Reincarnation to the Past

Chapter 69

Lì's POV

I was stumped... I didn't know what to say.

I stared at the twinkle in her sea-green eyes, it reminded me of the calm sea but buried deep beneath all the calm and peace, her eyes were a reflection of two bottomless pools of pain, sorrow, and betrayal. It made me wonder what exactly she could have gone through at such a young age for her to have such a pair of eyes.

(A/N: Since Yǔ is using her powers to control the mist, her eyes are actually sea-green. The illusion/mist isn't affecting his eye color so what Lì sees is Percy's eyes which is why he can see the pain buried in it...)

Talking about it clearly hurts for her and yet she was willing to tell me. From how much it affected her, I could tell how important that man had been in her life and given the crappy father Minister Li was, I could easily understand why she recognized another person as a father figure. I wondered who the others were but didn't have the heart to ask...

Luckily for me, it was at this moment that the food came. Since it was a few hours after lunch, the food I ordered was two bowls of steamed rice, a bowl of stir-fried pork belly, a plate of steamed vegetables, thinly sliced roasted chicken, pork dumplings, sliced cucumbers, fried cabbage, and a plate of fried fish. On seeing the food, Yǔ's once sad face grimaced in disgust; she instantly turned her body to the right and she tightly shut her eyes.

Me (curiously): You don't like chicken???

Yǔ (shaking her head, looking queasy): No... I love chicken...

"Pork???", I tried again to which she again shook her head rapidly in denial.

My lips rose into a small smile, "Fish???", I guessed accurately to which her whole body shuddered. "I love fish...", she started, sounding nauseous and her voice breaking a bit, "When they're alive..." I chuckle softly motioning one of the servants to come over and take the plate away. To think that someone who acted so confident and perfect couldn't stand fish. This new knowledge was oddly amusing. After all the serious problems, this seemed like a nice surprise...

Me (as she slowly turned towards me): So... Why no fish???

Yǔ (sighing): I have great water affinity. So much that I can communicate with any water creature, so it isn't fun eating something that otherwise goes all, 'My lord... My lord... My lord...'...

Me (smiling): My lord???

Yǔ gave me a sheepish grin as she picked up the chopstick and hungrily helped herself to the rice and steamed vegetable. "Yes... It's annoying, honestly but I gave up on getting them to call me by my name...", she said in between mouthfuls as she picked a slice of chicken, placed it over the rice, and took a bite. "Mmm... This is good..."

Me (smiling and helping myself): Try the dumplings, they're the best here...

I pushed the plate towards her and watched as she clumsily picked one with the chopstick and bit into it, clearly enjoying the taste. We made small talk as we ate, taking our time to enjoy the food.

"You're surprisingly easy to please...", I said with a fond smile about half an hour later, as we had finished the food. I smiled and nodded at the owner who brought along a plate of round as well as flower-shaped biscuits.

Yǔ (grinning): For a change, stuff like this is good... Who knows, if we're engaged long enough, I may cook for you...

Me (surprised): You can cook???