Chapter 394 - 413: Auld Lang Syne

Only then did Fang Ping realize Mrs. Ai’er’s "good intentions."

All that talk about bringing in someone new for a change of pace was a lie.

She had found a young girl who was an insanely good cook, tricked them into eating her food until they were hooked, and was now holding their own cravings hostage to control what they ate—

And while the girl’s cooking was indeed delicious, he wasn’t about to give in.

Fang Ping had his pride. He didn’t say a single word of surrender, even as Jiang Qiuqiu and Mrs. Ai’er were about to leave.

It was only at the very end, when Mrs. Ai’er went to the restroom and Jiang Qiuqiu was standing alone in the courtyard, that the old man slowly sidled up to her. In a hushed voice, he asked, "Young lady, how old are you? What’s your name?"

"Whose family are you from? And how did you get so good at cooking?"

"You like the Mental Training Device, don’t you? If you do, you should come over and cook for me more often... I can even give you a Spirit Healing Instrument, a Treatment Pod, things like that. They’re made specifically for restoring spiritual power. Don’t you want them?"

He was like a creepy old man trying to lure a child with candy.

Jiang Qiuqiu edged away from him slightly and shook her head.

"Hey, no need to be so inflexible with a potential partner—" he started to say, but Qiuqiu just shook her head again.

"Uncle Fang, drinking the Spirit Nourishing Liquid will be good for you at this stage," she said. "Mrs. Ai’er is very worried about all of you."

Fang Ping froze for a moment after she finished speaking.

Just then, Mrs. Ai’er returned. Seeing Fang Ping standing so close to Jiang Qiuqiu, she let out a cold snort. "Don’t you get any funny ideas. Just obediently drink your Spirit Nourishing Liquid!"

With that, she took Jiang Qiuqiu and left.

Before they left, Fang Ping had recovered his composure and smilingly bid the two of them farewell.

On the way back, inside the Hovercar, Mrs. Ai’er showed Jiang Qiuqiu how to use the Mental Training Device.

As a special high-end model, it was certainly better than the one she had used before. It could accommodate a larger torrent of spiritual power, and it also had more training programs.

"This is the two-person training mode, but you can also select the single-person mode. The biggest difference with this device is the addition of a spiritual power meditation mode, which is one of the newest features."

Jiang Qiuqiu tried out each of the functions.

"It works great. Thank you, Mrs. Ai’er."

"Qiuqiu, dear, no need to be so formal... Are you free tomorrow?"

"Hm?"

"There’s one more family to visit. We’ll go see them tomorrow."

"I have time."

She already had the Mental Training Device, and Mrs. Ai’er was arranging for her to get a Spirit Recovery Device tomorrow. Just like that, her basic set of spiritual power equipment was complete.

It was the same menu as before. When Jiang Qiuqiu asked why they always made the same dishes, Mrs. Ai’er laughed and said, "Because these old folks are incredibly petty. They’re sure to compare notes later, and if there’s even the slightest difference, they’ll throw a fit."

The years had left their mark on Mrs. Ai’er’s face, and the corners of her eyes crinkled gently when she smiled. Whenever she mentioned those ’old friends’, her eyes would fill with nostalgia and tenderness. ’Perhaps this is what friendship is,’ Jiang Qiuqiu thought.

’A different kind of bond, one that transcends romance and family ties.’

’Enduring and gentle.’

After parting ways with Mrs. Ai’er, Jiang Qiuqiu went home to prepare for her PK.

The ingredients had all been ordered the day before. Since she wasn’t home, she had her assistant robot accept the delivery.

As she became increasingly busy, she realized the assistant robot she’d bought before was too low-level, and its functions were no longer sufficient.

’Maybe I need to upgrade to a higher-level, fully intelligent robotic butler.’