"Did Jingsong and Yang Zhi mention this place?"
"The sign says 'So Delicious,' so it must be."
Outside the Delicious Restaurant, a group of middle-aged men in their thirties and forties walked over, in groups.
They were all taxi drivers.
All here because they saw recommendations from Yang Zhi and Lin Jingsong in the morning, agreeing to come together.
They glanced at the sign on the door and confirmed that they were at the right place.
Reaching the entrance, they saw the tightly closed and locked door, frowning slightly.
They checked the time and were surprised, saying, "It's only 5:40, why is it closed? Or is it not open yet?"
They remembered Lin Jingsong and Yang Zhi had come in the morning to buy pan-fried buns.
So, this place called 'So Delicious' doesn't open in the evening?
But aren't pan-fried buns a snack?
They should be available morning, noon, and night!
The group of taxi drivers were a bit baffled.
They had intentionally come with empty stomachs, ready to have a feast, only to find the pan-fried buns unavailable and faced with a locked door.
Having worked hard all day, their stomachs were already growling with hunger.
Seeing no hope on this front, they gave up.
They looked around, ready to find a nearby place to fill their stomachs.
"How about we go to that noodle shop over there and grab something to eat!"
The group moved to a noodle shop, each ordering a bowl of big plate noodles, eating heartily.
The taste of the noodles was average, neither surprising nor disappointing.
At this moment, the door of the noodle shop was pushed open, and two office workers walked in, looking despondent.
They started complaining as soon as they walked in.
"Sigh! We rushed as fast as we could, but we were still late. Boss Huang's place was already closed."
"If it weren't for your program testing delaying us, we wouldn't have suffered like this. Otherwise, we would've been able to buy some and be enjoying it now."
"Sigh! A life without pan-fried buns is incomplete."
"For me, if I don't eat at least ten pan-fried buns in a meal, I just feel weak all over."
The taxi drivers paused, their noodle-eating halted.
The pan-fried buns those two mentioned?
Are they the ones we wanted?
Cao Zhe, the closest to the two office workers, acted as the representative to inquire, "Excuse me, the pan-fried buns you mentioned, are they from the Delicious place around the corner?"
Office worker Zhou Hong, who wore glasses, lifted them and responded politely, "Yes! Which other place could make such delicious buns?"
"Does that place open in the evening too?"
Zhou Hong nodded, "Yes, it does!"
Cao Zhe and the other taxi drivers exchanged puzzled looks.
"Then why did I see that place with its doors closed?"
Cao Zhe smiled, "The pan-fried buns and congee with preserved egg and lean pork were sold out, so of course, they closed for a break."
"What? Sold out? They sell congee with preserved egg and lean pork too?" Cao Zhe exclaimed in surprise.
The other taxi drivers wore the same expression.
"Yes."
Zhou Hong nodded affirmatively, "But the congee with preserved egg and lean pork just launched at noon."
Cao Zhe nodded, then voiced his confusion, "If the business is so good, why doesn't the owner make more? Closing this early, they can't sell that many, can they?"
Hearing this, Zhou Hong and his colleague Lin Zhibo were calm, even amused.
"Haha… can't sell many?"
Zhou Hong couldn't help but chuckle, "Buddy, I think you have a slight misunderstanding about Boss Huang's place!"
"Let me tell you, Boss Huang sold 700 pan-fried buns just one noon. You tell me, isn't that a lot?"
"Ah… 700!"
Cao Zhe and his colleagues' mouths opened wide enough to fit a goose egg.
"Yes, 700."
A customer at the neighboring table chimed in.
He had queued up in the afternoon but didn't manage to buy any, though he did hear the owner himself say they made 700 that noon.
As for why he's sitting here eating noodles, the story behind that is a tale of woe!
He just had rotten luck!
Didn't get them again!
Hearing this, Cao Zhe and his colleagues were even more astonished.
This is too much!
They all had some doubt whether the description included some exaggeration.
Even if the owner starts selling at 4 p.m., selling out 700 pan-fried buns in an hour and a half.
Even if each customer buys five buns, that's 140 customers!
What kind of concept is this?
Geez!
If news of these astounding sales spread, many owners would be rushing over with piles of cash, begging for a franchise!
"Let me eat some noodles to calm down."
Cao Zhe and others took a bite of noodles.
But suddenly, the noodles didn't taste so good anymore.
…
Lijiang University.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unreachable, please try again later..."
Listening to the automated message on the phone, Cai Jiajia murmured in confusion, "Why isn't he picking up? I hope nothing happened."
Originally, she had arranged to meet her boyfriend Lin Jie at the school gate at 5:30, then go out for dinner and watch a movie together.
But.
She waited at the gate for about 10 minutes, but he never showed up.
No one answered his phone either.
This made her worry.
Unable to settle her mind, she decided to go to his dormitory to check.
As she passed by the campus bulletin board, she noticed a large crowd in front of it and heard repeated accusations of "liar, pay back the money."
Her mind was preoccupied with Lin Jie, so she had no interest in gossip.
Just as she continued walking forward, she heard a familiar, frustrated voice saying, "I never said I wouldn't pay the money back, I just can't come up with that much money right now..."
She couldn't help but stand on tiptoe to look inside.
Huh?
It was Lin Xiyi, the department beauty?!
Also her roommate.
"Isn't that Lin Xiyi? What's wrong with her? Why are people demanding she pay back money?"
A female classmate nearby heard her and kindly explained.
"Lin Xiyi was running a cosmetics business on campus and recruited subordinates, but after collecting 3,000 yuan from them, she didn't deliver the goods. Then, a female classmate accused her of fraud at the school, and the school posted a notice on the bulletin board, not only disciplining Lin Xiyi but also ordering her to pay back the money quickly."
"Now she's being blocked and asked for money by the subordinates!"
She knew a little about Lin Xiyi's cosmetics business and recruiting subordinates.
Because Lin Xiyi had tried to persuade her too.
She just hadn't been convinced by her.
Because of this, Lin Xiyi got upset with her and often gave her the cold shoulder in the dorm, isolating her.
Because of this, she even asked the advisor to change her dorm.
Their relationship was never great, and now that Lin Xiyi was upset with her, she had no intention of getting involved.
She was about to withdraw from being a bystander and go find her boyfriend.
Just as she was about to turn around...
A familiar figure ran past frantically.
Lin Jie?!
It was indeed him!
He must have been late and couldn't find me, that's why he's in such a hurry...
Her heart skipped with joy, and she smiled brightly: "Lin Jie, how did you know I was here..."
However.
He didn't even glance at her, just stormed past her and rushed into the crowd...
"Rip~"
"Rip~"
The newly posted notice was torn down forcefully by Lin Jie.
Ripped to pieces.
He shouted at the crowd: "She's not a liar! She's my girlfriend, she's not a liar. I'll repay the 3,000 yuan for her, now shut up, all of you!"
Cai Jiajia's steps forcibly halted because of this sentence, feeling a shock like being struck by lightning.
She, she's your girlfriend?
Then what am I?
Tell me?
What exactly am I?
She watched Lin Jie, like a hero, coming down from the heavens, taking Lin Xiyi's hand and walking away from the crowd.
Watching their retreating figures, she seemed to lose all awareness, standing still for a long time.
It all seemed like a nightmare.
Just an hour ago, she thought she was the happiest person in the world!
But now...
Tears involuntarily flowed from her eyes.
Unable to accept what was happening, she weakly clung to a nearby branch.
She didn't understand why things turned out this way, why the man she loved deeply was, in front of her, calling another girl his girlfriend.
Did he ever consider her feelings?
She thought she was his everything.
Turns out it was just her assumption!
Turns out all those sweet moments were fake!
All fake!
Fake!
The warm afterglow of the sunset shone on Lijiang University, but Cai Jiajia, clad in autumn clothes, couldn't feel any warmth.
Instead, a cold and chilling sensation filled her heart.
She didn't know how she walked out of the school, nor did she know who she encountered on the way out. She only felt someone greeting her, and she responded mechanically.
To her, it felt like the sky had collapsed, and her passion for life, her longing for love, and her beautiful plans for the future disappeared without a trace.
She walked like a wandering soul, walking and walking, just walking...
When she ran out of strength, she stopped at a corner.
"Why? Why do this to me?"
She burst into tears.
Crying so heartbroken.
It made people's hearts shatter.
...