Festive Banquet

Huangyi returned to the shop from outside.

He walked up to the five-colored mailbox by the door and suddenly froze.

Sticking out from the mail slot was the corner of a piece of letter paper.

White stationery, clearly not from that previous pen pal.

"A new letter?"

He pinched the exposed corner of the paper, pulled the letter out, and stepped inside.

Qinghua was the first to notice the letter in his hand: "What's this?"

"Just found it at the door. Come, let's read it together."

In an instant, a crowd of oddities gathered around him.

To the shopkeeper:

I am a lost soul who once received help from your shop. I sincerely thank you for all the assistance along the way.

My past has been shared with the shopkeeper before, so I won't repeat it here.

The shopkeeper once asked me whether constantly paying a price for power along the journey was worth it.

After careful consideration, my answer is yes, it was worth it.

Though I paid many costs, in the end I ended up with the girl who had been with me all along, and we now live a peaceful and happy life. So everything was worth it.

As for the shopkeeper's other question—whether the shop's aid truly helped lost souls like me?

My answer is a definite yes.

No matter the outcome, every moment of help along the way allowed me to break free from the constraints of my limited perspective and abilities, and to keep moving forward. I am sincerely grateful to have crossed paths with this shop.

It is this shop that made me believe that everything in this world, once fought for with all one's might, will ultimately turn out well. If it's not good enough yet, it only means we haven't reached the end.

I am no longer lost. I know how to move forward on the road ahead. I hope my reply can also ease some of the shopkeeper's own doubts, even just a little.

After reading the letter, Chen Miemie looked around at everyone.

"Is this addressed to me? It feels like it's for the previous shopkeeper. I've never done that kind of matchmaking or brought about a perfect happy ending."

The surrounding oddities all nodded in agreement.

"But the stamp is five-colored. Could anyone else have such a stamp?" Forbidden Fruit Bestiary was puzzled.

Speculating over a letter would get them nowhere, so they soon set the letter aside.

The next day.

Chen Miemie had barely stepped out of the Door-Gap when he saw Yi Zhu and Yi Xian after walking a short distance.

The siblings were sitting at the outdoor tables of Season Cafe, sipping coffee.

Seeing Chen Miemie, Yi Zhu's face broke into a smile, and he stood up, waving.

"Miemie-ge~"

Chen Miemie walked over with a grin: "Yi Zhu and Yi Xian, huh. Did you come looking for me on purpose?"

"Yeah. Even though we can't visit your shop anymore, we knew you were somewhere near this street. We figured waiting here would let us run into you."

"Why didn't you just message me? You can't always count on bumping into me."

"Heh heh, it's nothing urgent. It's just—our mother's birthday is today. She's prepared a big feast, and she said she's grateful for how you looked after us, so she specifically asked us to come invite you in person for dinner."

"Oh? Ms. Dujuan, is it?" Chen Miemie hadn't expected her to invite him. "Sure, I've got nothing going on tonight. What's the address?"

"50 Nuan Yu Road."

"Oh? You've already moved back in?"

"Moved back... sort of. We've been visiting more often lately and talked a lot. Then we realized the three of us are all pretty decent cooks, so we had the idea of opening a private kitchen.

We renovated the first floor. For now, we occasionally invite a few friends over to try it out—sort of a pre-opening test run. Miemie-ge, after today, you've got to give us some feedback."

"That's a great idea. Alright, I'll be there on time."

At 5:00 PM sharp.

Chen Miemie knocked on the door of 50 Nuan Yu Road.

Yi Xian opened it: "Is that Miemie-ge?"

"It's me."

"Please, come in."

As soon as Chen Miemie arrived, a full table of dishes was quickly laid out.

There were five people in total, including Dujuan's youngest son.

This meal was co-headlined by Dujuan and Yi Zhu. They pulled out all the stops—more than a dozen dishes, so many the table couldn't even hold them all.

Today, Dujuan seemed a bit off.

She wore a pure white chef's uniform, with a smile so bright it looked unnatural.

Her smile seemed contagious. Chen Miemie was fine when he first walked in, but by the time all the dishes were served, everyone except him was grinning nonstop.

Not from joy—it looked like their facial muscles were out of control.

"Why are you all smiling like that?" Chen Miemie was a little confused.

"Smiling? Oh—mother, your Mystery power is leaking again." Yi Zhu finally realized the weird grins on their faces.

"Oh, oh, oh, sorry, sorry." Dujuan apologized repeatedly.

Yi Xian began to explain:

"Here's the thing. Our mother actually encountered an anomaly back in the day and awakened her Mystery, but she never developed or practiced it for years, so it's been in a state of neglect.

After sharing some of our experiences with her, she's recently started making progress.

We redeemed this chef's robe from the Consortium. It's a mystical item that boosts cooking efficiency and the deliciousness of the food.

The side effect, though, is that it makes her Mystery spiral out of control—she involuntarily laughs, and her smile is contagious. Regular customers are fine when they walk in, but by the time they've ordered, the corners of their mouths start lifting. By the time the dishes arrive, they're grinning ear to ear.

And when it's time to pay, they end up with the same bright, bone-chilling smile as hers.

If they can catch themselves, chewing something hard can snap them out of the smiling state—but they risk biting their tongue hard in the process."

Chen Miemie: ......

Seriously, do you guys actually want to run a restaurant? If you can't control that thing, maybe just don't use it.

Before Chen Miemie could say anything else.

Dujuan spoke up: "The items the kids redeemed from the Consortium are definitely not harmful. My Mystery only makes people smile. It looks a little eerie, sure, but it doesn't actually cause any real harm."

Yi Xian chimed in: "We've already thought of a name—'The Grin Canteen.' It'll be a high-end private kitchen where people leave with a smile after every meal."

Yi Zhu added: "Our private kitchen accepts reservations for holiday banquets. Miemie-ge, be sure to come by and support us every festival, okay?"

Chen Miemie looked left, then right. This entire household of big brains started smiling again, and somehow it was strangely festive.