"I didn’t expect you guys to still be here."
Feng Yuan was discussing with Qi Chen and the others where to go next, when he felt someone pat his back. Before he turned around, he heard Jenna’s voice. He glanced at Jenna and, with a smile, said,
"Are you done with your stuff?"
"Pretty much, need a tour guide?"
Feng Yuan didn’t immediately agree but turned to look at Qi Chen and the others and said,
"What do you guys think?"
Dou Yanlan stared at Jenna for a while before saying,
"Having someone to explain things might be a good choice."
Qi Chen looked at Dou Yanlan somewhat confused, not quite understanding the situation, but seeing Dou Yanlan giving him a look, he quickly said,
"Right, right, I have no objections."
Yang Hongzhi laughed and said,
"I don’t mind either."
"Then we’ll trouble you~"
"Hey! Didn’t you forget something?"
Qi Xiaoshuang called out, dissatisfied. After a glance at Qi Xiaoshuang, Feng Yuan said with a mischievous smile,
"Your opinion isn’t important~"
"You wouldn’t oppose it anyway, would you?"
Qi Xiaoshuang nodded and then glared at Feng Yuan, saying,
"That’s not a reason for you to ignore me!"
"Don’t ’hehe’! Explain yourself properly or this isn’t over between us!"
Seeing Feng Yuan teasing Qi Xiaoshuang, Qi Chen sighed, looked at Dou Yanlan, and whispered,
"What did you notice?"
Dou Yanlan glanced at Jenna and whispered back,
"Didn’t you think there was something off about her?"
Qi Chen scratched his head in confusion and said,
"It does feel a bit strange, but..."
Dou Yanlan sighed and said,
"This café is one of my favorite places~"
Jenna cheerfully told everyone. Qi Xiaoshuang looked up at the quaint sign and said,
"Marina Café? That’s a pretty straightforward name."
"It’s not just coffee, her desserts are also amazing~ It particularly likes her desserts on regular days too."
As Jenna spoke, she looked at Yang Hongzhi with a hint of regret. Feng Yuan pulled on the Dreaming Dragon Baby’s tail and said,
"You behave yourself. Don’t cause trouble in such a beautiful place."
Looking at the café, elegantly decorated with various plants, Feng Yuan suddenly didn’t feel like letting Xiao Ji and the Dreaming Dragon Baby run amok there.
Qi Xiaoshuang glared at Feng Yuan and said,
"Are you worried they’ll ruin the atmosphere? I think you’re the most likely one to ruin it, you know?"
Seeing Feng Yuan and Qi Xiaoshuang bickering again, Qi Chen helplessly covered his forehead, while Dou Yanlan laughed and said,
"At this rate, maybe one day he really will call you uncle."
"Impossible! Don’t even think about it!"
Qi Chen said in an almost explosive manner, to which Dou Yanlan covered her mouth and chuckled,
"It’s not up to you. If he really wants to do something, you can’t stop him."
"Xiao Shuang definitely wouldn’t fall for him."
Qi Chen muttered with less conviction. Even though Feng Yuan wasn’t usually very reliable, when it came to important matters, he was exceptionally dependable. Perhaps Xiao Shuang liked that about him? No, he had to investigate thoroughly what the situation with Xiao Shuang’s current boyfriend was when he got back. Qi Chen silently resolved to do so.
"We didn’t order steak."
The group was drinking coffee on a terrace constructed of vines outside the café when the waiter suddenly started serving steak, which everyone found somewhat odd. Jenna laughed and said,
"I ordered these, so consider it my treat to you guys, her steaks are even better than what the chefs make in the castle~"
Qi Chen warned Feng Yuan with a stare, worried that Feng Yuan might pull out that Greatsword again. Jenna had kindly invited everyone to eat, and he didn’t want her to be frightened by Feng Yuan’s antics.
Glancing at Qi Chen, Feng Yuan skillfully picked up a knife and fork and elegantly began cutting his steak, saying,
With an expression of disbelief, Qi Chen said,
"You can use a knife and fork?"
"Then why did you do that at lunchtime!"
"It’s too much trouble, isn’t it? If I eat , it’ll take forever, and the banquet hall doesn’t have this kind of atmosphere."
Dismissively, Feng Yuan stated, with sunlight filtering through the vines casting dappled starlight across the table. Unnamed birds settled on the vine trellises, joyfully singing. Xiao Ji and the Dreaming Dragon Baby, after being warned by Feng Yuan, were behaving and nibbling at their food quietly. Big Cat leaned against the vine trellis, resting with eyes closed, while Pomiti sat on Big Cat’s head, nibbling away at some snacks.
Ah Mu stood behind Qi Chen, eating, blending seamlessly with the vines, resembling his own tree-like form. Cotton lay on a nearby empty white round table, squinting with a tail that swished occasionally. Xiao Hei and Xiao Hui rarely had a place to come out and rest, so they were lying on the grass outside the terrace, enjoying their food while secretly deciding to quickly master the ability to change their forms.
"You do resemble those guys in some ways~"
Jenna said with a smile. At that moment, Feng Yuan picked up his coffee and slowly sipped it. His actions were casual, yet revealed an effortless elegance and nobility. Dou Yanlan looked at him with a trace of suspicion but then remembered that Feng Yuan himself was like a huge enigma. After a moment’s thought, she decided to abandon the idea of probing into Feng Yuan’s secrets.
Qi Xiaoshuang watched Feng Yuan, trying to imitate his movements. After realizing she didn’t have that kind of temperament, she gave up and casually sipped her coffee. Xiao Ji only tasted a sip of the Spirit Beast coffee before making a face and staunchly refused to drink any more. Seeing this, Feng Yuan, somewhat helplessly, added a lot of flavorings to Xiao Ji’s coffee. He glanced at the Dreaming Dragon Baby, who was trying hard not to dislike the coffee and said with a bit of amusement,
"If you find it unpalatable, you can add something flavorful. No need to force it."
The Dreaming Dragon Baby glanced at Feng Yuan, turned away and continued to guzzle down the coffee. Not until the entire color of the coffee had changed did Xiao Ji peck again at it and reluctantly continued to drink slowly.
Shaking his head with amusement, Feng Yuan said,
"It looks like they’re not used to it. Never mind, we’ll order some drinks for them later."
Jenna said with a smile,
"After all, not everyone likes this taste."
"That’s true. I’m not a big fan either, just not as dramatic as them,"
Feng Yuan said, shaking the cup in his hand. Dou Yanlan looked around with some puzzlement and said,
"Isn’t this a tourist spot?"
Feng Yuan looked at Dou Yanlan with some curiosity and after considering for a moment, Dou Yanlan said,
"If it’s a tourist spot, why aren’t there any tourists coming by?"
"They probably can’t find it, I guess. We had to go through all kinds of narrow alleyways to get here. It wouldn’t be hard for people our age, but most tourists bring kids, and they’re unlikely to go through these kinds of strange places."
Dou Yanlan was doubtful, yet Feng Yuan’s explanation wasn’t wrong, considering they had followed Jenna through winding alleys for a long time before finding this cafe. However, Dou Yanlan was puzzled as to why there would be a coffee shop in such a place.
Jenna looked around and said,
"This place belongs to the inner residential area of Noscarte’s commoners. You can’t get here via the normal roads."
"After all, even commoners hope to have a safe place."
"Don’t underestimate us; our mechanism tunnels here are even more numerous than those inside the castle~"
At that moment, a woman with long wavy golden hair approached and said. Jenna glanced at her and said,
"Marina, have you finished your work?"
"Of course~ Normally, those guys would come here to play the piano, but for some reason, not a single one has shown up recently. Could it be that my charm has diminished?"
Jenna chuckled and said,
"How could that be? How could Noscarte’s belle, Miss Marina, lack charm? Maybe they’re just busy with something important."
"I hope so. Although they bother me on regular days, I strangely miss them when they’re not around."
"What, has the beautiful Miss Marina fallen for someone?"
Marina said, noticing Jenna’s concerned gaze, and with a smile, she assured,
"Don’t worry, I will definitely find my Prince Charming~"
"But I do need to ask Aunt Stilanche about how exactly to find my Prince Charming~"
Jenna looked seriously at Marina and said,
"You’d better keep your distance from her."
"I can’t tell you the reason, but she’s not as simple as you think."
Seeing the earnest expression on Jenna’s face, Marina laughed and said,
"Okay~ I’ll keep my distance~"