14 - The Fourteenth Flavor

Translator: tarararawr

Xian Bei was signing the books for the entire morning. It looked like she was very diligent, but in fact…….

She was very absent-minded.

Her lower jaw……it was where Chen Zhuo touched her. It felt like sandpaper was rubbing the place he touched a thousand times. The temperature did not drop the entire time.

Xian Bei could only prop her chin and deceive herself by pretending to not care at all. She swiftly signed one book after another.

As for the old man that carelessly baked the little girl’s heart into iron, he was sitting down in his original spot and was smoothly flipping through the manga.

He was eagerly reading it for the second time.

This might be the magic of a good work of art.

The morning passed by quietly.

Yuan Yuan came in to check the progress, and to also feed her pitiful little artist.

Xian Bei already signed a little more than 2,000 books and was quite efficient. Yuan Yuan was naturally satisfied and handed her a lunchbox with both hands.

Additionally, she didn’t forget Boss Chen’s share.

After all……

The atmosphere between the two people were different when they received their lunches.

Xian Bei couldn’t stop nodding her head and bowing 1 , while Chen Zhuo only said thanks in a light manner.

Yuan Yuan sat down across the table from them. She saw Xian Bei holding her chin up all the time. Puzzled, she asked, “Xian Bei, do your teeth hurt?”

Xian Bei felt like she had a brain fever and she shook her head.

When she opened the lunch box, Yuan Yuan spoke again. “I bought what you like.”

Xian Bei looked down. Shrimp with scrambled eggs 2 and Sichuan poached fish 3 ……

In truth, she’s not a picky eater. It’s just……

If she remembered correctly, it should have been more than a year ago.

Yuan Yuan politely invited her out to eat when they met for the first time.

Yuan Yuan held the menu in her hand. “What do you want to eat?”

The restaurant had a lively scene where many people gathered to drink alcohol. The shadowy 4 atmosphere made Xian Bei feel uncomfortable.

She was picking at the table edge at the time and didn’t answer.

Yuan Yuan asked her, “Do you eat scrambled eggs?”

Xian Bei nodded.

“What about Sichuan poached fish?”

She nodded again.

Yuan Yuan placed the order for a few more dishes.

Xian Bei continued to express herself in the same manner.

In the end, Yuan Yuan was pleasantly surprised. “Did I happen to order everything that you like? It seems like we think alike. In the future, we will certainly cooperate well!”

In reality, Xian Bei was only afraid of expressing her dislike for something.

She was scared that it would lead to someone resenting her. Excessive emotional attention could also produce a lot of anxiety for her too. It didn’t matter if the energy was positive or negative.

Xian Bei sighed when she thought about it and made herself anxious.

Yuan Yuan turned to Chen Zhuo when she was unable to get Xian Bei to socialize. She coldly joked, “Boss Chen, does renting your place come with a service for the landlord to escort the tenant when they go out?”

Snap. The disposable chopsticks in Xian Bei’s hands…….accidentally broke…….

It unexpectedly happened while Yuan Yuan was talking. Thus, the situation extended into embarrassment.

Yuan Yuan became silent.

Xian Bei’s face flushed. Today, there were all of these shameful situations happening.

She wanted to hit the ground.

Of course, she didn’t dare to really hit it, but she did secretly hit her heart.

She really wanted to explain her frustration. This was only a result of her hand being sore after signing books the entire morning. It was absolutely not because of a tremor in her heart that led to her hand shaking.

However, she couldn’t do it. She could only silently shout it.

Chen Zhuo quickly glanced at her. He handed her the pair of chopsticks that had just been opened. “Here. I haven’t used it yet.”

Xian Bei quietly stuttered, “N……no need……”

“Do you want me to feed you?” He said a slightly teasing remark in a serious manner.

Xian Bei’s head was rattling again.

“Then take it?” The man raised his eyebrows.

Xian Bei took it in a hurry and leaned forward for a while. “Thank you……”

Chen Zhuo didn’t respond to her thank you. He allowed nature to take its course, so he took her chopsticks.

One of the broken sticks was the same length as a small pen. He looked at it for a while before looking at Yuan Yuan. “Did you just ask me if there are any services that I give?”

Yuan Yuan was observing them the entire time. Her forehead wrinkles appeared because after all, the atmosphere was what one would call peculiar.

Yuan Yuan quickly managed her expression and answered, “Yes. Services to accompany the tenant when they go out.”

Chen Zhuo nodded and his smile deepened. He admitted four words: “Depends on the person.”

Xian Bei’s chopsticks were unsteady and this time, she broke a piece of scrambled eggs.

Ah!

She looked out with the corners of her eyes. Luckily, no one noticed the small movement.

She quickly put it in her mouth and chewed. Then, she swallowed to destroy all traces of it.

——

Xian Bei continued to sign the books during the quiet afternoon.

Chen Zhuo was still waiting. He switched from reading manga to using his cell phone.

He has nothing to do all day…….

Isn’t it boring?

Xian Bei couldn’t help but sneak glances at him.

Especially when she thought about his actions this morning or those ambiguous words from this afternoon. Xian Bei was letting her imagination run wild on a mental journey into the skies……

Hey, it really affected her signing speed……

She would never be able to finish signing by tomorrow like this. TAT 5

Xian Bei took out a small spiral planner from her bag and tore out a page.

She scribbled down: There is a library next door. You can go and have a look.

The paper rustled as she pushed it over.

The man received it and he looked at it. The round handwriting style was very cute.

Hm? Kick him out?

Chen Zhuo raised his eyebrows and looked at Xian Bei. She was holding the marker and her head was very close to the book. Her writing posture was a typical example of what not to do that was found in primary school textbooks.

This must be how the bad habit of slouching was formed.

Xian Bei was signing at a rapid speed and she acted like she wasn’t paying attention. However, her tense back betrayed herself.

Chen Zhuo didn’t want her to be distracted anymore, so he didn’t stay. He stood up to leave. “Then I’ll go.”

Xian Bei exhaled.

But in the next moment, the slightly relaxed back once again became stiff.

It was because when this person was passing by, he quickly patted her on the back. Smiling, he said, “Do you want to eat books? Keep your head up.”

His tone was patient. Yet, the heat from the pat swept across the girl’s face in an instant and caused a storm in her heart.

Xian Bei immediately straightened up……

Like a clumsy student getting their posture corrected in front of everyone in the classroom……

Death also did not dare to bend its back down again……

——

Chen Zhuo stayed at the library for a while. There were many colorful books.

The book spines were neatly coded in a grid pattern and looked like knowledge candies displayed in organized boxes.

Chen Zhuo turned around twice, but he didn’t take any of the books.

He didn’t have any interests in reading manga books at all. Many things, as he said earlier, depended on the person.

Because he wanted to know someone, he would spend time reading her work.

Because he wanted to feel reassured about someone, he would follow her steps to guard her from behind.

Chen Zhuo walked past another row of bookshelves and ran into Yuan Yuan.

The woman with a ponytail was arranging some books. She also saw the man. She looked sideways and asked, “Did you come here to read?”

Chen Zhuo replied, “Just walking around.”

Yuan Yuan asked, “Have you read Xian Bei’s manga?”

Chen Zhuo nodded. “I’ve read it.”

Yuan Yuan smiled and her face showed the confidence that she had for her artist. “Her work is excellent, right?”

Chen Zhuo gave a “Mhm” to express his approval. But at this moment, he cared more about another topic compared to manga. So, he straightforwardly asked, “Was she like this before?”

Yuan Yuan tacitly understood. “She was like this when I met her.”

Chen Zhuo didn’t continue speaking. He looked pensive and began to walk out.

Yuan Yuan put her arm on the bookshelf to stop him. “Aren’t you curious?”

Chen Zhuo couldn’t go further. “You know?”

The corners of Yuan Yuan’s mouth slightly curled up. “You are not the only one who is curious about her because of her personality.”

She continued to explain. “I was also very curious. I tried to visit some of her former classmates from middle school and high school, so I have some answers.”

She gradually changed her tone of voice to intrigue him. “Do you want to know?”

Chen Zhuo did not express a straight answer, but only said, “Will she say it herself one day?”

Yuan Yuan slightly tilted her head. “You mean if she will open her heart?”

Chen Zhuo: “Yeah.”

Yuan Yuan smiled and shook her head. “She won’t.”

Chen Zhuo was a bit defensive. “How do you know she won’t?”

Yuan Yuan’s hand was still on the bookshelf and she looked at him critically. “It’s easy for us to reveal everything to people who we are close to because that is how we express our trust and love.”

“Xian Bei is different. She is that type of person where if she can’t say it, then she won’t say it. She thinks it’s better to not reveal any emotions to the outside world and that only this can stop any possibility of hurting other people. But she doesn’t realize that it has the opposite effect. Extremely introverted people are doomed to be unpopular and unlikeable because everyone is eager to interact or get a response from each other. They want to easily understand someone’s feelings and thoughts. Who has the time to calmly and slowly think about someone else?”

Yuan Yuan let out a long sigh. “But what can we do? There is such a person that loves the world without making a sound.”

She looked at Chen Zhuo as soon as her voice dropped. Her gaze sharpened while she contemplated.

“Can you still say it depends on the person now?”

Footnotes

点头哈腰 (diǎntóuhāyāo) – idiom for excessively fawning. 虾仁滑蛋 (xiārénhuádàn) – shrimp and eggs stir fried until juicy and tender. 水煮鱼片 (shuǐzhǔyúpiàn) – slices of fish boiled in oil, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried red chili peppers. 人影绰绰 (rén yǐng chuò chuò) – term to describe mental irritation caused by crowds. TAT is an emoticon for crying.