The Role of an Elderly Father

Lin Mo scrutinized Ning Qingcheng, who sat before him.

This girl was indeed a carefully cultivated flower from a prominent family. Even while sitting in this noisy and greasy environment, her back remained perfectly straight, and the noble aura in her every movement could not be hidden.

However, Lin Mo could see that the girl's eyes were shining as she flipped through the menu in front of her.

It wasn't simple gluttony, but a yearning for an unknown world.

"Never eaten these before?" Lin Mo asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Ning Qingcheng shook her head, her voice lowering slightly. "No, my family wouldn't allow it."

Jiang Chengshan would also restrict Jiang Yunlu from casually eating outside food.

She pursed her lips, seemingly trying to find a way to save face. "Father said that the things on the street are all eaten by ordinary people."

Ning Qingcheng was very curious about all this, but in reality, her father's exact words hadn't been that.

Lin Mo picked up his teacup and gently blew away the floating tea leaves, not even raising his eyelids.

"You're lying."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

Ning Qingcheng jerked her head up to look at him.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Ning family practices elite education."

Lin Mo set down his teacup with a soft clink. "So, your father would absolutely never use such a mild term as 'ordinary people'."

He looked at the girl's instantly surprised expression, a hint of amusement entering his eyes.

"He would say..."

Lin Mo made no sound, only mouthing the word.

Ning Qingcheng understood that word.

"Trash."

In an instant, it was as if all the strength had been drained from the girl. She abruptly lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping and casting a shadow over her eyelids.

She couldn't bring herself to say such words anymore.

Because the Ning family was no longer that lofty, high-and-mighty family that could casually judge others.

Seeing her like this, Lin Mo suddenly smiled.

"I'm glad you're starting to understand what ordinary people are."

He extended a finger and tapped twice on the table.

"Although you grew up a little bit crooked, fortunately, you aren't completely bent out of shape."

He looked at the bustling street around them, filled with people coming and going. The food stalls lining both sides of the street were steaming with wok hei, the ladles clashing against iron woks to create a cacophony of sounds.

Ning Qingcheng's clear eyes, however, were like those of a small beast venturing out of its cave for the first time, curiously scanning everything around her.

She watched intently; whether it was the shirtless chef tossing his wok or the mountain of empty beer bottles piled under a nearby table, it was all incredibly novel to her.

Hmm, she felt very similar in nature to Jiang Yunlu, but her nobler background gave her slightly higher standards.

This was fine too. When she grew up, she wouldn't be easily deceived by a few sweet words from some ignorant punk.

Wait.

When did he unconsciously adopt the role of an old father?

Lin Mo chuckled and shook his head, tossing the strange thought aside.

Soon, the boss came over carrying a large tray and set it heavily on the table.

"Handsome, your salt-baked chicken!"

One plate contained chopped chicken pieces, neatly arranged.

The other was tightly wrapped in oil paper, still a whole chicken. The steam had soaked the paper semi-transparent, and the overbearing aroma drilled straight into their noses.

"Which one do you want to eat?" Lin Mo asked.

Ning Qingcheng didn't speak. She silently took a brand new pair of chopsticks, tore open the packaging, and, mimicking Lin Mo's earlier actions, meticulously scalded them with tea water.

Then, using serving chopsticks, she steadily picked up a piece of chicken and placed it into Lin Mo's bowl.

"Senior brother, please eat."

Her movements were as standard as a textbook.

"Is this the Ning family's upbringing?" Lin Mo asked casually.

Ning Qingcheng's expression didn't change. She understood the underlying meaning in Lin Mo's words, but simply lowered her head, neither picking up a second piece nor serving herself.

Her small hands rested on her lap as she waited quietly.

It seemed she was waiting for Lin Mo to start eating.

Lin Mo only just realized.

It had been like this during breakfast this morning too. If he didn't move his chopsticks, this little girl would absolutely not eat first.

And this habit of using serving chopsticks, even though there were only the two of them at the table.

It was truly... overly fastidious.

It was a good habit, but Lin Mo wasn't very used to it.

He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed the chicken in his bowl, and took a bite. It was savory, flavorful, and cooked to perfection.

"Alright, eat up." Lin Mo mumbled while chewing the chicken. "Does the Ning family have this many rules? Aren't you tired?"

Receiving permission, Ning Qingcheng finally picked up the serving chopsticks, selected a small piece of meat near the breast, placed it into her own bowl, then switched to her personal chopsticks and began eating in tiny bites.

Her actions were gentle and elegant, completely out of place with the rough and uninhibited surroundings.

"Father says this is politeness," she replied softly.

Rather than politeness, it was more like a discipline carved into her very bones.

If Ning Qingcheng no longer insisted on it, he wouldn't mind, let alone mock her.

After all, a thirteen-year-old child was still in her formative stages.

Peeling back the oil paper, a whole, glistening golden salt-baked chicken was revealed. The visual impact of its complete, undivided form was far beyond what a plate of chopped chicken pieces could compare to.

Especially when Lin Mo reached out, grabbed a chicken leg, and gave it a forceful tug.

Riiiip!

Accompanied by the crisp sound of skin and meat separating, a burst of hot steam mixed with the aroma of meat rushed against their faces. The slightly golden grease, along with boiling hot juices, burst out and slowly slid down the texture of the chicken skin.

Sitting opposite him, Ning Qingcheng subconsciously slowed her breathing by half a beat, her eyes staring fixedly at that chicken leg.

However, under the little girl's burning gaze, Lin Mo didn't hold back in the slightest. He raised the chicken leg to his mouth and took a massive, vicious bite.

The thin crispness of the skin and the tender softness of the meat blended between his teeth. The abundant juices instantly filled his mouth, and a few drops even slid down the corner of his mouth, dripping precisely into the rice bowl below.

Ning Qingcheng looked at the chicken leg in Lin Mo's hand, then lowered her head to look at the dismembered, somewhat fragmented chicken leg pieces on the plate.

Her throat bobbed unconsciously.

Ultimately, she still picked up the serving chopsticks, elegantly lifted one of the chicken leg pieces, placed it into her own bowl first, then switched to her personal chopsticks and brought it to her mouth in small bites.

The taste was the same, but the feeling... was completely different.

"Mmm! You really have to gnaw on a whole chicken leg, it's so good," Lin Mo mumbled his praise, his mouth covered in grease.

Ning Qingcheng closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to dispel some inappropriate urge in her mind.

When she opened them again, she had returned to the appearance of a well-bred young lady, meticulously alternating between the serving chopsticks and her personal ones.

Lin Mo glanced at her but said nothing. He made quick work of the chicken leg and casually tossed the bone onto the bone plate.

Immediately after, doing exactly as before, he reached out and twisted off the other intact chicken leg.

But this time, he didn't eat it.

Instead, he placed the steaming, plumpest chicken leg directly on top of the plate of chopped salt-baked chicken. The tip of the drumstick pointed perfectly and squarely in Ning Qingcheng's direction.