Have you washed your hands?

Lili closed her eyes, thinking hard, trying to come up with the perfect answer.

It didn’t need to be dramatic, after all, if it were too grand, it would leave a strong impression, and without a prepared script, Letia might mess it up.

At the same time, the information Lili shared had to be minimal—the fewer details, the better.

This way, if Letia offered a different version, it would be easier to respond smoothly.

“That was a clear and sunny morning,” Lili said, pretending to remember, “I got lost in the forest, and after wandering around, I met Letia. Letia was very kind, and I admired her at first sight… Letia liked me too… As our friendship grew stronger, we made a promise to always support each other…”

Mentioning the promise, Lili’s face turned red, and she shyly lowered her head.

Karina listened, enchanted, with tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

“So romantic, it reminds me of my little wife.”

“Did you fall in love with her at first sight too?”

“Yes, I’ll never forget that afternoon,” Karina said softly, holding her cheek, her expression unusually gentle, “Mirei was from a poor family, and she went into the wilderness to gather flowers to help her mother. She accidentally fell off a cliff.”

Lili gasped, worriedly looking at Karina’s face. Karina smiled and waved her hand, signaling not to worry.

“At that moment, I felt drawn to her, so I protected her in secret. When Mirei fell, I rushed over to help her.”

“How romantic!”

“Then, we shared many beautiful moments, and eventually Letia was born.”

Lili listened, captivated, while Karina felt a little embarrassed.

Even after living for thousands of years, recalling her first love still made her uneasy.

Lili was relieved that the story of her meeting Letia had been glossed over.

She hadn’t shared any key details, mostly just sweet moments.

Even if Letia couldn’t come up with a proper memory, Lili could smoothly respond.

Letia returned, looking reluctant,

Her arms full of greenish oranges, which looked very sour.

Letia wasn’t trying to be difficult, because there simply weren’t any good-tasting oranges in the forest.

Most of the forest contained wild plants, which had evolved to be sour and bitter to protect themselves from being eaten.

Letia had searched the forest to find the least sour oranges.

Lili looked at the oranges with disdain, and Karina pursed her lips, though she knew good oranges were rare in the forest.

“There’s no choice, we’ll just use these oranges.”

“Eh?” Lili said nervously, “They look really sour!”

“That’s okay, we can process them,” Karina said with a smile to Lili, then looked seriously at Letia, “Our Lili wants orange juice.”

“Alright! I’ll prepare it!” Letia said through gritted teeth.

She took out a glass from the dimensional storage, grabbed the oranges, and squeezed them with all her strength.

The juice trickled through her fingers.

Lili leaned away from the juice, looking disgusted.

Karina was stunned, speechless for a moment.

Letia pushed the orange juice to Lili, teasing, “Here you go!”

“Letia…” Karina silently radiated her displeasure, “I won’t say anything else, but did you wash your hands?”

“That’s not the main issue!” Lili couldn’t help but comment.

“As a dragon descendant, you’re using such a crude method. Letia, don’t you have dragon pride?”

“Ah…”

“Wasting food is wrong. You drink this juice yourself?” Karina smiled at Lili, “Sorry, you were startled.”

“Uh, it’s okay…”

“I’ll help you prepare the juice.”

Karina gestured at the oranges on the table. They floated in the air, sliced into eight perfect pieces, peeled neatly, and the juice collected in a glass.

Lili couldn’t help but admire, truly impressive, Aunt Karina.

Still, the juice was very sour, and the smell reached a distance away.

“Don’t worry, there’s one more step.”

Karina slowly stood and pointed her palm at the glass.

“Shadow of the ruler, appear in the flow of time!”

“Bring abundance, refine the ordinary into the extraordinary, transform impurities into brilliance, and let the essence shine!”

The black mist in Karina’s palm enveloped the orange juice.

Lili stared, surprised, her face full of skepticism.

The juice became clear and radiant, sparkling brilliantly.

This was the highest form of cooking magic, making food shine.

Karina wiped her forehead lightly, then placed the glass in front of Lili.

Lili hesitated to refuse and held the glass carefully, tasting a sip.

To her surprise, the juice was very delicious, despite being made from wild, sour oranges.

“Grandma Karina, I want some too!”

Amy spread her arms, cheering. Karina laughed and held her.

“You’re too young for wild orange juice. Grandma will prepare milk for you.”

“Okay!” Amy responded happily.

Karina took milk from the dimensional storage, already prepared with nutrients, lightly sweet, perfect for a two-year-old.

Karina had dreamed of holding her granddaughter, so she had prepared many things in advance.

Food, toys, clothes—anything needed was ready.

Amy eagerly drank from her small cup, sitting on Karina’s lap, expressing her delight.

“So good! Even better than Lili’s mom’s milk!”

“Hmm!” Lili shivered, “M-mine is good too…”

“But Lili’s mom, not sweet enough!”

“Haha, mine is healthy milk…”

For some reason, Lili felt competitive, and Karina laughed heartily.

Only Letia sat in the corner of the cave, sulking like a grumpy observer.

She held a glass of sour orange juice, tasting it with a bitter, lonely expression.

Letia’s situation contrasted sharply with the happy family scene.

Lili felt sympathy and looked at Karina meaningfully.

Karina understood Lili’s intention and gave her an approving glance.

“Still sulking?” Karina raised her voice playfully, “It’s about time to come over, Letia?”

“Forget it,” Letia sipped her juice, “I don’t matter anyway.”

Karina covered her mouth, smiling, signaling Lili with her eyes.

Lili understood, it was her job to coax Letia over.

Although reluctant, Lili didn’t want Karina to know they were upset.

She got up with effort and ran to Letia, tugging her arm.

“Alright, Letia, come have a drink with us!”

Letia didn’t move and coldly glared at Lili.

Lili felt her heart sink and leaned toward Letia, whispering urgently.

“You don’t want Mother to see our conflict, right?”

“You!—”

“Hurry and cooperate, or I’ll tell Mother what’s happening!”

“Fine, wait and see, after Mother leaves, I’ll get back at you!”