“No!” Jun Shiyan looked at the young lady and said with a straight face, “You won’t stay here for too long. If you forge too deep a bond with them, it will create a negative influence on the future.”
Of course, this was only one of the reasons. It wasn’t easy for her to come over, and he had missed her so much that his heart, spleen, lungs, and bones hurt. He couldn’t even relieve the pain of missing her by looking at her 24 hours a day, so how could he give her to someone else so easily?
Ling Sheng could not go to the Huo residence, but she did not know when she would be able to go back either. What was even more tragic was that she was also trapped by an incredibly possessive man. He only longed to keep her tied to his side and take her wherever he went.
They were going home at night and it was only around seven or eight o’clock. When the car passed by the night market, she could see a bustling crowd. It was very lively.
Ling Sheng leaned against the window, her eyes lighting up in excitement. She turned to look at the man beside her. “Third Master, it’s so lively over there. Let’s go down and take a look!”
Jun Shiyan knew what idea she had in mind with one look. She wanted to go to the night market to eat those junk food. “Uncle Ming said he made braised pork hock, stewed pork trotters, spicy rabbit head, Guangdong-style roast goose, and also the omelet rice you asked for.”
“Yes, yes.” Ling Sheng nodded hurriedly, her eyes fixed on the food stall outside, and also the food in someone else’s hand. She didn’t even blink. “I’ll just go down for a while. Tell Uncle Ming to cook slowly.”
“It’s not that we can’t go either.” Jun Shiyan looked at the young lady. “You’re not allowed to eat barbecued food and spicy hotpot.”
Ling Sheng choked before turning around and squeezing out two drops of crocodile tears. She bit her lips pitifully and looked at him accusingly. “Jun Shiyan, you tyrant. It’s fine if you restrict my personal freedom, but you also want to deprive me of the joy of my life now?”
“So the joy of your life is eating skewers and spicy hotpot.” Jun Shiyan let out a low laugh and looked at the pretentious young lady. “Choose one of the two. Do you want to alight and eat those skewers or go home to eat? If you leave, I’ll call Uncle Ming and get him to feed the food to the dogs!”
“Can’t I choose both?” Ling Sheng felt even more aggrieved. She tugged at his hand gently, shaking it back and forth while trying to please him. “I’ve only been here for two days, yet you’re treating me like this. I knew it. You don’t love me at all!”
Jun Shiyan could not help but laugh aloud. He didn’t know what to do with her. He looked ahead and said, “An Yan, stop the car!”
Ling Sheng smiled slyly, as though she had gotten her way. When she walked past the stall selling candied hawthorns, she tugged at his arm and acted coquettishly. “Big Brother, Big Brother, I want to eat this! Please, please, please!”
“Okay.” Jun Shiyan nodded. She could eat the candied hawthorns. He cooperated with the little minx’s acting. He waved his hand generously. “Boss, how many do you have? I want them all!”
The boss was also an honest person. He gave him a dumbfounded look. “Handsome guy, you guys can’t finish it even if you buy everything. Your teeth will fall out if you eat too much. Are the two of you eating them yourself or giving them to someone else? It won’t taste good after a night has passed. It’ll be fresher and juicier if you eat it on the spot.”
“I want them all.” Jun Shiyan tilted his head and stroked the top of her head gently and indulgently. He was extremely domineering. “If my little sister likes, all the candied hawthorn in the world belongs to her!”
The boss let out a cough. This is not the way to dote on a younger sister. There are hundreds of skewers and all kinds of flavors. His teeth were about to fall off from the sourness[1]. He looked at them and confirmed again. “Do you really want all of them?”
This pair of siblings in front of him was really good-looking. The elder brother was much more handsome than those pretty boys on television. The younger sister was also a pretty and lively little beauty. When they stood together, one could not even take their eyes off them.
“No, no! Boss, don’t listen to his nonsense.” Ling Sheng shook her hand hurriedly and started picking with a grin. “I want a stick with sweetened bean paste filling, a stick with purple sweet potato, and two sticks of yam beans.”
The boss smiled and nodded. This was more like it. He had thought that they really wanted all of them, which had given him a fright. He hurriedly smiled and took the candied hawthorn. “Young lady, your older brother treats you really well.”
Jun Shiyan corrected him earnestly. “I’m not her brother. I’m her husband.”
The boss let out a low cough and nearly choked on his saliva. He smiled awkwardly. “Handsome guy, you really know how to crack jokes.”
One look and one could tell that they were siblings! Are you kidding me? How old is the girl? Are you spouting nonsense just because you’re handsome?
“He’s not talking nonsense.” Ling Sheng took the candied hawthorns and pulled out a single stick before saying crisply, “I’m his little wife!”
The boss watched them turn around and leave with a complicated expression on his face. The young lady stuffed a stick of yam beans and a stick of candied hawthorns into the man’s hand. She held a candied hawthorn in each hand, took a bite on the left side, then took another bite on the right side. She even lectured him inarticulately. “Tell me, are you a prodigal guy? Buy everything out? Why don’t you buy the whole food street?!”
The young lady was small, not even reaching the height of the man’s chest. When the man tilted his head, his face was filled with a loving smile. He did not know what he had said, but it made the young lady giggle.
Oh my, what’s going on? Even though she has the freedom to choose her own spouse, the young lady is simply too young. That man really isn’t a good person. Don’t the young lady’s family members know to stop them? Is the world so chaotic nowadays?
Ling Sheng could not eat much either, nor could she eat sour stuff. Her whole face scrunched up from the sourness. After taking a bite of the bean paste filling in the candied hawthorn, she turned around and stuffed it in Jun Shiyan’s hand. She ran over to look at the fragrant lamb skewers at the barbecue stall and swallowed her saliva. It was as though there were nails under her feet. She stopped walking.
Jun Shiyan had known this would happen. If he had known earlier, he should not have been soft-hearted and let her out. It was too late for regrets as well. He saw the young lady bite her lips pitifully and look at him without saying anything while pointing at the lamb skewers. She looked weak and adorable, making one unable to bear to reject her request.
“Boss, give me a skewer.” Jun Shiyan still lost the fight in the end. He had been completely defeated by her in this lifetime.
“Big Brother, it’s one yuan for three skewers!” Ling Sheng reminded him kindly, looking forward to him relenting. “Can I eat one yuan’s worth?”
“No, what did you promise me just now?!” Jun Shiyan decided that he could not back down again and again. He had to control her temperament!
Ling Sheng sniffled and was about to cry right away. She simply looked at him accusingly without saying anything, her cheeks puffed up.
The boss selling roasted skewers was someone who could not overlook any kind of injustice. He couldn’t take it anymore. “What kind of a brother are you? If your little sister wants to eat, you can just buy it for her. Isn’t it just one yuan? Judging from your dressing, you don’t look like someone who can’t afford a single yuan either.”
Then, he looked toward Ling Sheng and sprinkled cumin on the lamb skewers. He thought that the lady looked pitiful. “Little girl, don’t cry. if he won’t buy them for you, Uncle will give these few skewers to you. They’re free.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to let her eat it.” Jun Shiyan’s smile was kind and gentle. Upon seeing the young lady raise her eyebrows smugly at him in a sly manner, he explained, “She’s allergic to mutton so she can’t eat it. She ate mutton last time and was hospitalized for two days.”
[1] This ‘sourness’ is referring to the feeling of envy from their display of affection.