"Got it, got it~"
Kiana chirped happily. It wasn't clear if she had noticed the tips of Shu's ears turning red, but she simply turned around and ducked back into the bathroom to find the hairdryer.
Hearing the whirring sound coming from the bathroom, Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Cook.
Right, cook.
The most important thing right now was to make food.
Regardless of whether this girl was the real Kiana or not, the first thing she said when they met was that she hadn't eaten all day... so he would make something to fill her stomach first, and then...
And then what?
Shu hadn't figured that out yet.
But making food for her couldn't be wrong... whether as a stalling tactic or providing necessary nutrition for a growing sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, it was the right move.
Thinking this, Shu opened the refrigerator door and fell into deep thought staring at its contents.
A row of eggs sat neatly in the egg tray.
A bunch of wilted bok choy and a bunch of relatively fresh scallions leaned together in the corner.
And two cartons of fresh milk.
That was it.
Just that.
He was silent for two seconds, then opened the freezer.
The freezer, on the other hand, was quite well-stocked.
Frozen dumplings, frozen wontons, frozen buns, frozen spring rolls, frozen steak, frozen chicken nuggets, frozen french fries—
All sorts of frozen, instant foods were arranged neatly like supermarket shelves.
But there wasn't a single piece of fresh or cured meat.
Looking at these pre-made meal packs, Shu completely gave up on thinking.
He lived alone and rarely went out, usually too lazy to cook. When hungry, he would just heat up some frozen food to maintain his vital functions.
But now, it obviously wasn't a matter of maintaining vital functions with frozen food and vitamins.
He glanced back towards the living room; the hairdryer was still whirring in the bathroom.
That girl looked only sixteen or seventeen... feed her these frozen foods like he ate?
Shu frowned.
Even though he wasn't sure who she really was, even though her appearance at his door was as bizarre as a dream, even though she was running around his house wearing his clothes with wet white hair—
She was a young girl.
A growing girl who had been hungry all day, and her first meal was going to be frozen food?
That didn't seem right.
Shu stood in front of the fridge, hesitating for three seconds.
Then he closed the fridge door and took out his phone.
Order takeout.
He knew a few places with fresh ingredients and light flavors, suitable for—
Suitable for what?
Suitable for the special situation of "a girl claiming to be a game character suddenly appearing at my house"?
He shook his head, tossing that thought aside, and started browsing the food delivery app.
What to order?
What did she like to eat?
Shu's finger hovered over the screen, suddenly realizing a problem... he didn't know what she liked to eat.
His understanding of her came entirely from the game, and her behavior in front of him was almost exactly the same as in the game.
So... he could probably just calculate based on what the game's Kiana liked to eat?
Uh... Kiana's favorite food is... Mei's cooking...
Where was he supposed to find Mei's cooking?
Then he'd have to look at those old fan comics about Kiana's top 100 favorite restaurants... well, she seemed to eat everything.
Anyway, ordering some normal dishes couldn't go wrong.
He scrolled to a homestyle restaurant he frequented and started adding items:
One order of braised pork belly, one stir-fried seasonal vegetables, one tomato and egg stir-fry, one sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and soup...
Shu's finger paused over the "Place Order" button.
Wait.
He suddenly remembered something.
When she said "hungry all day" at the door just now, her tone wasn't the "I'm a little peckish" kind of hungry.
It was the "I'm so hungry I could die" kind...
And—
Shu recalled the game settings.
Kiana's appetite seemed... unusually large?
Although he wasn't sure if the girl in front of him was really Kiana, what if?
What if she really was?
What if she really could eat a lot?
What if he ordered too little, she didn't get full, and then looked at him with those pitiful eyes... uh, she wouldn't faint from hunger because she didn't eat enough, right?
Shu shuddered.
No.
That absolutely could not happen.
He scrolled back to the menu and silently added another portion of braised pork, another tomato and egg, and another sweet and sour pork.
Then he thought about it.
Not enough.
Still not enough.
He added another portion of rice.
No, two portions.
No—
He stared at the cart on the screen, sinking into deep thought.
How many people's worth of food was this already?
He counted.
This was roughly... enough for three people?
Right, the normal meal portion for three adults... that should be about right?
After all, with Kiana's build, even if a real person could eat a lot, surely she couldn't eat enough for four or five people alone, right?
Excluding his own portion from this three-person meal, she should at least be seventy percent full.
He nodded at his own analysis and pressed "Place Order."
Just as he finished ordering, the sound of the hairdryer stopped.
The bathroom door opened, and a wave of heat carrying the scent of body wash wafted out.
Kiana walked out, her white hair fluffed up by a rough drying technique. Her usually prominent ahoge (cowlick) finally experienced what it meant to be "hidden in plain sight."
With her messy hair, she walked into the living room, looked around, and spotted Shu standing by the kitchen door.
"Shu—!"
She called out, drawing out the syllable, and skipped over.
"Food food food food? I'm so hungry!"
Shu silently placed his phone face down on the dining table.
"Ordered takeout. Wait."
Kiana's eyes lit up instantly.
"Takeout! What takeout! Is it good! How long!"
Shu looked at her sparkling eyes and suddenly found it a bit amusing.
Starved like this, she really must have been hungry all day.
"About twenty minutes," he said. "Sit and wait first."
Kiana nodded vigorously, then plopped onto a chair by the dining table, resting her chin on both hands, staring intently at the door, her face full of sincere anticipation.
I am ready! Takeout, come quickly!
Shu watched her expectant look, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Then he shook his head helplessly, turned, and walked into the kitchen to start putting away the frozen foods he hadn't had a chance to deal with yet.
Behind him, Kiana's voice chased after him.
"Shu—how much did you order—is it enough—I can eat a lot!"
Shu's back stiffened for a moment.
"Should be enough... right?"
He wasn't very confident in his judgment to begin with, and now that Kiana emphasized it, Shu suddenly felt he might have actually ordered too little.
But...
Shu turned back and quietly glanced at Kiana. Even though she was wearing his clothes and he couldn't see her exact figure, he could still tell she was quite slim.
She...
It should be enough, right...