Chapter 14 – Eating Breakfast

Although she knew that gloating wasn’t the best behavior, and she had already suffered the consequences of her joy before, Xu Shiqi still couldn’t help but lean on the dining table and laugh again.

God, she really didn’t know what had happened after she hung up the phone, but the sight of that girl’s embarrassing situation must have been quite amusing. Trying to maintain a semblance of composure while being utterly frustrated by the situation was no easy feat.

“Cousin, look at her!” Wen Jia Luo angrily complained to Wen Bao Hua.

Wen Bao Hua carefully smoothed out her own smile and then said helplessly, “Shiqi, if you keep laughing, the bomb at home is going to explode.”

“If it explodes, I’ll be a nuclear bomb!” Wen Jia Luo threatened fiercely.

Xu Shiqi finally had enough of laughing, wiped away her tears of laughter, and quickly said, “Okay, okay, I won’t laugh anymore. How much did you spend?”

“What?”

“The money you compensated for that dress and the meal,” Xu Shiqi said seriously. “It was indeed a poorly timed joke, so I’ll cover the cost.”

Hearing this, Wen Bao Hua immediately felt that things were going downhill. Her cousin, in front of strangers, was always very cool and aloof. Even in front of family, she often maintained a cold and detached demeanor, a habit she had developed over time. However, before Jia Luo’s accident, she wasn’t like this; even Wen Bao Hua had almost forgotten what she used to be like. But now, she seemed to find a connection with Shiqi and started talking more casually. But since they had become casual, Xu Shiqi’s serious remark might really irritate someone.

As expected, Wen Jia Luo’s mood darkened even more. She pushed aside her bowl and dishes, leaned back in her chair, and glared at Xu Shiqi with a cold voice: “Are you implying that I was extorting you for that money?”

Xu Shiqi was stunned: “I didn’t mean that, I just…”

“What are you both talking about?” Wen Bao Hua interjected lightly, cutting off their gaze. She spoke seriously to her cousin, “Shiqi isn’t that kind of person; she’s just genuinely feeling sorry.”

Wen Jia Luo was momentarily taken aback by these words and turned her head away, pouting.

“Shiqi, maybe you should accompany her with your voice next time she eats.”

Wen Jia Luo still looked away.

Xu Shiqi smiled helplessly. Well, it seemed her joke had left this girl sulking for days. Now she owed this young lady one.

“You can’t blame others if you don’t eat properly,” Wen Bao Hua said, showing rare sisterly authority as she gently knocked on the table. “Stop making excuses and eat some more.”

Although there were only three people eating, the Xu family’s hospitality was evident. The table was full of dishes, with a good balance of meat and vegetables, hot and cold. The restaurant’s specialty was its fresh ingredients, so the dishes were simple home-cooked meals, without anything particularly special. Wen Jia Luo had tasted many gourmet dishes, but to her, they all tasted the same: just edible food. She didn’t expect this small restaurant to offer any revelations; she came today to settle a score. Unfortunately, Xu Shiqi claimed her phone was also ruined by that joke, so it seemed pointless.

Wen Bao Hua accompanied them for a while, then told Xu Shiqi, “Go buy a new phone quickly. Xiao An called and said she’ll be back this month; don’t be unreachable then.”

“Oh?” Xu Shiqi perked up a bit, “Is she really quitting her job and coming back?”

“No,” Wen Bao Hua smiled slightly, “It seems she’s bringing someone back.”

Xu Shiqi was stunned, then understood, and fell silent. As more people around her paired off, the spotlight seemed to inevitably fall on her alone.

Imagining a whole stage with a solitary white spotlight on a black wooden chair, while couples danced below, and she sat reservedly on that chair, her eyes proud and resistant. No roses or sweet words could penetrate that light; the sounds and images gradually faded, leaving just her in the whole world.

High on the stage, cold and lonely. But she wasn’t wrong, so she’d rather stand alone on the stage than hide in the darkness below. A chair and a person were better than a thousand chairs with only her in one of them.

Xu Shiqi smiled. No matter what this psychology was, it had kept her going for a long time. She knew that people like her were looking for a certain kind of life, where love was rare, rare to find love, and then struggle in reality, pushing each other into deeper despair…

That was too ugly. So, Xiao An said she was a perfectionist, and it wasn’t without reason.

As she thought about this, dinner ended. Wen Bao Hua thought about going back to her small home, and the other two didn’t seem inclined to spend the evening together.

Her parents were still busy in the shop, so Xu Shiqi went home alone. She quietly did everything, then changed into pajamas and locked herself in her room.

Though she didn’t like smoking, she suddenly craved it, but couldn’t find any of her father’s hidden cigarettes. So, she made a cup of green tea, inhaling the aroma deeply, letting it linger and fill every empty space.

When Xu Shiqi woke up the next day, the tea’s aroma still lingered on her tongue. They say tea can refresh you, but she had let it cool and then fallen asleep. She thought staying awake thinking about things would keep her from sleeping, but she had underestimated herself; she fell into a deep sleep quickly.

So Qiong Yao’s descriptions of heart-wrenching, sleepless nights, with every nerve and cell in pain, were really just artistic exaggerations.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth in the mirror, seeing a cold smile.

Then she was taken aback, for no reason, thinking of Wen Jia Luo. She recalled those thin lips she saw that night on the highway and had concluded that the girl was cold-hearted. But actually, it was just a protective layer, carefully guarding her secret love.

How cute. Once you notice, every woman has her virtues. Sadly, she couldn’t love.

Leaving home, Xu Shiqi noticed the sudden drop in temperature. She pulled up her collar, wrapped herself tighter, and prepared to satisfy her hunger. The shop had developed some new rice porridge dishes, fragrant and warming; she planned to have a bowl. Passing a row of breakfast shops, she also bought some buns and dim sum, thinking even if she couldn’t eat them, she could share with others.

When she reached the store entrance, she saw a familiar car parked there. The car’s license plate was quite distinctive, so she remembered it easily from before. When she opened the door, she saw the owner sitting in the same spot where she had once been on a blind date, spooning porridge into her mouth.

Because she had just been daydreaming about her for a split second in front of the mirror that morning, Xu Shiqi wasn’t prepared to see Wen Jialuo again so soon, and her expression became a bit stiff.

“What are you doing here?”

Wen Jialuo glanced up at her, “Didn’t Auntie invite me to have porridge yesterday before I left?”

Xu Shiqi was speechless. How come she’d never seen her be so obedient to her mother?

Seeing the bag in Xu Shiqi’s hand, which seemed to emit a pleasant aroma, Wen Jialuo reached out and took it. “What’s inside?”

Seeing that the “robber” was being so open about it, Xu Shiqi let her be and went to scoop herself a bowl of yam porridge, adding a few slices of dried ginger on a small plate. Wang Yuan, knowing her daughter would be coming to the store soon, had prepared two eggs, cooling them in cold water, and pointed outside.

“When did she get here?” Xu Shiqi asked.

Wang Yuan, smiling, replied, “She arrived a little while ago. I thought she looked frail, so I told her yesterday morning to come here for porridge. Good health starts with a good stomach, and a good meal starts with breakfast. But I didn’t expect her to actually come. I was just about to prepare something else for her to eat.”

“No need,” Xu Shiqi sighed and carried the tray outside.

Wen Jialuo was already eating the shumai Xu Shiqi had brought. Xu Shiqi placed the plate with ginger in the middle, only for Wen Jialuo to push it back with a look of disgust.

“Ginger warms and dispels cold. Eating some in the morning is good for you,” she pushed the plate back again, noticing that her mother had also prepared a glass of milk for the girl, which looked untouched. She moved the milk to her side.

“Hey!” Wen Jialuo was just about to pick up a piece of ginger when she saw her territory invaded and quickly glared.

“Milk can cause phlegm. Since your stomach isn’t great, it’s not suitable for you,” Xu Shiqi drank it in one go, then licked the white residue from her lips, “Mmm, delicious.”

Wen Jialuo had always thought that because her stomach wasn’t good, everyone tried to make her eat all sorts of things. But she didn’t expect this to be a reason to keep her from eating certain things.

After putting down the milk glass, Xu Shiqi rolled an egg to Wen Jialuo.

Wen Jialuo pressed the warm egg and snorted, “I don’t eat eggs.”

“To keep your energy up all morning, you need protein and fats. Eggs are the basics, you know?”

“Are you a doctor?” Wen Jialuo clicked her tongue and started peeling the egg.

“No,” Xu Shiqi smiled slightly, “Out of the three daily meals, breakfast is the most important. Do you know why?”

Wen Jialuo looked up at her, feeling wary because Xu Shiqi’s earnest demeanor reminded her of the malicious teasing from the other day. She glanced at the porridge, pushed it away, and, without touching the egg, asked seriously, “Why?”

“Because breakfast is usually eaten between 7 and 9 AM, which aligns with the time the stomach meridian is active according to traditional Chinese medicine,” Xu Shiqi explained earnestly. “You used to make yourself sick by not eating properly as a way to pressure your family, but your life is your own, and you should take care of it. Since you came here today, it shows you want to eat well, so breakfast is crucial. It’s the easiest time for your body to digest and absorb food.”

The woman across from her spoke seriously, just as she had when offering to pay the money. Wen Jialuo listened blankly, then raised an eyebrow, “Who said I came for breakfast?”

Xu Shiqi was taken aback, “Then why are you here?”

Wen Jialuo suddenly didn’t know how to respond. What could she say? Should she mention that last night, her cousin said Xu Shiqi was a good person—except for not having been in a relationship, she was considerate and caring? This made her think of the night her stomach hurt and all the messy stomach medicine scattered on the bed.

After dropping her cousin off at home, she returned to the old house. She stayed there two days a week now but avoided contacting old classmates to avoid personal questions, leaving her with nowhere to go. Seeking nightlife alone wasn’t her thing, so she sat quietly with her grandparents for a while before going to bed.

Waking up early, feeling a bit hungry, it was rare for her stomach to remind her to eat, so she thought of Xu Shiqi’s mother’s eager invitation.

So, she sat there.

But there was no need to tell Xu Shiqi this. Wen Jialuo looked down and calmly said, “I came for the porridge.”

Xu Shiqi couldn’t help but laugh. “Right, having porridge isn’t breakfast, it’s just porridge.”

Wen Jialuo continued to calmly drink the porridge and eat the breakfast items Xu Shiqi had bought.

After finishing her meal, Xu Shiqi saw that the girl was still slowly eating, so she propped up her elbow and watched. Despite different reasons, both were alone in their own ways. Thinking that both had resisted blind dates, they seemed to share a common language and were on the same side. Being alone together might mean they could accompany each other.

So, she asked, “Why don’t you come with me to buy a phone?”