Douluo : Capture the goddess starting from peerless tang sect

Seeing the two girls eating so happily, Qian Ran felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Despite being two beautiful young women, they had absolutely no sense of decorum when it came to food.

Qian Ran now fully appreciated the original story's portrayal of Ju Zi and Ke Ke as food lovers. Watching the two girls sweating from the spiciness yet still devouring the food with gusto, he took out two bottles of cola and a pack of classic-flavored potato chips. Naturally, these items had been processed by the system, ensuring no logos or trademarks remained.

Munching on chips and sipping their fizzy drinks, the two leaned back on the lab's lone couch, looking as though they had unlocked the secrets of life itself.

"Qian Ran, where did you get these snacks? Are there more? And this drink—so good!" Ke Ke patted her stomach contentedly, her face glowing with satisfaction.

She took note of the bagged potato chips, which seemed like a mass-produced item, and the delicious drink. Surely, there must be more where those came from!

"There's none left," Qian Ran said with a sly grin.

He had anticipated Ju Zi and Ke Ke's love for food, which was why he had brought these treats. Their enthusiastic reaction confirmed his expectations—they truly were gourmet fanatics.

Ju Zi, in particular, had a special connection to food. Her father had been a chef, and her own cooking skills were quite impressive. In the original story, Ju Zi had fallen for Huo Yuhao in part because his cooking reminded her of her late father's.

Qian Ran wasn't about to recreate the flavors Ju Zi's father had made, but he had an advantage—access to ingredients and spices that didn't exist in this world.

He had already decided to get some seeds from the system and plant them in the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Vegetables grown in such a unique environment would undoubtedly be of the highest quality. While ordinary plants couldn't survive there, with the help of the elemental beings who lived in the well, they could thrive.

After all, Earth's foods were novel and flavorful but weren't meant to be savored too deeply.

"Come on, I know you've got more! Share some with me," Ke Ke begged, blinking her big eyes and shaking Qian Ran's arm.

"Maybe in a few days. I'll bring you something even better," Qian Ran said indulgently.

"Thank you for the food, Qian Ran. These snacks… they're as good as the dishes my father used to make," Ju Zi said softly. Although the ingredients might not have been top-notch, the unique spices had opened up a whole new flavor profile for her.

"Ju Zi, are you okay?" Ke Ke noticed Ju Zi's slightly off expression and quickly moved closer, grabbing her arm in concern.

Ju Zi shook her head gently, her eyes misty as if she were lost in her memories.

"My father was the best chef. I was born in a small town on the empire's border. My mother was the most beautiful woman in town, and my father ran a small but thriving restaurant. He used to say his greatest joy was cooking for me and my mother. He was always experimenting with new recipes. If he could have tasted these spices you brought, he would have been thrilled."

"Then war came. It destroyed my family. My father was forcibly conscripted to the front lines and never returned from the war with the Star Luo Empire. My mother, overcome with grief, fell gravely ill and passed away three years later." Ju Zi's eyes, once filled with warmth, turned to sorrow as tears streamed down her face.

If her father were still alive, he would have been ecstatic to discover the spices in Qian Ran's snacks. He could have created so many new recipes—surely, that would have been his greatest happiness.

Seeing Ju Zi so heartbroken, Qian Ran felt a twinge of emotion. Ju Zi was likely following Xu Tianran for the sake of revenge. She knew Xu Tianran's ambition to unify the continent, and she sought to destroy the Star Luo Empire in vengeance for her parents.

There wasn't much Qian Ran could say in response.

Casualties were an unavoidable part of war, and considering the Sun and Moon Empire's strength, they were likely the aggressors against the Star Luo Empire. Wasn't it more logical to blame her own country for her father's death?

The Sun and Moon Empire had the power to single-handedly challenge the entire continent. The odds of the Star Luo Empire initiating a large-scale conflict were slim to none.

"Xu Tianran must have brainwashed her," Qian Ran thought with a sigh. Still, given Ju Zi's personal tragedy, her hatred for either the Sun and Moon Empire or the Star Luo Empire was understandable.

"Don't be sad. I'm an orphan, too. We're not so different," Qian Ran said with a shrug. On Earth, he had lost both his parents, and after crossing into this world, he naturally had no family. His orphan status was as pure as it got.

"Ah?"

Hearing the word "orphan," the two girls' expressions softened. Ju Zi's sympathy was plain, while Ke Ke, though trying to hide it, betrayed a flicker of tenderness in her eyes that didn't escape Qian Ran's notice.

What kind-hearted beauties, Qian Ran thought.

Ke Ke and Ju Zi had assumed that someone as gifted and privileged as Qian Ran had never experienced hardship. Learning about his background left them at a loss for words.

"All right, now that you're full, go back to your work. I need to study," Qian Ran said as he helped the girls up before lying down on the couch himself. He grabbed a book, flipping it open and placing it over his face.

"Pfft! Is this how you study?" Ju Zi couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Yeah! Didn't you just wake up? And now you're going back to sleep?" Ke Ke scolded, hands on her hips, her large eyes brimming with disbelief.

"You don't understand. Some things are very draining, and if I don't rest, there'll be side effects," Qian Ran said lazily.

"Huh?"

Both Ju Zi and Ke Ke turned beet red. They weren't naive little girls anymore.

Ju Zi, in particular, knew from Ke Ke's earlier account about Qian Ran and Nana's… situation. She could easily guess what Qian Ran meant.

"You're so lazy! Why did you even come to the Sun and Moon Royal Academy? Even if you're talented, wasting it like this won't get you far," Ju Zi said, switching to a lecturing tone.

"Isn't that exactly what your academy wants? You'd rather I didn't learn too much," Qian Ran replied, rolling his eyes. Of course, he already had the knowledge of a ninth-level soul engineer, and studying the basics here was a waste of time.

"If you already know that, then why are you here at all?"

"To pick up girls," Qian Ran said, completely nonchalant.

"What? You—!"

Ke Ke and Ju Zi were dumbfounded. Even if that was his real intention, how could he just blurt it out?

This shameless scoundrel exposed his true colors with every word he said.

Yet strangely, despite his brazen nature, they couldn't bring themselves to dislike him.

If anyone else had said the same thing, they would have been utterly repulsed.

Perhaps it was because Qian Ran had something about him—an aura, a charm—that made even his nonsense seem perfectly acceptable.

(End of Chapter)