203 The Gourmet and the Musician
The next morning, Wang Heng walked out of the school gate and saw Pei Ningle waiting in the subway station next to it.
The temperature had risen today, so the girl could dress lighter. Under the refreshing ponytail was a light yellow long-sleeved hooded T-shirt and a dark suspender skirt. The zipper at the hem of the skirt was decorated with red and black plaid, very youthful and beautiful. But what attracted the eye more was undoubtedly the slender and straight legs wrapped in black leggings under the skirt.
Compared to Ye Xun and Lu Qi, Pei Ningle’s legs were obviously shorter, so they appeared slightly moe.
Wang Heng couldn’t help but secretly imagine, if these leggings were replaced with white knee-high socks and absolute territory, that would be… the beauty of yesterday reappearing.
Walking up to the girl, he cleared the dirty thoughts from his mind and asked like a gentleman, “Have you decided what you want to eat?”
Pei Ningle raised her small face and smiled. “I’ve decided. We’re going to eat everywhere!”
Wang Heng was a little confused. “What do you mean by eat everywhere?”
“Since it’s hard to make a decision, then don’t decide. Today at noon, we’ll eat different things in different places, the more varieties the better.”
Wang Heng glanced at the girl’s petite abdomen and questioned, “How many things can you eat?”
“Just a little bit each time!” Pei Ningle asked again, “Do you have any suggestions on where exactly to go?”
“Speaking of places where snack shops gather, let me think…” The otaku who had only been in Rongdu for a few months tried hard to think, but could only give a mainstream and cliché answer, “Xichun Road.”
Pei Ningle: “Xichun Road?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, it’s convenient to take the subway there.”
**
As one of the landmarks of Rongdu, Xichun Road was a check-in spot for many tourists from out of town.
So in the subway car, the two had already felt the crowding of the crowd. Wang Heng protected Pei Ningle, helping her stabilize the small space next to the door so she wouldn’t be squeezed down. And after leaving the station, although the crowding around was alleviated, the heads in sight were even more densely packed…
“I can’t see anything!” Pei Ningle couldn’t help but complain.
Oh right, unless this future pop star wore sky-high heels, she couldn’t even see the dense heads. Her view was blocked by the people nearby.
Wang Heng looked at Dianping on his phone and pointed in a certain direction. “There’s a boneless chicken feet shop over there, the reviews seem pretty good. Do you want to try it?”
“Boneless chicken feet?” Pei Ningle instantly perked up. “Is it removing the bones from the chicken feet so you can eat big mouthfuls directly?”
Wang Heng: “Haven’t eaten it, but it should be like that. Shall we go now?”
Pei Ningle: “Is it far from here?”
Wang Heng looked at his phone again. “Should be less than three hundred meters…”
Pei Ningle said decisively, “Let’s go!”
Avoiding the most crowded core area of Xichun Road, the two walked for a while and indeed found that small shop.
The shop selling boneless chicken feet faced a small alley and had no seats for people to sit. More than a dozen customers lined up in a long queue at the door, blocking half of this already somewhat narrow alley.
Wang Heng and Pei Ningle queued for a few minutes, bought two portions, packed in paper bags, and ate with skewers.
The girl couldn’t wait to take a bite, chewed twice, and her bright big eyes became even more radiant.
After swallowing, she couldn’t help but praise, “The texture is great, and the spicy flavor is especially flavorful. Really good!”
Wang Heng chimed in while eating, “Yeah.”
Pei Ningle turned to stare at the paper bag in his hand and asked, “How’s the five-spice flavor?”
Wang Heng: “Not bad…”
Pei Ningle held the skewer, eager to try. “Can I taste it?”
Wang Heng handed the paper bag to her.
The girl poked a small piece, put it in her mouth and bit it, chewed a few times, and nodded. “Five-spice is also good!”
Wang Heng silently finished his portion and saw the girl couldn’t help turning her head to look at the chicken feet shop.
“Do you want to buy another portion?” he asked.
Pei Ningle was silent for a long time, then painfully refused, “No more, save my stomach for other things!”
**
After eating ice jelly, guokui, and bobo chicken, Pei Ningle and Wang Heng came to a milk tea shop on the outskirts of Xichun Road. Eating while walking all the way, they could finally sit down here, drink some beverages, and rest.
Wang Heng took out his phone, scrolled through recent news, and closed the browser somewhat boredly. Looking up, he saw the girl holding a pen and notebook, humming softly while writing and drawing in the notebook.
After writing a few strokes, the hummed melody suddenly got stuck. She looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, chanting something, but no one could hear clearly what she was saying.
Withdrawing her gaze, Pei Ningle observed the pedestrians nearby with great interest… After watching for a while, she lowered her head again and continued writing.
What she’s writing is probably simplified notation again, right?
Wang Heng was secretly guessing when he saw Pei Ningle suddenly raise her head, the corners of her mouth curled up, and her round big eyes full of smiles.
She said happily, “I have inspiration, I have inspiration! Hurry, we need to find a place, a place where I can play the piano!”
Wang Heng searched on his phone and said, “Five hundred meters from here, there is a music store.”
Pei Ningle grabbed his wrist and pulled him up impatiently.
“Then let’s go quickly!”
Wang Heng identified the direction and then led her towards that music store. His pace was fast, so Pei Ningle could only trot to keep up—despite this, the girl had no complaints, nor did she ask him to slow down.
He could see that Pei Ningle had some inspiration again. At times like this, the girl needed to pour out her inspiration by all means as soon as possible, such as finding an instrument to play the melody in her mind, trying to match several different chord progressions, etc… For this, it didn’t matter even if she had to run right after eating.
Soon, Wang Heng found that music store in an old small mall on the outskirts of Xichun Road.
Although it was next to a bustling tourist spot, this mall was a bit deserted. And the music store on the third floor was even more sparsely visited, quite quiet.
Pei Ningle found an ordinary folk guitar inside, tested the sound, tuned it slightly, and began to play.
In her own guitar accompaniment, the girl suddenly sang out:
“I want to let go of every dream from before,
Let go of the impulse to pursue perfection,
Let go of the glamorous vanity,
Hide in a cave alone…”
Listening to the first verse of the lyrics, Wang Heng couldn’t help but be surprised.
Seeing Pei Ningle’s elated look along the way, and considering the tentative title ‘Dawn’, he thought this song would be very cheerful. But at this moment, the girl’s singing style was a bit low and melancholic.
This strange and melodious tune made Wang Heng look forward to it a little.
