Chapter Three: Bonding with the Ultimate Parenting System

Jiang Suisui was instantly stunned. What on earth was that?

Before she could even begin to understand this suddenly appeared super parenting system, she heard the announcement for the floating bus’s arrival at the station.

So she got off the bus with Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi, weaving through the uneven, dilapidated residential buildings and treading on the muddy yellow earth road that turned into a quagmire whenever it rained, finally returning to their rented apartment.

In the stairwell, the paint peeled off the walls in patches, the lights flickered intermittently, and the pervasive smell of mildew hung in the air.

Yet, upon reaching the fourth floor and opening the door, the small room revealed itself to be arranged with great care and warmth.

Jiang Suisui thought to herself that today was a special day. After treating Jiang Xingran’s injury with the medical kit and neatly combing Jiang Yueyi’s hair again, she finally spoke:

“Xingxing, Yueyue, be good and play at home for a bit. Sister is going to buy groceries.”

Seeing the two little ones nod obediently, she went downstairs alone to the nearby supermarket.

While selecting items from the discount section, she contemplated the system that had suddenly appeared.

[This system is a Super Parenting System, primarily aimed at caring for the child’s physical and mental health, nurturing their robust growth, and assisting their academic progress.

The host can currently select two children (any race) as students of the Little Sunflower Classroom. Once selected, this choice cannot be changed within three months.

As the teacher, the host will receive rewards based on the child’s task completion and stage scores.]

Jiang Suisui picked up a box of ten bottles of soon-to-expire nutritional liquid from the shelf, then communicated with the system using her mind.

A user interface appeared in her mind, showing the previously displayed text along with two options below:

[Student List] [Store Exchange]

She chose the student list first, but it was blank except for a small note below that read: “Please enroll students as soon as possible.”

Soon, the screen shifted to reveal many photos and names of children.

[Children currently detected with a favorability rating of sixty or above toward the host are: Jiang Xingran (male, five years old), Jiang Yueyi (female, five years old).

Only children meeting the favorability threshold can be selected as students.

Would you like to designate Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi as your students?

Note: While students will benefit from the system’s nurturing, they will not be aware of its existence.]

This saved Jiang Suisui considerable trouble. Otherwise, she would have had to come up with a complicated excuse for the system’s presence.

Judging by the system’s tone, she suspected she might have to take on more students in the future. If the system’s secret was exposed and she was captured for research, that would be disastrous.

She confirmed her selections while checking out at the self-service counter.

Raising her wrist, she scanned the payment area with her unlocked lightbrain, and the payment was completed.

On her way home, carrying the bags, she received another message from the system.

---

[Jiang Xingran (male, five years old) and Jiang Yueyi (female, five years old) have been enrolled as students of the Little Sunflower Classroom. Please complete the beginner’s task to unlock more features in the student list.

Beginner task: Celebrate the fifth birthday of students Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi, increasing their mood values to eighty. (Countdown: 3 hours 45 minutes 20 seconds)]

Though she didn’t know how the mood value was measured, Jiang Suisui breathed a sigh of relief. At least the task involved celebrating a birthday, something she was already planning to do. It wouldn’t be difficult.

She bought a cake at a nearby dessert shop, then briskly walked home with her arms full of bags.

The moment she entered, Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi rushed over to help carry the bags.

Jiang Suisui didn’t hesitate to accept their help. Teaching children to share responsibilities, rather than taking everything for granted, was important.

Slipping on slippers, she said, “Xingxing, Yueyue, do you want to come with me to the kitchen to cook?”

The two little ones nodded eagerly, washed their hands obediently, and followed her in.

Jiang Suisui also washed her hands, took out various ingredients from the bags, and began preparing the birthday feast.

In this interstellar era, there were cooking machines that could prepare dishes automatically by adding ingredients and seasonings according to recipes.

However, Jiang Suisui, having transmigrated here, preferred to cook with her own hands.

Moreover, she was a top chef who had won international gold awards.

An hour passed.

The old, low wooden table was laden with food: sweet and sour ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, dry pot cauliflower, stir-fried loofah, lettuce and meatball soup, and a palm-sized strawberry cake.

Jiang Suisui lit the candles and sat cross-legged before the table.

“Come now, today is your fifth birthday. Sit down and make a wish together. When I earn more money, I’ll buy each of you a big cake!”

If time weren’t tight and the ingredients for a delicious cake weren’t expensive, she would have made the cake herself, too.

Jiang Xingran’s eyes gleamed, then dimmed.

“Sis, all this delicious food must have cost a lot. We can just drink one bottle of nutritional liquid a day; you don’t have to work so hard.”

Jiang Yueyi, who had been swallowing her saliva, nodded as well.

“Sis, you’re tired. No want to eat.”

For these two considerate little siblings, Jiang Suisui gently patted her left hand on their heads and pinched their cheeks with her right.

Her voice was soft.

“It’s okay. Sister will soon earn more money and make sure you always have enough to eat. Making money is an adult’s job. You’re still kids, so just be happy every day and study hard, okay?”

She then lit the candles, urging the two to make their wishes.

Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi finally let go of their anxious worries, leaned together over the cake, closed their eyes, and, as if by instinct, opened them simultaneously to blow out the candles.

Jiang Suisui clapped joyfully.

“Good! Your wishes will definitely come true. Now, let’s eat!”

She served each child a heaping bowl of rice.

The two children, long hungry and drawn by the irresistible aroma, quickly began to feast.

---

The sweet and sour ribs were tender and falling off the bone, coated in a tangy, reddish-brown sauce full of juices. With a few chews, the rich meat fragrance blended with the sweet and sour flavor to awaken the appetite.

Jiang Yueyi gnawed on several pieces, even repeatedly chewing the soft cartilage she couldn’t bite through.

Jiang Xingran preferred the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, scooping several large spoonfuls mixed with rice. The tomatoes were cooked soft and juicy, perfectly blending with the tender eggs, topped with fragrant green scallions — both beautiful and delicious.

After a while, they began eating the dry pot cauliflower and stir-fried loofah.

Children didn’t usually enjoy vegetables much.

But Jiang Suisui insisted that vegetables were necessary for a balanced diet, so the kids listened to their sister and ate even if they didn’t like them.

However, today’s vegetables were completely different from before.

A few dried chili peppers and some seasoned salt added a new twist to the otherwise plain cauliflower, making it crisp, tender, and fragrant, with a smoky aroma from the stir-frying.

The stir-fried loofah was cooked in lard, combining the fresh scent of the loofah with the richness of the lard. Soft but not mushy, drenched in sauce, it was juicy and refreshing.

By the end, Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi both had round, full little bellies.

If Jiang Suisui hadn’t stopped them in time from going for a third bowl of rice, they might have eaten like little piglets, heads down, devouring everything.

The strawberry cake was tasty, too: creamy and sweet, soft sponge cake, and fresh strawberries. But for some reason, the two children, who usually craved sweets, preferred Jiang Suisui’s cooking over the dessert.

After they were full, the three tidied up together.

The lettuce and meatball soup, barely touched, was stored in the fridge.

“Xingxing, Yueyue, go wash up. I’ll tell you a bedtime story later.”

Once the two kids went to the bathroom, Jiang Suisui opened the light screen and searched job listings on the StarNet.

She had only transmigrated two days ago. The original owner with her same name had died from overwork in a garbage dump. When she woke, her core chip had been replaced by Jiang Suisui’s.

So she had been adjusting to her new life and hadn’t had time to look for work.

Logging into the job site, she realized that people with genetic defects were discriminated against everywhere, and it was hard to find a good job.

Most companies hiring people with genetic defects only offered heavy manual labor positions.

They required working more than ten hours a day but paid pitifully little in StarCoins.

No wonder the original owner had survived by scavenging trash.

Jiang Suisui sighed but stubbornly kept searching for companies hiring people with genetic defects.

She thought to herself that if all else failed, she could try street vending. She didn’t believe a chef like her could starve!

After flipping through several pages, she suddenly spotted a company currently hiring.

[Morning Star Kindergarten, offering welfare positions for people with genetic defects.]