She Lost Memory Before the Divorce
Chapter 246 - Chapter 246 Chapter 0246 This Damned Heartthrob (2)

Chapter 246: Chapter 0246 This Damned Heartthrob (2) Chapter 246: Chapter 0246 This Damned Heartthrob (2) Mu Lan wrote quite a few menu items–skewered meat, vegetables, and even staple food–Northeast cold noodles. Finally, she ordered a fresh squeezed juice before concluding.

Huo Tingxiao watched as she wrote an entire paragraph. It seemed she was really hungry.

During the wait for their meal, Mu Lan touched her pocket, then showed an annoyed expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Huo Tingxiao knew she wasn’t telling him the truth, and he felt a twinge of disappointment, but he hid it extremely well.

He looked down and asked casually,

“Do you come to this restaurant often?”

Mu Lan remembered the college days she spent with Gu Xiaoman. Back at school, her life was rather comfortable. She didn’t have to face the harsh criticism from the Huo Family, nor did she have to watch her mother-in-law’s face, and she could temporarily forget his indifference.

She was a regular customer at many of the stores around, so when Huo Tingxiao mentioned going out for a late-night snack, this place came to her mind instinctively.

“Yes, I always come here with Gu Xiaoman.

The place was a bit smaller before; they renovated in the last two years. It looks like business is quite good.”

Huo Tingxiao could tell that she cherished those past times.

“I heard the owner’s accent just now–she must be from the Northeast, and she seems pretty familiar with you.”

Mentioning the owner made Mu Lan smile uncontrollably.

“Yes, she always asks when Gu Xiaoman and I will bring our boyfriends because it’s always just the two of us. The owner often wants to set us up with someone.”

Hearing this, Huo Tingxiao felt a bit jealous, but considering they were such girls, it was normal for others to take an interest in them.

“Then what happened?”

Mu Lan’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she recalled past incidents. Perhaps it was the strong local atmosphere here that made her feel relaxed, not needing to be as tense as usual.

“Gu Xiaoman told the owner we both were already taken. Actually, Gu Xiaoman was still single at the time, but she was focused on her studies and didn’t want to date.”

Oh, and a bit of awareness as a married woman, Huo Tingxiao secretly curled the corners of his lips.

“I didn’t expect her to be so motivated and studious. What about you? What were you like in college?”

The night breeze was so comforting that Mu Lan actually began sharing her college experiences with Huo Tingxiao.

“Nothing special, just studied according to schedule and participated in club activities.”

Huo Tingxiao looked at her, a bitter feeling arose in his heart. Back then, he was just setting up his own business, personally taking care of everything, and they rarely had any chance to meet, let alone to know about her college life.

At first, she would enthusiastically share bits and pieces, but then, she seldom talked about her own matters.

He had missed too much; every time he thought about it, his heart ached.

The waiter brought over heaps of skewers and a complimentary plate of marinated soybeans.

Mu Lan first picked up a skewer of silkworm pupae. Huo Tingxiao watched her with an uncertain look in his eyes, clearly surprised she dared to eat such insects.

But then, given her fearless personality, eating silkworm pupae was no big deal.

“You…”

Mu Lan seemed to have discovered something new. Oh, he’s scared of these, she realized.

“Would you like to try it? It’s quite flavorful.”

As she spoke, she brought the skewer close to Huo Tingxiao, who recoiled quickly as if on a spring.

“No… no need, I’ll eat something else.”

He picked up a skewer of meat, savory and tender beef, indeed delicious.

“What’s this?”

“Soy sauce tendon.”

“It does have a soy sauce flavor, very tasty.”

Mu Lan had never imagined that one day she and Huo Tingxiao would sit on the open terrace of a barbecue joint, and he seemed not to disdain it at all.

She recalled that he could only eat in luxurious restaurants. That he could also enjoy this kind of roadside diner, and even seem happy about it, was unexpected.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Huo Tingxiao felt her gaze was filled with novelty, as if he had done something incredibly shocking.

“It’s nothing, I just didn’t think you would adapt to this kind of small stall. Gu Xiaoman even told me that when I had amnesia, we went to a gourmet food street and wandered through supermarkets. I didn’t quite believe her… but now, I sort of do.”

Mu Lan spoke frankly, yet Huo Tingxiao felt there might really be too little understanding between them. Recalling how happy she had looked eating grilled cold noodles, making him smile deeper, he was moved.

“When I was a soldier, I even ate raw beef; during field training, I also ate live earthworms.”

Live… earthworms? Mu Lan involuntarily glanced at the silkworm pupa in her hand and suddenly found it less appetizing.

“Was it that tough?”

Huo Tingxiao smiled.

“So, I tend to keep my distance from bugs, because they remind me of the taste of fresh protein.

And, earthworms taste different in different regions.”

Mu Lan was astonished; weren’t earthworms just earthworms? What difference could there be?

“Are you serious?”

Huo Tingxiao nodded and began to explain earnestly.

“Yes, southern earthworms are relatively thicker and meatier, while northern earthworms are thinner but resilient in the mouth, they keep thrashing against your teeth.”

After his description, Mu Lan felt goosebumps arising all over her body.

The imagery… was just liked wearing VR glasses.

“Was your military training especially hard?”

Seeing curiosity mixed with empathy in her eyes, Huo Tingxiao continued to reminisce:

“It was alright, there were many types of shooting drills–slow fire with the left hand, rapid motion shooting, live-target reporting, rapid pistol firing, and sprinting a hundred meters carrying fifty kilograms of logs…”

Mu Lan was dumbfounded. With such intense training, was it really just ‘alright’?

“I had no idea the military was so tough.”

Huo Tingxiao didn’t mind; without that experience in the military, he wouldn’t have developed his current resilience.

“Our brigade took on many missions; compared to those missions, this training was nothing.”

Mu Lan suddenly remembered Pei Zhao; Huo Tingxiao had told her that Pei Zhao lost his legs while saving him. How dire must that moment have been.

Looking up and watching Mu Lan quietly eating her grilled skewers and non-stop flicking her hair, Huo Tingxiao suddenly stood and ran across the street to the convenience store.

Soon a customer holding a cellphone approached the lone Mu Lan.

“Excuse me, miss…”

Mu Lan looked at the sweet-smiling boy in front of her, who appeared younger than herself.

No way, he came over to flirt and ask for WeChat?

“May I help you with something?”

The boy looked at her somewhat shyly, his face a bit flushed, she couldn’t tell if it was from drinking or just embarrassment.

His attractive peach-blossom eyes sparkled; she had never been flirted with by such a boy asking for WeChat before.

“I… I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

Mu Lan found the boy a bit cute, but… she really didn’t want to respond to a young boy’s flirtations.

Just as she was about to decline, unexpectedly the other…