Chapter 9 Have we met before?
When we arrived at Nanhua Street, people had already lined up spontaneously and were waiting.
The servants of the Shen residence arrived early and had cooked the porridge by now. The old woman brought out the steamed buns mixed with white flour and distributed them to everyone one by one.
Shen Anan glanced around and saw that there were no refugees from yesterday in the corner.
"Those people shouldn't be coming." Butler Shen said softly.
After yesterday's accident, the government will not allow those people to appear again. After all, with every day of delay, there will be a terrifying decrease in their number.
"If it weren't for the food the girl provided, at least one third of those people would have died overnight."
After hearing this, Shen Anan felt a chill in her heart. Is this the tragic world that her elder brother talked about?
She lowered her eyes and went to the porridge stall, quietly helping with the work without saying another word.
Near noon, a black carriage suddenly stopped in an open space, and Xiao Yuan, dressed in a narrow-sleeved robe, strode out of the carriage.
He was dressed crisply and neatly today, which was indeed more convenient for him to do things than the wide sleeves he wore yesterday, and he looked just as noble as ever.
Shen Anan glanced sideways, paused for a moment at that resolute and handsome face, hiding the surprise in his eyes.
Does he really want to do it for seven days?
Li Huaiyan followed behind him with his head lowered.
"At this hour, Your Highness, are you here to get a free meal?"
Xiao Yuan seemed to pause for a moment, then pretended to be deaf and dumb as he passed by Shen Anan, bent down and started working.
“…”
Shen Anan pouted sarcastically.
Why does she like to care about him so much?
She continued to work, but the pampered young man couldn't do the rough work.
"Miss Shen, do you know that we are so busy just to help? We got up before dawn to review documents, and rushed here without even eating. I am almost exhausted."
Shen Anan was annoyed by the noise, and looked up at Li Huaiyan calmly, "If you don't want to work, just stay away and don't make small talk."
…
Li Huaiyan touched his nose embarrassedly. Was he that obvious?
There are many things to do when distributing porridge. Shen Anan does everything personally regarding rice and flour, and checks very strictly, for fear that mistakes like in the previous life will occur again.
Li Huaiyan said, "Xiao Yuan, you are a prince after all, do you really want to give her chores for seven days?"
"Because he is a prince, he should love the people like his own children and work for the well-being of the people. What does it have to do with her?"
"..." Li Huaiyan curled his lips, "Who would believe you? There are so many famous ladies giving out porridge, why don't you go to the third lady?"
Xiao Yuan stopped rubbing the rice and looked up at Li Huaiyan coldly, who immediately shut up in embarrassment.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at the thin woman standing beside the people not far away.
She was wearing a dark dress today, so even if it was stained with dust it would not be very obvious. She had a slender waist and a porcelain-white face without any makeup, but it was as white as the morning glow reflecting on the snow, so plain and pure that she did not look like a girl from an official family.
His cold dark eyes narrowed, and he didn't know why he was so abnormal.
Somehow, there was always an inexplicable emotion pulling at him in his heart, giving him a sense of familiarity from time to time, as if it had happened a long, long time ago.
It was so wonderful that he couldn't help but want to explore and trace its origin.
"If a delicate girl like her can do it, why can't the prince do it?"
He withdrew his gaze and continued to wash the rice, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Li Huaiyan, who was standing beside him with an infatuated look on his face.
"Why didn't I realize before that this girl from the Shen family is so beautiful?"
The basin in Xiao Yuan's hand suddenly fell off, splashing water all over Li Huaiyan's face.
"Pooh." Li Huaiyan hurriedly took a handkerchief to wipe his face.
"It's not steady." Xiao Yuan said expressionlessly, throwing the washed rice to Li Huaiyan, "Put it in the pot."
"Oh." Li Huaiyan got up and left obediently, but did not come back for a long time.
Xiao Yuan was waiting for the rice to be served, when he turned around and saw Li Huaiyan chatting with the woman who was cooking porridge.
The woman was not very old and must have just gotten married. I didn't know what the two of them talked about, but I could vaguely see a blush on the woman's face and she looked very shy.
…
"Li Huaiyan." His voice was cold and his tone was not well controlled, which attracted many people's attention.
"Hey, here it comes."
"Haha." Li Huaiyan ran back embarrassedly.
Shen Anan tilted her head to look at the two men huddled in a corner. Both of them were very tall, and the noble aura radiating from their power was incompatible with the cramped space.
She was in a daze, unable to reconcile the man in front of her with the indifferent Xiao Yuan in her memory.
"Why."
Xiao Yuan's arm was bumped. He was already impatient and now he stared at Li Huaiyan with a cold and terrifying look.
"Hehe." Li Huaiyan straightened his lips and winked at him.
Xiao Yuan looked in the direction of his gaze with a cold face, and suddenly met the woman's unfocused almond-shaped eyes.
In just a moment, Shen Anan suddenly reacted, frowned unhappily, and turned away.
Xiao Yuan also withdrew his gaze.
"Why does she look at you in a strange way?" Li Huaiyan held his cheek with a puzzled look on his face.
It seems like sadness and hatred, mixed with a hint of realization and regret for the past that can no longer be retrieved.
"What do you think? Could it be that she knows that you are cruel and hard-hearted and not easy to get close to, so she deliberately plays hard to get?"
Xiao Yuan said nothing, looking at him calmly.
Li Huaiyan felt creepy when he was stared at by him. He scratched his head and said, "What..."
"I'm not talking about you, I'm just expressing my own exact feelings. Miss Shen will definitely not play hard to get when she sees you looking like your parents have died."
But the more he explained, the gloomier Xiao Yuan's face became.
Li Huaiyan quickly lowered his head and worked, waves of coolness running straight down his back.
"Your Highness, Mr. Li, it's time to eat."
"Oh, okay." Li Huaiyan stood up and ran towards where the crowd gathered.
"No, I... We are people of status after all, and you make us stand and eat from the same pot with your servants?" Li Huaiyan glanced at the crowded table and was very dissatisfied.
Shen Anan held the steamed bun in her hand and took small bites to satisfy her hunger. "Of course not. Young Master Li and the Fourth Prince are so noble. Hey, that side is yours. It has been prepared long ago."
Li Huaiyan followed her gaze and his face immediately darkened.
There were two bowls of food in large bowls, and two steamed buns were placed on them supported by chopsticks. He didn't say anything about the dishes, but what did it mean to put them in the corner?
“Shen An’an, are you feeding the dog?”
Shen Anan blinked innocently, "You are wronging me. The conditions here are simple, with only one table. You must not want to squeeze with them. If you don't put it on the ground, do you think I should carry it for you?"
Mo Xiang spoke against his conscience, "Yes, Mr. Li, my daughter's meal is also brought from there."
Li Huaiyan glanced at the bowl of rice that Shen Anan was eating, and it was indeed no different from the two bowls in the corner.
There were sudden footsteps behind him, and Xiao Yuan came over. He didn't say anything, but pursed his thin lips and stared at Shen Anan, who was smiling gently in the chair, with an oppressive gaze.
Shen Anan suppressed her smile, met his gaze indifferently, and a hint of coldness appeared on her lips.
Xiao Yuan did not stop and slowly approached her.
For a moment, Li Huaiyan and Mo Xiang were both nervous.
"Hey, Your Highness, forget it, forget it, let's just not eat it. It's not worth killing people to vent our anger." Li Huaiyan hurriedly stepped forward to persuade.
Shen Anan's eyes were cold as she looked at Xiao Yuan's handsome face which was slowly enlarging. The darkness enveloped her completely.
Xiao Yuan stared at her, and when they were just inches apart, he paused, pursing his thin lips, "Have we... met before?"
Shen Anan's pupils shrank, her heart suddenly tightened, and her fingertips clamped into the steamed bun.
“Miss Shen.”
"Didn't we meet yesterday? Did the Fourth Prince take a nap and his brain got damaged?" Shen Anan forced himself to remain calm.
Xiao Yuan frowned, and stared at the woman who spoke perfunctorily with his deep eyes, without saying a word for a long while.
"You're blocking my light."
Xiao Yuan finally moved. He looked up at the setting sun, then suddenly turned around and left without saying a word.
“Half of the favor has been repaid, and I will convert the rest into gold and silver and send it to the Shen Mansion.”
Li Huaiyan snorted coldly and quickly followed.
Shen Anan narrowed her eyes and looked coldly at the tall and majestic figure getting on the carriage and driving away.
"Girl, what's wrong with the Fourth Prince? Why is he acting so strange?"
"Who knows what's wrong with him." Shen Anan lowered his head, but he had lost his appetite. He handed the steamed bun to Mo Xiang, but a thin layer of sweat appeared on his palms.
In the carriage, Li Huaiyan once again glanced at Xiao Yuan's cold expression and couldn't help asking, "Didn't we agree on seven days? Why are you willing to leave so suddenly?"
"You can go ahead if you like."
It's not like he has nothing better to do.
Li Huaiyan leaned against the wall of the car, but his eyes kept looking at Xiao Yuan, "I always feel that you are not like yourself these days."
Xiao Yuan lazily raised his eyelids, and Li Huaiyan immediately moved closer to him.
"Given your temper, the grace of saving your life is not enough for you to condescend and swallow your anger. And what you said just now, tell me honestly, is it with that Miss Shen..."
He put his two thumbs together and nodded, looking obscene.
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