"What do you want to eat, Hua'er?" Nan Luo asked in nonchalant tone as if what had happened before was nothing.
"Anything is fine."
Nan Hua was not picky about food. She didn't usually care that much about what she ate as long as it made her full. Besides, there were many times when she had to scavenge food in order to survive.
"Then, we're going to eat noodles." Nan Luo had decided. "The restaurant is still a bit away, so we're going to walk for a bit."
"Ok."
The two of them walked in neither fast nor slow pace. They were enjoying the rare walk since they were usually confined inside the residence to study. Aside from going to academy, Nan Luo himself rarely go anywhere.
Nan Hua's attention landed on the commotion in front of them. A girl who was wearing a veil was angry and berated the shopkeeper there. Looking at the name of the shop, Nan Hua seemed to remember that it belonged to Long Family.
"There are a lot of commotion nearby. Should we take detour?" Nan Luo's manservant asked in low voice.
Nan Luo furrowed his brows. "Hua'er, do you want to take detour. Such unsightly sight is not for us."
"Too late."
"Mhm?" Nan Luo's eyes narrowed.
The girl who was angry now had turned her head to look at the two children. Even though she was wearing a veil that covered half of her face, both Nan Hua and Nan Luo could recognize her as Long Xu Nian.
'Enemies meet at narrow road...' Nan Luo thought to himself and scowled internally. If only it was possible, he really didn't want to meet with this group of annoying people in front of him.
"To think that I'll see you two again outside," Long Xu Nian said in annoyed tone.
Ever since the incident from that time, she hadn't been able to attend any parties anymore. People were still talking about her and even her engagement was not going as smoothly as she wanted to.
The date was pushed back and there were even some people who said that it might be broken. In order to not create any bad rumors, Long Xu Nian was not allowed to leave the residence and had to cover her face like this. She was coming out to inspect the stores that was supposed to be her dowry.
However, the shopkeepers were making things difficult for her.
Just as she wanted to return, she had to see these two annoying children. Long Xu Nian's mood definitely plummeted even faster.
"Greetings," Nan Hua said briefly.
"Are you happy now?" Hearing how Nan Hua was keeping such stoic face, Long Xu Nian felt that the little girl was definitely laughing at her from inside. The thought made her even more annoyed than anything else.
Nan Hua looked at Long Xu Nian without any change in her expression. "If there's nothing else, we'll leave."
"It's time to eat." Nan Luo also nodded, certainly unwilling to spare even more time to stalk with Long Xu Nian.
Long Xu Nian gritted her teeth. "Don't you think this is over, Nan Hua! A useless child who couldn't even properly play musical instrument, do you really think the Long Family is a place for such useless lady?"
Musical instrument?
Nan Hua was confused since she had no memory of the time before she sudden came here. However, Nan Luo stepped forward with his hand stretched to protect Nan Hua behind him. "For someone who continues to create a mess, you sure talk big, Miss Long."
"I'm still young and naturally it meant that I still have time to learn."
Nan Hua looked at Long Xu Nian and continued. "If you're young, shouldn't it be the same as me?"
That's…. true.
Long Xu Nian scoffed. She looked at Nan Hua and felt even more annoyed. "A flower in the vase is indeed beautiful. It can be adored from day to night and taken care by others properly so that it would be able to bloom all the time."
Seeing Nan Hua's beautiful appearance, even Long Xu Nian felt her teeth hurt. Nan Hua had exquisite face. She had fair skin and her face was round, looking adorable. Her eyebrows gave her elegant feeling.
When she was quiet, she seemed to be like a shy and cold girl. It made one wanted to come closer and tried to melt the cold layer around her and protect the fragile looking girl. If one had to describe her, they would say that she looked like a porcelain doll.
Long Xu Nian disliked this young girl's appearance very much.
Nan Hua arched her eyebrows. Was this young girl saying that she was nothing more than a beauty that could only be admired? She might be a bit dense, but she was not stupid enough to not understand metaphor.
"A thorny rose was beautiful but taking care of it was so troublesome because of so many thorns. Isn't it better to pick a flower without thorns, Miss Long?" Nan Hua asked back.