My wife is a witch princess.

Song Che found a disposable toothbrush and handed it to her, squeezing out two tubes of toothpaste onto the bristles.

I poured myself a glass of cold water, let it soak for a while, thought for a moment, then went to the living room and picked up the thermos, which still had some hot water inside.

Song Che usually washes up by himself and just brushes his teeth with cold water. Last night, he didn't buy any daily necessities, so he took a bowl from the small kitchen partitioned off from the living room.

"Watch closely, and follow along with me."

After pouring the warm water, Song Che picked up the cup and his toothbrush.

"Hold the toothbrush in your right hand and the cup in your left."

"Can we change it?"

Xia Li's right hand felt a little awkward.

"Whatever you want." Song Che took a small sip of water. "Take a small sip first, rinse your mouth, and then spit it out."

"Achoo..." Xia Li sneezed and stared intently at Song Che.

"Take a mouthful of water."

"...He took it in his mouth."

"After you put it in your mouth, rinse your mouth and spit it out."

"..."

"You drank it?" Song Che looked at her empty mouth and her still calm face.

Xia Li blinked but didn't say anything.

Did she drink it? It's so hard to guess.

"...Take another sip after drinking it, don't be too rigid."

Xia Li took another mouthful, puffed out her cheeks for two seconds, rinsed her mouth, and then spat it out.

"Okay, now put the toothbrush bristles on your teeth... Hey, hey, don't put it in your mouth and poke your throat, and you can't eat the toothpaste either. Never mind, I'll squeeze some more for you."

“You said we don’t need to be so rigid,” Xia Li said logically. “Sweet things are theoretically edible.”

Rat poison is sweet, would you like to eat it?

"You should... be a little more rigid and watch me do it first."

Xia Li nodded, her gaze shifting from the toothbrush in his hand to the few bubbles at the corner of his mouth, then back to the toothbrush. She lowered her head, picked up the toothbrush, put it in her mouth, and imitated Song Che's actions, puffing out her cheeks, rolling her eyes, and then pursing her lips. She brushed once on the left side and twice on the right. After brushing, she turned to look at him and frowned slightly.

Song Che: ……

You're so rigid.

Song Che remained silent, focusing on brushing his teeth.

In the cramped bathroom, only the dripping of the faucet and the soft sounds of the two brushing their teeth could be heard.

The mirror reflected two figures side by side: a boy wearing a simple hoodie with his hair slightly messy from sleeping; and a girl with loose silver hair, wearing oversized pajamas, with slender shoulders and a head shorter than the boy.

White foam gradually filled my mouth.

Song Che turned his head to check the position of his back molars in the mirror, and saw that Xia Li was also watching his movements carefully through the mirror, and then adjusting the angle of her toothbrush.

"You need to brush the inside, the outside, and the chewing surfaces."

With foam in his mouth, Song Che's voice was a little muffled. He demonstrated by opening his mouth wide and brushing the inside of his mouth.

Xia Li also tried to open her mouth wide, but the action was a bit unfamiliar and unseemly to her, so she only opened it a crack and carefully inserted the toothbrush.

"From now on, brush your teeth once in the morning and once before going to bed at night." Song Che rinsed the foam out of his mouth and rinsed the toothbrush with water. "Your mouth will feel much more comfortable after brushing it clean."

"Ah."

"Come on, let's have breakfast together." Song Che put down his toothbrush and washed his face. "I'll go downstairs and bring it to you. You should rest a bit more."

Xia Li tugged at Song Che's sleeve, her tone calm but firm, "...I don't want to be alone."

Song Che turned around and examined the situation for a moment.

“…Okay, then wash your face. Here’s a towel.”

Xia Li wiped her face clean, walked out of the bathroom, and slept through the night. Her knees were mostly pain-free, but her ankles were uncomfortable when she walked.

Song Che was already waiting for her at the door.

As soon as she reached the door, Xia Li's nose twitched. She smelled a warm fragrance coming from about ten meters to the left of the first floor.

Following the directions downstairs and turning left, sure enough, the aroma came from the steamed bun shop next to the oden, where a kind-faced middle-aged woman was greeting customers.

"Yes, it's free. Breakfast is free today."

Why is it free?

The newly moved-in residents from out of town didn't understand.

"Today is Nanhui Safety Day. When Nanhui was hit by a major flood, this place was a disaster relief point, a rear base supplying food to the soldiers. Without those soldiers, there would be no Nanhui as we know it today."

"Oh, I remember. Well then, you're welcome. Respectfully, soldiers of Nanhui."

The resident held up a steamed bun, speaking with great enthusiasm.

Laughter and conversation filled the breakfast shop. After finishing their meals, most adults would quietly slip money into their bowls or hand it to the proprietress. Some children, wanting to join in the fun, would take a few large meat buns from the proprietress. She would smile, wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes, and remind the children to eat slowly, before turning around to bring over a few cups of hot soy milk.

Xia Li tilted her head, not quite understanding. The humans here were different from the humans before. The people here spoke in a friendly manner, talking about things like "whose dog had puppies" or "what new policies the country has," unlike the people of the Hit Kingdom, who discussed things like "how to invade the Elf Forest" or "how to buy and sell female slaves."

"Boss lady, two baskets of soup dumplings, two cups of soy milk, and one egg."

Song Che only drank a cup of soy milk and ate an egg; the rest was Xia Li's.

"okay."

A few minutes later, the soup dumplings were served, accompanied by a small dish of condiments and chili oil.

Seeing that Xia Li was a stranger, the proprietress smiled and reminded her, "Miss, don't rush when eating soup dumplings. Slurp the soup first, then eat the meat. You can't eat soup dumplings if you're in a hurry."

"……Um."

Xia Li stared at the soup dumplings, it was unclear whether she had heard anything.

Song Che was also considering whether to demonstrate it once.

However, Xia Li's knowledge of food far exceeded her expected level of thinking. She used chopsticks, which she wasn't very skilled at, to pick up the soup dumpling, took a small bite, and sucked the soup.

"..."

So delicious I can't even speak?

"...It's too hot to eat."

It seems I overestimated you.

Xia Li blew on her lips, with some soup still in her mouth, and said, "What kind of meat is this? And what kind of noodles is this? There's not a speck of dust or chaff in it."

“Pork, white flour, the buns are naturally free of dust and chaff.” Song Che finished speaking, paused, and added, “This place is not like ours, where there is constant war and conflict, nor is it like our king who collects taxes ninety years into the future. Relatively speaking, this place is very stable, and our country is very powerful. Of course, all of this is relative; the suffering in the world has never disappeared.”

Chapter 13 Village Chief, in Danger!

The proprietress was astonished by the scene before her.

She clutched a hundred-yuan bill that Song Che had forced upon her, and the steamer basket in front of her, once overflowing, was now mostly empty. The one who finished off the steamed buns was a silver-haired girl with a cool, aloof expression.

Before she left, she coldly declared: "I'll be back tomorrow."

Come on, don't scare me at my age...

……

Song Che handed the last small bag of steamed buns to Xia Li and then took the cup of soy milk she had finished drinking.

"Are you sure you want to eat soup dumplings again tomorrow? Actually, the spicy soup, tofu pudding, and fried dough sticks are also very delicious."

Which one is the cheapest?

Xia Li silently calculated the costs in her mind. She thought about how she wouldn't be able to repay the debt later, and how Song Che would complain to her. Based on her understanding, that little rascal held a lot of resentment towards her.

"Neither of them are expensive, they're about the same."

"Then... I'll have some of everything."

“…Okay.” Song Che stopped in front of a supermarket, fully stocked with goods. “When we go in to buy things, I’ll double-check that you didn’t take Little Hammer, right?”

"……without."

"That's good. Ask me first if you see anything you want. I'll buy it for you if you need it. Mom gave me enough money this time, so you can buy some things that are a little more expensive but of better quality. But remember, always ask me first and don't say anything strange. Of course, don't push yourself if your legs hurt. Rest if you want to."

Song Che felt that the task ahead was arduous. Helping a witch adapt to modern society was the first step, and changing out of her inappropriate pajamas was the first step.

He walked ahead, and Xia Li followed behind. Song Che felt like he was walking a dog, but the dog wasn't on a leash, so he had to look back every now and then to see if Xia Li had gotten lost.

This girl... is as curious as Grandma Liu. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she put on a stern face and pretended not to be interested. She seemed to think that it was very necessary to maintain her last bit of insignificant face as a 'Witch Princess'.

"Can you walk beside me?"

"Ok?"

Xia Li withdrew her gaze from the rotating colored light at the supermarket entrance and quickened her pace to catch up. She looked at the pedestrians passing by with some confusion and offered her observation: "Why don't you hold my hand? Many of those... couples of men and women are holding hands. And some adults are even holding hands with young children."

"Because you're single." Song Che replied casually.

"I'm not a puppy," Xia Li corrected quickly and earnestly.

"You are Bruce."

"I'd rather be Bruce than a puppy."

Xia Li was very insistent on this statement. She knew that "puppy" was an insult, a very vulgar one. She had been told by others that she was like a dog-headed person, that she would eat everything and have bad luck in everything she did, and that she was slow-witted and simply stupid.

“Okay, then you’re Bruce.” Song Che took a few quick steps forward, pulled out a small cart, and pushed it to the escalator. “There’s something called an escalator up ahead. Just stand on it and it will take you to the second floor. Remember, since you have a leg problem, hold on tight and stand still. Don’t move around…”

Where are you?

When Song Che turned around, he found that Xia Li had already reached the escalator. Her gaze was fixed on something on the second floor, and her steps were as firm as those of a Young Pioneer.

But the key point is, you've taken the wrong escalator; it's going down.

Xia Li was pacing in place, and a little kid with a snotty nose eating candy was pacing with her.

"Big sister, keep going! You can't get to the second floor at this speed."