112 Lonely (1/2)

Yu Zhen didn't think a woman could have a bigger appetite than him until he met Li Xueyue. He was already stuffed from the variety of snacks they had, ranging from tanghulu to rice cake on a stick, but she was still browsing for other things to snack on.

When he had turned his back to her for a brief second, she came up to him with two large buns in her hands, a bright expression on her face.

Yu Zhen should've been appalled, but he merely laughed at her childish antics. He didn't think she was capable of being this excited over a simple tour of the merchant stalls. He didn't realize the extent of her boredom in her room.

She was brimming with excitement over exploring the city further and spending the day outside, even if it was in a rowdy and crowded area.

”What are the fillings?” he found himself asking, though he didn't care for the answer. He simply wanted to hear her babble about random things.

”One of them has a smooth red bean paste and the other is a new flavor, it's made with green beans, but I wasn't paying attention, so I don't know which is which.”

Li Xueyue looked from her left to her right hand. ”Would you like one?” she asked.

He shook his head and replied, ”I'm very full.”

”Oh, pity.” She shrugged, but her expression didn't match her words.

”Where did you get such a big appetite from?” Yu Zhen snickered, watching as she happily bit into the left bun, her eyes widening.

”Its green bean paste!”

”Is it?” He brushed a crumb from the side of her lips, shaking his head at her excitement over food. What was so interesting about food? The only thing that he felt was interesting was watching her eat. He enjoyed watching her lack of awareness of her surroundings.

By now, she had taken off her veil just to enjoy the snacks, but his men had formed a protective barrier around them. No one would be able to see her tiny frame, but they could see Yu Zhen who was a bit taller than most of his guards.

”Yep, which means this one has red bean paste!” She nodded to her right hand.

Yu Zhen laughed while sticking his hand out for a wet handkerchief that one of his servants easily handed to him. He cleaned her left hand, a tiny smile on his face.

”Does food make you that happy?”

”Yes, of course. Doesn't it make you happy?” she asked, staring at his large hand. She noticed how amusing it was that his hand could easily swallow hers whole.

”Not really.” Yu Zhen's smile softened a bit.

He never found food enjoyable. Every time he had his meal, he was always alone. It had been like this since birth. He was raised without love and because of it, he rarely found things he enjoyed. He lived a life of luxury, but hated everything about it.

From the quiet servants to the immoral lessons of ethics, there was nothing enjoyable about his life. His lessons of ”ethics” always consisted of thinking about himself before others. As a Prince, his duty was to worry about his country, not his people. To some extent, it was brainwashing and he didn't fall for it.

”Oh.” Li Xueyue frowned, ”Why not?”

”I ate my meals alone. It was hard to enjoy it.”

Li Xueyue slowly nodded. ”Despite being surrounded by servants, it gets lonely doesn't it?”

Yu Zhen was taken back by her words. Did she feel the same?

”It's understandable. Feeling alone in a sea of people—there's nothing wrong with that, as long as we're comfortable with the silence.”

Yu Zhen raised a brow. ”I thought you were always surrounded by your lively siblings. I didn't think you felt this way.”

”Well, they weren't always—” she paused, her eyes widening. She almost slipped out facts about her past.

”They weren't always what?”