Seeing Miss Tienan listening so attentively, Zhang Che collected himself and slowly began to recount (make up) his fortuitous encounters (lies).
“I was only lucky this time, walking into two three-star gold-quality exotic beasts fighting each other in the northeastern mountain range.”
Miss Tienan immediately interrupted with a worried look, “Ah, then did they discover you?”
Zhang Che stopped talking, showing an innocent face…
“Haha, I’ll stop interrupting. Continue!” Huang Tielan hurriedly covered her mouth.
Zhang Che nodded helplessly as he carried on his story, “I was curious and hid by the side, watching them. In the end, the three-star gold-quality wolf exotic beast triumphed over a panther-like exotic beast and obtained the final victory. However, it was covered in injuries as well, and on the verge on death.”
“I felt that an opportunity had appeared, and hurriedly let my subdued beasts rush up and attack it from all sides. We actually slew that wolf king by chance, and even got a beast card! What surprised me even more than that the two exotic beasts weren’t fighting for no reason. It turned out that a peculiar stalk of Five-Colored Spiritual Flower was growing there!”
In the end, Miss Tienan still failed to keep her mouth in check and guessed, “After that, the Fiery Scorpion rushed up and ate that flower, which led to its advancement to two-star gold-quality?”
Zhang Che nodded silently. After that, he started to scoop the boiled mutton out from the pot of soup, dipping it into the sauce and addingthem to both his and Huang Tielan’s plate.
After completing this series of action, he wasn’t in a hurry to have a taste. Instead, he added some meat balls, fish slices, and some other ingredients into the soup.
When he finally picked up a slice of mutton with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, Huang Tielan couldn’t endure anymore and asked urgently, “Eh? Zhang Xiaoche, why did you stop? What happened after?
Zhang Che looked up at her and replied, “That’s what happened.”
Miss Tienan blinked a few times before finally reacting to this. She nodded understandingly, “Oh, so that’s it.”
Zhang Che pointed with his chopsticks and said, “Let’s eat quickly. It’s not as delicious when it’s cold.”
It was only then that Huang Tielan shifted her attention onto the food before her. She nodded and picked up a slice of mutton with her chopsticks, bringing it to her mouth, chewing it slowly.
However, Huang Tielan stopped eating meat after having a few slices of mutton, and specifically picked vegetables to add to her plate.
-So this miss is really trying to lose weight…- Zhang Che didn’t point it out explicitly. As he made casual talks with Miss Tienan, he added all the cooked meat to his own plate, stuffing himself.
His previous expectation was right. Although he didn’t feel hungry, he couldn’t stop the moment he started eating, and was even showing signs of increasing intensity.
As the empty plates started to pile up before Zhang Che, Huang Tielan finally noticed something was amiss. She looked at Zhang Che worriedly, saying softly, “Uhm, Zhang Xiaoche, actually you don’t have to try so hard. I’m already trying to lose weight.”
Zhang Che was taken aback, not understanding what she meant.
After a short while, he finally understood the situation, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. -Miss Tienan actually thought that the reason I was eating so much was to catch up to her height and weight?
-Her way of thinking is really a marvel to behold…-
“No, I have to eat more, and grow more. Since I’m still young, I should make use of this chance. I’ll surely grow to be as tall as you!”
This could be used as a foreshadowing of his rapid growth in the future.
Huang Tielan was deeply moved. She put down the chopsticks in her hand and nodded, saying, “Mmm, then I’ll also work even harder to lose weight!
Zhang Che didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He pointed at the pile of vegetables in her plate and said, “Then you also have to be full to have the energy to lose weight!”
As time went by, Huang Tielan gradually realized something was wrong. The amount of food Zhang Che ate was truly a little too much, so much so that it was far exceeding what normal people could eat. She hurriedly stopped Zhang Che from adding more meat slices into the soup and shook her head, saying, “You can’t eat anymore, Zhang Xiaoche. Your body won’t be able to take it!”
Although Zhang Che really wanted to tell her that he couldn’t stop, he could only go along with her intentions reluctantly when he saw the concerned look on Miss Tienan. He scooped out all the cooked meat from the pot and said, “I’ll just finish these, then. It’d be a waste otherwise, and we’d be fined for it. Don’t worry, I can take it. I realize my appetite has been especially huge lately. Perhaps I might even puff up before you know it.”
“Hahaha…” Huang Tielan broke out into a laugh. “You’re not a balloon! What to do mean, puff up!”
-Don’t normal girls chuckle..?
-But, I don’t seem to like that kind…?-
Hearing Huang Tielan’s candid laughter, Zhang Che also let out a bright smile. After that, he exercised the chopsticks in his hands and finished off the huge plate of meat on the table.
Although he still wanted to eat, Zhang Che was worried of scaring Miss Tienan, and could only put down his chopsticks reluctantly.
——
After eating their fill, the two went to the nearby park for a short walk before bidding farewell and going home to their respective mothers.
Naturally, Zhang Che wouldn’t go home immediately. His appetite had been triggered. How could he feel at ease if he didn’t eat his fill?
If he returned home immediately, could he possibly portray the look of a hungry ghost in front of his mother? It’d be strange if she wasn’t scared to death.
Zhang Che didn’t go to another buffet restaurant. He had another method to satisfy his stomach.
He found a deserted place and altered his appearance. After that, he found a bun shop and directly bought all their buns for takeaway, then brought them to another deserted place and started wolfing them down.
As for the matter of Zhang Che buying all of the buns, at the most others would be thinking that he was buying on behalf of some construction company to feed their employees. It wouldn’t arouse their suspicion at all.
After devouring a few dozen kilograms worth of buns in one go and drinking two liters of water he bought together with the buns, Zhang Che finally felt full. There was no further desire from his stomach for him to continue eating.
“How strange. Is my stomach full of acid? How can I eat this much in one go and not show any changes externally?”
This problem had been bugging Zhang Che for days. It had been on his mind ever since the day he was altered by the demonic flower.
Not only did he realize his appetite had become countless times bigger, it also seemed like his strength was gradually increasing day by day as he ate without restraint. Although the increment wasn’t obvious, he could clearly feel the difference.
-Was I really turned into a freak by that damn demonic flower?-
Zhang Che was terrified by his thoughts. He wondered what he would turn out to be if this continued on. What should he do if he punctured a hole in Mercury just by stamping his feet…
As he imagined himself turning into a monster with unlimited strength in the future, Zhang Che slowly walked back to his neighborhood. He climbed up the stairs and saw the new anti-theft door. He revealed a hint of smile as he knocked on the door, “Mom, I’m back!”