Chapter 20: When The Wind Rises and Rain Stops (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The car sped through the Express Ring and very quickly reached the South River bridge.
Underneath the bridge by the roadside, Mu Yuchen let Xi Xiaye park the car. Then, they walked for quite a distance along the sidewalk by the river. Xi Xiaye realized that he wanted to inspect the landform at the same time.
The South River had been developed pretty well. Previously, Glory World Corporation had also planned to develop an Economic Development Zone, but later on, because they had to intensely follow up on another project, it had been temporarily paused.
This man seemed to have a very far-sighted vision. The population there was quite dense, and transportation was rather convenient too. If one were to develop this place, the future prospects should be quite bright.
Currently, although many people were still not optimistic about the area, she, however, personally thought highly of the place.
He did not stay there for long. After some deep thought on his part, the two of them returned to the car. It was already close to the evening at this point, so Xi Xiaye decided to drive straight to their dinner location.
The place that Xi Xiaye brought Mu Yuchen for dinner was not some high-class restaurant. Instead, it was an extremely unique South River restaurant. Built on the edge of a hot spring by the riverside was a fresh and elegant little Chinese restaurant.
“Just order anything you want. Don’t be shy with me.” Xi Xiaye handed the menu over to Mu Yuchen across her. Her eyes shone brightly with hints of sincerity and gratitude.
Mu Yuchen accepted the menu and elegantly flipped in open.
“The game here isn’t bad, especially for hotpot…”
He had just flipped open the menu when Xi Xiaye’s low and light voice suddenly came through indistinctly. He looked up to see her eyes shining ever so slightly like stars, seeming vaguely hopeful.
Ease flashed across his indifferent, handsome face. Eventually, he went with her suggestion and ordered the hotpot with game as side dishes, plus a warm pot of green bamboo snake liquor.
When he handed the menu back to the waiter and was about to ask if she wanted to add on anything, he noticed that she was already gazing out of the window a little absent-mindedly with her chin resting in one hand.
He gestured for the waiter to retreat. Following her distracted gaze, he vaguely heard amused laughter outside from the depths of the plum blossom forest by the riverside. The plum blossoms were blooming, their petals fluttering about and scattering across the ground. Many people held hands as they walked slowly on the green pavement in the plum blossom forest. They were either a pair of lovers or a family of three…
The restaurant was very efficient, so it was only a short while before the food was served.
Xi Xiaye picked up the pot of liquor and silently filled up two empty cups. She gently pushed one of it to Mu Yuchen, while she picked up the other. With a frown, she then pulled her head back to finish it in a few gulps.
Xi Xiaye’s twinkling eyes shifted, suddenly appearing a little distant as she poured herself another cup and took a small sip. “I’ve also drunk this liquor once by chance. At first, I didn’t like its taste, but I don’t know when I started to get used to it. Try it, though I’m afraid you won’t be used to it.”
Mu Yuchen quietly listened to her speak as he picked up his cup of liquor. He took a small sip and found that it tasted pretty delicious. It had a smooth and sweet taste and was fragrant.
She vaguely remembered that her grandmother had once said that if a woman could be like the green bamboo snake liquor, it would perhaps be the perfect combination — mellow, rich and elegantly fragrant like the wine, hidden, beautiful, yet possess a terrifying poison like the snake, and retained the fresh culture of tea.
However, sadly…
It was quite a while before she snapped back to her senses —
When she saw Mu Yuchen silently watching her from across, she smiled slightly and sounded apologetic as she said, “Are you not used to it? Should I change it for a bottle of red wine?”
Mu Yuchen shook his head. He put down the cup in his hand gently and looked down at the boiling hotpot in front of him. In a lowered voice, he said, “I was just thinking. If we just drink like this and don’t start eating soon, would the food inside be cooked into a pile of junk soon?”
When she heard his solemn question, Xi Xiaye looked down into the pot and saw that the contents were already intensely boiling in the pot. She then laughed softly and cheerfully picked up her chopsticks to deftly choose a meatball. “Try this. The meatballs here are pretty good, especially the prawn balls.”
She dipped it with a little sauce before slowly putting it into her mouth.
Watching her, Mu Yuchen picked up his chopsticks too and elegantly picked something from the hotpot. He fished out a thin slice of meat and was pleased to find that it did taste quite delicious.
Waves of cool breeze brushed past. There was a faint fragrance of plum blossoms floating about the air, refreshing the mind and lifting one’s spirits.
When they walked out of the restaurant, it was already dusk. The dazzling neon lights covered the entire City Z in a blurred fantasy-like way, the faint shadows of the dim streetlights seeming a little bleak.
In the driver’s seat, Xi Xiaye rested her chin on her hand as usual while propping it up on the open car window, the other steadily steering the wheel. Mu Yuchen was relaxed and had shut his eyes to rest. The car was filled with a very natural tranquility.
Two people who did not know each other well just quietly sat there. In theory, they should feel a little awkward, yet weirdly, there were no such feelings between the both of them. Instead, it was as if the two of them were friends who had known each other for a long time. When they sat together, even if they did not say anything, they did not find it odd.
The car steadily sped across the wide roads. Because they were passing the suburbs, there were not many pedestrians on the road. Sometimes only one or two cars were ahead of them.
Xiaye vaguely remembered that the road she was driving on was rather isolated, yet it was closer to Mu Yuchen’s Maple Residence. It was considered an accident-prone section because there were multiple bends along the way and many long tunnels passing through mountains with lots of turnings. The terrain was also steep and complicated. Because of that, people would not usually take this route, even more so on such a quiet night like this.
No thanks to the challenge of the roads, this place seemed to have become a haven for some young kids who would have night races with one another. A few days ago, the newspapers seemed to have just reported the news of many luxury cars racing in this area.
Just as she thought about this, as if in agreement with Xiaye’s thoughts, there was suddenly the whizzing of vehicles speeding up from behind. Several bright lights pierced from behind. Because of the blinding light reflected in the rearview mirror, Xiaye almost could not open her eyes. The hurricane-like cars swept past her, then came sharp sounds of whistling.
“Beautiful, if you don’t hurry up, they’re about to close the roads up front! Want to make a dash for it together?”
Amid the reckless and brash laughter, one of the cars beside started to keep pace with Xiaye. A young fellow wearing a pirate bandana stuck his head out of the window and looked at Xi Xiaye to challenge her.
Xi Xiaye shot him a cold look. Her brows frowned slightly but she planned to ignore them.
However, another car beside that car had already drifted over and almost bumped into Mu Yuchen’s car that Xi Xiaye was driving. Thankfully, Xi Xiaye was quick to respond and she quickly turned the steering wheel, evading them by a close shave.