VFGRC Chapter 33

TL: Moonlit

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After Xing Xing finished speaking, he immediately extended his little hand and covered his own mouth.

He tried to lift his small head and looked at the auntie selling fried chicken strips. His round ink-like eyes blinked.

Did she… Did she not hear the sound of him secretly swallowing saliva?

The adorable child with chubby cheeks, Xing Xing, naturally went unnoticed by the auntie, Wang Mei, who was selling fried chicken strips.

She recognized Xing Xing as the son of the owner of the teppanyaki stall in Sanjiaokou.

Normally, Wang Mei’s fried chicken strip stall and Yu Bai’s teppanyaki stall were quite far apart. By the time Yu Bai closed his stall, Wang Mei had already packed up and left. Besides, Wang Mei’s snack stall was usually quite busy, and she had no time to pay attention to others.

So Wang Mei hadn’t seen Xing Xing up close much, only catching a glimpse of him from afar a few times.

In her memory, Wang Mei only remembered that the child was quite cute and seemed to be liked by many customers near the teppanyaki stall. She had heard from the nearby snack stall owners before that Yu Dong, who sold sugar-coated haws, would often give this child free sugar-coated haws.

When the other snack stall owners mentioned this, they had a slightly mocking expressions on their faces.

A sugar-coated haw didn’t cost much, but Yu Dong kept giving them to Xing Xing. The other snack stall owners thought that Yu Dong was just a fool.

After all, no matter how many sugar-coated haws he gave, the child didn’t belong to him. Even if the child was cute, what benefit could it bring to Yu Dong? None!

At first, Wang Mei had the same thoughts as the other snack stall owners.

But today…

The adorable child with the lovely emblem looked like a fluffy ball of cotton, and his chubby and elastic cheeks would surely bounce back if poked.

When Wang Mei saw her reflection in the child’s eyes, which were as agile as a little deer’s, her heart was about to melt.

As long as Xing Xing spoke, Wang Mei couldn’t help but want to make every flavor of fried chicken strips and give them to Xing Xing.

After all, chubby children are cute when they eat well!

Wang Mei’s lips curved upwards, and her smile deepened the wrinkles left on her face by the sun and wind. “All three flavors are delicious. If you like, I can give you a small portion of each?”

“All of them are tasty?” Xing Xing widened his eyes, “But I can only eat a small portion. If I eat too much, I won’t be able to eat dinner at night… and if I can’t finish the snacks, it will be wasteful…”

Wang Mei said, “You can buy a small portion. I can divide it into three smaller portions for you, with three different flavors. How about that?”

Yes! This way, he could taste different flavors!

Xing Xing’s eyes sparkled. “Great!”

Seeing Xing Xing agreeing, Wang Mei bent down and took out a raw chicken strip, pouring it into the hot oil.

“Made to order, you’ll need to wait a bit,” Wang Mei said.

Xing Xing replied, “That’s fine, I’m not in a hurry!”

As the raw chicken strips touched the oil in the frying pan, it made a crackling sound. When the color of the chicken changed from white, coated with flour, to light yellow, and then to golden yellow, the aroma of the fried food wafted in the air.

Xing Xing’s little feet tried to support his round body. However, no matter how high he stood on his tiptoes and stretched his neck, he couldn’t see the tempting scene of the chicken strips coming out of the pot. He could only try to sniff the aroma of the fried chicken through the air, leaning over the snack cart.

Such a scene made Xing Xing look pitiful yet adorable.

As Xing Xing’s father, Yu Bai, who was pushing the snack cart on the side of the street, couldn’t help but laugh softly, drawing the attention of several passersby.

Yu Bai coughed lightly, took out his phone, and was about to secretly take a few pictures of Xing Xing when he noticed that he had received several new messages on WeChat, all from Ji Rongyu.

Yu Bai didn’t pay much attention. Since he added Ji Rongyu as a friend, Ji Rongyu would occasionally send him some messages, which were just ordinary daily chat content.

Yu Bai opened the camera and aimed it at Xing Xing, taking several “black history” photos of Xing Xing in succession. After transferring them to the album named “Xing Xing” on his phone, he looked satisfied and put his phone away.

Yu Bai quietly approached Xing Xing.

Seeing Xing Xing’s back, he looked like a little puppy waiting for its owner to feed it. Xing Xing wriggled his chubby little body, appearing so impatient as if there was an invisible tail wagging behind him.

Xing Xing thought.

What did the freshly fried chicken strips look like? Were they all golden like in the pictures? But with the table blocking his view, he couldn’t see a single chicken strip!

If only Dad was here. Dad could lift him up, and he could see the fragrant chicken strips!

As Xing Xing was thinking, he turned to the direction where Yu Bai had stood before.

Xing Xing widened his eyes.

He only saw Dad’s snack cart, but Dad was gone!

Didn’t Dad say he would be waiting there for him to buy fried chicken strips? But Dad was gone. Where did Dad go?!

Before Xing Xing could think too much, the next second, a pair of big hands held him from below.

Xing Xing was suddenly “lifted” up.

Who was the person behind him?

Xing Xing’s little face was nervous. “Who are you?”

Xing Xing had a short and thick neck, and his down jacket was too thick, so he couldn’t turn his head to see who was behind him.

Xing Xing frantically waved his chubby arms and kicked his short legs.

Dad told him that some bad guys would intentionally steal children and sell them… Could he have encountered a bad guy?!

No, no! Xing Xing must find a way to escape from the bad guy’s clutches!

Before Xing Xing could raise his little fist and hammer the hand holding him, the familiar voice came from behind.

“I’ll help hold you.” Yu Bai’s voice carried a slight smile, “You want to see how the fried chicken strips are made, right?”

It turned out that the person holding him was Dad!

Xing Xing’s tense little body immediately relaxed, and his serious little face softened.

Just as Xing Xing let out a sigh of relief, he seemed to think of something again, and his small face turned serious once more.

Dad approached him from behind without making any noise; he must be trying to tease him!

He even heard Dad’s voice sound like he was laughing!

Thinking about how nervous he had been a moment ago, his little heart pounding…

Xing Xing pouted his rosy lips, crossed his non-existent waist with both small hands, and his back exuded displeasure.

Yu Bai couldn’t help but smile helplessly.

It seemed like he had teased his little child a bit too much.

After Grandma Yu passed away, Yu Bai had been raising Xing Xing on his own for only two years. Although the current Yu Bai didn’t make the mistakes that new fathers often made, raising a child was still a challenging and ongoing process.

Even his good-tempered child would occasionally get upset with him.

“What’s wrong? Are you angry?” Yu Bai asked, leaning close to Xing Xing’s small face.

Xing Xing’s mouth puckered even higher, and he turned his head away, looking very unhappy.

Yu Bai said, “Hmm?”

Xing Xing replied, “I’m not upset at all. Hmph.”

The last “hmph” with a hint of childishness disappeared in an instant, but Yu Bai still heard it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have suddenly lifted you up…” Yu Bai gently touched Xing Xing’s soft and tender face, “Next time I come over, I’ll make sure to greet you first. Xing Xing, don’t be angry.”

Xing Xing remained silent, but his watery round eyes showed signs of softening.

Yu Bai continued, “Xing Xing, by lifting you up, you can now see how the fried chicken strips are made, right?”

Xing Xing slightly nodded his head.

Yu Bai said, “If you find the fried chicken strips delicious after trying them, how about I bring you to buy them again tomorrow?”

The clever Xing Xing quickly grasped the keywords in Yu Bai’s statement.

“Dad, you’ll bring me to buy them tomorrow? Can I come out tomorrow and set up a stall with you?”

“You can set up a stall, but it has to be like usual. After taking a nap at home, I’ll have Uncle Rongyu bring you here to find me.”

“Then… then it’s a deal, we can’t deceive each other!”

As Xing Xing spoke, he raised his right hand again.

He closed four fingers of his right hand, leaving only the short and thick little finger extended, resembling a small carrot.

Yu Bai was puzzled. What was Xing Xing trying to do?

Xing Xing looked serious and said, “We’re going to pinky promise!”

 

Author’s note:

Xing Xing: I’m not an easily fooled child, you know!

Xing Xing: My fighting power is super strong too! I know the Fatal Child Fist, the Cyclone Kick, and the Dial-One-Emergency technique! Bad guys can’t catch me; I’m super awesome!

PS: The second update will be in the evening~ I’ll post after finishing the evening update~