Unable to recall what it was he forgot, Fu Lin began to busy himself, finding an old broom in a corner and carefully cleaning every part of the house.
Even though this house had been abandoned for a long time, he still wanted to restore it as much as possible to its former state.
Finally, after all the cleaning was done, Fu Lin let out a long breath and quietly lay beside the bed.
As the sky began to brighten, Kiana☆ rubbed her eyes and curiously looked around. Her voice carried a hint of confusion and wonder.
"I think... I have seen this place in a dream before."
----------------------------------------
"Awake? Ha~!"
Fu Lin slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them sleepily, then sat up lazily, stretching his stiff body and arms. He opened his mouth slightly and let out a big yawn.
Kiana☆ gently nodded, one hand unconsciously reaching to her flat stomach, pouting her cute cherry lips and mumbling,
"Yeah, I'm just really hungry."
Then she muttered silently in her heart,
'Damn it, I didn't even get a bite of the food I made last night before the house burned down.'
Fu Lin's lips curled into a mischievous smile. He tilted his head and looked at Kiana☆ with a half-smile and asked,
"Then… should I cook for you?"
Hearing this, Kiana☆'s face went pale, and she shook her head rapidly like a rattle drum, her eyes full of resistance.
"No thanks, I'm suddenly not that hungry."
Fu Lin frowned slightly, touching his chin as he recalled how, before he transmigrated, he lived alone and was self-sufficient. Somehow, after transmigrating, things turned out like this.
Thinking of this, Fu Lin muttered to himself with an annoyed look,
"…Tsk, where did this curse that makes my cooking inedible come from? I used to cook really well."
At this moment, Siegfried also woke up, rubbing his slightly sore neck and looking around in confusion, asking,
"Uh, where is this? What happened to my cabin?"
Fu Lin looked back and calmly said,
"Mr. Siegfried, your house caught fire last night. Unfortunately, it couldn't be saved. This place is an abandoned cabin that's been empty for a while."
Hearing that his house was burned down, Siegfried picked up the Judgement of Shamash on the table and said with a dark expression,
"Burned down? ***** (you've got to be kidding), who the * (heck) did this? I'll shoot the *** (little angel) right now!"
"Ahem."
Hearing the censored beeping in his ears, Fu Lin awkwardly wiped the sweat off his forehead, glancing unnaturally at Kiana☆ beside him.
Kiana☆ lowered her head, her voice extremely soft, almost like she was only talking to herself,
"Dad, I burned it… I accidentally set the house on fire while cooking."
"Hm?"
Siegfried looked at Kiana☆ in disbelief, staring at her for a while, then suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms, exclaiming excitedly,
"Ah—so that's it! As expected of my precious daughter, hahaha! You're going to break the Kaslana curse of not being able to cook and become the first in the Kaslana family who can cook!"
"I will, Dad!"
A determined light shone in Kiana☆'s eyes as she nodded firmly.
Siegfried laughed heartily while patting Kiana☆ hard on the shoulder, his face full of pride and joy.
"Speechless."
Fu Lin couldn't watch any longer and turned his head away helplessly, silently sighing that in the future, Kiana☆ really would learn to cook and it was indeed delicious.
But as for Siegfried, Fu Lin just couldn't understand how he could be so oblivious. His parenting style was truly baffling.
To this, Fu Lin could only say, "Let's see how I raise Kiana into a real talent!"
Siegfried's laughter gradually faded. He looked toward Fu Lin with an expression of admiration, gave him a thumbs up, and said resolutely,
"Kid, I have to admit, your cooking is really something. It almost sent me to see Cecilia. But she scolded me fiercely, saying she didn't want to see me in heaven just yet, and then beat me back here."
After speaking, Siegfried's lips curled into a smirk, then he added,
"But what I want to say is, starting today, you're in charge of my dinner. After all, I won't give up so easily. If she doesn't want to see me, then I'll just go visit her every night!"
Fu Lin quietly listened to Siegfried's strange and suicidal-sounding request, feeling helpless.
Is this what they call love?!
Still, so it works like that? What the heck?
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed. Kiana☆ had regained the sight in her right eye, and the bandage was removed.
That day, Kiana☆ lay on the bed, her little feet kicking in the air, staring at the chessboard in front of her, seriously pondering her next move.
Holding a chess piece in her hand, she hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to place it on the board, capturing the opponent's horse, muttering,
"Fu Lin, I'm so bored. Are we just going to play chess all day?"
At that moment, Fu Lin quickly made his move, capturing Kiana☆'s elephant/rook. She was shocked and quickly said,
"Ah, wait, I made a mistake! I want to take it back!"
Fu Lin looked at Kiana☆'s little antics and couldn't help but remind her,
"How many times have I told you—no take-backs after the move is made."
Kiana☆ grinned mischievously, her lips curling up to reveal two cute dimples, her eyes sparkling with cunning.
The next second, she quickly reached out and stealthily moved a few pieces on the board, restoring the game to the previous turn.
Then she blinked and pretended to be innocent,
"Hehe, just this once~"
Fu Lin shook his head helplessly, a pampering smile appearing on his face. He sighed inwardly that this little rascal was acting cute and cheating again—but he couldn't resist it.
So, Fu Lin gently patted Kiana☆'s head and said softly, "Alright, just this once."
As the final piece was placed, the game, unsurprisingly, ended with Kiana☆'s defeat.
Kiana☆ happened to glance out the window and saw snowflakes falling from the sky. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she suddenly had an idea. Excitedly, she said to Fu Lin,
"Fu Lin, look, it's snowing outside! How about we go make a snowman?"
Fu Lin heard the suggestion, looked out the window, then back at Kiana☆'s sparkling eyes, and smiled as he nodded,
"Alright! I'll go get the tools."
Kiana☆'s eyes sparkled with excitement. She jumped up from her seat, humming a cheerful tune while putting on her boots, then ran happily out the door, leaving Fu Lin shaking his head with a smile.
Fu Lin watched Kiana☆'s figure, picked up the red scarf from the rack, and followed her outside. Then he crouched beside her and gently wrapped the scarf around her neck.
Fu Lin said softly, "All done."
At that moment, Fu Lin suddenly raised his head and looked around in confusion.
Just for a brief instant, he felt like he was being watched, but the feeling vanished so quickly he wondered if it had just been his imagination.
Fu Lin furrowed his brows, shook his head, and muttered to himself,
"It's not my imagination… it must be someone Otto sent to observe Kiana..."
However, before he could think it through, Kiana☆ rolled over a snowball and excitedly tugged on Fu Lin's sleeve, urging,
"Fu Lin, come on! Let's build a big snowman together!"
Fu Lin looked at Kiana☆'s innocent (adorably silly) smile, and all his doubts melted away. He nodded and responded with a smile,
"Okay."