“A warm meal might make her open up,” Xiao thought as he finished preparing one of his special dishes. The pleasant aroma brought a satisfied smile to his face.

“Iva! Time to eat. Come over to the dining table,” he called out warmly.

Iva stood by a chair, her messy hair obscuring her expression.

“Umm… well, please, sit,” Xiao said, feeling the heat of the dishes burning his hands. He quickly placed them on the table and gestured for Iva to sit.

Iva nodded and sat down, followed by Xiao.

No one speaks a word. An awkward silence creeps in, except for the loud rumbling sounds coming from Iva's stomach.

"Well, you can start eating already," says Xiao as he extends his hand to Iva, telling her it's okay to eat the dish in front of her.

Iva, who was already drooling by the sight of hot delicious looking food in front of her, cautiously picked up the wooden spoon and took a small bite of the food.

While Iva was testing out her food- a bowl of mashed potato mixed with meat strips and mushroom, Xiao examined her expression. He was worried that the dishes didn't suit her taste.

But that changed once he saw Iva's face lighten up. She immediately took a mouthful of her food and stuffed it into her mouth, followed by another big spoon of it.

"Hahaha! Take it slowly, be careful not to choke on your food."

Xiao gently warned Iva, but she was too focused on filling her stomach to listen, continuing to wolf down the mashed potatoes.

"Guess I should eat too," says Xiao as he started dining his food, which was grilled fish with some steamed vegetables.

"Hmm....maybe a bit more black pepper would be perfect," Xiao judges his dish as he took time to savor the taste.

Xiao then noticed that Iva was eating with one hand on a spoon, and the other hand was busy pushing away her hair that kept blocking her face.

Although Iva has beautiful gold hair, all of that got ruined by how messy her hair was. She has short curly hair, but her bangs were too long, and her hair length was not balanced.

Xiao continues to observe Iva's appearance, for he never takes a good look at her before. She was covered in a cape when Xiao found her, and she got put in bed right after Xiao brought her home.

Besides her messy hair, Xiao also realizes the miserable state her clothes and shoes were in. She was wearing a sack-made cloth that has multiple broken holes. The same goes for her sack-made shoes, which have passed beyond repair. Xiao was amazed that she was able to walk up until now in those shoes.

Xiao moves on to examine Iva's body height, which he estimated to be around 145cm.

("An average height of a primary scholar. Should I ask her age? No, no, no, that would be kind of rude. Mom told me before that never to ask a girl's age unless she tells herself.")

Deciding not to make things more awkward like he did early on, Xiao kept quiet and enjoyed his meal.

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Iva finished her meal first. She was showing a satisfied expression as she just sat motionlessly in dazed.

"....thank you," Iva blurted out the words to Xiao while he was still eating, which nearly made him choke on his food.

Xiao reactively grabs the nearby cup of water and gulps it down. After regaining his composure, Xiao gently smiles at Iva.

"You're welcome. I hope you like it," said Xiao.

Iva just nods her head in return. She kept looking down at the floor, which her bang blocked her face from Xiao.

"Well then, I'm sure you except me ask you a lot of questions, but before that, allow me to ask you one important question first?" says Xiao.

Iva curiously stares at Xiao.

Xiao comes closer to her, which starts to make her feel anxious. And then Xiao opens his mouth with a smile.

"Would you like a haircut?"

Iva was dumbstruck by the question at first, but she nodded her head without much consideration.

Xiao leads her to the bathroom and places her in front of a mirror. Iva was amazed by how clear the mirror's reflection was. She has never seen something like this before in her life.

Xiao didn't notice her surprise as he prepared a scissor and a hair comb.

"I'm quite curious on how you can see things with this hair of yours," says Xiao while he was looking at Iva's furball-like hair in the mirror.

"Alright, you would feel better if you shut your eyes. It would be pretty irritating if hairs get into your eyes," says Xiao.

Iva nods her head and closes her eyes.

("Now then, let's activate my Gamer Eyes first.")

Xiao activates his almost all-purpose Gamer Eyes. Immediately after the activation, Xiao focuses his thoughts on cutting the hairstyle he wants for Iva.

Xiao was not a professional hairdresser, even during his old life. He also didn't take any training on cutting hair. What makes it possible for him to confidently cut his and others hair was, once again, the power of his Gamer Eyes.

As he focuses his thought on cutting Iva's hair, his eyes reveal the places and the steps he needs to take. All Xiao had to do was to follow the steps.

Luckily, Xiao was quite good with his hand, so he has no problem following the procedures.

("Now that I'm so close to her, her hair smells.....stink. Can't really say that in front of her, right?")

Xiao resists the smell as he continues to work on Iva's hair. He first prepares a bottle of hair shampoo, which he created, and a bucket of water. He then starts cleaning and scrubbing her hair.

Xiao tries to be as gentle as possible as he massages Iva's head while deep cleaning her hair. Iva stays obedient throughout the whole process. She displayed a pleasing expression without Xiao knowing it.

After washing all the dirt and filth out of her hair, Xiao uses another of his creations, an elemental stone-based hair dryer, to dry her hair.

When Iva's hair has completely dried, Xiao moves on to cut her hair.

Iva twitched as she felt her hairs kept dropping to her face and shoulder. Still, her eyes remain shut while Xiao skillfully cuts her hair.

Gradually, Iva felt that the weight on her head was getting lighter. And finally, the cutting sound of the scissor stops.

"That's about it. Alright, you can open your eyes now," says Xiao while brushing off any hairs that stuck on her face and shoulder.

Obeying Xiao's instruction, Iva slowly opens her eyes.

("Who is this person?")

That was the first thing Iva thought the moment she laid her eyes upon the mirror.

The person in the mirror has a short perm hairstyle, with the color of natural gold. Her hair bang was neatly arranged in such a way that it reveals her golden eyes.

"Is this....me?" Iva spoke, not realizing she was telling her thoughts out loud.

"Well...I may not be a professional, but at least you should be able to clearly see what's in front of you from now on. Sorry if you don't like how I cut your hair," Xiao says embarrassingly.

He thought that Iva would hate him for being a busybody and even ruined her hair as a result.

But his doubt was clear when Iva was showing a delightful smile while looking at her own reflection. This was the first time Xiao saw her smile, and it was a priceless smile.

As for Iva, for the first time in her life, Iva felt refreshed and anew.