew looked at the princes who were quietly listening to their conversation. People on campus would undoubtedly gossip about her cooking; baking is acceptable because many women also enjoy that pastime in addition to needlework, but cooking is going to be a different story.

"What's wrong with preparing my own food?" Malia followed her brother's eyes, assuming he was embarrassed about her cooking or even harming their family's reputation. "Your buddies aren't snitches, so they won't spread rumors about what I'm making here. Right, guys?" Malia gave them a smile.

"I promise to not say a word," Everett timidly gestured like he was sealing his lips.

'Accck! Another cute attack from this bishōnen character! My heart's gonna explode at this rate!'

"Thank you, Everett! You are so adorable—AH! -aha-ha-ha-ha" Malia faked laughing. 'This stupid mouth! Can't you just keep it to yourself? You know that you cannot fall for any of the main characters T____T'

Everett averted his face away as his ears began to flush. He has received compliments before, so this was nothing new. They would receive compliments from many noblewomen at every ball or party they attended, even in the Aster kingdom.

The only difference is that he is complimented separately instead of being complimented together with Elliott.

'And here I thought, I'm already immune to flattery.'

She also caught everyone else off guard with her comments. Particularly Matthew, who feels as though everything is collapsing around him. He is aware that Everett has been a wonderful friend, and if Malia likes him, he actually has little control over that situation.

Matthew made the decision to simply back Malia in all her decisions, and just because Malia likes Everett doesn't guarantee he will like her as well.'*Sigh* I guess Everett is better than Cedric...'

"Anyway!... I'll spend money either way, whether I pay for my meal or buy it and prepare it myself. Additionally, Lily is here, so I'm not entirely cooking it myself; I'll just tell everyone that Lily did it. Okay?" Malia made an effort to change the subject to lessen the awkwardness.

Matthew decided to end the argument and concur with his sister. He then led Albert, his personal assistant, and the other young men to the door. Their personal servants, who were also waiting outside for their young masters, welcomed them.

"Whew! That was easy, at least I made it through meeting the male leads, I think?"

When Malia looked at the clock, it was already 2:15 in the afternoon. As Lily drew nearer to her, she yawned sleepily.

"Mlady, would you like to take a rest?"

"Yeaaah, I immediately felt worn out. It really takes extra energy to meet the male leads for a couple of hours. But it was all worth it Hehe." Malia murmured.

Lily had no idea what her young mistress was saying, but she sensed Malia was under some pressure meeting the princes.

"I'll give you a massage while you take a bath to relax."

"Oh no, no, no. I know you're tired too. How about we just rest together and meet at 4:30?" Malia felt burdened by the suggestion as Lily was taking care of her needs non-stop while traveling.

Lily smiled at her thoughtful young lady and agreed to the request.

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Matthew left his room around six o'clock in the evening. Like all other noblemen on weekends, he was dressed casually in a white collared shirt. He had just finished closing the door after leaving the room when he heard a call coming from behind him.

"Matthew!"

It was Elliott standing behind Everett. The twin's room was just in front of his room.

"Are you heading to your private greenhouse for dinner?"

"Did you guys wait for me?"

"Not exactly, we were just about to eat dinner as well." They actually did wait for him to go out, or Everett to be exact. Elliott could only shake his head in disbelief, his brother refused to go out earlier but as soon as he heard Matthew's door open, he got out of bed.

"I see, I'll head to the greenhouse, as you already know why. By the way, if you see Daniel in the cafeteria, tell him to—"

Everett poked Elliott, and Elliott immediately understood what he wanted then interrupted Matthew.

"Actually! We thought the food was rather boring in the cafeteria, we'll tag along with you. Is that fine?"

"Oh…yeah, I guess." Matthew is aware of what they are trying to do but decides to ignore it.

They both went to the greenhouse, and as they opened the door, they could already sense that Malia and her aide were busy in the kitchen.

"Oh! you guys are here as well? Then come here and assist us with the wrapping." Malia's head poked as shouted from the kitchen.

As the three drew nearer, they were shocked to see Malia's full figure.

"Hey, next time, let me know if you'll join us for dinner; lucky for us, Albert bought a lot of ingredients."

"Wha-what…"

"I know... it's late, and the dinner is not yet ready; we had just completed deveining the shrimp and—"

"No, that! What are you wearing, exactly?" Matthew was unsure how to react to her appearance.

She is wearing loose top and loose trousers while having her hair in a ponytail.

"Oh yeah, these...remember last Sunday? Dad went to obtain a copy for the album without me. I went out to have these made. Insanely comfortable, wouldn't you say? Hehe" Malia outfit indeed looked comfortable, but she did get some weird looks from the other girls in the dormitory, "I call this baggy T-Shirt and jogger pants. Oh! Look at these shoes! This is a shoe made for running! I can jump! I can run, see?" Malia tried jumping and running in the small kitchen space while holding a knife. "I made one for you too."

"But isn't this a little inappropriate?"

"Ehh? This is not even revealing. My clothing is waaaaay more conservative in comparison to other girls who had just returned from sword training and were wearing fitting Sandos and fitted slacks. Father allowed me to wear these as well." Malia was smirking, technically she did not ask her dad to if she could wear one, but he did say that she could wear anything she wants.

Matthew could only sigh, there is no helping this stubborn sister of him,

"Stop sighing, okay? You'll be grateful that I made you a pair of these shoes. It cannot be compared to those heavy boots you're wearing and maybe you'll surpass Usain Bolt at this rate."

"Who is that?"

"It doesn't matter; try it on right away. The shoes are on the top rack..." Malia continued slicing some spring onions, "And you two, come here, if you're going to eat here, you should help me in preparing the food."

"By the way, I assume none of you have a shrimp allergy?"

The twins shook their heads and moved to her side.

Malia used half of the shrimp for her seafood pasta, and the remaining shrimp will be used for her pork-shrimp dumpling soup. She had already made the fillings and some fresh dough.

"Look at me, you flatten these little dough balls, spread them on your hand, top them with fillings, and then seal them like this. Easy, right?"

When Malia showed the twins how to seal the dumpling in the shape of a crescent moon, it appeared to be a fairly simple process, but when they tried it themselves, the results were very different from what Malia had created. Either it's overstuffed or hideous balls of various shapes and sizes.

They anticipated that Malia would be disappointed with the dumplings they made, but Malia already anticipated it and simply laughed it off. They kept wrapping the dumplings as is since Malia didn't seem to mind.

Matthew, on the other hand, took his time inspecting the shoes' design. Once he had made up his mind to put it on, he got to his feet— he thought he had discovered a new world.

Matthew stepped outdoors and dashed aimlessly along the pathway. He ran very fast and experienced no discomfort or weight on his feet.

Because of his sprint and delight, his heart was beating quickly. Matthew looked lovingly at the shoes and touched them as if they were his lover.

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--- end of chapter 23 ---

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