“I’m telling you, the owner of this place is drop-dead gorgeous. Look, look!”
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, he really is!”
Following the chatter of two girls, Zhu Zhixi glanced over. Her footsteps rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed.
“Hurry up! This owner only sells for two hours. When business is good during breaks, he stops selling in less than two hours.”
“The owner’s really mastered the art of scarcity marketing.”
“…”
A young man in a black tank top stood before the stove, his head slightly lowered. A black cap shaded his brows and eyes, revealing only a sharp, cold jawline and a thin, straight-pressed mouth.
His lean muscles were just right, glistening with a sheen of sweat. Veins faintly traced his arms as he effortlessly flipped the wok a few times, then lifted it to plate the dish with practiced ease.
It was Xie Jin.
His handsome, well-proportioned face bore a trace of untamed wildness and defiance.
Zhu Zhixi finally understood what he meant by “easy to find.”
Looking down the row, the seats at other stalls were mostly empty, while most of the spots behind Xie Jin were occupied.
Mostly girls, secretly snapping photos of the busy young man with their phones.
Amidst a crowd of middle-aged men and women with fleshy faces and protruding bellies, Xie Jin’s face stood out like a beacon.
She just hadn’t expected that Xie Jin in his teens lived a life like this.
Compared to Xie Jin at twenty-eight.
It was like night and day.
One grounded, the other soaring.
She stepped forward, following the two girls.
One of the girls was clearly a regular, ordering her meal with ease, though she ran into a bit of trouble when it came time to pay.
Xie Jin didn’t handle change himself. Customers either transferred money via phone or took change from the coin box on the counter.
The two girls had a hundred-yuan bill.
“Boss, there’s not enough change in the box. What should we do?”
Xie Jin lowered his pale, cool eyelids. “Get change from the shop across the street, or pay next time.”
The girl grinned playfully. “Boss, aren’t you worried I won’t come back? How about adding me on WeChat? I’ll transfer the money there. How about it?”
Xie Jin didn’t even lift his eyelids, his hands never stopping. He said nothing.
Her companion pointed to a sign hanging on the tent, written in stark black and white: Underage. No QQ, no WeChat, no phone. Get your own change for meals.
A blunt, unapologetic rejection.
Xie Jin’s face remained cold.
So arrogant.
The girl with the hundred-yuan bill pouted and transferred the money via her phone.
Zhu Zhixi had been standing to the side without saying a word, like a beautiful piece of background decor. Several people who arrived after her had already gone in ahead and taken their seats.
“If you’re here to eat, come in. If not, don’t block my business. I don’t need door guardians or models here.” Xie Jin lifted his pale, cool eyelids, giving her a sidelong glance.
The pampered young lady, her expensive little leather shoes stepping on the grimy, discolored asphalt ground.
In her hands, she carried a pile of exquisitely packaged boxes, her fair, pinkish skin marked with red lines from the weight.
They stood on opposite sides of the stove, separated by the counter.
“I’m here to eat.”
Zhu Zhixi immediately took a step forward.
Her eyes scanned the ingredients, her delicate brows furrowing slightly with hesitation. “No eggs, no carrots, no meat, no chives, no onions, no chili peppers, no…”
Her voice grew softer and softer, tinged with guilt.
Clang!
Xie Jin tossed the spatula into the wok, lifting his chin. The corners of his lips curled into a cold arc, his expression saying, “Eat it or get lost.”
“I really am here to eat.”
It sounded like she was just looking for trouble.
She pursed her lips, her clear black-and-white eyes glistening as she looked at Xie Jin. Her pure, innocent gaze made it hard not to believe her words.
Xie Jin’s thin eyelids creased slightly, the chill gone from his voice. “Just say what you want to eat.”
“Just bean sprouts and greens, is that okay?”
Even a young lady experiencing life couldn’t help being picky.
Xie Jin’s sharp jaw tightened slightly as he lit the stove.
Zhu Zhixi let out a soft sigh. It was all Gu Qishen and Zhu Huaiqian’s fault.
She transferred the payment on her phone.
With few seats left and her hands full of things, she could only sit at the outermost spot, right next to the neighboring street.
She turned her dark, round eyes, taking in the scene.
There were more girls than men here. Xie Jin only served fried noodles. The girls came directly from the milk tea shop diagonally across, while the men would grab drinks from the neighboring shopkeeper’s fridge and order a side of cold dishes.
She overheard a few girls whispering about Xie Jin, saying he looked “both handsome and wild.”
Zhu Zhixi silently agreed in her heart.
The weather was hot, and with the stove fire nearby, Xie Jin wore only a black tank top. His cool, pale skin created a striking contrast with his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and lean, muscular build.
His physique was utterly captivating.
“Whoa, isn’t that Zhu Zhixi? What’s she doing here?”
Wu Liang darted over from the shop across the street, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Xie Jin, muttering under his breath.
“The young lady who even brings her own auntie to a farming activity—she actually came here to eat your food? Is she here for a meal or to pick a fight?”
Wu Liang was a local, a second-generation building owner, with a head of natural curls and colorful clothes. His nickname was “Huajuan” (Flower Roll).
Xie Jin didn’t respond. He lifted the wok and handed the plate to Wu Liang. “For the young lady.”
“She’s definitely here to pick a fight,” Wu Liang asserted.
What decent person would come all this way just to eat fried noodles with greens?
Besides, Zhu Zhixi had a troublemaker of an older brother, Zhu Huaiqian, and she was also Gu Qishen’s childhood friend.
Both of them were Xie Jin’s sworn enemies.
Zhu Zhixi herself seemed like a difficult person to get along with—spoiled and arrogant.
In short, three nuisances.
Wu Liang’s expression was filled with utter disdain and impatience, his face sour, as if he couldn’t wait to slam the plate on the table.
Take it or leave it.
“Thank you,” Zhu Zhixi said, her face sweet and delicate.
She curved her pretty, rosy lips into a polite smile at Wu Liang.
Wu Liang was taken aback for a moment, his eyebrows slightly raised. His steps, which had been about to turn and leave, paused. He pointed behind him, his tone casual. “Chopsticks are over there. Get them yourself.”
“Okay, thank you,” Zhu Zhixi’s voice was soft.
Very polite.
“Rumors, definitely just rumors,” Wu Liang scurried back, lowering his voice as he held up two fingers to Xie Jin. “The young lady was quite friendly. She thanked me twice.”
Xie Jin let out a soft scoff. Men’s hearts really were fickle.
Wu Liang clicked his tongue, continuing with a serious expression. “I bet the young lady came to visit a relative or friend. She was carrying a whole bunch of supplements. Looks like this person is… weak.”
Zhu Zhixi was picky with food. She slowly chewed a couple of bites of the noodles, fragrant with wok hei, her long, narrow eyes lifting slightly in pleasant surprise.
Her posture was elegant, her eating manners refined. Her high ponytail parted along her fair neck, smooth as silk, glossy and lustrous.
Xie Jin watched her for a few seconds before lowering his light, dark eyes.
After eating about half, she set down her chopsticks and decided to go across the street to buy a fruit tea.
“Boss!”
Suddenly, two young men sitting across from her slammed their chopsticks heavily on the table, raising their voices gruffly. “Your food isn’t clean!”
At their words, everyone stopped eating.
Xie Jin lifted his chin, revealing the eyes and brows hidden beneath his brim, cold and profound: "What's unclean?"
The young man in the black short-sleeve pinched a chopstick, stirring and picking through the nearly empty plate.
Finally, he slammed the chopstick down.
He stood up, pointing at the plate and shouting: "See that? There's a bug."
Another man with a crew cut stood up to back him up: "My buddy finished eating and found a bug at the end. Isn't that fucking disgusting? Who knows if he's the only one who got one?"
"Nobody eat here anymore, this place is filthy," the crew-cut man yelled to the others.
Xie Jin stood with his hands on his hips, the muscles in his arms swelling into fluid lines, his thin lips curling into a faint arc, his expression icy: "Just say it. How do you want to settle this?"
The man in black scoffed: "You eat the bug and get the hell out of here."
Xie Jin clenched his jaw, a roguish smile spreading across his handsome face, his tone casual yet cold: "How about you eat the bug and get the hell out of here?"