“Excuse me, may we sit here?” Just as Meng Xiaoyu was admiring the beauty of the man in the white shirt and the effeminate demeanor of the man in the blue shirt, she heard a gentle and polite voice. She looked up to find the two men standing beside her table. Their courteous attitude and gentle voices made Meng Xiaoyu’s impression of them rise several notches. She gazed dreamily at the handsome man before her, thinking, “Is this the kind of ‘gentleman as warm as jade’ often mentioned in novels?”
“Excuse me, may my brother and I sit here?” The gentle voice repeated.
“Ah, yes, of course, please sit,” Meng Xiaoyu quickly replied, snapping out of her daze. She was so captivated by the beauty of the man in the white shirt that she didn’t notice Han Rubing’s increasingly radiant smile or Han Rushuang’s face growing colder by the second. If Meng Xiaoyu had noticed, she would never have taken the liberty of inviting the two men to sit at their table.
But there are no “ifs” in this world, so Meng Xiaoyu’s misfortune was inevitable.
Han Rubing watched as Meng Xiaoyu eagerly invited the two strangers to sit down, her smile growing even brighter. She was already planning how to deal with this little troublemaker later that night. How bold of her to flirt right in front of her! If she didn’t teach her a lesson, this little troublemaker would become even more unruly. After deciding how to deal with her later, Han Rubing glanced at her sister’s nearly frozen face. She thought it was time to have a talk with her ice-cold sister. How could she just stand by and watch as their little one flirted right in front of her?
“Thank you for letting us sit here,” the handsome man said to Meng Xiaoyu after sitting down with the effeminate man. “My name is Nangong Yunhan, and this is my brother Nangong Yunrou. May I know your names so I can repay your kindness in the future?”
“Pfft…” Meng Xiaoyu, who was drinking tea, spat it out when she heard the effeminate man’s name. She clutched her stomach with one hand and pointed at the man in the blue shirt with the other, laughing, “I can’t believe not only do you look effeminate, but even your name is so effeminate. This is killing me!”
As Meng Xiaoyu laughed until her stomach hurt, the other four, including Han Rubing and Han Rushuang, looked at her in confusion. They didn’t understand what “effeminate” meant.
After laughing for a while, Meng Xiaoyu finally noticed the four pairs of eyes on her. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she scratched her head and gave a couple of awkward laughs before picking up her teacup and pretending to drink, hoping to become invisible.
However, Meng Xiaoyu’s hope didn’t come true. She had just taken a sip of tea when the effeminate man, Nangong Yunrou, asked in a soft voice, “May I ask why you were laughing just now? And what does ‘effeminate’ mean? Is there something wrong with my name that made you laugh so much?”
Hearing his question, Meng Xiaoyu smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
Seeing her awkward smile, Nangong Yunrou asked again, “Is there really something wrong with my name?”
Meng Xiaoyu quickly shook her head and replied, “There’s nothing wrong with your name. I was just laughing because… because I felt like it. Yes, that’s it. I just felt like laughing. I wasn’t laughing at you for being effeminate or anything. ‘Effeminate’ means you’re very handsome and dashing. It doesn’t mean you’re girly at all. Please don’t overthink it.”
Hearing Meng Xiaoyu’s jumbled explanation, the other four couldn’t help but twitch their lips. She had already said it, and now she was telling him not to overthink it?
After her explanation, Meng Xiaoyu noticed the four of them looking at her with twitching lips and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Nothing. Weren’t you hungry? Go call the waiter to order some food,” Han Rubing said, patting Meng Xiaoyu’s head.
Realizing she was indeed hungry, Meng Xiaoyu got up and happily went to find the waiter to order food.
After Meng Xiaoyu left, Han Rubing turned to Nangong Yunrou and said, “I’m sorry for my little one’s words earlier. I apologize on her behalf and hope you can forgive her. My name is Han Rubing, and this is my sister, Han Rushuang.”
“So you are the famous masters of ‘Chaoque Palace.’ I’ve heard so much about you,” Nangong Yunhan said, standing up and cupping his fists. “May I ask who that young lady is? Is she your junior sister or disciple?”
“No, she’s not,” Han Rubing replied with a smile.
“Oh, but she must be someone very close to you,” Nangong Yunhan said.
“Something like that,” Han Rubing didn’t deny it this time.
After answering Nangong Yunhan’s question, Han Rubing fell silent, and Nangong Yunhan didn’t ask any more questions. The four of them sat in silence.
When Meng Xiaoyu returned after ordering the food, she noticed something was off and asked, “Why aren’t you all talking?”
“Nothing. What did you order?” Han Rubing asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, I ordered a lot of dishes, including stir-fried bamboo shoots for Sister Ruoshuang and braised tofu for Sister Ruobing. I also ordered yam and pork rib soup, which you both like.”
As soon as Meng Xiaoyu finished speaking, two waiters came over with trays and started placing the dishes on the table. After setting the dishes, one of the waiters said, “Your food is ready. Please enjoy. If you need anything else, just call us.” Then they left with the trays.
Meng Xiaoyu’s eyes were glued to a plate of braised chicken legs as soon as it was placed on the table.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu drooling over the chicken legs, Han Rubing smiled and picked one up with her chopsticks, placing it in Meng Xiaoyu’s bowl. “Alright, stop drooling and eat up,” she said. Then she turned to Nangong Yunhan and Nangong Yunrou, “Please join us. Our little one ordered enough for everyone.”
Meng Xiaoyu, hearing Han Rubing’s words and seeing her glance at her, quickly put down the chicken leg she was gnawing on and said, “Yes, yes, I ordered enough for everyone. Please don’t be shy and join us.” Then she picked up the chicken leg again and continued eating. She was really hungry.
