After finishing their milk tea, the two walked out of the shop.
Kiana pulled Shu along, stretching lazily under the sunlight.
"Al~right! Where to next?" She looked at the snack street ahead, suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Right, Shu!"
"Yeah?"
"Let's go find the things you haven't eaten before!"
Shu slowly tilted his head.
"What?"
"Snacks you haven't eaten!" Kiana mirrored Shu's head tilt so their lines of sight remained parallel. "You've eaten all the ones from earlier, right? Then there must be ones you haven't eaten! Let's go find them! And try them together!"
Shu stopped tilting his head. "Why?"
Kiana stared intently at Shu. "Because that way, when you taste it, it'll be your first impression!
"You won't know what it tastes like, and neither will I, so it'll be the first time for both of us!
"And then I'll let you give your evaluation first. Since you won't know my evaluation, the one you give will be the most genuine!"
That way, she could know if Shu truly thought it was delicious or if he was just being noncommittal again.
This was Kiana's underlying motive.
Hehe, today she was going to see exactly what kind of delicious secrets this little Shu-mouse was hiding!
Looking at her, Shu felt a faint chill run down his spine.
But he still nodded at Kiana with slight hesitation.
"...Okay."
His hesitation stemmed from his strong desire to refuse. Kiana was clearly plotting something, and he didn't want to fall into her trap.
But if he refused, she would be sad, right? She'd probably make a fuss.
And maybe she'd even think he was...
So, the two of them began weaving through the snack street, searching for snacks Shu hadn't tried before.
But a new problem arose.
Hadn't Shu eaten a bit too many snacks?!
"Shu, Shu, have you tried this one?"
"Yeah, tried it."
"What about this one?"
"Tried it too."
"And this one?"
"Eaten it."
"Uh... then this one! You definitely haven't eaten this one!"
"Ate it."
"How have you eaten everything?!" Kiana stared in shock at the snack she pointed at, one even she hadn't eaten before!
Damn it... I didn't see these things in Shu's memories, so it must have happened during those few years I missed!
Kiana secretly bit her fingernail and ground her teeth.
Shu actually thought about Kiana's question.
"Probably... tried it in the past?"
"Ah! Didn't you say you've never been here?!" Kiana felt like she was being played! "Did you try them all here?"
Shu looked speechlessly at Kiana's indignant face.
When did he ever say he hadn't been here?
"Most of them weren't..." Shu shook his head. "Some I saw elsewhere and just bought once on a whim, some I tried while traveling to other cities, and some were... the instant kind you buy online."
Kiana blinked blankly.
"You... went out of your way to try them?"
"Well... you could say that, I guess..." Shu looked up, speaking somewhat guiltily. "It's just... if I encountered it... then I'd try it, just to see what it tasted like, just to know."
Kiana fell silent.
"Just to know... do you think you're stamp collecting?" Kiana complained with a pout.
This wasn't enjoyment for Shu at all; it was collection.
Treating food as a type of information—taste it, remember it, and then put it aside.
Even though Kiana firmly believed there was enough good food in this world for Shu to taste for a lifetime, living a life like that...
It felt like you could see the end of it at a glance~
Then, after Shu goes back, with his lifespan who-knows-how-long, is he just going to drop dead the moment he finishes doing everything?
This is bad civilization!
"Then out of all the ones you've tried, is there any one you particularly want to eat again?" Bottling up her frustration, Kiana immediately pressed further.
Shu's gaze drifted even more.
"Probably... not... really..."
"Not a single one?"
"Mhm."
Kiana was out of ideas.
Every delicious bite she had ever eaten, she wanted another. Even right now, she wanted to turn back and rebuy all the good food they had just eaten.
But Shu didn't have that thought.
Tasted it, remembered it, and that was enough.
There was absolutely no need for a second time.
Because even a second time wouldn't be tastier than he imagined...
A person... who is constantly lingering on past beauties.
Kiana turned her head away in a huff, her breathing growing heavier.
This guy is truly too infuriating!
To actually treat himself like this, to actually... use this method to torture himself!!
Damn it, this is a provocation to the Kaslana honor of Kiana Kaslana!
To actually suffer like this right in front of me...
No, I definitely have to dig this guy out of this place!
She strode away in a huff. Caught off guard, Shu stumbled and was dragged away looking somewhat awkward.
Kiana's thought process was correct.
It was impossible for Shu to have tasted all mainstream snacks in just a few years.
After relentless searching, Kiana finally found her target!
"Found it!"
Kiana suddenly stopped, pointing to a stall in the corner.
It was a very small stall, hidden in the most inconspicuous corner of the snack street. The signboard was old, bearing three words—"Rice Tofu."
The stall was completely deserted; there wasn't a single person in front of it.
And this was exactly what Kiana wanted to see. She immediately pulled Shu and walked over briskly.
"Boss, what is this?" Before Kiana could speak, Shu beat her to it and asked the question she had been about to ask.
Seeing her lines stolen once again, Kiana, already used to Shu doing this, nodded vigorously at the boss.
The boss, a man in his fifties who had been sitting on a small stool scrolling through his phone, looked up at the sound.
"Rice Tofu, a snack from Guizhou." He pointed to a sign nearby. "There's spicy, non-spicy, and sweet too."
Kiana stared at the bowl of white, diced cubes, her eyes full of curiosity and determination.
"Have you eaten this one too?" she asked Shu in a suppressed voice.
Maybe I should just answer that I haven't eaten it, and then give a random evaluation...
"No lying!" Kiana saw right through what he was thinking with one glance, raising a hand to poke Shu's chest. "Otherwise I'll bite you tonight!"
Why bite?!
Shu didn't understand, and Shu was greatly shocked.
However, after taking a serious look at those small white cubes, Shu realized he truly hadn't tried this thing before.
"No."
A light that made Shu fearful instantly burst from Kiana's eyes.
"Really?!"
"Mhm." Shu braced himself and nodded.
"Great!" Kiana shook his hand excitedly. "We finally found it!"
She turned to the boss.
"Boss, we want two portions! Make the flavors exactly the same! Both sweet!"
The boss replied with an "Okay," put down his phone, and started getting busy.
Trying completely new food was a nerve-wracking event for Kiana.
While waiting, Kiana leaned close to Shu, a little nervous.
"Shu, do you think this will be good?"