Sila Sila Sila
Song Yue wiped her sweat off after adding the last batch of battered eggplant slices to the piping hot oil.
After days of suffering, she had finally stopped having that same nightmarish dream yesterday.
In fact, she even had a dreamless pleasant night of deep sleep, fully resting her tired body.
Talking to that rude stranger was definitely worth this peace and calm.
She had never seen anyone so full of himself in her entire life!!
There she was, standing and trying her best to convey her weird psychotic dream, while he kept on rambling about women hitting on him.
Jerk!
"Oh well, the two cutie little chubbies were quite sweet though."
Song Yue smiled a little and added the next batch of fritters in the oil, while her mind was clearly wandering somewhere else.
"I hope that family is doing ok."
She gently sighed and prepared the plates for her customers.
Today's evening snack was just a simple flavorful eggplant dish.
Though it was simple, the dish tasted extremely crispy and delicious.
"Fast child. You are making this grandpa beg!", Old man Huo impatiently fidgeted for his weekly cheat snack.
Song Yue chuckled with her soft voice peeling into pearls of laughter.
"Here you go grandpa", Song Yue politely handed him the small plate of four eggplant crisps.
"Ahem Ahem. You need to call him sir."
The uptight assistant standing next to grandpa Huo immediately cleared his throat and murmured.
"Hai! Shut up, Yang." Grandpa Huo munched on his fritters and mumbled indecipherably.
After Grandpa Huo gulped down his last mouth, the duo left the familiar stall, once again, generously tipping Song Yue for her hard work.
Song Yue gratefully accepted the money, very thankful to the kind-hearted old man.
This man's patronage alone contributed to a huge portion of her monthly rent!
Just as the old man and his assistant walked out of the night market, a familiar figure crossed them.
"If it isn't young master Zhi!" Grandpa Huo chuckled and waved at the young man in front of him.
"Good evening, Grandpa. How are you doing?", Zhi Shan spoke, revealing a rare smile on his perfectly sculpted face.
"Hehe... I am still strong enough to kick your ass, young man. Hehe." Grandpa Huo chuckled and walked away.
"Senile old man." Zhi Shan muttered and continued with his main quest this evening.
He casually strolled towards the small worn-out shop in the corner of the market.
He had never visited this sort of place before and now, it looked like it was the right decision!!
The whole place was so repulsive with a nauseating oily aroma assaulting his nose. Who on earth eats all these disgusting nonsense!
Zhi Shan mumbled and grumbled, quickly walking over to Song Yue's stall.
The thin frail woman was busily attending to the two customers present and hadn't even noticed him yet.
She seemed very weak and fragile, but yet there was an air of strength. She was unlike anyone he had ever met before.
He immediately felt a pang of guilt. He had treated her a bit too harshly the other day, lumping her with all the disgusting socialites he knew.
"Ahem Ahem," Zhi Shan cleared his throat loudly. He didn't want to startle her, as she handling hot cooking things.
Song Yue looked up with her gently smiling face, which froze in mid-air, due to an overwhelming feeling of surprise and anxiety.
How can she forget this perfect face, which could drive all women on this planet crazy with lust?
Shit!!! Why is he here again?!! I hate confrontations!!
She lowered her head and stammered quietly, "Good evening, Sir. Would you like something to eat?"
"Nope", Zhi Shan quickly rejected the offer without any hesitation.
"Ah," Song Yue stared with her mouth wide agape but quickly regained her posture.
A sad smile hung on her lips, with her head bent down. Guess people like him won't eat in a cheap place like mine. She sighed.
Noticing her uneasiness, Zhi Shan quickly added, "Come home with me."
"What?" Song Yue abruptly dropped the plate she had in her hand. What was this guy saying, out of nowhere?
"I mean instead of working here, I am employing you as one of the cooks in the Zhi household." He arrogantly threw forward his offer, conveying full well just how generous he was.
Song Yue was surprised and taken aback. She didn't know how to respond.
"Consider it as a token of appreciation for your help." He further added.
Song Yue looked down at her pan, filled with bubbling and boiling oil. Leave this place?
Her eyes glistened and slightly teared up. She couldn't even bear the thought of it.
If it were not for this worn-out stall, wouldn't she be completely alone in this world? This was all that she had.
She hesitantly looked up to reject the kind offer, but only to find the handsome man long gone.