“She doesn’t have a daughter?”
Yu Qing stopped mid-step as he entered the shop.
“No.” Mi Xiaobai thought for a moment. “Though plenty of people do think she has one.”
The moment he finished speaking, Yu Qing saw Walnut accept the photograph and examine it curiously.
“My grandma’s daughter? So this is what she looked like? I’ve only heard a few things about her. I’ve never seen a picture before.”
Yu Qing: “...Clearly, the old woman’s own grandson thinks she has one too.”
Mi Xiaobai joked, “Then she’s pretty wicked. How could she even lie to her grandson?”
Yu Qing: “…”
In fact, it was not only the old woman’s grandson.
The hotel receptionist, the photography studio employee, and virtually everyone in the island city who had ever heard of this noodle shop believed the same story—
There was an unremarkable little noodle shop beneath the covered arcades on Gongqiao Street in the Lower City. The storefront was small and the prices low, but its toppings and broth were so delicious they could make your eyebrows fall off.
Later, the daughter who did the cooking died unexpectedly.
The old woman was devastated. Her health failed, and the noodle shop remained closed for a long time.
It was not until she adopted a homeless child who slept beneath a bridge and taught him how to prepare the broth that the shop finally reopened.
“I’m not particularly interested in exposing other people’s lies,” Mi Xiaobai said indifferently. “If she tells everyone, inside and outside the family, that she has a daughter, then we can just pretend she does.”
That really was how he was.
In all the years Yu Qing had known him, Mi Xiaobai had been indifferent to and uninterested in most things.
If there was one exception, it was probably teasing people. That, he never seemed to tire of.
Sure enough, he immediately added,
“As long as our clever, perceptive Mr. Painted Skin doesn’t get fooled.”
“…”
Yu Qing was silent for a moment before finally asking,
“Could you get one thing straight?”
“Mm?” Mi Xiaobai responded.
Have you ever considered that most of the times I’ve been fooled in the past were because of you?
Yu Qing wanted to say it.
But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them again.
For someone as stubborn as him, admitting something like that was far from easy.
In the end, he merely pressed his lips together in silence.
The early-morning rain in the island city often fell without sound.
It also blurred conversations from only a few steps away until they seemed to come through fog, making the surrounding silence feel even deeper.
Mi Xiaobai behaved himself for a while.
He said nothing.
He seemed to be watching Yu Qing.
It was strange.
Logically, Mi Xiaobai should not have been able to see anything right now. He could only listen.
Yet Yu Qing distinctly felt as though he were being observed.
A moment later, Mi Xiaobai confirmed that feeling.
He suddenly spoke softly beside Yu Qing’s ear.
“Caught you. You were secretly cursing me, weren’t you?”
Yu Qing: “…”
For once, he neither denied it nor answered.
In the upper-right corner of his vision, the little Painted Skin figure finally turned around from where it had been facing away.
It still had its arms folded, face expressionless, gaze drifting elsewhere with the air of someone extraordinarily difficult to please.
A few seconds later, a number suddenly floated above its head.
+3
Yu Qing: “…”
“Mm?”
Mi Xiaobai made a quiet, questioning sound.
Yu Qing pretended not to hear.
As though he had suddenly remembered something important, he flicked the blue-green butterfly away and strode toward Three Ks.
“You’re not allowed to talk. I’m going to see what’s happening over there.”
“Fine,” Mi Xiaobai drawled. “I’ll cooperate for a while and play mute.”
Mr. Painted Skin had not actually been making excuses.
Ever since Mi Xiaobai said that Lady Meng had no daughter, Yu Qing had been keeping an eye on Three Ks in case handing over the photograph triggered some unexpected event.
Fortunately, so far, nothing had happened.
Walnut clearly did not know the woman in the photograph.
After accepting it, he simply nodded politely.
“Thanks, then.”
But when he carried the photograph back inside the shop, the countdown for the time-limited quest in Team Chat continued.
No quest-completion notification appeared.
Was it because Walnut was not related to the old woman by blood?
Did the photograph have to be placed directly in her hands?
No one understood.
With only one minute left, Three Ks hurriedly called,
“Hey, Walnut! Why don’t you give that photograph to your grandma?”
Then, worried that he sounded far too goal-oriented, he hastily added in the most transparently suspicious way possible,
“Your grandma would probably be absolutely delighted to receive this wonderful news within the next sixty seconds!”
“…”
Yu Qing was deeply impressed by his astonishing conversational skills.
Walnut, however, only looked baffled.
“What?”
Shan Bei could not take it anymore and quietly warned him,
“Careful. The NPC’s going to think you’re insane.”
“Then I’m insane! Being insane for a minute won’t kill me!”
Three Ks stared at the countdown, frantic enough to claw at his own head.
He had originally wanted to say that no normal person worried about an NPC thinking they were crazy.
So what if they did?
People searched all kinds of bizarre things on their phones every day. Did anyone worry their phone might think they were a pervert?
Of course not.
But then Three Ks remembered Lord Spicy Soup, who had turned into an NPC.
The words never left his mouth.
Besides, the more he interacted with the inhabitants of this game, the more he felt there was something strange about them.
As though they were not merely cold electronic data at all.
Thinking of that, Three Ks finally said something normal.
“I mean, your grandma would probably want to see her sooner too.”
“Maybe.”
Walnut crushed his hopes without mercy.
“Too bad Grandma’s still sleeping in.”
Three Ks stared at him.
“Your grandma is doing what?”
“Sleeping in.”
Walnut sounded annoyed.
“The old woman sleeps all the time. Every day she complains she has too much on her mind and can’t sleep, then spends the whole day taking one nap after another.”
Three Ks: “…”
Was this NPC—
“…My grandma’s like that too.”
That casual point of similarity made Walnut warm up to him considerably.
He laughed.
“Maybe that’s just a common problem with old people.”
At first, he had thought these customers were weirdly abrupt and had intended to brush them off and send them away.
Now he changed his mind.
“Have you eaten breakfast? Come in and sit down.”
He had originally planned to put the photograph into a drawer and wait until his grandmother arrived before asking her what to do with it.
But when he saw Three Ks’s eager, expectant gaze, Walnut closed the drawer again.
Instead, he placed the photograph inside a display cabinet beside the counter, leaning it against a faded cloth doll.
It looked surprisingly similar to the scene inside the picture.
Ding—
A notification suddenly sounded.
The holographic screen finally appeared.
Congratulations! You have completed the time-limited quest [Her Road Home]. Instance storyline unlocked: 17%. Your actions have affected the final outcome.
Tap here to claim rewards.
Yu Qing opened it.
Another cheerful cascade of jingling sound effects rang out.
Combat EXP +1,500
Character Level +2
Character Assets +50,000
Congratulations! You have obtained special items: Black Button x2, Needle and Thread x1, Wish Slip x1.
[Black Button]
Two old black two-hole buttons, slightly faded around the edges. You turn them over for a while, wondering where they might have fallen from.
[Needle and Thread]
A spool of exceptionally strong silk thread with a silver needle tucked into it. Its purpose is obvious. Are you good with your hands? Hopefully you are. Crude stitching is not welcome here. When the time comes to use it, do your best to make your work delicate and precise.
Yu Qing silently read the descriptions.
The purpose of these items really was obvious—
At some point in the future, some quest was clearly going to make him sew on two buttons.
Someone who had promised to play mute had obviously seen the descriptions too.
The blue-green butterfly came fluttering back at Mi Xiaobai’s urging and nearly smacked Yu Qing in the face.
His teasing voice followed.
“I still really want to know who has the nerve to make you sew buttons. Does he have a death wish?”
Get lost.
Yu Qing said it only in his head.
Though, in truth, he rather agreed.
While he was checking the item descriptions, that glutton Three Ks had already eagerly pulled out the meal voucher the hotel receptionist had given him.
“To be perfectly honest, bro.”
Three Ks attempted to buddy up to sixteen-year-old Walnut.
“I was a little hesitant at first. Someone else gave me this voucher, after all. I thought, what good could something free possibly be? There has to be a catch.”
Shan Bei: “?”
You weren’t this cautious or reserved at the hotel last night.
“But you look trustworthy!”
Three Ks familiarly threw an arm around Walnut’s shoulders.
He did not dare seek Yu Qing’s agreement, so he could only turn to Shan Bei.
“I even think he and I look kind of alike. Don’t you?”
Shan Bei nodded while thinking, Maybe I’m blind.
Having finished ingratiating himself, Three Ks finally asked Walnut,
“You don’t put anything weird in the noodles or broth here, right? Seriously, I’m actually hungry. I really do want to eat.”
Walnut immediately shook his head.
“Of course we don’t put anything weird in it! My family’s shop has been here for years. Everyone knows us. If we were putting stuff in the food, wouldn’t we end up in Rose Daily?”
Three Ks patted him on the shoulder.
“I trust you.”
Yu Qing had no intention of eating the noodles himself.
But the quest had led them here, and the meal vouchers could hardly have been handed out for nothing.
He also wanted to see what they would trigger.
So he took out his voucher and placed it on the table.
“All vouchers?”
Walnut muttered as he collected the three of them.
“There sure have been a lot of customers lately who use meal vouchers instead of island-city coins…”
Then he headed into the kitchen.
He worked quickly.
Not long afterward, he pushed aside the curtain and came back carrying a tray.
“That fast?”
Yu Qing was slightly surprised.
“The broth was already prepared last night. We keep it warm the whole time. It’s hot but not scalding, so even if you eat quickly, you’ll be fine.”
As he spoke, Walnut set a bowl of noodle soup in front of each of them.
The broth was thick, milky-white, and rich.
An orange soft-boiled egg nestled in the bowl, its yolk still runny. Bright green chopped scallions and sesame seeds were scattered over the top.
A rich aroma of meat and bone rose from it, enough to make anyone’s appetite stir.
Yu Qing held his slender chopsticks and stirred the noodles twice.
He was just about to warn the other two not to drink the broth yet.
“You two—”
Slurp.
Yu Qing turned his head.
Three Ks was already smacking his lips in bliss.
Yu Qing: “…”
He truly wanted to know how this idiot managed to stumble into trap after trap inside instances yet never become any wiser.
Was he really that hungry?
Did he simply love food that much?
Three Ks finished a large mouthful of broth before finally registering Yu Qing’s voice.
He looked up uncertainly.
“What is it, Boss Smiley?”
“Nothing. Keep eating.”
Yu Qing sounded irritated.
It was not actually that his warning had come too late.
He had smelled the steam rising from the broth and detected nothing strange.
Nor did it carry the bewilderment and dazed sensation associated with Lady Meng’s soup.
Three Ks and Shan Bei should be perfectly fine eating a bowl each.
The only question was why the quest item had led them here.
Yu Qing set down his chopsticks.
“What time does your grandma usually come to the shop?”
“Eight, probably.”
Walnut turned to glance at the clock on the wall.
“Won’t be long now.”
As he spoke, Three Ks suddenly exclaimed,
“Ow!”
Yu Qing turned.
Three Ks was covering his mouth and mumbling indistinctly.
“Is there a bone chip in the soup? Something hit my tooth.”
“A bone chip? That shouldn’t happen.”
Walnut explained,
“We simmer the broth for a really long time. Normally the bones should be practically cooked down.”
Three Ks spat the object out.
When he focused on it, he nearly fell off his chair.
It was not a bone fragment at all.
It was an earring stud.
Shan Bei went pale too.
He frantically stirred through his own bowl with his chopsticks—
and actually dredged up two things from the bottom.
One was another earring stud.
The other was a sticky, clumped mass.
Fighting back nausea, he prodded it apart.
A wad of bandages.
Shan Bei’s chopsticks trembled.
Three Ks suddenly shrieked,
“I know those bandages! They’ve got a pattern on them! Those are—those are the ones Sushi Bar wore across his nose!”
“Sushi Bar?”
Yu Qing did not remember the name and failed to react.
“That teammate who never stopped talking!”
Three Ks made a loud retching sound and was on the verge of falling apart—
when a heavy thud suddenly came from behind them.
Yu Qing and the others turned.
Walnut had collapsed onto the floor, looking as though his soul had fled his body.
He retched even louder than they had.
Yu Qing: “?”