Chapter 209: Mom will show you her skills

“Didn’t you say before that you’d be working overseas continuously for at least three years? It’s only been a year.”

After a brief embrace with Ten’i, who had also dyed her hair silver to follow the trend, Yukina expressed the confusion in her heart.

“What? Doesn’t little Yukina want Mom back so soon?” Ten’i tilted her head, staring at her precious daughter with an amused expression.

“O-o-o-of course I do! I think about my favorite Mom all the time! But it’s strange for you to come back so quickly, Mom. I have to ask, did you have a fight with your boss over there and get deported?”
Yukina knew very well that as a top fashion designer active in the industry, Mom Ten’i had a very strong attitude at work. It was natural that she might occasionally upset her boss and subordinates.

“Hahaha, you have quite the imagination, little Yukina. Don’t worry, nothing like that happened. I came back this time because there’s an urgent matter I need to deal with here. Once it’s handled, I’ll go back. And during these few days while I’m dealing with it, I, of course, came back to spend some quality time with my little Yukina!”
Saying this, Ten’i enthusiastically cupped Yukina’s cute cheeks with both hands, teasing her like a Furby.

“Ngh…” Teased by Ten’i like this, Yukina found it hard to say anything more.

After teasing the cute Yukina for a bit, Ten’i carried her handbag and casually walked into the living room, acting as if she were returning to her own home.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been back. This house is exactly the same as before. It really brings back memories!” Gazing at the living room, which hadn’t changed much, Ten’i sighed nostalgically.

“Yeah, ever since you went to work overseas, Mom, things here haven’t really been touched.” Yukina followed her, speaking to Ten’i while constantly sneaking glances at the nearby wardrobe, terrified that Charlotte and Lillian hiding inside might make a sound and be caught red-handed by Mom Ten’i.

Fortunately, Ten’i didn’t suspect anything about the plain-looking wardrobe. After casually scanning the living room, her gaze fell upon the kitchen counter.
There were still some uncleaned grease stains on the counter, clearly indicating that the kitchen had been used recently.

Ten’i felt slightly confused by this.
Although she hadn’t lived in this house for over a year, through her weekly phone calls with Yukina, she knew exactly what was going on.
While it seemed Xinghe and Yukina split the chores, Xinghe actually did most of them, including cooking.
Although it was a bit impolite to say this about Yukina, she was undeniably the foolish sister who only enjoyed the fruits of her brother’s labor without valuing his efforts. If this continued, when her brother left her one day, it would be too late for regrets.

However, from her conversation with Yukina just now, she also knew that Xinghe wasn’t home.
If Xinghe wasn’t home, then who was cooking just now?

Puzzled by this, Ten’i shifted her gaze to the dining table nearby.
On the table, a pitch-black, half-eaten piece of what looked like steak lay quietly on a plate. The teeth marks on it were clearly visible, indicating someone had tasted it.
Setting aside whether this thing was edible or not, there was still a trace of steam rising from it. Clearly, this half piece of roasted meat was freshly cooked.
Seeing the steam, it was obvious that this was the masterpiece of whoever was cooking just now.

“This is…”

Noticing Ten’i staring at the completely failed steak, Yukina instantly panicked.
She was so focused on hiding Charlotte and Lillian that she had completely forgotten about this thing.

“This is…” Yukina racked her brain, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
After all, a pitch-black roasted steak appearing on the dining table was a bizarre occurrence in itself.

“Little Yukina, were you cooking just now?”

“Uh… y-yes!” Yukina stammered.

“Oh? It seems this thing that looks like a chocolate cookie must be your freshly baked gourmet dish! Perfect, let Mom taste how Yukina’s cooking is!”
Saying this, Ten’i prepared to properly taste the black steak.

This gave Yukina a huge fright. She quickly stretched out her arms and blocked Mom Ten’i.
“Wait, Mom! I’ve already tasted this steak, and it’s atrociously bad! There’s no need for you to taste it again, Mom!”
Yukina hurriedly picked up the plate and dumped the steak into the trash can.
Although wasting food was shameful, if she didn’t throw away this completely failed steak, Mom Ten’i would definitely try to taste it and critique her cooking skills, which would make her feel incredibly embarrassed.

Watching Yukina’s frantic actions, as if she were trying to hide something, Ten’i merely showed a pleased smile.
“Oh? I didn’t expect my little Yukina to start learning how to cook recently! What made you suddenly want to learn cooking?”

“Uh… that’s because the food brother has been making lately has been really…”
Yukina paused, originally wanting to say “delicious,” but realizing that would contradict the situation. “…really terrible! I wanted to see if I could do better, but… it turned out like this.”
Saying this, Yukina couldn’t help but look ashamed.
Although most of her explanation was fabricated, the fact that she had personally cooked this steak was true.
Having Mom Ten’i see her cook up a piece of “shit” filled her with a crawling sense of shame. Yukina wished she could bury her head in the floor and act like an ostrich.

“Is that so? Little Yukina is really amazing! Having the courage to face what you’re not good at is very commendable. However, judging by how it turned out, it seems little Yukina still has a lot of room for growth! By the way, why don’t I show off my skills tonight and cook something for you!”

Like someone suddenly inspired to cook a bowl of authentic beef noodles for Louis Koo, Ten’i suddenly got excited. She put on an apron and headed into the kitchen.

“Eh? Mom, you’re going to cook? It’s so late, maybe we should just skip it!”
Ten’i’s actions caught Yukina off guard, and she quickly ran over, trying to dissuade her mother from her sudden whim.

“It’s exactly because it’s so late that we need to cook! You haven’t eaten yet, little Yukina! So let Mom personally cook tonight! However, it’s been a long time since I cooked. The last time I cooked for you two was… well, the last time. The taste might be a little strange, but I hope you don’t mind, little Yukina!”

“No, how could I mind? No matter how poorly you perform, Mom, your cooking will still be better than mine!”

“So what are you worried about now? Alright, little Yukina, go wait by the dining table like a good girl. Mom will quickly make a sumptuous dinner for you to try! When Xinghe comes back and sees this, he’ll definitely be surprised!”