"Woman, are you doubting me? If need be, I can prove it to you." Edward winked naughtily at Daisy, which gave her goosebumps. 'Could he be more mischievous?' she thought.
"I just think your narcissism has reached a new level. Turn left at the next intersection. I'm taking you somewhere you have never been before." Daisy hadn't been there for a long time herself. She wasn't sure whether the food there was as tasty as it had been before she went abroad. She used to come here often with Belinda, because they both loved the sweet cordial ambiance. People kept going there for its delicious food and friendly atmosphere. Many years had passed since then. Daisy was wondering whether the simple old street was still there.
"I'm a qualified narcissist. Don't you think I'm good-looking?" Edward jested as he rounded the corner. They pulled into another lane and started to zoom to the place Daisy referred to. "Hah!, I was just being polite. I should have said you are shameless." Daisy was enjoying the moment. Teasing the man she loved was the greatest pleasure for her. It was all loving, and all for fun.
"Thank you for the compliment, honey. Do you really want to go there?" Edward asked with knitted brows. At first he had no idea what place it was, but as rows of old houses appeared before their eyes, he guessed they were close enough. 'Is the food there edible?' he couldn't help wondering. Edward had heard of the street before, but he had never been there, it's not that he hated poor place but because he had a sensitive stomach, which demanded a high standard of sanitation. To prevent himself from suffering diarrhea, Edward never ate at restaurants of bad hygiene, let alone snack bars on the street. Today, for Daisy, he was willing to give this one a try.
"Yes. Don't look down on these snack bars. Their food is yummy. Better than that in five-star hotels." Daisy said excitedly and sank into nostalgia, longing for the old tastes from when she was younger, unaware of the hesitant expression on Edward's face. Edward didn't say anything but looked at her and smiled indulgently. Nothing mattered as long as she was happy. However, when he parked the car and stood in the old street, his mouth couldn't help but twist. His designer clothes and Daisy's uniform didn't fit the air at all.
"Honey, shall we go to another place?" Edward soon sensed the stares from the people around them. He was on the verge of fleeing. Looking at the utensils which obviously hadn't been sterilized, he felt his stomach turn somersaults already.
"Why? We're already here. Are you worried that you might not like the food? Or maybe this kind of place doesn't match up to your image?" Daisy winced. She thought, born into a wealthy family, Edward wouldn't have eaten in the places that ordinary people loved. So he couldn't drop the sense of superiority and walk into the crowds.
No, I just thought that a handsome man like me will command too much attention from the ladies. I was saying that for your own good." Edward smiled, held her hand and walked into the hustle and bustle of the street. To make Daisy happy, he was ready to take the risk.
"For me? How does it concern me?" Daisy raised her head to look at him and found he was really tall. She was a little more than 170 cm tall but couldn't even reach his shoulder. He must be at least 190 cm tall. That was why any clothes looked good on him.
"Well, later, if a beautiful girl can't help touching me, your husband, won't that be your loss? After all your beloved dearest husband is blemished, " Edward said cheekily, without the trace of a blush. If he said he was the second most shameless person in the world, nobody dared claim to be the most.
"Mr. Edward, as long as you are mine, anybody can touch you freely. It's fine with me." Daisy rolled her eyes at him and glanced around. When she saw one old snack bar, she smiled happily and walked toward it, holding Edward's hand.
Daisy's answer took Edward by surprise. He fell into a little daze. Before he could realize what was happening, he had already been dragged into the snack bar.
"Are we eating here?" Edward's brows knitted tightly. Although it looked clean, it was much worse than the places he usually went to. Unwilling to sit down, he stood there in confusion and gazed at Daisy who had already sat down. Could he tell her he regretted coming here? Actually, he thought that if he hadn't indulged Daisy so much in the first place, he wouldn't have put himself in such an awkward situation.
"Yes, we are. Sit down. Why are you standing? Are you trying to show people how tall you are?" Daisy mocked him, unhappy about the fact that she was much shorter than him. "But what is there to eat here?" Edward gritted his teeth and sat down. Since they were here, he had to put up with whatever was coming up. He would pretend that he was experiencing ordinary people's life.
"Wonton. Before eating anything else, have some wonton to warm up your stomach. Then we can grab all kinds of yummies on this street. This is a great place." Daisy had actually noticed Edward's reluctance. But she chose not to pay attention to it. She thought prominent people needed to blend better into society, to understand what ordinary people were going through. This was the best way to develop empathy. Maybe Edward and his Dad could get along better, with empathy. Presently their relation was strained, which made Daisy feel awkward.
"What's wonton?" Since Edward had grown up abroad, he had neither eaten nor seen it. And he took over FX International Group as soon as he came back home. So he hadn't had the chance to eat this kind of common traditional snack.
"Er ..." Daisy rolled her eyes at him speechlessly. 'Fine, you win, ' she thought. She shouldn't have expected this highborn man to know what wonton was. She was too obsessed with him to see his weaknesses, so she assumed he knew everything. "You will see when they serve it. It is very yummy. I used to come here quite often before I went to military school. Yet I'm not sure whether it tastes still the same after so many years, " Daisy explained. She had thought she knew Edward well. Now it seemed that there were plenty of things that she didn't know about him. She should pay more attention to them.
"Did you come here alone or with friends?" Edward asked. Then he raised his head to look around this small snack bar which covered an area of less than 40 square meters. Since Daisy used to come here, he wanted to know more about it, because in this way there would be more beautiful memories between them.
"Um, normally I came alone, but sometimes I came with Belinda. But she didn't come here much, you know, because of her family background." Speaking of her previous life, Daisy gave a wry smile. Mary prepared the food for her in that house, and Daisy was sure that the ingredients added to her portions would be stomach threatening, if not life threatening. So wonton, which was cheap and yummy, had once been Daisy's staple food. Seeing Daisy was upset by her memories, Edward attempted to comfort her, when, "Here comes your wonton, " an old man said in a sonorous voice. He looked in his sixties, holding a bowl of steaming wonton in both hands. He walked rapidly, confidently. He was uncommonly vigorous, which didn't meet his age.
"Uncle Liam, it's been years since we last met and you are still going strong, " Daisy said to the old man and cheered up immediately. This snack bar used to be her favorite place. She used to spend the whole afternoon reading a novel here to escape from the depressing atmosphere at home.
"Who are you?" Uncle Liam looked at Daisy, who was in uniform, and was confused. Since he didn't know any military officer, Uncle Liam sized Daisy up, thought hard, but still couldn't remember who she was. And the girl's powerful bearing didn't fit anybody in his memory. He was clueless.
"I'm Daisy! Do you remember me?" Daisy had been a frequent customer and had established a close relationship with the people working in the place. She thought Uncle Liam didn't recognize her because of her uniform. She used to be weak, which was in sharp contrast to her current solemn and aloof image.
"What? You are Daisy? It's been so many years I thought you had forgotten us. Why didn't you come and visit us? I don't even recognize you. You've changed a lot." Uncle Liam would never have imagined that delicate little girl he knew would become a high-ranking officer in the military. So anything was possible as long as you worked hard enough. This girl is a perfect example.