"Shu! What are we having for lunch?" Kiana had just finished breakfast and sat down at the computer when she lobbed the question at him.
Shu, who had just finished washing the dishes: "..."
"You're still hungry?" Shu immediately suspected that after nearly half a month of not cooking, his skills had grown rusty. Maybe he hadn't prepared enough food for her.
Kiana patted her stomach contentedly. "Nope, I'm stuffed! It's just..."
She gave him a sheepish grin. Shu lowered his eyes, exasperated.
Got it. She's just a little glutton.
"Well, what do you want to eat?" Shu asked, wiping his hands dry and sitting down beside her.
One of the best things about Kiana was that she would never, ever give the infuriatingly vague answer of "whatever." Nor would she use that answer as some kind of test to see if he truly understood her.
She wasn't that manipulative, and she just wasn't wired that way.
"I want the Manchu Han Imperial Feast!!" Kiana announced with explosive excitement.
You know what? I'd rather you test me on whether I understand you... At least trying to decipher a girl's mind is easier than preparing an entire Imperial Feast.
Shu gave her a deadpan look. Kiana, with her hands raised high in the air, looked like an over-excited sunflower.
"How is a normal person supposed to cook something like that...?" he said, breaking the news gently. "Besides, a real Imperial Feast... would probably land me in jail."
A good number of those historical dishes used protected species as ingredients.
"Huh?!" Kiana stared at him, completely shocked into silence.
"But... when we first met, you said you could..." Her pupils were quaking.
Shu was confused for a second before realizing she meant when they first met, not when she found him here.
Did I really make such a bold claim?! Was I insane back then?
Shu couldn't imagine what state of mind he must have been in to say something like that, but... then again, it didn't seem entirely out of character. He did have a tendency to blurt out unfiltered thoughts when he was in a manic state.
"Don't tell me... the Shu from back then was... just bragging?!"
"Your expression is a little over the top..." Shu couldn't bear to look. Kiana was really laying it on thick.
She was trying to look like her entire worldview had been shattered, but she just came off looking like a kicked puppy, with big, teary eyes. The only effect it had was to make one feel inexplicably sorry for her.
"Ehehe~" Caught in the act, Kiana gave a sheepish laugh, stuck out her tongue, and tapped herself on the head with a fist.
Shu ignored her antics and asked again, "So, anything else you want to eat?"
"Hmm..." Kiana tilted her head back, swaying back and forth. After a long moment of deliberation, she came up with a new answer. "In that case... how about a cream cake?"
She spread her arms wide, gesturing a massive circle. "I want a really, really big cake... Uh... it doesn't have to be that big, one layer is fine. About... this big?"
The size she gestured was about as big as a washbasin. Shu got a good sense of the dimensions, but he still had to ask.
"But cake isn't a meal..."
Kiana fell silent for a moment, then scratched her head sheepishly. "Actually... where I'm from... cake... can totally be... a meal..."
Hiss... Shu sucked in a breath. Right, Kiana was European... wasn't her original prototype German? The place where they murder bread for a living?
"Well, one cake still won't be enough to fill you up," Shu said, shaking his head as he pulled out his phone. "We'll have to get something else... What kind of cake do you want?"
Kiana instantly zipped to his side. "I want a fruit and cream cake! The kind with tons and tons of cream!!"
"Want me to order you a couple of Happy Meals to go with that?" Shu asked, amused.
"Ooh! Can you, can you?!"
Shu: "..."
"Alright, fine," Shu chuckled, finalizing their lunch plans. He'd spoil her by stealing a few Happy Meals from the actual children, and they could just order takeout for the rest.
"The cake is custom-made, so it won't be ready and delivered until tonight." He placed the order, making sure to warn Kiana so she wouldn't get her hopes up for lunch.
"That's fine!" Kiana's voice jumped an octave. "Eating it at night is even better!"
Shu paused. He gave her a surprised look, then checked the date on his phone.
It wasn't her birthday... Why was she...
Eh, she probably just has a craving for cream.
—
It was another completely ordinary day, so unremarkable that there was almost nothing worth writing in a diary... not that either of them kept one.
Who keeps a diary these days?!
Not even Shu would do something that could potentially turn into social suicide, trying to communicate with his future self only to have his past self embarrass him.
In fact, he was now incredibly grateful for this. If he actually kept a diary, and Kiana found it... Ah, but his life had probably already been ruined the moment Kiana saw his figurine collection.
Although they had both silently agreed to never speak of that incident again, Shu still cringed with shame whenever he thought about it.
Whatever... let's just get through this perfectly normal day.
Nothing happening wasn't a bad thing.
Time passed as it always did, and night arrived right on schedule. Everything seemed normal.
Rice Cake patrolled his territory, playfully tormenting Kiana, who was just as energetic.
Shu, caught in the crossfire of their epic battle, endured the chaos with a weary smile until the doorbell finally rang.
He got up, opened the door, and quickly brought the custom cake inside, placing it on the table.
"It's a little late..." Shu sighed, unwrapping the box.
It was already well past dinnertime, and the cake had only just arrived. But that was fine. Cake was meant to be a post-dinner dessert anyway. Even birthday cakes were best enjoyed after the main meal. At most, cutting the cake during dinner just felt a bit more ceremonial.
They weren't celebrating a birthday; they were just eating cake. There was no need for such formalities.
"Kiana." Shu finished unwrapping the packaging, revealing the custom cake. Normally, this would be the cue for Kiana to pounce, eager to get a taste.
Did she get distracted while playing?
But when Shu turned around, Kiana was already standing right behind him, and it didn't look like she had just run over.
Shu blinked, then stepped aside to make room for her.
"Here you go. The cake you wanted," he said with a smile, handing her the cake knife, just like any other day.
Kiana took the knife with one hand, keeping her other hand hidden behind her back, her fingers gently curled around something in her palm.
"Yeah." She offered Shu a somewhat strained smile. "Let's eat it together..."