Chapter 35: You Think Lin Huaizhi Says He Likes You, and He Really Likes You?
Looking at the various meats piled high in his bowl, Huo Chen felt as if his heart was suddenly pinched by something.
He looked at Lin Huaizhi: “What do you mean by not letting me go back hungry?”
Lin Huaizhi was smiling, his curved eyes extremely beautiful, showing none of the previous aggression. “Haven’t you been hungry all this time? You were even smoking outside the night before last.”
Huo Chen: “Smoking equals not being full?”
“Smoking doesn’t equal not being full, but not only did you smoke, you also drank a lot of water. That water intake far exceeded the daily human requirement. The number of times you went to the bathroom increased significantly, yet you were still drinking. What does this equal?”
Lin Huaizhi propped up his chin, his expression somewhat lazy, but mostly self-satisfied: “This proves you weren’t full and were using water to reduce appetite and increase satiety.”
“Am I right?”
Lin Huaizhi was indeed right. Huo Chen was born into a bottom-tier wealthy family, but a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if bottom-tier, the Huo family absolutely lacked nothing in terms of food and drink.
Huo Chen wasn’t a picky eater.
Of course, they rented lodging in a farmer’s house in the mountain village. They ate whatever the farmer ate; there was simply no choice.
These past few days, they had been eating at the Village Chief’s house.
Sister-in-law Wu sometimes had a sharp tongue, but she was warm-hearted. Her family had five people. Her daughter was studying away from home, so adding Huo Chen and Lin Huaizhi, there were six people eating.
When cooking, she cooked rice according to the headcount, even specially adding an extra cup.
She also made seven or eight dishes.
And a soup.
This was already plenty, only Huo Chen ate slightly more than the average man. If he really let loose and ate, he could directly finish half of this table.
Then what would others eat?
Besides, with that little food allowance, letting him eat freely wasn’t realistic at all. Huo Chen also couldn’t do something as ill-bred as snatching food.
If not full, then drink more water.
It was just that Huo Chen didn’t expect that Lin Huaizhi, who seemed busy and seemingly flirted with him whenever free, actually noticed this point.
“Where did you get it?”
Lin Huaizhi’s smile deepened: “So you really weren’t full?”
Huo Chen: “En.”
He didn’t feel ashamed. Food, clothing, housing, and transportation were ordinary matters of life. If not full, then not full; there was nothing to argue about.
“I asked for it from the kitchen.” The young man’s tone was full of undisguised favoritism. “So take your time eating. Don’t fight with them. Even if the dishes on the banquet table are finished, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go to the kitchen and ask for more for you.”
Huo Chen fell silent.
To say he wasn’t touched would be a lie. In his life so far, no one had ever treated him like this.
Including his parents.
The Huo family had once been glorious. His parents couldn’t stop the decline, nor did they have the ability to revive the glory, so Huo Chen became all their hope.
Huo Chen had no childhood.
Nor playmates.
Even for eating and sleeping, his parents set very strict times for him. If he wasn’t full, he couldn’t continue eating. Even with a fever, he had to continue school. If it was really serious, then the tutor would come to the house.
Love and warmth, to him, were untouchable and expensive luxuries.
His world was mostly cold.
Now Huo Chen was no longer a child. His parents could no longer control his life, and no one would limit his eating time anymore.
He already stood at the peak of Long City.
He could have whatever he wanted.
Everyone reached out to him, wanting to grab onto him to ascend to heaven in a single step. Hypocrisy also surrounded him like a tide.
He thought he would no longer need those things he didn’t get in childhood. But when Lin Huaizhi ran towards him with small steps hiding that bowl of meat, and poured it all into his bowl like offering a treasure, his heart began to tremble uncontrollably.
Those houses, cars, and various luxury gifts sent to curry favor with him all paled in comparison to a bowl of meat from Lin Huaizhi.
Huo Chen didn’t know what to say.
He hadn’t experienced this kind of scene. Although he prepared himself sufficiently, when he opened his mouth, his voice still carried a bit of hoarseness.
“Such a big boss going to the kitchen to beg for food, aren’t you afraid of losing face?”
Lin Huaizhi seemed not to notice his abnormality, simply shrugging, his face written with indifference: “Food, clothing, shelter, transportation—food is placed first, proving it’s the primary element for human survival. Since it’s the primary element, what’s shameful about finding something to eat when hungry?”
The young man’s gaze fell on the lively scene and the long banquet table, his tone distant.
“I used to hope someone would hold a banquet every day so I could have a good meal. After eating at the table, I would take my bowl to the kitchen to beg. Anyway, the point was to get full, best if I could eat enough so I wouldn’t need to eat for the next three meals.”
Young Lin Huaizhi really had no dignity.
The old gambler didn’t care about him and the silly woman. One child, one fool, neither had labor power. Although the village applied for minimum living security, not a cent of that money ever fell on the mother and son.
Starving to the extreme, Lin Huaizhi had fought dogs for food.
The villagers saw he was pitiful and would sometimes call him over to eat. He didn’t dare eat too recklessly, afraid that after this meal, others would never call him again, so he could only chew slowly in small bites.
Sometimes he would save half to take back to the silly woman.
So when someone in the village held a banquet, it was a rare time he could get full. If it was a happy occasion, he went to congratulate. If he spoke congratulatory words poetically and nicely, they would let him stay for a meal.
When there was a funeral, he went to offer condolences and accompanied the crying, and could also eat at the banquet.
When the banquet started, he would eat with all his might until he was stuffed to the point of vomiting. Because that way, even if he didn’t eat for two or three days, he could endure it.
Lin Huaizhi withdrew from his memories.
He hid all emotions and flashed a smile at Huo Chen: “So what does this little bit you eat count for? Eat freely. Even if you finish all the food in the kitchen today, I can afford to raise you.”
Bonfires were lit at night.
The bride put on the silver hat given by the program team.
She thanked all the guests and invited everyone to dance and sing together. Xu Qiao moved as soon as she was pulled, dragging Hu Xiaoxu along. Fang Mo also went up. Su Rui didn’t know how to refuse people; when the Miao girl pulled him, he stood up blushing. Zhou Mi loved to play and also joined the team.
Among this group, Lin Huaizhi’s appearance was the most outstanding, standing tall and straight like jade. Who knew how many girls came to pull him.
He wanted to call Huo Chen, but before he could turn his head, he was pulled up by the girls.
Miao men played the lusheng (reed-pipe wind instrument), accompanied by drum sounds. Miao women wore Miao costumes, all wearing silver hats. Everyone held hands and began to dance around the bonfire.
The hanging small bells jingled, accompanying the lusheng and drums, sending out melodious sounds one after another in the night sky.
The women’s singing voices were also loud and melodious.
【Mountain faces mountain, cliff faces cliff
Bees gather flowers deep in the mountains
Bees die for the sake of gathering flowers
Liang Shanbo for Zhu Yingtai…】
Lin Huaizhi was sandwiched in the middle, pulled by the girls to dance. The bonfire reflected on his face, giving a sudden illusion of a face mirroring peach blossoms in redness.
Huo Chen didn’t know what “like” meant, nor had he ever liked anyone. But looking at Lin Huaizhi, who wore a smiling face and danced with the girls, he also knew how attractive such a Lin Huaizhi was.
That was why he felt it was strange.
Lin Huaizhi was tactful, speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts, able to swim like a fish in water no matter where he was. Coupled with an outstanding face and a decent figure, he could easily capture others’ hearts.
However, why would such a Lin Huaizhi like a cold and boring person like him?
“Don’t think that just because Lin Huaizhi says he likes you, he really likes you.”
Chu Xiaoran had sat next to Huo Chen at some point. The firelight reflected in his eyes filled with mockery: “His liking is usually accompanied by self-righteousness. Regardless of whether you want it or not, he will forcefully stuff everything onto you, and will also control you crazily.”
Huo Chen remained as usual.
He had no expression, and his answer to Chu Xiaoran had no warmth.
“So?”
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