Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 100

My partner made it.

Su Ruixi felt so choked up and uncomfortable. She fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “Do I look like someone who wouldn’t pay?” Saying this, she remembered something else. After they had confirmed their relationship, she went to Sun Miao’s little stall to buy changfen, and Sun Miao actually asked her for money!

What kind of young couple makes one partner pay when they eat something at the other’s stall?!

But then again, Sun Miao wasn’t actually a stingy person. When she cooked delicious food for her at home, she never asked for a single cent.

In that instant, Su Ruixi had an epiphany. Sun Miao wasn’t stingy; it was more like even young couples should keep clear accounts¹. As long as it was at the stall, not a single penny could be discounted.

“Okay, okay, okay, just hurry up and make them for me.”

Sun Miao glanced around and whispered, “Also, the purchase limit is still in effect. You can only buy one serving. When we get home, I’ll make as much as you want to eat.”

Right, she could only buy five crab shell yellow to send home, and she’d have to let the old couple divide them themselves. Su Ruixi felt a surge of annoyance. Sun Miao was such a blockhead! A big blockhead! Su Ruixi’s tsundere side flared up. She huffed, “Hmph, listen to you, as if I’m that greedy for your food.”

It was only because Sun Miao had been feeding her well recently. If this were before, when Sun Miao didn’t save food for her, she would have starved herself until her stomach problems acted up again.

Sun Miao didn’t intend to expose her. Instead, she diligently prepared the food, packed the crab shell yellow for her, and then advised, “Don’t eat too much. Originally, not eating and letting yourself get overly hungry can easily trigger stomach problems, but eating too much and causing indigestion can also lead to gastrointestinal discomfort. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Take it easy.”

“…Got it.”

Did Sun Miao mean she was eating too much? Su Ruixi understood. At first, she felt a little miffed, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed… she really had been eating a lot more lately than before. Could I be gaining weight? Su Ruixi felt a little guilty.

Undoubtedly, Su Ruixi was someone who cared a lot about her appearance; otherwise, she wouldn’t be walking around every day in what Sun Miao called “beautiful torture devices”—high heels. She genuinely loved wearing high heels. They could make her taller, make her legs look longer, and most importantly, enhance her aura.

In the business world, men outnumbered women. Her height was decent; some men were even shorter than her, but she couldn’t stop them from wearing height-increasing insoles². If she wore flat shoes, she’d be a head shorter for no reason, and it would be infuriating if people looked down at the top of her head while talking to her.

Due to various reasons, Su Ruixi wore high heels quite often, but the fundamental reason was that she liked them.

There was nothing wrong with loving beauty; it was human nature to appreciate beautiful things. Su Ruixi was also very satisfied with her current appearance and figure. If she gained weight, there would be many cute dresses she couldn’t wear!

Sun Miao could score 100 points on the “decipher Su Ruixi’s expressions” test. Just by glancing at Su Ruixi, she knew what she was thinking. She said directly, “Susu-jie, you’re too thin right now. You already don’t eat much, and you have stomach problems and poor digestion. You’re actually a bit too skinny.”

“…!”

Su Ruixi looked up at Sun Miao.

She was used to seeing herself, so she hadn’t thought much of it, though occasionally when she weighed herself, she would wonder if she was a bit too thin. But as long as it didn’t affect her health… Su Ruixi couldn’t continue that thought, because it actually was already affecting her health somewhat.

“Eat more, eating more is a good thing.” Sun Miao’s figure was more well-proportioned than hers, with a bit more flesh on her bones. Su Ruixi thought for a moment, then finally nodded. “You’re right.” Actually, the main reason was—she truly loved eating Sun Miao’s cooking.

Between gaining a little weight and never eating Sun Miao’s food again, she would eliminate the latter option in half a second. Besides, Sun Miao also thought she looked better a bit plumper, so what reason did she have not to eat more? She just needed to control the amount and not eat too much all at once.

Su Ruixi decided to finish the mini wontons in front of her and then not touch anything else, completely extinguishing the thought in her mind: Sun Miao said the crab shell yellow aren’t actually very spicy, should I try one?

After finishing her meal, Su Ruixi didn’t rush home. Instead, she sat by the roadside, chatting with Sun Miao. Sun Miao first showed her the drawing made by the lemon tea shop owner. The two of them sat on small stools beside a small table, their heads close together, looking at Sun Miao’s tiny phone screen.

Su Ruixi liked it at first glance because the drawing was really beautiful, and only those in the know could tell: this was Sun Miao and herself.

Su Ruixi wanted it, but Su Ruixi didn’t say so.

It didn’t matter that Su Ruixi didn’t say anything; Sun Miao offered it automatically. “Susu-jie, this one is so pretty. I’ll send it to you. Can you set it as your wallpaper too?”

Faced with Sun Miao’s request, Su Ruixi pursed her lips, but a smile was about to break through. “Alright then.” She sounded reluctant, but her actions were swift. After receiving the photo, she quickly changed her wallpaper.

However, Sun Miao’s and Su Ruixi’s wallpapers were slightly different. The original drawing was large and couldn’t fit entirely on a phone screen; some cropping was necessary. Sun Miao’s crop shifted towards Su Ruixi, showing Su Ruixi completely, while a bit of herself was cut off at the edge.

Su Ruixi’s crop was completely different from Sun Miao’s, ensuring Sun Miao was fully visible.

Both of them giggled foolishly at their phone wallpapers for a while. After that, Sun Miao started talking about the interesting customer with a cat she had met today. Su Ruixi sat beside her, listening.

She always felt that Sun Miao’s life seemed to have no worries. She wouldn’t feel upset, sad, or anxious because she couldn’t sell things, nor would she feel extremely bored when there were no customers. It seemed like she had endless things to talk about every day and encountered all sorts of interesting things.

Sun Miao’s descriptions were very vivid. When she talked about the cat, she would even gesture with her hands, especially mimicking the cat’s cool, leaning-against-the-carrier expression. Su Ruixi watched her expressions and movements, and the corners of her mouth gradually curved up.

This was one of the reasons she liked Sun Miao. She loved being with Sun Miao, listening to her talk about these seemingly random yet interesting things. She loved this Sun Miao, listening to her chat about everything under the sun, and then unconsciously laughing along with her.

How could anyone not like someone like Sun Miao? Optimistic, uplifting, positive, and also interesting, humorous, yet at the same time steady and not flighty. When she narrated, she always did so from a third-person perspective, as if she were a character in the story yet also detached from it, which made Su Ruixi listen even more intently.

When Sun Miao had almost finished speaking, Su Ruixi suddenly had an idea: It would be interesting if Sun Miao raised a cat, wouldn’t it?

She probably liked cats and dogs, because when she talked about these cute creatures, her expression was always relaxed and full of interest. She had mentioned the landlord’s dog before, and yesterday, when she went to deliver chicken to Grandma Li’s Samoyed, she also showed great affection for the dog.

Su Ruixi hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Sun Miao, should we get a cat?”

Sun Miao was stunned. She even suspected if Su Ruixi had secretly been browsing some lesbian-specific social media, otherwise how would she know the typical lesbian playbook: fall in love, then move in together, then get a cat.

However, she quickly figured it out: she herself hadn’t even figured out what lesbian dating apps existed in this world! How could Su Ruixi possibly know? So, most likely, Su Ruixi had been moved when she heard her talking about it and came up with the idea.

Sun Miao had also thought about it, and had indeed considered it. So she shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We’re both too busy, we simply don’t have time to take care of a cat.”

As a rich woman, Su Ruixi’s thoughts were very simple: “Then we can hire a housekeeper to specifically take care of our cat.”

“…” This was indeed the simple and unpretentious thinking of a wealthy person. Sun Miao didn’t ask how much Su Ruixi would pay if she planned to hire someone; she was afraid of discouraging herself.

So she argued logically with Su Ruixi: “But in that case, it wouldn’t be our cat. Besides, raising a cat is like raising a child. If we, as its family, can’t accompany it, it will only be close to the person who accompanies it. And we can’t even guarantee what kind of cat we’d raise it to be. What if it also becomes particularly fat?”

Su Ruixi blinked. Sun Miao knew she still hadn’t completely convinced Su Ruixi. Su Ruixi was a very opinionated person, and also a bit headstrong. If not for this personality, she wouldn’t have been foolishly bullied by Zhang Qiang for so long during that incident.

Su Ruixi, she responded to a soft approach.

Sun Miao changed her strategy and began her confession: “Besides, my sense of responsibility isn’t actually very strong. The part of my heart that can be responsible is only this big,” she gestured with her fingers, “I don’t want to share it with anyone other than you.”

Wow, Sun Miao marveled inwardly, her cheesy pick-up lines were truly top-notch. Only after saying it did she realize it was a bit cheesy, and wondered if Su Ruixi would find it unacceptable. But when she looked at Su Ruixi, whose face was flushed red and who had shyly turned her head away, she knew: Su Ruixi was totally into this.

The pick-up line was a bit cheesy, but Su Ruixi hadn’t heard many. She rarely even had time to surf the internet; at first, she didn’t even know what “chicken-parenting³” meant.

However, Sun Miao also really liked this Su Ruixi.

After a while, Sun Miao started persuading Su Ruixi to go back. Su Ruixi was reluctant and stayed a bit longer. Only when Sun Miao sent someone to buy groceries for dinner did Su Ruixi leave first. “Then what time will you be back?”

“When I sell out or at six. You go home first and cook the rice. Do you know how to cook rice?”

How could Su Ruixi say she didn’t know how to do something as simple as cooking rice!

She nodded proudly, indicating she knew how, and then drove off to buy groceries first. The place she bought groceries was the supermarket Sun Miao had been to. As she was pushing a small cart and picking out vegetables in the supermarket’s produce section, she received a call from her own mother.

“Xixi, where did you buy those crab shell yellow? They’re quite delicious?”

While Su Ruixi was with Sun Miao, she had already arranged for a delivery service to send the crab shell yellow over. By now, Mother Su had finished eating them and then called Su Ruixi.

Su Ruixi was a direct person, so she said straightforwardly, “My partner made them.” She then asked proudly, “They’re delicious, right?”

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