Chapter 84: Little Ones Pair Perfectly with Squinty Eyes… Part 2

Xie Jianxun peeled back the lid: four golden eyeballs stared blankly at him.

He snapped the lid shut. “…You sure?”

Seles, the thick-browed beefcake, egged him on too. “Give it a shot—it’s good. Hot item; long line over there, everyone’s after it.”

What planet grew fish like this?

Xie Jianxun poked skeptically with the box’s included fork, and golden juice burst out with a sizzle, nearly splattering his face.

The Little Adventurer stood helplessly as the other two slapped their thighs, roaring with laughter.

Moments later, those two weren’t laughing—their faces splattered with juice, they darted awkwardly to the curb, hunting free napkins.

Xie Jianxun squatted at the edge, finally trying it dubiously.

Using the fork like a spatula, he eased an eyeball into his mouth. It was surprisingly chewy—beefy flavor with a fried shrimp-ball vibe. Pretty good… as long as it didn’t explode.

The other two finished cleaning up and dared to show their faces again.

Xun Jia complained, “Jianxun’s ruthless. We just recommended a special local food, right? And he does us like that.”

Seles continued, “How’d Jianxun like the taste…”

He realized belatedly he’d picked up the cutesy nickname.

He trailed off, looking at Xie Jianxun, finding the intimate term adorable and secretly hoping Xie Jianxun would accept his ‘progress.’

Sure enough, Xie Jianxun didn’t notice a thing.

Xie Jianxun pressed down on Xun Jia’s shoulder and grinned. “Like it? Want another?”

Xun Jia recalled the fiasco and shook his head frantically. “No no no—you eat, you eat.”

Having menaced one, Xie Jianxun turned to Seles with a smile. “Pretty good—thanks for the rec. You try?”

The young man sighed in relief, grabbing both of them. “I ate earlier! Splattered myself… Place is packed today—don’t get separated!”

He spoke too soon.

When Seles wanted to recommend the local ‘gold foil rolls,’ Xun Jia craved rainbow milk tea, and Xie Jianxun got distracted by a massive cream puff wrap, separation was inevitable.

Xie Jianxun paid, hugged the half-person-high wrap, and turned back—the other two were gone.

The crowd was insanely thick, the air thick and sweet like boiled syrup sludge, barely room to step.

Both his hands were full with the giant wrap. He scanned for an empty table to set it down and free a hand for his Light Brain.

“Xun Jia—Seles—”

He called twice, but the wall of people bounced the sound back—he could tell it didn’t carry.

Xie Jianxun awkwardly shifted the wrap to one hand, reaching with the other for the Light Brain on his chest.

Suddenly, someone tugged his sleeve. Xie Jianxun turned delightedly. “Xun Jia…”

He froze. Behind him were other tourists’ backs—no one there.

Xie Jianxun turned around in confusion, only to feel another tug.

This time, he could tell the force was pulling downward.

Xie Jianxun turned slowly and looked down to see a short, adorable little kid standing by his leg, calmly gazing up at him.

It was the very same kid he had personally escorted to the security booth on the Silver University campus that day!

Back then, Xie Jianxun had taken the initiative to guide the kid. Now, the kid had approached him first and grabbed his clothing corner.

Xie Jianxun exclaimed in surprise, “Sir, are you lost again?!”

Three minutes later, they finally found a small empty table.

The previous occupants, some tourists, had just finished eating and stood up to leave. Xie Jianxun moved swiftly, using his massive cream puff wrap to shove the other tourists aside and claim the table.

Now, he sat in the chair and let out a solid sigh of relief.

“Sweat’s pouring out. Baisao Food Street lives up to its reputation,” Xie Jianxun said as he wiped his forehead, feeling sweat on his back too.

He muttered to himself and looked down at the little kid who had followed him all the way.

“Hungry? Want something to eat?”

Xie Jianxun pointed at the massive cream puff wrap. The little kid looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

So Xie Jianxun leaned forward slightly and plucked a cream-covered puff from the top of the wrap, handing it to the little kid.

The little kid’s pretty big eyes blinked in confusion. Then the kid looked at the hand that had automatically accepted it, showing an incredulous expression.

Xie Jianxun thought the kid minded the cream on his fingers and chuckled, “No helping it. Bear with me—there are no extra forks or boxes.”

Meanwhile, the little kid held the puff in a daze.

Xie Jianxun stopped looking and tore off two puffs for himself, eating them with great satisfaction.

The Little Adventurer said contentedly, “Sugar really lifts the spirits.”

With only the noisy chatter of tourists in the background, the little kid beside him remained silent.

Xie Jianxun glanced down just in time to see the little kid take a big bite of the puff. Cream squirted out from the hole at the top.

Pfft—

As expected, it splattered right on the nose.

The little kid’s eyes fixed tightly on the blob of cream: “…”

Xie Jianxun: “Pfft.”

Before the little kid could get annoyed, he quickly looked away. He casually got some free napkins from a patrolling mecha and reached over to wipe it off.

Xie Jianxun comforted the kid earnestly, “Everyone gets cream on their nose the first time they eat a puff pastry like this, sir. Don’t be mad.”

The little kid’s nose turned bright red from the wiping, and those eyes stared intently at Xie Jianxun—no telling if the kid was actually angry.

Xie Jianxun felt a bit guilty.

At least the first time he’d eaten a puff, he hadn’t squirted cream onto his own nose… But coaxing a kid? A little white lie didn’t hurt.

He quickly changed the subject. “Where are your family? Should I take you to the nearby security team?”

The little kid shook his head and gestured to the Light Brain on his wrist.

Xie Jianxun understood. “You’ve already contacted them? Alright then.”

He noticed that from start to finish, the little kid hadn’t said a single word to him—just used gestures or eye contact.

Maybe it was inconvenient, or perhaps the kid was just shy. Xie Jianxun tactfully ignored it.

Smoke and fireworks rose everywhere, voices blending into a din.

They sat at a casual table in the corner and seriously polished off the massive cream puff wrap.

Xie Jianxun messaged the other two. After coordinating, they all agreed to meet at the Gourmet Street entrance later—free time for now.

So he settled in comfortably, keeping the little kid company while eating puffs. He even bought the kid a sour plum-flavored ice cream cotton candy.

The little kid didn’t refuse or resist, eating whatever was offered.

For the kid, it seemed, what he ate didn’t matter—as long as he watched the person in front of him while doing so.

In less than fifteen minutes, Xie Jianxun watched wide-eyed as the kid devoured a plate of saucy meatballs, three skewers of barbecue, a sweet potato rolled-edge sandwich, a massive alien-style mixed octopus tentacle salad, and an extra-large honey-glazed wing platter.

Xie Jianxun: “…” Doubts flooded his mind.

He tallied up the food volume and felt a chill of horror.

Even without kid-raising experience, he had some common sense… This wasn’t the kind of amount someone that age should be able to eat!

When he went to toss the trash, the little kid thought he was leaving and dashed up to grab his sleeve.

The kid pointed casually at a stall, seemingly wanting him to buy more food, dragging him along.

Xie Jianxun looked closely: a whole roasted suckling pig.

“…”

“…No, this… definitely won’t work.”

He calmly crouched down slowly and negotiated with the little kid. “Even if we took it apart, neither of us could finish something this size. Be good and wait here for me, okay sir? I’ll dump this trash and come back to check on your… um… digestion issues.”

The little kid stared at him quietly, then… the kid’s mouth actually pouted!

Such an obvious, one-of-a-kind aggrieved expression!

Xie Jianxun’s heart melted at the sight. He rubbed his temples in headache. “No, really no. If you eat any more, your family will chew me out to my face sooner or later.”

Unable to keep the kid around, the little one put away the expression and lowered his head.

Xie Jianxun comforted him. “You have your Light Brain for contact anyway. How about we exchange comm codes? We can meet up for food again sometime?”

“Xunxun! Xunxun!”

Xie Jianxun heard someone calling from behind. He turned to see Xun Jia waving frantically from afar as he sprinted over.

Xie Jianxun called happily, “Over here!”

Xun Jia rushed up panting. “What are you crouching for? Huh, you want the roast suckling pig? Call Seles and we’ll eat it together!”

Xie Jianxun said, “Just chatting with this sir…”

But when Xie Jianxun turned back, the little kid who had been standing obediently by his knee was gone without a trace.

He stood up and scanned around, but saw no sign of that small figure.