Translated by Serena Love (ko-fi)

Translate Checked and Co-edited by Pure (ko-fi)

Co-edited by Choko (ko-fi)

Chapter 19: Breakfast

Jin Zhifeng held the railings and jumped down from the second floor, and landed in front of Lin Xiaocha. He looked at her with his arms crossed.

"Hey, shouldn't you thank me?"

Lin Xiaocha seemed so surprised by his sudden presence that her beautiful apricot eyes trembled as she questioned him in return, "Why should I thank you?"

"Hey, if I didn't give up on the guest rooms, you would have been left to sleep outside on the grass."

Lin Xiaocha lowered her head and bit her lower lip. After a moment, she looked up at Jin Zhifeng, her long and soft eyelashes trembling, before reluctantly grumbling, "Okay."

"You really are a…" After a second thought, that ‘okay’ could also be considered an apology. There’s no point in him bickering with a little girl. 

"Hey, what's your name?" he questioned.

At this moment, Han Yu nonchalantly made his way to the second floor, unbothered by the drama in front of him. Lin Xiaocha ignored Jin Zhifeng and quickly followed him.

And while passing by Jin Zhifeng’s sister, the girl also asked for her name.

Without hesitation, Lin Xiaocha gladly revealed,"My name is Lin Xiaocha."

Meanwhile, on the first floor, Jin Zhifeng sneered and remarked, "What a strange name."

Jin Xuan'er rolled her eyes at him and consoled Xiaocha, saying, "Just Ignore him, you have a beautiful name. My name is Jin Xuan'er."

Lin Xiaocha smiled and replied, "Xuan'er, that's a nice name."

She then waved Jin Xuan'er goodbye before running to catch up with Han Yu.

Jin Xuan'er couldn’t help but gaze at Lin Xiaocha's small stature as she ran, finding her even lovelier the more she looked.  

*

The next morning, Lin Xiaocha was awakened by Jin Zhifeng's shouting. The wooden building had no soundproofing.

"Innkeeper, are you telling me you don’t even have a single piece of meat to eat for breakfast here? Just millet porridge, pickled vegetables, poached eggs, and steamed buns?"

As Lin Xiaocha listened to his incessant yapping, she found his complaints interesting. Weren’t those all regular breakfast foods? Did he expect a Manchu–Han Imperial Feast in the early morning?

The innkeeper attempted to explain, but the spoiled young master refused to listen. He slammed his chopsticks on the table and reproached, "I gave you so much money, you should at least be able to offer me something better."

The innkeeper nodded hurriedly and went out to find more suitable dishes.

When Lin Xiaocha emerged from her room, she noticed that Han Yu's door was still closed. She decided not to wake him up, and left it as it was.

She was not in a rush to leave anyway.

Seeing that her new task object indifferently looking at the table of plain tea and simple food, she went back to her room and took out the beef given to her by the noodle shop owner.

At this time, Jin Xuan'er angrily stormed out of her room, faced the hall downstairs, and shouted, "Jin Zhifeng, do you have a death wish?! So noisy early in the morning. Why does everyone have to wake up because of you?"

"The sun is already so high yet you’re still sleeping? As a girl, how can you be so lazy?"

Their quarrel escalated quickly, and eventually revolved around Bai Xuanran once again.

From their altercation, Lin Xiaocha could tell that Jin Xuan'er had suffered a lot from Bai Xuanran already, but Jin Zhifeng didn't know the fact and kept protecting her.

Sigh. Men…

Unable to outtalk her brother, Jin Xuan’er nearly stomped another hole in the newly repaired staircase. She angrily walked down and sat next to Lin Xiaocha.

Lin Xiaocha thoughtfully pushed a bowl of porridge in front of her, "Here, appease your anger with this. I haven’t touched it yet."

Jin Xuan'er was so angry that her chest went up and down frantically, "There’s no way to appease this! That idiot is always driving me crazy!"

Lin Xiaocha couldn’t help but giggle.

Jin Zhifeng, with his back turned, retorted, "Your laugh sounds like a fart."

Lin Xiaocha remained calm and just ignored him. She then slowly opened the meat wrapped in oil paper, and placed it in front of Jin Xuan'er, "Eat some meat."

Despite Lin Xiaocha’s gesture, Jin Xuan'er was still too upset with her brother to muster up an appetite. She fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool herself down, "I'm so angry! I can't eat it."

Jin Zhifeng was about to say something mean, but stopped when he heard the word "meat." His eyes were glowing as he turned around to see the beef on the table.

"Hey, your meat, this young master is willing to pay you a lot of money for it."

Lin Xiaocha continued to console Jin Xuan'er as if she couldn't hear him, "Just give it a taste."

Jin Xuan'er took a slice of meat to her mouth, deliberately glancing at Jin Zhifeng behind Lin Xiaocha, "Okay! Let's eat some!"

In fact, she had sampled countless delicacies from lands far and wide. Her taste had been refined and she usually would only consume things that are exquisitely made. But despite her picky taste, she quickly swallowed the meat, pretending it was the tastiest meat ever, just to provoke and infuriate Jin Zhifeng.

Jin Zhifeng impatiently shouted at Lin Xiaocha, "Hey! This young master is speaking to you. Didn't you hear me?"

Lin Xiaocha didn't mind and said slowly, "Let's talk about it after Xuan'er has finished eating."

"What!?" Jin Zhifeng exclaimed, dumbfounded.

Seeing the way Lin Xiaocha was treating his brother, Jin Xuan'er’s mood immediately improved. The unhappiness she had been feeling moments ago diminished by half.

"Don't give him any. No matter how much he offers you, I will double it. I’d rather you throw the meat away than giving it to him!"

Lin Xiaocha, "I don't want your money."

Jin Xuan'er perplexedly looked up at her, "Why?"

Lin Xiaocha pretended to be puzzled by her question, "Why would I want your money?"

Both Jin Xuan'er and Jin Zhifeng were a little embarrassed to hear her words.

They were used to solving problems with money, but now it felt a bit vulgar and arrogant.

Jin Xuan'er stuttered, "I, I didn't mean that."

Lin Xiaocha smiled and answered, "I know. Of course, you don't mean that. You eat some more, okay."

It looked like Lin Xiaocha really didn’t mind.

Humans were social creatures and gathered in groups with other individuals similar to them. So it could be assumed that the people who regularly accompanied the Jin family siblings were distinguished young masters and young ladies, as well as the servants and maids around them.

The former was arrogant, while the latter always tolerated them because of their status.

But the girl in front of them was neither humble nor overbearing. She had a good temper, it was very comfortable to be around her.

While the two girls were bonding, Jin Zhifeng had almost lost all patience. He got up and came to sit next to Lin Xiaocha.

He drew a pair of chopsticks to clip the meat in the greased paper, but Lin Xiaocha stretched out her chopsticks faster and slapped Jin Zhifeng's utensil away from the meat.

"Hey, didn't you just say that you don't need money?" he complained.

"But I don't want to feed you."

Jin Zhifeng: "..."

Jin Xuan'er slapped the table and laughed.

"Hahahaha, Jin Zhifeng, it seems you also have to suffer one day. You think everyone is as fake as Bai Xuanran. It’s always ‘big brother’ here, ‘brother’ there. Always chanting brother brother brother, if people didn't know better, they would think she was a hen on the brink of laying eggs[1]."

"Can you not be so mean when you speak? Did she provoke you?"

"Are you blind? Don’t you see that she always provokes me?"

"You jealous wo..." Jin Zhifeng wanted to add "woman," but before he could say it, Lin Xiaocha took her pair of chopsticks and put a piece of meat in his mouth.

His dark eyes widened.

Jin Xuan'er was also dumbfounded.

Only Lin Xiaocha’s expression did not change as she naturally said, "Eat more meat and talk less."

Then she put her chopsticks aside and used a spoon to scoop porridge from her bowl while gently blowing on it.

It was so surprising, Jin Xuan'er bursted into another fit of laughter. She clapped her hands towards Jin Zhifeng and said, "Hahahaha, she’s telling you to shut up! Anyway, a dog can't spit out ivory[2]. Xiaocha, well said!"

Lin Xiaocha didnt continue the topic, but instead requested, "Xuan'er, pass me the egg please."

Jin Zhifeng's ears were burning red as he slowly chewed the meat in his mouth without saying a word.

He felt that this meat was... weirdly delicious.

Jin Xuan'er scolded Bai Xuanran in front of Jin Zhifeng again.

Jin Zhifeng slowly got over his previous stupor and was about to rebut her.

Then Jin Xuan'er abruptly raised her head to Lin Xiaocha. "Xiaocha, you say something too."

Lin Xiaocha, who had been silently peeling the eggs, paused.

If she says that Bai Xuanran is not good, she would definitely be marked as a jealous woman by Jin Zhifeng.

However, if she takes Bai Xuanran’s side... Jin Xuan'er could explode, and it won't do her any good.

Jin Zhifeng was her target, while Jin Xuan'er was a potential reliable comrade.

This was literally a life or death question. No matter how she answers, one of them will inevitably be offended.

So the only right choice was, "Prudence restrains me from expressing any remarks in the absence of a comprehensive understanding"

This sentence caused Jin Zhifeng to look at her with admiration. He didn't expect that she would have that much insight.

But Jin Xuan'er was obviously not satisfied with her answer. She glanced at Lin Xiaocha with pursed lips and drank some of her porridge.

"But..." Lin Xiaocha turned her head and looked at Jin Zhifeng.

"It's all your fault."

Jin Zhifeng: ???

Jin Xuan'er suddenly became interested. She looked up and waited for Lin Xiaocha to continue.

"Gentlemen's capacity has no limits, it’s broader than where the river flows[3]. Since you don’t concede to your little sister, then it's your fault."

When Jin Xuan'er heard Lin Xiaocha blame Jin Zhifeng for not knowing how to take a step back for her, her heart was instantly refreshed.

Jin Zhifeng, on the other hand, believed  that she called him a gentleman without limits, so he also felt comfortable in his heart.

He looked at her again and watched her pick up some pickles with that chopstick she had just used to stuff meat in his mouth.

As she was slowly directing the pickles to her little lips, Jin Zhifeng felt like there was a thin layer of mist surrounding her the first time he laid eyes on her. But upon closer inspection, he discovered that she was extremely delicate, gentle and graceful. Although she hadn't fully grown up yet, she was already a rare little beauty.

The pink cherry-like lips were hydrated and plump like it was dripping water.

Her mouth opened slightly, and just as she was about to bite on the chopsticks that he had bitten on himself, Jin Zhifeng's heart suddenly missed a beat.

However, she changed her mind and put down the chopsticks that were so close to their destination and said, "Let's eat the egg first."

And Jin Zhifeng's hanging heart fell down to his stomach.

System reminded: [Jin Zhifeng's progress raised to 15%.]

Clueless of what her brother was thinking, Jin Xuan'er was in a very carefree mood. She hummed a little and went back to her room, ready to sleep in.

Only Jin Zhifeng and Lin Xiaocha were left sitting at the table.

He looked up and saw Lin Xiaocha eating seriously.

She ate and chewed slowly, as her mouth opened and closed with refined subtlety. When she carefully blew on the porridge in her spoon, she looked even more charming and cute.

The millet porridge that he had originally disdained looked more appetizing due to her movements. He picked up the millet porridge that he had dismissed before on his original table, then carried it back to Lin Xiaocha’s, and took a sip of it.

It’s okay.

He quickly downed his whole bowl and found that she was still taking small sips of hers, it made him itchy.

"Hey, why do you eat as slow as my cat?"

Lin Xiaocha unhurriedly  said, "Even if I eat like a cat, I am not eating your food. What does it have to do with you?"

Jin Zhifeng: ...

Jin Zhifeng, "Hey! You little girl, really..." Have a sharp mouth. She really leaves me no chance to retort.

Lin Xiaocha ignored him and continued to drink her porridge slowly.

Jin Zhifeng knocked on the table and smiled, "You seem like you grow like a very small bean sprout. If you don't eat more, and faster, you will never grow taller."

Lin Xiaocha suddenly raised her head.

"You... you... you! Who are you calling small bean sprouts?"

She still has some grudges about being short.

She was not tall in her real life, and she didn't expect it would be the same after crossing over.

Jin Zhifeng's heart suddenly softened as she stammered with a red face.

That’s...

So weirdly cute.

So cute, I just want to keep teasing her.

.

.

.

Footnote:

[1] In Chinese, "big brother" in Chinese is pronounced"Ge." So she is saying that Bai Xuanran always said, "Ge, Ge, Ge" everywhere, and sounds like a chicken’s clucking.

[2] a dog can't spit out ivory (狗嘴里也吐不出象牙) is a quoted phrase from another published work, which means bad people can't say anything good anyways.

[3] Gentlemen's capacity has no limits, broader than where the river flows (君子量不极，胸吞百川流) - is a quoted from Meng Jiao (751-814), a Tang Dynasty essayist and poet. It means a gentleman's magnanimity/tolerance has no limit, and his capacity is so great that he can accommodate hundreds of rivers. This is the machine translated whole piece for those that are interested- https://www.1juzi.com/new/185424.html 

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