Sour

"Food and love are the two basic elements of life," stated Yiyi in a solemn tone as she looked at Liu Xinyu. "Haven't you heard that saying before?"

"What comes first then?" asked Liu Xinyu, looking like she was very interested in this topic.

"Food," was the answer that Liu Xinyu expected from Yiyi, and after getting this answer, she ended up laughing. This abrupt laughter made quite a lot of people give her strange looks but Liu Xinyu ignored it and continued to laugh. "What's so funny?" Yiyi didn't look pleased with her laughter at all. "I'm not wrong. Think about it, if you haven't dined well, how can you focus on anything? When there is no food in your system, you can't concentrate on serious business. After all, all your attention would be on hunger. That's why, to love, you need to first be full."

"I agree with that," said Liu Xinyu as she got her laughter under control. "Love can't fill your stomach. But an empty stomach can give you an illusion of love." Yiyi raised her brows at her in question and Liu Xinyu had to explain, "Think about it. If you're dizzy with hunger and someone suddenly offers you a meal timely, that meal won't only placate your stomach but will also warm your heart and in turn, you can have illusions of love."

"You are right," agreed Yiyi. "Kindness and love are two things but people often mistake the two for the other. It's easy to get them mixed up."

"Of course, I know I'm right," was Liu Xinyu's response. "Why isn't he done with his phone call? Why don't you go and check up on him to see what's so important?"

Yiyi gave an exaggerated expression, "I am an upright ghost. You want me to be sneaky and do the shady work of eavesdropping? My conscience won't allow it."

"Why does a ghost even need a conscience?" was Liu Xinyu's question in return. "Besides, I am asking you to do an upright work here. You can swagger over there and listen to his phone call openly. Who can stop you?" Seeing how Yiyi wasn't moving, Liu Xinyu stared at her intently, "Are you going or not? I will stop talking to you if you don't move."

Yiyi was exasperated by this threat. She had never been threatened in her life before. No, she had been threatened but she had never taken those threats to heart. Who didn't know what kind of a calamity she was? Even their threats towards her couldn't hide their fear. But now, she was actually being threatened by a little girl and she was speechless and helpless.

She had to listen because she was very clear about the fact that she was stuck with Liu Xinyu. So even if there were other people with Yin-Yang eyes who could see her, she'd still have to stick close to Liu Xinyu. And if this girl stopped talking, then she'd be really bored. And she did not want that. Yiyi liked to talk quite opposite to what people believed when she was alive but it seemed Liu Xinyu figured out her essence very well.

Resigning herself to fate, she went to find Yi Qin.

Liu Xinyu had a smirk on her face as she looked very pleased with herself. It took five minutes before Yiyi came back following behind Yi Qin but the way she looked at Yi Qin was weird. Liu Xinyu gave her a look but Yiyi ignored her. Liu Xinyu mentally rolled her eyes at this ghost who was throwing a temper tantrum.

"Let's leave now," said Yi Qin. "I have to go somewhere later in the evening. So, I bought a few extra pastries for you to eat as snacks at night. Tell me what you want for dinner and we can pack it up on the way. But it'll be cold by the dinner time." He seemed to be talking to Liu Xinyu but also seemed to be talking to himself. 

Liu Xinyu didn't ask where he was going or what he needed to do, she just followed him out. Thinking of something, she finally opened her mouth, "If it's something important, you can leave first."

Yi Qin looked at her and paused.

"It's not far from the community. I can go back on my way. I'll just take this chance to get familiar with this area. Don't be late because of me."

Yi Qin hesitated for a moment and finally nodded, "Okay then. Be careful on your way. Only walk on the main road. Don't enter any alleys. You do know the way back right?"

"I remember," she answered.

"That's great. It took me a while to remember my way around," he laughed unabashedly as he mentioned that. He didn't feel like it was a disgrace that he couldn't remember his way around. Not everyone is good with directions. At least, he wasn't that directionally challenged. He just had to take his time getting familiar with the way. "Get back safely then. There is a small mart at the corner of the community, they have a phone there. You can give me a call from there. Here is my number..."

She listened to him repeating a string of numbers and nodded solemnly.

"You remember the number or should I write it down?"

"I remember it," saying that, she even repeated the number to reassure this worry-wart. It seemed her father didn't start nagging in a day or two, he was born with this talent.

"Don't forget to give me a call," said Yi Qin as he got on the bicycle but still kept giving her instructions repeatedly. 

"How was it?" asked Yiyi once Yi Qin was gone.

"What?" inquired Liu Xinyu as she started walking slowly with the plastic bags that held the clothes she bought in the morning. 

"Growing up with a father who is such a worrywart?"

Liu Xinyu smiled in response and said, "It was great."

"Really?" Yiyi didn't seem to believe her that much. "You are practically strangers but just because he feels responsible for you, he is already so worried about your safety. I don't think he'd be any less worried about his only daughter."

"No, he got even better at worrying," answered Liu Xinyu. "He used to follow me around when I was young. But seeing that I was growing up and wouldn't want my parents to follow me everywhere, he stopped doing that. At least, he said he won't but in reality, he'd still follow me in the shadows to make sure I was safe. Once he was caught by Mama and had to coax her for a long time. Later, they straight-up sent me to the martial arts school to learn self-defense. Only then did he stop being my shadow."

"Sounds like a sweet burden."

"Why do you sound so sour?" asked Liu Xinyu.

Yiyi looked around at the people walking on the pedestrian lane and at the shops that sold different knicks and knacks, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she replied, "My father raised me like a free bird. He did not care what I was doing. It didn't matter."

"Why?" asked Liu Xinyu.

"Because I was the last person he'd want to care about," was Yiyi's bland answer which couldn't tell if she was sad about this or just numb. But Liu Xinyu could tell that if she was really indifferent, Yiyi wouldn't be feeling envious of her right now. "Do you know where your father went?"

"Where?" asked Liu Xinyu as she was easily led to a different topic by Yiyi.

"He seems to have asked his friends for help. He might be looking for ways to help someone named Zhang Yating," told Yiyi as she wasn't around when Liu Xinyu and Yi Qin were talking about his girlfriend, she didn't know who Zhang Yating was. "I think this woman is very important to him. He was happy because he finally managed to be of use to her."

Liu Xinyu frowned when she heard this. "Zhang Yating is his girlfriend. I'd like to know who this woman is and how she managed to make Yi Qin feel so inferior about himself. How is she better than him? Why is she putting on airs? Just because she didn't spend time with him, he looked so depressed. And she said, he has no ambitions and was still a child."

"What is wrong with having a childish heart?" retorted Yiyi looking pissed off. "Does she even realize what a pure gem Yi Qin is? Doesn't he come from a rich family? Is that not enough? He should have the right to explore his options because he can afford that. He is still young and even if he fails, he can still go back home to inherit his family business or something."

"Why do you seem to be more pissed off them me?" asked Liu Xinyu feeling baffled by Yiyi's reaction.

"I have come to like this clean and pure jade named Yi Qin," was Yiyi's righteous answer. "I have seen him running around for you and an unrelated person. I have seen him worried for you. I have seen his concern and sincerity. Even in my times, such people are rare. And I don't think the world has gotten any better since my times as long as human nature is concerned. Sure, the technology is good and we are progressing but along with that, human hearts are becoming darker and darker."

"You're good. You managed to understand the modern society so soon and so well. I am impressed," said Liu Xinyu. "But forget about that Zhang Yating. If she really valued this gem, how would this gem fall into Nan Xing's ice pond? How will I be born?"

Yiyi had a look of enlightenment and nodded her head, "You are right. Why didn't I think about this."

"Maybe the IQ goes down once you become a ghost."

"What's IQ?"

"Intelligence!"

Yiyi threw a dark stare at Liu Xinyu who chuckled not taking that stare to heart. She found her way back to the residential community easily. After finding the mart that Yi Qin spoke of, she went in and asked to make a call. After calling Yi Qin, she looked around at what was sold in the mart. She bought a bunch of sour candies, took lemons, and salt, and also asked for red dates, wolfberries, and a few other things before paying.

When she realized that after buying so much the total was barely only 10 yuan, Liu Xinyu had another strong realization of being in the 90s. The inflation hadn't gone that bad yet. At least, not for her who came from 2023. But hearing a few neighborhood aunties talking about how expensive everything was becoming, she chose to keep her opinions to herself.

Opening the wrapper, she threw a sour candy into her mouth and sighed contently. She could finally get rid of the taste of both the sweet cake and the bitter coffee. Indeed, sour was still the best flavor in the world!