Volume 3 Hello, Eri Chapter 217 Sakura and the Little Monsters (Part 1)
The meaning of this sentence is that the world is so big. Lu Mingfei didn't quite understand why this girl was crying alone on the long street and wrote down such feelings in a small notebook. She thought that the world was of course very big. There were China, the United States, and the fighting nation Russia in the world. In some places, there were thousands of miles of yellow sand without a drop of rain for decades, and in some places, there were ice and snow, and polar bears were guarding the floating ice and catching fish with their paws.
For most people, those are scenes they will never witness in their lifetime, but in this era, even if you are sitting at home, you can know that the president on the other side of the ocean has diarrhea in his crotch. Of course you know that the world is big, but you don’t need to sigh about it. If you really have an idea, you can always go where you want to go by jumping on a plane. The entire earth has been developed by humans. When you get off the plane, you can go directly to the hotel and there will be attentive and beautiful young ladies to take care of everything for you.
"Are you... okay?" Lu Mingfei was not stupid enough to think that she had made the other person cry. It was just a coincidence that she was thinking about something, and the person standing there was sad alone. No one noticed it, let alone paid attention to such a small accident.
Lu Mingfei could have just walked away, after all, the red-haired girl didn't care about her, but she couldn't pretend she didn't see it. Japan is a society where human touch is somewhat cold. It's like the girl has been crying here for so long with tears streaming down her face, but no one has come forward to show concern. As a kind-hearted girl, Lu Mingfei feels that she cannot leave.
The red-haired girl still had no intention of paying attention to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei was unwilling to give up and waved her hand in front of her eyes. The girl then came to her senses and stared at Lu Mingfei blankly.
When their eyes met at such a close distance, Lu Mingfei discovered that not only was her hair red, but her pupils were also as deep and gorgeous as roses. They were not cosmetic contact lenses but her natural eye color, pure without any impurities, as if they had just been soaked in tears and had no emotions at all, and her eyes were a little dull.
"I see you crying here alone... If you have something sad or worried, it's better to go home. There are too many people here and you might be targeted by some bad guys. If you don't want to go home, you can find a hotel to stay for a night." Lu Mingfei gave advice like a caring sister, but she was half a head shorter than the girl in front of her, so if passers-by saw this scene, they might think she was the sister.
The red-haired girl didn't say anything, but held up the notebook for Lu Mingfei to see.
"Okay, okay, I know the world is really big, but now is not the time to talk about this..." Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered a question she had overlooked. Who would carry a notebook and a pen with them? When communicating, would they hold up the notebook to show it to others?
"Can't you speak?" Lu Mingfei asked cautiously. Having physical disabilities is a painful point for many disabled people, and sometimes they are reluctant to let others mention it, so Lu Mingfei asked in a very low voice.
The red-haired girl nodded.
Lu Mingfei thought to herself, has her good intentions led to trouble? This is a girl who can't speak, wearing a half-dried haori that doesn't belong to her, standing in Akihabara and crying alone. Any writer can write a miserable background of 180,000 words for this girl.
"Where is your home? I'll take you home!" Lu Mingfei had no choice but to use the best way to deal with lost children.
"I don't want to go back." The red-haired girl wrote in the notebook.
She still doesn't want to go home even after being in such a state. It must be a family conflict. Lu Mingfei instantly imagined a classic Japanese family ethics drama in her mind. The girl in front of her had pretty eyebrows and fair skin. She might be the child of some wealthy family.
"Then do you have anywhere to go? To be honest, given your current condition, I'm always worried that someone will kidnap you..."
The girl shook her head. After thinking about it, it made sense. If someone had somewhere to go, why would they cry alone facing the long street?
Lu Mingfei was silent for a while and decided to give it a try. Since they had met, it was fate and it was impossible for her to abandon a girl like that. Although it was already dark, there was still a long night ahead and she could always find a solution.
"Can you tell me your name?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Eri." Eri wrote her name in a small notebook and held it up for Lu Mingfei to see.
"Okay Miss Eri, now you don't want to go home and you have nowhere to go. If you are not afraid that I'm a bad person... how about considering coming with me?" Lu Mingfei tried her best to put on a kind smile so as not to sound like a bad uncle who was chatting up people on the street... or a seductive lesbian. She found that Eri's answers to questions were very brief and her expression basically did not fluctuate. She looked a little silly and cute and easy to deceive. Although she said this with good intentions, when Eri tilted her head with a slightly puzzled look, Lu Mingfei still felt like she was doing something bad.
A hint of surprise flashed in Eri's eyes, which was a rare emotional fluctuation since they met. She probably felt that she had been here for so long, and it was a bit strange that the guy in front of her was the only one who came up to talk to her. After getting used to the indifference around her, it was a bit uncomfortable to see a warm guy suddenly come up.
Seeing Eri's look, Lu Mingfei quickly raised her hands in surrender, indicating that she had no ill intentions: "I know that people like me are quite strange in Japan, but as a foreign tourist I really just want to find someone to eat ramen with me! You see, it's boring for me to wander around alone in the long night, isn't it? If you are willing to accompany me, I can pay for your accommodation and meals tonight!"
Lu Mingfei guessed that Eri must have no money, because if she had money, she could at least find a hotel, or at least go to a restaurant, so she wouldn't be alone on the street. For a penniless person, providing food and lodging would be a very tempting option, but she didn't know if Eri would agree.
"Is the ramen you want to eat delicious?" this is the question written on the notebook.
"Miss, who are you? You actually asked if ramen tastes good, as if you grew up drinking heavenly jade dew!" Ming Fei became a noisy and funny girl as soon as the complaining mechanism was turned on. She counted on her fingers and listed the merits of ramen with Eri, "It's not a question of whether it tastes good or not, but a question of whether everyone you see on the street has eaten it! The fragrant and mellow bone soup is the standard of Japanese ramen, combined with the fresh and fragrant taste of fried tempura and the seafood flavor of fish cake, it can be said that a bowl of ramen gathers the essence of cheap food!"
"Then the ramen I've had is different from yours. Mine was made in front of me, and it had shrimp, marinated eggs, matsutake mushrooms, and caviar."
Lu Mingfei thought that she was really a young lady. If it weren't for her cute expression, she would have thought she was being Versailles. Maybe Eri really had never had the experience of eating cheap ramen at a roadside stall. In her worldview, all ramen should be like hers, made in front of the chef and filled with luxurious ingredients.
"Now I have a chance to take you to eat a brand new ramen, do you want to come?" Lu Mingfei stretched out his hand and tempted Eri like a gentleman in medieval Europe.
It was indeed a temptation, because Eri continued the conversation only after noticing the ramen, which showed that she was a foodie. That was easy to deal with, a girl who loved to eat was always easy to feed, Lu Mingfei could just use the food to trick her to her side, and then mobilize her senior brother Caesar or even the Snake Eight Family to bring Eri home.
Lu Mingfei thought that Eiry would remain vigilant, but this time Eiry put her hand in Lu Mingfei's palm without any hesitation. Facing those eyes that were so innocent like those of a small animal, Lu Mingfei always felt like she was an insidious hunter, luring the ignorant little kitten into her trap.
God knows! This is just to help a lost girl! God, you have to watch over it! If you don’t have time, you can ask the Jade Emperor next door to help. He is Chinese, and we Chinese will never cheat Chinese people!
Lu Mingfei hailed a taxi. She originally just wanted to find a place to eat ramen, and then call her senior to come and help Eri find a place to stay or something. Since she didn't want to go home, then she might as well follow her wishes.
But when Lu Mingfei heard Eri say that she ate ramen with high-end ingredients, she changed her mind. She had heard about the price of matsutake mushrooms in Japan, and the word "rich" mixed in with her words was really unpleasant. She decided to defeat Eri's top ramen chef with her folk-style dishes. It just so happened that she had met such an authentic master recently!
At the back door of Tokyo National University, Lu Mingfei pulled Eri and lifted the curtain of the trolley.
"Welcome... Oh, isn't this an old customer?"
Before the ramen chef could finish his welcome, his eyes lit up when he saw the customer coming in. He was quite impressed by this knowledgeable Chinese girl. He thought he might only have the chance to meet a tourist like her once in a lifetime, but he didn't expect to meet her again so soon.
"Indeed, we are old customers. We came here again with our friends because we were craving your ramen!" Lu Mingfei took Eri to a seat and pointed a finger with each hand, "Two large portions of pork bone char siu, with all the ingredients!"
"Hey yo!"
Eri looked up at the small ramen shop parked on the street. The yatai cart was indeed a rare experience for her. She had never seen such a warm and simple decoration. In her few impressions of going out, the place to eat should be an elegant and magnificent lobby, with waiters in black serving her, the plates were engraved with intricate family crests, and the tableware was made of pure silver, which made pleasant sounds every time it collided.
But now the boss was busy right in front of her, the big pot of cooking noodles was steaming, and the rising heat almost hit her face. She was so scared that she turned sideways to avoid it, but she still felt a wet heat sweeping across her chest.
"Isn't it fun? I guess your ramen chef wouldn't make ramen for you like this!" Lu Mingfei was very proud. She didn't hate the rich, but she was used to being poor since she was a child. She instinctively resisted things that were too luxurious. In her opinion, many cheap things were the embellishment of life, and things that were not accessible to most people were not worth discussing.
So she brought Eri here specially to eat ramen. The old ramen chef's skills are indeed authentic, and the simple but warm restaurant like the trolley will definitely surprise Eri, who has never been here before.
Seeing Eri staring at the ramen chef with curiosity, Lu Mingfei felt complacently that this was indeed the right choice. Her Royal Highness the Princess had never eaten oden sold at a roadside stall, and she had no idea why such a girl from a wealthy family and with a quiet appearance would run to such a place alone because of something that happened at home.
It doesn't take much time for a small shop like this to make two servings of ramen. The boss's pot is always filled with broth, which doesn't stop even when he goes home to close the stall. It is precisely because of this thick broth that the ramen chef's ramen stands out on this long street. He has the leisure and time to do this. In the eyes of this chef , those shops that use pre-made broth are really tarnishing the reputation of traditional Japanese cuisine.
Two large bowls of ramen were pushed onto the table. Eri seemed a little impatient. In fact, she hadn't eaten anything since last night. As Lu Mingfei had thought, she was penniless now, so when she heard that she was being treated to ramen, she was still very moved. The hot mist hit Eri's cheeks, and even if she squinted her eyes, she had to pick up the chopsticks and eat quickly.
"Wait!" Lu Mingfei suddenly stretched out her hand to block Eiry. A hint of anger appeared on Eiry's face. In the eyes of this princess, preventing her from enjoying delicious food was an unforgivable sin. However, considering that this person brought her to dinner, she endured it for the time being.
“Common food should be eaten in a common way! Chewing slowly is not the first choice of gourmets!” Lu Mingfei put two chopsticks together, inserted them directly into the ramen bowl, twisted her wrist and stirred it. The big lump of dough was easily brought up. She opened her mouth wide and blew hot air wildly, then swallowed it in one gulp, immersed in the beauty with a face full of happiness, and let out a joyful groan that was almost equivalent to the heroine's clothes bursting in the food animation.
This way of eating is not elegant, and it is something many children like to do, but it is undeniable that it is indeed very enjoyable. Food is not just about tasting the flavor, but also about the joyful feeling of fullness that fills the entire mouth and stomach, and enjoying the pleasant touch of food passing through the throat.
The way Eri looked at Lu Mingfei was like Ultraman on patrol seeing a little monster. In her world, it was Minamoto Chisei and Tachibana Masamune who taught her table manners. No matter where she went, she would be as dignified and elegant as a princess when she ate. No one had ever told her that she could eat like this without paying attention to any broken rules. The most important thing was to be happy. Lu Mingfei's big mouthful of happiness was really moving. Even if she hadn't touched the ramen in front of her, she seemed to feel how delicious this bowl of so-called cheap ramen was because of Lu Mingfei.
The door to a new world was opened. Eri imitated Lu Mingfei and carefully rolled up the ramen with chopsticks. As a beginner, she was not as skilled as Lu Mingfei, so she could not roll up as much. However, it was still a big challenge compared to her usual way of eating.
A large bowl of ramen went into her mouth along with the fish paste as a side dish. She immediately understood where Lu Mingfei's happiness came from. Her mouth was filled with delicious food and all her taste buds blossomed under the strong stimulation. She savoured the already mellow flavour to the end, and it seemed that even the soup would not be spared, not to mention how pleasant it was when she swallowed it. It was as if the noodles had fallen directly into her stomach with a plop, creating a huge storm.
