Loved By The Villain And The Male Lead

The food tasting club had the following itinerary for the day:

Street Food at Nishiki Market

Nishin Soba (Herring Soba) at Matsuba

Obanzai (Tapas) at Asaini

Saba Sushi (Mackerel Sushi) at Hisagozushi

Intestine Ramen at Sugari

Green Tea Desserts at Tsujiri Gion

Since Su Ning had been the one to invite Gu YuChen to join the group excursion, she felt that she had the responsibility to stay with him to keep him company. After all, Gu YuChen wasn't the sociable type and unless the other party took the initiative to chat with him first, he would mostly keep to himself. Funnily, it wasn't that the members of the group didn't want to converse with Gu YuChen but that they were too intimidated to make small talk. 

Su Ning took a peak at the exceptionally handsome young man walking beside her as they strolled through Nishiki Market. In the corner of her eye she was able to see several female passersby sneak admiring glances at her friend. On the other hand, the Gu YuChen who was impervious to these stares, immediately noticed Su Ning's gaze.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"YuChen-ge, I sent Minshi a message but she hasn't responded to me," the girl said with a tinge of anxiety. "What actually happened?"

"You really want to know?" Gu YuChen asked.

"Of course," Su Ning responded, giving his elbow a soft slap. 'Why are you asking such an obvious question?' 

"6000 yen," he mentioned succinctly.

"Hah?" Su Ning asked.

"Increase my allowance," the petty man bargained shamelessly.

"…" Su Ning gave Gu YuChen a deadpan look as if to ask if he was truly arguing about money right now. This young master, future CEO of a conglomerate, was bargaining for a few thousand yen. 

"So?" He prodded.

"Alright, fine. Now tell me what happened," Su Ning commanded.

And so Gu YuChen recounted Minshi's confession in the train and how he rejected her once more, thoroughly this time. Afterwards, he guided Minshi, who was in tears, to the taxi stand so she could save face in front of her friends. 

Listening to Gu YuChen's explanation, Su Ning felt that her friend truly is a good man. She had never heard of a man escorting and protecting a woman he just recently rejected, whether it be in this lifetime or in her past life. 'Really that girl he likes is so lucky,' Su Ning reflected, unconsciously echoing Minshi's thoughts. Outwardly, she complimented Gu YuChen on his behavior. "You did well," said Su Ning. She really appreciated the consideration with which he treated Minshi. In this manner, Su Ning was able to remain friends with her as normal. Had the confession turned sour, their friendship would've also likely been adversely affected. Truly it was the best case scenario that she could hope for.

The group eventually tried out some taiyaki and yudofu in the market before making their way to the next destination. Althea particularly liked the yudofu which reminded her somewhat of a savory version of the Filipino dessert 'taho.'

Author's Note: Yudofu is boiled fresh tofu in ponzu sauce based broth. Taiyaki is a fish shaped waffle with red bean filling.

The group settled at Matsuba and ordered 4 nishin soba to share among 8 people. Of course, Su Ning chose to share her meal with Gu YuChen. The rest of the group broke out in this manner:

Althea and Soyeon

Raj and Cody

Allen and Justin

They all chatted about the taste of the dish while alternately taking bites. Throughout it all, Gu YuChen remained a silent observer.

"YuChen-ge, do you like it?" Su Ning whispered to the man who sat beside her.

Gu YuChen made a face and shook his head slightly. 

"Ah?! Then why do you keep eating?!" She asked in a low voice. 

"Because NingNing doesn't like it either," he said quietly.

"Oh…" Su Ning said in realization. 'Gu YuChen is trying to finish the dish on my behalf since he knows I don't like to waste food.' Her lips raised into a self satisfied grin. This man really treated her so well.

However, it wasn't only Gu YuChen who was observing Su Ning. Allen was also intently eyeing the pair's interactions. The young Irish man didn't have a best friend of the opposite sex so he was uncertain regarding which level of intimacy was considered normal. One thing was for sure, Allen didn't treat his male best buddies in this manner. At the beginning of the trip, he had been so excited to meet Sun Fox's enigmatic programmer but now a sense of unease began to pervade his chest.

The day went by in a flash and it was finally time for their last stop of the day, Tsujiri Gion. It was also Su Ning's most awaited destination. By this time the group was quite full from the previous meals but they still ordered several green tea desserts: uji matcha ice cream, matcha donut, green tea shaved ice, and tokusen Tsujiri parfait. The concept was there is a separate stomach for dessert! The stop was a unanimous thumbs up for the group, even Gu YuChen found the uji matcha ice cream pleasant.

"YuChen-ge, we are almost about to leave. You still didn't tell me what you wanted," she inquired in a low voice as they shared an uji matcha soft serve.

"Right. I won't be a good sugar baby if I don't spend my sugar mommy's money," Gu YuChen responded, nodding along.

"... I don't think that's the right benchmark to determine a good or a bad sugar baby but whatever. What do you want?" Su Ning commented, rolling her eyes.

"Let me think," Gu YuChen said as he elegantly tapped his chin for a few seconds. "Ah."

"What is it?" Su Ning asked interestedly. 

"I want to stay the night in Kyoto," he decided.

"...Da ge, you only have 6000 yen. What kind of hotel can you get?" she asked with a 'what the heck?' look on her face. 'I don't think YuChen-ge would willingly stay at a capsule hotel.'

"I'll cover the difference," he answered matter of factly. 

'Then ...how is this still considered me spoiling you?' Su Ning wondered. However in the end, she still decided to go along with Gu YuChen since the man rarely requested anything of her. 'Suan le bah. If this is what he wants then I'll just accompany him.'

"Okay. If that's what you want," Su Ning relented and the man gave her an affectionate smile in return.

Author's Note: Da ge means big brother.

Suan le bah means never mind.

The pair looked like they were in a world of their own that they didn't even realize Allen, who had been an audience of their entire exchange, had already come to have a conflicted expression on his face.

By the time the group finished, it was past dinner time and they were ready to call it a day. As they sat in the restaurant chatting about the day's experience, Gu YuChen excused himself for a quick restroom break. Allen followed suit several seconds later.

"So which place did you guys think was best? My pick is Sugari," Raj said.

"I like the ramen place too," Justin quipped and Cody nodded in agreement. The latter was still preoccupied with thoughts of Minshi.

"For Althea it's definitely the yodofu. I liked the obanzai best," Soyeon commented. 

"Hey! Ha ha. My favorite is the ramen too. What about you Kari?" Althea asked laughingly.

"The dessert," Su Ning immediately replied, taking another bite of the parfait. 

"Gwiyeowo," Soyeon murmured, pinching Su Ning's cheeks. The former always felt that she could live vicariously through Su Ning. Seeing Su Ning eat whatever she wanted without worries, Soyeon also felt a sense of satisfaction. 'I guess this is why people like to watch mukbang.' As an aspiring announcer from South Korea, she is quite conscious of her weight so she took good care of her figure and oftentimes only took a few bites of the dishes. Soyeon would only really let herself indulge in vegetables so the obanzai meal which was vegetarian became an easy favorite of hers. 

Author's Note: Gwiyeowo means Cute.

Mukbang is a live stream video of a person eating, oftentimes large quantities of food.

"How about your least preferred place?" Raj inquired with a knowing glint in his eye.

"Nishin soba!" everyone exclaimed almost simultaneously before bursting out laughing.

The group was so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't realize two people in their party had not returned after a long while.

** The author has something to say: oi oi oi oi what are you two doing in the bathroom for so long ah!? (๑>ᴗ<๑) He he he disregard this author-nim's comment I know it's a bit ambiguous. kekeke. But really though, yuchen vs allen... Leggo!! 

My lovely readers~ How do you think Allen will react? Do you think he will confront his idol?

Thank you! Thank you! For all the VOTES and COMMENTS! ٩(๑> ₃ <)۶♥

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