Immortal Takeout - Chapter 27

“A resident performer?” Yun Ge seemed somewhat flustered. He wasn’t very familiar with the human world. Singing was, for him, the most ordinary thing. Would people like him after he sang? Would it bring others happiness? Oh, that probably only happened during the breeding season.

Thinking of this, Yun Ge lowered his head and rubbed his beak against the soft, fluffy down on his chest. He felt a bit embarrassed. If not for the thick down covering his cheeks, he’d probably be blushing. He hopped sideways left and right, trying to shake off this light, floating feeling. He reminded himself that he wasn’t in the air right now, he wasn’t flying; he needed to keep his feet on the ground.

“Yes! You’d be my guest performer!” Ta Nuo happily patted his own face. His idea had originally been just an impulsive thought, but on second consideration, it might actually be a brilliant idea!

Just imagine, in hundreds and thousands of years, Baiye Forest had never seen such a grand event. A delivery company was about to open! This might be the closest they’d ever get to the real human world. At the happy banquet, there would be endless delicious food, songs to listen to forever, and every sentient being could become happy. They would talk to each other, they would laugh loudly, they would say that a sea otter—heaven knows what a sea otter is—brought such joy to Baiye Forest.

Seeing Ta Nuo so happy, Yun Ge couldn’t help but get excited too. Maybe this idea really was feasible. His companions always said that Yun Ge had the most wonderful song in all of Baiye Forest, even the King of Nightingales couldn’t compare, and everyone should come hear him sing.

It’s just that Yun Ge never believed it. He only took these words of praise as his companions’ well-intentioned lies. Every male skylark can sing; it’s no big deal. When spring arrives, they sing more passionately; at the beginning of the year, with all things reviving, every skylark needs to find its place again.

But what if it were true? What if there really were someone who liked his singing? Yun Ge couldn’t help but fantasize.

If… if possible, he could even invite his shrike friend to attend the ceremony.

Ta Nuo was very satisfied with his own plan. He encouraged Yun Ge, saying, “You don’t need to be nervous; you can definitely do it. Two months ago, I didn’t even know I could create Immortal Takeout. Look at me now!” A sudden surge of immense pride and ambition welled up in his chest. “I, right now, I am now… I am now an otter who has accomplished something.”

He stammered, excitedly pulled out the stopper of the glass jar, took out a handful of small dried fish, and offered it to Yun Ge. “Would you like some?”

Yun Ge politely declined. The little sparrow didn’t open its beak either. Pepper-salt small dried fish weren’t on their menu.

Ta Nuo stuffed a handful into his own mouth, puffing his cheeks as he chewed seriously. “So that’s why humans say,” Ta Nuo continued mumbling with his mouth full, “Mmm, these small dried fish are so good—that’s why they say anything is possible. I think this plan is great, don’t you?”

Yun Ge nodded vigorously.

“Are you sure you don’t want some small dried fish?” Ta Nuo felt sorry for Yun Ge. How could one accompany such a great and otter-heartening  moment without delicious food?

Yun Ge shook his head, emitting a light cheep.

While eating the small dried fish, Ta Nuo discussed the song list for the ceremony with Yun Ge. Song of Spring, All Birds Return to the Forest, March of the Worm Eaters—these all sounded very good. Ta Nuo felt very satisfied. His enthusiasm ran high, new ideas constantly bubbling up, and before he knew it, he had finished the entire jar of small dried fish.

Ta Nuo reached into the glass jar again and was surprised to find the bottom empty, with only a thin layer of pepper-salt and chili powder left. Unwilling to accept it, he tapped the bottom of the jar. Aside from a few thump thump sounds, there was indeed nothing left. Ta Nuo smacked his lips, still savoring the taste, and licked his fingers. He felt like something wasn’t quite right, but upon careful thought, it seemed like nothing was wrong.

Just then, Ta Nuo heard light footsteps behind him and caught a whiff of a fresh, sweet grassy scent.

It was the Little Boss!

Ta Nuo turned around, and sure enough, it was Luo Xiang. Luo Xiang was unusually dressed neatly today, even wrapped in a thick cashmere scarf, making his whole figure appear tall and straight. The dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn’t rested well. Luo Xiang walked over to the railing, his hard-soled shoes making a tap-tap sound on the ground.

He came to Ta Nuo’s side, set the little white umbrella aside, slowly took off the light brown leather glove from his right hand, placed a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

“Hello,” Ta Nuo said, smiling at Luo Xiang. The corners of his mouth were still stained with a bit of pepper-salt powder, looking somewhat comical.

Luo Xiang exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “How did you get in?”

Ta Nuo made a sound of surprise and turned to look for the little sparrow. The little sparrow had disappeared at some point, and Yun Ge was gone too. Ta Nuo scratched his head. Without the little sparrow as a witness, he realized he had no excuse.

Luo Xiang stared motionlessly at Ta Nuo.

Ta Nuo lowered his head and said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

Luo Xiang furrowed his brow and asked, “What are you here for?”

Ta Nuo abruptly looked up, smiling, and said, “I came to bring you the small dried fish!” Did the Little Boss forget? His memory isn’t very good.

Luo Xiang seemed to laugh, but his face showed no expression. “Where are the small dried fish?” he asked.

The small dried fish are— Ta Nuo looked down and glimpsed the empty glass jar. He was stunned for a moment, finally realizing what felt off. He turned his head away, not daring to look at Luo Xiang anymore, his eyes somewhat evasive.

“The small dried fish… disappeared for some reason…” he said guiltily. “Guess why?”

Luo Xiang made an “oh” sound and said, “In a moment, you’ll be flat on your back with your rear end hitting the ground. Guess why?”

Ta Nuo thought about it seriously, shook his head, and replied honestly, “I can’t guess.”

Luo Xiang was momentarily speechless. He cursed under his breath, took a fierce drag of his cigarette, and impatiently shooed him away. “Still hanging around? Here for a picnic? Get lost.” With that, he strode off on his long legs, intending to go inside.

Ta Nuo grabbed Luo Xiang’s shirt hem and tugged. “Don’t go yet!” he cried out anxiously. “Let me tell you something!”

Luo Xiang’s eyes nearly spat fire, his face terrifyingly dark. But Ta Nuo showed no fear; he stubbornly held onto Luo Xiang.

Luo Xiang looked at him and said, “How come I never noticed before that you had such guts?”

“Not gutsy, not gutsy,” Ta Nuo denied, shaking his head. “I just want to tell you something.”

“Let go,” Luo Xiang commanded.

Ta Nuo quickly withdrew both hands, blinked, looked at Luo Xiang, and offered an ingratiating smile.

Luo Xiang let out a light sigh and said, “Still saying you’re not gutsy. Where’s the respect and politeness you had before? Where are my small dried fish?”

These two things are completely unrelated, Ta Nuo thought, but didn’t dare show any defiance on his face. He nodded and quickly promised, “Next time I’ll definitely bring a full jar.”

Luo Xiang said nothing, lowering his head to stub out the cigarette butt in his palm.

“But you came back too late today. Originally, the small dried fish were still crispy and crunchy, but after eating and eating, they weren’t as good anymore,” Ta Nuo said.

Luo Xiang laughed in exasperation. “So it’s my fault?” ‘Crispy and crunchy,’ indeed.

Ta Nuo waved his hands. “No, it’s my fault.” He paused, then added, “But you really should have come back earlier. I waited for you for a long time.” Before Luo Xiang could get angry, he quickly changed the subject, curiously asking Luo Xiang where he had been.

Luo Xiang yanked the scarf from around his neck and let out a long breath, as if he could finally breathe. He said, “Is this the first time we’ve met?”

Ta Nuo counted the number of times they had met on his fingers in his mind and shook his head.

Luo Xiang curved the corner of his mouth. “Then do you think I’d tell you?”

Ta Nuo felt a bit disappointed. He was curious about everything concerning the Little Boss, inexplicably feeling that his world must be fascinating. What did the Little Boss do every time he went out? Several times, Ta Nuo had seen bloodstains on his hands and him looking disheveled. Had he been fighting again? Were there that many fights to get into in Maochun City? Ta Nuo never knew.

Who was the Little Boss? Where did he come from? Why was he so powerful? How long would he stay here? Would he live in this small grocery store his whole life, like Old Man Luo? Did he also want to see the ocean?

He shook his head, deciding to push these thoughts away and focus on the main issue. “Actually, I wanted to invite you—”

“No.” Before Ta Nuo could even finish his sentence, Luo Xiang refused bluntly.

“How do you know what I was going to say?”

“What were you going to say?”

“I want to invite—”

“No.”

…

Ta Nuo rubbed his face, trying to move the Little Boss’s hardened heart with the exciting celebration plans. “I’m going to invite a skylark to sing! Yun Ge’s singing is really beautiful. If you miss hearing a song in spring, you’ll regret it for a whole year. And how many whole years does one have in a lifetime?” he sighed deeply.

Luo Xiang started taking off his jacket, not even throwing a glance Ta Nuo’s way.

Ta Nuo tried again, attempting to tempt the Little Boss with delicious food. “I’ll prepare lots and lots of small dried fish, pepper-salt flavor, and also dried shrimp with peanuts, the shells fried until golden yellow. You can eat them one by one; they’re so tasty. What would you like to eat?”

“Fish…” Luo Xiang replied instinctively, then quickly swallowed his words. “Get lost,” he said irritably, picking Ta Nuo up and moving him aside, pushed the door open and walked in, casually tossing his jacket onto the floor.

The little white umbrella rushed in, caught Luo Xiang’s jacket just in time, and gently hung it up.

Ta Nuo’s mouth fell open in surprise. He never thought the little white umbrella was so capable, Ta Nuo silently praised. He asked, “Does the little white umbrella have a name?” He couldn’t keep calling it ‘little white umbrella’ forever.

Luo Xiang looked at Ta Nuo sideways, the meaning on his face obvious. “Do you give your umbrellas names?”

“No,” Ta Nuo shook his head. But my umbrella doesn’t help me with chores either, he muttered inwardly.

After a long silence, Luo Xiang suddenly spoke. “Luo Pangpang.” Seeing Ta Nuo’s astonished and foolish expression, Luo Xiang impatiently explained, “Its name is Luo Pangpang.”

The name was really quite casual, and it sounded completely unrelated to the little white umbrella. Thinking this, Ta Nuo cautiously asked, “Why?”

Luo Xiang said, “It chose the name itself. What’s it to do with me?” He glanced at Ta Nuo. “Why do you talk so much? Finish up and get lost.”

Just as Ta Nuo was about to speak, Luo Xiang cut him off.

“No.”

“Oh, then I’ll come ask you again tomorrow.”

Luo Xiang felt annoyed, tsked, and said, “Can’t you understand what I’m saying? I said no. What’s the difference between you asking today and asking tomorrow?”

“Maybe you’ll feel like coming to my opening ceremony tomorrow,” Ta Nuo said, not finding anything wrong with this at all. “People’s thoughts can change. What if you want to go tomorrow, but I didn’t come to ask? You’d definitely be unhappy. So it’s better if I come to ask you every day. Then, whenever you come around, you can accept my invitation.”

A trace of surprise flashed through Luo Xiang’s eyes, gone in an instant. He returned to his icy tone. “You’re very annoying.”

Ta Nuo wrinkled his nose, somewhat unhappy, and muttered, “You’re quite fierce too.” But before Luo Xiang could process that, he quickly waved goodbye and scampered away in a flash.

I’ll come again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow too. I’ll bring you small dried fish, two jars at a time. We can sit under the pear tree together; I’ll eat one jar, and you can eat the other.

The tail end of February completely disappeared. March arrived, and the feeling of spring deepened.

Immortal Takeout was finally about to officially open.