"What's up?" Ren Suo blinked. Facing their gazes, he sat back down in his seat and said warily, "Everyone's meal is specially customized. I won't give up my portion, you know."

"Really?" Little Jiu's big eyes sparkled and fluttered. "I'm so happy! Big Brother made this especially for Little Jiu!"

"Nobody will rob you of it," Bai Ji turned his head and smiled at Ren Suo. "Take your time eating."

Gu Yueyan covered her face with her hands and lowered her head. After a while, she put them down, her lips pursed tightly and her cheeks flushing red. Ren Xingmei took out a napkin to wipe her mouth, but she did so very slowly, still staring at Ren Suo.

Dong Chengling tilted her head slightly, a shallow smile on her face. She sat primly with her hands under the table, quietly watching Ren Suo, her clear, large eyes seeming to be calculating something.

Qiao Muyi rested her chin in her hands, her lips curled up. Her foxy eyes were slightly squinted as she watched Ren Suo with an interested gaze.

Why do you all look like you haven't eaten your fill? It feels like you want to carve me up and devour me...

Ren Suo lowered his head to look at the plate of cheese, beef, and soft-scrambled egg rice before him. Is it really that delicious? Even Dong Chengling and Qiao Muyi, those Cultivators with firm Determination, were captivated by the meal?

Speaking of which, Ren Suo actually hadn't truly eaten meals made by the Collector. During the process where "Midnight Walker" reflected reality, although Ren Suo found the Ghost Stall, as soon as he and the Kitchen Girl got close, Ren Suo's soul entered the Kitchen Girl's body through the Pure White Mini Holy Grail's connection, and he became a charming and lovely Kitchen Girl for over half an hour.

Then, Ren Suo could only let Gu Yueyan take his nearly vacant True Form to find Dong Chengling and the others to come and dine. Fortunately, they didn't realize it.

When Ren Suo finally returned to his True Form, his body had almost completely digested the Ghost Stall's food. Smacking his lips, Ren Suo could only taste his own saliva; he had no idea how delicious the Kitchen Girl's cooking was. However, he did receive the benefits of an enhanced Talent, so he hadn't paid much attention to this detail.

Now, he finally had the chance to taste the Kitchen Girl's Transcendent culinary skills—her food described as: 'in literature, it could feed sugar to soothe the masses; in martial arts, it could feed excrement to slaughter the Demons.' With a devout heart, Ren Suo scooped up a spoonful of rice and put it into his mouth.

Mmm!

Ah, these grains of rice!

Ah, this beef!

Ah, this egg!

This meal was so delicious that Ren Suo considered saving the summoning time of "Rippling Spring Sounds" just to specifically summon the Kitchen Girl to cook for him from now on!

And as Ren Suo ate, a series of wondrous images suddenly appeared in his mind:

Even if the sun shone on his backside and the alarm rang, he'd still pull the covers over his head, sleepily smack the alarm off, and with a smile of bliss, fall back into a deep sleep;

His parents regained their youth, then, affectionately entwined, set off to travel the world;

Playing PVP games with his sister, crushing her with an absolute advantage, his sister looking up to him admiringly, hoping he'd teach her gaming skills;

Completely persuading Gu Yueyan to join him in lazily vacationing on a beach, sleeping indolently in the sun all afternoon—to hell with Cultivation and learning;

Ascending with Dong Chengling to the pinnacle of Cultivation, physically traversing the universe, searching for the gateway to a new world;

Going out for fun with Qiao Muyi, where he was outstanding in every activity: singing the most beautifully, massaging her so well that her pleased sighs sounded like pearls of varying sizes falling on a jade dish. Then he'd say with disdain, "It's still more fun at home," and suavely return home;

Little Jiu grew into a tall and beautiful young woman, able to show her nine white tails without any concern, playing with a crowd of monster and human friends;

Bai Ji became a passionate Cultivator dedicated to saving the world, his favorite thing to do was to rescue the world before the Fairy Palace World Tree could, his favorite saying, "My fate is mine to control, not fate's to decide";

Yu Kuangtu became henpecked and broke, secretly sneaking around to invite Li Dan for drinks. Li Dan would respond that she wanted to sleep, giving Yu Kuangtu a bottle of sweet milk and sending him home to his wife;

Lin Xianyu became a super academic overachiever, the strongest human Cultivator, needing only to drink a mouthful of water to become a perpetual motion Superman, tirelessly saving the world and punishing evil 24/7;

His clone not only gained Wisdom and could exist permanently, but also became a mature adult, knowing to go out, work, and earn money to support the household;

Zhao Huo's harem caught fire, the dormitory building blown to pieces;

...

"Is this... an enhancement of the Desire effect?"

Ren Suo looked at the empty plate in front of him, closed his eyes, and recalled the images that had appeared in his mind.

He hadn't expected that he had so many Desires. Ren Suo had thought he was someone with few Desires, since he didn't indulge much normally; the most was having a clone to help take care of his day-to-day life, play, and massages...

Although knowing he had so many Desires, Ren Suo didn't feel it was a bad thing; instead, he felt even more motivated.

Desire is a double-edged sword that can lead to both corruption and inspiration. The Desire-laden food made by the Kitchen Girl not only intensified the eater's Desires but also eradicated all their negative emotions, preventing them from falling into depravity because of their Desires, leaving only inspiration as an outcome.

This was why the Ghost Stall could bring so many Demons and Ghosts back to goodness. By eating a delicious meal, they would rediscover their life goals, let go of their grievances, and subconsciously pursue their goals through legitimate means, naturally ceasing their mischief.

Goals, dreams, aspirations... these lofty and elusive things are the very spirit that enables humankind to build great civilizations.

Clearing the doubts in his heart and recognizing his Desires, Ren Suo felt a clarity of mind and fully understood the direction of his Effort. His body was filled with vigor!

All beginnings are hard, then the middle part is hard, and finally, the ending is hard... so why not start with the easy targets first!

It didn't take Ren Suo long to identify three goals he could achieve quickly:

① Sleep in every day until noon without getting up!

② Watch Zhao Huo's harem catch fire!

③ Watch Yu Kuangtu become henpecked!

④ Strengthening Cloning!

These goals were all easy to achieve. The second one required waiting for some time, and the third was a bit more challenging, since Ren Suo wasn't too sure whether Qin Lian was the type to keep Yu Kuangtu on a tight leash. Ah, I'll scratch that third one for now. The first two were definitely doable. As for the fourth, 'Strengthening Cloning,' he just needed to pay more attention to related props.

Seeing that he was about to achieve his Desires through diligent Effort, Ren Suo felt his body and mind purified.

After dinner, Yu Kuangtu and Qin Lian were the first to bid farewell, leaving hand in hand. Next, Xiao Meng, dragging Zhao Huo who was still glued to his phone, thanked Ren Suo for his hospitality and cheerfully departed. Ren's father and Ren's mother hugged their two children, Ren Suo and Ren Xingmei, before Li Dan drove them to the high-speed train station to return to Baiyun City.

Before Ren's parents left, Ren Suo called them into his bedroom and handed them a bag. "Here, a Christmas gift for you both, given in advance."

Ren's mother looked shocked as she pulled out two scarves from the bag. After examining them for a moment, she asked, "Did you knit these yourself?"

"Yep!" Ren Suo nodded. "Took me a long time!"

"At least you have a conscience. Your dad hasn't given me a Christmas present in over twenty years..." Ren's mother huffed.

Ren's father helplessly replied, "We didn't celebrate foreign holidays like Christmas back in our day."

Then Ren's father adjusted his glasses, and with a change of tone, he said, "How about this Christmas I take you out for a fancy meal, a movie, and give you roses? What do you think?"

Ren's mother blinked, turned her face away, and muttered, "Pfft, how old-fashioned."

Ren Suo's mouth twitched; he felt something odd. Wait a minute, it's one thing for Mom and Dad to get all mushy in front of their son, but for Mom to back down? Mom, how can you be such a pushover? Counterattack! Your son is in his twenties; what's there to be shy about, meow!

And Dad, how come you have an 'Armor Break' skill with your words? Why didn't I inherit this Talent from you?

Ren's mother glanced at Ren Suo and asked, "You gave us Christmas gifts, but did you give them to anyone else too?"

"Eh? How did you know?" Ren Suo blinked, pulling out seven or eight bags. "I haven't finished knitting them yet, but they should all be done before Christmas."

Seeing the number of bags, Ren's parents fell silent.

Their son had changed, transformed into someone they barely recognized.

Ren's father patted Ren Suo's shoulder and said, "There will always be a meal for you at home. If you can't make it in Lianjiang, just come back." With that, he left the room.

Ren's mother sighed and said to Ren Suo, "No matter what, I will support your decisions... but if it's not working out, know when to stop. I love you."

His parents' words left Ren Suo puzzled. He wasn't off to fight a boss or participate in a Battle Royale. It was just Christmas, so why were they talking like he was about to kick the bucket any minute?

After seeing his parents off, all that remained was a group of girls... plus Bai Ji.

But they prepared to leave soon after. "Cheng Ling, I'm heading back to the city. Aren't you going?"

"Yeah, I should head home too... Teacher Bai, would you like to stay?"

"Not really... Well then, Classmate Gu, Classmate Lin, Classmate Ren, I'll accompany you a bit on the way."

Little Jiu, dressed as cute as a little polar bear, ran up to Ren Suo asking for a hug. Ren Suo squatted down to embrace her and said with a laugh, "Little Jiu is really clingy tonight, huh?"

"Mhmm, mhmm," Little Jiu made a cute noise through her nose. "Little Jiu wants to be clingy with Big Brother forever!"

"Sure. If Big Brother becomes an old uncle someday and Little Jiu still doesn't mind, then I won't mind either."

"Even if Big Brother turns into an old grandpa, Little Jiu won't mind!" Little Jiu wriggled and asked in a soft voice, "Big Brother, do you still remember what I look like when I grow up?"

Ren Suo was momentarily stunned, his mind casting back to the curvy, bunny-like Nine-Tailed Fox who had appeared in his bed that night. He replied, "I remember."

"Big Brother, don't forget, okay?" Little Jiu whispered, her voice full of playful excitement, and her cheeks turned pink. "I'll be able to grow back like that soon, and then I can do naughty things with Big Brother!"

Ren Suo chuckled and patted Little Jiu's head. "Alright, alright, then you need to work hard... but I think Little Jiu is very cute now, too. There's no need to become an adult."

Ren Suo had a knack for humoring children, but Little Jiu was unyielding, shaking her head. "No, Little Jiu must grow up! Only grown-up Little Jiu can!"

"Alright then... See you, Little Jiu."

After finally sending everyone off, Ren Suo yawned and started washing dishes.

Soon after, his phone rang.