"Yuanxi."

The young man approached and said, "Why are you looking at Haitang flowers so late at night? You'll have plenty of chances later. It's freezing right now."

"Liu Qing, I just got back to the country and I wanted to see them," Jiang Yuanxi cooed.

"Alright, alright," Liu Qing nodded helplessly.

"By the way, I just ran into a university classmate of mine. She said she was going home, but she was actually walking toward the mountaintop." Jiang Yuanxi scoffed, "Same old vanity, always so concerned with appearances."

Liu Qing didn't think much of it. Mount Haitang only restricted entry after 8:00 PM and began clearing people out at 9:00 PM. It had just gotten dark, so there were still plenty of tourists and residents from the high-end neighborhood at the foot of the mountain out for a stroll.

"By the way, isn't your uncle's family from a long line of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners? Why did they move to the Haitang Villa District too?"

"They bought it as a marital home. I heard my cousin's fiancée has a close friend living here, and she wanted to be neighbors."

"It must be nice to be rich," Jiang Yuanxi said enviously. "When will you be able to afford a house here? I want to move in, too."

Liu Qing looked slightly embarrassed. His company was doing well, but that was largely due to his uncle's connections. He helped buy and sell some medicinal materials, which earned the company tens of millions in annual profit. But to buy a house here... He could probably manage it if he bit the bullet and took out a loan. However, without a net worth in the hundreds of millions, he wouldn't have the confidence to actually live here even if he could afford the mortgage.

Seeing her husband remain silent, Jiang Yuanxi, though disappointed, changed the subject. "I've only ever met your cousin, Liu Beiming. I haven't seen his fiancée yet. Is she pretty?"

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Oh."

Jiang Yuanxi was about to ask for her name when a thought struck her. "By the way, will their wedding be a huge affair?"

"Of course." Liu Qing straightened his back proudly. "Our Liu Family is a 300-year-old family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. One of our ancestors was a medical saint on par with Sun Simiao, so we hold an extremely high status in the medical community!"

Jiang Yuanxi's eyes gleamed with anticipation, but she quickly sighed. She knew this illustrious status had little to do with her. Liu Qing's great-grandfather hadn't pursued medicine; instead, he had chosen to go abroad to make his fortune. Unfortunately, he had made the wrong choice, and his branch of the family had only achieved average success overseas.

As a result, her husband, Liu Qing, only shared a surname with the Liu Family of Hangcheng; their blood ties had grown very distant. Returning to the country for the wedding was partly a way to reconnect with their roots. After all, the Liu Family was large and prosperous, and re-establishing a connection could only be beneficial.

"I'm really looking forward to the wedding," Jiang Yuanxi said, her eyes full of hope. She would get to meet so many important people. If she could expand her network, she might actually get a chance to live here one day.

「Haitang Court.」

Neither Ruan Tang nor Luo Chu dwelt on the earlier unpleasantness. They, along with their other good friend Xu Yaoyao, had all been outstanding students in university. The jealousy and ridicule they had faced were far greater than that single incident. Ruan Tang had even endured years of being the laughingstock of the city and had come through it all. Compared to such trifles, she much preferred enjoying good food. As a certain great author once said: food comes first.

Qian Song, who had been slightly resentful of his wife's excitement for dinner, had no more complaints after tasting Xu Lai's cooking. He devoured three bowls of rice in one go.

As he set down his chopsticks, he was shocked to find that the dormant Spiritual Energy within his body had suddenly surged. He had actually... broken through?!

He hadn't just advanced from the early to the middle stage of the Ninth Grade. He had reached the peak of the middle stage, just one step away from the late stage!

Qian Song was stunned. He knew that Mount Haitang was situated on a Spirit Vein, but that alone shouldn't have been enough to shatter a bottleneck he had been stuck at for years. So, was it the food?

He stared at the dishes before him and stammered, "Um... what ingredients did you use for this meal?"

"Rice, cabbage, radish, and roasted lamb with braised pig trotters," Ruan Tang replied, confused. "What's wrong? Is it not to your liking?"

"No, no, it's incredibly delicious." Qian Song picked up his chopsticks and ate three more bowls of rice.

Qian Xiao and Xu Yiyi watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths, murmuring in unison, "So impressive..."

Luo Chu's face burned with embarrassment. She tugged at her husband's sleeve and whispered, "We're full, we're full, let's go."

Luo Chu was filled with regret. If she had known, she wouldn't have come to Ruan Tang's house to freeload a meal. The food was delicious, but her husband didn't have to act like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"I'm not full, I can eat more."

"..."

With a dark expression, Luo Chu dragged Qian Song out of Haitang Court by his ear. Just as the door was closing, she waved and called out, "Ruan Tang, let's go to Yaoyao's place together tomorrow."

Without waiting for a response, she shut the door. Luo Chu's exasperated voice could be heard faintly from outside, "You're sleeping on the couch tonight!"

"..."

Ruan Tang was puzzled. "Why did they leave so suddenly?"

"Not sure," Xu Lai said, shaking his head.

The ingredients were, of course, top-tier items from the Immortal Domain, which had easily helped Qian Song break through his bottleneck.

Of course, the breakthrough was just the beginning. Whether it was Qian Song, Ruan Tang, or Xu Yiyi, they could only absorb a tiny fraction of the food's essence. The vast majority of it was slowly improving their physical constitutions. Day by day, Xu Lai was using food to silently lay the foundation for his wife and daughter's Cultivation. Although the process was slow, the results were gratifying.

Ruan Lan came home at nine o'clock, fuming and muttering "that jerk Xiao Yu" under her breath.

Great. His sister-in-law must have clashed with that person again.

"Oh, right. After Xu Yaoyao's wedding, your sister, Yiyi, and I are planning a trip to Sakura Country," Xu Lai said. "Are you coming?"

"Wow!" Xu Yiyi's big eyes lit up. Did that mean she could buy figurines and the latest manga?

Ruan Lan calculated the dates and said helplessly, "I have exams around that time. You all go ahead."

Ruan Tang, who had just stepped out of the bath, stiffened. She remembered the promise she had made to Xu Lai—to cosplay as a Magical Girl.

In an ultra-short skirt, no less...

At the time, she had been worried about another woman snatching Xu Lai away. Now that they were together, that burden was gone, and she had completely forgotten about it.

Thinking of her forwardness that day and the outfit she would have to wear, Ruan Tang wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. It's just too embarrassing!

She said in a fluster, "Let's talk about it later. There's no rush."

"I've already booked the tickets." Xu Lai held up his phone and smiled. "Honey, will you provide your own costume, or should we go shopping for one together?"

Ruan Tang's face, already pink from her bath, turned a deeper shade of red. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'll... I'll get it myself."

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Xu Lai asked earnestly. "We could go to the mall and take our time looking around, pick one out together."

"...I'll buy it online!"

"Alright, then."

Xu Lai was a little disappointed. He had hoped to coax his wife into buying a few different outfits to wear in rotation.

It wasn't that he was into such things; he just thought Ruan Tang's shy expression would be adorable. It was something to truly look forward to.

As if sensing Xu Lai's mischievous intentions, Ruan Tang glared at him with flushed cheeks before retreating to her room.

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