Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1428: Chapter 155: This Big Sister Is Awesome

In the kitchen, a stew was simmering. Once this dish was done, the menu for that strange white-haired girl would be complete. Now, it was just a matter of keeping an eye on the heat, so Mr. Smith had his apprentice tend to it while he went out to the back alley.

With work temporarily over, Mr. Smith planned to take a smoke break.

There were no particularly tall buildings in the town—the sky wasn’t obscured by earthly materials.

Mr. Smith really liked this place—he had studied at the university here, but after graduating, he decided not to leave.

Most of his classmates were baffled—after all, graduating from Saint Andrews University only to become a chef.

Clearly, Old Smith was quite angry with Mr. Smith’s behavior, so in the past decade, the father and son rarely communicated—even now, with Mr. Smith’s wife Deborah pregnant for the second time, only his mother, Lady Elura, was willing to come over from home.

Although both his wife Deborah and his mother Lady Elura were trying hard to restore the relationship between Old Smith and Mr. Smith, there hadn’t been much progress until now.

He really shouldn’t let his relationship with Joe turn into what it was with his father… Mr. Smith thought as he watched the smoke from his cigarette dissipate.

Thinking of this, he took the opportunity to call home, and it was his mother, Lady Elura, who picked up the phone.

After inquiring about his wife Deborah and learning that she was taking a nap, Mr. Smith suddenly said to his mother, Lady Elura, “Mum, can you please stop using scary stories to frighten Joe? I think the kid really believes them.”

Lady Elura on the other end was taken aback and asked curiously, “Did something happen?”

Mr. Smith had to explain Joe’s situation briefly, “… The kid thinks the grim reaper is really coming to take him, and he says he can see the grim reaper.”

“Oh!” Lady Elura seemed scared, covering her mouth, “It was just a joke, like the little devil legends on Halloween.”

“He’s just a child.”

“I think I really need to reflect on this,” Lady Elura said regretfully, “When Joe comes home, I’ll apologize to him properly.”

Mr. Smith chatted casually with Lady Elura a bit more before hanging up the phone.

By then, the cigarette was finished, and Mr. Smith stubbed it out, shaking his head slightly—how could the grim reaper possibly exist in this world?

The alley suddenly felt a cold wind blowing… as if something was approaching from behind.

Mr. Smith suddenly felt a chill, turning around instinctively, but he saw nothing—though not entirely nothing… he suddenly saw a black cat.

The black cat was lounging lazily on the steps of an outer wall staircase in the depths of the alley… its golden eyes were like amber, gazing at Mr. Smith.

At the moment Mr. Smith made eye contact with this black cat, he furrowed his brow slightly… he instinctively moved closer to the black cat.

The black cat remained motionless, seemingly not afraid of strangers at all—finally, Mr. Smith was about to reach the black cat… just three or four steps away.

At this moment, the black cat suddenly stood up… once standing, it remained still, only its tail swung gently.

Mr. Smith reached out his hand, wanting to touch it—driven by some unclear impulse within himself.

“Excuse me—”

The voice was calm, like a sea breeze, sounding from behind Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith was startled and quickly turned around to see a young man exuding a quiet aura… his face was Asian.

Mr. Smith couldn’t help but think of the white-haired girl full of personality still in his restaurant, wondering if the young man knew her or something of the sort—of course, this was just a wild guess by Mr. Smith.

“Is there something you need?” Mr. Smith asked, steadying himself.

The young man in front of him didn’t look unruly, nor was he standing too close, giving off a feeling of appropriateness… almost instantly, Mr. Smith felt his guard inexplicably collapse.

“I just arrived here, and I’m not familiar with the area,” the young man smiled slightly, “Could you tell me how to get to the supermarket?”

“Oh!” Mr. Smith nodded, “You go out from this side…”

Mr. Smith quickly pointed the way to the young man asking for directions, also helpfully mentioning the general locations of other types of service shops—knowing newcomers would need these small tips.

“You really are a good person.” The young man nodded lightly, “Thank you very much… if I have the chance, I’ll come to your store to have a taste.”

That would be great… no chef dislikes the idea of others wanting to taste their cooking.

“My name is Smith, the chef and owner of this restaurant,” Mr. Smith introduced himself amicably.

“Luo Qiu,” the young man said casually, “Just arrived here, preparing to enroll.”

As expected… Mr. Smith nodded inwardly, but he didn’t directly say he was also a former university student, counting himself as this person’s senior or such—because Mr. Smith had encountered some Asian students, who tended to be reserved.

“Welcome to Saint Andrews,” Mr. Smith did what a local should do, “You’ll soon love it here.”

Boss Luo nodded with a smile, leaving slowly under Mr. Smith’s gaze.

Mr. Smith shook his head casually; as seasons passed, many new faces would come to this place every year, while familiar ones would leave… and he had been here for ten years now.

As Mr. Smith turned around and looked again at the outer stairway, the small black cat had disappeared without a trace.

Maybe it went to look for food… Mr. Smith thought, the stew was almost done now.

Mr. Smith quickly returned to the kitchen through the back door—in a while, a small figure slowly walked out from behind the outer stairway.

…

…

To Mr. Smith’s surprise, when he brought out the dish, he discovered that his son Joe was sitting at the table with the young Asian white-haired girl, seemingly having a conversation, and they appeared to be getting along quite well.

Mr. Smith naturally understood his son’s character… although Joe wasn’t exactly shy or introverted, he rarely became this close with someone he had just met.

It’s probably because girls have an affinity bonus… especially pretty ones.

This kid looks promising… As a father, Mr. Smith smiled and slowly came to Nero’s side, “Miss, your food is ready.”

“Oh, really… Another beer, Boss! The biggest cup you have!” Nero said boldly, “Fried chicken goes best with beer!”

“My son bothered you, Miss,” Mr. Smith said.

“Hmm?” Nero stretched lazily and said, “It’s fine, this little rascal is quite interesting, just makes you want to tease him a bit.”

What Mr. Smith was thinking at this moment is unknown… Anyway, he walked away to find a cup.

“Little rascal, where were you at with what you just said?” Seeing Mr. Smith walk away, Nero directly picked up a piece of popcorn chicken with her hand and stuffed it in her mouth, licking the seasoning powder off her fingers, “… You saw the Grim Reaper?”

Joe was just looking at the finger-licking big sister before him, then asked confusedly, “Aren’t you the Grim Reaper?”

“Sister!” Nero squinted and said, “If you really saw the Grim Reaper, then that guy certainly isn’t me.”

Joe lowered his head, seemingly trying hard to understand what was said.

In certain respects, this former Michael Club tyrant warrior had almost no patience—at this moment, Nero directly put her finger into Joe’s mouth, “Just tell me how you saw the Grim Reaper, what he looks like, and where you saw him.”

Joe blinked his eyes and said, “Are you going to find Mr. Grim Reaper?”

Nero shrugged and said, “If it’s interesting, I might check him out.”

Joe curiously asked, “What if Mr. Grim Reaper wants to take you away when you find him?”

“Who’s taking whom isn’t certain,” Nero’s nose suddenly became sharp—it really became sharp with the transformation of the Black Soul envoy, mostly trained this way by her. She also inserted her second finger into Joe’s mouth, prying it open, “Stop the nonsense, just speak.”

Joe could only shake his head, “I don’t know, sometimes Mr. Grim Reaper is a sparrow, sometimes he turns into an owl on a tree, sometimes he becomes a mouse, standing right outside the window.”

Nero asked curiously, “How do you know those things are Mr. Grim Reaper?”

“I just know,” Joe said earnestly, “I know! He’s come for me, to take me away! But my grandmother and dad don’t believe me. They say I’m dreaming.”

“Heh…” Nero nodded, “So you saw me and thought I too am transformed by Mr. Grim Reaper?”

Joe nodded, feeling wronged.

Nero suddenly said, “You indeed have a strange smell… the chef has some too.”

Joe didn’t know what she was talking about; he could only look puzzled.

Nero’s eyes turned, suddenly squinting as she said, “Little guy, I can help you send Mr. Grim Reaper running~ but it’s conditional.”

“What condition?” Joe barely thought it over.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Nero squinted, “But if you promise me, I’ll send Mr. Grim Reaper running. You can fulfill the promise when I think of the condition… How about it! Isn’t it a good deal?”

“You can really send Mr. Grim Reaper running?” Joe asked, puzzled.

“Don’t be fooled by my looks; I’m really awesome~” Saying so, Nero suddenly grabbed Joe’s collar, lifted him up entirely, and then transformed into a gust of black wind, rushing out of the restaurant instantly.

The gust of black wind swiftly circled above the town for a moment and then returned to the restaurant.

The black wind gathered, transforming back into Nero. She grabbed a chunk of fried chicken and started munching on it again. Beside her, Joe’s mouth was agape, nearly able to fit a chicken egg, and his hair stood on end like a broom.

“Miss, here’s your beer,” Mr. Smith coincidentally returned, “Joe, what’s up with your hair?”

“Smith!” Joe, pointing blankly at Nero, said, “This sister is amazing!”

Mr. Smith looked at Nero, puzzled.

She gulped the beer down in one go, then burped… Mr. Smith nodded, “Hmm… quite impressive.”

“Boss, give me another cup!” Nero laid the cup heavily on the table, exhaling satisfiedly, “And another plate of fried chicken!”

“Alright… Alright.” Mr. Smith nodded, looked at Joe somewhat strangely, but went back to the kitchen.

Nero then looked at Joe, casually said, “So, do you believe now that I can send Mr. Grim Reaper running or not?”

Joe nodded vigorously, then thought for a moment and said, “I promise you!”

“Such a good kid,” Nero’s eyes curved like a crescent moon again; she then vaporized her body, transforming into a silver-gray leopard, bit onto Joe’s clothes, picked him up, and jumped out of the restaurant through the window, leaping onto the rooftop across the street.

…

When Mr. Smith brought out the fried chicken, he found the white-haired girl was gone… but there were several banknotes left on the table — enough to pay for everything.

Mr. Smith was slightly dazed… He glanced to the side, discovering Joe asleep on the sofa.

Mr. Smith shook his head, took a jacket and covered Joe, then withdrew the restaurant’s small blackboard and hung up the “Resting” sign.

Mr. Smith was feeling sleepy as well, intending to rest a bit.

He sat at the counter, dozing off, unaware of the pair of amber eyes observing everything from outside the window… Then, a black kitten jumped away.

The black kitten moved with an unusual agility, quickly crossing two streets, slipping into a house from a garage.

The house was almost impervious to light; all curtains were drawn… The black cat suddenly leaped onto the living room table and used it as a springboard to jump onto a chair by the fireplace… landing in someone’s arms.

The person sitting on the chair, gently stroked the black cat’s back, then softly asked, “What makes you feel scared, little one?”