"Here it comes! Farmhouse stir-fried pork, sauteed water spinach, Mapo tofu, fish head soup with tofu, and the last dish, braised pork ribs. That's everything!" The landlady set down the final dish. "Enjoy your meal!"
"Great, thank you!"
Ye Ge pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks, snapped them apart, and rubbed the tips together to clear away any splinters. Just as he was about to reach for some food, he noticed the twin sisters staring at him with their large, bright eyes blinking innocently.
"Why aren't you eating? Why are you looking at me?"
Su Mu signed to her younger sister, and Su Yue translated: "Senior, we're truly grateful for what happened last night. Why don't we treat you to another meal tonight...?"
"It was nothing," Ye Ge said with a smile. "Like I said, it was just a matter of swinging a brick. If I had turned away last night, my conscience would have bothered me for the rest of my life. This meal is more than enough—consider the debt paid."
Su Mu shook her head frantically, her almond eyes filled with anxiety. She hurriedly signed to Ye Ge, and Su Yue continued translating:
"Senior, my sister says that a single meal definitely isn't enough. We don't have much right now, but we will definitely repay you in the future."
"How else would you repay me? Do you want me to get into trouble so you can come rescue me?" Ye Ge teased.
Su Mu shook her head frantically again, waving her fair, delicate hands back and forth.
"Alright, alright, I'm just joking. Eat up. It's not ancient times where saving a life means marrying your savior. Talking like this is bringing back embarrassing memories..."
Ye Ge snapped open two more pairs of chopsticks, cleared off the splinters, and placed a pair over each of their bowls.
"Eat up, or the food will get cold." With that, Ye Ge began shoveling rice into his mouth; he really did seem hungry.
Seeing Ye Ge eating so happily relieved some of the burden in the sisters' hearts, and they finally picked up their chopsticks.
Su Mu and Su Yue ate dainty mouthfuls, their soft lips parting slightly to take in the plump grains of rice, chewing gently with their pearly white teeth.
However, both sisters only ate the vegetable dishes and barely touched the meat, as if intending to leave all the meat for Ye Ge.
"You two aren't on a diet, are you? Eat at least a little meat, and leave some vegetables for me... Eating only meat gets heavy after a while..." Ye Ge said in a half-joking tone.
Only then did the sisters eat a bit of meat, though it was mostly the older sister putting pieces into her younger sister's bowl.
Ye Ge naturally noticed all of this.
It would be a lie to say he didn't feel heartache for these sisters.
They had led a very hard life. In his past life, after going to university, they had stood out, with Su Yue becoming a pop star with unlimited potential, hailed as the last Diva of Chinese entertainment.
But her older sister, Su Mu, had taken sleeping pills and fallen asleep forever.
And for reasons unknown, Su Yue had later jumped from a high-rise building.
A pair of sisters who had suffered so much in life met such a tragic end.
Although they were unrelated by blood, Ye Ge felt that he should help however he could, unwilling to let that tragedy repeat itself.
"Senior, which university do you plan to apply to?"
Perhaps feeling that the atmosphere at the table was a bit awkward, Su Yue asked sweetly.
"Oh, me? I'm planning to apply to Yuhang University," Ye Ge replied.
"Huh? You're applying to Yuhang University too?" Su Yue's eyes lit up. "My sister is planning to apply to Yuhang University as well!"
"What a coincidence!" Ye Ge feigned surprise.
"Right?" Su Yue nodded, her twin pigtails swaying gently. Watching her made Ye Ge feel an urge to reach out and grab them.
"Which major are you applying for, Senior?" Su Yue asked.
"Computer Science and Technology, I think. I'm pretty interested in computers. What about you, Su Mu?" Ye Ge asked Su Mu.
Startled by Ye Ge's sudden question, Su Mu jumped slightly like a frightened little rabbit. She sat up straight and nervously began signing.
"My sister applied for Cultural Relics and Museology..."
"..."
Just as in his past life.
But that made sense. Cultural Relics and Museology was a research-oriented field, which meant she wouldn't have to interact with people too much.
Besides, graduates in Cultural Relics and Museology from Yuhang University in '09 were essentially guaranteed job placements...
"Then maybe we can go report to school together," Ye Ge said with a smile.
"Are you that confident, Senior? I heard the entrance score for Computer Science and Technology at Yuhang University is pretty high," the younger sister said, clearly much more lively than her older sister.
"What score did Su Mu estimate for herself?" Ye Ge asked.
"My sister conservatively estimated a 640," Su Yue said proudly.
"Oh, mine is just so-so then." Ye Ge took a sip of tea. "I didn't do very well. At minimum, I estimated around 653, or maybe 665 if I'm lucky."
"..." Su Yue was struck speechless.
She felt like Senior had just flexed on her. It was so frustrating! Why had she even asked?
"Senior, do you have any hobbies?" Su Yue quickly changed the subject.
Losing on the exam score front had taken her down a peg.
"Not really. Lately, I've been wanting to learn musical notation, but it seems a bit too hard."
"Musical notation?" Su Yue blinked her starlight-like eyes. "Actually, I could teach you, Senior."
"You know how to read sheet music?"
"Of course!" Su Yue lifted her chin proudly. "My sister and I both know how—we taught ourselves. But why are you interested in musical notation, Senior?"
"Mainly because I want to write a few songs. I have melodies in my head and want to put them down."
"What kind of melodies?" Su Yue grew even more curious.
"Well, I'm practically tone-deaf, so singing it might be tough." In his past two lives, Ye Ge had barely been to a KTV a handful of times.
"It's fine, it's fine! Senior, I'm really curious!"
"Alright then, I'll make a fool of myself. My singing once nearly drove my music teacher mad, so bear with me."
Ye Ge didn't stand on ceremony anymore, treating it as a way to break the ice and bring them closer.
Besides, singing in front of a future Diva gave him a strange sense of accomplishment...
Later in life, he could brag that even the Diva had to listen to him sing back in the day.
Ye Ge softly hummed the song from start to finish. Sitting opposite him, the twin sisters widened their eyes more and more...
This song sounded amazing—both the lyrics and the melody were incredible!
Yet for some reason, even though they had never heard this song before, they couldn't help but feel that Ye Ge was singing completely off-key...