That fragrance… was beyond description.
It was domineering, yet gentle.
It didn't drift from the kitchen—
it seemed to sprout quietly from the very depths of everyone's soul.
The Zhu Sisters, Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing, both stretched their pale, slender necks at the same moment, greedily inhaling every wisp of aroma in the air—like drowning people desperately grasping at their final lifeline.
For a heartbeat, they forgot each other's existence.
Forgot the lifelong hostility carved into their bones.
Forgot the endless chase, the ruthless competition.
Their minds held only one thought:
Eat.
They must eat it.
Hu Liena was trembling already—
because she knew what this meant.
This was the Senior's blessing.
Their exclusive treatment as Divine Attendants.
Three meals a day.
Soon, Lin Feng emerged from the back kitchen, carrying a tray.
"Senior, let me."
Hu Liena stepped forward at once—
quick, reverent, almost devout—
and received the tray with both hands.
Serve food for the Senior?
Impossible.
That would be blasphemy.
The moment the tray left his hands, Lin Feng let out a satisfied exhale.
Mm.
This little fox really wasn't recruited in vain.
She already knew to take initiative.
Very promising.
He clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely followed, ready to enjoy his first breakfast with his three newly hired cheap laborers.
Hu Liena walked past the Zhu Sisters—who were still frozen in place—without even looking at them. Her voice was cool, carrying a natural air of superiority:
"What are you standing there for?"
"Aren't you coming? Planning to work on an empty stomach?"
The reprimand snapped Zhuqing and Zhuyun out of their trance.
They immediately glared at each other—cold, sharp, murderous.
But the fragrance overwhelmed everything, smothering their hatred like a tidal wave.
Reluctantly, wordlessly, the two followed behind Hu Liena.
At the table, Hu Liena placed the tray down with perfect precision.
She took out the most exquisite portion of breakfast, offered it respectfully with both hands, and placed it before Lin Feng.
Only then did she take her own portion and sit down with elegant posture.
Zhuqing hurried to imitate her—taking her share quickly and quietly.
Only Zhuyun remained sitting stiffly, brows tightly furrowed, unmoving.
Seeing this, a faint mocking arc lifted Hu Liena's lips.
Her voice was soft, but it cut like a knife:
"What? Is this young miss perhaps still waiting for someone to serve her meal?"
Boom.
Zhuyun's face flushed scarlet.
Shame surged up so violently she almost choked.
Yes—
she had subconsciously been waiting for someone to serve her.
She, the eldest young miss of the Zhu family.
The future Crown Prince's consort.
Someone who had never lifted her own chopsticks to serve herself.
But when she met Hu Liena's cool, oppressive gaze—
and smelled that soul-piercing aroma—
all her pride felt flimsy and laughable.
Under Lin Feng's amused eyes, she finally gritted her teeth, reached out her trembling hand, and humiliatingly took the last portion from the tray.
Lin Feng watched the tiny "clash" with deep satisfaction.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
With competition comes involution.
With involution comes productivity.
He picked up a small steamed bun, bit into it—
and the burst of fragrant juice made him close his eyes in bliss.
Across from him, Zhuqing peeked at Zhuyun's humiliated expression, then at Lin Feng and Hu Liena's calm indifference.
The tension in her heart—tightly stretched for years—gradually loosened.
Maybe…
this really wasn't a trap set by Zhuyun.
Maybe this woman, like her, was also chosen by that mysterious voice—
to become the… servant of this shop?
The thought alone felt absurd.
But she had no time to think further.
Because all her attention was captured by the bowl before her.
A bowl of fish porridge.
The rice grains had dissolved into the milky broth.
The thin, translucent fish slices glistened softly.
A fragrance that could slip through the cracks of one's soul lingered in the steam.
Zhuqing's hand trembled as she lifted the spoon.
She took one sip—
—and her entire world instantly melted.
Warmth—pure, indescribable warmth—wrapped around her heart like a mother's embrace.
This wasn't taste.
It was… a feeling.
As if she was no longer the Hell Civet forced to crawl through blood and darkness.
As if she were a child again—
on a sunny afternoon, safe, peaceful, untouched by schemes or the cold walls of the Zhu family mansion.
So—
this was what living could feel like.
A thin mist rose in her ice-blue eyes.
She looked up through the blur—
—and froze.
Her sister, Zhu Zhuyun—
always arrogant, calculating, cruel—
was sitting with the exact same stunned, trembling expression.
Zhuyun was equally dumbfounded.
She had spent her life playing the game of power.
Climbing. Calculating. Fighting.
But this one spoonful—
This tiny, unassuming spoonful—
Shattered everything.
To hell with the Star Luo Empire.
To hell with the Crown Prince's position.
Compared to this bowl of porridge—
all her lifelong ambition was a joke.
The sisters stared at each other.
For that brief, fleeting moment—
all hatred was washed away by a tide of soul-deep shock.
Then they both lowered their heads again, surrendering completely to the divine fish porridge.
The dining table fell into a peaceful silence—
broken only by the gentle clinking of spoons.
Breakfast ended in a strange, indescribable harmony.
Lin Feng yawned lazily, then glanced at Hu Liena.
Hu Liena understood instantly.
She put down her utensils, stood up gracefully, and spoke to the two sisters in a tone that carried the natural authority of a hostess:
"The Senior is about to open the shop."
"You two—clean up."
Zhuqing reacted immediately, rising to her feet.
Her movements were quick, careful, and respectful.
She cleared Lin Feng's dishes first, then Hu Liena's, and finally her own.
Throughout the entire process—
she deliberately, flawlessly—
ignored the untouched tableware in front of Zhuyun.
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