Observing the young man standing behind a long-known customer, the old man starts scrutinizing him, looking at his immortal-like figure from head to toe before walking towards him, proceeding to move around in circles as he observes the young man’s entire being, his current actions a first even to Hua Xian’er despite her already knowing the old man’s completely eccentric character.
After taking a whole 360 degrees to look at the young man in front of him, the old owner of the restaurant nods in acknowledgement, his eyes a mixture of frustration and anticipation, as if the immortal-like young man is someone whom he sees as a gem in the rough, not for him to polish.
“You have a bright future in front of you, young man, but it is blocked by a perilous path” the old man said with a mysterious tone, his voice seemingly sympathetic as he places his hand on the shoulder of the young man.
“Aren’t you getting the order of things wrong, old sir?” hearing the old man’s words, Wu Xiaotian couldn’t help but retort, the thing he confidently believes in being completely different from this old man’s apparently accurate predictions according to Hua Xian’er.
“Hoh? I wonder what those words of yours mean, young man…” hearing the young lad in front of him refuting his claims, the old man did not get mad but instead couldn’t help but get curious, as even though there are already a plethora of young people who tried to refute him in the past, there is no one like Wu Xiaotian in front of him, the eyes of the immortal-like young man filled with an absolute confidence that comes from his very being, a confidence that is natural to him.
While the old man’s eyes remain on him, Wu Xiaotian neither got nervous nor excited, moving to guide Hua Xian’er on a seat before answering the old man leisurely, his tone with a hint of respect for the old restaurant owner.
“Old sir, given my awareness of my talents, I know very well how bright of a future is waiting for me…” Wu Xiaotian spoke, moving ahead to prepare his seat as well.
“But I think that it is not blocked by a perilous path, no, there’s no perilous path at all, only challenges that will help me grow further and further, like some sort of lesson from life before I stand proud on that place” he said before smiling at the old man, the confidence never leaving his voice all throughout his explanations, making the old man smile back at him as he never saw a young person as interesting as him before.
“What makes you think that you can pass all those ‘challenges’ as you named them, and not fall in the middle of it all?” the old man curiously asked, his figure also sitting down on one of the free seats.
“Is there a need for a reason for me to think this way? I can, and I must, so I will, that’s the only reason I need to know for me to think that I will not fall in the middle of my journey” Wu Xiaotian replied, not a single trace of hesitation as he proclaimed what is really in his heart, he can, given how absurd his talent is, and he must, given how much he want to give the people around him a better, a happier place to live in so he will definitely do it no matter the hardships he will go through.
If this is heard by other people, they will definitely just laugh it off and tell the immortal-like young man that he’s too arrogant for his age, some more petty people might even take this as a chance to mock and try to teach him a lesson, however, the restaurant owner is completely different to these people.
Looking stunned for a bit from what he heard, he starts laughing loudly, not a mocking one but one filled with genuine joy, as if a young boy playing around with his friends back in the good old days, like an elder watching the younger generation spread their wings.
“HAHAHA… good, good, good! Great!! As expected from my vision, you’re truly someone far beyond your peers” the old man said, his eyes looking at the immortal-like young man as if he’s pertaining to other things beyond his strength.
“The food is on the house, young people like yourselves should enjoy more since you’re young, have your fill as much as you can!!!” before the young man could even reply at his praise, the old man already rises up from his seat and waves his hand, proceeding to move towards the kitchen, most likely to prepare a meal for the two.
“I told you right? He’s a bit peculiar” Hua Xian’er said, looking at Wu Xiaotian with a concerned eye as she thought that he’s bothered by the experience.
“He’s a great man, he’s just a bit eccentric at best” the immortal-like young man replied, smiling at the lady as he expressed his thought, his smile catching the empress-like lady off-guard, making her blush for some reason unknown.
Trying to hide her current expression, Hua Xian’er clears her throat and diverts her attention to something else in hopes of dispersing the image of Wu Xiaotian’s previous smile rooted in her mind, this is proven to be ineffective though as it just serves to make the thought of him bloom more in her mind, trying to empty her thoughts only serving to fuel her to think more of the young man in front of her.
‘She looks really cute when she’s like that’ Wu Xiaotian thought to himself, not even surprised that he would think of his great drunkard of a sworn sister like that, all while thinking that if he were to somehow travel back in time to tell his past self about this, his past self would definitely laugh at him as if he’s a clown.
Both distracted with their thoughts, time passes by quickly while they mindlessly talk about all sorts of things, only snapping out of their trance when a fragrant, mouth-watering smell starts wafting in the air, the aroma of the meat combined with the mixture of multiple spices triggering something primal in their minds.
“Eat up, this is a special young people, enjoy yourselves!!” the old restaurant owner declared before leaving the two to themselves, enjoying the meal in itself for a while before Hua Xian’er could no longer hold back and pulled a bottle of alcohol from her spatial ring, indulging in its fragrance as she guzzled bottle after bottle, even going as far as stuffing her sworn brother’s mouth with a bottle of alcohol as well, forcing him to compete with her on a drinking battle.
“Damn it!! Lil bro, just how strong is your resistance to alcohol!?” with a flushed face, Hua Xian’er complains, her attitude more like her rough nature now rather than her gentle one previously, yet nevertheless, her feminine charm doesn’t diminish in Wu Xiaotian’s eyes.
“Am I that strong, big sis? I think you’re just weak” with his face already a bit red from the alcohol as well, Wu Xiaotian taunted, hoping to break her will and end this curse of a game they’re playing, his words only serving to fuel the empress-like lady’s desire to win more.
“Screw you Su Tian!! You think this lady is just going to take your provocation lying down!? You’re dreaming!!! Come! One more bottle!!!” as the alcohol causes her to return to her normal self, Hua Xian’er no longer feels the need to appear gentle in front of the young man, standing up from her seat and placing one of her feet on it, pointing at Wu Xiaotian while drowning on another bottle of alcohol again.
Shaking his head, Wu Xiaotian continues to battle it out with her, the old man behind the counter just smiling as he watches the two banter, the air in his place extremely lively despite the bantering two being the only customers for tonight.
