CHAPTER 413: 409

"Let’s grab a meal in the city first. I heard there’s a famous restaurant called ’Mom’s Place,’" Brother Nan murmured softly as she looked at the traffic light ahead. When she spoke in such a hushed voice, it was generally a sign that she didn’t expect a reply, so after speaking, she immediately operated her phone, changing the destination. "I’ll drop you off. You go to the restaurant, order the food, and wait for me. I’ll find a garage for some maintenance and be over in a bit."

"Is it time for maintenance?"

"It’s reached the mileage."

"Oh."

Brother Nan dropped them off at the restaurant and then drove away.

True to its reputation, the restaurant was almost full, a popular spot on social media. They arrived early enough to snag the last available table.

After a human and a demon sat down, they looked at each other while browsing the menu, suddenly feeling that ordering was surprisingly difficult—Zhou Li didn’t know which dish to choose, afraid to pick something that wouldn’t suit Brother Nan’s taste, while Huai Xu thought everything seemed delicious and wanted to order it all.

They were somewhat conflicted.

Normally, Brother Nan made these decisions, always able to choose the tastiest dishes. Having grown accustomed to this, they now found themselves unexpectedly unable to handle even the small matter of ordering in Brother Nan’s temporary absence.

The server stood by, enthusiastic and eager, which inadvertently added a lot of pressure on Zhou Li.

"Lord Dumpling wants rice soaked in fish soup!" Tuanzi called out crisply.

Great!

"One fish, please."

"Our signature dish here is the Lemon Fish."

"We’ll have that."

One dish down.

Zhou Li then glanced at the menu again and continued, "Could you recommend some of your specialty dishes?"

"Copper Ladle Beef is another signature dish of ours, as well as the Agaricus Blazei Stewed Chicken. Both are large dishes, enough for three people. If you have a good appetite, you can add a vegetable dish," the server recommended warmly. "If you haven’t driven here, you might want to try a glass of Rose Wine; it’s highly rated in our restaurant. If you’re not into alcohol, Peach Gum and White Fungus is an option."

"Lord Dumpling wants to eat the mushroooooms!"

"Alright, then add one Copper Ladle Beef, one Agaricus Blazei Stewed Chicken, one serving of Rose Wine, and four servings of Peach Gum and White Fungus," Zhou Li said, pausing before asking, "Is Agaricus Blazei the same as matsutake?"

"No."

"Do you have matsutake then?"

"We do."

"Are they of good quality?"

"They’re decent. For a simple dish, you can order the Matsutake Stir-fried Meat from the menu, but it has very little matsutake in it," the server said. "Or you can order matsutake separately. We’ll weigh it for you and then prepare it for you."

"Alright." Zhou Li opted for the latter.

Seeing Tuanzi’s sparkling eyes, he added, "The best ones!"

The server smiled. Zhou Li felt a tad embarrassed.

It was all to satisfy Lord Dumpling’s vanity.

After patting Tuanzi’s head, they hadn’t been seated long when they saw Brother Nan parking a bicycle at the entrance and walking in.

Huai Xu waved at her.

Brother Nan saw them, joined their table, and tossed her bag beside her with a thud. "I saw a garage right after I turned the corner. I left the car there and I’ll pick it up after we eat."

"What’s in your bag?"

"A laptop, valuable items."

"Does maintenance happen quickly?"

"Minor maintenance is quick."

"Oh, oh..."

Zhou Li felt a sense of shame. Theoretically, the car was jointly owned by him and Brother Nan. But even though they’d had it for so long, he didn’t even know how often it needed maintenance, or what the maintenance involved; Brother Nan had always taken care of it.

He couldn’t help but reflect—

If things continue this way, could I become completely useless, spoiled by Brother Nan?

That won’t do!

Zhou Li frowned deeply, pondering a solution.

At that moment, Brother Nan asked, "Have you ordered?"

"Yes," Zhou Li snapped out of his thoughts. "We ordered a few specialty dishes. The server said it’s enough for three people, and we’ll add another dish later."

"Why not order for six or seven people at once?"

"There’s an emphasis on frugality nowadays," Zhou Li said, feeling embarrassed to order too much.

"It’s not like we can’t finish it," Brother Nan said with slight bemusement. Considering Zhou Li’s sensibilities, she didn’t push him any further and instead picked up the menu again.

"By the way," Zhou Li added, "I also ordered a pot of Rose Wine which is said to be highly rated. You can try some since I’ll be driving later."

"How thoughtful."

"..."

Although the restaurant was busy, the dishes came out quickly.

The Copper Ladle Beef was simply beef served in a copper pot, and the taste was decent. The Lemon Fish wasn’t spicy enough, but the sourness suited Brother Nan’s palate. The Agaricus Blazei Stewed Chicken was quite fresh, and it seemed Caiyun province was quite good at cooking mushroom soup, chicken soup, and such. According to Brother Nan, the Rose Wine tasted almost like a soft drink. She said she’d get a serving to go to drink in the evening. The Peach Gum and White Fungus also tasted nice.

Whether the matsutake didn’t suit Tuanzi’s taste, or if she was always like this, she had been clamoring for it but didn’t eat much once it was served, merely indicating she was full.

Overall, the flavors were quite good.

When they were nearly finished eating, they added dishes for three more people and finally felt satisfied.

Upon leaving the restaurant, Zhou Li drove with Brother Nan in the passenger seat. Brother Nan also booked an inn in the ancient town. What kind of room or how many rooms she booked, Zhou Li didn’t know and didn’t ask. He just followed her navigation, and they reached the inn around one in the afternoon.

It was a standard room.

Brother Nan threw her shoulder bag and toiletry bag onto one of the beds and promptly sprawled out on it, stretched out in a spread-eagled position.

Zhou Li’s gaze stealthily drifted downwards.

Brother Nan had an enviable, well-toned body with long, shapely legs and a slim waist. Despite her small bust, it didn’t mean she lacked a backside. In fact, except for her bust, the rest of her body was beautifully curved; she looked great from both the side and the back. Lying on the bed, she seemed to be flaunting her perky butt, slim waist, and long legs.

I dared not look any further.

Zhou Li hastily shifted his gaze away.

At that moment, Brother Nan suddenly rolled over, as if she had lain prone long enough, and started inspecting the room.

Given that it was inside an ancient town, the inn naturally faced some limitations regarding facilities, but it was still quite nice, especially for someone unpretentious like Brother Nan.

Her gaze scanned the corner of the wall, flicked over Zhou Li’s face, and then shifted elsewhere.

"Seems like there’s a little bug."

"Where?"

Following Brother Nan’s gaze, Zhou Li spotted a spider behind the television.

Before he could speak, Brother Nan aimed her gaze at Tuanzi, saying seriously, "Little Trash Cat, go! Quick, go! Catch that spider!"

"MEEEW~"

"What did she say?" Brother Nan looked at Zhou Li.

"She says she is a pet cat, and pet cats don’t catch bugs."

"That weak? Didn’t she catch a moth the other night?"

"MEW."

"She says that was a little bird."

"A little bird?" Brother Nan crouched down, amusedly observing Tuanzi. Seeing her serious expression, she couldn’t help but smile. "I won’t call you Little Trash Cat from now on. How about Little Silly Cat?"

"MEOW~"

"She says she’s very clever."

"Clever my ass, she’s dumb as bricks," Brother Nan stood up. "Our own farm cat is so much better. Back home, I don’t even have to lift a finger; Pumpkin wipes out all the little bugs and mice."

"MEOW!"

"Erm..."

"What did she say?"

"Erm..." Zhou Li pondered for a moment. "She says the weather is really nice today."

"MEOW!?"

Tuanzi looked at Zhou Li with dissatisfaction.

Zhou Li looked back at her, gently stroking Lord Dumpling’s little forehead. Lord Dumpling is still very young and doesn’t know that offending Brother Nan will lead to no good. It might even implicate me.

Brother Nan merely gave him a fleeting glance and didn’t press the issue further, then said, "Shall we go out for a stroll?"

"Let’s go in the evening," Huai Xu batted her eyelashes. "I need it to be twilight before I can transform again."

"We can go out first to scout the area. I heard you can find many of Group Leader’s shooting locations here. If we find the right angle, we could take a background shot," Brother Nan explained to Huai Xu. "Then, when you look just like the character on TV and we’re at the same filming location, strike the same pose for a photo, wouldn’t that feel like..."

"The same as taking a screenshot from the phone?" Zhou Li couldn’t help but interject. But after receiving Brother Nan’s intimidating glance, he quickly bowed his head. "Sorry, you continue."

"..."

Brother Nan was a bit at a loss for words.

But it didn’t matter. Generally speaking, even if she was cornered into silence, she still had a winning tactic—

"You argumentative nitpicker!"