Kiana: The Feelings Have Faded

In the logistics department office, under Little Chen's peculiar gaze, Theresa dragged several large boxes of nearly expired ingredients and a few outdoor kitchen sets, burying her head as she fled the scene.

"Sister Chen, why do you think Senior Judah suddenly wants so many ingredients?" A puzzled male colleague sidled up to Little Chen, asking curiously.

Little Chen's facial features contorted together.

There must be some profound meaning behind the actions of seniors and higher-ups that we can't possibly fathom…

"Perhaps... because they don't like our cooking, so they decided to cook for themselves?" Little Chen suggested a possibility with a pained expression.

Instantly, the entire logistics department fell into an eerie silence.

The next moment, a heated debate erupted.

"Impossible! Miss Finality [Kiana] and Miss Acheron [Mei] eat so much every meal! How could our cooking possibly be bad!"

"Maybe their appetites are just ridiculously large?! Maybe we haven't even fed them enough, and they're just being polite to us!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!! No matter what, the blissful expressions Miss Finality and Miss Acheron have while eating can't be faked!!"

"That could just be their respect for food! It's normal for Valkyries like them, who fight for beauty and protection, to be filled with reverence for things!"

"Then what about Miss Finality's burps? And Miss Acheron saying ['I'm full'] every time!"

"Who knows how full that 'full' is! Maybe they're like the powerhouses in Pirate Homu King and can digest food rapidly?!"

That's not it at all!!

Theresa, who had fled the office, covered her face in shame, her short legs churning rapidly. Dragging the large cart of ingredients, she soon arrived at basement level 11.

As the door opened, the two people squatting in the corner looked up simultaneously at Theresa.

Yo, you finally arrived?

That was the meaning Theresa got. She dumped the ingredients with the two and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kiana, these are your ingredients for tonight," Theresa looked at Kiana squatting cautiously on the ground, pursing her lips with some pity.

"Kiana, we'll all be waiting for you tonight," thinking this, Theresa added.

Kiana pouted. She knew she'd be free tonight, but what about before then?

People are iron, food is steel, skipping one meal leaves you starving... [Chinese idiom emphasizing the importance of food].

Seeing that her "good news" failed to alleviate Kiana's suffering, Theresa sighed and backed out of the area.

In the blink of an eye, only two people remained in the vast basement level 11. Shu and Kiana squatted on the ground, staring at each other for a moment before Shu resignedly stood up.

"Anyway, we have to try, right?" Shu walked over to the cart Theresa had pushed over, picked up a vegetable, preparing to see what ingredients they actually had.

"I know..." Kiana reluctantly stood up, wobbling as she followed Shu to the cart.

Along the way, Kiana merely reached out to steady herself on the cart's handlebar. Just that casual touch left a distinct handprint on the metal handle.

Kiana: "…"

Shu: "…"

Shu, who had just been thinking of having Kiana start by picking vegetables, silently placed the vegetable back into the cart.

There were plenty of ingredients here, but not enough to waste like this.

"You just wait here for a bit..." Shu said helplessly.

"Hehe..." Kiana sheepishly withdrew her hand, standing still and watching Shu start sorting through the various ingredients in the cart and categorizing them.

Watching Shu's quickly familiar movements, Kiana felt transported back three months ago, shortly after she first met Shu.

Back then, she and Shu hadn't found Mei and the others yet. She didn't know Shu's true identity and still believed he was really from some mysterious organization.

Shu was just a weakling back then, needing her protection. She was quite impressive then, wasn't she? Protecting Shu, Bronya, and the Class President all by herself.

Back then... it seemed like Shu was always the one cooking for her, right?

"Eh?" Kiana suddenly remembered something and blurted out.

"?" Shu turned his head, looking puzzledly at Kiana. "Is something wrong?"

Kiana swallowed, then rubbed her hands together with a somewhat fawning smile. "Um... you said that once there were enough ingredients, you'd make me a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, right?"

"Now's a rare opportunity, and there are enough ingredients, so how about..." Kiana widened her eyes earnestly, clenched her fists beside her face, and blinked rapidly at Shu.

Shu: "…"

Although it's admittedly cute, why do I still feel slightly disgusted?

"This is your training. I won't help you cheat," Shu refused righteously. Kiana's face immediately fell.

"Aww~~ Just help me out~" Kiana hadn't given up yet. She really couldn't miss this meal!!

She even felt like throwing herself over, shamelessly hugging Shu's arm or leg, crying and begging him to cook this meal for her, just like she used to whine to Mei.

But the other person wasn't Mei; it was Shu...

Kiana had no doubt that if she pounced, Shu would coldly pull her off, then completely wash his hands of the matter, leaving her to starve into a husk.

"Shu, you've changed!" Kiana, having used her brainpower solely for this matter and run through the likely scenarios in her head, gave up and instead looked resentfully at Shu.

Shu: "?"

"What do you mean, I've changed?" Shu raised his hands, frowning as he looked himself over, then looked back at Kiana, puzzled.

"You used to proactively cook for me," Kiana pouted, looking away.

"...Just over this little thing?" Shu's eye twitched. He seemed to see a familiar figure superimposed on Kiana.

"Aren't you eating your fill now? Back when I was cooking, you never ate enough, right?" Shu looked away again, continuing to sort the vegetables.

"This is a huge deal, okay!" Kiana retorted defiantly, hands on her hips. Visibly, her movements were already much smoother than before.

Shu noted this, nodded, and asked back, "Like what, for example? Why do you insist on eating my cooking? Is Mei's not good?"

"Of course not!" Kiana retorted instinctively, then saw Shu's somewhat challenging smile.

Crap, I fell for it!

This guy Shu actually exploited my absolute refusal to deny Mei's cooking! How despicable!!

"It's because... if I don't eat your cooking, and you don't cook, what if the feelings between us fade?!"

Kiana launched her counterattack vehemently.

Shu: "?"