NFBE Chapter 333 [Empire] Uncle
Chapter 333 [Empire] Uncle
After disembarking from Nightingale's hovercraft, the morning breeze brought a chill. I wrapped myself up and casually glanced at the street scene. The city streets were slowly becoming bustling, with various shops and vendors opening one after another. A bustling atmosphere filled the air, seemingly a completely different world from what I had experienced last night.
I stopped at a small stall on the roadside. The steam rising from the stall's boiler, bringing with it an alluring aroma, made me stop. The stall owner, an elderly woman, skillfully and nimbly filled a bowl of freshly cooked glutinous rice balls.
"Two servings of meat filling." I said, with a long-lost sense of relaxation in my tone.
"Okay, wait a moment!" Auntie responded with a smile and quickly took out a batch of plump dumplings from the pot. The soup was clear with a faint fragrance, and the aroma of the meat filling spread with the hot steam.
After a while, two bowls of steaming meat dumplings were handed to me. I paid, picked up the bowls, and handed one to Nightingale who was standing next to me.
"Here." I said simply and stuffed the dumplings into his hands.
Nightingale raised an eyebrow, clearly a little surprised by my action. He took the bowl, glanced down at the dumplings, and smiled softly, "Oh, you really do know how to take care of your companions."
"Stop talking nonsense." I curled my lips, lowered my head to blow away the hot air, scooped up a glutinous rice ball and put it in my mouth. The soft and glutinous skin wrapped around the delicious meat filling, and the broth slid down my taste buds and into my throat, instantly dispelling the chill brought by the morning breeze.
Nightingale stood aside, slowly eating glutinous rice balls, but her eyes were somewhat scrutinizing, and she would glance at me from time to time: "You, a minor, really know how to enjoy life."
"It's not enjoyment to know how to reward yourself." I murmured, eating another glutinous rice ball. "I just went through a farce last night. I have to give myself some motivation to keep living."
Nightingale chuckled, lowered her head and ate the dumplings slowly without saying anything more.
"Are you planning to stand in school like this, as a minor?" Nightingale took a sip of soup and couldn't help but tease him, her tone full of ridicule.
I rolled my eyes, scooped up a glutinous rice ball, bit half of it, and replied nonchalantly, "What else? It's my fault for being homeless."
Nightingale raised her eyebrows, clearly not very interested in this answer, but still looked like she was deliberately teasing me: "Homeless? Where's your adoptive father? Doesn't he pay you a large sum of child support? Why, he doesn't even provide a home?"
When I heard the word "adoptive father," I paused, my spoon hanging in mid-air, the smile on my lips froze, and then I regained my composure: "He, besides money, he only gives money."
"He sounds like a good boss." Nightingale commented in a frivolous tone, continuing to drink her soup slowly, but with a somewhat inquiring look in her eyes.
“Maybe,” I whispered, emotionless. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he ever stopped paying child support.”
Nightingale paused sipping his soup and lingered on me for a moment, as if trying to process my words. He didn't rush to speak, merely shaking his head with a half-smile. "You're quite frank. Most people wouldn't say that about their 'financial sponsor.'"
"He's not my financial backer," I said coldly, a complex emotion flashing in my eyes. "He's not my family either. It's more like... a deal. I don't cause him any trouble, and he doesn't interfere with my life. It's that simple."
"That sounds fair." Nightingale curled her lips and shrugged, as if she didn't care at all. "So what about your life now? Do you also rely on this kind of 'deal' to survive?"
I didn't answer immediately. I just lowered my head and took a sip of soup. After a moment of silence, I said calmly, "Maybe. But I hope that one day I can get rid of this situation and survive on my own."
Nightingale stared at me for a moment, a meaningful smile playing on the corner of her mouth. "On your own? That sounds good. Then I hope you can live more freely than you do now, minor."
"Stop talking nonsense." I rolled my eyes, bit into the last glutinous rice ball, and casually handed the empty bowl back to the stall owner. "Honestly, why do you always like to bring up topics like this to disgust me?"
"Because you look interesting." Nightingale answered confidently, with a smile that was a little mischievous. "Besides, I don't think you really care, otherwise you would have been furious a long time ago."
I snorted, didn't argue, just stretched, and turned my gaze towards the distant campus: "Okay, I'm done with the dumplings, I should get back to my 'humble student life'. Don't follow me anymore, lest the teacher suspect I'm hooking up with some weird old man."
Nightingale almost choked on his soup. He raised his finger and pointed at me, his tone full of helplessness: "Uncle? You're a minor, you have a very vicious tongue."
"At your age, aren't you considered an uncle?" I shrugged, turned lazily, and walked towards the campus. "Anyway, I have the final say."