He pushed the cup of coffee forward and leaned towards her slightly. "The juice is bitter, anyone that does not want to drink it will confess imdiately. Any child would spill the beans in a heartbeat to avoid drinking truth juice."
i i nodded. "We figured that out and we decided to beat the test. We would blend the juice and drink small portions, teaching ourselves to grow accustod to the taste. With ti, drinking truth juice was like drinking milk."
"Clever children you were." He praised.
i i twisted her head from side to side, smiling proudly. "Yeah we were very good at outsmarting her truth tests. There was the interrogation teddy bear. She has this brown teddy bear with the most expressive eyes I have ever seen. She would make us sit in front of teddy bear and ask questions. If it looked disappointed, you were lying." She grimaced. "Mr. Bear, ruined my life from age three to five. I could never get away with anything."
Jingzhe laughed. That sounded like sothing he needed to keep in mind for their future children. Grandma Chi was a genius.
i i winced, "I think the most bizarre test was the garlic one. She would make us chew garlic and question us. If your breath slled like garlic, you were lying."
Even Jingzhe could not figure that one out.
She laughed at him. "Rose figured out the trick but she did not tell until my eighteenth birthday. The secret is in holding your breath to keep the sll inside. Only liars will be afraid to breathe."
Jingzhe would have toasted grandma Chi if she was close by. She was a genius at manipulating the psychology of children. That trick could probably work on so adults too.
i i’s childhood was very interesting.
She sipped so coffee and placed the cup down, thinking of what tale to regale Jingzhe with next. There were so many and she could hardly decide which to pick because all of them were interesting. There was a better idea, she could show him the family handbook on unconventional wisdom.
It was a tradition started by her mother Lady Chi. All the ridiculous nonsensical lessons had been compiled by her parents and turned into a book. Copies were made and passed on to everyone that got married. Rose was sure to have a copy.
i i had not received one because her marriage had not been approved and there had been no wedding.
"Have you ever used any of these techniques on Mingzhu?" He asked her.
As he waited for the answer he signaled for the waitress to bring their bill.
"Oh yes, I tried the Interrogation by Teddy bear trick and lets just say it did not work as expected." She replied.
Jingzhe swiped his card and made the paynt. He gave the waitress a cash tip and stood up. Taking i i’s hand, he led her out of the restaurant.
As soon as they left, three waitresses ca together to squeal and laugh in glee.
"Wow! Jun ilin and the new Empress Mother’s advisor are on a date!!"
"Maybe it’s not a date....but it looks like a date."
"Oh my gosh! Isn’t he younger than her?"
"They went out holding hands, he wiped ice cream from her lips with his thumb and then he licked it."
One of them noticed that the manager was glaring at them and whispered to the others that the manager was looking. They separated, but continued to shoot gossip filled eyes at each other.
anwhile, i i and Jingzhe were walking slowly, making their way to a booth where trinkets were sold. She was still telling him about the Interrogation by Teddy Bear and Mingzhu. "She refused to crack. Instead, she started the questioning the teddy bear about his presence in her bedroom which was not legal. The following morning, Mr. Interrogation Teddy bear was in my bed and his eyes were missing."
Jingzhe gasped. "She ripped them out."
i i shrugged. "She did not admit to doing it. According to my then four year old daughter, Mr. Teddy Bear’s eyes simply fell out. She suggested that we send him back to the shop and get a new toy car instead."
Jingzhe laughed. Pride surged in his chest. "That’s my girl, she is smart enough to identify and eliminate the enemy’s strength."
i i rolled her eyes. The bear had cost her two hundred fifty yuan!! The shop refused to take it back and they were stuck with a teddy bear that had no eyes. "I think I still have that eyeless teddy bear in one of my boxes. When I get ho, I will look for it and show it to you."
Their fingers were interlocked. Jingzhe squeezed her hand. "I would love that very much. I will sew the eyes back on, or I will tell my mom to. We can try it on our future children."
i i folded her lips and rolled her eyes, to cover up the slight feeling of shyness which visited her. "Smooth talker." She muttered.
Jingzhe gently nudged her shoulder. They exchanged a brief gaze and looked away from each other, both feeling shy.
They stopped at the booth and decided to do so shopping. i i wanted a new plushie to replace the ones Mingzhu had stolen from her.
Jingzhe knew this and he selected all the animals shaped plushies. "Soday, your Whiskers 10 will be sold like this everywhere." He told her.
i i crossed her fingers and waved them. That day could not co soon enough.
"Beautiful couple, would you be interested in competing for the new prize plushie in our shop?" A woman asked them.
She pointed to a spot where a group of people had gathered. There was music and so kind of event going on.
"Let’s go and see." i i pulled Jingzhe’s hand and led him there.
They found three couples ready to play the Pocky ga. The way it worked was each person had to hold one end of the Pocky stick in their mouth and bite towards the middle without breaking the stick or pulling away.
The first person to back off lost. If both kept going, their lips would et--resulting in a "Pocky kiss."
i i was familiar with the ga but she had never played it before. It involved a lot of giggling, shyness, and touching lips while others watched.
"Do we have anymore volunteers? The winning couple gets a pair of Pocky stick plushies." The host announced.
Jingzhe raised their joined hands eagerly. "Us, we want to volunteer."
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