Chapter 46: I Believe You, So I Am Always Deceived By You
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo silently set down her knife and fork.
"You were about to eat, why suddenly change your mind?" Ruan Yesheng grinned, almost displaying 'asking the obvious' all over her face.
"I suddenly don't feel like eating."
"Is it that you don't want to eat, or is it because you heard 'gnawing' and worried it might affect your sophisticated image so you dare not eat?"
Xi Mo raised an eyebrow, looking at Ruan Yesheng. "I don't dare?"
"If you dare, then go ahead and eat," Ruan Yesheng nodded towards the braised elbow.
"You don't have to provoke me." After staring at Ruan Yesheng for a while, Xi Mo said, "Ask the staff to bring a few gloves."
Soon, a stack of food-grade transparent gloves was placed on the table. Xi Mo methodically put on a pair while Ruan Yesheng, on the opposite side, rested her chin on her hand, eagerly observing with a mischievous curiosity.
Xi Mo sat upright on the chair, reaching out for the braised elbow. However, the appearance of the elbow was quite rugged. At first glance, it was a bit challenging to figure out how to approach it. While some places served the dish with the elbow sliced into pieces, artistically arranged to showcase its delicacy, many establishments presented the elbow whole, emphasizing its robust appearance. The chefs here had served it whole without slicing it before serving.
Observing Xi Mo's hesitation, Ruan Yesheng suppressed a laugh and gestured from a distance, saying, "Do you see the bone showing in the middle on both sides? Just grab a part of the bone on each side and start gnawing."
Xi Mo, with a stiff expression, slowly extended her hand and, as instructed by Ruan Yesheng, finally managed to hold each end of the bone, lifting the braised elbow. The outer layer of the elbow was wrapped in thick, tender, and oily skin, glistening with a soy sauce sheen.
Xi Mo: "..."
Faced with this layer of skin, she was momentarily unsure of where to begin gnawing. Anywhere she tried biting into it resulted in a mouthful of oil.
How could Ruan Yesheng enjoy eating this kind of thing?
"Eat it. You've been holding it for quite a while. Aren't your hands tired?" Ruan Yesheng persistently urged, "Are you afraid it's poisonous?"
The table was positioned by the window. Xi Mo's face tilted to the side, seemingly observing the scenery outside for a while before turning back, slightly uncomfortable, and saying, “Turn around. If you turn around, I'll eat.”
Ruan Yesheng chuckled, “Why must I turn around? If you don't want me to see how you gnaw on the braised pork elbow, you can turn around and eat it yourself.”
“I can't turn around; I need to use the plate to catch the dripping oil,” Xi Mo said earnestly.
Ruan Yesheng laughed even more at this moment, finding it amusing that Xi Mo was analyzing the situation so seriously. She suggested, “Okay, since you can't turn around and I don't want to either, how about I cover my eyes? Will that work?”
Finishing her words, she leaned on her elbows on the table and covered her eyes.
“I'm covered,” Ruan Yesheng said.
Xi Mo was left with no other choice. Seeing that Ruan Yesheng truly covered her eyes, Xi Mo felt somewhat relieved. She cautiously took a small bite of the pork elbow. Xi Mo had never tasted this dish before and initially hesitated. However, after the first bite, she found it tender and flavorful, unlike its intimidating appearance. After finishing one bite and hesitating for a moment, she took another bite.
Ruan Yesheng burst into laughter across the table. Xi Mo immediately stopped, returned the braised pork elbow to the plate, and quickly chewed and swallowed. When she looked up, she saw Ruan Yesheng still covering her eyes, though the gaps between her fingers revealed eyes filled with a smiling glance.
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo used a napkin to wipe her lips, furrowing her brows, and asked, “Are you really covering your eyes?”
“Of course,” Ruan Yesheng loosened her grip. “I said I would cover my eyes, but I didn't specify whether tightly or loosely. I'm covering them this way; it just happened to be loose. I didn't deceive you."
Xi Mo: "..."
"Is it delicious?" Ruan Yesheng asked her.
"So-so."
"So-so, so you took another bite?”
Xi Mo: "..."
"I've eaten, now you can eat." Xi Mo coughed, changed the subject, and pointed to the plate: "I've only touched this side."
"It's okay, I don't mind," Ruan Yesheng propped her cheek, tapping her fingers lightly on the table.
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng had teased her enough and felt satisfied. After laughing for a while, she picked up a small knife from near the dish of braised pork elbows. The blade of the knife was much sharper than a typical dining knife and was usually used for slicing meat. Even though the braised pork elbow was served whole, for convenience during dining, the kitchen also provided a slicing knife.
Xi Mo just noticed the knife and realized Ruan Yesheng must have moved it when the dish was served, a fact she hadn't noticed earlier. She understood everything and her expression darkened slightly, "Didn't you say that braised pork elbows must be gnawed?"
Ruan Yesheng, without changing her expression, replied, "I did say gnawing, but it has a condition. Without a slicing knife, gnawing becomes the only option."
Xi Mo said, "But I used the dining knife before, and you said it was not okay."
"A dining knife is a dining knife, it's too blunt for this purpose. I meant the specific knife meant for this dish. Didn't you see this knife before? Without it, the only option left is gnawing," Ruan Yesheng hurriedly added with a hint of ‘apology’. "Ah, I just noticed this knife too, right near the plate. It was my carelessness. If I had noticed it earlier, I wouldn't have let you gnaw directly. I'm sorry."
She said sorry in such a charming way, it was overly delicate and excessively sweet. Xi Mo clearly knew she fell into the pit she intentionally dug, but couldn't do anything about it. All she could do was pick up her cup and silently take a sip.
Ruan Yesheng, using a small knife, cut a few slices of the sauce-coated elbow meat skillfully, then slowly and methodically dipped them in the sauce and ate them. Then she said, "Luckily, I found this knife. I don't have to gnaw on it, which also preserves your image. Look at me now, you wouldn't want to see me gnawing on an elbow, would you? It would greatly affect your image."
Xi Mo looked at her helplessly.
"...I tricked you, are you angry?" Ruan Yesheng's voice softened a bit.
"No."
Ruan Yesheng became happy, "That's good. I was just teasing you. I didn't expect you to really be deceived by me."
"I believe you, that's why I'm always deceived by you," Xi Mo said, "For others, these are just trivial tricks."
Ruan Yesheng was taken aback, "..."
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she said, "Since you're not angry, are you happy then?"
Ruan Yesheng's eyes were watery, and Xi Mo looked at her eyes, then after a while, vaguely nodded, "Mm."
Ruan Yesheng's expression of joy became even stronger: "Actually, seeing you freely gnawing on the elbow in front of me today made me quite happy. If it were before, you would have had many reservations and definitely wouldn't have done this. Now things are different from the past. Anything that used to hinder you because of your status and image, you can now try without worry. I won't mind. You don't have to consider my image. You can use my identity to do anything you want. If you want to eat various delicacies, you can try them all, however you like."
Xi Mo listened to her and the light in her eyes flickered slightly. After a while, she said, "Aren't you afraid I'll eat so much that I won't be able to maintain my figure and won't be able to dance in the future?"
"It's no big deal, I'll just lose the weight later."
Xi Mo remained silent for a while, about to speak, but at that moment, footsteps were heard nearby. Someone approached, and immediately they both stopped talking. They were cautious; whenever the staff came to serve food, they wouldn't continue discussing sensitive matters in public.
The person who approached was a middle-aged man, and his attire didn't seem like that of the staff from the racecourse. Xi Mo turned to see the person clearly and felt a jolt in her heart.
Uncle Ding Ru?
This jolt in Xi Mo's heart wasn't because Uncle Ding Ru was difficult to get along with. On the contrary, Uncle Ding Ru had an amiable temperament. He was a trusted assistant to Xi Mo's father and had watched Xi Mo grow up, always caring for her. However, Uncle Ding Ru showing up now while Xi Mo was in the guise of Ruan Yesheng made it inconvenient to say anything. She hadn't introduced Uncle Ding Ru to Ruan Yesheng beforehand, so if Uncle Ding Ru mistook Ruan Yesheng for her, there might be some misunderstanding in their conversation.
Xi Mo was considering how to subtly remind Ruan Yesheng when she pulled out her phone and noticed Ruan Yesheng's surprise upon seeing Ding Ru. Immediately, Ruan Yesheng, without hesitation, stood up openly from her seat and said to Ding Ru, "Uncle Ding, have you eaten? Would you like to sit down and join us?"
Xi Mo also stood up quickly.
Ding Ru chuckled, "I've already eaten, already eaten. When I came over and heard a few kids in the restaurant saying you brought a friend, I thought this was a rare sight. I had to see who you brought and get to know them."
Observing calmly, Xi Mo couldn't help but feel somewhat puzzled by how easily Ruan Yesheng and Ding Ru interacted. As far as she knew, Ruan Yesheng shouldn't have met Ding Ru before, so how did she immediately recognize him and confidently address him with her usual title?
Does this mean that Ruan Yesheng knew Ding Ru before and had some understanding of his relationship with her family?
At that moment, Ding Ru turned to Xi Mo, his smile deepening, "So, this friend is Miss Ruan, huh? I thought so. Hello, hello."
With Ding Ru's greeting, Xi Mo became even more certain that Ruan Yesheng had indeed met Ding Ru previously. Knowing this made the situation much easier to handle. If she hadn't been aware of this, she might have pretended not to know Ding Ru, unintentionally revealing something.
"Hello," Xi Mo smiled. For now, she wasn't sure how Ruan Yesheng used to address Ding Ru, so she didn't dare to bring it up casually.
Fortunately, Ding Ru didn't engage her much, just exchanged some casual pleasantries. It seemed that Ding Ru and Ruan Yesheng were merely acquainted and not familiar on any deeper level. Xi Mo analyzed silently while responding attentively.
Ding Ru looked at Ruan Yesheng and said, "Your dad heard you were back and wants you to come home for a bit. You're always so busy and rarely come back, and when you do, your dad is too busy to make time. Ah, both of you are such busy people. Today, both of you rarely have a break, but you must go back. Your dad insists, even sent me here to tell you personally. You can't refuse me face to face."
Ruan Yesheng glanced toward Xi Mo, who nodded calmly.
"Alright, I will go back," Ruan Yesheng agreed. "Uncle Ding, you can rest assured."
Ding Ru smiled, "That's good. Despite your dad usually being strict with you, he cares about you the most. Don't always be afraid when you see him. Every parent cares for their child, don't they?"
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng finally caught on and, probably considering Xi Mo's current awkwardness, quickly said to Ding Ru, "Uncle Ding, what are you talking about? I have a friend here. Don't say unnecessary things and make us a joke."
Ding Ru burst into laughter, "Why are you embarrassed? You were so cute as a child, but the older you get, the more awkward you become. What's this about being afraid of your dad? Are you embarrassed? No worries, Miss Ruan isn't a stranger. I trust her. She treats you so well. Even if she knows these little secrets of yours, she won't spill them to your fans. She knows you're a big star and needs to maintain your image, right, Miss Ruan? Hahaha!"
Xi Mo: "..."
He, he, he.
"Yes, yes, I won't talk about it," Xi Mo, with superb acting skills, managed to display an appropriate smile, while inside, she was almost drowning in waves of shock and horror.
Uncle Ding, could you please say a little less?
"I've said what I needed to in person. Remember to go back," Ding Ru finished speaking to Ruan Yesheng and then walked over to Xi Mo, patting her shoulder.
With that pat, Xi Mo felt a hint of encouragement mixed with a deeper meaning. She wasn't Ruan Yesheng, didn't even know when Ruan Yesheng had met Ding Ru, and her confusion grew. After looking at her for a while, Ding Ru said, "Miss Ruan, keep it up."
Xi Mo had to thank Ding Ru.
Ding Ru smiled, turned, and left.
At the dining table, only Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng remained.
They stared at each other for a while. Xi Mo said, "Do you know Uncle Ding?"
At the same time, Ruan Yesheng replied, "Are you afraid of your dad?"
"You answer first."
"No, you answer first."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
