Liwei loved to draw and study. Those were the two hobbies he had. He was a model student with straight A marks. He spent his days hanging out with some of his friends with similar hobbies, instead of creating ruckus on the street.
On his spare times, he would tutor students with weak performance and helped teachers with some tasks.
His brain and his hobbies earned him a reputation of being the golden child of the campus. The role model student who was so pure and was idolized by many female students.
His look was decent and he was the teachers' favorite student. The so called 'ideal boyfriend' gradually was labelled on his back.
Shao Yan was lucky because her roommate's brother who was Liwei's roommate. When Liwei courted her, it was the most traditional method ever. He would sent drawings and love letters to her.
Shao Yan smiled bitterly.
Ever since she decided to leave him four years ago, she tried her best not to mourn and not to think of anything from the past anymore.
That's why she burned everything she had gotten from Liwei before she came back. What she couldn't burn, she threw them away. She cut her relationships with all their mutual friends too, and decided to move back to the country. She did not go back to their old city, city B. Instead, she decided to move to a totally new city, city S.
That's why she didn't even have any pictures or anything from the past to put on her desk at her apartment or office. She simply wanted to start a new blank page.
But today's event brought a lot of memories back.
The air and the festivities reminded her of her university days. Her days with Liwei.
.....
!! PLAK PLAK !!
Shao Yan patted her face loudly. Stupid Shao Yan!! Move on! You have a new life now!
She scolded herself, and then took a deep breath. After taking several deep breaths, she decided to leave the area. She didn't want to ruin the happiness that she currently had by visiting the useless past.
Maybe she should go to the night market next door to cheer up her sullen mood. Shao Yan looked at her watch and see that it's almost five, so the market would open soon.
She took out her phone and texted Li Xiqing, telling him of her new plan.
Li Xiqing replied right away that his meeting was almost done, and he would meet her there at the night market.
Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes had been following her ever since she was spotted entering the festival area. And kept following her all day, until she decided to leave for the night market.
…..
Before she left the festival, Shao Yan accidentally saw something interesting.
It was a carving from candle. It was of a couple; a tall man with black hair in suit, sitting on a chair arrogantly like a king on his majestic throne. One hand rested on the arm of the chair, while the other hand was hugging a waist of a woman.
A woman with shoulder length hair in yellow dress was sitting on his lap, with her arms around his neck, acted like a haughty pampered miss.
Her eyes twinkled. This figurine's physiques looked exactly like Li Xiqing and her.
Shao Yan approached the artist and asked if she could buy it from her.
"I'm sorry miss, but this was supposed to be a sample for display. If you want, I can create a new one for you. You can pick it up tomorrow."
Shao Yan was delighted, so she agreed right away. They finalized the transaction. The artist told Shao Yan that she could come to collect it tomorrow after lunch time as she would only be here at noon.
Shao Yan nodded and then started to walk to the entrance of the night festival.
.....
Shao Yan walked leisurely from the festival venue to the night market. Along the way, she took a lot of pictures of scenery.
When she arrived at the gate of the night market, Li Xiqing call came in.
"I'm leaving the office now, I should be there in twenty minutes. Wait for me near the entrance gate, alright?"
Shao Yan could hear his hurried solid steps through the phone.
"Alright. Don't rush. I just arrived here as well."
…..
Shao Yan obediently stood near the entrance of the night market while waiting for him. She was playing with her phone, happily browsing around her social media. She posted some pictures that she took today, while ignoring all the other people bustling around her.
All of a sudden, an arm held her waist and pulled her closer. Shao Yan yelped. She bumped into his solid chest and saw his gentle eyes right away.
"I'm sorry, I'm late" Li Xiqing kissed her cheek and smiled.
Shao Yan blushed, and tried to wriggle out of his arms, "You're not late. I don't think I waited for a long time."
She grabbed his fingers and started to drag him, "Let's go, it's just started." They walked hand in hand, and strolled deeper into the market.
.....
The market was bustling with a lot of different carts. Each cart would have colorful poster hung around it to attract customers. Most of them would sell finger foods or snacks. Others would sell dessert or beverages or just prepackaged souvenirs.
There were some tents for people to sit down, and also some tents that were set up for games.
A lot of families with kids were exploring the area. Children would run around while looking at interesting snacks. Shao Yan and Li Xiqing enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the night in high spirits.
Some of the sellers would be yelling out the food name or giving out samples to entice the hungry people. Shao Yan happily sampled some. She did not forget to also dragged Li Xiqing to try them along the way.
Li Xiqing had eaten with Shao Yan almost every day now, and he knew how she loved foods. But the Shao Yan tonight really surprised him. Apparently, she really loved to snack!
She was always attracted to foods that looked appetizing, and she would not hesitate to buy them.
She kept trying different snacks along the way. She would buy and eat while they were walking around to explore the area. He would sometimes stole a bite from her skewers or wiped the corner of her mouth while she was distracted.
After snacking for a while, they finally decided to have chuan chuan for dinner.
They ordered a pot of spicy and non spicy bone broth and also several plates of side dishes. Since Shao Yan and Li Xiqing both loved innards, so they ordered varieties of cow intestines, chicken gizzards, chicken gristle, chicken liver, beef tongue, and lots of mushrooms and vegetables.
"Are you sure you can eat all these?" Li Xiqing opened the wrapper of a wet paper napkins, and passed it to her.
She took it and looked at him puzzled, "Why? I love innards. Don't you?" She tried to remember what they ordered just now, while wiping her hands.
Li Xiqing poured some tea into her cup and passed it to her, "I do. But we have been snacking on a lot of things just now." He rubbed her hair, "I'm just worried that you will be too stuffed."
Shao Yan grinned, "I don't know why but my appetite is so good today. I didn't eat a lot of snacks actually" she stuck out her tongue, "You were the one who actually ate them all" and then she chuckled.
Li Xiqing was stunned. And then he realized that he had indeed been eating a lot today. He sighed inwardly. This girl must be on a mission to fatten him up!
He slowly touched his waist. Wife! Will you leave me if I became fat??
(˘･_･˘)
+++
chuan chuan is another version of hotpot where the food was put on bamboo sticks and dipped into the pot of broth.