Xi Jin looked at her worriedly and said, “I heard that the Demon King was here, so I came to see him. What’s wrong with you? What did he say?”
Xi Lin shook her head and said, “He didn’t say anything.” She was just thinking about how to persuade her Imperial Brother to call off the wedding.
“What the hell is going on? You look terrible.” Xi Jin looked at her ashen face and became very worried. He had many brothers and sisters, but she was his only full sibling.
Xi Lin shook her head and said, “I’m fine.”
“Do you like the Demon King?” Xi Jin asked tentatively.
Xi Lin jerked her head up and looked at Xi Jin, who had a serious look on his face. She laughed in spite of herself and said, “Imperial Brother, don’t let your imagination run wild. Why would I like him?”
She was only like this because she’d just seen Dai’er and had come to know some of the heinous things Shen Yunya had done. That was all.
Xi Jin didn’t care whether she spoke the truth or not. He said very seriously, “You can’t like him. He already has someone in mind, she….”
The moment he was about to say Feng Tianlan, he couldn’t help but think of how brightly she’d smiled under the sun.
“What about her?”
Xi Jin snapped himself out of it and sat down in a nearby chair. He sipped some cooled tea and suppressed his impetuous mood. He said, “She’s the person the bounty mission is looking for. She’s the only one in Si Mobai’s heart. Don’t think of him. It’s absolutely never going to happen with him.”
“Feng Tianlan.” Thinking of something, Xi Lin sat down next to Xi Jin and leaned against the table. She looked at him and said, “Imperial Brother, Feng Tianlan is also from Guiyuan Continent. You’ve been there twice. Have you seen her before, or heard of her legend?”
Xi Jin suddenly thought of the first time he’d met Feng Tianlan. There was a sinister-looking scar on her face and an overbearing air about her, and she was holding Tu Xiupei’s Dantian in her hand. At that time, he spoke up to stop her because he intended to bring Tu Xiupei to Xuantian Continent.
He vaguely remembered that at that time, she’d asked him if he’d eaten dumplings.
That was what she’d asked him, right?
“Have you eaten dumplings?” Xi Jin suddenly murmured. At the time, he’d even asked her why she’d asked him that, and she’d said something to the effect that he was fair and delicate, so he’d probably eaten dumplings growing up.
Thinking back, this conversation seemed somewhat ridiculous.
“Ugh!” Hearing the word “dumplings,” Xi Lin felt nauseated. She bent over the other side of the table and started to dry heave. Not only did she never want to eat dumplings again in this lifetime, but she also wanted to throw up at the mere mention of them.
Seeing her reaction, Xi Jin hurriedly reached out to gently pat her on the back. “Lin’er, what’s wrong with you?” he asked.
Xi Lin waved her hands and shook her head. She retched a couple more times and took some tea to rinse out her mouth. Then, she took out an embroidered handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth. She looked up at Xi Jin and said, “My brother, don’t mention that word to me in the future, and don’t ever eat such stuff again.”
“You’re saying…”
Xi Lin quickly raised her hand and interrupted him. “Don’t say it. I feel disgusted.”
“Why?” Xi Jin wondered. Why was Xi Lin acting so strange today?
“I heard today that there are people in the community who make the filling with dead mice. That’s why. My brother, you shouldn’t eat them anymore either.” It wasn’t the best explanation, but it was better than watching her Imperial Brother continue eating them.
Xi Jin looked at Xi Lin doubtfully, then finally nodded. “Very well,” he said. She rarely called him “my brother.” She would only call him that if she had a really important request.
Seeing how extremely disgusted she was by just the mention of the word “dumplings,” he thought that he’d better not mention them to her in the future. As for eating them, he’d just do it behind her back. After all, in the end, those were the mementos that Dai’er had left for him.
“Oh, that’s right.” Xi Lin calmed down a little. “You still haven’t told me what it felt like to meet Feng Tianlan.”