Chapter 43

“Sweet potato stew, sweet potato stew~”

“What?”

“Sister just took one more breath than me.”

Dou Dou pointed at Yin Xingyue, cheeks puffed out in obvious annoyance.

Yin Xingyue, startled by Dou Dou’s gesture, felt a little embarrassed.

Shen Siyuan, however, looked utterly baffled—he hadn’t expected Dou Dou to argue with her best friend, her beloved sister, over something so trivial.

The specific incident was that Shen Siyuan was too lazy to go downstairs for dinner, so he boiled himself a bowl of instant noodles.

Though instant noodles lacked nutrition, their aroma was irresistible, especially to a child like Dou Dou.

Ghosts couldn’t eat food, but they could absorb qi, so Shen Siyuan let them “eat” first.

He hadn’t anticipated Dou Dou would complain because her sister had taken one extra breath—he was both exasperated and amused.

In the end, Shen Siyuan had no choice but to turn on his computer and play an animated show to distract her.

After Dou Dou’s remark, Yin Xingyue no longer felt comfortable lingering by Shen Siyuan’s side; she went over to watch TV with Dou Dou.

As Shen Siyuan was eating his noodles, he received a text from Jiang Tingyu.

“Back in Haibin?”

Seeing the message, Shen Siyuan couldn’t help smiling.

Her sending this message meant she had hesitated repeatedly and was beginning to lower her own standards.

And she wasn’t really asking whether he’d returned to Haibin—she wanted to know how his blind date went.

But she was too shy to ask directly, so she chose an indirect approach.

Since she didn’t ask, Shen Siyuan chose to play dumb and replied simply: “Just got back.”

“Want to go out for dinner? I’m all alone and bored.”

The moment Shen Siyuan sent his message, Jiang Tingyu replied instantly.

Shen Siyuan took a photo of his instant noodles and sent it.

“You’re eating this? Come out—I’ll treat you to a fancy meal.”

“Nah, I’m almost done.”

“Oh, okay, then maybe next time,” Jiang Tingyu said.

Shen Siyuan sent her an OK emoji.

Seeing his reply, Jiang Tingyu immediately added: “You’re so lucky—you can go home anytime. I can’t even take a train back; I have to fly, and tickets are crazy expensive. I can’t afford it.”

“Distance creates beauty. I go home often, and my parents get tired of me,” Shen Siyuan replied.

“Oh, really? I forgot to ask—how was your blind date? Did you hit it off?” Jiang Tingyu asked, feigning casualness.

Shen Siyuan didn’t want to call her out—was she really forgetting? She reached out to him precisely because she wanted to ask this.

“It was fine.”

Shen Siyuan gave a deliberately vague answer.

"That answer is so dismissive. (pouting face.jpg)"

“Do you think I’m annoying?” Jiang Tingyu followed up.

“No, the person was nice enough, but not right for me—and that’s why my mom scolded me and sent me back,” Shen Siyuan said, no longer playing games.

Jiang Tingyu immediately sent a laughing-out-loud emoji.

Then she pressed: “Was your date pretty?”

She wasn’t really asking whether his date was pretty—she wanted to know if she was prettier than him. Women always liked to compare.

Sure enough, when Shen Siyuan said: “She was quite pretty.”

She immediately asked if she was prettier.

The fact that she asked this meant she had already started caring about Shen Siyuan’s opinion.

So Shen Siyuan replied: “Not as pretty as you.”

When a woman asks you who’s prettier between her and someone else, never say “different styles, each has their own beauty”—just say she’s prettier. That’s the correct answer.

Sure enough, Jiang Tingyu immediately sent a happy-kicking-the-floor emoji.

Then she sent a selfie: she wore a tight wetsuit, her damp hair pinned high, revealing a long neck and narrow, rounded shoulders—like a lotus emerging from water, beautiful and elegant.

“I just got off work.”

As Shen Siyuan zoomed in to examine the photo, she sent another message.

“Working on Sunday?”

“Yeah, weekends are our busiest days. Weekdays are quieter, so we take turns off.”

Shen Siyuan suddenly understood—she worked at an aquarium, where weekends were packed with visitors.

"Did you perform today?" Shen Siyuan asked, pretending not to know.

“Yeah, I invited you, and you didn’t come. (sad face.jpg)”

“Next time for sure.”

“Then next week—I’ll treat you to a fancy meal,” Jiang Tingyu said.

Shen Siyuan thought for a moment and replied: “I should be free next week.”

He said this to leave himself an escape route—if he couldn’t make it, he could claim something came up last minute.

He didn’t refuse outright because they’d only just met; the cost of silence was still low. Repeated refusals would make Jiang Tingyu give up entirely.

But to Jiang Tingyu, this reply meant Shen Siyuan had agreed.

She immediately sent an OK emoji, then added: “Then I’ll wait for you.”

“Mm, go eat. My noodles are getting soggy,” Shen Siyuan ended the conversation.

When chasing a girl, never beg or grovel—especially not one who already likes you. Don’t show too much enthusiasm.

A girl is like a kite in the sky: pull the string too tight, it snaps; pull it too loose, it falls.

Keep it balanced—just enough tension and slack—to keep her curious, to make her want to learn more about you.

Though Dou Dou was watching cartoons, she kept an eye on Shen Siyuan. When she saw him finish his noodles in a few bites, she sighed heavily.

Yin Xingyue, hearing her, asked curiously: “Dou Dou, what’s wrong?”

“Sweet potato stew is so lucky—he ate so many instant noodles at once,” Dou Dou said, full of envy.

Yin Xingyue didn’t understand Dou Dou’s logic—what was there to envy about instant noodles? When she was alive, she ate them constantly, sometimes for all three meals.

“My mom says instant noodles are unhealthy and won’t let me eat them, but they smell so good—how can they be bad?” Dou Dou asked, puzzled.

Yin Xingyue couldn’t help laughing at her.

“Something that smells good isn’t necessarily good—just like someone who looks beautiful isn’t necessarily kind…”

Yin Xingyue’s voice trailed off, because these were lessons from her own experience.

At that moment, Shen Siyuan picked up the bowls and came over. “Stop watching cartoons. Come here.”

Dou Dou rushed to him first, tilting her head up: “Sweet potato stew, are you going to eat more instant noodles?”

“Eat instant noodles? I’m going to teach you something.”

Shen Siyuan glanced at the flickering blue flame above her head and pulled out [Bao Feng Mian].

[Bao Feng Mian] had a calming, centering effect—it should help them.

“Do exactly as I do,” Shen Siyuan said, assuming a posture of embracing heaven and earth.

“Oh, so Sweet Potato Stew wants to play a game with us!”

Dou Dou bounced and spun around happily.

Clearly, she wouldn’t learn [Bao Feng Mian]—she was too restless.