The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao and the two girls rode their bikes slowly, enjoying the evening mood. Sasha asked slowly, “Hey guys, what do you think about the school festival happening next week? I heard Samuel Dimitri will come over.”

Her voice was excited while her eyes were shining. Kiya shook her head and said, “Can you not fangirl over a married man?”

Sasha pouted and said, “It is not wrong to fangirl over him. It’s not like I am stealing him.”

Yang Dao said, “Buddha said wrecking a marriage is worse than wrecking a building or was it something else.” he tilted his head thinking about whether or not what he said was correct. The girls gave him a surprised gaze and started laughing.

They did not expect this woodman to crack a joke. The boy asked them, “What?”

Kiya shook her head and said, ‘Your EQ is improving.”

The boy gave them a white glance and sped up. Amidst the banter, the three people arrived at the residency. The guards saluted him as Yang Dao passed the entrance. They came in front of the apartment and were about to press the doorbell when the door popped open. Lisa bowed slightly and spoke in her mellow voice, “Welcome home, Young Master.”

Yang Dao nodded and walked inside. He took off his shoes and sensed something. He turned back and asked, “What is it, you two? Why not come inside?”

His question brought back the two from their thoughts. They walked in and Sasha asked him in a low voice, “Who is this pretty lady?”

The boy gazed at Lisa and smiled. “She is Lisa, an employee at our courtyard mansion and also the voice and avatar model of the assistant program, LISA.” that he introduced the three and went inside the house. He wanted to change his clothes after he just spent a whole day running around.

Lisa, in the meantime, hosted the two girls. She answered all the questions Kiya and Sasha asked, such as how old was she, how long has she been working for Feng Household. She did not hesitate and confidently answered the two. The interactions with Yang Dao these days have made her a bit more confident. Plus, Sasha and Kiya were beautiful. Lisa thought of them as porcelain dolls with fake hair on their heads.

I wonder if the two girls would laugh or cry if they found out how Lisa visualized them. While the three were immersed in chatting, Yang Dao walked out of his room. He was wearing a cotton shirt and lower. He asked Lisa, “Come let’s cook.”

Lisa excused herself and followed Yang Dao inside the kitchen. She was going to play assistant chef. Yang Dao was a better chef than her, so she would take this chance to learn stuff.

…

Outside in the living room, Sasha said, “Kiya, you have a lot of competition.”

Kiya stuck out her tongue at the former. This was something she knew instinctively that Yang Dao, such an amazing guy, would have a lot of girls behind him yet she wanted to try her best. The fire of love raged in her heart and it was at this moment she confirmed her heart.

…

Suddenly, the doorbell rang again. Lisa said, “I will take it.”

Yang Dao nodded and focused on cooking the chicken dish in front of him. Lisa walked to the door and peeked through the eyehole on the door. She saw two women standing outside the door. She knew one of them, so she pushed open the door.

She smiled and bowed slightly as she greeted the guest, “Welcome, Secretary Mary.”

The visitors were Mary and Yurika. They were here to have Yang Dao sign some urgent documents and orders for them. Mary smiled, “Lisa, long time no see.”

She had been to the Dao courtyard a few times in the past. Although she has never talked to Lisa in private, she knew her by name and face. With that said Lisa escorted the two of them inside, and yang Dao’s voice sounded, “Lisa, who is it?” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

Before Lisa could reply the second girl accompanying Mary spoke in a high voice, “DAO, YOU BRAT, HOW DARE YOU COOK SPECIAL CURRY CHICKEN WITHOUT TELLING ME.”

Everyone was surprised at her scream, they did not expect her to react like this, but before they could register what happened Yang Dao’s laughter echoed followed by a sentence, “Oh so it is Rika the food cop with her dog nose and buffalo belly.”

Yurika busted a gasket and rolled her sleeves as she walked to the kitchen. Her face was red and a blue vein was twitching in her temple. She had just reached the kitchen entrance when Yang Dao said, without even looking at her, “If you take one step closer I will deduct your salary, stop cooking and also call sister Tina. You handle your own tushy.”

Yurika stopped and gazed at him with her mouth wide open. She pointed a trembling finger at him and said, “You have become a capitalist. I knew this would happen.”

Yang Dao countered, “Says the one who wants to be the richest and have a male harem for herself.”

Yurika squinted her eyes and barged into the kitchen as she said, “You have done it.”

Soon after pleading sounds of “Mercy, my old mother, you will ruin the food. YOU WASH YOUR HANDS PLEASE.” erupted from the kitchen.

Yurika was aware of Yang Dao’s OCD, so she exploited it. The boy finally took the concession and apologized to her. Yurika walked out of the kitchen with her chin high. She said, “You are still too young to fight with me, Youngman.”

Yang Dao shook his head, and Lisa served the juices to the two. Yurika was an outgoing girl, so she broke the ice and told everyone that she was from the same orphanage as Yang Dao. Soon the four girls talked to each other about various topics as Lisa stood at the side to attend to them.

A few minutes later the Dao ‘chef’ child also walked out of the kitchen, with a black apron around his waist. he said, “The dinner will be done in a few minutes.”

Then he turned to Mary and asked, “madam, what brought you here this late?”

Mary smiled and said, “Young Master, the company now has the eligibility to be a listed one.” she had a wide smile on her face.

Yang Dao asked, “What is the benefit of being listed? I do not intend to let others get in and disturb the progress. As for the market valuation? Doesn’t matter. We can get loans from Sister Yun. No need to bother with it. Do recruit some robotic experts, I have a new project.”

Mary was not surprised at this. Feng Yun had already predicted this. She said, “Very well, Young Master. I will have it done as soon as possible.”

She showed him the details of the ventures and research she had shortlisted for investment. Yang Dao then told her to hold off fifty percent of the funds. He wanted to set up an independent team to work on a secret project. This project will shake the entire world. The details were to be known by only those who are involved in it.

Mary nodded to his proposals. She has been working with Feng Yun and was not a newbie anymore. The two people went to the study to talk about the project. They only came out after thirty minutes when Lisa knocked on the door. The chicken sitting in the oven was now ready to partake. So Lisa wanted to remind him about this, as per his instructions.

Mary came out with a flash of awe in her eyes as they gazed at the young boy in front of her. She would go to Feng Yun in the morning and tell her about the things Yang Dao proposed today.

Yang Dao glazed the chicken with the curry he prepared. Then, the food was served. Everyone ate together. Mary and Yurika returned to their accommodation so that they could commute easily in the morning. While Sasha and Kiya rode their bikes back to the college dorms.

After the colorful meal, Yang Dao sat in a hammock on the balcony. He was dwelling over the things he wanted to do in the future.

The ingredients were ready, now he had to mix them up efficiently and with patience, he must cook a wonderful dish. The Dao child used cooking as the reference for his plans and his goal became a dish for him. This was an easier way to set off on a journey. Imagine it as a lot of small journeys.

Today was the actual first step he took towards his goal. What lay in front of him was a long and boring path, so to make it balanced he added a lot of small goals in this journey and even more steps to the goal. This was not to enhance the length of the journey but to make it enjoyable.

The Dao Child always did things in a balance, so how could he just blindly charge to the main goals and not enjoy the journey? How can the Dao be so bland?