Inside a huge cave, a tree over a hundred meters tall stood, its trunk as thick as a dozen people could encircle. From a height of fifty meters, countless branches began to emerge, like a willow tree, with thousands of slender, soft twigs hanging down, almost filling the entire empty cave.
Each branch is covered with countless tender green heart-shaped leaves, emitting a warm, pale green glow in the darkness, full of vitality, illuminating the entire cave as the branches sway slightly.
Among the leaves, fireflies flickered and danced, making the cave appear like a fairyland.
Beneath this large tree stood a woman in a long white dress, gazing up at a firefly perched on a leaf. Her long silver hair was casually draped behind her, her skin was as white as snow, and her features were exquisitely beautiful. Between her brows was a small golden crescent mark, and her small, pointed ears were so delicate and light-permeable that they seemed to let in the light. Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was deep in thought.
Around her, the drooping branches automatically parted to the sides, as if somewhat fearful, yet also wanting to be close to her.
"Your Highness Irina." Just then, a clear voice came from outside the cave. An elven girl dressed in green shirt rushed into the cave. The branches seemed to be deliberately teasing her, constantly scraping against her face and body. It took her quite a bit of effort to reach Irina, and she was slightly out of breath, but her face couldn't hide her joy.
"Bean Sprout, is something making you happy?" Irina asked calmly, still staring at the firefly.
"Your Highness, didn't you say last time you wouldn't use that nickname on me anymore..." Phyllis's expression fell, looking at Irina standing under the Tree of Life with a hint of helplessness. Although everyone around Her Highness had all sorts of strange nicknames, "Bean Sprout" was just too awful!
Irina turned her head, staring at Phyllis's chest, and nodded seriously. "Okay, Bean Sprout, but your chest has gotten smaller again. At this rate, it'll become a pit."
"Your Highness, I'm still young, it'll grow bigger!" Phyllis glanced down, then quickly regained her confidence.
"I was this big when I was eighteen." Irina looked into Phyllis's eyes and shook her head. "It hasn't changed since."
"Your Highness, it's alright, I can handle it..." Phyllis said, biting her lip as she suppressed her sadness.
"It's alright, I'm actually quite bored anyway. If you want to cry, you can go over there and cry for a while, let me see." Irina said with a smile.
Phyllis remained silent, her expression a mixture of wanting to cry and laugh. She was always so annoyed whenever she spoke with Her Highness, yet she couldn't vent her frustration. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she said, "Your Highness, I've come to deliver a message. There's new news from Luo Du."
"Speak." Irina raised a delicate eyebrow, looking at Phyllis, her voice unconsciously rising a few decibels.
Phyllis knew this was Her Highness's expression when she was serious, and her own expression turned solemn. She whispered, "Snar sent back a secret report today. After his three months of investigation, he confirmed that the young mistress and he are likely not dead. He used his talent to recreate the scene around the fire, and that's his conclusion. He said he'll report the details to you in person when he returns."
"Good." Irina nodded, her expression unreadable, but her fists were clenched without her noticing. She waved her hand at Phyllis, who seemed hesitant to speak. "If there's nothing else, you can leave. I don't want to see you cry now."
"There's one more thing. Lady Helena proposed to the Queen yesterday to add an elven princess as a successor. This time, she nominated Miss Sally." Phyllis looked at Irina with some concern.
"That old witch Helena has a good eye this time. Slug is a nice little girl; she used to follow me around a lot when she was little." Irina nodded, but her voice suddenly turned cold. "However, this old witch seems to be in a hurry to get going. Doesn't she know that if I want her dead, no one can stop me?"
The Tree of Life seemed to sense her change in mood, and its branches swayed and made whooshing sounds.
Phyllis lowered her head, not daring to speak. The sacred tree of the elves had only obeyed Irina's will since she was eighteen. Here, she was invincible.
"Go down." Irina quickly calmed down and whispered.
"Okay." Phyllis replied, hurrying towards the cave entrance. The branches of the Tree of Life parted to make way for her, and the stone door closed with a thud, plunging the cave back into silence.
"Amy… Mai Ge…where are you?" A murmur echoed in the quiet cave. All the branches of the Tree of Life rose upwards, like endless strands of hair stretching towards the sky. Countless fireflies gathered together, swirling around Irina like a ribbon. Her solitary figure standing beneath the tree appeared somewhat lonely.
...
The next morning, Mai Ge got up. Amy and the Ugly Duckling were still fast asleep. Mai Ge gently kissed Amy's forehead. If her mother could kiss her, she would be so happy, wouldn't she?
After standing there for a while, Mai Ge went downstairs to prepare the ingredients. Yabemia had arrived as usual, a little after five o'clock.
"Good morning, Boss Mai." Yabemia greeted Mai Ge with a bright smile, her face full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue from yesterday's intense work and getting up early.
"Good morning, Mia. Didn't I tell you to come to the restaurant later?" Mai Ge nodded, glancing at the half-eaten sweet crispy biscuit in her hand.
"I'm used to waking up early, I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to come and help out early. I'll eat first and then come into the restaurant." Yabemia said a little embarrassedly, quickly stuffing the remaining biscuit into her mouth. Because she ate so fast, she choked a few times, coughing, her face flushing slightly.
"Come in, I'll get you some water." Mai Ge said with a hint of helplessness, turning around to pour a glass of water and handing it to Yabemia, who was still coughing.
"Thank you." Yabemia took the water and drank a couple of sips, finally catching her breath, her expression slightly awkward.
"Then please sit down for now. There's nothing I need your help with, but I'll be making a new dish later, and perhaps you could try it." Mai Ge smiled. He was already a pretty good boss, offering such a salary and benefits during the probationary period. Once he wasn't in a rush to save money next month, he could consider further improving Yabemia's benefits.
After all, this young woman was quite diligent. Yesterday, the restaurant's revenue increased by 30%, and his workload decreased significantly. He'd really struck gold; even two ordinary waiters probably wouldn't have been this efficient.
"Hmm." Although Yabemia really wanted to help, but looking at Mai Ge's retreating figure, she swallowed her words. She wasn't confident she could help Mai Ge with anything, such delicious and magical food could only be made by his magical hands.
"A new dish? What could it be?" She still looked at Mai Ge with great curiosity. Yang Zhou Fried Rice and Rou Jia Mo were both incredibly delicious; what could such a tasty new dish be? Just thinking about it made her very excited.