Peerless Martial Expert in the City
Chapter 323 - 326 Conversation

Chapter 323: Chapter 326 Conversation

"Yeah, just wanted to come by and take a look, ha-ha. It seems like you’re doing quite well for yourself, business is pretty good, huh?"

Xiao Yi smiled and followed her direction, walking into the shop. His gaze began to survey the premises. The shop wasn’t very big, only a bit more than ten square meters, but she had arranged everything compactly. There were over ten chairs that could seat around fifteen to twenty people. Moreover, the place was spotless.

When Xiao Yi entered, there were a few female factory workers who seemed to be stopping by on their way to work, sitting at tables eating. Hearing Li Ling’s words, they all looked up curiously at Xiao Yi before returning to their meals.

"Ha-ha, hardly. I’m not too good at this yet, just getting started. Ha-ha, by the way, do you have any suggestions, anything I need to correct?"

With Xiao Yi’s words of praise, a hint of shy pride appeared in Li Ling’s eyes. She politely responded and then modestly asked Xiao Yi, who was looking around observantly.

"Ha-ha, no, you’re doing very well already."

Seeing Li Ling’s earnest expression, Xiao Yi quickly smiled and waved his hand, saying that his comment wasn’t just to placate her, but truly how he felt. He himself wasn’t very savvy when it came to business. After coming in, he had only the basic common sense and a bit of knowledge he’d gathered from reading various books, which was all rather superficial. If he had to choose a location for a shop himself, he wasn’t confident he could pick one as good as this.

In addition, now that he was inside the shop, he felt comfortable with everything from the arrangement of the tables and chairs to the clean floors and simple decor. It made him want to sit down and grab a bite to eat.

"Not at all, you’re too kind, ha-ha. Oh, what would you like to eat? Shall I grill some chicken wings for you?"

Li Ling smiled modestly, and although she wasn’t sure if Xiao Yi genuinely thought highly of her shop, or if he was just being polite without wanting to give any real feedback, she decided not to press further. She didn’t want to embarrass him or seem like she was showing off, so she swiftly changed the subject and offered to cook for Xiao Yi with a smile.

"Sure, ha-ha."

Xiao Yi smiled and didn’t stand on ceremony.

"Just a moment, okay?"

After Xiao Yi’s agreement, Li Ling chuckled and said something as she stood up and headed over to the grill to start getting busy.

Watching Li Ling bustling about by the grill, the smile on Xiao Yi’s lips gradually faded, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. He pondered how to broach the subject he wanted to discuss with Li Ling.

Since she was prepared, it didn’t take Li Ling long to return with a plate of five or six skewers of delicious-looking, aromatic chicken wings. She walked back to Xiao Yi with a smile and placed them in front of him, saying, "Here you go, Xiao Yi. Start with these, and if it’s not enough, I’ll grill some more later."

"That’s plenty, plenty, ha-ha."

Xiao Yi quickly gestured and, looking at the full plate of grilled chicken wings, couldn’t help smiling, "It seems your cooking skills have improved again. I’m in for a treat today."

"Where’s there room for improvement? It’s just that seeing you come by today made me happy, maybe I just outdid myself a bit, ha-ha."

Li Ling showed a humble smile and politely laughed.

"Your speaking skills have improved too, and you’ve gotten better at conversation!"

Xiao Yi laughed, glanced at the shop entrance to see there were no new customers coming in, and then pointed to the chair opposite him, "Li Ling, are you free right now? Could we sit down and talk for a bit?"

"You’ve come today for a reason, haven’t you, Xiao Yi, ha-ha."

Li Ling glanced briefly towards the shop entrance, then sat down opposite Xiao Yi. Her smile faded a little as she spoke.

"Yeah, actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for quite some time, but I just couldn’t find the right opportunity, so it’s been delayed until today, ha-ha."

Xiao Yi nodded, gently rotating the cup in his hands, and slowly organized his thoughts.

"Ha-ha."

Li Ling gave a laugh but didn’t say anything, just quietly waited for him to continue.

"Li Ling, have Tang Feng’s parents been looking for you?"

After thinking things over, Xiao Yi decided to get straight to the point when he saw the expression on Li Ling’s face across from him. Instead of using ’Fatty Tang’, Xiao Yi referred to him formally as Tang Feng in Li Ling’s presence.

"Mm."

Li Ling nodded slowly, pain flashing in her eyes.

"Li Ling, originally, this matter was something between you and Tang Feng, but Tang Feng is my friend. I have very few friends, and in Z University, he’s my only friend, so his affairs are very important to me."

Having received a definite answer, Xiao Yi’s expression became serious, and he looked at Li Ling with utmost sincerity, "So, I hope you can understand this, and don’t mind my meddling."

"Of course not, Tang Feng is lucky to have a friend like you."

Li Ling looked at the solemn expression on Xiao Yi’s face, showed a trace of surprise, nodded, and sincerely said.

"Li Ling, can you tell me the truth about your feelings for Tang Feng? What are they really like?"

Xiao Yi’s gaze fixed on Li Ling, he asked earnestly.

"He... He’s a really good boy, very sincere, down-to-earth, very smart..."

After meeting Xiao Yi’s intense gaze for a while, Li Ling’s eyes quickly faltered and she looked away, her hands gently turning the water cup in her hands.

"Do you like him?"

Listening to Li Ling list Tang Feng’s qualities, Xiao Yi suddenly interrupted her and asked directly.

"I... I’m not worthy of him."

Li Ling’s body stiffened suddenly, the veins on the back of her hand standing out, and after a while, she looked up at Xiao Yi with some surprise and sadness, and said slowly.

"Not worthy? So, you do like him, right?"

Xiao Yi pressed on with urgency in his voice, staring intently at Li Ling.

Li Ling’s body trembled, her complexion turned pale, she bowed her head timidly, her lips tightly pressed, holding her water cup in silence.

"Although you haven’t answered, your expression has already told me the answer. But, Li Ling, please don’t mind my bluntness, my intrusion, and rudeness, I want to ask, do you really like Tang Feng? What about him do you like?"

Xiao Yi nodded slowly and continued, "While I am Tang Feng’s friend and you have listed many of his merits, which makes me happy for him, there are some unchangeable facts, like, Tang Feng isn’t handsome, and his physique isn’t great, not fitting into mainstream aesthetics, and there are many other shortcomings like these... Do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Xiao Yi, do you also think that what I like about him is just his money? His family background?"

Li Ling suddenly looked up, her expression trying to control her anger and excitement.

"It’s the most logical way to think, without a better reason that I can accept, please forgive me for suspecting better motives."

Seeing the expression on Li Ling’s face and feeling the sense of injustice and anger in her heart, Xiao Yi’s eyes contained some guilt as he continued, "Li Ling, Tang Feng is a person who values relationships deeply. Even though he’s tall and strong, in reality, his heart is very fragile. He’s easily hurt, and as Tang Feng’s friend, I really don’t want him to be hurt in the future. Your financial situation might not look great now, but your other qualities are undoubtedly exceptional. Over time, perhaps, with your capabilities, your financial status might even surpass Tang Feng’s. What then? He’s deep in love now, not worrying about these things, but as his friend, I can’t help but worry more on his behalf. I hope you can understand."

"He’s very lucky to have you as a friend."

Listening to Xiao Yi, Li Ling’s emotions gradually calmed down. After being silent for a while, she slowly looked up at Xiao Yi, sighed softly, and repeated the sentiment she had expressed earlier.

Xiao Yi didn’t respond, just quietly watched her, waiting for what she would say next.

"You’re right, at first, I really didn’t like him, he wasn’t my type, to be honest, I didn’t even remember having such a classmate. That time, even though you helped me, I was just grateful, but it wasn’t enough to develop feelings for him. Later, he kept seeking me out, I obliged him out of gratitude, not wanting to reject him outright, just... I don’t know when it started, but I realized that he began to occupy my thoughts, and I started to see more and more of his good qualities... Gradually, I found that his looks that I wasn’t fond of at first started to seem better gradually, not ugly or awkward, but natural... Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Li Ling’s gaze seemed to drift into a fond reverie as she spoke, her voice becoming somewhat dreamy. It took a moment for her to snap out of it, then she looked coldly at Xiao Yi and added, "In fact, before his parents came, he never mentioned his background, and I never knew what kind of family he had. If you insist on knowing what I like about him, I think, it must be his sincerity. Honestly, over the years, there were many guys who liked me, and even now, I’m not short of suitors, but I’ve never met anyone as genuine as him."

——————————————————————(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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