“Yawn”

Fu Lian stretched out her arms. She looked at the edge of the bed and saw two pairs of freshly ironed clothes. One set had a black vest, white dress shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. The other set had a black and white maid outfit, long black stockings, and black high heels. There was only one white mask on the bed that had two slits for the eyes and a smile painted on. Fu Lian came out of her bedroom wearing the first set of clothing and holding the mask in her hand. 

Fu Chen was humming as he placed down a glass container filled with whipped cream cheese. Next to the glass container he placed down, there were glass containers filled with whipped cream that had fruit, an amber colored syrup, and a chocolate spread. There were four large waffle makers sitting next to the glass containers. The waffle makers were plugged straight into the kitchen counter. He stopped humming and turned around when he heard soft footsteps. 

“Fu Lian, did you sleep well?”

She nodded.

Fu Chen was slightly sad that Fu Lian didn’t choose the maid outfit, but a wolf girl wearing a vest and black dress pants had a certain charm.

“Are those clothes comfortable?”

[Yes. What is this mask?]

“Oh I’ve always had a problem smiling and all of my creations can’t really smile which is why I made these masks. You’ll have to wear it to fit in with my puppets. Anyway let me make breakfast for you.”

Fu Chen took out the batter he made last night from the fridge. The smooth batter had become slightly gooey and spongy due to the yeast and baking soda. He preheated two of the waffle irons to medium heat. Once they fully heated, Fu Chen ladled in some of the batter and closed them. The brown butter smell from the waffles wafted towards Fu Lian which made her swallow her saliva. Fu Chen noticed and patted her head.

“They’ll be done soon.”

“Ding!”

After talking, the waffles were done cooking. He placed the waffles onto a large white tray. Fu Chen spooned some of each of the toppings into tiny metal cups and placed them onto the tray. The tray made a slight thud as it made contact with the metal countertop of the table in the middle of the kitchen. He pulled out a chair from a cabinet and made a gesture to Fu Lian. She sat down on the chair. Fu Lian used a knife and fork to cut out a tiny piece of a waffle. She easily cut into the light and fluffy waffles and spread some whipped cream cheese onto it. 

‘The outside is crispy while the inside is so soft and fluffy. It tastes slightly sweet and nutty. The cream cheese adds some tanginess to the waffle and makes it creamier.’

Fu Lian tried another piece of the waffle that she had spread some of the fruit whipped cream on. 

“mmmm!!”

She softly squealed in delight after biting into it. 

‘The whipped cream makes the waffle feel even lighter and the fruits add some sweetness and some slight sourness that balances the nuttyness of the waffle.’ 

“What do you think of them? The yeast makes the outside of the waffle crispier and the inside very fluffy.”

[I love it!]

“Great!”

Fu Chen patted Fu Lian’s head. He was very addicted to her fluffy ears and really wanted to touch her tail, but he wasn’t sure if she was comfortable enough to let him do that.

“Alright let’s get ready for business. You’ll only need to watch how my waiter puppet works today.” 

He clapped his hands for effect and the masked waiter appeared out of the kitchen wall. Fu Lian was surprised because the waiter looked very cold and lifeless. 

“Oh wait, I should turn him on first.” 

The masked waiter jerked and started to talk to Fu Lian.

“Hello new waitress, I hope that we’ll have a great time working together!”

Fu Lian felt that it was even more creepy now, but decided to ignore those thoughts. 

---------

“Hurry up! The restaurant is about to open!”

Two men and two women were rushing down a street towards Fu Chen’s restaurant. They all wore uniforms that belonged to Elysium University which was one of the most prestigious universities in the Azula Galactic Empire. All students of Elysium university came from rich and powerful families or were talented people granted scholarships. One of the females in the group opened the door and were greeted by the masked host. 

“Welcome to the Abyss Bar & Restaurant valued guests. Are there only four of you?”

The female nodded.

“Let me show you your seat.”

The group followed the masked waiter to a table closest to the kitchen door. As they sat down and looked around the dining room, one of the men started to whisper.

“Xinyue, this place looks really expensive. I’m not sure that we have enough money to eat here.” 

Wan Xinyue frowned and responded.

“Gao Wu, you’re always worrying about money even though you’re going to the richest university.” 

The other man joined in. 

“Although Gao Wu is a money-grubber, we’re poor students that only got into Elysium University because they gave us scholarships. We need to be careful with our money.” 

Wan Xinyue’s female friend interrupted. 

“Gao Long, it’s fine to splurge once in a while since the university already gives us a large amount of cultivation resources for free each year.” 

Wan Xinyue nodded, but Gao Long frowned. 

“While they may give us a lot of resources, at most we’ll only be able to reach the fourth stage of cultivation at the end of our studies. We should use the rest of our money on energy crystals and energy liquids.”

Wan Xinyue shook her head, “While you may be right about spending money on cultivation resources, this restaurant actually serves dishes full of energy and they’re cheaper than spirit beast foods from other restaurants.”

“What?”

All three of them were surprised.

“Enough talking let’s just check the menu.”

[Menu]

1. Savory
   1. Seafood Noodle Soup: (100 Credits)
   2. Spicy Beef Curry: (200 Credits)
2. Sweet
   1. Brown Butter Yeasted Waffles: (50 Credits for One Waffle) 
      1. (Toppings are 10 Credits)