At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel curious—what kind of upbringing had she received? She didn’t rely on men like other women; instead, she carved out her own path. In her eyes, it almost seemed like men meant nothing at all.
At this moment, Mu Jianxi was thinking that now that she had a shop, she still couldn’t handle production alone. It looked like she would need a dedicated workshop to produce snacks, find suppliers to provide goods, and hire more workers. That meant another large sum of money would be spent.
“Please complete the mission: cold noodles and fried chicken.”
“Host, the system has been upgraded to Level 3. It will no longer restrict your permissions. From now on, no matter what dishes you make, seasonings and ingredients will always be provided.”
“Not bad, not bad. I give you a thumbs up!”
Bao Bao and Mu Jianxi communicated in their minds.
Since the system had issued the task, she didn’t stay seated any longer. She got up from the recliner, preparing to go to the market to buy ingredients. Thinking that she would be leaving tomorrow, she planned to prepare a full banquet that evening for everyone. If she ever opened a branch in the future, the first store could be here—after all, with this couple as her living advertisement, how could the business fail?
Gu Ruizé looked at her. “Where are you going?”
“To the market to buy vegetables. I’m making braised noodles and fried chicken tonight,” Mu Jianxi said without hiding anything.
“I’ll go with you.”
At the market, Mu Jianxi picked four cucumbers from a stall and had the vendor pack them up, with Ye Yu paying. She also bought three jin of pork belly for braised pork, along with various other ingredients and seasonings.
As they walked around, Gu Ruizé noticed a few young women coming out of a shop, happily sharing beautifully crafted jewelry. Looking up, he saw the sign “Jiu Linglong.” He then glanced at Mu Jianxi’s head—only a simple jade hairpin adorned it, and there were no other accessories on her at all.
He suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the shop. Mu Jianxi was completely confused and tried to shake him off but couldn’t. She found herself dragged into a jewelry store.
“What are you grabbing my arm for?” she asked.
The shopkeeper immediately came forward. “Honored guests, what kind of jewelry are you looking for? We have many new arrivals today.”
“Bring out all your jade hairpins and earrings. We’ll choose ourselves.”
Soon, the shopkeeper displayed all the most expensive jade hairpins and earrings on the counter for them to pick.
Mu Jianxi looked at him in confusion. It made sense for a man to buy hairpins, but earrings? She hadn’t even noticed him having pierced ears. She assumed he must be buying them for his sister and immediately relaxed.
He carefully selected among the items. Then, by chance, his gaze fell on a pair of earrings—simple, elegant, and delicate. He felt they would suit her perfectly, so he picked them up and reached out, intending to put them on her.
When she looked up and saw him approaching with the earrings, lifting her hair aside, he suddenly froze upon seeing her ears. The corner of his mouth twitched. “You have three piercings.”
Everyone around heard him and curiously looked at her ears. She had two piercings on the earlobe and one on the ear cartilage. In their understanding, women usually only had two symmetrical piercings. It was the first time they had seen someone with three piercings per ear, including cartilage.
Even the shopkeeper looked over curiously and felt a bit troubled—his shop didn’t seem to have earrings suitable for three piercings, though there were some simple studs without pendants.
Noticing everyone staring at her ears, Mu Jianxi felt slightly uncomfortable and touched them. She suddenly remembered that she had gotten these piercings after seeing a TV character she liked wearing stylish earrings. She had gone to get three piercings and bought many accessories to match, but now she found them troublesome and wasn’t wearing any.
The shopkeeper quickly went back and rummaged through a cabinet. Soon he returned with two boxes. “These are new arrivals—stud earrings without pendants. Small and elegant, very suitable for this young lady. We only have two sets.”
“Bring them over,” Gu Ruizé said.
“Yes!”
He took the earrings and carefully fitted them onto her. First the drop earrings for the earlobe piercing, then the studs for the other two piercings, fastening them securely behind her ear.
Ye Yu, standing nearby, exclaimed in admiration, “Wow, they look amazing! This simple style really suits Miss Mu’s complexion.”
Only then did Mu Jianxi realize what had happened. “You bought these for me?”
“Yes. Consider it a thank-you gift—for taking care of my sister during her pregnancy and helping ease her discomfort.”
“It was just a small effort. There was no need to buy such expensive gifts. Besides, didn’t you already give me a priceless shop in the capital?”
As she spoke, she reached up to remove the earrings, but a hand stopped her.
“I don’t take back what I give. If you don’t want them, then throw them away,” he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
“Fine, fine, I’ll accept them. Thank you. You’ve spent too much.”
Then he picked up a white jade hairpin and removed the original one from her hair. Her long black hair fell down, and only then did he notice that her hair had a faint dark red tint unlike ordinary people. It was something subtle—hard to notice unless one looked closely.
She looked up at him with a soft glance and a gentle smile that felt like spring breeze, leaving a deep mark in his heart. In the eyes of others, his expression remained unchanged—but only he knew that something strange had begun to stir inside him. Even his long-dead heart seemed to start beating again.
Without saying a word, he carefully helped her gather her hair again and placed the white jade hairpin in it, then motioned for Ye Yu to settle the bill.
After they left, he no longer referred to himself as “I,” but returned to “This King.”
“When I was fixing your hair just now, I noticed your hair color is different from ours. The roots are black, but the ends have a reddish-gold tint, almost like a clear division.”
“Oh, I used to dye it orange-red. Later I got lazy and stopped maintaining it. After repeated washing, fading, and new growth, it turned into this.”
“Why did you want to change your original hair color?”
Not only was he confused, but even the four hidden guards following behind them were also puzzled.