The Fake Girlfriend is Online - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Eating River Snail Rice Noodles

Qing Moran felt quite helpless looking at the despondent Mu Jinxuan. It was clear that her brother, Mu Jinyu, was extremely important to her, but it wasn’t right for her to ask directly about the cause of the situation. If Mu Jinxuan wanted to talk, she would.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?” Qing Moran didn’t offer direct words of comfort, knowing that platitudes wouldn’t do much good right now. It was better to do something to distract her.

“Huh? No.” Having just had a good cry, Mu Jinxuan looked exceptionally soft. Standing beside her, Qing Moran felt an urge to pat her head and smooth down her “fur.”

The streetlights had flickered on at some unknown point. There were still plenty of pedestrians on the street. The bright spots in the sky made it hard to tell whether they were man-made satellites or stars. A light breeze caught Mu Jinxuan’s hair, making the short cut—which usually looked quite sharp—appear much softer.

Gurgle~

Mu Jinxuan stared awkwardly at the other side of the road. She hadn’t eaten since the morning, and now that she had relaxed, her stomach started protesting.

“I’m hungry. Why don’t we go get something to eat?” Qing Moran didn’t expose her; she simply claimed she was hungry herself.

Mu Jinxuan smiled. “Then I’ll take you somewhere. I used to go there all the time.”

“Mm-hmm, lead the way.” Qing Moran tilted her chin up, and the two of them suddenly burst out laughing at each other.

After getting out of a taxi, Mu Jinxuan led Qing Moran on a ten-minute walk, moving from the bustling blocks into a quieter area. If they hadn’t known each other, Qing Moran might have suspected Mu Jinxuan was leading her to a remote pyramid scheme hideout.

“It’s just up ahead,” Mu Jinxuan said, pointing toward a street with very few passersby. “It used to be quite crowded here. Later, when the residential area over there was declared unsafe, fewer people came. Plus, there are no malls or amusement parks nearby.”

Following Mu Jinxuan’s finger, Qing Moran realized this was the cluster of old buildings they had run into while being “hunted” by thugs on the first night they met. No wonder Mu Jinxuan knew the area so well.

“I’ve eaten at those shops since I was a kid. Especially that luosifen (river snail rice noodles) place—the owner’s ingredients are a secret recipe.”

“Wait, luosifen?” Qing Moran looked at her with a strange expression. Were they really going to eat that?

“Yeah, you don’t like it?” Mu Jinxuan looked down at her slightly, a hint of grievance in her eyes. Qing Moran felt that if she said “no,” the other girl might burst into tears right then and there.

Fine, considering how sad Bully Mu is today, river snail noodles it is. I’ll just stay away from crowds when I go back later.

“Let’s eat!”

Hearing the affirmative answer, Mu Jinxuan’s eyes lit up instantly. “Deskie, you’re the best!”

Laughing, Mu Jinxuan pulled Qing Moran into a bear hug. Qing Moran’s chin rested perfectly on her shoulder; she used her right hand to pat Mu Jinxuan’s back and finally used her left hand to pet the “fur” she had been wanting to touch all night.

Hmm, Mu Jinxuan’s hair texture is really nice, and she smells good too.

As they approached the shop, Qing Moran frowned slightly. She could smell the “soul-stirring” scent of the noodles from a distance.

“Auntie Tong, two bowls of luosifen!” Mu Jinxuan shouted as soon as they entered. She was clearly a regular.

Despite the quiet street, there were three or four occupied tables. A young woman sitting and playing with her phone looked up at the sound. Her face bore no traces of makeup, yet her natural beauty was striking, and her good figure made the men nearby steal glances.

“Yo, Xiao Jin is here! It’s been a while since I saw you. How come you only just remembered Auntie Tong’s shop? You didn’t forget about me, did you?” Auntie Tong walked over, placed her hands on her hips, and habitually ruffled Mu Jinxuan’s head with a laugh.

“How could I forget a beauty as gorgeous as Auntie Tong? You’re deeply rooted in my heart.” Mu Jinxuan laughed and showered her with “rainbow farts” (flattery). Auntie Tong cursed her playfully as a “little ingrate” before turning to the order counter.

“Your usual? And what about your friend?” Auntie Tong’s slender fingers moved quickly over the ordering machine. Her question to Mu Jinxuan was more of an affirmation, then she pointed at Qing Moran standing by.

“Deskie, small or large? Mild or medium spicy?” Mu Jinxuan asked.

“Small, medium spicy.”

“Coming right up!”

When Qing Moran said medium spicy, Mu Jinxuan gave her a thumbs-up. Qing Moran looked at her blankly, not understanding what it meant. When the noodles arrived, she finally realized.

This is way too damn spicy!

After just a few bites, Qing Moran glared fiercely at the bowl. This was her first time eating luosifen. Usually, she stayed far away from the smell. She hadn’t expected that ordering her usual “medium spicy” would result in tears nearly streaming down her face.

Qing Moran put down her chopsticks with a dark face. She had always thought she could handle spice well, but she had met her match in these noodles.

“Hahaha!” Auntie Tong, who had been sitting near them, saw Qing Moran’s watery eyes and couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter.

“Cough, what’s wrong?” Mu Jinxuan, who was finally eating her favorite noodles after months, was startled by the laughter and nearly choked.

Qing Moran glared at the laughing Auntie Tong and said, “Nothing. I wasn’t that hungry anyway. You eat.”

“Haha, little girl, first time having luosifen, right? Our secret spice has quite a kick. Almost everyone who comes here orders mild.” Having laughed her fill, Auntie Tong stood up and brought out a small bowl of mild noodles she had already prepared. Having run the shop for over a decade, she could tell a first-timer when she saw one.

Mu Jinxuan’s eyes crinkled. “Deskie, you gave your ‘first time’ to me!”

Qing Moran glared at the deliberately suggestive comment and spat out three words: “Get. Lost. Now!”.

At the table, Mu Jinxuan introduced Qing Moran to Auntie Tong. In return for laughing at her earlier, Auntie Tong shared several embarrassing stories about Mu Jinxuan as a peace offering.

“Haha, Xiao Qing, let me tell you, Xiao Jin used to be so funny. We had a cherry tree in our yard. Every time she passed by, she’d stand outside and stare for five minutes. I told her, ‘If you can reach them, you can eat them.’ She was just a tiny bean back then and couldn’t reach no matter how she stretched. To my surprise, she dragged her brother over the next day and told him: ‘Brother, an elf lives in this tree. She said she wants to share the cherries with us, but she’s too small to carry them. Can you help her pick some?'” Auntie Tong pitched her voice high, trying to imitate a young Mu Jinxuan.

“Auntie Tong!” Mu Jinxuan’s face turned bright red as she tried to stop her.

Auntie Tong ignored her and delved into the memory. “I happened to be standing right behind her and was so amused. I didn’t expect her brother to climb the tree and pick them for her without a second word. Tsk tsk, truly a ‘best brother in China’.”

As she spoke, the atmosphere at the table suddenly dipped. Auntie Tong noticed Mu Jinxuan had lowered her head to slurp her noodles in silence. Auntie Tong used her eyes to ask Qing Moran what was wrong.

Qing Moran mouthed: Her brother, injured.

Auntie Tong understood immediately. No wonder her mood dropped the moment Mu Jinyu was mentioned.

“How old was Mu Jinxuan then? Still believing in elves?” Qing Moran picked up the conversation, steering it away from the injury.

“Hmm, let me think… about ten, I think?” Auntie Tong played along. “Back then, Xiao Jin loved princesses and elves. She was incredibly cute; all the kids in the yard loved playing with her.”

Qing Moran kicked Mu Jinxuan under the table. “Didn’t know you were so popular as a kid.”

“I’m very popular now too, okay?”

Time passed slowly. By the end, Qing Moran had to admit that Auntie Tong’s noodles were addictive—the spicier they got, the more she wanted to eat.

Once they were full, Qing Moran finished by chugging a bottle of soy milk, sweat beading on her forehead. After resting a bit, they said goodbye to Auntie Tong.

Before they left, Auntie Tong pulled Qing Moran aside to exchange WeChat info. “Xiao Qing, come by whenever you have time. I won’t put it on your tab; I’ll charge it to Mu Jinxuan.”

Mu Jinxuan tried to protest from the side, but as expected, her opinion was completely ignored by both of them.

After the meal, Qing Moran thought Mu Jinxuan would want to head to the city center, but instead, the girl led her across the road.

“I haven’t been back here in a long time. I’ll take you to see where I lived as a child,” Mu Jinxuan explained.

Qing Moran didn’t refuse. Through this evening, she had come to know a “School Bully Mu” who was quite different from the one at school. At the very least, she deeply envied the bond Mu Jinxuan had with her family and the warm connection with Auntie Tong.

She had once heard a saying: A good relationship is when two people can walk together in silence without feeling any awkwardness.

The two were now walking one after the other. Neither spoke, yet Qing Moran didn’t feel any tension. The atmosphere didn’t need words to be maintained. This was the first time she had ever felt this way.

“We’re here. It’s that courtyard up ahead.” After turning left and right through the maze of old buildings, they finally reached their destination.

Qing Moran looked at the paths behind and in front of them. To her, every road looked identical. She had no idea how Mu Jinxuan navigated it; if she were alone, she’d be hopelessly lost.

They stood before a large iron gate. The paint was peeling, and the surrounding walls were quite high. Qing Moran stepped forward and pulled at the gate, which let out a loud clanging sound but remained shut.

“It’s locked,” Mu Jinxuan pointed to the lock at the bottom, which was covered in dust. It looked like no one had been here for a long time.

“Do you have the key?”

Mu Jinxuan shrugged. “Nope.”

“……Are you kidding me? Then what are we doing here?” Qing Moran’s face darkened.

“Come here, this way.” Mu Jinxuan took Qing Moran’s hand and led her to the back right of the house.

Standing before yet another stretch of wall, Qing Moran looked around to confirm: it was just a wall and a very old tree. There wasn’t even a hole in the wall for them to crawl through.

“Heh!”

Qing Moran looked toward the sound. She watched Mu Jinxuan take a running start, jump, accurately grab a branch, and swing herself onto the top of the wall.

Qing Moran understood the plan. Squatting on the wall, Mu Jinxuan reached out her hand: “Deskie, come up. I’ll pull you.”

Before Mu Jinxuan could finish, Qing Moran took a few quick steps and mirrored the earlier movements to climb the wall. However, her movements were more agile and graceful.

Squatting beside Mu Jinxuan, Qing Moran arched an eyebrow and leaped down into the courtyard.

Mu Jinxuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Right—she had temporarily forgotten that “Scholar Qing” was a “martial arts expert” who could take on several people at once. She didn’t need to worry about her at all.

Qing Moran landed lightly, her deep squat absorbing the impact. She turned around to face Mu Jinxuan, who was still perched on the wall, and opened her arms.

“Jump, Bully Mu. I’ll catch you.”