I Picked Up a Little Tyrannosaurus

[Check out the author's page for The Beloved Glass Spirit [Seventies] and add it to your reading list]

Xu Zhiyu is a nameless cannon-fodder villainess in a power-fantasy novel.

Unemployed and broke, one day she painfully shells out for an egg so she can make noodle soup.

Before it hits the pot, the egg cracks. A babyish voice cries out in an angry, milk-sweet roar: "You insolent little worm! You dare try to boil this king?!"

Xu Zhiyu: "..."

A moment later, the little young tyrannosaur frowns and clutches its stomach. "This king is hungry..."

Xu Zhiyu rolls her eyes. "I'm hungry too. Give me back my egg."

The little tyrannosaur: "..."

With no other choice, the girl and the dragon split the last bowl of instant noodles.

At the first bite, the little dragon is amazed. "How can there be such delicious food in this world? You must be a culinary genius, the likes of whom appear only once in a century."

Xu Zhiyu: "..." Did I wander onto the wrong set?

Bonus scene

The little dragon eats five meals a day, and before each one, it dishes out its usual torrent of praise.

"This egg fried rice is golden and flavorful, a rare delicacy!"

"This plain noodle soup is so light and refreshing, so delicious!"

"Only a peerless genius could make such wonderful buns!"

As Xu Zhiyu listens, she realizes she has started getting lucky:

She buys vegetables at the market and comes home with ginseng.

She wins a family grand prize in a supermarket raffle.

She wins a shopping spree that empties her cart during a shopping festival.

...She's the luckiest person alive.

One day at the dinner table, Xu Zhiyu says happily, "I think I've been given a golden finger."

The little dragon gives her a complicated look. "You're only just figuring that out?"

Xu Zhiyu asks, puzzled, "Figuring out what???"

The little dragon blows up. "This king is your golden finger, and you didn't even know it?!"

Author's note:

1. A story about raising a child. The heroine has a different love interest.

2. A short, stress-relieving story. Don't ask about the logic. The author ate it.

3. As always, it's all about the food.

4. Around a hundred thousand words. Please don't wait for it to build up, because by then it'll be finished.

-, -

[Check out the author's page for The Beloved Glass Spirit [Seventies] and add it to your reading list]

Xu Lili is a glass spirit who came to life before the founding of the People's Republic. One day, she finds herself in a novel set in the seventies, as the youngest daughter of the Xu family. The eldest brother is lazy and greedy, the second brother is slick-tongued, the eldest sister has her head in the clouds, and the younger brother is timid and useless. Their father is miserly, and their mother is fierce. They're cannon fodder from the start, with a tragic ending.

The family's one saving grace is that they don't favor boys over girls, and dote only on their youngest daughter.

Xu Lili: ...

She bursts into tears!

A glass spirit has a glass heart: fragile and easily broken, yet clear and translucent. Like a spring in the midst of a muddled life, it breaks through the chaos and gives people boundless strength.

The whole family is fired up: They won't let Lili suffer while crying!

Later, whenever Xu Lili the glass spirit cries, the lazy family's daily routine becomes:

Eldest brother, who skips work and slacks off: "Don't cry, Lili. I'll go to work and buy you candy!"

By year's end, he wins an award for being an exemplary employee.

Second brother, who loves scamming and swindling: "Don't cry, Lili. I'll take you to watch puppies fight." Later, he becomes the village's model citizen.

Eldest sister, who loves to compete and argue: "Be good, Lili, don't cry. I'll tell you a story." The next year, she becomes the first person from the surrounding villages to attend a teachers' college.

Younger brother, who gets mocked and bullied: "Anyone who makes my sister cry will have to answer to me!"

He knocks down a local bully to protect Lili, then joins the army when he grows up.

-

Shen Qingyue is a loner, the village troublemaker, and no one dares mess with him.

There's only one exception: a little tagalong he can't get rid of.

But he can't even scold the kid, because the moment he does, they start crying and break his heart.

Shen Qingyue: In my past life, I must have blocked up a river. That's why I'm drowning in tears in this one!

Oh, well. These White Rabbit candies are pretty good. I'll take some back for that crybaby...

Completed works: A Guide to Foodies Everywhere, Ancient Cuisine: The Road to Riches, and I Ascended to Immortality by Raising Pigs. All complete and ready to binge. Visit the author's page to pick one.

Theme: Make peace with yourself and live your own life