“Cut the nonsense about me doing injustice. It’s winter now, not June!” Shen Huang shot a glare at Qing Shui.

  “How many men managed to hold your hand before me?” Qing Shui changed the topic.

  “Are you looking for a beating? I am not someone so random. It’s because I took pity of you and by taking into consideration that you are the person who saved my life, I decided to repay you this way.” Shen Huang said with a calm tone.

  Naturally, Qing Shui was able to figure out that he was the first man to ever walk so close to her. He was just trying to tease her.

  “Big brother, would you like to buy your wife a stalk of flower? She looks so beautiful.”


  Qing Shui moved his sight onto the girl who was carrying a basket of flowers. It wasn’t his first time seeing girls like her. In fact, there were quite a lot of them across the streets. There were a lot of people living in this world. Naturally, there would be a lot of poor people, young men, and women. Under this kind of circumstances, people, no matter good or bad, generous or stingy, would buy these flowers.

  “Does my wife really look beautiful?” Qing Shui squatted down and said with a smile. The little girl was only about six to seven. She might not look that pretty, but she was very cute. She had a pinkish skin and her hair was tied in a pigtail which made her look indescribably cute. In Qing Shui’s eyes, she was very good-looking and pretty like an angel.

  “Yes, she is very beautiful. She may be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Big brother, you are very lucky to have her.” The little girl said happily.

  Qing Shui rubbed her head and immediately bought the entire basket of flower from her. This cash might mean nothing to Qing Shui, but to the little girl, it was enough for her to head home and spent her New Year with her family. If it wasn’t because she needed money, she wouldn’t have come out to sell flowers at a time like this.

  “Why didn’t you give her more money? I can tell that you have only given her a bit more than what the flowers originally costed. You don’t seem to be short in money!” Shen Huang smiled and said.

  “She is just an ordinary girl. I don’t wish to change her lifestyle. Besides, giving her too much will only do harm to her. There are just as many good guys as there are bad guys. She will be robbed. If she is lucky, that’s the only thing that will happen. In the worst case scenario, she may even lose her life thanks to it.” Qing Shui shook his head and turned around to give her the flower, “This is for you.”


  “Why shall I accept your flower?” Shen Huang didn’t take it. But deep down, she felt very happy. This man was very generous and smart. She liked seeing the previous look of the man when he was talking to the little girl. There was a kind of kindness which words couldn’t describe. It felt as if he was treating her like his own daughter.

  “You have seen that yourself. The little girl told me to give it to you.”


  “It is such a colorful flower, yet it won’t take long until it wilts.” Shen Huang took over Qing Shui’s bright and colorful flowers and started observing them.

  “But at least it was once bright and colorful. Nothing lasts forever in this world.’


  “It’s the New Year, let’s stop talking about this. We must make sure to celebrate our New Year happily.” Shen Huang smiled and said.

  “Sure, I am also quite lonely here. I feel very warm seeing you here with me. In any case, we are still friends, in this sea of people, it is very difficult for fate to bring us together. It takes a lot of effort to have a brief encounter between two people. Answer me, how much effort did I have to spend to have this moment with you?” Qing Shui smiled and held her hand very tightly.

  “You talkative brat.” When Shen Huang was speaking, a gentle and warm smile could be seen on her face.

  Since it was the New Year, it was natural for the street to be lively. There were a lot of noisy scenes across the street. For example, some people would perform acrobatics, some would do story-telling whereas some would sing or sell some snacks which they made themselves. While walking among the crowds, the relaxed atmosphere around the place gave Qing Shui a temporary sense of peace in his heart.

  “Be a bit happier and treat me as your best friend. Even though I may harbor some dirty thoughts on you, those are just thoughts. It’s not like you will lose anything from that. Rest assured, I won’t do anything to you. It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad things, you can share all of them with me. Regardless of whether you live your life happily or in sorrow, you only get to live once, why not make it worthwhile by staying happy?

  “I understand what you mean. But what shall I do in order to be happy? Can you tell me why you are so happy?” Shen Huang asked in a serious tone.

  “That’s the simplest question. It’s because I am holding your hand now that I am happy.” Qing Shui lifted up her hand that he was holding.

  “Why would you feel happy just by holding my hand?” Shen Huang was a bit confused and asked.

  “It is natural for human beings to take fancy for beauties. Eldest mistress, you are born with an elegant and attractive look. How can I not be happy after holding your hand?” Qing Shui smiled and asked.

  “But why don’t I have that kind of feelings while I am holding your hand?” Just like before, Shen Huang was still asking her questions very seriously.

  At the moment, Qing Shui felt a bit hurt. He rubbed his nose with his other hand and proceeded to say, “Do you hate men?”


  “I don’t know. There are a lot of men whom I hate. However, there are some who I hate a bit less, for example, you.”


  Qing Shui was really speechless. What did she mean by a bit less? What she meant by her words just now was that she still hated him, but her hatred for him was lesser compared to other men.

  “Do you feel anything when I am grabbing your hand?” Qing Shui looked at Shen Huang and mumbled a few words.

  “I don’t know!” Shen Huang responded in a straightforward way.

  “Well then, do you like women instead?”


  “Go away!” Shen Huang shot Qing Shui a glare.

  Qing Shui chuckled as he continued holding her hand and walked along the street, “You are quite normal. The only problem is that you seem a bit cold generally. However, I still was able to sense something. Back when I was holding your hand, deep down, you were also feeling nervous.

  “Why do you ask if you already know about it?” Shen Huang blushed. But she seemed to be really happy after hearing what he said.

  “Let’s buy some stuff so that we can use it tonight when we are celebrating the New Year!” Qing Shui said while looking at the sides of the road.

  “What do you want to buy?”


  “A few firecrackers and fireworks. Also, we will buy some food to eat.

  Following on, Qing Shui and Shen Huang bought quite a few stuff nearby. They only went back in the afternoon right before dawn approached. At the moment, he was the only person looking after the Imperial Cuisine Hall whereas the others got to celebrate their New Year with their families. In a while, the only patient would also leave. With that, the Imperial Cuisine Hall was finally able to close the day. However, if a person was to be infected with an emergency illness or anything, that person could still knock on the door of the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

  Big Tiger and his mother were in the Imperial Cuisine Hall along with some servants that were hired to work in it. There were also a few more servants in the restaurant. By now, the entire manor was already decorated prosperously.

  Without realizing it, the sky had turned dark. People had already started lighting up some fireworks. The bright fireworks soared up into the sky and at the instant it burst, the sky became really bright and colorful.

  “Eldest mistress, let’s prepare the New Year Eve’s dinner together,” Qing Shui smiled and held her hand in a natural way.

  “It seems you have really gotten used to holding my hand.” Shen Huang said in a grumpy tone.

  “Today is the last day before New Year, let me hold your hand and welcome the coming of the New Year with you.” Qing Shui smiled and said.

  Qing Shui had always been living in this manor.

  Qing Shui bought some vegetables and meat. He had his own seafood and wine. Qing Shui prepared his meal very slowly this time. His main purpose wasn’t to eat them, but to enjoy the fun of cooking. Furthermore, Qing Shui also felt that he must make this woman, who was unable to cook, to get her hands on it.

  “Qing Shui, I don’t know how to do it.”


  “Let me teach you!”


  “Alright!”


  Qing Shui taught her how to pick up the edible parts of the vegetables and the proper ways to cut them. He also told her about the shapes she should cut them into and how big they should be. After that, they began to cook.

  Qing Shui left most of the work to the woman while he helped out from the side. Though that was his intention, it was no different from Qing Shui doing the majority of the work before he handed it over to her.

  In any case, he had his ingredients with him. Actually, the woman also had the same ingredients. Qing Shui had at one point given them to her. However, the dishes that were prepared this time were slightly more complex, thus, Qing Shui had to teach her step by step on how to cook them. Eventually, Shen Huang also managed to learn it.

  She looked very beautiful when she was preparing the dishes. It was a kind of beauty which couldn’t be described in words. Even when she was standing in the kitchen preparing some dishes, it still didn’t affect her otherworldly look. It was a very strange feeling. If she was a famous chef now, could she possibly make herself look so otherworldly? She looked very beautiful, but at the same time, she didn’t look too harmonious with what she was doing. It was precisely because she was still able to look so beautiful despite the lack of harmonious feeling which shocked Qing Shui.