The Nutrition is Too Good - Chap 4
“Did you offend Zhong Yi?” Kong Sandou asked.
Rong Mian first ate all the meat on the braised pork rice, then used a spoon to scrape off the layer of rice soaked in sauce and reluctantly swallowed it in small bites.
In the end, only white rice and a stick of youcai1 remained in the lunch box. So Rong Mian stared at the green vegetable for a moment, slowly picked it up, and moved it to the edge of the lunch box.
“Remember to eat all the vegetables.”
Kong Sandou said, “Uncle Yun told me to keep an eye on you. He said that if you want to stay in human form for a long time, you must eat vegetables and rice. If the human body doesn’t consume vegetables, it will die.”
“And vegetables are actually delicious.”
Kong Sandou looked at him sorrowfully and said, “I specially stir-fried tender vegetables for you. But you didn’t even try a single bite. How do you know it doesn’t taste good?”
Kong Sandou’s original form is a 9-kilogram Shiba Inu. She is not picky about food and can finish a whole cauliflower and three steamed buns in one minute.
As Rong Mian’s assistant, her daily routine is to prepare three meals a day for him. Her dream is to become a chef after Rong Mian becomes famous. Her favourite exercise is running, and her favourite activity is drinking water. She always keeps a 5-liter bottle of Nongfu Spring water by her side to stay hydrated at all times.
Rong Mian felt that she couldn’t empathize with him, so he expressed his resistance in silence for a while.
He stared at the lush youcai for a moment, then picked up the lunch box again and made a request, “I want to eat meat.”
“You just finished a whole bag of ham in the morning.”
Kong Sandou shook her index finger and said seriously, “The most important thing is that we are currently in human form. If a person eats meat for every meal, they will die.”
Rong Mian lowered his eyes and used his fingers to fiddle with the edge of the plastic lunch box, remaining silent.
“Did you really not offend him?”
Kong Sandou’s thoughts were a bit scattered. She scratched her head and began to mutter to herself, “That shouldn’t be. They say Zhong Yi has a really good temper. But why did I feel like something was off in his eyes when the play ended just now…”
Rong Mian said, “I don’t know.”
Rong Mian truly didn’t know what had happened that night.
His thoughts were always simple and straightforward: Zhong Yi had personally said that he already knew Rong Mian’s true identity and wanted to see what special skills Rong Mian had. So Rong Mian felt that he didn’t need to hide anything anymore.
Rong Mian wasn’t good at singing, dancing, or reciting poems as Zhong Yi had mentioned, but he had his own unique talent: his true form was a beautiful little black cat with four paws that white like snow.
Moreover, he had a fluffy and beautiful tail.
During the time he worked at the cat café, the tail was one of Rong Mian’s proud personal features.
His tail transitioned from black to deep grey, with a snowy white tip, resembling watercolour ink spreading, which was unique and rarely seen. Many customers came specifically to admire and pet his tail.
However, Rong Mian didn’t let everyone touch his tail every time. When he was in a bad mood, he would jump onto a high counter, selfishly tuck his tail under his butt, and then sleep by himself.
This was Rong Mian’s third year of being able to transform into a human form.
He was now capable of socializing like a human, and he tried to adapt to human eating habits. However, when it came to human moral standards and shame, Rong Mian still had a very vague understanding.
In his eyes, humans wore clothes for aesthetics and warmth, so there was nothing worth avoiding about undressing.
Except for occasionally being asked to wear seasonal dresses on specific holidays, Rong Mian and his friends at the cat café lived their lives completely naked, and being honest with each other until now.
Moreover, Zhong Yi had personally said that he had many friends like Rong Mian, so Rong Mian automatically assumed that Zhong Yi must understand this principle as well.
Rong Mian thought that Zhong Yi seemed like a polite and cultured person, and he felt that Zhong Yi wouldn’t directly touch his tail. Besides, Zhong Yi didn’t have any strange smells on him.
So Rong Mian felt that he should be a little more generous.
However, just as he had just unzipped his pants and was about to reveal his tail, the man standing opposite him suddenly changed his expression.
Rong Mian saw that Zhong Yi’s expression went from shock to anger in an instant. He first restrained Rong Mian’s wrist with some weariness, then looked deeply at him, shook his head, and turned around to leave the bathroom directly.
Before he could even start demonstrating his talent, Rong Mian knew that he must have already been disliked.
He wasn’t sad, just a little confused because he didn’t know where he had gone wrong, and he rarely encountered people who didn’t like to see his tail.
Acting should be simpler, and you will never go wrong if you act according to the script.
Rong Mian thought, humans are truly fickle.
Kong Sandou gained the ability to transform into a human form a year earlier than Rong Mian, but in reality, both of them were pretty much the same, and neither could help the other.
“You… , you should speak less,” Kong Sandou scratched his head. “When you don’t know how to reply or didn’t understand what others said, just use the universal phrases like ‘maybe’ or ‘not sure’ or ‘next time,’ it will never go wrong. Do you understand?”
Rong Mian mumbled a vague response.
Kong Sandou was still worried, so she simulated several more scenarios with Rong Mian, such as; “Rong Mian, do you want to go to XXX together after work?” to prepare for possible situations.
Rong Mian used the polite phrases she taught him to respond one by one. Kong Sandou finished his inspection and left happily to fetch water.
So Rong Mian lowered his head and re-examined the lunchbox in his hand. He felt that he still hadn’t eaten enough and decided to swallow down the last piece of vegetable.
The oil on the vegetable smelled unpleasant, causing him to frown. He held onto the stem and slowly stuffed it into his mouth.
It was so difficult to eat. Compared to the juicy and enticing texture of meat, the rough texture of plant fibers was unbearable. Rong Mian struggled to swallow, but his throat instinctively resisted.
As he forcefully pushed it down, Rong Mian felt even his eye sockets becoming slightly warm.
Just when Rong Mian couldn’t manage to swallow that last bite, he suddenly heard someone calling him, “Kid.”
Then Zhong Yi saw the scene before him.
The boy sitting on the stool had slightly puffed-up cheeks, holding a lunchbox, and looking at him with moist eyes.
How intriguing.
Zhong Yi wondered.
What kind of probability would it take for this child to always be eating something whenever they meet?
Zhong Yi instinctively looked at what Rong Mian was holding in his hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t cat or dog food this time, but a full box of rice that seemed untouched.
“…I feel uneasy when I don’t clarify things clearly,”
Zhong Yi said. “I want to film this drama well, so I think it’s better for us to be clear about things early on.”
Rong Mian continued to quietly look at him.
“That day…” Zhong Yi hesitated. He met Rong Mian’s clear eyes and ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say the phrase “Do you want me to support you financially?”
“Do you want to be with me?” he used a smarter wording instead.
Rong Mian blinked in confusion.
He didn’t understand at all what Zhong Yi was saying, nor did he know if Zhong Yi’s “be with me” meant simply following along or if it meant something like what customers at cat cafés say to the cats they like, “Would you like to come with me?”
Rong Mian felt somewhat fortunate that Kong Sandou had taught him those universal reply quotes before leaving just now.
Zhong Yi patiently waited for a while.
Then he saw the boy turn his face away, space out for a moment, and then his Adam’s apple moved lightly, as if he had finally swallowed something in his mouth.
After a long time, Zhong Yi heard Rong Mian softly say, ‘Probably.’
Author’s note:
Zhong Yi: Tsk, I knew it.”
Footnotes
Youcai is Chinese vegetable.
