Chapter 12: Wontons

“What… what are you doing?” Shi Yuning’s cheeks were pinched, leaving her words slurred and indistinct.

She brushed Xie Zhaoran’s hand away and was about to pick up where they had left off when a clear rumble echoed from her stomach.

Shi Yuning froze in embarrassment. She couldn’t really be blamed for it—she’d been in a foul mood all day and hadn’t eaten much. Between flipping over walls, scrambling across rooftops, and fleeing for her life that evening, she’d burned through a lot of energy. It was only natural that she was starving now.

Even so, her stomach choosing this moment to growl was mortifying.

Shi Yuning’s face flushed red as she pretended not to hear the persistent ‘gurgle-gurgle’ coming from her belly after that first betraying rumble. Gritting her teeth, she pressed on with her question to Xie Zhaoran. “What do you plan to do about Prince Yu?”

‘Grrrrowl—’ Her stomach, getting no attention, grumbled even louder, like a sulky child throwing a tantrum.

This time, Shi Yuning couldn’t ignore it. She glared down at her noisy midsection in annoyance, too mortified to meet Xie Zhaoran’s eyes.

Naturally, she missed the amusement sparkling in Xie Zhaoran’s gaze.

The hand Xie Zhaoran had tucked behind her back crooked its pinky finger slightly.

“There’s actually something very important right now that needs your help, Miss Shi.”

Shi Yuning’s head snapped up at once, her cheeks still rosy but her eyes burning with resolve. “Just tell me what it is. Don’t worry—I’d even storm the palace and accuse Prince Yu to His Majesty’s face if you asked!”

Xie Zhaoran nodded, composing her expression into something more serious. “That can wait for now. There’s something even more pressing.”

“What?” Shi Yuning blinked in confusion. Was there anything more urgent than dealing with that little bastard Prince Yu?

“I’m hungry,” Xie Zhaoran said, fighting back a smile with impressive solemnity. “Do you know anywhere nearby still open that serves food, Miss Shi?”

She looked so earnest that Shi Yuning almost doubted it had been her own stomach growling earlier.

“You’re hungry too?” Shi Yuning tilted her head, surprised at the coincidence.

Xie Zhaoran nodded. “Starving, actually. So hungry I can barely think straight.”

Shi Yuning knew the feeling all too well—her mind always turned to mush when she was famished.

She glanced around, recognition dawning on her face. With a small smile, she said, “Follow me. I know this area like the back of my hand.”

Shi Yuning led Xie Zhaoran down a narrow alley and around a corner, where a modest nighttime food stall came into view, steam rising invitingly from its pots.

“Grab a seat anywhere. I’ll check with the owner if there’s anything left.”

Shi Yuning grinned as she approached the steaming wonton stall. These roadside carts were simple affairs: a pushcart with a stove, a few stools and tables, and that was that.

The owner stood watch over his basic charcoal brazier, the iron pot on top hissing as the lid rattled from time to time. Clouds of white steam billowed upward, gilded with a cozy glow by the dim yellow lantern light.

Spotting a familiar face, the owner greeted her warmly. “Miss Shi! It’s been a while. The usual—one bowl of wontons with two slices of bean curd?”

Shi Yuning nodded with a smile. “Yes, please. But I’ve brought a friend tonight—make that two bowls of wontons and five slices of bean curd.”

“You got it. Take a seat, and I’ll bring them over when they’re ready.”

Shi Yuning turned to find Xie Zhaoran but paused, glancing back. “Oh, and owner—my friend doesn’t eat green onions. Hold them on one of the bowls.”

“Got it. Go sit—I’ll have it out in a flash.”

The owner hummed cheerfully as he scooped wontons into the pot, swiftly adding seasonings to the bowls. He sprinkled a generous handful of vibrant green onions into one and left the other plain.

Shi Yuning saw that Xie Zhaoran had chosen a table on the edge and hurried over, sliding into the seat to her right.

“You come here often?” Xie Zhaoran asked as soon as she sat, noting how familiar Shi Yuning seemed with the place and the owner.

These night stalls rarely operated during the day, after all. How did Shi Yuning know it so well?

Shi Yuning didn’t hide anything. “All the time, heh. Nights get boring with nothing to do, so if I get hungry, I wander out for a bite.”

What she didn’t mention was that she’d sampled nearly every eatery in the Imperial Capital—which explained why she could never save any money.

Xie Zhaoran’s brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing more.

She had indeed underestimated Shi Yuning’s carefree spirit.

Xie Zhaoran’s gaze drifted past her to the wonton stall. A simple coal stove held a bubbling pot, steam puffing out in the night air like a beacon of warmth amid the darkness. No wonder Shi Yuning loved it here—the scene felt like its own little haven.

“What are you looking at? You still haven’t told me your plan for Prince Yu.”

Once they were settled, Shi Yuning hadn’t forgotten the thorn in her side.

Those vile words she’d overheard that night still made her blood boil. She wanted to stuff something foul into Prince Yu’s rotten mouth every time she recalled them.

“How do you want to handle him?” Xie Zhaoran countered.

Shi Yuning’s gaze darkened, her brows knitting together. “Bring him to justice, of course!”

“Not enough evidence.” Xie Zhaoran didn’t dismiss the idea outright, just laid out the facts.

Shi Yuning frowned, puzzled. “How not? I’m a witness, and you heard it all too. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s not.” Xie Zhaoran wasn’t trying to discourage her—it truly wasn’t.

She explained patiently, “It’s not just insufficient; it could backfire on us.”

Seeing Shi Yuning’s confusion, Xie Zhaoran cut to the chase.

“Leaving aside whether His Majesty would even believe us, we’d first have to explain how we learned of it. If we admit to sneaking into Prince Yu’s Mansion at night to eavesdrop, we’ll be thrown in jail long before he faces any punishment.”

Shi Yuning opened her mouth, then closed it again, at a loss for words.

She pursed her lips, mulling it over. That was a real problem!

“So we just let it go?” The thought made Shi Yuning want to knock herself out cold and pretend it had all been a dream. Otherwise, she’d seethe every time it crossed her mind.

“And why aren’t you mad at all?” Shi Yuning suddenly noticed. Xie Zhaoran hadn’t shown a flicker of anger since they’d perched on the roof of Prince Yu’s Mansion.

Xie Zhaoran suppressed the urge to pinch Shi Yuning’s puffed-up cheeks again and answered seriously.

“Being angry won’t help.”

Shi Yuning blinked in surprise. “But people get mad when they’re upset. What does that have to do with whether it helps or not?”

Xie Zhaoran smiled faintly. “Then you can be mad for me.”

Shi Yuning: “???”

You could delegate anger?

“Wontons are here. Enjoy, ladies.”

The owner arrived with two steaming bowls and a plate of bean curd slices, interrupting what Shi Yuning had been about to say. He leaned between them to set everything down, exchanged a few friendly words, then bustled off to other customers.

With food in front of them, Xie Zhaoran slid one bowl toward Shi Yuning and claimed the other. “Let’s eat first. We’ll need our strength to stay mad.”

Shi Yuning pouted. If they were dropping it just like that, she’d lost her appetite.

“We’re really letting it go?”

Xie Zhaoran pressed her lips together, then couldn’t resist giving Shi Yuning’s plump cheek a gentle poke. “Of course not. I wouldn’t let you get angry for nothing.”

“Hm?” Shi Yuning perked up immediately. “You have a plan?”

Xie Zhaoran nudged the bowl closer. “Eat first, and I’ll tell you after.”

She averted her eyes, afraid that if she kept staring, both hands would be tempted.

She wanted to cup those round, rosy cheeks and knead them, gaze into those sparkling eyes—like a feisty little donkey, stubborn and utterly adorable.

Instead, she focused on her bowl and reached for the spoon. But a hand suddenly pinned hers in place.

Xie Zhaoran looked up in surprise. What was this? Was the little donkey refusing to eat—and preventing her from eating too?

“You grabbed the wrong one. That bowl’s mine.”

Xie Zhaoran glanced down. The bowls were identical, unmarked. How had she mixed them up?

“This one with the onions is mine,” Shi Yuning said, pointing to the bowl in Xie Zhaoran’s hand, then to the one in front of herself. “That one without is yours.”

Xie Zhaoran peered at the table: one bowl garnished with fresh green onions, the other plain.

Shi Yuning eyed her silence, wondering if she’d gotten it backward.

“Don’t you hate onions?”

“How did you know?”

“Qiangdi mentioned it.”

“You remembered that?”

Shi Yuning arched a brow at Xie Zhaoran’s surprise. It wasn’t complicated—how could she forget?

She swapped the bowls with a brisk motion. “Eat up before it gets cold.”

With that, Shi Yuning dove in, slurping a spoonful of soupy wontons. The warmth slid down her throat and bloomed in her chest.

Bliss. She was ravenous. Forgetting their conversation, she ate with relish, spoonful after spoonful.

After polishing off most of the bowl, she finally felt human again.

That was when she noticed Xie Zhaoran idly stirring her wontons, spoon in hand but not eating—her eyes fixed on Shi Yuning the whole time.

“What’s wrong? Why are you staring? Eat already.”

Xie Zhaoran let out a soft chuckle, her smile somehow laced with a sweet, indulgent warmth.

“Mm, it was a bit hot just now.”

Even knowing Shi Yuning had simply remembered, Xie Zhaoran’s heart still fluttered with a pleasant warmth.

As Xie Zhaoran began to eat at last, Shi Yuning beamed. “See? Told you. Aren’t these wontons amazing?”

“Mm, delicious.”

Shi Yuning glowed with pride, her taste vindicated. She watched Xie Zhaoran eat, her movements unhurried yet graceful. The rickety table and stools couldn’t diminish her refined air.

The rough porcelain bowl only accentuated the elegant length of her porcelain-pale fingers as they cradled its edge.

A surreal feeling washed over Shi Yuning. A month ago, she never would have believed she’d be sitting at a roadside stall with Xie Zhaoran, sharing a bowl of wontons.

With her belly full, her mind worked faster. Tracing the changes, it all seemed to stem from Prince Yu.

It started at the Hunting Grounds when he’d deliberately shot her sachet, and Xie Zhaoran had shot it right back.

Then the hunt, the assassination attempt—whose culprit she now knew was Prince Yu.

Because of that, she’d visited the Eastern Palace, learned to ride and shoot, leading to tonight’s escapade at Prince Yu’s Mansion.

Shi Yuning’s eyes widened. So Xie Zhaoran’s sudden closeness… was all because of Prince Yu?

“What’s with that look?”

Shi Yuning eyed her thoughtfully. “A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed anyone who said we’d be sitting here eating wontons together.”

Catching the implication, Xie Zhaoran arched a brow and set down her spoon, gazing at her expectantly.

“You used to dislike me so much. Why the sudden change?”

Xie Zhaoran’s spoon clattered into her bowl. “When did I ever dislike you?”

Shi Yuning found that odd. “When did you ever like me?”

Xie Zhaoran straightened, her expression earnest. “What gave you that misconception?”

The two stared at each other, mutual bewilderment in their eyes.