Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 337: I Usually Don’t Have Decision-Making Power
The instant noodles weren’t soaked too soft and were still quite elastic when picked up.
Yu Xia had burned her tongue earlier from eating sugar water steamed buns, so she couldn’t eat anything too hot. She picked up the noodles to air for a while before eating them.
Just in time, Xie Qingci next to her fanned the noodles with a piece of cardboard, letting them cool for two or three seconds, making them just right.
They coordinated well, with Xie Qingci fanning with his left hand and picking up noodles with his right, eating smoothly.
The two of them seemed like an ordinary rural family, eating at the doorstep and fanning themselves, exchanging a few words every now and then, which was starkly different from the noisy atmosphere inside.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, Song Xi and Lan Hui came out with cups of plain water and squatted beside them.
The only stool here was occupied by Yu Xia, while Xie Qingci sat directly on the ground.
"I didn’t expect this show to be so miserable," Lan Hui sniffed, looking longingly at their noodles, "They smell so good! Do you have any more instant noodles?"
Yu Xia still had noodles in her mouth and couldn’t raise her head, so she indicated five with her hand and mumbled,
"Five bucks, last pack, can’t go wrong at this price, once this village is passed, there won’t be this shop."
Lan Hui: "..."
Truly a seasoned businesswoman.
She glanced hesitantly at Song Xi, who, with gentlemanly spirit, tried to bargain for the noodles.
"Sister Yu Xia, could it be a bit cheaper? Almost all the money we earned went to completing tasks..."
Yu Xia gestured for a pause, raised her bowl, and asked, "The task was to spend money—where did you spend it all? Didn’t you buy anything to eat?"
Song Xi looked at her seriously, the gold-rimmed glasses reflecting light for a moment on his nose bridge.
"We also took a loan; half of the money we earned went to repaying it, with only a little left which has to last for the next few days, so we didn’t buy any food today."
"Money is made, not saved," she slurped another mouthful of noodles cooled by Xie Qingci, earnestly advising them, "Your mindset still hasn’t changed."
Song Xi made a gesture of eager listening: "Any guidance, Sister Yu Xia?"
"Pay money. Good mentors and friends also cost money."
Song Xi: "..."
Lan Hui continued to gaze eagerly, while Song Xi took a deep breath, glanced at Xie Qingci still fanning diligently, and played the emotional card.
"Sister Yu Xia, we’re sincerely trying to buy the noodles, can’t you lower the price a bit? We are quite familiar after all, right, Xie Qingci?"
Xie Qingci, sitting on the ground eating his noodles silently, somehow still managed to have a noticeable presence when he looked up, displaying a cool, indifferent demeanor that naturally drew attention... despite his words having little authority.
"I usually don’t have decision-making authority."
Yu Xia almost burst out laughing.
They wouldn’t compromise, so Song Xi and Lan Hui whispered some more before ultimately deciding to pay the five dollars for the noodles.
Not seeing them eat was one thing, but after smelling it, they felt they’d regret it for the rest of their lives if they didn’t have a pack. With this mindset, Song Xi took the noodles bought with the hefty sum of five bucks and prepared to get cutlery for Lan Hui.
It was rare for him to be so proactive, leaving Lan Hui feeling touched, and she promised while sitting on the ground, "Let’s split it half and half later, so you can also try it."
Song Xi declined without a reason.
However, Yu Xia noticed him glance at her.
She pretended not to notice, leisurely enjoying her noodles, thinking that Lan Hui seemed cute and sweet, not as delicate as expected.
Much better than Ling Luo from before, who would complain about sitting on the grass during the first two episodes.
"Want more, sister?" came Xie Qingci’s voice from beside her.
Familiar with the routine, she paused before turning her head.
"No, I’m full. Are you full? If not, go check outside for something to eat. Eating too much instant noodles at once isn’t good, which is why I sold the last pack."
Xie Qingci nodded but then shook his head: "No need, you already gave me a lot. Do you not feel like drinking the soup?"
She had been holding her bowl, which only had noodle soup left, idly moving her chopsticks around it without drinking a sip.
Yu Xia nodded and looked around: "I don’t know where to pour this; I’m not used to drinking noodle soup."
In fact, she rarely ate instant noodles, with her last time being when filming in the mountains last year.
Xie Qingci also looked around, not finding anything, then handed her his bowl.
"Pour it for me."
Yu Xia paused, quickly pulling away.
"Pour it for you to drink? What are you thinking? You’re not a garbage disposal. There’s got to be a trash can here; I’ll go ask."
She stood up and headed inside with her bowl, leaving Xie Qingci and Lan Hui, who had been eavesdropping on gossip, facing each other speechlessly.
Lan Hui: What did I just hear? Xie Qingci is truly infatuated!
Yu Xia went into the shelter, found a water container in the corner next to the kettle, and saw that there was already some water inside.
She held her bowl without pouring yet and asked someone nearby, "Can I pour water here?"
The closest person was one of the athlete brothers, a sunny macho type, who paused before nodding: "Should be okay, I saw someone pouring unused water in earlier."
Feeling assured, she emptied the noodle soup and planned to rinse the bowl with some plain water.
Song Xi stood by the kettle, squeezing the flavor pack from the noodles onto the noodle cake.
"Need water?" He asked while sliding a bit to the right to make room.
Yu Xia nodded and switched on the kettle tap, single-handedly holding the bowl under the faucet.
On the table were some compressed cookies; she picked them up, deciding to save a couple just in case.
Just as she picked them up, a person darted in from behind, reaching for the compressed cookies on the table.
"Are there none left, are there none left? Oh, there’s still some!"
It was the other of the athlete brothers, very tall, filling the previously ample space completely, causing Yu Xia to stumble slightly forward as she was squeezed.
Holding the bowl, her hand moved forward with it, and the boiling water inside swayed dangerously close to spilling onto her hand.
Yu Xia’s pupils contracted, contemplating letting go immediately, but hesitated for a second, realizing that letting go might spill water onto Song Xi’s leg, but it was too late.
Song Xi quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled it back, although a splash of water still splattered onto her hand.
"Bang! Clang!"
The bowl hit the table and then fell to the floor, making a loud noise.
Song Xi ignored the light brown splashes on his shoes and quickly asked, "Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?" The athlete also asked.
Yu Xia shook off Song Xi’s hand, glancing towards the door, and the next second saw Xie Qingci rushing in.
Only then did she shake the water off her hand and smile, saying, "I’m fine, I’m fine."
Then, quickly before Xie Qingci could speak, she said, "Where’s the wet wipes? Get them out for me; this oily feeling is weird."
Xie Qingci pursed his lips, pulled out a wet wipe, placed it over her hand, wiped it smoothly, tossed it away, and then pulled out two more to cover it again.
"Need to find some cold water to rinse."
