Fwoosh.

Lin Ai turned off the flames from the stove.

Smelling the tangy sweet scent wafting from the saucepan, she nodded her head in satisfaction.

Then Lin Ai proceeded to pour the curry onto a large bowl filled to the brim with chewy noodles.

She knew her kids preferred their noodles a bit firmer.

After mixing the noodles, Lin Ai patted the nonexistent dust off her hands.

“Ok, time to call the kids for lunch.” she muttered to herself.

Leaving the spatula on the table, Lin Ai left the kitchen and headed upstairs.

Lin Ai was 33 years old this year and a strong single mother of two children.

She had black hair, obsidian eyes, and outstanding bulges in all the right places.

Coupled with her wheat colored skin and resolute temperament, Lin Ai was a well deserved beauty.

It was a pity her husband, Easter Parker, died right after the second child was born.

Lin Ai could still clearly recall that devastating day that shattered her heart.

A broken car, fractured windshield, and punctured guardrail

That day it was reported her husband was drunk driving and hit the guardrail.

The resulting inertia had thrown him out the windshield, over the guardrail, and into the vast sea.

Rescuers were sent down but her husband’s body was never recovered and still lost at sea.

However, she did not let grief get the best of her and forged on carrying their dreams of a happy family alone.

Lin Ai raised her children alone through tears and sweat.

You could imagine how difficult it was for a fresh college student with no job, skills, or support to raise a pair of children alone.

Many times she even felt like giving up so she could return to her husband’s embrace.

But she had a duty.

A responsibility as a mother and Easter’s wife.

Clock Clock

Lin Ai soon crossed the last step and arrived upstairs.

To her left and not far away from the stairs was a typical shoji door you would find in most traditional Japanese architecture.

Inside was her firstborn son…Jack Parker.

Shoji doors were a type of sliding door and in usual cases could not be locked.

Just like what a majority of moms back on Earth would do, Lin Ai didn’t give a single fart about her son’s privacy and gently slid open the door.

Slowly her eyes widened in surprise and she raised her right hand over her mouth that had turned into a big ‘O’.

(//゜ロ゜///)

Inside was a scene that shocked her views of human nature to the point of doubting life.

What did she see?

She saw her son, Jack Parker, clenching a black lace undergarment for women and slowly taking a deep breath.

His eyes were closed as if savoring some sort of scent and his head was raised like a proud soldier showing some sort of resolve.

Both hands were clenched into a fist and the right one clenched an underwear

The arms were curled up as if doing a bicep curl leaving the unclenched part of the underwear dangling down in full view.

( ง `ω´ )۶

Although the undergarment wasn't exactly under her son’s nose…

It was close enough for her to feel concerned!

Lin Ai gritted her teeth.

As a mother seeing her son acting so perverted she decided to…

…

…quietly step out of the room and close the door.

Out of mind, out of sight.

Today she saw nothing and remembered nothing.

Lin Ai was glad the shoji door slid without making any loud noises.

Or else even if she wasn’t the type of person to slam doors, her son would still be disturbed.

The money was well spent. Lin Ai thought.

She took a detour and decided to head to her daughter’s room instead.

As the mother of an such an unfilial son, Lin Ai wasn’t so angry.

Glad even…

The corner of her mouth turned up in a slight arc uncontrollably.

Lin Ai wiped her nonexistent tears and gleefully tiptoed away.

(Ｔ▽Ｔ)

Today her son had finally grown up.

Usually, her son who had zero interest in women and only looked at females as a walking piece of flesh with his unemotional eyes.

Right when she was about to except the fact that her son might be gay…

A happy little accident occurred.

It came so suddenly that she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Lin Ai sighed.

Ahh. Is this how parents feel when they see their children growing up? It’s quite wonderful…

—

New Dawn Calendar 282nd year.

It was early September and the weather was getting chilly.

The cool autumn air rustled the fallen leaves disturbing the efforts of some janitors.

This was the 282nd year since the New Dawn Federation was established and united the scattered countries across the world.

Every nation it conquered was separated into different provinces for a total of ninety five.

In order to quell rebellion, the New Dawn Federation decided to grant each province individual sovereignty on the conditions of obeying federal orders.

This resulted in every province having their own different scenery and culture.

At this time in the 27th province…

Nakamise street was blooming with vitality as hawkers and vendors set up stalls while some business restaurant owners hollered from across the street in order to solicit customers.

You could even see some people in maid costumes handing out flyers.

In an inconspicuous section of the street was an illegal street food stall that ran without a license.

The food stall was shaped like a wagon and its owner was a young man with messy black hair, black dead fish eyes, and a straight nose bridge.

He had a peachy skin tone that was slightly pale and an angular jaw.

The young man was slender with an inverted triangle physique and his straight hair was unstyled shooting out in all directions as if he had just woken up from bed.

Adding his melancholic temperament, he could barely be considered handsome.

Just barely…

While this young man wasn’t the most attractive, his food definitely was.

The lines that formed at his street food stall were significantly longer than his competitors.

Jack Parker routinely flipped the bacon on the sizzling stove.

Yes, this illegal street food stall was his.

Four years had passed since his “rebirth” and this year he was nineteen.

In order to support the family and his own hobbies, he started to sell food made from unique recipes on Earth and it became what it was today…

A street food stall without a license.

There was no way...

The procedures to get a license was too troublesome not to mention the fees and he was still considered a minor here on Latrom Star back then.

It was quite a miracle Jack Parker’s food stall had not been confiscated yet.

He attributed it to his luck bonus.

Today would also probably be the last day Jack ran his stall because his freshman year of college would soon begin in two days.

“Four years already in a blink of an eye already huh?” Jack reminisced.

His hands moved quickly despite his inner thoughts and soon a juicy bacon wrap was completed.

The bacon was well marinated with various herbal spices and fried to a perfect crisp.

Jack placed it on a paper plate and handed it to the middle aged customer, “Here yours uncle Sam. I added extra bacon just for you.”

“Thanks a lot as always kid. I’ll be back tomorrow as usual.” The fat uncle Sam grinned and happily took his breakfast while responding.

Unfortunately to uncle Sam’s disappointment, Jack Parker shook his head and announced what seemed like the end of the world to uncle Sam:

“I won’t be here tomorrow uncle.”

“Haha, I understand. You have something to do tomorrow right?” Uncle Sam nervously asked.

Jack mercilessly crushed poor uncle Sam’s hope.

“Nope, I won’t be here anymore. I have to attend college soon. You have to get your breakfast somewhere else.``

Uncle Sam regretfully nodded in understanding then ordered another bacon wrap. “Alas, then get me another one kid. I’ll have to cherish this one.”

The other customers in line: “...”

Uncle Sam watched Jack sizzle the bacon sadly as the people in line behind him cursed.

This street food stall which had a different menu everyday held a special place in uncle Sam’s heart.

Uncle Sam remembered that gloomy night when his big project had failed.

That day he was extremely depressed and was considering ending it all when this kid appeared.

That kid came up in a nonchalant manner and offered him a macaron sample which was the sweetest thing he had in the past five years.

His heart was like Moses parting the red sea as the clouds of gloom were pierced by sunlight.

He cried.

When his wife died, he was too busy with work and had no one to cook for him.

Since he didn’t know how to cook, uncle Sam survived on fast food which resulted in his health deteriorating day by day.

Until that kid came.

That one macaron reminded him of his wife’s sweetness and her cakes.

Touched, uncle Sam began to frequent Jack Parker’s stall and became a regular there.

And today his favorite food stall was going to close.

Forget the others waiting in line...

Could you imagine his devastation?

While uncle Sam monologued to himself, Jack Parker had completed the last bacon wrap.

Right when he was about to hand it over to uncle Sam, Jack heard a loud urgent shout.

“Quickly run! The Urban Street Management cops are here again!”

All around the street, several illegal food vendors became wind god possessed and packed up at the speed of light.

Then…

Whoosh

One by one they ran for their lives.

If they got caught operating without a license, although they wouldn’t be jailed, they would be fined 800 awns.

One awn was roughly one US dollar back on Earth.

So many awns were simply cutting their flesh!

These street vendors made only around a thousand awns from their stalls while the popular ones could make double.

Although this sounded like a lot, keep in mind this amount was only when they had good business.

And not all street stalls had good business everyday like Jack.

Jack Parker’s eyes sharpened and he quickly turned off the heat while stuffing the bacon wrap to uncle Sam.

“My bad. I gotta go everyone!”

Then with a swish, both Jack Parker and his stall were gone leaving some customers who hadn't had a chance at breakfast dumbfounded.

Yes… his food stall was shaped like a wagon for a reason.

All the properly experienced illegal vendors knew that having a mobile stall was the best choice for fleeing and Jack was a well seasoned veteran.

Uncle Sam and several other customers in line laughed as they were very familiar with this scene.

The fat uncle even attempted to buy some time for Jack to run away with his chubby body as a humanoid barrier.

Uncle Sam shouted, “Run kid, run!” while using the last bacon wrap as a sword preparing to meet the final boss.

(ง ͠ಥ_ಥ)ง

Jack Parker definitely seized the opportunity along with several other unscrupulous vendors.

However, the route Jack Parker took was different from usual this time.

Since today was his final day vending, he was going to head straight home instead of hiding in a remote alley waiting for inspection from the urban management to pass.