He believed her.
And he shared a good portion of his already meager food supply with Tang Erya.
As a result, he went hungry almost every day.
Good people were easily bullied.
Later, Tang Erya stopped even pretending to ask. She simply treated the original owner’s grain sack as her own and scooped rice from it whenever grain was being distributed.
…
Someone had bullied her?
Si Chengchen’s hand twitched. He wanted to ask, but before he could speak, the girl suddenly changed the subject, her tone turning even more aggrieved.
“Can’t I stay here and eat with you?”
“…You can.”
The words of refusal died in his throat.
He simply couldn’t refuse her.
Complete victory!
Mu Qinqin seemed to have figured out exactly how to soften the man’s heart.
She immediately took advantage of it.
“We’ll eat together.”
“You eat.”
The man, however, didn’t seem very cooperative.
“I already ate.”
“But you gave me medicinal herbs today, and I worked hard cooking this meal. If you don’t eat it, it’ll go to waste. The Great Leader said we mustn’t waste food, and he also said we should repay kindness. You gave me herbs, so I have to repay the favor.”
“…The Great Leader…” The man paused.
“Hm?”
“The Great Leader also said that men and women should not touch each other casually.”
His expression remained calm.
“…”
Mu Qinqin froze.
Then she immediately put on a serious face.
“I’ve never heard that one.”
A trace of amusement flickered through Si Chengchen’s dark eyes.
“I made enough for two people. Come on, try it.”
Mu Qinqin took the lunch containers out of her cloth bundle and placed them on the table.
Just as she was about to sit down, she realized there was only one stool.
Then she fell silent.
She had forgotten about that.
“Wait.”
Without hesitation, she rolled up her sleeves and effortlessly carried the wooden table over to the kang bed.
When she turned around—
She discovered Si Chengchen still standing there staring at her.
Her expression stiffened.
“Haha… this table is actually pretty light.”
“Mm, it is pretty light.”
Si Chengchen nodded as though he hadn’t noticed the guilt in her voice.
He picked up the stool beside him and moved it to the table.
Casually, he walked over to the bed and folded the thin quilt several times before placing it beside Mu Qinqin.
Mu Qinqin blinked.
Then she immediately sat down on it with a bright smile.
Though thin, folded several times it became soft and comfortable.
Far better than sitting directly on the hard stool or the earthen kang.
“Try my cooking.”
The lunchbox opened.
Instantly, the rich aroma of braised meat and freshly cooked food filled the entire room.
Even Si Chengchen, who normally cared little about food, couldn’t help looking toward the table.
He could vaguely make out the dark red sauce and the white rice.
“Very good,” he said.
“Hm?”
“Your cooking is very good.”
“Pfft!”
Mu Qinqin burst out laughing.
“You haven’t even tasted it. How do you know it’s good?”
“Here, try some.”
She had deliberately packed two portions of rice.
The portion for Si Chengchen had been packed so tightly that, if the container had allowed it, she would have piled it even higher.
White rice…
Si Chengchen paused.
Before he could speak again, a spoon was shoved into his hand.
The girl in front of him urged eagerly,
“Eat, eat!”
“This rice…”
“There’s no poison in it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then eat! If it sits overnight, it’ll spoil.”
Helpless, Si Chengchen lowered his head and started eating.
His expression remained calm.
But his heart was more complicated than ever before.
After scooping once—
He froze.
Because…
The spoon couldn’t actually dig into the rice.
Mu Qinqin was wondering why he still wasn’t eating.
Then she heard him say:
“I can’t scoop it.”
Mu Qinqin: “…”
She suddenly remembered packing it down as tightly as possible because she wanted him to eat more.
She had used quite a bit of force.
By now it was practically a rice brick.
“Ahem. Poke it with chopsticks.”
She quickly loosened it up with her chopsticks.
“There, all fixed.”
Si Chengchen stared at the blurry white mound in front of him that now appeared twice as tall as before.
He fell into deep silence.
How had the lunch container not cracked?
“Try it, try it.”
Mu Qinqin hurried him along.
Aunt Zhang hadn’t cooked a single meal for him today.
He had probably been forced to survive on leftover corn buns from yesterday.
Today she had chased the woman away to build rapport first.
She could deal with her properly another day.
Thinking of that, Mu Qinqin rapidly piled several chunks of braised pork into his bowl until it was overflowing and nearly rolling onto the table.
“I can feed myself.”
Seeing that she was only serving him while her own food remained untouched, Si Chengchen finally spoke.
“I know.”
To his surprise, Mu Qinqin nodded as though that had never been in question.
“…”
What he meant was that she should eat too.
But seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, he finally gave up.
Under her bright, eager gaze, he took a bite of the braised pork.
It was tender and soft.
The sauce had reduced perfectly.
Richly flavored and fragrant.
It was even better than the braised pork he had eaten at state-run restaurants.
The moment she saw his expression, Mu Qinqin knew—
He liked it!
Exactly as she thought.
Nobody truly lacked an appetite for good food.
If someone didn’t like eating—
It only meant the food wasn’t delicious enough.
And her cooking?
Both the ingredients and her skills were top-tier.
“Has it conquered your stomach yet?”
She was having the time of her life feeding him.
She had always wanted to experience feeding someone she liked.
And now that she finally was—
It felt amazing.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Though impressed by the food, Si Chengchen noticed that Mu Qinqin seemed content simply watching him eat.
She hadn’t taken a single bite.
He set down his chopsticks.
Originally, Mu Qinqin had planned to say she wasn’t very hungry.
But—
Looking at the man across from her, she suddenly had an idea.
“Since I helped serve you food earlier, shouldn’t you return the favor now?”
Her logic sounded perfectly reasonable.
Si Chengchen wanted to refuse.
But then he remembered something she had said earlier.
She had said she would be happy if he agreed.
And so…
Under Mu Qinqin’s slightly surprised and delighted gaze, he picked up a piece of meat and placed it into her bowl.
She was genuinely shocked.
She had never expected that!
She didn’t know why he had done it, but she was thrilled.
Even from across the table, Si Chengchen could feel the joyful energy radiating from her.
The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
With such a beautiful person sitting in front of her…
Mu Qinqin finally understood what people meant by a feast for the eyes.
Before she knew it, she had eaten herself completely full.
Hic.
An untimely sound escaped her.
She immediately covered her mouth.
A cup of water was placed beside her at just the right moment.
At the same time, the man’s voice sounded.
“Drink some water.”
“If you overeat, you’ll feel miserable tonight.”
Si Chengchen couldn’t understand where the girl’s strength came from.
She had only eaten a little, yet she was already stuffed.
“I accidentally ate too much because looking at you makes food taste better.”
Mu Qinqin wilted for a second.
But then she remembered she had digestion-enhancing fruit.
No problem.
Everything was fine.
After eating one, she could probably run up five flights of stairs…
No, eat another five bowls and still be fine!
“My appearance…” Si Chengchen began.
Mu Qinqin immediately looked up expectantly, waiting for him to say something flattering.
Instead, after a strangely long silence, he continued:
“Looks like pickled vegetables?”
Mu Qinqin: “…”
Mu Qinqin: “…You’re beautiful enough to be a feast for the eyes. Looking at you puts me in a good mood, so I eat more. I wasn’t saying you look like pickled vegetables.”
This time, it was Si Chengchen’s turn to fall silent.
He realized he had completely misunderstood.
For once, even he felt embarrassed.