The Moon Will Always Come to You - CH 3

Chapter 3: Oden

Chen Jiayan walked in, pulling a chair out for Ruan Zhizhi with gentlemanly elegance. Then he introduced her to the others: “Come, come, come, I’ll give you guys an introduction. This beautiful woman’s name is Ruan Zhizhi. She doesn’t work at our university, her friend just gave her a slot so she came over to play.”

Ruan Zhizhi smiled politely. Just as she was about to introduce herself again, she realized that the three girls hadn’t stopped to look at her at all. It was clear that they weren’t interested in her.

Instead, they were all fixated on Shi Yan.

“Shi Yan, I also studied abroad once, what a coincidence.” The girl who spoke had a pretty appearance, with a standard oval face and large eyes. Her hair was curled like a delicate, lovely china doll’s.

The person being hit on also followed up with a response: “Yes, coincidence.”

It was a pity that there wasn’t the least bit of a smile in his deep black eyes.

However, this lukewarm response gave the girl a great deal of courage. Ruan Zhizhi saw her eyes instantly ignite like flames, and the girl even shifted her seat towards Shi Yan’s side.

The other two girls’ expressions were full of envy and jealousy. Only Chen Jiayan smiled in ridicule, laughing as he leaned towards Ruan Zhizhi and whispered in her ear: “Zhizhi, you mustn’t fall for him like these girls. Ah Yan is a cold-hearted person by nature. Today he’ll talk cheerfully with you, but maybe tomorrow he’ll become hostile and refuse to recognize you.”

After he finished speaking, he winked mysteriously, earnestly telling her: “I see that you’re different from these ignorant little girls, so I just wanted to remind you with good intentions.”

Ruan Zhizhi was at a loss for words. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You think too much. I don’t think about him like that at all. What kind of person he is has nothing to do with me.”

The restaurant served food very quickly. Various seafood dishes had already been served while they conversed. From steamed scallops with minced garlic and vermicelli to curry crab, mollusks in scallion oil, fried sea cucumber, and sanzhen soup, the whole table was completely covered. In an instant, everyone’s appetites awakened.

Ruan Zhizhi had gotten up early that morning. After walking with the tour group for a long time, she was now tired and hungry. But almost everything on the table was seafood. She observed everyone back and forth for a long time, then finally selected from a plate of shredded seaweed salad.

Chen Jiayan saw that she wasn’t speaking, and her chopsticks only reached for a cold dish. In an especially considerate manner, he placed an oyster on the plate in front of her. “Zhizhi, this restaurant’s oyster and egg stir fry is a signature dish of theirs, it’s very famous. How about you try some?”

Ruan Zhizhi looked at the eager expression in his eyes. For a moment, she didn’t know how to refuse. Without any better option, she thanked him. Then, before his eyes, she pretended to mix the aromatic stir fry with her chopsticks and silently swallowed.

Sitting across from her, the girls and Shi Yan had been chatting in a frenzy for quite some time. To be more precise, it was more that those girls were one-sidedly chatting. Because the one being hit on played with the lighter in his hands the entire time, his expression cold throughout.

“Shi Yan, I heard my dad say that you’re still single right now, is that really true?”

“It’s true.”

“Ah? This year you should be twenty-six or twenty-seven, why haven’t you looked for a girlfriend?”

“I haven’t come across the right one.”

He raised his eyelids and spoke indifferently.

This response instantly piqued the girls’ curiosity even more. The girl with a pretty appearance teased the bangs on her forehead and inquired somewhat nervously, “Then, what type of girl do you think is suitable?”

As soon as she asked this question, their surroundings instantly became quiet. Even Ruan Zhizhi, who had been watching from the sidelines the entire time, was a little curious about what the ideal partner of such a high-quality man would look like.

Shi Yan didn’t speak. After a long time, he put the lighter in his hand down and replied with a specious sentence: “Let’s see what fate brings.”

This was an extremely perfunctory answer, successfully dimming the brightness in everyone’s eyes. The girls hardly masked their disappointment. Ruan Zhizhi kept her head lowered and chewed the shredded seaweed silently, complaining in her heart about the strange answer from the strange man.

Fortunately, with Chen Jiayan present, the atmosphere was able to remain warm.

About halfway through the meal, Shi Yan abruptly stood up from his seat and said he was going out to smoke. Chen Jiayan was accustomed to this and waved his hand.

On his way out, he happened to pass Ruan Zhizhi’s seat. Ruan Zhizhi was drinking soup. She lifted her head to glance at him, only to see that the colour of his eyes was very light, and his countenance contained an unbridled handsomeness.

He walked away quietly, obviously not stopping to look at anyone. Yet he always gave others the feeling that he seemed to be paying attention to them.

Ruan Zhizhi shook her head. This was truly terrible. This kind of misconception was the most horrifying.

After Shi Yan went out, those few girls were dispirited for a while, but promptly cheered up when chatting with Chen Jiayan. Chen Jiayan had the gift of speech and was very good at making the girls happy. Therefore, the scene was enthusiastic.

Ruan Zhizhi looked down at her phone. If she left now, she could still buy something to eat before the group had to gather again. Otherwise, if she walked on an empty stomach for a whole afternoon, she would immediately faint due to her poor health.

Chen Jiayan urged her to stay countless times. After being rejected repeatedly, he had no choice but to reluctantly send Ruan Zhizhi to the door of the restaurant. He warmly invited her to have a meal together with him next time.

After a few polite words, the two said goodbye in a friendly manner. Ruan Zhizhi turned around and walked out of the main entrance of the restaurant, deliberating over where to buy snacks. After walking a few steps, she saw Shi Yan leaning against a guardian lion statue next to the restaurant entrance.

He reclined carelessly, a cigarette perched between his fingertips. His originally cold appearance seemed a little softer due to the smoke shrouding him.

This man’s appearance while smoking always seemed quite depressing, and a little gloomy as well.

Ruan Zhizhi lowered her head slightly. She intended to leave quickly while the other party still hadn’t noticed her. But out of the corner of her eye, she happened to cast a glance at something Shi Yan had placed on the slab of limestone. It was a box of food with continuous steam rising from it.

She stared at it carefully. To her surprise, it turned out to be a piping hot container of oden.

One of her most beloved foods.

Should she ask him where he bought it?

In just a few short seconds, Ruan Zhizhi wrinkled her brows and had a fierce ideological struggle in her mind. In the end, she decided to surrender to her empty stomach.

As she walked over, she ensured that her smile was one that seemed harmless to both humans and animals. Only then did she speak very gently: “Shi Yan, may I ask where you bought that oden?”

The other party was not surprised by her sudden appearance. His expression remained calm and unperturbed.

Shi Yan raised his eyes slightly. His refined features appeared intermittently in the smoke, and he said in a played-down manner, “This is the last one.”

Ruan Zhizhi: “……”

She really didn’t know if this was an ill-fated relationship or not. Last time he’d snatched the last macarons, and this time he had taken the last oden.

This man’s birthdate characters were definitely not compatible with hers.

“Okay, thank you.” Ruan Zhizhi took a deep breath and tried her best to calmly and genuinely thank him. She turned around to leave, but was suddenly caught off guard when the man grabbed her wrist.

His fingers were ice cold, but his palm was unexpectedly warm. It was a bizarre contrast.

Looking back in surprise, she happened to see Shi Yan throwing his cigarette butt into the garbage can on the side. Then, he picked up the oden from the limestone slab and placed it in her hand.

“Eat it while it’s hot.”

In the wintry weather of the twelfth lunar month, on an old-fashioned street with people coming and going, Ruan Zhizhi stood holding a container of oden in her hands. It took a long time for her to return to her senses.

For some reason, at this very moment, she suddenly recalled the meal they’d just had, and the words Chen Jiayan whispered in her ear.

He’d said, Ah Yan is a cold-hearted person by nature. Today he’ll talk cheerfully with you, but maybe tomorrow he’ll become hostile and refuse to recognize you.

Ruan Zhizhi looked down at the aromatic oden inside the plastic box. She was a little worried that when she saw Shi Yan again tomorrow, his attitude towards her would suddenly drop to below zero.

Truly, what a strange person.