After some thought, she realized that her male friends, already familiar to Melon, wouldn't serve as convincing substitutes for a call from his father.

Picking up her phone, Ariana had an idea. She would hire a male voice actor from a gig platform that offered same-day payment to make the call.

She quickly found a reputable platform online and posted her request.

To maintain her privacy, she offered only a basic description of the task at hand and specified that the actor needed to be available for work immediately the next day.

After making her post, Ariana kept an eye on her phone, awaiting a response. However, no one seemed to accept the task for some time.

Then, suddenly, a notification popped up on her phone. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was a video call request from the affluent online friend who had recently developed an interest in making food for his daughter.

Ariana was slightly taken aback. Receiving a video call at such a late hour was unexpected. She was about to decline the call when it ended from the other side.

Moments later, a text message arrived.

"Sorry, I pressed the wrong button."

Ariana responded, "It's fine."

Feeling restless and somewhat curious due to her own emotional turmoil, she inquired, “Why are you awake at this hour?"

Soon enough, another message popped up.

“Insomnia. I'm researching baby food."

This was followed by a photo showing a pile of ingredients. Another message quickly appeared.

“How do you make osmanthus milk jelly?"

Ariana paused to think before starting to type out the recipe.

But as she did so, she realized that mere words might not accurately convey the nuances of the dish. The proportions of the ingredients were key, and it was difficult to get them right based solely on a written recipe.

Given his previous, less-than-stellar attempt at making a cupcake, Ariana suspected that he might not be an experienced cook. Following the recipe to the letter could lead to a disappointing result.

So she deleted her original message and typed anew.

"Can we video chat? I'll show you how to make it."