Chapter Ninety-Four: What to Eat for Lunch

Lin Miaomiao heard the Ninth Prince, Li Yonghe, and a lovely smile curved her lips as she said, “Are you the legendary overworked office drone?”

Li Yonghe heard this and the corner of his mouth twitched. He could not help but sigh before asking, “What?”

Lin Miaomiao smiled and said, “Nothing. It’s just that everyone else is working, and you are not over there with them. Leaving early like that is a little improper.”

Li Yonghe’s lips lifted into a smile. “My instincts tell me that what you just said absolutely did not mean that.”

Lin Miaomiao’s mouth twitched. “Yes, that is exactly what it means. Don’t doubt it.”

Li Yonghe glanced at her and asked, “What were you looking at just now? You were so focused. Wouldn’t hearing us talk distract you?”

Lin Miaomiao looked at him and asked, “If you saw me sitting there, would you be distracted?”

Li Yonghe nodded, thought for a moment, and said, “Yes. And no. Occasionally.”

Lin Miaomiao’s expression said as much. She smiled and told him, “Your concentration is poor.”

“Whatever one does, one should do earnestly. Even if others are doing something else, what does that have to do with you?”

Li Yonghe gave a helpless, amused shake of his head. “Precisely because I can’t do it, I want to ask you.”

Lin Miaomiao burst into laughter. She really found Li Yonghe rather interesting.

Seated in the pavilion, Lin Miaomiao asked, “Do you want some snacks?”

Li Yonghe replied, “What kind of snacks?”

Lin Miaomiao thought about it and said, “Biscuits, dried beef, and little dried fish. Quite a lot, actually. I’ll have them brought over.”

After she finished speaking, Xia Hua and the others behind her brought the snacks over, and Lin Miaomiao signaled with her eyes for Li Yonghe to try them.

Li Yonghe sampled the little treats she had made and nodded to her. Lin Miaomiao could see he was eating with great enthusiasm.

With a pretty smile, Lin Miaomiao said, “Since I can see you like them, I’ve decided to open a snack shop.”

After saying that, she made a check mark on the map the steward had just given her. Seeing this, Li Yonghe could not help saying, “You are using this prince.”

Lin Miaomiao turned to him and said, “Could you not put it like that?”

“How is that using you? At most, I’m treating you like a guinea pig. Besides, isn’t inviting you to eat something delicious enough? Honestly!”

After speaking, she glanced toward the doorway. Li Yonghe asked, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Miaomiao replied, “Seeing whether the two children are back from school yet.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the two children, Lin Langluan and Lin Langze, came home from school. Seeing them return, Lin Miaomiao smiled at them with narrowed eyes.

Watching her face bright with delight, Li Yonghe somehow found his own mood improving as well.

“Sister, I don’t have class tomorrow. Can I go out and play?”

Lin Miaomiao nodded with a smile. “Do you want to go out with friends, or do you want your sister to take you out?”

Lin Langze thought for a moment and said to Lin Miaomiao, “Let’s go play with Sister! It’s been so long since we went out with you.”

Lin Miaomiao nodded. “All right. We’ll see whether your Brother Yanhé has time then.”

After saying this, she smiled and told them, “Go on. Wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”

She watched the two children leave. Then Li Yonghe asked, “Are they your real younger brothers?”

Lin Miaomiao smiled and shook her head, saying nothing.

Seeing that she had no intention of telling him, Li Yonghe suddenly remembered that Lin Miaomiao’s family members had apparently all died because of Li Yanhé.

Since Lin Miaomiao remained silent, Li Yonghe, being a clever man, did not press her further.

The two of them fell into silence. After a long while, Lin Miaomiao frowned and said, “I wonder whether Li Zheng will come over.”

While Li Yonghe was eating snacks, he suddenly began coughing violently. He looked at Lin Miaomiao and asked, “Prince Zheng?”

Lin Miaomiao nodded. “Yes. He always comes to freeload on meals, so I’m used to it.”

After that, she turned to Zhao Mama behind her and said, “See whether things with Li Yanhé are settled. It’s time to eat.”

Then she rose to her feet. At that moment, she saw Li Zheng walking in, fanning himself as he came.

Looking at the one who had come to freeload a meal, Lin Miaomiao said, “You came. I was just saying that maybe you weren’t coming today.”

Li Zheng glanced at her and replied, “What? If I don’t come, you won’t cook?”

Hearing his smug tone, Lin Miaomiao’s mouth twitched.

She said to Li Zheng, “You come to eat and don’t even pay for the meal. I don’t even feel like cooking for you anymore.”

Li Zheng sighed at her words. “Do you know how hard it is for your royal uncle? I manage to save a little for a future wife every day, and yet you all still despise me.”

Lin Miaomiao rolled her eyes. “Could you please stop acting pitiful?”

Li Zheng shook his head with a laugh. “What have you been busy with lately?”

Lin Miaomiao replied, “Taking care of the shops and restructuring the ones that aren’t making money.”

After thinking for a moment, she added, “I don’t even plan to go shopping anymore. I’ve got psychological trauma.”

At this, Li Zheng coughed. “Let’s not talk about that topic, all right?”

After saying that, he glanced at Li Yonghe and said, “Well, look who it is—Little Nine is here too. Your royal uncle didn’t even notice.”

Seeing Li Zheng awkwardly change the subject, Lin Miaomiao could not help rolling her eyes.