Chapter Four: Delicious

A line of text suddenly floated above the little rabbit’s body, leaving Liu Ji utterly astonished and frozen in place. He reached up to rub his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things. When he steadied himself and looked again at the rabbit’s corpse, everything appeared normal—there was no sign of the mysterious text. He muttered, “Could it really have been my imagination?”

Suddenly, a hazy white light appeared before him, gradually coalescing into a translucent panel glowing with a faint blue.

Vitality: 5 [Normal value 10].
Strength: 4 [Normal value 10].
Speed: 4+1 [Normal value 10].
Spirit: 5 [Normal value 10].
Constitution: 6 [10, rating: extremely poor].
Psyche: 0.

When the virtual panel appeared, Liu Ji could hardly believe it. After a long moment, he murmured, “Am I about to ascend to heaven?”

First, he had crossed into a noble household, becoming the envy of many as a true official’s son. His starting point was already far above others. Barring any unforeseen events, he would enjoy wealth and glory for a lifetime. Now, a golden finger had appeared. It was just like someone once said: even a pig can take flight when standing in the wind. If he failed to soar, wouldn’t that make him less than a pig?

He looked at the virtual panel before him. “Vitality, strength, speed, spirit, constitution—these five stats must encompass my physical condition.”

But what left him helpless was that, while he knew his body was weak, he hadn't expected the values to be this abysmal! How could he even think of going on a date like this? If it were him, he’d be embarrassed to go; at the very least, he should train for a few days first… Otherwise, it would be humiliating.

“But what is this psyche?”

Liu Ji frowned, unable to grasp the meaning of ‘psyche.’ The line of text that had floated above the rabbit earlier must have added to ‘speed.’

He rubbed the rabbit’s corpse, hoping the text might appear again, but after thoroughly searching every inch of the poor creature—even the most concealed parts—he didn’t see a single word. He picked up a shard of porcelain and held it for a while, but nothing appeared. Next, he stroked the cabinet before him, but after some time, still not a single word.

“How odd. When I picked up the dead rabbit earlier, the text appeared immediately. Why not now…” Liu Ji suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

The dead… rabbit?

Could it be that only touching dead things caused the text to appear?

He glanced around. Other than the rabbit’s corpse in his hand, there was no other living creature in the room—himself aside, of course.

But now was not the time for idle speculation. Earlier, Liu Yuqing had repeatedly entrusted him to take good care of this so-called ‘rookie rabbit.’

Yet, Liu Yuqing had barely left before he managed to let this adorable, beautiful little rabbit get its head smashed by a falling vase.

He swore it wasn’t deliberate!

But if Liu Yuqing returned and saw her beloved rabbit dead and battered, he wouldn’t be able to control the situation.

So, he had to destroy the evidence!

The key issue was, how should he dispose of it?

Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.

He glanced down, then looked at the rookie rabbit’s corpse in his hand. “I know it’s terribly disrespectful to eat you, but please believe me, I didn’t mean to do this!”

With that, he carried the rabbit outside, stopping a passing servant. “Have the kitchen take care of this rabbit for me.”

“Yes, young master.”

The servant nodded, took the rabbit, and left.

Liu Ji didn’t wait long before the servant knocked at the door. The same servant entered, cautiously, and placed a plate of fragrant, delicious-looking braised rabbit before Liu Ji, then bowed and quietly closed the door as he left.

Staring at the braised rabbit, inhaling its mouthwatering aroma, Liu Ji swallowed. “Brother, I truly apologize!”

With those words, he picked up his chopsticks and began to feast.

He needed to finish the rabbit quickly; if Liu Yuqing returned and caught him happily eating her rabbit, things would get ugly.

He had already decided—when Liu Yuqing came back and found her rabbit missing, he would say he took it out for a walk and it ran away! His body was weak, he couldn’t run fast, and could only watch as the rabbit hopped away. Surely Liu Yuqing wouldn’t blame him too much.

“Tastes good.”

Liu Ji grabbed the rabbit’s right thigh, eating and nodding in satisfaction. The meat was tender and not greasy, melting in his mouth and leaving a lingering fragrance—truly the perfect flavor.

Bang!

Just as he was enjoying his meal, the door behind him was suddenly thrown open, and a tearful voice sounded: “Uwaah! Lost again! I borrowed ten thousand coins from a servant and lost them to those guys!”

Clearly, Liu Yuqing had returned.

She came over, crying, and complained, “Second brother, those people are awful! They ganged up to cheat me!”

Liu Ji stayed silent, not responding. If one looked closely, his chopstick-holding right hand was trembling. He appeared calm, but inside, he was panicking!

He feared Liu Yuqing would slap him dead.

Sniff, sniff!

Liu Yuqing, still sobbing, suddenly sniffed the air, finally noticing the plate of braised meat before Liu Ji.

She exclaimed, “Second brother, what’s this? Why does it smell so good?!”

Before he could answer, she snatched the chopsticks from his hand, picked up a piece of meat, and popped it into her mouth. She closed her eyes in bliss, her face radiant as if basking in spring:

“Mmm~ It’s so delicious!”

With delight, she grabbed another piece and said in surprise, “Second brother, what is this made from? It’s too good!”

“Isn’t it? I think so, too.”

“Second brother, you’re so stingy! Why didn’t you give this meat to Rabbit? She needs to eat well to win matches for me!”

As she spoke, she turned to look at the cage.

“Ah!”

The next moment, she shrieked, spinning around to face Liu Ji. “Second brother! Where’s the rabbit? Where’s my adorable little rabbit?!”

Liu Ji pressed his forehead with one hand and pointed to the plate with the other.

Liu Yuqing: “.....”

She stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning. Though Liu Ji hadn’t said anything directly, the meaning was clear: her beloved little rabbit had been eaten!

“You pay for my rabbit! You pay for my money!” The girl suddenly threw herself at Liu Ji’s arm, opened her mouth wide, and bit down hard.

Liu Ji cried out in pain, frantically pushing her away, but Liu Yuqing clung like an angry kitten, refusing to let go, biting down with all her might.

He grimaced and clenched his teeth in agony.

After much effort, he finally pried her off. Rubbing the two rows of bite marks on his arm, Liu Ji thought Liu Yuqing must be the reincarnation of a tigress—she nearly broke his arm!

He explained, “I really didn’t mean to! I never expected the vase to fall right onto its head, and then… it ended up a tragic casualty.”

He quickly raised his hand to block her as she looked ready to bite him again. “But don’t worry, from now on, I’ll reimburse your pocket money!”

“Really?”

Liu Yuqing looked at him through reddened, watery eyes—her pitiful appearance truly tugged at the heartstrings.

Liu Ji nodded, “Really.”

He picked up the last rabbit thigh from the bowl and handed it to her. “This is the last one. Do you want it?”

Liu Yuqing accepted it and began eating.

Liu Ji asked, “Is it good?”

Liu Yuqing nodded, eyes still red. “It’s good.”

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