Chapter 199 - 200: So Sweet
Li Ji’s contentment didn’t last long.
Hua Manman spotted a small stall on the side of the road selling candy figures and ran over to buy the largest one they had.
She held the candy figure aloft in one hand and the flower lantern in the other.
Both of her hands were occupied, so she couldn’t keep holding hands with Li Ji.
Li Ji watched her expressionlessly.
Seeing this, Hua Manman thought he was craving a bite and offered him the candy figure she had already eaten a small part of.
"Would you like a taste?"
Li Ji stared at the bite mark on the candy figure. A moment later, he opened his mouth and took a bite from the exact same spot.
The candy was very sweet, slightly soothing his dissatisfaction.
When Hua Manman saw his expression soften, she was even more certain that he just had a sweet tooth. She asked considerately.
"How about I buy you one, too?"
Li Ji told her there was no need.
Hua Manman didn’t press the issue and went back to eating her candy.
First a lick, then a bite. Mmm, so sweet!
The next moment, she heard Prince Zhao speak.
"Let me have another taste."
Hua Manman looked at him, puzzled. "If you like it so much, why don’t you just buy your own?"
’Why does he have to keep eating mine?’
’I don’t even have enough for myself!’
Li Ji explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"To save money."
Hua Manman was rendered speechless.
’I mean, he’s not wrong, but you’re a dignified Prince! Do you really need to save a few pennies?!’
Li Ji prompted, "Hurry up. Let me have another bite."
Hua Manman had no choice but to hand the candy over.
Li Ji copied what she had done earlier, licking the spot she had bitten before taking a piece for himself.
Hua Manman watched him with a complicated expression.
’For some reason, she found Prince Zhao’s actions... a little erotic.’
Hearing her inner thoughts, Li Ji nearly bit his tongue.
’What on earth is going through this woman’s head?!’
Hua Manman asked, "Do you want more?"
Li Ji was still chewing on the candy, so his words were slightly muffled. "You go ahead and eat. Don’t worry about me."
So Hua Manman went back to munching on her candy.
To stop that damn man from freeloading off her again, Hua Manman deliberately opened her mouth wide and took a huge bite of the candy.
In the blink of an eye, half the candy was gone.
Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, making loud CRUNCHING noises.
Sure enough, the next moment she heard that damn man speak.
"Let me have another bite."
Hua Manman was speechless.
’I knew it! That damn man is just after my candy!’
’He pretends he doesn’t like sweets, but he actually loves them. He’s just too proud to admit it.’
’What a two-faced jerk!’
Li Ji, who heard her thoughts, was speechless.
’Does this woman have a hole in her brain? How can she make up so much nonsense?’
Hua Manman shoved the rest of the candy figure into Prince Zhao’s hand and said generously.
"Since you like it so much, you can have the rest. I’m going to see if there’s anything else tasty around."
With that, she trotted off cheerfully.
Li Ji held the candy figure and took another bite from the spot where Hua Manman had bitten.
He let the candy melt slowly in his mouth as he followed behind Hua Manman with his long strides.
Hua Manman twisted and turned, wandering down an increasingly remote path.
Seeing fewer and fewer pedestrians around, she suspected she’d taken a wrong turn and prepared to head back.
But as she rounded a corner, she unexpectedly saw a small noodle shop up ahead.
The noodle shop was holding a raffle for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Every customer who came in could draw a fortune stick. Those who drew a "top-grade" stick would get a free bowl of their signature braised pork noodles. A "mid-grade" stick got you half price, and a "low-grade" stick meant you paid full price.
Hua Manman smelled the fragrant aroma wafting from the noodle shop and decided to join in on the fun.
Her luck was good tonight; she immediately drew a top-grade stick.
The shop owner saw this and burst out laughing. "HAHAHA! You’re the only one to draw a top-grade stick tonight, young lady! Your luck is unbeatable!"
Hua Manman’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
She encouraged Prince Zhao to draw a stick for fun, too.
Li Ji casually pulled a stick from the bamboo tube.
It was a low-grade stick.
The shop owner was quite surprised, too.
He had filled the entire tube with sticks, most of them being mid-grade. It was a festival, after all; he had to offer some kind of discount, or the whole promotion would be pointless.
There were very few top-grade and low-grade sticks.
The former were rare to control costs, and the latter were rare because he didn’t want to disappoint his customers.
Of all the customers who had drawn sticks tonight, Hua Manman was the only one to get a top-grade, and Li Ji was the only one to get a low-grade.
The shop owner saw that the gentleman before him had an extraordinary bearing and was clearly not someone to be trifled with. Worried the man might get angry, he quickly added with a smile.
"A low-grade stick means you pay full price, but our shop can offer you a complimentary side dish of pickled radishes."
Hua Manman frowned, seemingly very bothered by the fact that Prince Zhao had drawn a low-grade stick.
Li Ji, however, didn’t care in the slightest.
’Luck is a fickle thing.’
’Better to believe in yourself than in luck.’
’A person’s will can triumph over fate.’
He casually tossed the stick back into the bamboo tube and said to Hua Manman,
"Do you want to eat? If so, let’s go in."
Hua Manman nodded, and they entered the shop and sat down together.
When the owner brought over two large, steaming bowls of noodle soup, Hua Manman pushed her bowl of signature braised pork noodles in front of Prince Zhao. Then, she pulled his bowl of dragon’s beard noodles over to herself.
Li Ji raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?"
Hua Manman stirred the dragon’s beard noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks and said with a grin,
"Even though you didn’t draw the top-grade stick, I can give my prize to you. That way, you can share in my good luck."
Li Ji felt as if his heart had been submerged in warm water. It was a warm, comfortable feeling.
He stared at her, his gaze fixed.
’No one had ever willingly shared their good luck with me before.’
Hua Manman grew a little embarrassed under his gaze. "Hurry up and eat! You have to eat noodles while they’re hot, or they’ll get all clumpy."
Li Ji picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat.
Just then, the woman across the table suddenly reached out with her chopsticks and, in one swift motion, plucked all the slices of braised pork from his bowl.
Hua Manman said, "I can share my good luck with you, but not the meat."
Li Ji was speechless.
In an instant, all the warmth he felt vanished without a trace.
’I’m such a fool.’
’To think I was actually moved for a second.’
’I must have been possessed just now!’
Hua Manman quickly finished off the braised pork. When she saw Prince Zhao just sitting there, chopsticks in hand, she couldn’t help but get restless again.
’There’s no more braised pork in Prince Zhao’s bowl, but there’s still a braised egg!’
’And braised eggs are super delicious, too!’
Li Ji heard her thoughts. He gave a cold snort, picked up the braised egg, and took a vicious bite.
The action was full of force.
It was as if he weren’t biting into a braised egg, but a certain woman’s head.
Hua Manman sighed.
’Ah, I was too slow. I couldn’t snatch the braised egg.’
Just then, the owner brought over the complimentary pickled radishes.
Hua Manman asked Prince Zhao if he ate pickled radishes.
Li Ji had no interest in pickled radishes, but he knew that if he said no, the woman in front of him would happily dump the entire dish into her own bowl.
So, he replied without a moment’s hesitation.
"I do!"
Hua Manman used her chopsticks to pick through the plate of radishes, finally managing to select the single smallest piece. She placed it in Prince Zhao’s bowl and said,
"Eat slowly. I’ll get you more if you run out."
With that, she dumped the rest of the radishes into her own bowl.
Li Ji: ???