Mingshen stared at the sight of a bustling street food market. It buzzed with life with its narrow lanes illuminated by strings of hanging lanterns that cast a warm, golden glow. Stalls lined both sides, each offering mouth-watering aromas of grilled skewers, steaming dumplings, bubbling soups, and fresh scallion pancakes. The air humd with chatter, laughter and the occasional clatter of chopsticks.
His gaze lowered at Jia. "You want to have dinner here?"
Jia looked up in return. "I think this is a fair compensation for giving up on Huojin’s ho cooked food."
"I can cook too. Your neighbor and her grandson brat thoroughly relished my green curry chicken."
The surprise in her expression was evident. "You cooked for them?"
"I was free labour."
"I see."
"Does that brat really call you Jia?"
"Is there a problem?"
"I guess adding sis before your na won’t hurt him."
"Will you be offended if Lii and Weiyun call you by your na instead of Uncle Mingshen?"
"I am very flexible."
" too."
They walked along the street with Mingshen following Jia’s slow pace as she took her ti to scout the best food stalls.
"Let’s have so barbeque."
Jia slled the delicious fragrances of different at skewers and her eyes shone like a child in an amusent park.
"Two beef and pork skewers for !" She chirped.
The vendor grinned. "Coming right up! What about you, Sir?" He asked, eyeing Mingshen.
"Sa as her."
"Sure!"
He quickly served them piping hot skewers and they took a seat at a nearby sitting area. Jia slid the first piece of the juicy at into her mouth and her lips imdiately tingled with the spicy zest.
Yum!
She glanced at Mingshen, whose skewer was already two pieces down. Mingshen felt her gaze.
"What?"
"I thought you were the type of young master to look down on street food."
"Mom will bury alive if I do that. She is a fan of street food," he shrugged and reminisced about the past. "She has taken to tons of street food markets in all these years. I have tried everything. I don’t look down on these vendors as long as they treat food with basic respect and hygiene, which I see these people doing."
Jia ate another piece and gave a slow nod.
Mingshen peeked at her and asked, "Have you co here before?"
"Many tis. Tasty and budget friendly."
"I see."
They ate in silence and finished their skewers. They left that area and Jia stopped in front of a takoyaki stall this ti.
"Two jumbo takoyakis please."
A young woman bustling with energy greeted them. "Right away!"
A few minutes later, Mingshen stared at the jumbo-sized takoyaki and held a genuine question in his mind. "How do I eat this?"
"I thought you had tried everything."
"Normal sized takoyakis, yes. What is this monster?"
The woman brightened. "The newest addition to our nu!"
"Clearly, I am lagging behind the tis," he smiled.
Instead of heading to the sitting area, they decided to walk and eat this ti. Jia picked the huge takoyaki with her disposable chopstick and took a big bite. On the other hand, Mingshen miserably failed to keep his piece stable between his chopsticks and it fell back in the container.
"It requires practice," Jia said.
Mingshen looked at her. The lantern’s yellow glow fell on her face from the side, making her eyes glisten. He held his gaze at her for a long mont.
"I will do my best," he took a pause. "It will be faster to learn if I have an expert like you to teach ."
Jia slowed down eating just by a fraction. She simply humd in response.
Silence filled the space between them once again with only the crackling sound of boiling oil echoing in the air.
"I am sorry."
Jia stopped in her tracks, slightly widening her eyes. Her lips parted, trying to say sothing but she failed. His voice was slow and deep as he t her gaze. She held his gaze as people passed from their side.
Mingshen looked down at his takoyaki, fiddling it with his chopsticks. He t her gaze again.
"I shouldn’t have co with you when I was clearly uncomfortable eting him."
Jia stared at him, watching his black irises dart left to right in a slight anxiousness she had never seen in him before.
"I am sorry for causing a scene. I didn’t an to be that harsh. It just...happened."
She slightly tapped her chopsticks against the container, her gaze thoughtful and contemplative.
"Let’s keep walking. It’s getting more crowded."
They did so but the delayed reaction finally set in Mingshen as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He peeked glances at her, her silence unnerving him.
How did I fuck up now?
Mingshen chewed a big bite of his takoyaki to calm his nerves and distract himself.
Was my apology offensive? He wondered.
"I wasn’t pitying Zhuo Syaoran."
Mingshen blinked twice, his gaze falling back on her. But she didn’t return it and instead fiddled with her takoyaki.
"I genuinely admire the way he lives with grace despite such a frail body. I don’t pity him because I wouldn’t like others to pity either."
Mingshen frowned, feeling stumped. "Who pities you?"
"Are you pulling my leg?"
"Why would I?"
Jia blinked at him. "You know my past so you would also understand how people think about . A little girl lost her parents and was forced to live a life with the void of their love and support. She raised her little sister and had to sacrifice so much. If that wasn’t enough, then her parents turned out to..." she suddenly stopped, not finding the courage to complete the sentence.
Jia slightly clenched the container in her hand. A wry smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"’Poor Jia. Her life is so difficult.’
’Ah that poor girl lost her parents at such a young age. Such a harsh fate she got.’
’Jia works so hard. It breaks my heart to see her like this.’
’Suddenly becoming a parent figure for Lihua must be so daunting for her. Poor her.’"
Jia looked up at him and gave a light smile.
"Sure, I was mad because you said so very harsh words to Zhuo Syaoran. But...it hurt more when you thought that I was sympathizing with him. It reminded of how people have always pitied . And then gradually distanced themselves from thinking I would latch onto their pity like a leech and ask for favors. I hated that ti of my life."
Her eyes moistened under the lantern’s glow. "It was...humiliating."
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