After leaving the bridal shop, Kiana motioned for Ryn to bend down a little, then gave him a kiss.
"I really like the birthday present!"
Ryn awkwardly pinched Kiana's chubby little face and said with a smile, "I got lucky... If Kiana hadn't suddenly wanted to wear a wedding dress, I still wouldn't have known what to get you... But, I'm glad you like it."
"You big dummy, Ryn."
"Yes, yes, I'm a big dummy. Let's go order a cake now! Mei bought a lot of groceries today and is planning to cook us a big feast tonight to celebrate."
Upon hearing there would be a big feast and a cake, Kiana's cowlick perked up, and she pulled Ryn away.
"Let's go! I want a big creamy chicken drumstick cake!"
"What's a creamy chicken drumstick cake? I've never heard of it."
"I just invented it. A big cake made entirely of chicken drumsticks and cream!"
"That's you, all right."
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While Ryn and Kiana were at the bridal shop and ordering the cake, Mei and Kika were at home preparing the feast with Cortana's help.
Mei was in charge of cooking, while Kika was responsible for washing the vegetables, and Cortana was there giving directions.
Because they were going to have a proper celebration tonight, Mei was cooking very seriously, making all of her specialty dishes, all of which were Kiana's favorites.
"No matter how many dishes you cook, Kiana won't be yours. If you ask me, you should just break Kiana and Ryn's arms and legs, then tie them up in the basement, and finally, enjoy Kiana right in front of Ryn to piss that bastard off."
Mei paused for a moment, then shook her head. The auditory hallucination was back again. How could she, a model student of the new century, with excellent grades and upright thoughts, have such dangerous ideas? It must be because she'd been getting upset seeing Ryn and Kiana being intimate in front of her recently, and had been influenced by novels and TV dramas. Mei stopped overthinking and continued chopping vegetables.
Kika shrugged and hugged herself. She seemed to have felt a bad chill just now. But seeing that Mei was acting normal, she figured she was just imagining things.
"Kika, is there something you want to make? I see you've been staring at the oven for a long time," Mei asked, noticing Kika lingering in front of the oven.
Kika, realizing her behavior had been noticed by Mei, stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and said, "Looking at the oven just reminds me of dessert... I'm craving some, but I don't know how to make it. Mei, do you?"
Mei shook her head. She hadn't learned to make desserts yet. Cortana still had many recipes she hadn't learned. But speaking of Cortana, Mei thought she could let Kika try it herself.
"You can ask Cortana to teach you. She definitely has dessert tutorials and guides."
"Let's just forget it! That would be too much trouble for Cortana!" Kika quickly waved her hands and refused. It would be one thing if Mei knew how, but since she didn't, letting her do it would just be embarrassing.
At this moment, Cortana spoke up. "It's alright, Kika. The tutorials I have are very comprehensive. As long as you follow the steps, you'll definitely be fine."
Kika still didn't want to do it, but at Mei and Cortana's insistence, she gave it a try.
And then...
"I told you not to make me do it..." Kika pouted. She had followed Cortana's instructions perfectly, yet it still turned out like this.
Mei and Cortana exchanged a look. Cortana waved her hands, indicating it had nothing to do with her.
"I can guarantee that I followed the tutorial step by step. I even checked it before putting it in the oven. Who knew it would turn out like this when it came out. We could check if it's a problem with the oven..."
With that, Cortana began to scan the oven to check for malfunctions but found no problems.
While everyone was wondering why this happened, Mei suddenly picked up a copy of Homu Adventure and said enthusiastically to Kika and Cortana, "Maybe it's like what Homu Adventure says, it's been cursed or blessed by something! Like a certain cat girl blessed by a spring sprite to make fine wine no matter what!"
"Abababa... This is beyond my system's comprehension."
"Enough... You don't need to find excuses to comfort me... I can do anything, except cook..." Kika shook her head, put the dark cuisine aside, and left the kitchen.
Cortana and Mei shook their heads helplessly. After all, some things depended on talent. Like Ryn and Kiana, who had studied for so long but could only make a few dishes; for anything else, it was a success if the kitchen didn't explode.
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Night, at home. Ryn, Kiana, Mei, Kika, and Cortana were all sitting around the dining table, which was filled with fragrant and delicious food.
After finishing the meal amidst cheerful laughter, Ryn and Kika wheeled out two large cakes. One was a normal fruitcake, and the other was a creamy chicken drumstick cake that Ryn and Kiana had personally made at the bakery. If Ryn hadn't paid a lot of money, the bakery owner would have almost thought they were there to cause trouble.
"Happy Birthday, Kiana!" Everyone wished Kiana a happy birthday together.
Kiana took the opportunity to blow out the candles and was about to cut the cake, but was stopped by Mei. Mei told Kiana that after blowing out the candles, it was time to make a wish. Kiana nodded in realization, then clasped her hands together and loudly made a wish:
"I want to be with Ryn forever! And I hope everyone will always be happy together!"
"Kiana! The wish won't come true if you say it out loud!" Mei chided Kiana.
"Ah... is that so? My stinky old dad only celebrated my birthday once... I didn't know..." Kiana scratched her head in embarrassment, then pinched Ryn's waist beside her. "Why didn't you tell me last year..."
Ryn swatted Kiana's little hand away, rubbing his waist, and said with a smile to Kiana and Mei, "I think it's better to say wishes out loud, because that way everyone will know what the wish is, and then we can all work together to make it come true."
"Mhm, mhm, Ryn is right, that's what I was thinking!" Kiana clapped her hands happily. Whatever Ryn said, she unconditionally agreed!
"Alright... that's not wrong either." Mei nodded and didn't say any more, then handed the knife to Kiana, letting the birthday girl divide the cake.
"Yay, we can finally eat the cake! This is for Ryn, this is for Mei, this is for Kika, Cortana gets a piece too, and the rest is all mine!" Kiana giggled as she gave everyone a large slice of cake, then pulled the rest in front of herself.
"Silly Kiana..."
Everyone shook their heads, but didn't say much. After all, Kiana was the cutest this way.