The Foodie and the Unexpected

"You really call yourself Husband? You're not trying to take advantage of me, are you? I've never heard of anyone surnamed Lao."

The young woman, deceived by Duàn Yì's superb acting and guilt-free demeanor, was confused and asked, as she had genuinely never heard of anyone with the surname Lao.

"Of course there is. The Wei Shu Feng Su Pian records that in Lin'an, there was Lao Zuo, who was intelligent from a young age and skilled in writing as he grew older. That refers to my ancestor. Speaking of which, don't you read much? You don't even have this basic knowledge?"

Duàn Yì spoke with a serious expression, spouting utter nonsense. However, to the young woman, it sounded incredibly ironic. So what if she didn't read? She simply didn't like reading.

She wanted to retort but couldn't find a starting point. In the end, she glared hatefully at Duàn Yì, wishing she could punch several holes in that face that she found unexpectedly appealing.

Then, the young woman realized her hand was still being held by him. It felt soft and weak, and she couldn't muster any strength. She let out another hum, her face filled with disdain, "Are you going to let go of your dirty hands or not?"

Duàn Yì was still waiting for the young woman to treat him to a meal and didn't dare offend her too much. He chuckled and released her hand, thinking to himself, This Minor Capturing Hand is really quite useful. Just this point-striking technique alone is far beyond ordinary village tricks. Not bad.

"Since I've already told you my name, shouldn't you tell me yours?

Where do you live? Are you lost, or did you sneak out? Do you want me to escort you home?"

Duàn Yì was genuinely curious about the young woman's background. Judging by her attire, the pearl around her neck, and her proud demeanor, she was clearly either wealthy or noble. He just couldn't understand why she would run off alone at such a young age.

The world wasn't peaceful, and the young woman was incredibly pretty and cute. If someone were to target her, wouldn't it be dangerous? Traffickers were most likely to target such individuals.

"Why should I tell you? Don't talk to me."

However, reality told Duàn Yì that good intentions were often mistaken for ill intentions. The young woman completely ignored him, instead showing dissatisfaction, as if blaming him for meddling. Of course, it was more likely she suspected he was toying with her.

Before the two could interact further, the vendor at the small stall began serving the dishes.

The main course consisted of two large bowls of Wang Family's Small Noodles, with a rich, oily yellow color and springy noodles. They were topped with ingredients like chopped scallions and chili, emitting a tantalizing aroma. These were the "culprits" that attracted both Duàn Yì and the beautiful young woman.

Additionally, there were four side dishes: braised beef brisket, braised tofu, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with bell peppers, and a lily and honey date soup to cool the body and relieve heat.

Although they didn't look particularly exquisite, they certainly excelled in aroma and flavor. For a roadside stall, they were quite good.

After the dishes were served, Duàn Yì noticed the young woman staring at the food on the table with shining eyes, her flawless throat, like white jade, bobbing. However, she still maintained good dining etiquette.

She slowly drew out wooden chopsticks from the bamboo tube. Seeing Duàn Yì staring at her, she snorted with her delicate nose, ignored him, and began eating in small bites. Yet, the blush on her cheeks revealed her inner shyness.

This was the first time she had dined at the same table with a stranger. It felt a bit strange, but she didn't dislike it.

Normally, Duàn Yì would have probably devoured his food, but with a girl present, he remembered to maintain his composure and dining etiquette, not losing face.

At the small stall, other tables were filled with lively chatter as people ate, creating a warm atmosphere. However, Duàn Yì and the beautiful young woman's table was eerily quiet, with even the sounds of chewing suppressed to a very low level.

Despite the quiet, their movements were not slow. Before long, the previously full plates were reduced to a shallow layer.

The young woman didn't eat much; it was mainly Duàn Yì, a growing young man in his prime, whose appetite was truly astonishing...

At some point, the area around the Wang Family's Small Noodles stall was surrounded by a group of people. Nearby pedestrians, seeing this, quickly moved away as if avoiding a plague.

Even the stall owners appeared nervous and somewhat at a loss, keeping a safe distance from the dining tables, clearly afraid of being caught in the crossfire. The people at the table next to Duàn Yì, who had been boisterous earlier, also fell silent, wanting to leave but not daring to.

Only then did Duàn Yì and the young woman notice the abnormality. It was understandable, given how focused and engrossed they were in the delicious food. They were kindred spirits, after all, both food lovers.

Wiping his mouth, Duàn Yì surveyed the scene. There were about a dozen people, all wearing the same style of coarse cloth short shirts. Each of them was burly and broad-shouldered, with rough faces. They were likely retainers of some wealthy family. However, they were just surrounding the stall without taking any further action.

Perhaps their master hadn't arrived yet, or perhaps they were wary of someone inside the stall.

"I knew it. With this girl looking so pretty and cute, and coming from a good family, there was bound to be some trouble.

This group, looking like such losers, are either lackeys for some young master trying to abduct a maiden, or they're here to escort a runaway young lady home."

Duàn Yì glanced sideways at the young woman. Seeing that she remained unfazed by this commotion, he felt he had a grasp on the situation. This was clearly the latter scenario.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's your background? The escort you're expecting is quite a show."

Duàn Yì tapped his porcelain bowl with his chopsticks and gestured with his chin towards the young woman opposite him.

However, the young woman looked at him with a bewildered expression. She glanced at the group surrounding the stall, clearly not recognizing them.

"What are you talking about? I don't know these people. Are they looking for me?"

It's over.

When Duàn Yì heard the young woman say this, his heart sank a little. Could it be that today's drama wasn't about escorting a young lady home, but about him, Duàn Yì, playing the hero and saving the damsel?

But outside were more than ten people. Regardless of whether they knew martial arts, their robust physiques and powerful builds alone made them formidable.

He was just an ordinary young man now, with only the Minor Capturing Hand for self-defense. He wasn't Superman in red underwear.

He might dare to try his luck against three or five strong men of this caliber, but if more than ten of them attacked at once, even with just their fists, they could beat him to death.

However, if he were to cower and let the young woman be taken away to live in misery, that was absolutely unacceptable.

Although the young woman's attitude towards him had been unpleasant from the start, he had to admit, if she truly disliked him, would she have invited him to eat? Wouldn't she have just kicked him out?

Therefore, out of a sense of duty, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

But acting rashly wouldn't work either. Duàn Yì remained outwardly calm, secretly contemplating a plan to escape, even beginning to observe his surroundings and study potential escape routes.

The young woman remained indifferent to the people surrounding the stall. Instead, she watched Duàn Yì with amusement as he frowned and pondered his strategy, feeling inexplicably much happier.

Just as Duàn Yì was deep in thought about how to rescue the young woman without putting himself in danger, he suddenly noticed the burly men surrounding the stall all bowing in one direction and shouting in unison with loud voices, "Greetings, Young Miss."

Young Miss? Not Young Master? Could this woman be a rare lesbian?

Then, a woman who shattered Duàn Yì's perception of reality appeared before him.

This woman, weighing somewhere between two hundred fifty and three hundred pounds, was only about a meter sixty tall. Adorned in gold, silver, silks, and satins, the clothes were stretched taut, making her look like a perfectly round ball of flesh, seemingly on the verge of bursting out of her attire at any moment. One couldn't help but worry about the quality of the fabric.

As for her specific features, they were no longer discernible because her facial features were so squashed together that they were completely unrecognizable. Her eyes, for instance, were mere slits, with no eyeballs visible.

Even losing a hundred pounds would be like trying to fill a vast ocean with a single drop when it came to improving her looks.

Then, the woman grinned at their table, her excess fat jiggling, and a cascade of powder fell from her face.

Her teeth were dark and yellow, with bits of vegetable leaves stuck to them. Her cavernous mouth was truly terrifying.

Hiss, Duàn Yì gasped, taking a sharp breath. He had seen the gentle and graceful elder sister Yuè Jiāo Nú, and the proud, adorable girl with flawless, exquisite features. Now, looking at this woman, he couldn't help but feel that heaven was unfair.

God, we're all women, so why, oh why, couldn't you have allocated even a little of Yuè Jiāo Nú's or the beautiful girl's attractiveness to this fat woman?

Of course, Duàn Yì wasn't being discriminatory. After all, the physical body was just a shell; what truly mattered was the soul.

Soul beauty is true beauty.

That's what he thought at that moment.

"Hey, good, good, you did well. I like this person very much. It'll be him. I'm marrying him tonight."

Still reeling from the shock of the fat woman, Duàn Yì had overlooked the people accompanying her. It wasn't until the woman, with her raspy voice, spoke to someone beside her, and her finger seemed to point at him, that Duàn Yì realized something was amiss.

Standing beside the woman was the very same plump innkeeper Duàn Yì had encountered when he first checked in.

However, the innkeeper, who had previously been described as plump, now appeared petite and delicate next to this woman. In comparison, she was the epitome of a standard figure.

Seeing the innkeeper's fawning attitude towards the woman and the strange look in his eyes, Duàn Yì's heart pounded. He suddenly recalled a saying from his past life:

"When boys go out, they must protect themselves."

Could it be, could it be that the true target of these people was him, not the beautiful girl?

At this moment, he desperately wished his guess was wrong.

But he, with his looks comparable to the ordinary-looking "Brother Le" in his youth, was simply too attractive. At least in the eyes of women, he was like a firefly in the night sky – so bright, so outstanding.