17
“Big Sister Chen, does your boyfriend like eating vegetables?”
In front of the apartment building, Song Xiuying, the landlord’s daughter, called out upon seeing Xie Zhengjie carrying a large bag of greens alongside Chen Linyao.
Over the years, Song Xiuying had never seen Chen Linyao buy this many vegetables, so she assumed it must have been the work of the brother staying in her room.
Could this odd brother be into macrobiotics?
“Don’t misunderstand, little sister. He’s not my boyfriend,” Chen Linyao quickly denied the relationship.
Song Xiuying’s eyes widened, her mouth hanging open as if she wanted to say something.
“Xiuying, do you have something to say?”
“Nope,” the girl replied before darting back into her family’s apartment.
The first floor of the building housed Song Xiuying and Grandma Ye.
The door and glass windows were usually kept open for tenants to pay rent or seek assistance.
As Chen Linyao started heading upstairs, she overheard Song Xiuying inside the apartment.
“Grandma, that guy isn’t Big Sister Chen’s boyfriend.”
She leaned her head slightly to listen, not thinking much of it until she heard Grandma Ye’s reply.
“Xiuying, has the world gotten too open-minded? In my day, it took me a long time to accept the idea of men and women living together before marriage. Now, not only are they not married, but they’re not even dating? And they’re still living together? I really must be too old for this world.”
Chen Linyao froze.
Glancing at Xie Zhengjie, who seemed utterly uninterested, she hesitated before deciding to follow his lead, letting of the issue with Grandma Ye and heading upstairs.
Once inside her apartment, Xie Zhengjie noticed the young woman’s irritated expression and couldn’t help but ask,
“You’re not going to explain yourself?”
Grandma Ye hadn’t exactly been quiet, and with Xie Zhengjie’s cultivation training, he could hear even a much softer conversation.
“Explaining would be pointless. If I had to clarify myself to everyone in the world, I’d exhaust myself. I think it’s best to ignore it,” Chen Linyao sighed and continue saying.
“Besides, Grandma Ye isn’t a bad person. She just tends to hold onto her own perspective a bit too tightly.”
Changing into her house slippers, the young woman started putting away the groceries they’d bought from the supermarket.
When she got to Xie Zhengjie’s bag of vegetables, she paused and looked at him.
“What are you planning to do with these?”
Normally, she would have stuffed everything into the fridge without a second thought.
But since these were bought for Xie Zhengjie, she left the decision to him.
Unexpectedly, Xie Zhengjie seemed taken aback, as if he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Should we just put them in the fridge?”
The young man hesitated before replying, “If spiritual herbs aren’t stored properly, their value diminishes over time.
If we put them in that fridge, the essential properties will completely degrade within seven days.”
“How do you normally store them?”
“When we find spiritual herbs, we typically send soldiers to secure the area.
Once they reach full bloom, we harvest and use them immediately.”
“Then are you planning to use them right away?”
The young man sighed before responding, “It’s unfortunate.
Moreover, without an alchemy furnace, creating pills right now is impossible.”
“Is that so?” Chen Linyao, unlike him, didn’t overthink it.
If the herbs were lost, she could just buy more anytime.
She then asked.
“What would you do if you found spiritual herbs far away?
How would you transport them?”
“In the Xie Kingdom, we have something called the Eternal Frost Box, designed specifically for preserving spiritual herbs.
When transporting herbs over long distances, the box’s extreme cold keeps their essence intact for much longer.”
“Extreme cold?” Chen Linyao pondered for a moment, then glanced at her fridge.
Opening it, she suggested, “What about the freezer?”
Xie Zhengjie shook his head before saying.
“Your freezer isn’t cold enough.”
the young woman inspected the fridge again.
She adjusted the temperature dial to its coldest setting, waited a moment, and then placed her hand inside to test it.
“How about now?”
Xie Zhengjie followed her lead.
After a moment when the young man placed his hand inside, he revealed a look of surprise.
He pondered briefly before saying, “It’s not as cold as the Eternal Frost Box, but it’s close enough to serve as a substitute.”
For the first time, he realized that this appliance could adjust its temperature.
If brought back to the Xie Kingdom, this single feature would earn it recognition as a magical artifact.
the young man turned to her with a look of genuine acknowledgment.
“You have a sharp mind.”
Chen Linyao felt deeply satisfied.
Once the groceries were put away, she sank onto the couch.
Her mood wasn’t bad today, though she had been a bit irritated by Grandma Ye’s words earlier.
Finally, she turned to look at Xie Zhengjie, who had pulled out a book for teaching children.
“Prince, what’s your kingdom like?”
He thought for a moment before offering a simple but proud response.
“Beautiful. Magnificent.”
Those two words, he felt, captured the essence of the Xie Kingdom.
It was a mighty nation, respected on all fronts.
If the Xie Kingdom were to declare itself second, no other nation would dare claim the top spot.
Though his answer was brief, his pride was evident.
He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and drank as if it were second nature.
“Do people in your kingdom live together before marriage?”
“Cough! Cough!”
Xie Zhengjie choked on his water, startled by Chen Linyao’s unexpected question.
His eyes widened as he looked at her.
She spoke casually, but there was a distinct focus in her side glance.
The young man composed himself, thought for a moment, and replied, “Among commoners, I’ve heard that many do live together without holding a wedding ceremony.”
“How would you know what commoners do? Haven’t you always lived in the palace?” Chen Linyao caught him in a contradiction.
Xie Zhengjie’s eye twitched slightly, but he still replied.
“I’m an educated man.
Naturally, I’ve learned about such matters from my teachers when they spoke of them.”
“Is that so?” She responded nonchalantly and didn’t press further, pulling out her phone instead.
After a while, Chen Linyao asked again,
“In your kingdom, do non-relatives or unmarried men and women live in the same house or room together?”
The young man’s eye twitched several more times.
However, considering how much she had spent on him today, he suppressed his irritation and replied,
“Perhaps it happens sometimes.”
“So, does it happen or not?
Why are you hesitating?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Then just tell me what you know.”
“To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never seen such a thing.”
Chen Linyao shot up from the couch, slapping the armrest with a loud bang, and exclaimed.
“I knew it!
This situation is bizarre.
It’s strange no matter where you look.”
“Earlier, you said you didn’t care about this.”
“I don’t care!
But, well…”
After the “but,” Xie Zhengjie listened as she ranted for half an hour, complained for another half hour, and finally exhausted him entirely.
Yet, despite his weariness, there was no escape.