Chapter 138: Take it to go, I can still eat it tomorrow

The honey ham and fruit tart were served together.

The honey ham was sliced thin, and the fruits were piled together—apples, bananas, pears, strawberries, mangoes, and pineapple slices—neatly arranged on a white porcelain plate. The fruit tart was just a lot of fruit, a whole lot of it.

The two of them started with the honey ham. They had to admit, there was a lot of sweet food here, all kinds of honey-based dishes.

But even though much of it was sweet, it never gave that cloying, throat-irritating feeling. To achieve that level of balance showed real culinary skill.

They quickly finished more than half of it.

The last dish to arrive was the roast suckling pig, which was the “main event” of this meal.

The roast pig was served on a large platter. The whole little pig lay prone, its skin roasted to a deep brown. The moment a knife touched it, it let out a faint crackle.

The waitress asked if they wanted her to carve it. Flora said no, and once the waitress left, she picked up the knife and started dividing it herself.

She first ran the blade lightly along the surface, cutting off a slice of crispy skin of moderate thickness, then placed it into Lena’s plate.

“Try this first—the crispy skin. This is the best part of the roast suckling pig.”

Lena picked it up with her chopsticks and took a bite.

Crack. The brittle skin shattered in her mouth, and the fragrant oil instantly exploded across her entire palate.

She froze for a moment, then visibly stuffed the whole piece into her mouth.

Flora watched her, holding back a laugh as she continued cutting. “Eat slowly. No one’s going to take it from you.”

Lena finally managed to swallow, grabbed a big gulp of honey wine, and let out a long breath.

“This is really, really good. I’ve never had roast suckling pig like this… I need to eat a lot these few days! I want to eat this every day—it’s too delicious!”

Then Lena broke into a very happy smile.

“You’re exaggerating,” Flora said flatly.

“No, really! You have to believe me!”

Flora watched her wolfing down the food and suddenly thought of Eileen.

If Eileen were in a place like this, she’d probably act the same way.

When she was little, she used to go on and on about how when she grew up and had money, she’d go to the best restaurant, order a whole table of dishes, and eat from start to finish. Back then, Flora would laugh at her and say, “Is that the height of your ambition?”

Eileen would answer without hesitation: “Food is the first necessity of the people! If you don’t care about eating, what do you care about?”

Where was she now? At home? Was she asleep yet?

“Why aren’t you eating? You’ve been cutting the whole time; after cutting, you haven’t eaten. Hurry and have some.” Lena said indistinctly, her mouth full of meat, and she picked up some of the portions Flora had cut and put them on Flora’s plate.

“All right, all right.”

Soon, the two of them had eaten their fill.

“It was all so good,” Lena mumbled. “But I really can’t eat any more now.”

“Then we’ll take it to go. You can still eat it tomorrow.”

“We can take it to go?”

“Yes.”

Lena immediately called the waitress and said, “Please pack up all the leftovers. I want to take them.”

Flora watched and smiled.

Soon the waitress brought takeout containers and packed up the remaining food. The two of them went downstairs to pay the bill.

Flora looked out at the night sky, her mind clear and sharp.

Tomorrow, she would go to the academy for the test, and then wait for the term to start. So fast—she was back here again.

Flora looked at Lena and said, “Let’s find an inn to rest quickly. Tomorrow we have to go to the academy to register and take the test.”

“Mm.” Lena followed behind Flora, responding.

The two left the restaurant and walked along the street until they found an inn that looked decent. It wasn’t far from the academy, so they decided to stay there.

The two pushed open the door and walked in.

Behind the counter sat an old woman, looking at a notebook. She heard the door and looked up.

“Are you two young ladies looking for lodging?”

“Yes,” Flora said, walking over. “Do you have any vacant rooms?”

The old woman sized them up.

“Yes.”

She closed the book and stood up slowly.

“Do you want a twin room or a single room?”

“Twin room.”

The old woman nodded, turned to take a book from the shelf behind her, opened it, and looked while pointing with her finger.

“Third floor, facing the street—how’s that? The window faces the street, so it might be a bit noisy during the day, but there aren’t many people at night.”

“Fine,” Flora said. “We’ll be staying for four days.”

The old woman’s pen paused. She looked up again and gave them another once-over.

“Four days?”

She didn’t rush to write after hearing that. Instead, she put the pen down and sized them up again.

“Mm,” Flora said flatly.

The old woman looked from their faces to their clothes, from their clothes to their luggage, and then her gaze returned to their faces.

“You’re here to sign up for Silver Academy, aren’t you?” she asked.

Flora was taken aback for a moment.

Beside her, Lena blinked but said nothing.

Seeing their reaction, the old woman’s mouth curved slightly—it was hard to call it a smile; it was more like the knowing look of “just as I thought.”

“Young, unfamiliar faces, carrying luggage, staying until the day results come out. It’s like this every single year. Hard not to guess.”

“I see.”

“Don’t be nervous,” she said, picking up her pen again. “I’ve been running this shop for over thirty years. Every year at this time, it’s people like you.”

She looked down and wrote something in the book, speaking as she wrote:

“Silver Academy—it’s a good school. The best on the entire continent. Every year, tens of thousands of young people come to take the exam, and only a handful get in.”

Flora listened but said nothing.

The old woman finished writing, looked up, and turned the book around for them to see.

“Register your names. Both of you need to write.”

Flora took the pen and wrote down “Funai” and “Lena.”

The handwriting was neat, but deliberately made a bit ordinary.

The old woman glanced at it, nodded, and put the book away.

“Silver Academy,” she said again, a hint of emotion in her tone. “It’s a good school. The best on the continent. Every year, tens of thousands of young people come to take the exam, and only a handful get in.”

She pulled a key from the drawer and handed it to Flora.

“Is this your first time taking the exam?”

Flora took the key and paused for a moment.

“Yes, first time,” she said.

The old woman nodded.

“First time, huh… then you have to do well. If you get in, you’ll be one of the people here from then on. If you don’t, it’s no big deal. Don’t give up.”

“Come back next year. I’ve seen people who only got in after three or four tries. They graduated in the end, and I hear they’re doing pretty well now.”

She waved a hand as she spoke.

“All right, go on up. Third floor, second door on the left. Hot water is available at night. If you need anything, come down and find me.”

Flora thanked her, turned, and headed for the stairs.

Lena followed behind, but after a few steps, she turned back.

“Proprietress, how did you know it was our first time?”

The old woman was just putting her reading glasses back on. She looked at Lena when she heard the question, then smiled.

“First-timers—everything is new to them. There’s a different spark in their eyes. Second-timers know what to bring and what not to bring. They walk around like they’ve been here before.”

She paused, then added another line:

“And first-timers, when they hear me say ‘if you don’t get in, come back next year,’ always stop and hesitate for a moment. Second-timers don’t. They say, ‘I’m definitely getting in this year.'”

Lena paused, then smiled.

“Thank you, Proprietress.”

“Go on.” The old woman waved her hand. “Get some sleep early. You have the exam tomorrow.”