Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Anna looked at the group of young girls with considerable envy. Far from being disliked, Shen Liang's bringing his sister along had actually won the hearts of almost every member of the Shaniat. Women are powerless against cute creatures, and Shen Liang was no exception, as were his sisters.

Anna used to envy Shen Liang for having so many cute younger sisters, but now the tables have turned.

But she still tried to write it down.

Shen Liang is a clean freak and likes clean and tidy people.

—I have a habit of sleeping while holding something.

Then she looked at the four girls' outfits and recalled the occasional glances he sometimes gave her, and a thought crossed her mind.

—She likes long stockings such as over-the-knee socks, garter stockings, and pantyhose, and almost all of her preferred colors are black and white.

Should I try dyeing my hair white?

Anna sighed softly and looked up to see the gray-haired little girl sitting opposite her staring at her silently, her lifeless eyes seeming to see right through her. Anna quickly lowered her head, avoiding her gaze.

Of Shen Liang's four younger sisters, this one is the most mature and the most unfathomable. The other little girls like to act cute and fawn over their older brother Shen Liang, but this Bronya rarely does that, and Shen Liang respects her opinions the most.

Chapter 220 Does Pandora Remember What Day Tomorrow Is?

Anna always felt that Bronya wasn't like a little girl... and she really wasn't. At only fifteen, she was worth millions, backed by Siberian warlords and the mercenary company Anti-Entropy International. Although these things were nothing compared to the Shaniat family, Anna knew that Bronya, who had grown up in the world, couldn't be innocent, just like Shen Liang wasn't innocent either.

Perhaps Bronya had already seen through her resolve.

However, she and Bronya have no interaction, and as her younger sister, this girl probably won't interfere with her.

At this moment, Shen Liang had already served the dishes. Pulling back the shiny covered bowl, there were steamed pork ribs, scrambled eggs with beef, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, and a plate of white-cut duck that had been prepared at noon. The vegetarian dishes were blanched garlic spinach and cucumber salad. The soup was coconut stewed black chicken, and the staple food was Northeast rice.

The simple home-style dishes didn't take long to prepare, thanks to Seele and Anna's help. Shen Liang didn't portion them out; people in Shenzhou generally don't portion their food—eat it if you want, don't eat it if you don't. The moment the dishes were served, everyone put down what they were doing and rushed to the table to take their seats, tying napkins around their necks, knife in their left hand and fork in their right, and immediately started grabbing the food.

Yes, it's about grabbing vegetables.

"The duck leg belongs to Rosalia!"

"Leave one for brother, boohoo...please leave one for Liang-gege, ah, it's been stolen...Xier's ribs..."

"How dare you! Kiana! This is my chicken leg, take your hand off me! Do you dare disobey me, the head of the Shaniat family!"

Shen Liang still poured himself some alcohol to accompany his meal. Although he didn't have his usual homemade liquor, the German dark beer was pretty much the same. For Shen Liang, even when he was an ordinary person, he could drink ten or so bottles of dark beer at a time and stay sober as long as he could go to the toilet.

Chinese people have never really considered beer as alcohol, especially European beer, which is often seen as just another alcoholic beverage. This dark beer, with its strong, caramelized aroma, leaves a lingering aftertaste of dry hops and dark chocolate, making it perfect with a meal.

The German ladies were stunned to see him eating a bottle of wine by himself, and then they saw several smaller girls who were also eager to try it, but Shen Liang slapped them back.

"You can only drink when you're adults, otherwise you'll get drunk." Shen Liang mixed the beer and juice together and handed it to them. "Just wait two more years, and I won't stop you when you're sixteen."

He then looked at Sirin, who had eaten as much as Kiana, devouring almost an entire rice cooker's worth of rice. Sirin patted her slightly bulging belly and leaned back in her chair, looking very satisfied.

—Luckily, he cooked rice in five rice cookers. Shen Liang's traditional belief is that it's better to have leftovers than not enough to eat.

"My cooking skills are alright?" Shen Liang asked. "If they're alright, you guys do the dishes."

Sirin was just about to nod modestly to acknowledge the newcomer's achievements when she heard the second half of the sentence. Her face froze, and she arrogantly raised her chin. "For a sixteen-year-old human, this is already quite an achievement. But in front of me, Sirin, it's only enough to alleviate hunger, but not enough to satisfy your appetite. Hmm, barely passing."

"Not as good as you usually eat?"

“Of course, my head chef has twenty-one Michelin stars.” Xilin said somewhat reluctantly. She looked away from Shen Liang’s teasing gaze. After all, even a top chef like her had been eating foreign food for over ten years and was quite tired of it. The novelty of experiencing foreign cuisine for the first time was still better than the unchanging French and German food.

"I'm sorry I didn't satisfy you. It's my fault as your younger brother. You don't need to come tomorrow, Sister Xilin." Shen Liang shrugged. "My rice costs more than 100 euros a pound. Giving it to you will only make it more expensive."

"You called me a glutton?" Sirin roared. "Fine, I won't eat then! Kiana, let's go!"

"I'm not leaving, I'll be back tomorrow." Kiana chuckled, picked up her bowl and went to the sink, her braid bouncing up and down with her light steps. "Big sister, I'll eat your portion, you're welcome."

Anna smiled slightly and stepped into the pool as well. "Young lady, when your pregnancy is in someone else's hands, you must learn to bow your head."

"Having lost the support of the people, Xilin glared at Shen Liang for a long while before grabbing the bowl and chopsticks and heading to the sink. 'Human! Remember this! You will have to pay for the humiliation of having Her Majesty the Queen's delicate hands soaked in dirty, cold water sooner or later!'"

"So what if he returns it? What's the big deal about washing dishes?" Kiana gave her sister a strange look. "What, are you going to send him to wash your dishes for the rest of his life?"

"Yes! Wash dishes for the rest of his life!" Sirin slammed the plate into the sink. Of course, she didn't have to lift a finger; the diligent Kiana and Anna took over the young lady's chores. But then she realized there was something ambiguous in her words and quickly cleared her throat. "I'm going to send him to the Arctic to wash dishes for penguins!"

"But penguins don't eat from bowls."

"It's a metaphor, don't you understand the metaphor? The point is that the Arctic is extremely cold, your hands will freeze when you wash dishes there!"

"Then why not go wash dishes at the Antarctic research station? It's colder there, and there are really penguins."

Anna listened to the eldest and second young ladies' nonsensical conversation, then quietly turned around, went back to the living room from the balcony, and sat down next to Shen Liang.

"Pandora."

"Actually, Anna, you know my name is Shen Liang, there's no need to always call me Pandora." Shen Liang smiled. "What's wrong?"

“No, I prefer… the name Pandora, because it’s the name I gave you. The first person to meet you as ‘Pandora’ wasn’t the second young lady or the eldest young lady, but me.” Anna’s voice was gentle. “Although the eldest young lady came up with the name on a whim, it sounds quite nice, doesn’t it? Pandora who brings chaos.”

"The legendary Pandora was an unparalleled beauty, which shows just how perverse Sirin's sense of humor is."

"Huh? A twisted sense of humor?" Anna didn't react for a moment, then belatedly laughed out loud. "It's not a twisted sense of humor. The young lady decided to name you this after meeting you. The name Pandora... is very fitting from any angle, as it can make the arrogant second young lady and the proud eldest young lady treat you differently."

"I'll take that as a compliment on my looks." Shen Liang said, sounding somewhat depressed.

“Of course, little Pandora is the coolest,” Anna gently comforted her.

Then she whispered, "Pandora, do you remember what day tomorrow is?"

Shen Liang certainly remembered, "Tomorrow is your engagement ceremony, Anna, right? I remember the banquet is being held at the Alps Hotel at the foot of the mountain."

“After all, I am an A-rank Valkyrie, and this is a marriage alliance between the World Serpent and the Shaniat family, so Lady Maria will naturally make all the preparations.” Anna’s pink eyes looked at him quietly. “Everyone will be attending, and the World Serpent is said to be sending many of its executives.”

"Sending cadres? This kind of thing shouldn't be done by Chen Tianwu's relatives... Oh, sorry." Shen Liang understood. It was pitiful; Chen Tianwu probably didn't have any relatives to witness it, so he could only rely on friends and colleagues.

“Pandora, will you be there?” Anna looked directly into his eyes.

Shen Liang sensed something was off. Anna, who was usually gentle and aloof, was even a little assertive today. She stared intently at him as she spoke... She wasn't usually like this.

"Of course I will. We're like siblings. Besides Senior Sister and Sister Sirin, you're the person I know best in the entire Shaniat family. How could I not participate?" Shen Liang laughed. "Speaking of which, Sister Anna has made up her mind to try and cultivate a relationship with my future brother-in-law, codenamed Night Owl?"

"Shut up," Anna suddenly said coldly.

Shen Liang was taken aback.

“Don’t say things like ‘future brother-in-law.’” Anna took a deep breath. “I don’t like it, Pandora. I don’t like you talking like that.”

"I'm sorry, was I too frivolous?" Shen Liang guessed that she was still a little undecided and therefore a bit shy.

“No, it’s my problem.” Anna lowered her gaze, and Shen Liang couldn’t see her expression.

But Shen Liang's emotional intelligence wasn't that low. Anna's various attitudes made him ponder for a while, and then he sighed.

“Anna, whether you want to try or refuse, I support you. Even if you regret it at the engagement ceremony tomorrow, I still support you... Although I don’t know what your attitude or thoughts are towards her, since you’re so conflicted, I won’t ask. We’re like siblings, good friends, and I’ll always stand behind you.”

Anna looked at the somewhat troubled boy, knowing that if she didn't explain herself clearly, Shen Liang would never be able to guess what she was thinking. Boys can't compare to girls in their keen perception of subtle emotions; right now, he just felt that Anna was carrying a lot of unspoken worries, which was both frustrating and frustrating for him.

But... often, a girl's worries aren't meant to be shared with someone. Often, she just wants to project an image of "I have something on my mind," hoping you'll comfort her and get her to make some promises.

This is a little trick that girls are born with.

—Pandora, don't blame your sister for being despicable...

“Actually, I’m not conflicted,” Anna said softly. “But Pandora, at tomorrow’s engagement ceremony, no matter what happens, will you stand firmly by my side?”

"definitely."

Even if you don't understand, you should still stand on your sister's side, right?

"definitely."

"Unconditionally obey any instructions from your sister?"

"Wait a minute, this is getting more and more outrageous! What are you trying to achieve with this request!" The boy immediately noticed the girl's calculated moves and realized what she meant. "It's just an engagement party, you don't expect me to do all the hard labor, do you? Let me tell you, I can't possibly cook Chinese cuisine for hundreds of people. One person can't handle a banquet like this. Besides, it starts tomorrow, and I haven't even had time to buy all the groceries today!"

Anna looked at the handsome black-haired, red-eyed boy who was caught in the misunderstanding, and shook his arm with a light laugh, her tone slightly coquettish: "Just one day, please, please promise me. Please, Pandora, please promise your sister."

"Sister Anna, what exactly do you want..." Shen Liang looked at the beret-wearing girl with a pleading expression, too lazy to ask, "Fine."

Regardless of Anna's true intentions or whether she was planning something big, Shen Liang, as one of her few friends who had fought alongside her to save her sister, accepted it.

However, the thought of tomorrow's engagement ceremony made me a little sentimental, even though I didn't really care.

As a player known for his aloof and beautiful nature, Anna naturally fit his criteria, and it was impossible for him not to develop feelings for her after spending time with her. Now, seeing such a top-tier beauty leave him, he even felt a sense of loss.

Ah, the inherent weaknesses of men.

"Yes, it's an inherent flaw, a deep-seated possessiveness in men." Shen Liang sighed. "Even I'm not immune. He really is a scumbag."

【Heh.】Tora Chiyo's laughter carried a hint of pleasure and sarcasm. Shen Liang didn't understand, but he was too lazy to understand. Anyway, this old woman always inexplicably laughed heartily because of his actions, and this wasn't the first time.

Anna pushed open the door and left Shen Liang's room, slowly returning to her own bedroom along the narrow corridor.

Then she stopped and stared blankly at the bright moon outside the terrace. The moonlight shone on her white stockings on her right leg, making them look crystal clear.

She suddenly remembered lines from an opera she loved as a child.

“If Pandora had any other name, his loveliness and perfection would never change. The way you look at me frightens me more than those twenty swords, but as long as I see your gentle and loving eyes, they cannot harm me.”

"Pandora, Pandora who brings chaos, brave Pandora, indomitable Pandora. Save me now."

"Like the rising moon, right now."

------------

The next day.

At 10:30 AM, the Alps Hotel had been booked entirely by the Schariac family. Luxury cars were parked in the parking lot below the hotel, and handsome waiters methodically opened the doors. Emerging were either impeccably dressed successful men, arm in arm with beautiful women in formal attire, or impeccably dressed successful women…arm in arm with beautiful women in formal attire?