Chapter 21

After discussing, the siblings decided to invite Qin Chi to join them for dinner at a restaurant and then watch a movie afterward.

Since Lu Yang received the gift, it was only fitting for him to message Qin Chi.

Qin Chi: “Thank you; I will be there on time.”
—-
After the exchange of gifts, Xu Qiao and Lu Yang finished their breakfast and went out, planning to visit the museum in the morning and then hang out at the arcade in the afternoon.

Qin Chi stood in the living room, looking through the balcony window. He saw Xu Qiao wearing a white short-sleeve top and a long lotus-green skirt that reached her ankles, while Lu Yang was dressed in a white T-shirt and black casual shorts, with a backpack slung over his right shoulder.

The bright summer sunlight illuminated their exposed faces and arms as they walked and laughed, radiating youthful energy that made the two green courtyards seem dull by comparison.
—-
After the siblings walked away, Qin Chi sat on the sofa and picked up the book he hadn’t finished reading last night.

It was Xu Qiao’s treat tonight for her classmate’s birthday, and she had chosen “Delicious Taste,” the most popular restaurant in the second ring.

“Delicious Taste” is located in an ordinary shopping complex in the southern part of the second ring. Among the top-rated restaurants, its decor isn’t particularly upscale, and the dishes aren’t particularly novel, but it has become a favorite among over five million ordinary ability users due to its excellent taste and relatively affordable prices.

“Delicious Taste” doesn’t have private rooms and doesn’t accept reservations; diners wanting to eat there must line up patiently.

Lu Yang asked Qin Chi to arrive at six o’clock, but he and Xu Qiao had come to get a number at four-thirty. Based on the number of people waiting ahead, it would be around six o’clock when it was their turn to enter the restaurant.

Waiting idly was quite boring, so the siblings squeezed to the side of the restaurant’s transparent window to watch the chefs enthusiastically stir-frying dishes.

There were four master chefs in total, and they were a father-son duo. The father was in his sixties, while the three sons had all entered middle age, but all four of them were tall and robust, even sharing the same spirit form: four identical stir-fry pans.

The four chefs cooked with ordinary iron woks, while their spirit forms simmered, boiled, and stir-fried alongside, sending mouth-watering aromas wafting from any of the pans.

Xu Qiao teased Lu Yang, “If you could awaken a cooking-type spirit form, that would be great! Then we wouldn’t have to cook for ourselves anymore.”

Lu Yang: “The probability isn’t high.”

The type of spirit form a person can awaken depends not only on genetic factors but also on personality, interests, strengths, and talents.

His cooking was notoriously bad, indicating a lack of culinary talent, making it unlikely for him to awaken a cooking-type spirit form.

Xu Qiao stared intently at the chefs’ movements. “Just watching them cook, I could easily stay here for an hour or two.”

Lu Yang looked around and noticed that many people were lingering just to see the chefs’ skills.

He told Xu Qiao, “You keep watching. I’ll go wait for a seat over there; I’ll come back when I’m tired.”
—-
Outside the restaurant, a row of small benches was fully occupied.

Xu Qiao nodded, continuing to watch inside, both admiring and trying to learn the chefs’ cooking techniques.

One by one, other onlookers gathered around; some watched for a while before turning away, but Xu Qiao didn’t pay them any mind until she suddenly felt a furry sensation on her bare ankle, as if something animal-like had brushed against her.

Xu Qiao looked down and saw a palm-sized yellow cat spirit form sitting by her feet, also looking up at her.

She cautiously took two steps back, keeping her distance from the seemingly adorable spirit form.

Ordinary cats from the Old Era would naturally exhibit affectionate behavior, but animal spirit forms, no matter how cute they looked, were ultimately manifestations of an ability user’s mental power. While spirit forms might have their quirks and occasionally act out of control, as long as the ability user maintains proper discipline, animal spirit forms can generally uphold basic social etiquette.

Regardless of whether this cat spirit was male or female, it was quite rude for it to touch Xu Qiao’s ankle without permission.

Xu Qiao scanned the crowd around her for reactions.

Some people didn’t even notice the cat at her feet, some looked surprised, while others observed silently.

She then spotted a man in a plaid shirt with yellow hair waving at her, sporting a mischievous grin.

Feeling disgusted, Xu Qiao suddenly realized that her lotus spirit form was angry at being harassed by a rogue cat. It extended a green lotus leaf and shot a water arrow directly at the lingering cat spirit.

The yellow-haired man and his spirit form were caught off guard and couldn’t dodge in time. The cat spirit was struck in the back by the arrow.
—-

After a pitiful yowl, the cat spirit disappeared, and the yellow-haired man clutched his head in pain.

This indicated that his spirit form was only D-level, which explained why it was so easy to defeat.

Knowing he had encountered a tough opponent, the yellow-haired man didn’t dare to cause a scene and slinked away into the crowd.

Lu Yang, who was focused on securing a bench, didn’t notice the commotion, but Qin Chi, who had come early to experience the lives of ordinary ability users, had witnessed everything clearly.

A fire dragon rampaged in his mind, clamoring to incinerate the yellow-haired man.

Qin Chi glanced at Xu Qiao’s skirt, which hung low to her ankles, and communicated with the fire dragon through his thoughts: “Her spirit form has a bigger temperament than she does. You’d better not do anything to provoke misunderstandings.”

The lotus petals could actively move towards those they liked and approaching them like the fire dragon did could very likely result in an attack.

Fire Dragon: “……”

Qin Chi stepped up beside Xu Qiao.

She first noticed the white shirt he wore, clean and carrying a faint lemon scent—probably from laundry detergent.

When she quietly looked up, she met the familiar handsome face of her new neighbor.

Xu Qiao: “…You’re here! This restaurant is so popular; we’re still in line.”

Qin Chi: “It’s okay; I was just waiting at home, so I thought I’d come out for a stroll. I think I just saw your spirit form; did it run into some trouble?”

Xu Qiao didn’t want to bring up the unpleasant incident, shaking her head: “No, it sometimes comes out for some fresh air.”

Understanding, Qin Chi looked towards the chefs in the window: “If you hadn’t invited me for dinner, I wouldn’t have known that chefs could cook like this.”

Xu Qiao: “That’s probably their restaurant’s unique feature, allowing everyone to enjoy both taste and sight.”

At that moment, Lu Yang finally managed to get three seats that had just opened up and hurriedly called the two over.

Xu Qiao sat outside, with Lu Yang and Qin Chi beside her.

As soon as the three settled in, the difference in leg lengths due to their heights became apparent. Lu Yang’s knees extended quite far, while Qin Chi’s reached even further.

The birthday boy, a middle school student, actively invited Qin Chi, “Have you ever been to this kind of casual restaurant before?”

Qin Chi replied, “Besides home and the cafeteria, I haven’t been to any commercial restaurants.”

Xu Qiao and Lu Yang looked at him in shock.

Qin Chi smiled, “It might have to do with not having friends to eat out with, so when you invited me this morning, I was really happy.”

Lu Yang was deeply curious about what kind of life this person had led, and Xu Qiao chimed in, “If you like it, we’ll be sure to call you whenever we go out to eat in the future.”

Qin Chi said, “Thank you; I’d really like to try more of the dishes here.”

Ability users tend to have large appetites. Xu Qiao ordered three of her favorite dishes, Lu Yang ordered two, and Qin Chi directly ordered the remaining four signature dishes.

Ordering large dishes meant high prices.

Xu Qiao, who had some savings and a decent income, felt at ease, while Lu Yang, who hadn’t saved enough for military school tuition, twitched at the corners of his eyes. However, when he thought of the expensive gifts Qin Chi had given them, he couldn’t really complain. How could someone wealthy like him understand that casually ordering four dishes could be a burden for Xu Qiao?

He silently decided to pay for the bill later.

When the dishes arrived, Lu Yang was the most reserved. Xu Qiao would reach for a dish whenever Qin Chi praised its taste, and Qin Chi would earnestly enjoy the dishes Xu Qiao recommended.

The two seemed oblivious to the sensitive feelings of the middle school student, thoroughly enjoying their meal.

Soon, Lu Yang was swept up in the atmosphere and started eating as well. After all, he was paying, so why not try each dish?

“I’m going to wash my hands,” Xu Qiao said as the meal was coming to an end.

Qin Chi nodded, and Lu Yang thought this was the perfect time to call the waiter over to settle the bill.

“What movie are you watching tonight?” Qin Chi suddenly asked.

Lu Yang replied, “‘Divine Beasts.’ It’s about a battle between divine and exotic beasts.”

Qin Chi asked, “Did you choose the film?”

Lu Yang responded, “She picked it; I don’t usually watch this kind of stuff.”

Qin Chi inquired, “What do you like then?”

Lu Yang replied, “Mainly, I’m just not interested. I only want to awaken my spirit form and attend military school.”

Suddenly, Lu Yang noticed that Xu Qiao was standing in front of the cashier, extending her communication wristband!

Qin Chi followed his gaze and smiled. Since she was sincerely treating them, it wouldn’t be respectful for him to rush in to pay.
—-
After ordering four large dishes, the new neighbor entered the cinema and treated the two young landlords to a large serving of popcorn and ice cream.

The three of them hugged their popcorn buckets and queued up to enter, with Lu Yang continuing to sit between Xu Qiao and Qin Chi.

Once the lights went out, the surroundings fell into darkness, illuminated only by the shifting lights projected from the screen.

The movie’s protagonist was an Eastern dragon with jet-black scales and deep green vertical pupils.

The plot of the movie unfolded rapidly, and the audience mainly focused on eating popcorn, with very little discussion. Once the movie ended, chatter finally broke out.

“I heard the Marshal’s spirit form at the Northeast Base is a black dragon. This movie couldn’t have been based on him, right?”

“You’re overthinking it. We have all sorts of myths and legends, and there are plenty of movies about dragons from the Old Era. Besides, even if his spirit form is a black dragon, can he really turn into one?”

“But this movie is probably only going to be shown at the other three bases. The Northeast Base wouldn’t dare screen it.”

“Haha, I just thought of the hit drama ‘Flame’ from the Southwest Base. Just because the male lead’s spirit form is a phoenix, there are suspicions it reflects our great Marshal’s family. The base network can’t find a single clip.”

“Hey, we’re all ability users. Why are their spirit forms so powerful, while we’re stuck with cows and sheep?”

“Ahem, I heard that the first person to awaken a phoenix spirit form back in the Old Era came from a family that ran a chicken farm…”

As Xu Qiao walked along with the crowd, she tugged at Lu Yang’s T-shirt hem and teased him, “If you were my little brother, I’d give you a chicken to raise from a young age. Who knows, you might get lucky when awakening your spirit form.”

Lu Yang replied, “…Then I’d rather awaken a dragon. What would you give me to raise?”

Xu Qiao joked, “How about a dragon tattoo right on your back?”

Qin Chi walked ahead, laughing, while the fire dragon in his mind scratched irritably at its claws.

Listen to this—everyone wants to awaken a dragon, yet the one who actually has a dragon keeps it hidden away, not letting it see the light.