Felt awkward with two pairs of eyes staring at him from the kitchen.
Gu Yu and Lin Xinyue both buried their heads and silently slurped noodles.
Have to say, handmade noodles are just remarkably chewy.
Gu Yu hadn't tasted such delicious ramen in a very long time!
After taking a bite, Gu Yu wanted to try the soup, so he pushed the noodles and beef to the side with his chopsticks.
However, he didn't expect that by doing that, two round braised eggs popped up...
Gu Yu froze, looked up at Lin Xinyue, who was intently eating her noodles; sensing his gaze, she lifted her head, "What's wrong?"
Gu Yu pointed at the two braised eggs in his bowl.
Then he shouted to Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu at the back of the kitchen, "Uncle, Auntie, did you get it wrong? There are two extra braised eggs in my bowl!"
He was worried that Mrs. Bai had mistakenly given him someone else's noodles.
Mrs. Bai waved her hand through the window, "Young man, there's no mistake, Auntie added them specially for you, you should nourish yourself well!"
Gu Yu scratched his head.
Nourish? Why does that feel a bit odd?
He knew about eating kidneys to strengthen his own, but what's with eating eggs?
Looking at the two braised eggs in his bowl, Gu Yu could only go with the flow.
Biting into a braised egg, it was bouncy and full of braised flavor; and with a sip of the beef soup, he felt as if life was complete!
Million-dollar shopfronts, rent of six hundred sixty-six thousand, or even beauty and sports cars, seemed insignificant at that moment!
"Delicious, right!?"
Lin Xinyue boasted with pride.
"I used to live in the neighborhood right next to this place when I was in high school. Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu were our neighbors."
"My parents were so busy with work that they didn't have time to look after me, so I would always hang out at Mrs. Bai's and Mr. Liu's place after school, and even help out in the store on weekends."
"Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu don't have kids, but they were really good to me!"
Lin Xinyue, while pouring chili oil into the noodle soup, recounted her past to Gu Yu.
"Uh, isn't that too spicy?" Gu Yu saw Lin Xinyue pouring four or five spoonfuls of chili without stopping and felt his own sweat pores tightening gradually.
"Spicy? Not at all," Lin Xinyue put down the jar of chili oil. From the 300-milliliter jar, a third of the chili had already been used.
After mixing it with chopsticks, Lin Xinyue sipped the soup gently and looked satisfied.
Gu Yu was shocked!
Lin Xinyue was actually a "spicy" girl!
Looking at her completely reddened soup, Lin Xinyue could really handle her spice!
"Why are you staring at me so surprised? Can't a lady eat spicy food?"
Lin Xinyue with lips covered in red oil, pushed the jar of chili toward Gu Yu's bowl, "Try it! It's really fragrant!"
Gu Yu nodded, scooped a spoonful of chili oil into his bowl.
While stirring, he asked, "What happened after that? I heard from your conversation earlier that it's been a long time since you last visited them, hasn't it?"
Lin Xinyue nodded, "Yes! Didn't I tell you my parents are very busy? Not just busy, but they are workaholics! Later, for convenience for work, they bought a house next to their company. After moving, I never came back to this area."
"Then I went to university. I'm usually busy with school and hardly have time to come see Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu."
"I see, I've noticed you're a bit like your parents in one aspect."
"Which aspect? You haven't even met my parents?"
Lin Xinyue looked at Gu Yu puzzled.
"In terms of work, you're also a bit of a workaholic!"
Gu Yu explained with a smile, during his two years doing part-time work for the Student Affairs Office, even though he hadn't interacted much with Lin Xinyue, he still heard quite a few rumors.
Lin Xinyue joined the student union's practice department in her freshman year, signing several off-campus practice bases for the school soon after joining.
She was quickly promoted and stood out in student work, becoming the student union president in just one semester!
Everyone knows that university student unions often have a serious bureaucratic style, and Haidong was no exception.
To stand out quickly in such an environment shows just how much effort Lin Xinyue must have put in!
"Really? I just feel that since there's something to do, you might as well do it all well~"
Lin Xinyue dabbed her spicy-tantalizing lips with her chopsticks, squinting and smiling gently.
Gu Yu gave her a thumbs up: "Awesome! You're truly Haidong's number one school beauty, the goddess president of the student union!"
"Stop flattering! Eat your noodles!"
Lin Xinyue rolled her eyes at Gu Yu, but inside she felt very sweet.
Although she often received praise from teachers and classmates, hearing it from her own boyfriend felt completely different!
Vanity was greatly satisfied!
Gu Yu slurped a big mouthful of noodles firmly, "Hiss—so spicy, so exhilarating!"
Catching a glimpse of Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu's smiling faces, Gu Yu had an idea and said to Lin Xinyue, "Then you must come and visit Mrs. Bai and Mr. Liu more often!"
Lin Xinyue nodded and then shook her head.
Gu Yu looked at her puzzled, not understanding what she meant.
Lin Xinyue turned her head to look at the elderly couple in the kitchen, who quickly waved their hands with smiles.
She smiled back and then turned around again, "If I have time, I will definitely come over, but you also know I'm about to graduate. My parents insist on me working at their company, wanting me to inherit it...you understand, right?"
"Understand! How could I not! Isn't that what they always write in novels? If you don't study, you can only go home and inherit billions in assets!"
"And you still say you're not a little rich girl!"
Gu Yu teasingly mocked her, having felt before that Lin Xinyue's family background must be extraordinary.
An ordinary college student wouldn't have a Dior platinum membership card, after all!
Lin Xinyue still gave him a look, somewhat coyly saying, "It's not in the billions! Maybe just in the tens of millions? I'm not clear about it, I hardly ever ask my parents."
"Besides, you're calling me a little rich girl! You haven't even told me that you're the landlord of that store!"
"If it hadn't been for that thief, would you have kept quiet until we finished shopping? I bet you're the one with billions in assets, right?"
Lin Xinyue wrinkled her nose, pretending to be angry.
"All accidental, accidental wealth!"
"Slurp—cough cough cough—"
Gu Yu awkwardly bowed his head and slurped his noodles fiercely, not paying attention and choking on the soup, a strong spiciness shooting straight to his forehead!
"Hey, eat slower, will you? I'm not competing with you for billions in assets~"
While showing concern with a tissue for Gu Yu's nose, Lin Xinyue didn't forget to tease him a bit.
Gu Yu wanted to laugh, but couldn't, feeling absolutely miserable.
"What's wrong? What's happening? Choked, did you? Drink some yogurt, it can alleviate the spiciness!"
Mrs. Bai, who had been sneakily watching from the kitchen, hurriedly ran out. Seeing Gu Yu had choked, she quickly fetched a bottle of yogurt from the fridge, opened it, and handed it to Gu Yu.
Gu Yu took a big gulp of the cold and tangy yogurt, thankfully suppressing the spiciness.
"Phew—"
Taking a deep breath, he felt as though he had been reborn.
"Look at you, kid, how can you be so careless? Yue, you're not looking after your boyfriend. You know how spicy our chili is, what if something serious happened from the choking?"
Mrs. Bai scolded him, her words laced with excitement, but clearly full of genuine concern.
Lin Xinyue was also hanging her head low, playfully sticking out her tongue.
Why was Mrs. Bai taking Gu Yu's side now?
I'm your dear Yue, hello!
"Auntie, I'm okay... It was my fault," said Gu Yu, quickly trying to reassure Mrs. Bai with a smile, though his throat was spicy, his heart was truly warmed!
He could tell that although Mrs. Bai could be inadvertently chatty sometimes, her heart was very warm!
"Yue, you have to keep an eye on your boyfriend! We're not around you usually, only your boyfriend can accompany you—you both need to take good care of each other!"
Mrs. Bai's expression softened, but she still continued her nagging.
Lin Xinyue was dumbfounded, not daring to contradict Mrs. Bai, and could only bite her lip lightly and sneakily pinch Gu Yu with her little pink fists.
Jealousy!
They had just met, and Mrs. Bai was already favoring Gu Yu!
Seeing Lin Xinyue's little action, Gu Yu's eyebrows twitched up slightly, as if to say: See? This is my personal charisma!
Just as the two were basking in Mrs. Bai's fervent love, the glass door of the noodle shop was suddenly pushed open violently.
A red-haired youth wearing a tight suit and round-head dress shoes, hair combed into a slick back, walked in with two casual-dress yellow-haired companions.
"Scram! Scram! Everybody out! We are closed for the day!"
Red-haired inserted his hands into his pockets, and the first thing he did was to drive out the customers eating noodles in the shop.
"Can I just have one more bite? Just one," asked a customer whose noodles had just been served, reluctant to leave, thus he asked timidly.
Red-haired stepped on a stool and spat into his bowl of noodles, "Scram!"
That customer tucked his head like an ostrich and scurried out quickly.
To encounter such an incident, surrounded by women and the elderly, Gu Yu put down his chopsticks and stood up.