A bowl of hot noodles was placed on the table. The little girl didn’t reach for it, so Xu Xian took the initiative to push it in front of her.
He even handed her a pair of chopsticks and said with extreme tenderness, "Go on, eat. If it's not enough, I'll order more for you."
The little girl was stunned... Did he find his conscience?
The little book spirit was also stunned... Did he just chicken out?
Of course, that was assuming he hadn't said that line: 【Don't add meat】.
Xu Xian narrowed his eyes and urged softly, "Well, eat?"
The little girl swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the noodles and the young man. She hesitated. These noodles couldn't be poisoned, could they?
"I'm really eating?"
"Eat!"
"Oh!"
She ate anyway, occasionally peeking at the boy. She felt a bit guilty, but on second thought, maybe he had just been testing her before. She couldn't help but give herself a mental thumbs-up for her performance just now.
Perfect acting.
As the little girl ate the noodles, the little book spirit showed its disdain, grumbling, mocking, and biting at Xu Xian. It said he was a coward, that he was scared, and that flattering her now was too late. Where had this attitude been earlier?
You ignored her, you stepped on her, you even made her eat your saliva and wouldn't even give her meat. She's probably been holding a grudge for ages.
It babbled on and on.
Xu Xian immediately retorted, saying with a straight face that he wasn't afraid. He was simply accumulating merit. What if she really was just a child?
He added that even if she were one of the High and Low Priests, giving her a bowl of noodles was called currying favor. Not adding meat was to make it seem natural and not contrived.
He even threw in a comment about manipulating human nature.
He wanted to doubt her, test her, and then affirm her, making her believe that he truly had no idea who she was.
Then he would help her, take care of her, and nurture her until she was moved to tears.
By then, would she really be able to strike him down?
The little book spirit rolled its eyes so hard they almost reached the back of its skull. Do you even believe that yourself?
What a pretender!
Xu Xian was annoyed. He asked the spirit if it understood what it meant to play hard to get, to turn someone's plot against them, to create a contrast, or how the human heart worked...
"Fine, fine, fine. I can't out-argue you. As long as you understand, Master!"
"Lunatic."
By the time the two finished bickering in their divine sense, the bowl of hot noodles was completely gone.
The little girl was relieved she hadn't died, and this time, she let out a truly substantial burp.
Rubbing her round little belly, she was genuinely stuffed.
Xu Xian looked at her gently and asked softly, "Are you full?"
The little girl wasn't used to it. Being looked at by Xu Xian like that made her skin crawl; it felt wrong.
Moreover, a chill couldn't help but rise in her heart. She felt as though at any moment, he was going to sell her off.
By comparison, she felt that the cold and heartless youth from before was more comfortable to be around and easier on the eyes.
"I'm full!"
"Have another bowl?" Xu Xian suggested.
The little girl emphasized each word, "I am full!"
Xu Xian let it go but naturally started making small talk. "Where is your home?"
The little girl glanced at him, lowering her eyes as she whispered, "I... I have no home."
"Hmm?"
The little girl bit her lip and began her performance. Taking the opportunity to tell her story, she laid out a tragic past.
"When I was very young, my mother left me. I remember that year, it was winter..."
The story was quite long and very far-fetched. Xu Xian's lips twitched as he listened, while the little book spirit’s eyes grew misty with tears.
A mother who died in childbirth.
A drunken father.
A wicked stepmother.
A broken home.
Driven out of her house at a young age, she was a girl wandering the streets, nearly starving to death...
Tragic.
Truly tragic.
The plot was tight, the story rigorous, the logic sound, and the drama was incredibly cliché.
Xu Xian was fine. He had heard similar plots hundreds, if not a thousand times.
But the little book spirit was different. It was truly moved. Sitting on Xu Xian's shoulder, it was almost crying from the emotion.
"Master, she's so pitiful..."
Xu Xian looked at it as if it were an idiot, not even bothering to respond. He looked back at the girl in front of him, who had her head bowed, and asked, "So, what do you plan to do next?"
It was as if the little girl had been waiting for him to ask that very question. She looked up, her eyes watery and pitiful once more. "Are you looking for a maid? I can help you sweep the floors, wash clothes, and cook. I can do any kind of work. Can I follow you? I don't need wages, just food. I don't eat much..."
Xu Xian instinctively looked at the two large, clean bowls on the table. His expression was inscrutable.
Doesn't eat much?
Do you even believe your own words?
The little girl naturally caught Xu Xian's gaze and quickly explained, "I was just too hungry. I'll eat less from now on."
Whether anyone else believed her was unknown, but Xu Xian certainly did.
He responded readily, "Alright!"
Since you're coming for me anyway, whether I refuse or not, you won't give up. I might as well be straightforward and score some points for a good impression.
The little girl was stunned, staring at him blankly, seemingly unable to believe it.
Could it be that her story was too well-made?
Thinking back, there was indeed nothing wrong with it.
"What is your name?"
The little girl shook her head. "I don't have a name."
"No name?" Xu Xian seemed to find it a bit difficult.
The little girl suggested, "Why don't you give me one, Master?"
Xu Xian readily agreed, "Sure."
He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before saying:
"Since you also have white hair, you might as well take the surname Bai like me. I'm called Bai Mang, so... you can be called Bai Gan."
The little girl’s eyes shifted as she hurriedly asked, "Which 'gan'?"
Xu Xian explained, "The 'gan' for work! As in working for nothing."
The little girl’s eyes widened. "Is that appropriate?" She didn't forget to emphasize, "I am a girl, after all..."
Xu Xian said lazily, "If you don't like it, you could be called Bai Chi or Bai Zhu. Take your pick."
Bai Chi? Idiot?
Bai Zhu? White pig?
The little girl instinctively shivered and shook her head like a rattle. She quickly said, "Bai Gan then. Let it be Bai Gan. It's just a name; I don't really care, and I'm not picky."
Xu Xian smiled triumphantly and slapped a few demon coins onto the table to settle the bill. He stood up and walked away coolly. "Let's go, Little Gan. We're going home."
No matter how she heard it, the little girl felt uncomfortable.
How could someone come up with such an absurd name?
Yet she still stood up and followed him.
They chatted briefly along the way, with questions and answers exchanged.
Xu Xian felt that things were finally looking up for him. Not only was his progress in demonic arts coming along, but he had also picked up a demon god as a servant.
"Don't call me Master from now on."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Hmm... call me Young Master. It makes me sound more dashing."
"Yes, Young Master!"
Xu Xian handed the little girl a coin pouch containing some demon coins and said, "Take this money."
"I don't want it," she refused, trying to show that she had an upright character and was not greedy for wealth.
Xu Xian mocked her, "This is money for you to buy clothes. And while you're at it, go take a bath. You’re smelly and filthy. This young master cannot afford to lose face like this."
The little girl pouted and gave a small "oh" before honestly accepting the pouch.
If you're so worried about losing face, you shouldn't be living in this dump.
Xu Xian shooed her away. "Alright, stop following me. Go on, get yourself clean before you come back."
"Okay!"
"Remember to bring me a jar of wine."
"Mhm!"
The youth returned to the slums under the cover of night.
The little girl watched his figure until it disappeared at the entrance of the alley. Only then did she withdraw her gaze, tossing the coin pouch in her hand with a look of disdain.
"Tch..."
She muttered to herself, "He really is a strange one."
She seemed to understand why that little girl from the Chi family had been so willing to do those things for him.
It seemed high-born ladies who knew nothing of the world often liked these scoundrel-like little hoodlums.
Rate on N.U.
