The Crown Prince Ascends the Entertainment Throne - Chapter 8

Dragging his weary and starving body, Xiang Xu followed the man like a zombie newly crawled from the grave.

They passed many restaurants, but the man had no intention of stopping. Instead, he scanned the eateries with sharp, critical eyes, muttering to himself:

“Too dirty!”

“The quality is too low!”

“The glass door offers no privacy!”

“There is a cat painting on the door, likely for good fortune. What blatant superstition!”

“…”

Regarding his pickiness, Xiang Xu was too exhausted to offer a retort, though he could not help but think to himself: What did the cat ever do to you?

He was famished.

Xiang Xu’s vision blurred, his legs felt like lead, and his back arched with fatigue. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground.

Suddenly, the subtle, savory scent of noodle broth tickled his nose. Dizzy and lightheaded, he finally stopped in his tracks, mechanically turning his head toward the source of the aroma.

The man in front, hearing no footsteps behind him, turned around, puzzled.

He glanced at Xiang Xu’s thin, gaunt face and saw the undisguised longing in his eyes. The man then followed Xiang Xu’s gaze.

It was a small noodle shop by the side of the road. The steps were worn smooth, the walls had lost their original color, the storefront was narrow, and it, too, had glass doors.

Through the glass, one could clearly see the “beckoning cat” on the checkout counter, waving its paw right at them.

Are you doing this just to spite me?

The man’s face darkened, and he let out a sharp, audible puff of air through his nose.

Xiang Xu heard the sound, like a boiling kettle, and lifted his hazy eyes toward the noise.

The man suddenly stopped huffing. As the white spots cleared from his vision, Xiang Xu saw the man standing there, his expression softening with a flicker of empathy.

What is it? Is there something on my face?

Xiang Xu was baffled, but he was suddenly shoved forward toward the shop door by the man: “Go, go, go! I will eat here, is that enough? I really cannot handle you.”

Xiang Xu: “???”

The man pushed him into the noodle shop. Once inside, the man looked around with disdain before leading Xiang Xu to the very back to sit down.

“What do you want to eat?” The man took the menu, a sheet of paper with large black characters on a plum-red background, handed over by the owner and asked Xiang Xu.

Xiang Xu just stared at him, still reeling from the sudden turn of events.

Especially after seeing the beckoning cat at the checkout counter, he was even more confused. Didn’t you hate cats? Or is it only the paintings you hate, but not the ones that wave?

“I forgot you are a bit dim-witted.” The man clearly did not understand why Xiang Xu was surprised, assuming him to be simple-minded. After a long sigh, he took the menu back, ordered a few things at random, and handed the slip to the owner.

Xiang Xu continued to brainstorm while absentmindedly stroking the cover of the dictionary he held, staring at the man’s face, trying to find an answer.

Under such a gaze, the man seemed uncomfortable. He took his phone out of his pocket and began to play with it, acting as if he were busy.

Back at the bookstore, he had used that device to pay.

Xiang Xu had observed a lot today. He realized that most people on the road carried this object. His sister used it for calculations, directions, and payments. Others used it to strike various poses, or turned it sideways to emit sounds while sliding their fingers across the screen.

In any case, this item seemed quite important, fully functional, and everyone had one.

He could not help but touch his own pocket.

I should have one of these, too. Maybe it holds important clues. I must look for it in my room later.

He remained lost in thought until the noodle soup was served, at which point he had no energy left to think.

After inhaling three large bowls of noodle soup, he recovered slightly from his extreme hunger. As he reached for a fourth bowl, the man opposite him, still holding his phone, stared at him with eyes so wide they seemed about to pop out:

“You… you are not so dim-witted that you would eat yourself to death, are you?”

Haven’t you ever seen someone who is truly famished? I have not eaten a single thing since last night! Xiang Xu thought with disdain. While gulping down the fourth bowl, he smugly told himself, “Although I am a noble Crown Prince, I still have more common sense than him when it comes to knowing that a starving person needs a lot of food at once.”

By the time the fifth bowl arrived, Xiang Xu’s pace slowed. The man opposite him breathed a sigh of relief and went back to fiddling with his phone.

With his stomach satisfied, Xiang Xu regained his ability to think. Glancing at the man’s face, illuminated by the screen, he realized that he had been the only one eating; the man had simply pushed bowl after bowl toward him without taking a bite himself.

Isn’t he supposed to make me serve him?

Xiang Xu was puzzled. He had been confused too many times today, so much so that when he looked up again, the man glared at him fiercely: “What are you looking at? Keep eating!”

Xiang Xu was stunned, nearly biting his noodles in half.

Is it possible that although he acts fierce, he is actually doing a good deed?

Xiang Xu had never met someone like this. Besides his imperial father and brothers, no one in the Yin Dynasty had dared to speak to him in such a tone. If those ministers did a good deed, they would be eager to plaster a saintly smile on their faces; none would be so abrasive while doing something kind.

“I really do not know what is wrong with your taste. With so many high-end restaurants, you just had to pick this one!”

The man looked around. The harsh words coming from behind his face mask dimmed the gratitude Xiang Xu had just begun to feel.

The shop owner standing behind them scowled, his gaze filled with anger as he swept his eyes over them.

I cannot tell if you are trying to do a good deed or not, but you are in someone else’s shop, criticizing it with such disdain—are you not afraid of getting beaten up?

Thinking of the consequences, Xiang Xu kept his head down and ate his noodles with renewed effort.

I have to finish these noodles before we get into a fight! No wasting food!

In less than a day here, Xiang Xu understood his impoverished situation; he knew every meal was hard-won. Money was one thing, but the greater issue was that even if he had money, he could not communicate to obtain food.

Because of this, while he appeared to be focused on eating, he was memorizing how other customers ordered their food.

He could have learned from this local man, but the man’s speaking style was a fast track to getting beaten up. For the sake of his own survival, he decided it was best not to emulate him.

After finishing six bowls of noodles, Xiang Xu was finally satisfied. His expression relaxed, and his hair, dampened by the steam of the noodles, looked slightly tousled.

“Full?”

Xiang Xu nodded.

The man stood up, and Xiang Xu followed suit, his gaze tracking the man’s every move.

He watched as the man walked to the checkout counter. The man glared fiercely at the beckoning cat before slamming the bill onto the counter.

“Seven per bowl, forty-two in total.”

A bowl of noodles is seven yuan. My medicine costs twenty-eight bowls of noodles, and that book costs about thirty-two.

Xiang Xu calculated instantly. He had always known that using the price of food was the most accurate way to judge the cost of living. After doing the math, he felt like a profligate spender.

The medicine dregs my sister brewed yesterday should not be tossed yet. When I go back, I will add water and brew them three more times. I must fully utilize the value of that medicine!

Having made up his mind, Xiang Xu hugged the books—both his own and the man’s—and followed the man out of the shop after he finished paying.

“Give it to me.” The man reached out to take his bag of books.

Xiang Xu, feeling full, was in a very good mood. Even though the man spoke harshly, he had indeed treated him to a meal. A smile bloomed on Xiang Xu’s face, and his damp face looked particularly clear and bright.

“…Do not make that worthless expression. People who treat you to a meal are not necessarily good people. A dim-wit like you could be tricked and sold by others without even knowing it.”

Xiang Xu’s smile faded. The fact that the man firmly insisted on calling him dim-witted was quite annoying.

But remembering that the man had ultimately been a benefactor, the smile returned to his face.

The man rubbed his temples, looking as if he thought Xiang Xu was beyond redemption.

“Do you know how to get home?”

Xiang Xu nodded. Although the walk was long, he remembered the way.

“…Fine. You go on, then. I will wait for my car here.”

Xiang Xu nodded again and turned to leave without hesitation.

Seeing him walk away so decisively, a flicker of disappointment crossed the eyes of the man, Mu Lianyi, but it was quickly masked by the pride of having done a good deed anonymously.

He dropped the bag of books on the ground. Carrying such heavy books for so long had been difficult for the boy, so with him gone, Mu Lianyi did not have to keep pretending to be a gentleman.

Mu Lianyi opened his phone to message his assistant, Li Li, asking where the car was.

Suddenly, he heard a sequence of footsteps running toward him. He looked up from the screen to see the boy running back against the wind.

Mu Lianyi immediately bent over, intending to pick up the books, but then straightened up, thinking it would not look good to be caught rummaging in the dirt.

“Why are you back?!” he said, feigning annoyance.

In the next second, the boy shoved something into his hand and gave a slightly awkward bow.

“Thank you.”

Mu Lianyi suspected he had misheard. By the time he reacted, the fluffy head had already darted away as nimbly as a cat.

The fallen leaves he had kicked up drifted back down. Mu Lianyi stared blankly for a long time before shifting his gaze to the bunch of small white flowers in his hand.

These were common flowers from the small wax trees, and there were many more in the shrubs by the road where he stood.

Though they were the most ordinary of flowers, this bunch looked different.

The tiny white blossoms were clustered tightly together. He looked at the flowers, touching the small leaves on the stems, a smug smile beginning to grace his lips.

“Boss! Were you not buying books? How did you end up so far away?!” A man in a professional suit hurried over from the other side of the road, only to find his boss holding a bunch of flowers, staring off into the distance with a dazed look.

At his feet, the expensive books were scattered on the ground.

Mu Lianyi replied, unprompted: “Li Li, someone gave me these flowers just now. You must admit, it is because I am so likable!”

The fickle man’s eyes glowed with joy; his expression was far softer than usual.

Er… likable… given your reputation…

But you are the boss, so I will just agree with whatever you say.

Li Li was a seasoned employee. Just as he opened his mouth to offer a compliment, they both saw a man across the street walking a Golden Retriever. The dog suddenly stopped, and its owner followed suit.

The Golden Retriever sniffed the bushes, then turned around and lifted its hind leg.

A curved stream traced an arc in the air, drenching the white wax tree flowers by the roadside.

The next second, he saw the flowers held in his boss’s fingers drop to the ground.

Li Li immediately picked up the books from the ground, put them in the bag, and carried them. He looked cautiously at his boss’s rapidly shifting face. Surprisingly, the rage Li Li had expected did not come.

“Although he is not a mute, he is definitely a dim-wit.” Mu Lianyi shook his head. “Let us go.”

After giving the flowers as a gesture of gratitude, Xiang Xu felt much calmer.

Although one bunch of flowers could not repay the kindness of a meal when he was near death from hunger, this way of expressing gratitude was very much in the spirit of a gentleman’s friendship, and Xiang Xu was very satisfied.

If there is fate, I will find a way to repay this kindness later.

For now, rather than dwelling on the kindness of a stranger, it was better to think about how to improve his current situation.

Xiang Xu was a very pragmatic person. He now had the reference book; at the very least, he could first solve the trouble of communication.

He found a park, sat on a bench beside a path, and began to study the dictionary.