Chapter 111: A Friend's First Visit

Outside the corridor, Xiao Sizi stood by the window.

Through a layer of glass, Lin Xuan's words struck her ears word for word.

"She has an extremely great father."

"As Mingda's father, I am her family."

Chang'an of the Great Tang and this place are separated by a time gap of fourteen hundred years.

Countless times in the middle of the night while dreaming, she had smelled the scent of dragon's ambergris in Taiji Palace.

Hearing the sound of her father and mother calling her childhood name.

That homesickness pain carved into the bones was like a thorn, always piercing the bottom of the little girl's heart.

She feared that in this bizarre and colorful modern society, she was merely a duckweed without roots.

An outsider who could be discarded at any moment.

But now.

Lin Xuan acknowledged Li Shimin's greatness and affirmed her origin as a princess of the Great Tang.

At the same time, in this strange city made entirely of steel and concrete, Lin Xuan, with a posture that would leave no room for doubt, opened his arms to accept her.

Giving her a home with no prerequisites and requiring no pretense.

Two kinds of fatherly love, one from the bloodline of a thousand years ago, the other from the protection of a thousand years later.

Perfectly merged into one.

Warmth suddenly surged into her eye sockets.

Water vapor blurred her vision.

The classroom, parents, blackboard... everything in her vision became indistinct and unclear.

Xiao Sizi sniffed her nose and wiped her eyes twice with the back of her hand.

Facing that tall man inside the classroom.

She lifted her chin, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth.

Clear in her heart.

No matter how great the wind and rain outside.

In this era, she would forever be a priceless treasure firmly chosen by others.

Weekend, ten in the morning.

The sound of the range hood turning on came from the kitchen, along with the sizzle of ingredients hitting the pan.

Xiao Sizi wore light yellow loungewear and stepped on a pair of cotton slippers.

She stood behind the security door at the entrance, hands clasped behind her back, fingers interlaced.

From time to time, she rose onto her tiptoes to look out through the peephole on the door.

In the life experience of the Great Tang's legitimate eldest princess, there was never an item about inviting commoners to one's home as guests.

When in Taiji Palace, all banquets had to arrange seats according to rank.

The entire seat was filled with masked flattery and political probing.

Today was still the first friend gathering.

Very light footsteps came from the hallway outside the door.

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang.

Xiao Sizi quickly pressed the metal handle and pulled the security door open inward.

Outside the door, Xiao Ya stood in the hallway, looking particularly uneasy.

She held a red plastic bag in her hand, containing seven or eight small tangerines.

"Mingda—these are tangerines my grandmother grew in the backyard herself; they aren't worth much."

Xiao Sizi reached out with both hands to take the plastic bag, which carried a bit of weight.

Her fingertips touched the rough surface of the plastic bag, and Xiao Sizi immediately twisted her wrist, grabbing Xiao Ya's slightly cool right hand.

Pulling her inside.

"Are they tangerines? I love eating tangerines the most!"

"Thank you, Xiao Ya, and thank your grandmother for me too!"

Xiao Sizi's tone of speaking was very familiar.

She took out a pair of brand-new pink rabbit cotton slippers from the very bottom of the shoe cabinet.

Xiao Ya changed into the slippers.

Stepping onto the soft carpet, she looked up and glanced around.

All the furniture was wood-colored, along with fabric sofas.

Several ordinary plastic dolls sat on top of the TV cabinet.

The whole room radiated a clean and cozy warmth.

The sliding door to the kitchen was pushed open.

Lin Xuan, wearing a gray cotton apron, poked half his body out from inside.

He still held a wooden spatula stained with sauce in his hand.

"Xiao Ya has arrived?"

Lin Xuan raised the spatula in his hand, his tone softened to the utmost gentleness.

"Go wash your hands first, get ready for the meal; today I made sweet and sour pork tenderloin."

"You probably like sweet dishes like this too, right?"

"Or if there's something you want to eat, just say it, and I'll make it for you."

Xiao Sizi said, "Yes, Xiao Ya, you can say whatever dish you want to eat."

"My uncle is incredibly skilled; he can cook any dish!"

Hearing this, Xiao Ya seemed startled and quickly bent down to bow.

"Hello, Uncle, sorry to disturb you."

"I... I like it, so there's no need to trouble you to make more dishes."

In fact, she had never even eaten "Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin," and this was the first time she had ever heard the dish's name.

But deep down, she did not want to trouble others.

Lin Xuan suddenly burst out laughing.

"Alright, but I shouldn't be that old, so just call me brother; don't be so reserved."

"Here, the rule is that there are no rules; just treat this place as your own home."

"Alright then, you and Mingda play first; I'll continue cooking!"

After speaking, Lin Xuan turned and ducked into the kitchen.

The flames on the stove were licking the bottom of the wok.

Lin Xuan brought out the knife skills he had honed as a top medical professional, along with his ideas on nutritional balance.

Fresh pork tenderloin was sliced into long strips and coated in a very thin layer of starch batter.

They were lowered into oil heated to sixty percent, fried until a golden, crispy, hard shell formed, then removed to drain the oil.

A separate wok was heated, and tomato sauce and white sugar were added.

A little white vinegar was added, and the mixture was simmered into a thick, bright red sweet and sour sauce.

The fried meat strips were fried a second time, then poured into the prepared sweet and sour sauce.

The meat strips in the wok were tossed up and down, each piece evenly coated with the sauce.

The rich, sweet, and sour aroma drifted through the kitchen door crack and quickly filled the entire living room.

It was placed on the dining table.

There were Coca-Cola chicken wings with a sauce-red color, stir-fried broccoli, and a plate of Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin.

Lin Xuan carried two bowls of steaming white rice and placed them in front of the two girls.

"Taste it." Lin Xuan picked up the serving chopsticks, took a piece of tenderloin, and put it into Xiao Ya's bowl. "This nutritious meal is delicious and won't make you fat; eat freely!"

Xiao Ya held her chopsticks and swallowed hard.

She picked up the piece of meat coated in red sauce and put it into her mouth.

The shell was crispy, and the meat inside was tender and juicy.

The sweet and sour flavor instantly filled her entire palate.

Xiao Ya's eyes immediately lit up.

She no longer cared about being reserved and shoveled large mouthfuls of rice from her bowl.

Xiao Sizi sat nearby, holding a Coca-Cola chicken wing with both small hands, gnawing until her mouth was covered in brown sauce. "Xiao Ya, eat this; this piece has more meat."

Xiao Sizi used her chopsticks to push the plate holding the chicken wings toward Xiao Ya.

After the meal, Lin Xuan was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Xiao Sizi pulled Xiao Ya and walked together into the bedroom where she lived.

Xiao Ya stood at the bedroom door.

She had originally thought that a family capable of publicly exposing a million-dollar fake inkstone would surely fill their bedroom with precious gold, silver, and Jade Artifacts.

Instead, the room was decorated extremely simply.

There was only a solid wood small bed covered with a cartoon bedsheet and a large bookshelf.

The bookshelf was stuffed with various children's picture books featuring colorful illustrations.

On the floor in the corner, several large cardboard boxes were placed.

The boxes were filled with colorful Lego plastic building blocks.