A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 98

Zhan Zhao said helplessly, "Then hurry up and come out. How can you not eat?"

"I don't."

Mo Yan quickly refused. How could she let Brother Zhan see her in her current state? Naturally, she couldn't go out no matter what.

"Come out quickly," he said softly.

"No!"

The door stood motionless in front of him, and the voice coming from inside was extremely resolute. Zhan Zhao really didn't know what to do with her, so he could only turn around and leave.

Hearing his footsteps leave the courtyard and disappear... Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief, dragged her feet, and weakly collapsed onto the bed, hugging the quilt to her cheek, trying to fall asleep. Only by sleeping could she forget the pain.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mo Yan, who was in so much pain that her head was spinning, vaguely heard someone knocking on the door again. She sat up angrily and asked, "Who is it?"

"Xiao Qi, open the door. I bought you something," Zhan Zhao said gently, not bothering to argue with her.

Recognizing Zhan Zhao's voice, Mo Yan scrambled to her feet and peered through the crack in the door, but it was too dark to see anything clearly. "What is it?" she wondered, both curious and reluctant to open the door.

“Open the door a crack,” Zhan Zhao said, suppressing a laugh, “and I’ll hand it to you.”

"Then you're not allowed to come in."

"good."

Mo Yan hesitated for a moment before unlatching the door, opening it just a crack. Zhan Zhao indeed handed her something in. After locking the door again, she looked down and couldn't help but smile—in her hand was a leather mask, its face boldly and vividly depicting an awe-inspiring deity.

After a while, the door was opened, and a mask was put on her face. Zhan Zhao could not see her expression, but he could see that her eyes were shining and showing a happy smile.

"Brother Zhan, how are you so smart?" She tugged at his sleeve affectionately. For some reason, even though her tooth was still hurting terribly, seeing Zhan Zhao's smiling eyes made her think that she could endure even more pain.

"Let's go get something to eat first, and then we'll go see the lanterns."

At this moment, Zhan Zhao insisted on taking her to see the lanterns, not because he was particularly interested, but because he saw that Mo Yan was in a lot of pain and wanted to distract her from the pain with something lively.

Jinming Pond was the liveliest place in the city that night, its lights shining like stars, illuminating the pond as if it were daytime. Walking along, the streets were filled with lanterns, and the lanterns carried by the locals were countless in variety: lotus lanterns, bridge lanterns, deer lanterns, lanterns with countless eyes, glass ball lanterns, gardenia lanterns, grape lanterns, large square lanterns, moon lanterns, small rolling ball lanterns, large rolling ball lanterns, horse-riding lanterns, long lanterns… so many that it was dazzling and impossible to take it all in.

"It's definitely much more lively than in Sichuan!" Mo Yan sat in the glutinous rice ball shop, peeking around. She saw a diving swing in the pool in front of her and wished she could squeeze over immediately.

Once the glutinous rice balls were cooked and served to them, the proprietress looked at Mo Yan with suspicion for the first time, as it was the first time she had ever seen someone wearing a mask to eat glutinous rice balls.

Mo Yan stared at the glutinous rice ball with a troubled expression, while Zhan Zhao stared at her with a troubled expression.

"You can eat later, please turn around first, okay?" she pleaded softly, she was really starving after a long day.

Helpless, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to turn his back. Mo Yan secretly lifted a small corner of her mask and, not caring whether it was too hot to eat, wolfed down several glutinous rice balls.

"...Okay...Alright."

Behind the mask, she swallowed the glutinous rice ball with difficulty. Zhan Zhao turned around and saw that her bowl was empty. He gasped and exclaimed incredulously, "So fast!"

"Hmm...I eat...always fast!"

Chapter Thirty-One

"What kind of filling is this glutinous rice ball?" he asked.

"..." She paused, then asked, "Does it have filling? Is it sesame or red bean paste?"

Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly, but he was at a loss for what to do with her, so he could only ask, "Is this enough? Shall we order another bowl?"

"No, no, no, I'm full, really!" Mo Yan quickly said. If she swallowed another scalding hot glutinous rice ball, she probably wouldn't be able to eat for the rest of the month.

Zhan Zhao sighed helplessly, lowered his head, and slowly ate his own bowl. Mo Yan watched him enviously from the side and asked, "Is it good? What kind of filling is it?"

"Sesame."

"No wonder, it smells so good to me." She hadn't tasted any of the glutinous rice balls she had just swallowed, but seeing Zhan Zhao eating them so deliciously, she couldn't help but swallow hard behind her mask.

"..."

It was a painful thing to be stared at while eating with such longing. Even Zhan Zhao felt uncomfortable. He quickly finished his bowl, paid the bill, and then got up.

Mo Yan refused to move again, pulling him along and saying, "When the two of us are together, I'm the only one wearing a mask, and everyone is staring at me. It's not fun at all."

Knowing that nothing good was coming next, Zhan Zhao waited silently for her to continue.

Sure enough, she said with a grin, "Brother Zhan, why don't you go buy one and take it with you?"

"My face isn't swollen," Zhan Zhao said slowly.

“You’ll look great in a mask!” she enthusiastically urged him. “I’ve never seen you wearing a mask before!”

Glancing at the mask on her face, Zhan Zhao couldn't understand where she got the idea that "wearing a mask must look good".

"With a mask on, you can't even see your face, so what's the point of talking about whether you're good-looking or not?"

"Don't worry, even if I can't see your face, I'll still recognize you," she said confidently. "In my heart, you are naturally the most beautiful."

Although her voice wasn't loud, it still made several people eating tangyuan nearby turn to look at Zhan Zhao, who quickly pulled her out.

On the railing of a restaurant by Jinming Pond, Ning Jin leaned listlessly. He was in a very good vantage point, and looking at the crowds below, he felt increasingly bored. Wu Zichu was by his side. He had specially returned before the Lantern Festival, afraid that Ning Jin would get sick from boredom, and had kindly dragged him to see the lanterns.

Even though the area below was ablaze with lights, filled with a lively and joyous atmosphere of acrobatics, shadow puppetry, and other entertainment, it did nothing to affect Ning Jin. He simply sipped his wine idly, and after a long while, he said, "If it were to snow lightly now, this wine would surely taste even better."

Although this matter was small, it was far beyond Wu Zichu's capabilities, so he could only glance at the night sky with deep sorrow. The stars were shining brightly, and it seemed unlikely that he could fulfill his master's wish. Wu Zichu lowered his head helplessly, when he suddenly caught sight of two people walking side by side on the street.

These two people stood out because they were both wearing masks.