A meeting of minds? First, two stabs!

The noodles at Granny's Soup House were chewy and delicious.

He Zhen was blown away after a single bite.

"What do you think?" Yao Tao asked him. "Good, right?"

Yao Tao's smile was confident and playful. He Zhen nodded. "Very good."

[That's high praise!]

[Very good means I can ask him here again!]

"Your noodles, little Tao!" Old A-Tang brought Yao Tao's noodles over too. "With custard buns."

"Plain steamed buns are fine!" Yao Tao waved her hands insistently.

Old A-Tang leaned closer with a smile. "I know you like spicy food with something sweet. Your auntie's lips are sealed!"

*[!]*

[Boohoo, I'm so touched. Aunt Tang still remembers my weird tastes.]

[But spicy with sweet... my darling won't think there's something wrong with me, will he?]

"We're out of plain buns!" Old A-Tang winked at Yao Tao.

Yao Tao understood instantly.

"Well, I guess there's no helping it." Yao Tao sounded reluctant, but inside, she was already overjoyed.

[So that's why Aunt Tang announced the custard buns right away.]

[She'd already found an excuse for me!]

[Hahahahaha!]

[Love you! Mwah!]

He Zhen: ...

He wondered whether Yao Tao had worked part-time in Taobao customer service. How did she toss out such cheesy lines so effortlessly?

This was the liveliest meal He Zhen had ever eaten. He watched Yao Tao polish off seventeen cakes and still manage such a huge bowl of spicy mixed noodles plus four custard buns.

He Zhen began to wonder whether her stomach could take it!

Noticing He Zhen looking at her, Yao Tao immediately became demure.

[Oh no, did I eat too much?]

[Damn it, I should've said I couldn't finish and asked to take it away.]

[Then I could've secretly asked Aunt Tang to pack some more for me!]

[A tactical blunder!]

[It's all because the atmosphere was so nice. Boohoo!]

[I can't keep doing this!]

[Pull yourself together!]

[Fu Xin managed to act fragile for so long. Surely He Zhen being blind had something to do with it?]

[By that logic, maybe he's blind when he eats too. He can't see a thing!]

Yao Tao suddenly straightened her back, and her gaze stopped wavering.

[Yes, he's blind.]

He Zhen watched the custard buns dwindle, then watched Yao Tao's blind confidence give way to a second round of self-doubt as she ate more and more slowly.

[Why do I feel like he's looking at me as if I'm a bottomless pit...?]

[Maybe I should stop?]

Yao Tao slowly set down the custard bun in her hand.

He Zhen raised a hand and pinched the tip of his nose. "Is that enough? Want to order more?"

His eyes weren't blind, but he could turn a blind eye in his heart.

[I knew it!]

Yao Tao finished everything in no time, then considered her words before asking He Zhen, "Have you had enough, He Zhen?"

"I'm full," He Zhen said. "Shall we sit a while or take a walk?"

"Let's go." Seeing how crowded it still was, Yao Tao wanted to free up another seat for Aunt Tang so she could earn a little more.

As they left, Old Li and the others reminded Yao Tao to come again.

Old A-Tang also packed some extra food for Yao Tao, telling her to share it with her roommates.

Yao Tao was so touched that tears welled in her eyes.

[If my mom and dad hadn't died so young, they would've treated me just as well as Aunt Tang does!]

Yao Tao sniffled for a while, then reluctantly said goodbye to Aunt Tang.

Only after watching them walk away did Aunt Tang wipe her hands and head back inside to get on with her work.

Their shop was terribly busy. Ever since they'd started offering delivery, orders kept coming in even after the lunchtime rush.

[Ah, I used to think reincarnation was a gift from heaven.]

[Except that gift came with a time limit.]

[Heaven knows how excited I was when I opened my eyes in the hospital and saw a mom and dad watching me anxiously.]

[Even if I'd become a little baby.]

[Having parents really was wonderful. Ever since I was tiny, I was the playground tyrant around the military housing compound. Everyone said I had great genes!]

[Surprised, huh? Bet you didn't expect that! I was a boxer in my last life, hahaha.]

[Just an underground boxer, though.]

At that thought, Yao Tao stopped dwelling on it.

[I want Mom's braised pork.]

He Zhen raised a hand and ruffled her hair.

"?" Yao Tao looked puzzled.

"Your hair was full of willow fluff." He Zhen tousled her hair. "It's fine now."

*[?]*

[He's getting handsy with me!]

[He's interested in me!!!]

He Zhen withdrew his hand instantly.

Yao Tao's train of thought went from walking to flying a helicopter.

A world of difference in a single instant.

[Still, I really was surprised when I found out I hadn't just had my account deleted and started over, but had actually reincarnated into a novel!]

[If I'd known, I'd have gone straight to my darling and become his childhood sweetheart. Boohoo!]

[Oh, forget it.]

[How was I supposed to know I was in a novel back then?]

[Thank goodness the top scorer on the college entrance exam had to give an interview. I only realized when I saw it. Otherwise, I'd really have thought I'd simply been reborn!]

[There's no point thinking about all this.]

[Things are pretty good now anyway!]

[Darling, if it weren't for wanting to see you, I might've jumped into the sea to feed the sharks, you know?]

He Zhen: !?!

His gaze grew complicated. Was Yao Tao really that extreme???

[A family should all be together!]

Yao Tao was firm in that belief.

He Zhen's heartbeat began to falter.

[Okay, I was joking just now. I don't really want to die.]

[Mom and Dad loved me so much and left me such a strong safety net. Why would I die?]

[I'm going to enjoy life!]

He Zhen: ... For an instant, he'd suspected Yao Tao knew he could hear her thoughts.

He let out a deep sigh and tried to compose himself.

[What's wrong with my darling?]

[Why is he so pale?]

[Is tonkotsu ramen as lethal as a feast of fried food?]

"Are you okay, He Zhen?" Yao Tao moved closer and reached out to check his temperature.

[Does going pale have anything to do with a fever?]

[Whatever, I want to touch him!!!]

[Just once!!!]

He Zhen caught Yao Tao's hand.

He'd gone pale purely from the fright her thoughts had given him!

Really, after all this time, he still hadn't grown used to Yao Tao's tangled thoughts, which could mash the North and South Poles together. That was his fault!

"Ah?" Yao Tao gave a little gasp.

[He's holding my hand!]

[You naughty thing!]

[I never knew you were this kind of guy, He Zhen!]

[You devil!]

He Zhen felt that if someone put an ECG machine beside him now, he could show the whole world what an extreme roller coaster looked like!

"I'm fine." He Zhen tried hard to look calm, but inside, he couldn't have been less composed.

One second, he was aching for Yao Tao; the next, she found a way to make him want to shake her wildly and see what on earth was inside her head!

A phone notification chimed. He Zhen released Yao Tao's hand and checked his phone, but there were no new messages.

Yao Tao opened her own phone. It was Bai Jianai.

Bai Jianai: Is the situation at the Principal's Office still not settled?

Bai Jianai: I'm heading over with the others first. Just let me know whether you'll come straight there later or can't make it.

Bai Jianai: Give me a shout if you need help.

Bai Jianai: I'll wait for your reply.

Yao Tao: !

[Lust has rotted my brain!!!]

[I forgot I was supposed to go to the hospital!]

[Darling, you really are a tormenting little temptress!!!]

He Zhen nearly lost his composure.

But at the mention of the hospital, he figured Yao Tao probably wanted to investigate Zhong Shengtai's situation.

"Sorry, He Zhen, but I need to go to the hospital." Though she was apologizing aloud, Yao Tao felt terribly disappointed.

[Damn it...]

[My date is over. Boohoo!]

He Zhen said, "To investigate Zhong Shengtai?"

Yao Tao said, "I need to visit the Twins from our dorm. They're in the hospital."

He Zhen: ...

Yao Tao's thoughts came drifting in a beat late.

[If I hadn't already made plans with Bai Jianai, I'd definitely ditch the others!]

[It's not like we're close!]

[Huh? Right, I'm such an idiot. I could invite my darling to investigate with me!]

[Then we'd get to spend even more time together!]

[What was I thinking!]

[Feels like I missed out on a hundred million.]

[I'd better keep my plans with Bai Jianai. Boohoo.]

[He Bao, next time for sure!]

He Zhen: ... He felt as though he'd taken another two stabs for all the times he'd ditched his friends for Fu Xin.