Xu Lin led Liu Qinnuan, just like an older brother guiding his younger sister, down the street, drawing many curious glances.
Although he was used to attracting attention when with others, this time was different—most of the previous attention was negative.
Girls envied the beauty of Chu Qingchan, Ji Yun and Teacher Su, while boys harbored a certain hostility towards him, making him quite uncomfortable.
However, leading Chu Fengyi and Liu Qinnuan out, there were no such issues. Liu Qinnuan was genuinely a little girl, and Chu Fengyi… well, was she a big girl?
Their combination drew only friendly looks, which felt really nice.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the bun shop, which was still crowded with people. Liu Qinnuan was startled.
"Do we have to wait?"
"Yep, but it looks like there aren't any seats left, so let's buy it to go."
"Alright."
"Well then, you wait in line."
"Brother Xu~ Are you really going to make me, a guest from afar, wait in line?"
"Of course, I have to buy some soup too. Do you want wontons or meatballs?"
"I'll have the meatball soup."
"Here's 10 yuan. Buns are 1.5 yuan each. Just get whatever filling you like."
"Okay."
Xu Lin watched Liu Qinnuan settle into the line and then headed towards the nearby shop.
Passing by the small noodle shop where he had brought Ms. Ye and Xiao Shaoyao before, he noticed there were not many people today.
"There usually aren't so few people here, right?"
Xu Lin leaned in and saw the shop assistant leaning against the counter with a look of resignation.
"Hey, do you have meatball soup? I'll take a large one to go."
"Sorry, but… Oh, it's you! Sister Qin's boyfriend, right?"
The assistant recognized Xu Lin from when Sister Qin had come with the beautiful woman and child.
"You have a good memory. What's up?"
"Uh… because my dad is planning to retire."
"Hmm? Why retire all of a sudden?"
This food street had been around for over a decade, and this small noodle shop had been here for almost ten years. Xu Lin had been coming here since he was in second or third grade.
"My dad's health has been declining, and he's getting older. He's been doing this since I was a child. Last year, he had a heart bypass surgery and decided he wanted to retire."
"What about you?"
"I'll find another place to work. I can't just live off my parents."
"Have you thought about taking over the shop?"
Xu Lin thought it would be a shame for such a great culinary skill to disappear. Many delicious foods had vanished over time.
"I think my skills aren't good enough yet. Even if I wanted to do it, I'd need to improve first. Or maybe I just want to pursue freedom for at least the next two years."
"Then how about working with me for these two years?"
Xu Lin saw this girl in a new light. He had noticed her last time and felt confident after the events at Qinglong Lake yesterday.
"What do you do?"
"I run a shop that makes spicy hot pot, but I'm not asking you to be a waitress."
"Oh? Then what would you have me do?"
"I plan to open another shop next year after this one is up and running, so I need more hands."
The girl was taken aback, seeming unable to believe it. Opening a shop just like that?
"Don't doubt it. You can visit my first shop anytime to see for yourself, and then we can talk further."
"Alright, by the way, my name is Xu Zhuimei."
"Okay, I'll give you my WeChat. Just let me know when you want to come."
"Got it."
If it weren't for the fact that the other person already had a girlfriend, she would have thought he was trying to hit on her. But fortunately, she isn't very pretty, especially in comparison to someone as beautiful as Sister Qin.
There's a good chance he isn't lying, since which con artist has a police girlfriend?
If it turns out that Dad really disapproves, she'll go check it out. Plus, she does need to find a job.
"Well, I'll head out first then."
"Wait a minute, I'll get you a bowl. He's arguing with Mom right now, so I'll make it for you. Just give me 2 or 3 minutes."
"Okay."
After about 3 minutes, the person came out carrying two bags. Xu Lin quickly took out money, but she waved her hand.
"It's on me."
"That won't do."
"No, maybe you'll be my boss in the future, so this is my gift to you."
"That still won't do. You're running a small business too."
"If they decide to quit, we'll have an event in a few days, just come by and support us."
"Alright then. Thank you, Miss Xu." Seeing her sincere and warm smile, he accepted the bags with both hands.
"I don't know your name, boss?"
"You're calling me boss already? Haha, I'm Xu Lin. You must be Yan Wu Xu, right? I'm the double-person Xu."
[T/N: He is talking about 'Xu' in the different chinese character.]
"Hmm, hello Boss Xu."
"Alright, I'm leaving. Actually, I'd rather see your old flavor continue than have you come over to my side."
"Let's see how it goes. Bye-bye."
"Yeah."
Carrying the free meatball soup, he arrived at the bun shop and found Liu Qinnuan just coming out with some buns.
"Hey Xu Lin, free buns!"
Liu Qinnuan, like a little bunny, happily ran over and shoved the 10 yuan he had given her into his pocket.
"What's this about free buns?"
"The owner recognized me. Even though I was wearing a mask, she didn't make a fuss, so she didn't take any money."
"That's too kind."
"Before I left, I gave her a signed postcard."
Liu Qinnuan pulled out a few cards slightly larger than business cards, with her photo and signature on them.
"Uh… why do you carry these around?"
"When I'm not filming, I can't always have my assistant and my mom with me. If someone recognizes me, they usually want autographs or photos. So I keep these handy for such situations."
"I see."
"So we didn't spend a penny this morning."
Xu Lin briefly talked about Miss Mei's shop and his idea of inviting her to work with him.
"By the way, why are you always trying to poach people? And they're all family businesses."
Hearing Liu Qinnuan's comment, he realized that yesterday's guy was also a young master and so was this one.
"But I only mentioned it. Whether they come or not is up to them."
"Mm, let's head back."
"Is there anything else you want to eat?"
"There is, but it seems it's not available."
"What?"
"Stinky tofu."
"Well, they definitely don't sell that in the morning. If you really want it, you can look for it at noon with Chu Qingchan and the others. Actually, I'll make it for you."
"Really? You know how to make it?"
"It's quite simple, but you'll need to buy the ingredients today."
Just as Xu Lin was about to list the ingredients, he heard Li Bin's rough voice.
"Xu Lin?!"