Chapter 77: A Food Review? Of Course, Take All (Patreon)

The wind on the overlook was a good deal stronger than down in the city.

Little Guang draped herself over the railing, chin resting on the backs of her hands, her long dark brown hair lifting in the wind.

She stared out at the distant city district for a while, then turned her head all at once.

"Wise, do you and Belle go out like this too, normally?"

Wise leaned against a nearby pillar, hands in his pockets. "We used to. We didn't have much money back then, though, so going out mostly meant window shopping."

"Window shopping?"

"It means you look and don't buy."

Little Guang blinked, then laughed. When she laughed, her droopy ears flattened back a little and slowly rose again, like some small habit with a rhythm to it.

"That sounds about the same as us," she said. "Back on the mountain, my brother used to take me to watch the clouds. Watching clouds doesn't cost anything."

"Senior Brother Ye took you?"

"Mm. In the evenings you can see the sunset glow from the roof of the training hall. He'd bring little snacks along beforehand, osmanthus cakes and things like that, and we'd sit up there and watch."

Wise pictured it. Ye Shiyuan, hopelessly devoted to his little sister, sitting on a rooftop with an armful of snacks while the sunset burned down, a droopy-eared girl swaying along beside him.

It really did sound like something he'd do.

"That sounds nice," Wise said.

"What about you and Belle? What do you two do together?"

"Play games," Wise said without hesitating. "She's better with a controller than I am. Every co-op run, I'm the one getting carried."

Little Guang laughed again. This time it came out loud — not much, but clear against the wind at the summit.

"Belle really is amazing."

"She is. Her memory's just terrible. The second a match ends she's forgotten how she won it."

"So you remember for her?"

"I remember. And the next time she pulls the same trick, I win."

Little Guang tilted her head, something knowing in her ruby eyes. "You really do pay attention to things, don't you."

"Not really. I just… looked twice."

Little Guang didn't answer, but the curve at the corner of her mouth deepened.

She turned back to the view, her long hair swaying in the wind.

Wise didn't say anything more either.

The two of them stood there on the overlook, each looking at their own thing.

The wind at the summit drove the clouds along fast.

Cloud shadows swept across the city district below, and the patches of light on the ground brightened and dimmed, as if someone were playing with a switch.

After a while, Little Guang spoke.

"Actually… the two of us are pretty similar."

Wise said nothing, only waited calmly for the rest.

"We both have family who look after us." Her voice went softer. "Master kept me on the mountain because she didn't want me getting hurt. My brother's the same — whenever there's something good, I get it first. Senior Sister Fufu and Senior Brother Yinhu too…"

She paused. "It must be the same for you, right? Big Bro Miguel. And Belle."

"Mm," Wise said. "Big Bro Miguel really does look out for us. And Belle… yeah. She's had a rough time of it, getting us this far."

Little Guang smiled.

Another gust rolled through. She smoothed back the hair it had scattered and glanced at the clock on the platform behind them.

"Wise, it's about time we headed back."

"Mm. Let's go."

They turned toward the cable car station. Little Guang walked in front, her steps slower than they'd been on the way up. She looked back once toward the overlook, then faced forward again.

"Can we come again sometime?"

"There'll be a chance. If that's what you want, then let's make it a promise — next holiday, we come up here together again," Wise said. "We'll bring Belle along, let her see the view from up here too."

"Okay."

The cable car station stood a dozen meters off.

Nobody was queuing at this hour, so they boarded straight away.

The trip back was downhill, and the car ran a good deal faster than it had coming up. The cabin swayed gently on the cable, and the scenery outside the window dropped away beneath them.

Little Guang took the window seat again. This time she didn't watch the view the whole way; her gaze settled on Wise instead, held for two seconds, then slid off.

Wise noticed. He didn't call it out.

The cabin was quiet for a while. Then Little Guang's phone buzzed.

She pulled it out and looked. A message from Ye Shiyuan.

[Ye Shiyuan: Are you on your way back?]

Little Guang typed back: [Riding the cable car down, almost there.]

[Ye Shiyuan: Mm. We got back first. Stay safe on the way.]

[Little Guang: Okay, we'll be there soon.]

She put the phone away and looked up at Wise. "My brother says they're already back."

"Then we'd better hurry. Senior Sister Fufu's probably starving."

Little Guang laughed out loud.

The cable car pulled in. The doors opened and the two of them stepped out, one after the other.

Coming down the mountain went faster than going up. From the station to the block where the Tea Sipping Immortal stood was about a ten-minute walk. They followed the street back; there were more people out than before, and shop after shop had begun hanging out signs for the lunch service.

Five or six minutes along, Little Guang's steps slowed.

Wise caught it out of the corner of his eye.

At the corner of the street, beside the square, a small stall had been set up. Not much to it — one folding table, a few insulated barrels, a sun umbrella propped overhead. A few characters were printed across the canopy: "芭拉芭拉" (Bala Bala).

The owner was a young woman with short hair, waving and calling out to passersby.

"New-season signature milk tea! Sweeter than first love, better than honey-candied fruit~"

Little Guang's eyes settled on the stall and stayed there a moment.

Then she looked away and picked up her pace.

Wise didn't move.

He stood where he was, looked at Little Guang, then looked at the sweet-drink stall. A row of cups was lined up on the table in assorted colors — pale pink, light green, milky white, and one with a few osmanthus petals floating on top.

Little Guang had gone three or four steps before she glanced back and found Wise hadn't followed. "Wise?"

"Little Guang." He called her to a stop. "Do you want one?"

She froze, droopy ears flattening back a little. "No, no, let's hurry back, everyone's waiting—"

"You really are easy to read, you know~"

Little Guang's hand went to one of her droopy ears before she'd thought about it.

Sure enough, the pair of fuzzy ears was tilted faintly toward the drinks stall, giving their owner away completely.

Her face went a little red.

"That… I was only looking," she said quietly. "And if I have something sweet now, I won't have room for lunch later, and that would be a shame. Senior Sister Fufu and the others have definitely ordered a mountain of dishes…"

Wise looked at her.

The look made her fidget. Her ears twitched twice more, and she added, "Besides, if we get back late, my brother will worry…"

"And?"

"…And I don't especially want one anyway." Her voice trailed smaller and smaller.

Wise laughed.

Then he reached out and caught her by the wrist.

"Come on."

"?"

"Let's go look."

She stumbled two steps along after him, thoroughly bewildered. She started to say something, but Wise had already towed her right up to the stall.

The stall owner's eyes lit up at the sight of customers coming.

"Welcome, welcome! What can I get you two?" She set her megaphone aside and leaned half out from behind the folding table, all enthusiasm. "Our specialty is osmanthus milk tea — the tea base is made with fresh osmanthus petals, then fresh milk and handmade syrup. Only place in all of Waifei Peninsula that does it!"

She pointed at the row of cups on the table.

"The pink one is rose lychee, the green is mint and lime, the white is plain milk — and this one here—" she lifted a pale yellow cup "—is the signature osmanthus milk tea. Every one made to order, guaranteed fresh!"

Little Guang stood in front of the stall, her gaze drifting from cup to cup. Her ears leaned a little further forward, but she kept her lips pressed together and said nothing.

Watching her from the side, Wise had his answer.

"Little Guang."

"Mm?"

"If you want one, get one."

"But later—"

"Later can wait for later," Wise cut in. "Besides, we just bring one back for everybody, and it's fine."

Little Guang blinked.

Wise added, "You don't seriously think Senior Sister Fufu would complain about too much food, do you?"

She stared for a second. Then the laugh got away from her.

"…True." Her mouth curved. "With Senior Sister Fufu there, nothing's going to go to waste."

"So?"

"So…" Little Guang turned back to the row of cups and finally stopped wavering. "I'll have the osmanthus milk tea."

The stall owner took the order down briskly. "Coming right up! One osmanthus milk tea!"

She got to work — tea base poured from an insulated barrel, fresh milk, a drizzle of syrup, and a few dried osmanthus petals scattered across the surface at the end.

"And you, sir? What flavor?"

Wise stood at the stall and ran his eyes down the row of cups. Rose lychee, mint and lime, plain milk, osmanthus milk tea, and a few more with no labels.

He looked for a while.

Then he spoke.

"One of each, please."

The spoon in the owner's hand stopped in midair.

Little Guang stared too. "…Each?"

"Each."

The owner recovered fast; after one blank second she lit up all over. "You got it! One of every flavor — eight in total! Give me a moment, I'll have them ready!"

Her hands flew. Barrel after barrel came open, and cups and lids marched into a row across the table.

Little Guang stood beside him, watching.

"Why… all of them?"

Wise gave a soft laugh and answered in complete earnest. "This is the first place Little Guang and I have tried together. We should try all of it, so there's nothing left to regret."

Little Guang looked at him.

"And I'm only having one myself," Wise said. "The rest go back for Big Bro Miguel and the others — call it a mystery box. Whatever flavor you draw is down to luck. That's half the fun."

Little Guang was quiet for two seconds.

Then she lowered her head, her droopy ears gave a small shiver, and her mouth curved up.

"You're really good at coming up with excuses."

"It isn't an excuse," Wise said evenly. "It's a plan."

"…A plan?"

"Mm. A plan for sneaking a sweet drink before lunch and spreading the blame across the whole group. Step one: walk up to the stall. Step two: order everything. Step three: take it back and hand it out."

That got another laugh out of her. She reached for the osmanthus milk tea the owner held out and cradled it in both hands. "So which one are you having?"

Wise glanced over the finished row on the table and picked one up at random.

"This one." He checked the label. "Mint and lime."

"You're not going to choose properly?"

"It's a mystery box. I should draw one too."

Little Guang held her osmanthus milk tea and looked down at the pale yellow liquid inside, a few petals adrift on the surface, a faint flower scent rising off it.

"Not drinking?" Wise asked.

"Mm…" She hesitated, then poked open the straw hole in the lid and pushed the straw through.

She bent her head and took a small sip.

The next second—

"Mn!"

Little Guang's eyes flew wide.

She ducked down for another sip, then lifted her head, lit up from head to toe. "It's good!"

"And… it's so sweet!"

Her voice had jumped a notch louder, and those ruby eyes were suddenly sparkling.

"Wise, try it! The osmanthus flavor is so strong! And the tea base is clean — sweet without being heavy!"

Watching her, Wise raised his own mint and lime and took a sip.

Not bad at all. Plenty of mint, and the lime hit the sourness exactly right.

But most of his attention was on Little Guang.

From the moment they'd boarded the cable car until now, she'd been in that soft, gentle mode of hers. Small laughs, quiet words. One mouthful of a sweet drink, and it was as if someone had switched her on.

She was glowing.

"Looks like Little Guang approves," Wise said. "Let's keep moving, then — everyone's still waiting."

"Mm!" Little Guang cupped her drink and fell in beside him with a light step.

The two of them followed the street toward the Tea Sipping Immortal.

Little Guang dipped her head for a sip every so often as she walked, and her droopy ears twitched with every one.

Wise walked alongside her, the bag with the other seven cups hanging from his hand.

"Wise."

"Mm?"

"Thank you."

"No need. You already said it once."

"Then I'll say it again." She held the cup close, her voice very soft. "Call it… call it thanks for spending a day worth remembering with me."

Wise didn't answer.

He turned his head and looked at her. Sunlight came slanting through a gap between the buildings on one side of the street and landed squarely on her. Her long dark brown hair glowed warm in it, and the fuzz along the edges of her droopy ears shone through.

She bent for another sip of osmanthus milk tea, leaving a fleck of milk foam at the corner of her mouth without noticing.

Wise looked away.

"Come on, quick," he said, picking up the pace. "Any longer and Senior Sister Fufu really will finish off all the dim sum."

"She would not." Little Guang trotted a couple of steps to catch up. "Senior Sister Fufu eats fast, but she always leaves some for everyone."

"You're sure?"

"Mm. Last time Senior Brother Yinhu made red-braised pork. Senior Sister Fufu wanted to eat the whole thing, but she still left three pieces for the rest of us."

"Three pieces."

"Right. He'd made twelve."

Wise was silent for a second. "…So she ate nine?"

"Mm."

They looked at each other and burst out laughing at the same time.

The Tea Sipping Immortal's sign had already come into view at the corner. The third-floor windows were open, and Ju Fufu's voice drifted faintly down from above.

"Sweety! Another basket of shrimp dumplings!"

"Master Fufu, you've already had three baskets—"

"I'm taste-testing for my juniors!"

Little Guang and Wise exchanged a look.

"Called it," Wise said.

Little Guang's mouth curved and she quickened her pace. They pushed open the doors of the Tea Sipping Immortal, and a wave of hot steam and cooking smells rolled over them.

Sweety was standing at the foot of the stairs with a stack of steamer baskets in her hands. She let out a breath of relief when she saw the two of them come in.