Chapter 6
The vegetable stand owner regained her courage once more .
Since her husband cheated on her when she was pregnant, after her son was born, she transfer all her love and attention to her child, doting on him in a hundred ways . Therefore, her child was arrogant from a young age, not good at studying, and only knew how to fight and play with women . If someone is even the tiniest bit disagreeable, he would start a fight .
The anger in Li Yundong’s chest was building up . His eyes grew more radiant . He was about to attack at any time, when someone behind him pulled him back .
Li Yundong looked back to find the little fox shaking her head . She said, “Let’s let it go . ”
The little fox did not want to raise a commotion . She needed to avoid the miniscule possibility of her being forced to act and attracting enemies here . In that case, even if she cried, it would be too late .
Li Yundong forcefully suppressed his anger . Taking out a hundred yuan bill, he threw it over and coldly said, “Take the money, but take care because your guilt might not be let you sleep at night!”
The vegetable stand owner’s son Er Lu looked at Su Chan with his eyes full of lust and amazement . When he heard what Li Yundong said, he immediately acted up . Taking a step forward, his fierce glare revealing his savage nature, he said, “What did you say? Punk, do you want to die?”
The anger that was in Li Yundong’s chest charged up into his head and could no longer be controlled . He took a step forward . One of his hands reached for the Er Lu’s knife holding hand . Applying a bit of strength, he seized the knife from his opponent . His other hand grabbed the guy and forcibly lifted him into the air before throwing him onto the surface of the vegetable stand . Targeting between the guy’s legs, he thrust the knife .
With a loud thung sound, the rusty iron knife was stabbed over three inches deep into the cement surface by Li Yundong!
Li Yundong’s face revealed an ominous intent . He said fiercely, “Who is it that wants to die?”
Er Lu was scared silly by Li Yundong . His mouth was open but no sound came out .
Li Yundong coldly harrumphed and departed more together with the little fox . Only after Li Yundong was more than three meters away did Er Lu regain his wits and check to find that he was unhurt . He flew into a rage due to humiliation . Jumping down from the stand, he casually tried to pull out the iron knife Li Yundong stuck into the cement .
However, no matter how he pulled, the iron knife seemed to have grown roots in the stand and would not move at all!
Er Lu was so enraged, he did not carefully consider the situation . He picked up another knife from a nearby vegetable stand, preparing to charge Li Yundong .
The vegetable stand owner saw everything clearly on the side . She felt starting a knife fight for the sake of a hundred yuan was not worth it, so she hurriedly stopped her son by catching him in a hug .
Er Lu was hugged by his power, so he went with the flow . Nevertheless, he continued making foul-mouthed remarks . When Li Yundong and Su Chan finished their shopping and left the marketplace, he once again remember the life that was stuck in the vegetable stand .
Er Lu observed the knife from many different angles . He tried to pull out the knife many times . No matter what he did, the knife would not come out . Eventually he used too much strength and the blade of the knife snapped .
Er Lu cursed in anger . He threw the handle of the broken blade into the distance . His eyes fixed on the section of the knife blade stuck in the stand . His gaze flickered and fluctuated with sinister light .
The shoppers and shopkeepers also crowded around to take a look at the iron knife that was stuck in the cement slab . They clicked in wonder and exclaimed, “Oh my, how much strength is needed to stick it in that far?”
Er Lu shouted at them in rage, “What are you looking at? The great me can do it too!”
With those words, he stabbed the cement slab with the knife in his hand . With a dong sound, his knife only managed to chisel a white mark . The blade was unable to endure and snapped in two .
The crowd laughed uproariously . Er Lu tensed his neck in anger . He resentfully said, “Keep laughing! If you laugh, the great me will let you try my knife!”
Only then did the crowd scatter .
On the way back, Li Yundong was still seething in anger . He said, “Your mother . Have they ever seen real money? They actually dared to fleece me! They even threatened me! When a tiger isn’t showing its prowess, do you assume that I’m Hello Kitty?*”
Su Chan curiously asked, “What is Hello Kitty?”
Li Yundong looked at her lovable appearance, and a lot of his anger disappeared . “It’s a cat . I’ll buy one for you in the future!”
Su Chan stuck out her little red tongue and said, “Why would I want a cat? And cats are everywhere, aren’t they? Why would you pay?”**
Li Yundong listened to her naïve and adorable words . He broke out in laugh . His low spirits from earlier vanished entirely . “Yes yes, next time I’ll pick up a Hello Kitty from somewhere and gift that to you . ”
Su Chan noticed that he was no longer angry . She also laughed and said, “Back there, it was my fault . I did not pay when shopping . I’m sorry…”
Li Yundong waved it off without a care, “No problem . Everyone is forgetful once in a while! It’s very normal . ”
On the inside, he thought, ‘It can’t be that this girl doesn’t have any money, right? I need to find an opportunity to put some money on her . These days, you can’t go anywhere without carrying money . ”
Upon reaching home, Li Yundong checked his ingredients . He bought half a jin of meat, one whole Crucian carp, a jin of tomatoes, a jin of eggs, and a head of bok choy . Paired with the cucumber Su Chan bought, he prepared to make two dishes and one soup: cucumber-meat stir fry, tomatoes fried with eggs, and bok choy fish soup .
The little fox stayed in the kitchen watching as Li Yundong skillfully cut the vegetables, stir fried the ingredients, flipped the food through the air, and adjusted the flavor . Her eyes were full of admiration . “You’re really great . You can even cook . It smells really delicious!”
Li Yundong’s vanity was very satisfied . “Is that so? It’s even more delicious if you eat! These dishes are only home styled simple dishes . Some other time, I’ll prepare something good and make you a banquet!”
The little fox’s eye became shiny . “For real?”
Li Yundong smiled as he moved the food from the wok into dining ware . “More real than pearls . ”
The little fox watched as Li Yundong prepared the dishes . Their delicious scents assailed her nostrils . She immediately desired to eat!
She lived and cultivated in the mountains since a young age . Her diet basically consisted of raw meat and poultry . Where had she ever seen this kind of food? Her appetite was so stimulated that she was almost drooling .
When Li Yundong finally finished cooking all the dishes . Everything was placed on the table . One of them sat on the low sofa, while the other sat on the carpet in lotus position .
The little fox held her chopsticks and endured her hunger . She glanced at Li Yundong and asked, “Can we eat yet?”
Li Yundong smiled and nodded . The little fox became a whirlwind and swept past all the food on the table . That image truly resembled the reincarnation of a ghost, which starved to death and had not eaten for eight hundred years .
Li Yundong started out with a warm smile on his face but as he watched, the color of the face changed . “Hey! Aren’t you too fierce? Leave a bit for me . Screw . If you eat all of it, what will I eat!”
By the time he finished speaking, another portion disappeared . Li Yundong sucked in a breath of cold air . This girl was not at all considerate of him .
Li Yundong knew that if he continued acting as a gentlemen, tonight he would go hungry . He also stopped being polite . Thus began a bitter struggle over food . The two clashed with saber lights and sword shadows, scrambling back and forth for food .
In just ten minutes, a pot of rice and a couple dishes were swept empty .
The little fox finished the last piece of meat to find there was nothing left to eat . She looked greatly disappointed . She stared at the tiny bit of sauce still remaining at the bottom of one of the plates as if she wanted to continue eating . So she lifted up the plate and licked it clean .
After she licked the plate clean, her eyes swept across the room . Only now did she find Li Yundong watching her smiling without an actual smile .
Su Chan’s face reddened . She bashfully put done the plate . Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the overflowing oil from the corner of her mouth . “It was too delicious . ”
Li Yundon felt great pride . Despite not eating his fill, his heart was full of warmth . He attained the sense of accomplishment . With a laugh he said, “Delicious is good . From now on, I’ll cook for you everyday!”
“Everyday?” asked the little fox . Her eyes were gleaming as she looked at Li Yundong in delight and gratitude .
“Is it strange? If I don’t cook, who will cook? You?” Li Yundong looked at the oil stuck near the little fox’s mouth . He casually took out a paper towel and wiped the corners of Su Chan’s mouth . His actions filled with warmth and gentleness .
The little fox was lost in thought for a moment . She blankly looked at Li Yundong and could not help but ask, “Why are you so nice to me?”
Li Yundong smiled . In his mind, he said, ‘Why are you following me? Do you know that from childhood till now, you’re the only girl who liked me of her own accord . ’ But his mouth actually said, “Was no one nice to you before?”
The little fox was silent for a time . With a lonely expression on her face, she slowly shook her head .
Li Yundong smiled and said, “From childhood till now, there weren’t many people who were nice to me either . There was no one to take care of me . So, I’ve always wanted to find someone that could be nice to me and I would be nice to her as well…”
The little fox raised her head and looked at Li Yundong . She softly asked, “You’re not going to ask where I came from? Or who I am?”
Li Yundong considered a moment and replied, “If there’s a time when you want to talk about it, you’ll naturally tell me . ”
The little fox’s eyes flickered with unexpected gratitude . She lowered her head and stood up . “I want rest . Where do I sleep?”
Li Yundong pointed to his bedroom . “You can sleep in my bed . I will sleep outside . ”
Even though it was daytime, the two stayed in their respective rooms . One laid on the bed looking pensive . The other rested his head on his arms, his eyes looking toward the sky .
‘Unknowingly, a little beauty moved into my home . I wonder what will happen in future,’ Li Yundong muttered in his mind .
He actually did want to know more about Su Chan’s identity . However, he was afraid the little beauty would run away if he asked too intensely . From birth till now, this was the first time he was this close and this intimate with a girl that beautiful . Her breathtaking beauty was like a vivid dream . Li Yundong feared he would wake up .
‘If this were truly a dream then let me continue dreaming, eternally without waking up . ’
Li Yundong thought this as he closed his eyes, a smile still on his lips .
Seek out spring, a crown of apricot blossoms in the wind, which youth treads a path with romance fulfilled,
Boys and girls who live upon this world, have any of you stopped yearning for love and that your hearts be full?
The little fox rested on the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest . Her body curled up into a ball . She mumbled to herself, “Master, the world outside is really scary indeed . However, it is not completely full of bad people . This fellow is pretty good to me . It’s just that… I have to steal his yang . After all whose fault is it that he ate my Human Origin Gold Pill?***”
“But why is it that every time I think about doing that, my heart feels guilty and uncomfortable?”
The little fox was a bit annoyed as she rolled back and forth on the bed . She covered her ears with the pillow, enacting a good impersonation of an ostrich as she started to hypnotize herself, “He stole my Human Origin Gold Pill . He stole my Human Origin Gold Pill…”
Repeating herself several dozen times, the little fox gradually felt her conscience clear up . She should definitely drain dry that fellow who stole her Human Origin Gold Pill .
Having convinced herself of that point, the little fox felt more at ease . With eyes full of craftiness, she released a sly laugh, fu fu fu . ****
~~~
* 老虎不發威，你當我是病貓 – when a tiger isn’t menacing, do you assume it’s a sick cat? – it’s a Hello Kitty version of this proverb . Basically when a mighty figure has not acted for a long time, people tend to think they’ve lost their ability . If a tiger does not act up, some idiots might assume it is sick or lost its teeth, but in truth, it’s still dangerous, it’s just resting .
** I’ve lived in China and traveled to dozens of little cities . We have wild squirrels and rabbits here in North America . Chinese cities have cats . Cats everywhere . And sometimes you can find kittens that have been left alone if you want to adopt . They give off quiet meows all night long trying to call their mother .
*** Whose fault? Your fault! Sorry, I shouldn’t put a note like that . The original Chinese phrase is ‘Who let him eat my Human Origin Gold Pill’, basically it’s a way of distancing yourself from blame . “Who let the Trump become president?” said the Republican voter .
**** Originally, it was a gege laugh, which is equivalent to the Japanese fufu laugh . Unfortunately, I was not able to incorporate it in a way that preserved the flow, so I replaced it with a ‘sly laugh’ . Actually I added on fu fu fu at the end after rereading . I try to stick close to the authors original intention and structure as much as possible so long as it does not disrupt the flow too much .