"I'll be waiting for your return~"
Yao Mingyue revealed a triumphant smile, leaning against the car window and winked at him.
Xu Musen looked at her, wondering when did her phoenix eyes suddenly begin to look like the seductive eyes of a fox bringing disaster upon the country?
Indeed, boys are easily swayed by gentleness, not by force.
Girls are easily swayed by resilience, not by weakness.
It's about temperament...
Xu Musen went to the nearby market and bought some groceries; his cooking skills had already graced Nuannuan's family's table several times, and Liu Rushuang had tasted his dishes as well.
However, he had yet to properly prepare a New Year's Eve dinner for his parents.
On his way back, Xu Musen casually bought a grilled sausage, with the cheapest starch sausage costing one yuan and the meat ones three yuan.
"Boss, I'll have a grilled meat sausage."
Street stalls, to which Xu Musen had rarely been lately, seemed to pale in comparison to the increasingly discerning palate of An Nuannuan, whom he had pampered with his cooking.
Now, what she loved most was the food he made.
These street food items were typically loaded with excessive oil and sugar, and the cooking oil was most likely problematic—either gutter oil or the kind that's never replaced.
But once you're out for street snacks, you don't tend to bother about it much.
I even eat instant noodles, so do I care about nutrition?
Plus, the aroma of the oil and seasonings can be quite tempting.
Xu Musen glanced at the starch sausage beside him.
A flood of past scenes suddenly filled his mind.
It was a time when his family had just suffered a great misfortune.
Xu Musen's pocket money was just a couple of yuan a day, barely enough for meals, let alone snacks.
At an age when cravings run wild, watching peers enjoy all sorts of treats every day was hard.
To say Xu Musen wasn't envious would be a lie, but the more he craved, the worse he felt; having fallen from a fairly comfortable life to the very bottom, the contrast was indescribable for a child.
Especially when he saw other boys giving Yao Mingyue small gifts, Xu Musen felt even worse.
He too wanted to give Yao Mingyue something, but all he could afford in his pocket was the cheapest starch sausage... After giving it to Yao Mingyue, he would have to swallow his saliva in silence.
Moreover, Yao Mingyue seemed to have a special fondness for starch sausages, always snatching his away to eat.
Luckily, after she finished the starch sausage, she couldn't eat her own grilled meat sausage and, after just one bite, would leave it for Xu Musen to finish off...
It was as though he was a walking garbage bin.
Thinking back to those days, it was a bittersweet feeling laced with some grim fun.
"Boss, give me another starch sausage as well."
Xu Musen suddenly said.
"You got it, handsome. Here you go."
The boss prepared both the meat and starch sausages and handed them to Xu Musen.
Holding the grilled sausages, Xu Musen took a whiff. Surely, in terms of fragrance and appearance, the meat sausage ought to be the tastier choice,
He got back into the car.
Yao Mingyue was already twitching her nose, having caught the aroma of the grilled sausage.
"I got this for you."
Xu Musen was about to hand her the starch sausage she loved most but saw Yao Mingyue reach directly for the grilled meat sausage and took an unwavering bite.
"Mm~ It's been a long time since I've had our local grilled sausage, and it still tastes like it used to."
Yao Mingyue narrowed her eyes, looking at Xu Musen who seemed a bit lost as he watched her: "What's wrong?"
"Didn't you say you like starch sausages?"
"When did I say I liked starch sausages?"
Yao Mingyue blinked at him.
"Then why would you always snatch my starch sausage to eat?"
Xu Musen said, feeling speechless, remembering how his daily allowance was just a yuan or two.
He couldn't afford the meat sausages and had to settle for a starch sausage, but every time he bought one, Yao Mingyue would snatch it away immediately.
In the end, Yao Mingyue would leave behind for him her leftover grilled meat sausage or some other item she had.
Although Xu Musen didn't mind and even felt a little thrilled, he always felt as if she was playing a trick on him back then.
It was like a child taking another child's snacks, perhaps not because they liked it but just wanting what others valued.
This little Sickly Cutie had been like that since childhood, seizing what Xu Musen liked and then exchanging it for something she preferred.
Xu Musen sighed internally, taking a bite of the starch sausage. Well, you get what you pay for.
Starchy ones certainly weren't as tasty as the meaty ones.
But as Yao Mingyue chewed on the grilled meat sausage, her phoenix eyes sparkled, and upon seeing Xu Musen looking a bit dejected, she curved her lips into a smile.
Having been inexplicably called a fool, Xu Musen turned his head to look at her.
But before he could react, Yao Mingyue had already pushed the grilled sausage against his lips.
As he instinctively opened his mouth, she shoved it in.
This gesture was somewhat a reversal of roles, as if defying the natural order.
The young girl's eyes, shimmering and soft in expression, mesmerized Xu Musen.
"That's because... I wanted to let a certain greedy yet stubborn kid who needed meat to grow have a bit more to eat."
Yao Mingyue's voice was soft, watching Xu Musen take a bite of the grilled meat sausage; her gaze flickered.
It was as if they had returned to a scene from years ago.
"I still remember when our families were going through the toughest times, when our lives had plummeted and there was a period where even having meat was a luxury…"
Yao Mingyue reminisced about the past.
Of course, Xu Musen hadn't forgotten either.
Back then, his father was in the hospital, and all their money was tied up in the company on the brink of bankruptcy; their family relied solely on his mother to keep them afloat.