Time is Slow / Meet You in My Prime - Chapter 2 : Seeking Help

The streets in the city were not very wide. Qiao Zhao lowered her head and followed the man, always paying attention to the movements around her out of the corner of her eyes.

Once or twice a time, the man seemed to relax his guard, but she resisted the temptation to run away.

When Qiao Zhao inadvertently saw the man's slightly raised eyebrows, she felt a chill in her heart.

As expected, in this crowded street, the man still kept a closer eye on her, and pretended to relax on the surface just to see whether she was truly honest or just pretending to be obedient.

The man suddenly stopped and pointed to a tavern on the roadside and said, "Let's eat here."

Qiao Zhao didn't move.

The man frowned, thinking, is it possible that the little girl still hasn't given up?

"Hurry up and go in, we have to travel soon!" The man urged while reaching out to pull Qiao Zhao.

The girl raised her hand and pointed to a three-story restaurant not far ahead. Her voice was as gentle as glutinous rice wine fermenting in people's hearts: "You said you would take me to a good restaurant for dinner. This place is not good."

The man's face darkened.

The building that the little girl pointed was the best restaurant in Baoling City, and having a meal there was definitely not cheap.

As he hesitated, the girl's clear eyes immediately filled with tears. She said stubbornly, "You lied to me. You said you would take me to a good restaurant. This restaurant is not even up to par!"

It was dinner time and many people were coming in and out of the travern. Hearing the loud little girl's voice, many people looked over immediately. The waiter standing at the door of the tavern had obviously heard what Qiao Zhao said and his face changed. He stepped over to chase the man and Qiao Zhao away.

The man's face changed slightly.

He recalled the fine fabrics the little girl was wearing when he kidnapped her during the Flower Festival in the capital. He knew that the little girl was from a wealthy or noble family, so it was normal for her to look down on this roadside tavern.

"You promised me to eat at that restaurant. Now you asked me to eat in this travern, who knows if it's clean? What if there's a fly in the food..."

The waiter of the tavern had already come close in three or two steps and said angrily, "Go away, don't block the door if you don't want to eat!"

Then he glared at the man and said, "How can you take care of the child?"

Qiao Zhao ignored what the waiter said and exclaimed, "Oh, look, there are oil stains between the fingers of this brother, and the sweat towel around his neck is also black..."

Her voice was gentle and pleasant, and although she spoke quickly, people entering and leaving the tavern could still hear her clearly. Two people immediately hesitated, and those who wanted to go in to eat turned around and went to another restaurant.

The tavern was not big, and the proprietress who came out to investigate heard this, pulled out the rolling pin from her waist and rushed over.

Qiao Zhao was still a little child, so the proprietress didn't bother with her and went straight to the man with the rolling pin.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the man grabbed the chattering Qiao Zhao and ran away.

The two of them ran all the way to the two-story restaurant before stopping. The man pointed at Qiao Zhao, so angry that he couldn't speak.

Qiao Zhao looked innocent: "I'm hungry."

The man let out a hard breath.

Finally decided, not to mind even though the food and wine at Zuixianju were expensive, he could make back all the money by selling this girl. Their destination was close and the matter was almost done, so he didn't want to make trouble.

"Go in!" The man glared at Qiao Zhao fiercely.

The two guests, a man and a little girl were dressed casually, so the waiter did not lead them upstairs, but just sat down in an empty seat in the hall.

"What do you want to eat, Sir?"

Before the man could speak, a gentle voice rang out: "Duck stuffed with glutinous rice."

The guy was stunned and looked at the man.

"I want to eat duck stuffed with glutinous rice." Qiao Zhao also looked at the man with a determined gaze.

The man's scalp tingled, and he asked the waiter, "Do you have this dish?"

"Yes, there is, but it takes a long time to wait."

Before Qiao Zhao could speak, the man waved his hand and said, "Just make it, and this two side dishes and some drinks."

Soon the food and wine the man ordered were served. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating, while Qiao Zhao sat upright waiting.

About quarter of an hour later, only a mess of cups and plates remained on the table, and the duck stuffed glutinous rice was finally served.

"Hurry, eat!" The man lowered his voice and gritted his teeth.

Qiao Zhao pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve, asked the waiter for a glass of water, wet the handkerchief and washed her hands.

The man couldn't help but mutter, "Why are you being so particular? Wasn't it okay to sleep outdoors before?"

Qiao Zhao raised her eyes and smiled: "When conditions permit, of course you should make yourself more comfortable."

The man was dazzled by the sudden smile and secretly smacked his lips: Well, this little girl is so young, but this smile almost made him lose composure.

He watched Qiao Zhao eat her meal leisurely with cold eyes, and the more he watched, the happier he became.

The little girl's manner was so elegant and graceful. When she grew up, the people would be queque to buy her.

With such potential, he could certainly sell her for a good price.

Thinking of it this way, waiting didn't seem so boring.

The man's reaction was as Qiao Zhao expected. All she wanted was to be able to eat the meal slowly. The man felt that she was highly valuable, and because things were about to be accomplished, he didn't want to have any more trouble, so he would naturally be more patient with her.

Qiao Zhao ate very slowly, taking small bites. Occasionally, her eyes would sweep across the hall, inadvertently pausing for a moment at the stairs leading to the second floor, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

She didn't know how long she waited. When the man became impatient, footsteps sounded from the corner of the stairs, and soon three people walked down the wooden stairs.

The three of them were like magnets, instantly attracting the attention of the people in the hall. The hall suddenly became quiet, and even the man who had been guarding Qiao Zhao strictly forgot to blink at this moment, staring at one of the purple-clothed men.

The man was tall, with skin as white as jade and facial features as delicate as the finest porcelain. The smile at the corners of his eyebrows and eyes seemed to have scooped up a handful of bright light, and the flowing light and waves lacked the artificiality of craftsmanship, definitely he had his own style.

"Shi Xi, it seems that I really can't go out with you in the future." The man in blue next to the man in purple whispered.

"That's right. As soon as you show up, men, women, young and old will only stare at you, making us look like ugly monsters." Another man in green followed.

The purple-robed man curved his eyes and said with a smile, "I thought you were used to it a long time ago."

The other two rolled their eyes.

The three of them had arrived at the hall while chatting and laughing, and walked out leisurely. The people in the hall followed them with their eyes.

The corners of Qiao Zhao's lips curled up.

The person she was waiting for finally came down, and it was worth it for her to sit near the aisle.

When she was outside the tavern, she had seen this three people enter the restaurant and knew that the opportunity she had been waiting for had come.

She happened to know the man in purple. He was the only son of Princess Chang Rong. His surname was Chi, his given name was Can, and his courtesy name was Shi Xi. He was a decent person.

Even if she had changed her appearance now, with Chi Can's charm, at least she didn't have to worry about being raped.

Maybe... Chi Can worried more on a daily basis.

As this thought flashed through her mind, seeing that the three people had already reached the door, Qiao Zhao no longer hesitated, threw away the chopsticks in her hand, quickly stood up and rushed to the door.

Her action was sudden, and people had not yet recovered from the shock brought by Chi Can's outstanding appearance. When they saw a young lady chasing after him, they all thought at the same time: Sure enough, there is a young lady chasing after him, it's not surprising at all.

The man nodded and was suddenly stunned.

Wait, the one chasing after him is...

His face turned pale, and he stood up and started to chase her. Before he reached the door, he was stopped by the waiter: "Sir, you haven't paid yet, do you want to eat for free? Why don't you ask who owns Zuixianju!"

Since the man was stopped by the restaurant waiter, Qiao Zhao caught up with the three man easily.

"Wait a minute-"

The three of them stopped and turned around, and saw a little girl of about twelve or thirteen chasing after them. The two of them winked at Chi Can at the same time.

Chi Can walked over to Qiao Zhao, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Little sister, is there something wrong?"

Ahem, although he is extremely charming, if a girl this young confesses her love to him, he will definitely refuse.

Qiao Zhao didn't dare to delay for a moment.

She had been planning for so long just to gain a brief moment when the kidnapper were stopped by the restaurant waiter, so that she would have a chance to simply tell them about the kidnapping case.

Qiao Zhao took a step forward, grabbed Chi Can's sleeve tightly, looked up and begged: "Uncle, save me!"

The three people, including Chi Can, were petrified instantly.