Xu Zixi and Yan Yincheng headed straight for the largest seafood market in the western part of the city.
Yes, it was the very seafood market where the two of them had their first official encounter.
When the car reached the seafood market, they opened the doors and got out. The air was filled with the smell of the ocean. Declining the company of A Qiang and A Meng, Xu Zixi took Yan Yincheng's hand and walked into the seafood market together.
The ground of the seafood market was still wet. Their shoes made a creaking sound as they walked on it. Coupled with the bargaining voices of customers and vendors all around, the place was full of the hustle and bustle of life.
Compared with the first time, Yan Yincheng's mood was completely different. He even felt a bit nostalgic.
Seeing that there was not a trace of discomfort on Yan Yincheng's face, Xu Zixi felt relieved. She hooked his palm and asked with a smile, "Brother Cheng, it mustn't have been a coincidence that I met you here with the baby that time. Can you tell me what you were up to then? You weren't planning to snatch the baby from me in the market, were you?"
Yan Yincheng hadn't forgotten the big embarrassment he had here last time. He cleared his throat and said, "Of course not. What are you thinking? Do you think I'm such an unreasonable person?"
"At that time, I had some misunderstandings about you. I thought you were taking the child out to commit suicide by jumping into the sea. Out of concern, I decided to keep an eye on you myself."
At that time, he wasn't ready to meet them mother and son yet. After all, things were different from his past life. He just wanted to observe for a while.
He just didn't expect that an unlucky fish would fly out of nowhere, disrupting his plan and pushing him directly in front of them.
His heart skipped a beat. He asked, "Zixi, what were you thinking when you saw me at that time?"
Xu Zixi rolled her eyes and asked playfully, "Do you really want to hear the truth?"
Yan Yincheng had a strange premonition that her answer wouldn't be what he wanted to hear. Sure enough, the next moment she said, "At that time, I was thinking that a person who still wore sunglasses and had a bunch of assistants when coming to the seafood market to buy fish must be a bit abnormal."
She felt his hand tightly clasp around her waist. He whispered in her ear, "I'll show you tonight just how abnormal I am."
This time, it was Xu Zixi's turn to blush.
To hide her shyness, she pretended to step forward to select seafood. "Brother Cheng, come quickly. The variety of seafood at this stall is so complete. There are geoducks, clams, white jade snails, sea urchins, sea cucumbers... What would you like to eat?"
"Pretty lady, you really have good taste. Our seafood has the most complete variety and is the freshest in the whole market. These were just caught from the sea!"
Then the boss said to Yan Yincheng, "I remember you too, handsome guy! Last time, my fish hit you in the face! I remember it clearly!"
This was really public humiliation!
Xu Zixi tried hard not to burst out laughing. She said to the boss, "Since we're all so familiar, you have to give me a good discount later."
The boss was very straightforward. He replied, "Such a well - matched couple like you two standing here is like a living advertisement. Of course, I'll give you a good deal!"
Yan Yincheng looked annoyed, but he remembered that Xu Zixi had once introduced the appearance of geoducks to the two children, saying that it was a bit like an elephant's nose. Curiosity overcame his embarrassment. He tugged at her corner and asked,
"Zixi, is the geoduck really that similar to an elephant's nose?"
When Master Yan showed curiosity about things in the world, his expression was so innocent that he looked no different from the two kids.
He had touched an elephant in the zoo. The elephant's skin was very rough and dry, and the touch was terrible. He couldn't imagine how a geoduck, which was so similar to an elephant, could be eaten. Could this thing really be edible?
A mischievous thought crossed Xu Zixi's mind. She said with a smile, "Rather than asking me, why don't you touch it yourself?"
Saying that, she grabbed Yan Yincheng's hand and touched the wet geoduck in front.
Yan Yincheng was caught off guard. What he felt was not only the cold water droplets but also the rough shell. Most importantly, he touched the torso of the shell - bearing mollusk...
The strange feeling made him subconsciously pinch it. Suddenly, a stream of water squirted on his face, scaring him to take several steps back.
"What is this?" he asked in a panic.
Xu Zixi walked towards him with a tissue while laughing. She carefully wiped the water off his face and said, "This is a geoduck. Who told you to pinch it? It thought it had encountered a natural enemy and attacked you."
She tried to hold back, but finally couldn't help bursting out laughing. Immediately afterwards, Yan Yincheng heard the laughter of the on - lookers around.
Both of them were extremely good - looking. Since they entered the seafood market, they had attracted a lot of attention. The observant ones naturally noticed that Yan Yincheng had an eye problem.
However, their interaction was so eye - catching and loving that everyone thought Yan Yincheng's reaction was very real and cute. Even their laughter was full of kindness.
Master Yan actually had a bit of social phobia. When there was no familiar person around him, he would feel at a loss when facing a lot of strangers. In the past, if such an embarrassing thing happened, his first reaction would be to put on a serious face and make himself unapproachable to protect himself.
However, since he was with her and got to know so many of her friends, he no longer seemed to resist such occasions. Now he could even joke:
"Okay, it dared to attack me. I'm going to eat it tonight! I'll buy all the seafood in this seafood store today! I'm going to have a seafood feast tonight!"
His generosity made the owner of the seafood store beam with joy. He immediately agreed, "No problem! I'll give you a 50% discount today. Handsome guy, give me your address. We'll deliver the goods to your door!"
Of course, Xu Zixi wasn't really going to make a seafood feast. The incident when the baby had indigestion after eating seafood and was sent to the hospital last time was still fresh in her memory. She wouldn't let such a thing happen again.
However, if they couldn't eat it all, they could give it away!
After paying the bill, besides leaving the address of the southern villa, Xu Zixi also gave the seafood store owner the addresses of Zhou Yaru, Brother Hu, Dai Sha and others. Finally, after getting the boss's assurance, she took Yan Yincheng's hand and left the seafood market.
For dinner, Xu Zixi made a geoduck sashimi and a spicy crab for Yan Yincheng as she wished. And the two kids got a delicious steamed turbot and shrimps cooked with salted egg yolk.
After the dinner, the three of them had round bellies and just slumped on the sofa, not wanting to move.
At night, after Xu Zixi washed up, she coaxed the two kids to sleep. Just as she got back to the room and lay down, someone came over and hugged her impatiently.
He whispered in her ear, "You're not allowed to buy that thing again in the future."
Realizing what he was referring to, Xu Zixi was both angry and amused. Just as she was about to speak, her words were blocked and swallowed back.
For a moment, the room was filled with only some soft, muffled sounds.
Without any surprises, the construction of "City of Hope" completely resumed. Although the construction had been suspended for a while, everything went smoothly. Everyone's life also got back on track.
In the peaceful Haicheng, the tranquility was so complete that it was hard to believe that a dark force like the Zhao family had once thrived here.
When the foundation of "City of Hope" was completed and the construction of the main part began, Yan Yincheng and Xu Zixi received a call from Fengcheng.
The trial date for the Yuan family's case had been set. It was three days later.