They all went up to the fourth floor. Lu Wanqing found it to be quite empty, a vast room with thick blackout curtains drawn on all sides.
"I'll go set up the projector," Mu Sijie said.
Lu Wanqing nodded quickly, her eyes scanning the immense room with curiosity. She bent down to place Xiao Mu Lan on the floor.
Mu Sijie walked to the far end of the room and pressed a few buttons on a small device. In the next moment, a beam of light shot out from the device, and the entire room's environment suddenly transformed.
The dim room vanished, replaced by an underwater world.
Lu Wanqing's eyes widened involuntarily. She couldn't help but reach out and touch the water beside her. It felt so real. There were plants at the bottom, and fish swam past her. It was beautiful!
"Mommy, the tadpoles are over there," Xiao Mu Lan suddenly shouted.
Lu Wanqing blinked, then Xiao Mu Lan pulled her right hand, and they ran together to the underwater world, near the aquatic plants. Looking up from below, they indeed saw clusters upon clusters of eggs floating in the water.
These eggs were hatching. Xiao Mu Lan eagerly pulled his mother closer, and they stood beside them, watching tadpoles hatch before their eyes.
How magical! How could interstellar technology achieve such a level? It was so lifelike!
Lu Wanqing once again couldn't resist reaching out, wanting to touch the tadpoles before her. But as her hand extended, it passed right through them. They were all fake. This was just a movie from the interstellar era, a fantastical story.
"Mommy, the little tadpole is so pitiful. It's born without a mother and has to search everywhere for one," Xiao Mu Lan said, pulling Lu Wanqing and looking at the tadpole.
Lu Wanqing's heart ached. Xiao Mu Lan's fondness for the tadpole was perhaps a deep empathy? He was like these tadpoles, having had no mother in his childhood, always longing to find one.
"It's okay, it will definitely find its mother in the end," Lu Wanqing said.
Xiao Mu Lan's eyes lit up immediately. He nodded vigorously, "Yes, the tadpole finally found its mother. Its mother is a frog, and she eats so many pests! So amazing!"
Lu Wanqing smiled. She looked down at Xiao Mu Lan's sparkling eyes and couldn't help but stroke his head, agreeing, "Yes, it will find its mother. His mother is super amazing!"
Mu Sijie, who had come over at some point, stood beside them, watching Lu Wanqing and Mu Lan interact.
For the next hour, they chased the tadpoles around, watching them ask questions about everything. By the end of the movie, the tadpole finally found its mother, and they lived happily together. Everyone finally smiled.
"It's getting late, let's go have dinner," Mu Sijie suddenly reminded them.
Lu Wanqing blinked, raised her hand, and checked the time on her communicator. She realized it was indeed late.
"I'll make dinner!" Lu Wanqing said quickly.
Xiao Mu Lan's eyes brightened at the words. He immediately nodded heavily, "Yes, I want to eat Mommy's dinner. Mommy's cooking is super delicious!!!"
Mu Sijie looked taken aback, his gaze shifting between Lu Wanqing and Mu Lan in surprise.
Mu Sijie went to turn off the projector. Lu Wanqing took Xiao Mu Lan downstairs. Xiao Mu Lan didn't want to leave and followed Lu Wanqing like a shadow.
"Don't you want to go back to studying?" Lu Wanqing asked as they descended a few steps, suddenly remembering.
Mu Sijie, following behind, replied, "It's okay to rest for a day or two occasionally."
Lu Wanqing felt a little uneasy, but since Mu Sijie had said so, it shouldn't be a major problem. Besides, the little one was happy for once, so a little relaxation was acceptable.
"Okay," Lu Wanqing agreed with a smile.
"Then does Xiao Mu Lan want to watch Mommy cook?" Lu Wanqing then looked down at Xiao Mu Lan and asked with a smile.
She guessed that Xiao Mu Lan might be curious about the ancient cooking methods from three thousand years ago. After all, such scenes of manual cooking were probably no longer seen in the interstellar era.
"Yes!" Xiao Mu Lan was extremely excited, his eyes sparkling, and a joyful aura enveloped him.
Lu Wanqing smiled, ruffled the boy's hair, then turned to Mu Sijie and said, "Do you want to come and see too? In your era, you probably rarely see people cooking manually, right?"
Mu Sijie chuckled at her words and nodded, "Yes, I'll go take a look too."
It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious. The cooking methods of people from over three thousand years ago! He was quite curious and wanted to see.
The trio agreed and walked downstairs together, heading towards the newly built kitchen.
Lu Yuanyuan and Mu Sirui hid in their room, secretly watching them go downstairs. The harmonious sight of the family of three pierced Lu Yuanyuan's eyes. Especially Lu Wanqing, Mu Lan, and Mu Sijie; the tenderness and smiles in their eyes as they looked at each other, that warmth, made her deeply uncomfortable.
In the kitchen downstairs, Lu Wanqing entered with Mu Lan and Mu Sijie. Mu Lan's eyes immediately widened. He looked around with great curiosity.
Lu Wanqing smiled and asked, "Have you never seen this before?"
Xiao Mu Lan instantly became well-behaved and nodded, "Mm."
Lu Wanqing smiled and looked around. She realized there were no ingredients. "I'll go get some from the housekeeper," she said.
Mu Sijie also offered, "I'll go tell him. I'll have him send over a full assortment of ingredients, so you can cook whenever you want."
"Okay," Lu Wanqing agreed with a smile.
Mu Sijie smiled and turned to leave.
Lu Wanqing and Xiao Mu Lan were left alone in the room. Xiao Mu Lan's eyes were still wide open, looking curiously at the various items in the kitchen.
Lu Wanqing also became interested. Just as Xiao Mu Lan had introduced her to the household robots, she began to introduce him to the kitchen appliances one by one: the rice cooker, the frying pan, the oven, the steamer, and so on.
As Lu Wanqing finished her introductions, Butler Mu arrived, directing robots to bring in various ingredients. Lu Wanqing quickly pulled Xiao Mu Lan aside, not wanting to interrupt their work.
The robots brought the items into the kitchen and then stopped.
Butler Mu surveyed the kitchen and then looked at Lu Wanqing, asking, "Ms. Lu, where would you like these items placed?"
Lu Wanqing looked around and then opened cabinets, putting the items away one by one.
"We also need a refrigerator," Lu Wanqing said.
Butler Mu paused, then asked cautiously, "Are you referring to the refrigerators from over three thousand years ago?"
Lu Wanqing was also taken aback. She was silent for two seconds, then couldn't help but ask, "Does your interstellar era have even more advanced technology? Something that can preserve freshness, freeze, and keep ingredients at their freshest without spoiling?"