Chapter 8 (1/2)
Chapter 08
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Cheng Jingpo brought them to a restaurant that was only one station away from the hospital. Bo Ziren and Mu Zibei's first time there and both were unfamiliar with the place, thus Cheng Jingpo took it on himself to order for everyone. For Bo Ziren, he ordered a, as for Mu Zibei, he wisely selected the kid's meal, whereby for himself, a simple noodle soup.
Mu Zibei used his chopsticks to play with the meatball on his plate and then looked at the guest of honor's simple noodle soup, he sighed and commented, ”Cheng dage, you didn't need to save money for me, chose whatever you want to eat.”
The ever-calm expression on Cheng Jingpo's face was veiled behind a curtain of steaming smoke coming from his noodle soup, ”One bowl of noodles is good enough.”
”Obviously I was prepared to treat you to a big meal, but it ended up being like this. By chance others found out, wouldn't I lose face big time?”
”Isn't what the guest wants to eat is the most important when treating?”
Mu Zibei was stunned and then agreed readily, ”You are right, what Cheng dage said is reasonable.”
Needless to say, Bo Ziren could easily guess the reason why Cheng Jingpo chose this particular restaurant to have the meal in; there were not many customers around, the environment was both clean and hygienic, even the prices were affordable. As a guest, his selection was truly considerate.
”Cheng dage, I'm so sorry about that matter the other day, please accept my humble apologies.” After finished dealing with one meatball, Mu Zibei once again expressed his deep remorse.
”Okay, I forgive you.” He laughed slightly.
”Then, can you keep it a secret and don't tell Doctor Cheng?”
”You've already treated me to have a meal, it goes beyond saying that you've stuffed my mouth full. Now, how can I not keep it a secret for you?”
”Cheng dage, you're so open-minded! I'm taking you as my friend.” Mu Zibei sealed the deal with a knock of the hammer[1]. ”If you need my help in the future, no need to hold back, just directly…. directly tell my sister. Wait till I get my mobile phone next month, then I'll inform you my number.”
”Sounds good,” Cheng Jingpo glanced at Bo Ziren, ”Let's exchange our mobile phones number afterwards.”
Bo Ziren was quick, in a matter of seconds, she immediately realized that she had concealed some truths from Mu Zibei, therefore she collaborated without a hitch with Cheng Jingpo.
Digging for information of potential enemy, Mu Zibei voiced out a question while eating, ”Cheng dage, is there anyone wooing Doctor Cheng right now?”
”According to my knowledge, there are two.”
Hearing this, Mu Zibei could not hide the apprehension in heart, anxiously asked, ”Is she interested?”
”Not at the moment.”
Relieve washed over Mu Zibei, followed by him muttering to himself in a soft whisper, ”Even the best woman is afraid of a persistent wolf, I'm afraid they would pester her till her resistance thinned out.”
”En, what did you say?”
”Nothing.” Mu Zibei kept a tight lip, ”I just felt a good woman like Doctor Cheng should have strict criterias in choosing her partner.”
”Don't worry, no one in the family is rus.h.i.+ng her to get married. She has plenty of time and freedom to wait for another three to five years.”
”Three to five years?” Mu Zibei ventured cautiously, even bordering coyness ”Can't she wait a little longer?”
”Wait a few more years? Wouldn’t that be too pitiful? I think she should find her significant other before reaching thirty-five.”
There were many other things Mu Zibei wished to say but Bo Ziren who was seated next to him could not stand him anymore, and reminded calmly, ”The thing you need to consider now is finis.h.i.+ng off your meal.”
Cheng Jingpo smiled encouragingly at Mu Zibei, ”En, your jiejie is right. You have to eat well so you can grow taller faster.”
Mu Zibei's abrupt sullenness was cut short being pulled back to reality. He shoved rice into his mouth grumpily and because he was eating a little too fast, he nearly choked on a meatball. Coughing severely, his face turned maroon, yet before Bo Ziren could react, Cheng Jingpo's actions were faster than hers. One hand got a firm hold of Mu Zibei's shoulder to keep him in place while the other patted purposefully on Mu Zibei's back so that he could spit the meatball out. At the end, when Mu Zibe's breathing eased out, he was given some warm water.
Sighing as relief washed over him, Mu Zibei had tears glistening in his eyes, ”I almost died because of a piece of meatball.”
Bo Ziren was very worried, ”How do you feel now?”
”I'm alright now.” Mu Zibei turned towards Cheng Jingpo with undisguised grat.i.tude, ”Cheng dage, thank you for saving me.”
”Rest for a while first, before eating again.” Cheng Jingpo instructed, ”Drink more water for now.”
The false alarm made Mu Zibei felt he had lost face in front of Cheng dage, consequently, he kept his head down in silence for the next quarter of an hour. The little rascal was too embarra.s.sed to speak just like a kid being caught with his hand in a cookie jar.
”When I was small, I accidentally swallowed a coin and was rushed to the hospital to get it out.” Cheng Jingpo recounted his not-so-glorious past in a calm and steady voice.
It naturally caught Bo Ziren's attention as she turned and focused towards him, ”Really?'
”En, it during the New Year, the housekeeper aunt placed one hidden coin dumpling in every bowl, and I had waited for quite a while so I was hungry, when it came I scarfed the dumplings down, and swallowed the coin. It got stuck right in my throat and there was no other way to get it out but to go to the hospital.”
Mu Zibei asked a crucial question, ”When that coin was taken out, what did you do with it?”
”I put it in my drawer as a memento; not to rush in doing things.”
Mu Zibei conveniently ignored the latter part, but followed up on the latter enthusiastically, ”Me too! Recently I had a tooth removed, and it is in my drawer now. I even placed a candy next to it, so they can always be sweet-sweet together.”
Bo Ziren looked at Mu Zibei in silence, she thought, ”Where's the similarity? You just have a strange hobby.”
”A good idea.” Cheng Jingpo praised.
Instantly, Mu Zibei's confidence was boosted again, to the point of forgetting the awkward moment earlier, and his skillful conversational skills also returned in full force, asking Cheng Jingpo what does he like to eat and Cheng Jingpo gave a few dishes' name. The little one had not tasted any of them, causing his saliva to drool listening to Cheng Jingpo's vivid description.
”Cheng dage, where exactly can I eat the Golden Jade Little Lamb you've just mentioned, ah?”
”It's very simple, you can make it at home. The golden jade refers to white cabbage and little lamb is an alias for tofu.” Cheng Jingpo narrated patiently, ”To put it simply, it is white cabbage stewed tofu; it's a delicious dish.”
”Oh,” but the little fellow was not satisfied, again he questioned, ”What about Hibiscus Goose Leaves Soup?”
”En, that's actually what we call Chrysanthemum Leaves Egg Drop soup nowadays.”
Little fellow's enthusiasm deflated to the bottom.
As for Bo Ziren, it was certainly a joyous meal. It was just that she did not join in the conversations much, she was content to just listen to Mu Zibei and Cheng Jingpo's animated conversation.
Of course, she was more inclined on listening to Cheng Jingpo talking as he remained patient answering all of Mu Zibei's illogical questions and not ‘entertain’ perfunctorily just because the other party was a child. He did not bring out the manner of a high and dignified teacher. His voice was nice and soothing, and to Bo Ziren, listening to him talking was something very satisfying and relaxing.
”Jiejie, quickly take down Cheng dage's number.” When the meal ended, Mu Zibei did not forget to remind her of this important thing.
Therefore, Bo Ziren made an act of taking out her phone and punched in some numbers according to Cheng Jingpo's instructions.
Mu Zibei seized this opportunity to ransacked Bo Ziren's bag, hoping to find some other snack yet today, the fortune G.o.ddess did not seem to be in his favor.
Bo Ziren turned around and saw every big and small item in her bag was nearly strewn out, whereas Mu Zibei's hand was going in for another round.
”There is no candy in my bag,” Bo Ziren whispered, ”only bitter chocolate.”
Mu Zibei gave up after hearing that and Bo Ziren skillfully stuffed everything back into her bag.
”Wait, what is this?” Mu Zibei looked like he had just discovered a treasure, picking up a small notebook, opening the first page and reading it out loud, ”The Theory of Love at First Sight relation with adrenaline, dopamine….”
Fl.u.s.tered, Bo Ziren covered his mouth in a hastened motions and s.n.a.t.c.hed back her notebook with the other hand, pretending as if nothing had happened as she said, ”These are my research subjects, you won't understand.”
Mu Zibei's black-grapes like pupils swirled around as if he could understand, ”So you are researching this? It seems very interesting.”