Just as Wang Xiaole was organizing his thoughts in his mind and before he could speak out the question, he heard the little loli's voice ahead of him:
"Granddaughter, you came to see me again, what a filial and good child you are!"
Upon hearing Loli say this, Wang Xiaole held back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
He was thankful that he hadn't managed to ask the question just now.
Otherwise, if he had mistaken this Loli BBA (commonly referred to as "Loli Grandma") for Mewo White's sister, he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.
At that moment, Mewo White walked over and embraced her grandmother affectionately, feeling the warmth from her dear one up close.
"……"
"Why did I go to bed so early, you ask? Of course, it's because my obedient granddaughter hasn't come to see me recently, and I've been feeling quite bored."
Family is family; just through a moment of silent communication, one could decipher the accurate meaning behind it.
As the greetings came to an end, the former queen shifted her curious gaze towards Wang Xiaole.
The gaze that fell upon him made Wang Xiaole feel a pressure coming from a strong individual, making him realize:
The elderly woman in front of him, who was over a hundred years old, was undoubtedly of "seductive" power.
In general, as individual life beings age, their own strength declines accordingly;
Yet, at such an old age, the former queen possessed such power;
It was imaginable the kind of formidable figure she must have been in her youth!
While Wang Xiaole was amazed by the power that the former queen possessed, he himself also caught her attention.
Due to Wang Xiaole's deliberate concealment of his own power, the former queen couldn't gauge his level of strength, but in her mind, she made a judgment:
The young man before her was the strongest person she had ever seen in her life!
For a formidable individual like him, the former queen held a strong desire to understand him better.
"Did you come here with my granddaughter?"
The former queen rolled over from the ground, propped herself up with her elbow and slowly got up, then stood upright in front of Wang Xiaole.
Wang Xiaole looked deeply at the elderly lady only reaching his waist, then quickly averted his gaze and replied in a respectful tone:
"I am a friend of Mewo White's, and I came with her to your country this time to also learn about the local customs and culture."
Describing his experience of coming from Dibiles to another country as a "visit to a friend's house" in a casual manner, Wang Xiaole understood why:
In terms of diplomatic decisions, even if he spoke to the former queen, it wouldn't matter;
Having withdrawn from the front lines of power, the other party was now in a complete non-intervention mode, and to him, she was just "Mewo White's elder."
Moreover, Wang Xiaole was well aware of what needed to be done now, which was to accompany Mewo White in paying respects to the elders;
Other than that, he didn't need to do anything unnecessary.
Upon hearing his response, the former queen smiled like a little girl, then turned to Mewo White with a gentle gaze and asked her:
"My granddaughter used to not go out, so she didn't have many friends. How did you two meet?"
"......"
"I see. It was this big brother who saved you when you were being bullied by a bad sister with blue hair, and he has been taking care of you since then."
Mewo White's answer was brief, without explaining certain details, including the fact that she had been living at the big brother's house in recent days.
The former queen was not completely clear about the relationship between the human in front of her and her granddaughter, but she thought he was a good person.
"Thanks to your care for my granddaughter, you are a decent human being."
Consider it as a token of gratitude.
Later, the former queen went to the place where food was stored in the room and gave Wang Xiaole a lively fish.
The fish was extraordinary in length and size, requiring both hands to hold it completely.
The act of giving fish had a special meaning among the royal beastmen, representing the recipient becoming part of the royal "family".
Its extraordinary meaning was similar to ethnic minorities giving ceremonial scarves or giving a pentakill to teammates in a video game;
It can be said that one would not receive this honor unless they were trusted by the royal family.
The former queen explicitly stated:
"This fish, which looks very delicious, belongs to you, young man. Also, in the future, you can just call me 'White Water' directly!"
Although White Water was getting older, she did not want to be called things like an old lady by anyone other than family.
Especially for outsiders like Wang Xiaole, who could be trusted, she preferred to be addressed by her name.
Since this was a strong demand of the party in question, Wang Xiaole didn't say much more and proceeded to try calling her name:
"White Water... Your Majesty?"
"Drop the last two words."
"Then... White Water?"
"Mm, that's the correct way to address me! I'm not old yet, and I don't want those meaningless titles used in front of me."
Wang Xiaole realized:
For White Water, age was a taboo issue; he had to be careful in this respect and handle White Water as cautiously as he would with a young girl.
After remembering this point, he was asked to stay and had dinner with Mewo White in the palace.
The beastmen lacked fuel, so they rarely lit fires when cooking; the main method of heating ingredients was through summoned magical flames.
"Grant me the scorching flames..."
White Water's chanting ended in an instant.
In that extremely brief passage of time, Mewo White, who couldn't use magic, saw the fish and meat on the table get thoroughly heated in an instant.
This cooking method suited the beastmen's "fast-food" eating habits; seasoning was also easy to handle, as there were small bottles nearby containing all kinds of condiments like salt, sugar, and vinegar.
After sitting at the dining table first and looking at the sumptuous dinner including the fish, White Water asked for Wang Xiaole's opinion:
"I'm not very good at handling flavors. Should we let the standby chefs come in now and season the young man's dinner specially?"
Listening to Bai Shui's tone, Wang Xiaole believed that the other party was not just being polite, but actually well-prepared to get the chefs busy.
"I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need to trouble yourself. I can handle it on my own," he said.
In the past, whenever needed, Wang Xiaole could cook for Lucia and her companions, satisfying all four girls. How could he possibly be stumped by a trivial matter like seasoning?
Even though the meals he had eaten probably contained more salt than Bai Shui had eaten in her lifetime, he dared to assert, "My culinary skills are definitely the best in this palace. The royal chefs may not even compare to me!"
As Wang Xiaole spoke, he began to take action.
He first scanned the various dishes on the table, then determined how each dish should be handled before fetching the different seasonings one by one.
There were over six types of seasonings in the room, while the total number of dishes exceeded eight.
Later, what Wang Xiaole did, and truly achieved, was adding the limited seasonings to each of the numerous dishes in a way that created many distinct flavors.
As he worked, he even had a bold idea of mixing and matching different foods according to a completely new creative approach.
Similar ideas seemed to have occurred to him before, but they had failed miserably.
Learning from his previous mistake, this time Wang Xiaole decided not to mix two or three kinds of food, but simply went for a "mixed stew."
Intentionally using two separate plates, he placed the two newly created dishes on them distinctly.
Filled with pride as a "creator" in his heart, and full of anticipation, he became the first person to taste the new dishes...
Chew, chew, chew.
With the first bite, he had an inappropriate thought that uncontrollably crossed his mind: Can this really be considered food?
At that moment, Wang Xiaole gazed at the two plates of dishes emitting black smoke and gradually realized the mistake he had made.
He understood that he had created, single-handedly, the monstrous, seemingly food-like entities on the plates.
Since a grave error had been committed, remedial action was unavoidable.
Wang Xiaole could have easily picked up the two plates and poured them down the drain in a matter of seconds, but the condition for doing so would be Mewo White not being present.
Out of the need for education and guidance, Wang Xiaole couldn't, in Mewo White's presence, set a bad example of wasting food through his actions.
Thus, despite his reluctance, he quietly later pushed the two plates towards himself and became the brave warrior who vanquished the monsters with his stomach...
In the end, Wang Xiaole only managed to produce the initial number of delicious dishes, and the entire seasoning process left Bai Shui and Mewo White in awe.
Mewo White had eaten dishes made by her older brother before, and she had witnessed him cooking the whole process, yet she was more surprised this time than ever before.
As for Bai Shui, at the first moment of surprise, she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and tasted it.
The taste instantly brought back a nostalgic flavor, causing Bai Shui to unconsciously reminisce, "The taste of the food you make is so much like that of my husband."
Unexpectedly being compared like this, Wang Xiaole was a bit puzzled, "Spouse?"
"Merely words won't make it clear for you. Wait a moment, I'll show the young man some photos."
At this moment, Baishui revealed the smile of a young girl in love and took a few steps forward.
On the mainland, there also existed the technology of filming and photography, but instead of using films and negatives, it relied on magical methods to preserve images.
When Baishui returned, she already had two photo frames in her hands. One of them she placed next to her seat, and the other was put beside Mewo White.
"The spouse I mentioned was him." Baishui pointed to the photo frame. Wang Xiaole followed her lead and saw a cherished photo inside the frame, showing an old man with a kind appearance and cat ears.
The departed had passed away. In his heart, Wang Xiaole mourned silently for this kindly old man for three seconds, then turned to look at another photo.
He stared at the photo for quite a while and the more he looked, the more he thought, "Isn't this just Mewo White with a different hairstyle?"
Baishui seemed to be waiting for this response, immediately revealing a victorious expression, silently telling Wang Xiaole that he had correctly observed the "pattern."
"No, what you just saw is the photo of my daughter! Isn't she lovely?"
"Mewo White's mother!?" Wang Xiaole couldn't believe it, he glanced at Mewo White and then back at the photo, and in a trembling voice, weakly asked, "May I ask: At what age did Mewo White’s mother leave this photo?"
"Let me think... I remember it was about six months after giving birth to her granddaughter."
Realizing this, Wang Xiaole finally understood the magic of genetics and began to admire the teacher who had taught him biology.
It was no wonder his heart was so shaken.
No matter who found themselves in his current position and looked ahead with wide eyes, they would discover:
Between the grandmother and granddaughter, there was a photo of the mother. From a distance, it seemed as if they were seeing triplets with identical faces.
