CHAPTER 75
Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng left the market around noon.
The aftermath from learning the true nature of that jungler made Tong Yao hungry-- --But she was embarrassed to tell Lu Sicheng and just looked out the window of the car...
She could feel her stomach churning.
Seeing that they were near the base, Tong Yao tried to recall whether there was still beef and vegetables left in the refrigerator that she could put in her instant noodles. She could add an egg and a slice of cheese…...The more Tong Yao thought about it, the hungrier she felt. She wanted the bowl of noodles so badly that she almost began to drool-- --
But something unexpected happened.
As they were almost at base, Lu Sicheng suddenly turned onto a road going away from the base-- --
Tong Yao: "...?"
"Where are we going?" Seeing her instant noodles grow further, Tong Yao grew anxious: "Cheng Ge, our base is in the other direction. Why are you going this way? Did you make a wrong turn?"
"No, I didn't."
"How can that be?"
"I haven't made a wrong turn." Lu Sicheng said: "Sit tight. Are there thorns on your seat or are you incapable of sitting still?"
Tong Yao threw herself back into the seat: ".........Lu Sicheng, where exactly are you going?"
She addressed him with his full name.
With both hands on the steering wheel, the corners of Lu Sicheng's lips curved up but he didn't correct her. It was fun to hear her calling his name through gritted teeth.
He decided to tease her a little and lazily said: "I'm going to find a place to exchange you for some wine-- --"
"I'm damn hungry right now and just want to go back to the base so I can eat a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles. I don't feel like joking around with you. So before I pound you into dirt and get your red buff for a month no matter what match it is, you better speak nicer to me."
"..."
Lu Sicheng glanced at his passenger as if he was seeing a crazy person. Noting that she was serious about what she was saying and looking as if she was ready to jump and bite at him at any moment, Lu Sicheng paused for a moment before speaking in a normal tone: "I'm going to eat. I'm hungry too. This morning when I took out the coke from the fridge, I noticed that there wasn't anything left in it. You want to hurry back to base so you can mix your noodles with cat food cans?"
"..."
"You finally washed your hair and put some makeup on, is it worth it just going to the market?"
"If it's not worth it to just go to the market, then is it worth it if I die of hunger on the road?"
"..." Hunger had driven Tong Yao to be braver than she had never been before. Displeasure was written all over her face. Lu Sicheng gave up arguing with her. "What do you want to eat?"
"Noodles."
"Don't girls all like to eat Japanese food or something..."
"Girls? What's that? I want to eat noodles. Noodles with steaming hot soup and meat and eggs. If there's a gender that loves to eat noodles in the world, then I'm that gender."
"..."
Lu Sicheng parked the car at a shopping center near their base. He hung the plastic bag on the rear view mirror and punched a hole in it. Lu Sicheng patted the steering wheel: "Get out, let's go eat."
Tong Yao looked at the goldfish swimming inside the bag: "On the news they said that you can't leave pets in the car by themselves. Do goldfish count as pets?"
Lu Sicheng: "Well what am I supposed to do when I take the famished pet for food?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "The fish can't talk so it's in a disadvantageous position, satisfied? Let me teach you a life lesson. When you're in an advantageous position, just be happy and don't say too much-- --Now, get out of the car, otherwise you can stay in the car with the fish."
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao puffed up her cheeks and kept murmuring something as she released her seat belt and got out of the car. Lu Sicheng also got out of the car and led Tong Yao out of the parking lot.
Five minutes later, Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng stopped at a ramen place-- --
They walked in the store and found it mostly empty, probably because it was a work day. They sat down at a table in the corner. Tong Yao opened the menu and swiftly ordered the ramen she wanted, then fixed her eyes on Lu Sicheng.
She stared at him for at least ten seconds.
Finally, Lu Sicheng couldn't take it anymore and flipped the menu over. He said to the waiter with a dark face: "I'll have the same. That'll be all for now. Please hurry, someone is dying of hunger."
Tong Yao made an ugly face at him. Amused, the waiter quickly took down the order, then turned to walk away. He very considerately left one of the menus on the table for Lu Sicheng-- --Lu Sicheng gave Tong Yao a look as if to say "are you satisfied now?" Lu Sicheng opened the menu again and slowly ordered a few more side dishes...
A little while later, the side dishes came first, before the ramen.
Lu Sicheng pulled the chopsticks apart: "Eat some of these first for now. Don't stare at me like that, no one is keeping you from eating."
Tong Yao kept her silence but moved her eyes away from Lu Sicheng-- --After eating a piece of chicken wing, the feeling of hunger disappeared and her craving for food calmed down. She took a quick peek at the man sitting across: somehow he didn't look so annoying now.
After the ramen arrive, they quietly ate their noodles-- --
Ever since Tong Yao had her pay reduction, she hadn't eaten a large piece of meat for a long while unless someone else was paying for it. She buried her head in the ramen bowl, thoroughly enjoying it. The man across from her suddenly put the chopsticks down to swipe his cell phone. He casually asked: "What do we do after lunch?"
Tong Yao was slow to realize that Lu Sicheng was talking to her: "Go back to base..."
She was interrupted before she could finish saying "and play ranked games."
Lu Sicheng: "There's no training today. I don't feel like playing games. Maybe go watch a movie...
Tong Yao: "..."
…...What was going on?
They were all declarative sentences from beginning to end.
........What was that? ? ?
Tong Yao calmly slurped the noodles into her mouth and thought about it: "Go to a movie? Just the two of us?"
"En." Lu Sicheng didn't even raise his head and continued to tap on his cell phone: "There happens to be a newly opened movie theatre on the top floor of this mall…...What was it called? Oh, Wantai Theatre. I got tickets."
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao: "Just the two of us are going to watch a movie? What's going on?"
Lu Sicheng: "What do you mean? Isn't it normal for two people to watch a movie? Do you always watch a movie all by yourself?"
Tong Yao shook her head and was going to say that she would always go with her girlfriends. But on second thought, Jinyang would never want to watch a foreign movie. When she watched Transformers with her, she had to patiently explain everything to Jinyang: The colored ones are good people and all the black metal ones are the bad guys. The good ones fight with the bad ones and are trying to drive the bad ones off of Earth...
Tong Yao then nodded: "It's quite nice to watch a movie all by myself. I don't have to worry about interacting with the person next to me."
Lu Sicheng was a little taken aback by her answer, but soon he smiled: "I won't bug you."
Tong Yao looked at the slightly curved up lips and nodded: "Oh, then it'll be alright."
Lu Sicheng put down his cell phone after Tong Yao agreed and Tong Yao continued to focus on her ramen-- --After a few more bites, she began to feel that something was off: The point shouldn't be whether there's anyone bothering her at movie!
Tong Yao put down her chopsticks: "Captain, you've tricked me again."
Lu Sicheng: "En." Then he grabbed the cell phone on the table, without looking up, and started to swipe his phone again while asking: "What have I done to you?"
Tong Yao: "You coaxed me into seeing this movie with you."
Lu Sicheng's fingers paused on his cell phone: "Do I need to coax you for you to go to a movie with me?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "Then you have a big problem. I'm really sad."
Tong Yao: "...I'm sorry."
Tong Yao: ".............."
Tong Yao: "...........Lu Sicheng, I don't want to talk with you ever again."