One Life, One Incarnation, Beautiful Bones

36

He chuckled, "It's true. I watch it when I want to pass the time. I don't want to waste time to look for another drama to watch, so I will simply rewatch that one. It is quite amusing in itself to be able to watch one scene and then instantly be able to to conjure up in your mind the next scene and its dialogue."

Giggling, she hugged his arm tightly like a little child.

Shi Yi called Hong Xiaoyu and arranged to meet up with her for dinner.

They went to a small restaurant first, and after chatting casually for a short while, Hong Xiaoyu and Du Feng arrived. These sorts of small eateries in scenic watertowns all served common fare that local people would eat or else some specialty foods, so aside from a few dishes, there was nothing that stood out.

A dish of red-braised mutton[1] was served. Zhousheng Chen was about to bring his chopsticks to it, but Shi Yi advised him quietly that lamb meat should be avoided during the summer because consuming it would cause excessive internal heat[2], etc, etc. Nodding, Zhousheng Chen switched to eat some Lake Tai whitefish[3] instead, and sure enough, he did not touch the lamb anymore.

Seeing this, Hong Xiaoyu gave a dramatic sigh. "You know, when I was ordering, you didn't say anything. Here I am, wanting to eat it, and you're telling your hubby not to, saying stuff like you're worried about excessive internal heat... It's so true that 'a daughter married off is like spilled water[4].' You don't have eyes for me anymore."

Shi Yi laughed, "Anywhere you travel to, you'll want to eat the specialty dishes there. I knew that I wouldn't be able to convince you otherwise, so I didn't bother wasting my breath."

Once two women who had known each other since childhood started to squabble, they would have an endless amount to say.

Neither was able to win in the battle of words, but to the two men beside them, who were strangers to each other, they were very entertaining.

Du Feng poured out some liquor and slid a glass over to Zhousheng Chen.

With a smile, he declined gracefully, "I'm sorry, but I do not drink."

Du Feng did not seem to be concerned. "Just as a gesture. Just one sip."

Hong Xiaoyu also urged him disapprovingly, "When men meet, it's a must that they drink at least a little bit."

After contemplating briefly, Zhousheng Chen picked up the glass, but Shi Yi immediately snatched it from his hand.

She threw a glance at Hong Xiaoyu. "Don't you go forcing him to drink."

"Huh? How did I force him?" Hong Xiaoyu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I only tried to persuade him with one sentence. Just one sentence, missy."

Shi Yi picked up the glass, brought it to her nose, and sniffed. "The alcohol content in this isn't that low."

The meaning behind her words was very obvious. Nearly infuriated to death by her protectiveness over Zhousheng Chen, Hong Xiaoyu lightly rapped her glass with her chopsticks. "You're too much -- "

Du Feng laughed, "How about this? We'll let your husband off the hook, but --"

Worried that they would say something else that would put Zhousheng Chen in a difficult position, Shi Yi did not even wait for Du Feng to finish what he was saying and took a large swig of the alcohol.

No one had expected this, and so, no one had tried to stop her.

When she set the glass back down, she stated, "Alright, I drank it for him. You guys aren't allowed to make any more demands."

Hong Xiaoyu knew that she, too, did not drink at all. Seeing that Shi Yi was being so serious about the matter, she did not dare continue. Hastily, she rubbed a hand over her heart and declared, "This is what you call true love, ah. Compared to you, I don't even come close."