The Crooked Merchant

Chapter 6/9. Support us on Patreon!

The baroque design of the restaurant’s decoration and the surrounding shops came together to present the people of Paris an unforgettable unique aura of luxury. There were many who stopped to take pictures even if they didn’t intend to have a meal there.

Lin Ruoxi seized the chance to stealthily extract her hand from Yang Chen’s. Her blush receded as if nothing had happened.

Privately, Yang Chen marveled at women’s natural ability for performance, and was about to enter along with Stern and the rest when a small figure ran in front of him unexpectedly, blocking his path.

“Uncle, some flowers?” a boy asked crisply in French-accented English.

Yang Chen looked down. The boy before him was not even ten years old, with a petite frame of one who hadn’t yet reached his adolescent years. He had blonde hair, thick eyebrows and large eyes, looking strong and sturdy with freckled cheeks—an overall smart appearance.

The boy’s hands clutched bunches of fresh flowers tied with red string, but these weren’t the roses, tulips, lilies, or other flowers that are very commonly found in florist’s, but rather flowers you could find in flower beds and at roadsides all around France. Simply put, these were wildflowers picked from the roadside.

Before Yang Chen could speak, Lin Ruoxi crouched down beside him and leaned toward the boy, asking with a soft smile, “Little Boy, what flowers are you selling, how much are they?”

Seeing Lin Ruoxi’s rare display of tenderness, Yang Chen rubbed his eyes and smiled bitterly. This woman had not visited the orphanage for a long time—it seemed like the lovingness she kept hidden was about to overflow here in Paris.

Lin Ruoxi’s severe demeanor made her frightening ordinarily, but upon meeting a child, she would melt completely like chocolate, while her sweet mannerisms made her delightful to kids. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so welcomed at the orphanage in Zhonghai.

Sure enough, the boy’s bright pupils shimmered as he spoke in a young voice. “Elder Sister, you’re so pretty.”

At his praise, Lin Ruoxi’s smile became even brighter, as she reached out to pat his blonde curls affectionately. “You’re adorable too, what’s your name?”

“Harry. I’m Harry. Elder Sister, are you from overseas?” asked Little Harry.

“Yes, I’m from China,” said Lin Ruoxi.

“Where is China?” asked Harry curiously.

Ling Ruoxi thought for a while. “It’s somewhere very far away. You would need an aeroplane to reach there.”

“Aeroplane?” cried Harry in excitement. “Elder Sister, is it fun to ride the plane? I’ve always wanted Papa to take me flying, but he said that he’s too busy to take me anytime soon. But Papa said that in a few days he will take me to Disneyland, then we can watch the flying cars show… Hmm… I don’t know if flying cars are the same as the aeroplane. Elder Sister have you seen it?”

Because the boy’s vocabulary in fact slipped into French sometimes, Lin Ruoxi frowned slightly, and look towards Yang Chen for help.

Yang Chen thought helplessly, If only she treats me with half of the attitude she has with kids, but still helped Harry translate those words.

Lin Ruoxi caught on, and said, “I haven’t seen Disneyland’s flying car show, but it must be great, you will surely be overjoyed.”

Harry nodded vigorously. “I think so too, Mama will also come, then we can all ride the pirate ship, and the roller coaster… But I’m a little scared that the roller coaster will be too high, what if Papa says I’m a scaredy-cat…”

“Little Fellow, aren’t you selling flowers, why are you talking about roller coasters?” Seeing how Little Harry couldn’t stop rambling on really tested Yang Chen’s patience.

Lin Ruoxi turned to shot him a glare. “Why are you butting in on a conversation that’s not concerning you? He’s talking to me, not you, why are you irritated at him?”

“I’m not irritated at him… weren’t we supposed to have lunch?” Yang Chen became gloomy.

“If you want to go in and start, no one’s stopping you.” In the midst of her dissatisfaction at his impatience she flashed Harry a smile. “Harry, don’t listen to this bad man, if there’s anything you want to say just tell me.”

Harry blinked, then stuck out his tongue and made a face at Yang Chen, saying to Lin Ruoxi, “Elder Sister is the best!”

Yang Chen felt like his lungs were about to explode. This little brat called Lin Ruoxi ‘Elder Sister’, yet called me ‘Uncle’, doesn’t that make me Lin Ruoxi’s elder?!

But Harry also didn’t mean to ramble on like this. With Yang Chen’s reminder, he held up the flowers. “Elder Sister, what flowers do you like?”

Truth be told, the bouquets are simply picked wildflowers. Lin Ruoxi couldn’t recognize them and picked a relatively pretty indigo bunch, asking with a smile, “What are these? They’re quite pretty. I’ll have this bunch.”

Harry beamed. “It’s only one euro!”

Yang Chen tutted by the side. “Little Boy, if you can sell wildflowers from the roadside for one euro, I’m sure that you would have no problem becoming a crooked merchant in the future.”

“Why are you still here? You can go in first,” Lin Ruoxi said to him curtly, and then fished out a dark-brown five-euro note from the purse she took out.

Lin Ruoxi didn’t hand over the money as she take the flowers, but asked, “I can buy the flowers, but can you tell me why you’re selling flowers for money? If you tell me I’ll give you five euros.”

A small child trying his luck selling wildflowers on the street—it made her wonder if the boy was abducted and exploited by some criminal gang.

Harry stared anxiously at the money in Lin Ruoxi’s hand, and answered softy, ‘I… I saw Papa was still wearing one sock with a hole in it, so I wanted to buy a new pair for him… but I wanted it to be a surprise, so I can’t ask Mama for money, so I thought of selling flowers…”

The boy’s English wasn’t very good, perhaps it was because he never needed to use it save some occasions where it was spoken, and that he didn’t learn it officially, so he spoke with a heavy accent. But the simple words strung together were still vaguely intelligible.

After hearing his explanation, Lin Ruoxi’s eyes became soft. She patted his curls once more and placed the five-euro note in his hand.

“Thank you Elder Sister.” Harry let out a smile like sunshine. “Now I have enough money!”

“Socks can’t be bought one by one, only in pairs.” Lin Ruoxi tapped Harry’s nose as she spoke.

Harry widened his eyes upon hearing this bad news, feeling disappointed. “Can’t I just buy one? I thought I could buy it separately.”

Lin Ruoxi’s resistance crumbled in the face of his innocent expression, and took out a red ten euro note from her purse, saying, “I’ll give you ten euros. The socks you’re buying for your dad are so expensive, I didn’t know socks are so costly in France.”

Initially Harry’s face flashed with glee, but he immediately became downcasted, and didn’t take the money. “I want to give Papa a pair of Santa Claus socks, those socks can hold presents.”

Hearing this, Yang Chen laughed. “Santa Claus socks? Your father’s feet are large indeed.”

“Papa’s feet have always been big,” Harry argued stubbornly.

Conversely, Lin Ruoxi didn’t laugh at Harry’s choice, she understood why a pair of socks could have costed so much. Affection was the present, and although Christmas had long passed, for children, timing isn’t a huge consideration.

“Just take this money as a present from me to you.” Lin Ruoxi stuffed the ten-euro note into Harry’s hand.

Harry mumbled, “Mama told me not to take presents from strangers…”

Seeing his troubled expression, Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment, and said, “How about this: you give me a kiss, and we’ll call it a trade.”

Yang Chen, hearing this by the side, almost felt like crying, and pulled a face. “Wife, don’t play about like that! Why should that darn kid kiss you, what’s more, at the loss of your money; yet as your husband I have to always seek approval that is often denied in the end?!”

Lin Ruoxi glanced at the surrounding passerbys—luckily no one noticed his hollering. Her almond-shaped eyes fixed on Yang Chen as her face turned pink. “What are you shouting for? But most of all, why are you competing with a kid? You’re an adult but all day long you do things you’re not even ashamed of. Even the kids in the orphanage are much more likable than you. You want a kiss? Sure, I’ll consider it when you’re as well-behaved as Harry!”

At these words Yang Chen was practically grief-stricken.

At this moment, Harry approached Lin Ruoxi’s cheek and kissed it with a smack.

“Elder Sister, I kissed you, did I do it right?” Harry said happily.

Lin Ruoxi nodded. “You’re so good. Our trade is successful, you can now buy socks for your father.”

Harry grunted joyfully, then stuffed the fifteen euros he had gotten into his trousers’ pouch, which was bulging most likely with coins from his previous flower sales.

“Elder Sister, Uncle, bye bye!” Harry waved separately at Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen.

Seeing Harry rush off, Lin Ruoxi stood up, and only entered the restaurant when he was far off.

Yang Chen couldn’t help grinning. “If you like kids so much, why not have one yourself?”

Lin Ruoxi trembled inside. Although she did like children, she didn’t even dare to entertain the thought of her having her own child. Too embarrassed to speak, she pretended not to hear anything, and kept to herself as she walked inside to look for the Cromwell siblings.

Yang Chen was unperturbed, except some doubt which suddenly surfaced in him. Although Lin Ruoxi having a child is not something which would happen in the near future, they hadn’t even managed to join their homes as of present. Yet when he was together with Rose, Mo Qianni, Liu Mingyu, An Xin, and the other women, there was no need for safety precautions of any sort.

Especially for Rose—if she could become pregnant that would make her so happy, plus she wasn’t like those who had secret enemies from the underground.

However, it was almost like as his strength grew formidable, his ability to procreate became inexplicably obstructed. Otherwise, Yang Chen couldn’t bear to think why in the past years, only Seventeen had borne his child. It wasn’t like he would simply do that thing with his woman every time without a thorough plan. Could it be...it was God’s Stone that affected me this way?

Yang Chen involuntarily got a headache from thinking about these matters.

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