Chapter 29: I Also Want Cake (29) p2
The plan was perfect, but difficult to execute.
Although Liang Xi made reservations in advance, they didn’t get to eat dim sum until eleven o’clock. According to her plan, they should have been at the second restaurant by this time.
The streets were crowded, with long queues in front of every food stall. Jiang Zhiyan put her arm around Liang Xi’s shoulder, shielding her from the jostling crowd and preventing them from getting separated.
Throughout the afternoon, they only managed to buy three of the things Liang Xi wanted to eat. They had to give up on most of them because of the long queues.
Before evening arrived, Liang Xi couldn’t walk anymore. They were lucky to find an empty bench to rest.
“I’ll massage your feet.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Liang Xi, who was constantly massaging her legs.
“That’s… not a good idea.” Liang Xi looked around. “There are too many people, it’s too conspicuous. I’ll just rest for a bit. This spot is nice, but it’s quite cold.”
Jiang Zhiyan unzipped her down jacket and wrapped Liang Xi in her arms. Liang Xi looked up at Jiang Zhiyan and smiled foolishly.
“You’re so nice.”
“My one and only wife, who else would I be nice to?” Jiang Zhiyan kissed Liang Xi’s forehead.
Liang Xi whined: “You like stealing kisses from me.”
“It’s hard to give you advance notice for uncontrollable actions, I didn’t even realize it myself before I kissed you.” Jiang Zhiyan nuzzled Liang Xi’s head, taking a deep breath.
“I changed my shampoo for the New Year, a new year, new look. Does it smell good?”
“I’ve never smelled anything I didn’t like on you.”
Liang Xi blushed, leaning into Jiang Zhiyan’s embrace and wrapping her arms around her waist: “Your waist is very comfortable to hug.”
“It’s even more comfortable pressed directly against you.”
“We’re in public.” Liang Xi poked Jiang Zhiyan’s waist warningly. “Watch what you say.”
Jiang Zhiyan chuckled and rubbed her cheek against Liang Xi’s forehead.
Liang Xi took a deep breath, then another two: “Do you smell that?”
“Roasted sweet potatoes.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Liang Xi and smiled wryly.
“So sweet, so fragrant, so warm, I want to eat one.” Liang Xi looked up at Jiang Zhiyan, blinked her eyes, and swallowed.
Jiang Zhiyan released Liang Xi, unwrapped her scarf, and handed it to her: “Can you still walk? Or I can go buy them, you can sit here, otherwise there might not be any left when we get back.”
“I’m fine.” Liang Xi shook her head, the ends of the scarf swaying, the shadows on the ground playfully mimicking the movement.
“I know, wrap it around yourself, I’m not cold.” Jiang Zhiyan touched the back of Liang Xi’s hand. “See?”
Liang Xi’s eyes widened: “Huh? I remember your hands used to be very cold.”
“Maybe my heart is warm because I’m with you, so my hands are warm too. Wear it.”
“If it gets too crowded, come back… Although I haven’t felt anything strange today, I’m still a little scared.”
“Okay.”
“Hurry back!” Liang Xi reminded her again.
Jiang Zhiyan replied, weaving through the crowd towards the sweet potato cart. She looked back worriedly: “Keep an eye on Liang Xi for me.”
“Consider it a New Year’s gift, I won’t charge you points this time.” The system said haughtily.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t really need to worry, she’s not in any life-threatening danger.”
“But she’s scared, that feeling of being out of control isn’t pleasant, no normal person would like that feeling.”
There were many people around the sweet potato cart. Jiang Zhiyan looked around, calculated the waiting time, then approached someone who had just paid for their sweet potatoes. She offered to buy theirs for five times the price, and after a moment’s hesitation, they agreed.
Jiang Zhiyan clutched the sweet potatoes and ran back.
A sudden phone ringtone rang, only for two seconds, then the call was disconnected.
At the same time, the system also yelled.
Jiang Zhiyan’s smile vanished, and she quickened her pace. But the crowd was even denser than before, making it incredibly difficult to move. Fortunately, the system kept an eye on Liang Xi.
She tried calling Liang Xi, but the call wouldn’t connect.
“These constant warnings are so annoying, blocking my view!” The system complained. “Liang Xi is walking towards East Street. She stopped, then started walking again, bumped into someone.”
“Ah, she got on a bus, but she didn’t seem to want to, and got off again. Someone yelled at her, she almost fell.”
“She got on another bus. Hmm, this time she tried to get off but couldn’t. It’s better this way, it’s too dangerous with so many people.”
“Skill card, teleport me over there.”
“Conditions not met. With so many people, if you teleport there, what if the world collapses? Do you want to die with her?” The system rejected the request and reassured her again, “It’s fine, it’s just meeting with the male lead.”
“The world is forcing her to meet with the male lead, which means it’s certain the plot will shift after they meet.” Jiang Zhiyan gritted her teeth and stopped, looking around. “Invisibility card and teleportation card?”
“But there are too many people on the bus, you can’t squeeze in. You could go to the roof, but by the time you get down, the female lead will be gone again. Host, why don’t you just teleport near the male lead? I’ve located Yan Yanzhuo’s position. Probably to give the male and female leads some space, there aren’t many people around him. There’s a small grove where you can land, you’ll even save a card.”
“Okay.”
That was the only option.
The sweet potatoes were burning hot, scorching her skin. Jiang Zhiyan found a blind spot without surveillance cameras nearby and used the skill cards.
Landing in the grove, she still clutched the sweet potatoes, checking to make sure they were still intact.
She saw Yan Yanzhuo waiting not far away, standing by the railing, the river flowing below. He kept checking the time. Although his expression was as usual, he was clearly anxious today.
Perhaps the Yan family crisis had also been brought forward, but she hadn’t paid much attention. Her storyline and the Yan family’s were parallel.
Jiang Zhiyan took out her phone, found the person she wanted to contact, and bypassed Yan Yanzhuo, heading to the bus stop to wait for Liang Xi.
“Huh? Huh? Huh? Fuck, this is cheating!” The system yelled again. “This is too much!”
“What?”
“What is this… it must have known we’re trying to intercept Liang Xi. The bus actually stopped on the side of the road, against regulations. Liang Xi got off.” The system paused. “It’s too late, they’ve met.”
Jiang Zhiyan stopped, then started running again.
Exciting, wasn’t it? The male lead turning into a vegetable would also be exciting.
As long as she could retrieve the soul fragment, it would be fine.
No big deal, yes, no big deal.
Jiang Zhiyan repeated these words in her mind, trying to calm herself down.
She saw the two of them standing facing each other in the distance. There was no one else on this street, so they stood out.
Liang Xi had her back to her, so Jiang Zhiyan couldn’t see her expression, but she could see Yan Yanzhuo’s. He seemed to be saying something, then handed Liang Xi a bag.
She saw Liang Xi raise her head.
The two looked at each other, the red lanterns hanging by the river casting a warm glow on them, snow falling softly from the sky.
Jiang Zhiyan looked up, walked to the edge of the grove, picked up a rock, and weighed it in her hand.
“Host, calm down… Host!”
“Host! Wait, Host! Liang Xi didn’t accept the gift.”
The system suddenly shrieked: “Host! Host! Ahhhhhhh!”
Jiang Zhiyan frowned at the noise.
The girl in the distance seemed to sense something and turned around with some effort.
Jiang Zhiyan swallowed the words telling the system to shut up and stared intently at Liang Xi, watching her actions.
The moment Liang Xi saw her, she started running towards her, her steps slightly unsteady, her path a little off, but her destination never changed.
She ran faster and faster, her steps becoming firmer.
She had broken free from the plot.
Jiang Zhiyan had never felt time move so slowly. She took two steps forward, wanting to embrace Liang Xi, but Liang Xi had already tightly hugged her. Leaning against each other, they felt each other’s presence.
Liang Xi panted heavily. She released Jiang Zhiyan and looked into her eyes, seemingly wanting to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, cupping Jiang Zhiyan’s face, she closed her eyes and kissed her.
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