Mother Wen hurriedly called Father Wen over.
“Come take a look at this. Do they want rice bowls or fried rice?”
The two of them leaned their heads together and stared for a long time, unable to make head or tail of it.
Father Wen suggested, “Why don’t you give them a call and ask?”
They couldn’t afford a negative review right off the bat; they’d have nowhere to complain.
Mother Wen dialed the number on the order. When the call connected, the clattering of mahjong tiles could be heard from the other end.
“Five of Dots! Pong! Who is it?”
Mother Wen explained cautiously, “Hello, this is Wen’s Restaurant. I wanted to ask about the order you just placed. Is it for three rice bowls? I saw your note said three portions of fried rice…”
The middle-aged woman on the phone suddenly shouted that she had won a hand. She barely listened to half of what Mother Wen said before interrupting.
“It’s fine, just do whatever is in the notes. Hurry up, okay?”
Mother Wen hung up the phone and yelled toward the kitchen, “Old Wen, make three portions of fried rice!”
As it happened, before the couple started selling rice and noodle bowls, the shop had offered fried rice. Later, they realized that students only had an hour for lunch, and making fried rice wasn’t as fast as serving pre-made toppings over rice, so they had taken it off the menu.
Mother Wen’s mood, which had been disappointed all day, finally brightened a little. she excitedly speculated with Father Wen, “It’s probably an old customer who remembers we used to sell fried rice.”
Since it was an old customer, Father Wen was generous. He added plenty of shredded pork and eggs, and even included three bottles of mineral water when packing the order.
In a residential building three kilometers away from Wen’s Restaurant, Yang Hong was in the middle of a fierce battle with several mahjong friends.
Perhaps because her morning meal had been so satisfying, Yang Hong’s luck was exceptionally good today. She was winning while the other three were losing. When lunch arrived, the others clamored for her to treat them.
Basking in her victory, Yang Hong waved a hand. “Fine, my treat!”
She generously handed her phone to the one who had lost the most. “Order whatever you want!”
The group started chattering—one wanted braised chicken, another wanted beef offal noodles, and someone else wanted Yellow Braised Chicken.
Yang Hong, touching her tiles, had a sudden thought.
“Search and see if there’s a shop called Wen’s Restaurant.”
The person holding the phone searched and found it.
“Oh, it’s a new shop?”
Yang Hong smacked her lips, recalling the taste of the fried rice she had eaten that morning. She felt like she couldn’t think of anything else; she just wanted fried rice.
“I’m not eating anything else. Order a portion of fried rice for me.”
The other three teased her, “What? You’ve won so much from us and you won’t even treat yourself to a decent meal?”
Decent? Yang Hong wanted to say, is there anything better than that bowl of fried rice from this morning?
“I’m only having fried rice. Let me tell you, this place’s fried rice is absolute perfection!”
The plump, middle-aged woman sitting directly opposite her laughed. “How good can it be? Better than Jinyu Hall?”
Jinyu Hall was a famous local five-star restaurant. Everyone present owned at least a dozen rental properties; they weren’t short on money and had naturally eaten their fair share of delicacies.
To her, there was a massive wall between expensive cuisine and ordinary street stalls. If someone truly had such great skill, wouldn’t they have opened a big restaurant to make a fortune long ago?
If it were yesterday, Yang Hong would have believed that. But since eating that bowl of fried rice this morning, she didn’t think that way anymore.
“Anyway, I’m only having fried rice. You guys order whatever you like for yourselves.”
With that, she ignored their teasing and focused solely on waiting for her fried rice.
Seeing her so insistent, the others began to waver. Everyone knew Yang Hong’s personality—she called it like she saw it. If she said it was delicious, it certainly wouldn’t be bad.
“Then I’ll have the same as you.”
“Me too.”
“I’m not used to eating rice; just order any noodle dish for me.”
In the end, except for the one who insisted on noodles, the other three all ordered fried rice.
“Hey, this shop doesn’t have fried rice on the menu.”
Yang Hong replied, “Impossible!” and took the phone to check.
“Maybe they haven’t had time to upload it… just write it in the notes.”
The plump woman shook her head and smiled. “Just how delicious is it to make you this obsessed?”
The place didn’t even list it, yet she insisted on ordering it.
Despite her words, she followed Yang Hong’s instructions and ordered three rice bowls, adding the note for fried rice.
Before long, the delivery driver knocked on the door. One order of beef offal noodles and three portions of steaming fried rice arrived together.
Yang Hong frowned while the other two opened the bags.
“This is nice; they even sent mineral water.”
One took a spoonful and tasted it. “Mm, the taste is decent. For ten-something yuan, there’s meat and egg; it’s quite a bargain.”
Yang Hong took only two bites before losing interest.
The food was fresh, there was plenty of shredded pork and egg, and the small green vegetables were crisp.
But it didn’t have that flavor from the morning!
“Hey, aren’t you eating?”
“Wasn’t this what you wanted to order?”
Yang Hong wanted to scream.
The fried rice I wanted was NOT this kind!
The Wen couple had no idea that their landlady was currently having a breakdown over a bowl of fried rice.
They tidied up the restaurant, waiting for their daughter to return from her tutoring class. Father Wen stir-fried a dish of baby bok choy and prepared a large pot of seaweed and egg soup.
“Why isn’t she back yet?”
Even if she were walking, she should have been home by now.
“She’s back, she’s back!”
Wen Fan’s figure appeared at the corner of the street, backpack slung over her shoulder.
Mother Wen stood dumbfounded until Wen Fan entered the door.
“Your… your hair…”
Wen Fan gave an “oh” and self-consciously touched the back of her head.
“I thought it looked too ugly, so I went to get it cut.”
Not only did she cut it, but she also had the barbershop dye it the cheapest black.
She had originally wanted to cut it into a more convenient “student bob,” but after the shop owner’s staunch defense, she agreed to keep it slightly longer—a straight, clavicle-length cut.
To be fair, Wen Fan didn’t look bad with short hair. Without the long hair obscuring her face, her features were more prominent and vivid, making her look much cleaner and sharper.
She had never had such a look before, and Father Wen and Mother Wen didn’t know what to say.
Father Wen gave a dry laugh. “If it’s cut, it’s cut. Come on, let’s eat.”
Wen Fan unzipped her backpack. “No rush.”
She pulled out a brown kraft paper envelope. “This is the tutoring fee Teacher Wang refunded. Mom, count it.”
If the haircut was a surprise to the two elders, her going to cancel the classes was undoubtedly a trigger for Mother Wen’s anger.
This daughter was adopted. Mother Wen had a blunt personality, but sometimes she would hesitate and weigh her words when facing her sensitive daughter, fearing that saying something inappropriate would hurt her.
But canceling classes without permission! Mother Wen could not accept this.
“Why did you cancel the classes? Didn’t I tell you? The family will find a way to cover the tutoring fees! Let’s go! Come with me to see Teacher Wang and give the money back!”
Father Wen also agreed with his wife. “Fanfan, do you feel that it’s too much of a burden for Mom and Dad to support your studies? That’s not the case. Look, we started delivery at noon today, and it sold quite well. Don’t worry about adult matters; studying hard is the only thing you should focus on.”
On the way back, Wen Fan had mentally prepared herself for her parents’ disagreement, but she had also come up with a reason.
Wen Fan lowered her head and murmured, “Dad, Mom, I don’t want to go… He is also in that tutoring class.”
The parents instantly fell silent.
Since her first year of high school, Wen Fan had liked a boy, and from that moment on, she had become sharp-tongued and irritable. The two of them ran a restaurant at the gate, but Wen Fan would only ever eat at the cafeteria; unless it was summer or winter break, she would absolutely not come to the shop.
How could parents not be aware of an adopted daughter’s insecurity and infatuation?
Just a few days ago, Wen Fan had suddenly disappeared. Her parents had been frantic, searching everywhere and even calling the police. Finally, Wen Fan came back on her own, but she had a persistent high fever, deliriously calling out a boy’s name…
Coupled with the fact that she had taken her ID, clothes, and left a “I’m sorry” note when she disappeared…
The Wen parents had a mountain of questions they wanted to ask but couldn’t bring themselves to. They had dragged it out until now, only for Wen Fan to proactively detonate this bomb hidden in everyone’s hearts.
Wen Fan said softly, “I will study hard. I’ve realized everything now.”
She realized that studying was the top priority. As for the male and female leads, it was best for them to stay far away from her!
Besides, the subject for the morning tutoring was Chinese. The original host was actually not bad at liberal arts; she had only deliberately failed a few exams and requested tutoring just to be in the same class as the male lead.
When she went to the tutoring center today, she hadn’t planned on attending class at all. She went straight to the tutor and demanded a refund. Fortunately, although the other person said some unpleasant things, they still returned the money.
Wen Fan handed the bag of money to Mother Wen. In her mind, she recalled an imperial princess she had seen in the palace, leaning into her mother’s arms and acting spoiled.
Wen Fan pressed her face against Mother Wen’s arm. “Mom, I can study on my own. I don’t want to go to tutoring anymore. And I can come to the shop to help you.”
After more than a decade of being mother and daughter, this was the first time Mother Wen had experienced Wen Fan acting so affectionately. If it weren’t an inappropriate time, her eyes would have turned red.
Wen Fan made sure to treat both parents equally, grabbing Father Wen’s arm. “Dad, is that okay?”
The couple’s ears turned red in exactly the same way.
In the end, it was Mother Wen who held the floor, barely maintaining her composure. “Then you must study hard. Dad and Mom don’t need your help; we just want you to be happy.”
Wen Fan nodded heavily. “Mm!”
Wen Fan left the tutoring center, completely unaware that a group of people was discussing her.
A few boys came out of the tutoring center. One of them skillfully took a lighter from his bag, and with a click, wisps of smoke began to curl up.
“Hey, Brother Chuan, do you think Wen Fan is for real? She even canceled her classes today.”
“Could it be ‘playing hard to get’ again? Just like a few days ago, when she purposely went missing and almost had the police coming to the door.”
“She’s so annoying, always overacting. She probably has a histrionic personality, right? One moment she’s pretending to be a rich lady, the next she’s going missing. Is she going to play the suicide card next time?”
“Well, isn’t that just because she’s deeply devoted to our Brother Chuan? But our Brother Chuan only has one person in his heart…”
Fu Chuan casually tossed the half-pack of cigarettes in his hand over.
The boy laughed again. “Alright, alright, let’s not talk about it. Brother Chuan is successful in the arena of love and is about to go on a date. Let’s not mention those killjoys.”
“Hahaha, let’s make a bet. I bet Wen Fan will still be clinging to Brother Chuan when school starts.”
“Who wants to bet with you? Isn’t that obvious?”
“I don’t think it’s necessarily certain.”
“Then let’s bet?”
“Bet!”
“…Are you guys stupid? What’s the point of a bet? Why not just talk to Brother Chuan? We don’t even have to wait for school to start. As long as Brother Chuan sends one message, Wen Fan will come sticking to him immediately.”
“Damn! A miscalculation!”
The others laughed and began to egg on Fu Chuan. “Brother Chuan, send one and let’s see!”
“Yeah, I want to see if Wen Fan has really given up.”
Fu Chuan, surrounded by the crowd, said lazily after a moment, “Boring… send it yourselves.”
With that, he tossed his phone out. A boy jumped up to catch it and happily opened the messaging app.
“[‘What are you doing?’]—wait, is that all? Just that simple?”
The boy sending the message was full of confidence. “What do you know? This is called ‘the simplest way is the best’! Just wait and see!”
The loading circle spun three times while the group watched with excitement.
Until—
A bright red exclamation mark appeared.
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