A man in a white robe hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and speaking, “Not yet…”

The woman, who was playing with a ring, paused and turned her head to look at the man in the white robe, “Hmm?”

The man knelt on one knee with his head bowed, “Please, Your Highness, grant me some more time. I will definitely find the Spirit Envoy!”

The woman sitting in the throne, Princess Yuhua Taisuke, slowly put the ring on her delicate finger, turning it slightly. Her gaze dropped, and the sunlight reflected off her curled eyelashes, casting shadows on the throne behind her.

“What about the Council?” she inquired.

The man, Feng Wei, who remained kneeling, respectfully replied, “The Three Elders from the Council have personally gone to the Blue Star.”

Princess Yuhua waved her hand dismissively. Feng Wei lowered his head in reverence and quietly withdrew.

“Tut…”

She suddenly looked up at a certain direction, her eyes icy.

——

Inside the Star Tower.

A man with distinct bony fingers rested his chin in his hand, strands of black hair falling in front of him.

Watching the scene in the crystal ball, the man with long black hair chuckled softly, “You all really can’t wait, huh~”

The guards outside could not help but shiver at the sound of his soft laughter, their faces filled with panic.

——

Blue Star.

When Keke Wen opened her eyes, dawn was breaking. Jinbao, her cat, finally emerged from its bed, curled up and sleeping next to her head.

Upon seeing Keke awake, Jinbao stretched lazily, its tail swaying upright before it padded over to her and said, “Meow~”

Still a bit groggy, Keke responded to Jinbao's mew with a stretch, then reached her hand out from under the blankets to pull Jinbao back into bed, petting it.

“Jinbao~ Why are you up so early~” she said with a slightly raspy voice, nudging her head against Jinbao.

“Meow~” Jinbao responded.

After lounging in bed for a while, Keke decided it was time to get up.

As soon as she pulled off the covers, a gust of cold air immediately hit her, and she shivered. Quickly, she put on a thick down coat, tied a scarf around her neck, and slipped into warm boots.

She filled Jinbao's food bowl with cat food and water, placing it on the electric heating pad to prevent the water from freezing.

While Jinbao ate, Keke quickly washed up and checked the fireplace. Adding a few large logs and smokeless coal would sustain the fire for about two days.

This morning, she planned to have fried sauce noodles.

Keke prepared her favorite mushroom and pork filling by taking fresh mushrooms from her space, cleaning them over the heater, and cutting them into small cubes to set aside.

Then she took a piece of meat with a bit of fat, finely chopping it using two knives. Meanwhile, a pot of water boiled on the stove, and a little oil was heated in a pan.

Once the oil was hot, she added the chopped meat, frying it until the fat was released. She then added the mushroom cubes to cook off the moisture, followed by two tablespoons each of broad bean paste and yellow soybean paste. 

After adding minced green onions and ginger, along with a spoon of light soy sauce, a spoon of dark soy sauce, a spoon of oyster sauce, and a pinch of sugar, everything was stir-fried evenly.

When the water boiled, she added the noodles, and by the time the mushroom pork sauce was ready, the noodles were also cooked. Keke quickly rinsed the noodles under cool water.

Lifting the noodles, she poured the sauce over them, adding a hearty three or four spoons since she loved rich flavors, ensuring each noodle was coated in sauce.

Keke inhaled the rich aroma in satisfaction. 

Ah! Perfect!

Getting the table ready, she opened the projector to find a show to enjoy while eating—“Certain Legend.”

She poured herself a glass of coconut juice, taking a sip before digging into the noodles. 

Ah! Life is bliss~

Another wonderful day!

After finishing her noodles, Keke couldn’t resist scooping more sauce to enjoy on its own, it was so delicious, albeit a bit salty.

Washing her dishes in the snow outside, Keke looked at her yard. Snow had piled up to a quarter of the villa, and there was a thick layer on the roof too.

She knew she needed to clear the snow, or her entire house would be buried.

No time to waste! 

She decided not to change her clothes, as she had worn this outfit long enough. Once she finished cleaning, she could take a shower.

Taking out a sprayer specifically designed for roof snow, she filled it with a melting agent and sprayed it on the roof. Next, she brought out a snow-clearing machine to test it. 

Nice! It worked!

Keke felt a rush of excitement; she had never operated such a large vehicle before!

Rubbing her hands, she started the engine.

“Vroom—vroom—vroom,” the machine roared to life.

Hearing the noise, Jinbao darted down from upstairs, still wearing the quilted little jacket Keke had made for it. Its little paws were in tiny shoes, wobbling adorably as it approached.

Jinbao didn’t go outside, instead, it sat at the door, watching the snow-clearing machine with wide eyes.

“Meow~”

It called out to the machine. Keke smiled at Jinbao, pleased to see it come downstairs, and leaned out from the driver's seat to call, “Jinbao~ I’m right here~”

Jinbao’s round eyes looked towards Keke, wanting to come over, but as soon as it moved a few steps, the cold froze its paws through the shoes.

“Meow~” Jinbao mewed pitifully.

Keke couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted and, indulgently, got out to scoop Jinbao into the snow-clearer with her. Jinbao settled down by Keke’s feet, wagging its tail.

“Meow~”

Keke chuckled as she carried on with the laborious task.

After about an hour and a half, Keke finally finished clearing the snow in the yard, and during the process, she saved a good amount of snow in her space. She wanted to store it for the scorching times ahead, just in case.

Don’t ask why Keke didn’t just use her space to store the snow; she wanted to keep herself busy, or else she’d end up lounging around doing nothing.

Feeling warm after the labor, Keke stepped into her space to take a shower and change clothes, though she still wore thermal gear inside; she had stockpiled hundreds of boxes of them!

The dirty clothes she had changed out of were cleaned and dried in her space.

Looking at Jinbao, Keke sighed, wishing she could bring it inside to give it a bath too.

After all of that, she was ready to pull out her iPad to study. She had downloaded various knowledge resources from different fields, all categorized: agriculture, industry, literature, and more.

While it was one way to keep herself from getting bored and to fill her mind with valuable knowledge, it also served to preserve information. With civilization gone, it would take time to restore societal standards, and she hoped that the knowledge saved would be useful in the future. 

With four to five months until the extreme cold season, learning a bit more couldn’t hurt; she’d surely need it.

After about three hours, her stomach growled.

Keke put away the iPad and began preparing lunch.

Today’s meal included spicy and sour stir-fried water bamboo with beef, a tomato and egg soup, and a mousse cake for dessert.

First, she sliced the water bamboo and beef into thin strips, soaking the beef in scallion and ginger water. She added an egg white, a splash of soy sauce, and a tablespoon of cornstarch, mixing it well before sealing it with a drizzle of oil.

Next, she heated oil in a pan, adding the marinated beef and stir-frying it until just cooked, then took it out and set it aside. In the same pan, she added more oil, followed by some fresh chili to sauté until fragrant before adding the sliced water bamboo.

Then she added the beef back, along with soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. After a good stir, she added dark soy sauce for color and sautéed for five more minutes until the water bamboo was crisp-tender, finishing it with a cornstarch slurry before a final stir and plating!

For the tomato and egg soup, Keke didn’t like the skin of tomatoes, so she blanched them in boiling water for a few minutes to remove the skin, then diced them.

When the water boiled, she cracked in two eggs, stirring well. Then she added the diced tomatoes while continuing to stir before seasoning with salt and chicken essence. Letting it simmer for a while allowed the tomatoes to break down. A drizzle of sesame oil at the end made it fragrant!

Sitting down as usual, Keke took a bite of the spicy water bamboo, noting how wonderfully crunchy it was, reminiscent of bamboo shoots.

Tangy and appetizing!

When she needed to clear her throat, she sipped the tomato egg soup, wishing she had another stomach just for more food!

Finally, she enjoyed a small cake to finish off the meal.

What a beautiful day it was again!