023 Why Bother Distinguishing Truth from Falsehood

Hearing this, I felt a surge of joy and hastily added more tofu and beef to his bowl. Serving food to guests is a common custom back home, and in my high spirits, I didn't think much of it, simply eager to hear another compliment from this Middle Eastern man about our magnificent Chinese cuisine.

Musa’s brow, however, furrowed once more. He stared at the food I had placed in his bowl, unable to bring himself to eat, which left me feeling a sudden sense of unease.

"Forget it," I said, putting down my chopsticks and slumping back against the sofa. "Do as you please."

Musa raised his eyes to look at me. Seeing my dejected expression, he lowered his head, knitted his brows again, and began to chew slowly and deliberately, finishing the food I had served him. Watching his solemn face, I couldn't help but exclaim, "Is it really that hard to swallow?"

I rolled up my sleeves and picked up a piece of beef to taste it myself. The juice was savory and the meat tender; while not quite as good as Yun Yushu’s cooking, it was still quite flavorful.

It seemed it just didn't suit a Middle Eastern palate. I couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Yet, Musa denied my guess once again, repeating the same words: "It is delicious."

I made a bitter face, feeling deeply frustrated. "Your claim that it’s delicious sounds so insincere."

When he said it after finishing the soup earlier, I felt delighted. But now, paired with his pained expression, it sounded like nothing more than a futile attempt at consolation.

Musa was undeterred and insisted, "No, I am being serious."

"I can tell from your expression whether or not you’re telling the truth."

Upon hearing this, Musa suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, he stammered an explanation: "It really is delicious, just... please do not serve food into my bowl anymore."

I froze for a moment, and my face immediately flushed with a heat that refused to fade.

So, the reason he had been furrowing his brow was that he was repulsed by the thought of my saliva on the chopsticks...

I could only offer a vague murmur in response; such embarrassment required no further explanation.

This Iftar meal dragged on with back-and-forth efforts until the night had gradually spread over the sky. Although Musa had continued to praise my cooking, his strange and contradictory behavior left me unable to distinguish whether his words were true or false.

In the end, what did the truth matter? We would never have much of a connection anyway.

Outside the window, the night was bustling yet profound, the entire city seemingly enveloped in flickering shadows. Perhaps it was my imagination, but as we parted, I felt as though Musa harbored a flicker of reluctance and lingering attachment. Yet, this delicate emotion was quickly suppressed by him, returning to the calm of a deep pool.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

The door closed softly, but it felt like a heavy blow to my heart. I stood there for a moment before turning to the sofa, looking at the messy table, feeling no desire to clean up. I let myself curl up on the sofa, eyes fixed on the empty seat opposite me.

Musa—his hesitation to approach, what was he thinking of? Why did he praise me while seemingly holding me in disdain?

And why did I care about any of this?

My head ached as if it were splitting. I clutched my temples, feeling as though a bewitching poison had silently seeped into my blood.

"Knock, knock, knock." Just then, an unexpected sound came from the door.

Had Musa forgotten something? As the thought struck me, I immediately scrambled off the sofa and hurried toward the door.

Without asking who it was, I threw the door open, but the person standing before me was not the one I had imagined.

Yun Yushu stood outside, beads of sweat on his forehead, breathing slightly hard. In his hand, he held an insulated food carrier.

He smiled lightly, looking somewhat excited as he said, "Xixi, I just heard from Jiayi that you’ve been fasting these past few days and need extra nourishment. I’ve brewed some lamb soup for you. Would you like to drink it while it’s hot?"