Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Qin Shu smiled, she revealed two small white canines, making her look naughty and cute.
The Lady Boss stared at her for a while and found that the young woman looked sowhat familiar. Perhaps it was because so many years had passed since they t, but it took her so ti to rember.
When she saw the young woman’s two small canines, an epiphany struck the boss, and she blurted out, “Are you that little girl who always forgot to bring money with her when she ate my wonton noodles? Ah! You’ve even brought this handso gentleman with you this ti!”
The boss sized up Fu Tingyu again. Upon a closer inspection, she jolted with a start. The man’s piercing gaze was not one she could ever forget. “Y-you’re that man who chased her, aren’t you? I rember how you used to quarrel with each other and how you ordered a bowl of wonton noodles to placate her.”
The Lady Boss chortled gleefully, reminiscing events of the past.
Qin Shu’s mouth twitched. Shooting Fu Tingyu a glance, she could not help but feel that they shared a complicated history.
Fu Tingyu recalled the incident Lady Boss was recounting, and his smile ford a beatific arc. “I’m amazed you still rember.”
“How could I not? If it weren’t for the fact that I’m so busy every day, I would have recognised both of you a long ti ago. it long ago.” The Lady Boss looked at Qin Shu again; she smiled and said, “In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so big. When you were young, I knew that you would be a beautiful girl when you grew up. Now that I look at you, you’re even more beautiful than I imagined…” The boss’s words trailed off as if she had thought of sothing else.
The figure of a young boy, whose severe countenance betrayed few words, flitted through her mind. Abruptly, she asked, “Why didn’t the stony-faced boy accompany you this ti?”
When Qin Shu heard the Lady Boss ntioning a ‘stony-faced boy’, she involuntarily thought of Han Xiao. The person she was referring to was probably Han Xiao.
The Lady Boss displayed her impeccable mory by rehashing events that had taken place in vivid detail. It was almost as if she possessed photographic mory despite her earlier fumbling.
“He once ca here to buy wonton noodles. At that ti, I was closing up for a break. He said he would pay ten tis the value of a bowl of wonton noodles if I would only prepare one for him. I guess he bought it for you… He might not have been the chirpiest boy around and spoke very little, but he was a good lad. You talked, and he listened. I thought the two of you made quite a good pair.”
Qin Shu looked up at the boss and sighed, not knowing what to say to her enthusiasm.
The fact of the matter was that she could not rember her past.
Annoyed by the Lady Boss’s incessant chatter regarding Han Xiao, Fu Tingyu cleared his throat and said, “I’m sure you must be very busy. We shan’t take any more of your ti.” With that, he paid for the noodles, discreetly tugging Qin Shu’s hand and making for the door.
The Lady Boss was in high spirits eting old custors. So when she noticed the couple preparing to leave, she felt reluctant to part so quickly. “Please co again. We’ll serve you the best bowl of wonton noodles you’d ever taste!”
Suddenly, Qin Shu stopped. Turning around to face the weathered boss of the establishnt, she asked, “Did he and I often co to eat wonton noodles?”
The Lady Boss smiled kindly, “Yes, you both ca here to eat whenever you could. That lad was pretty tall, much taller than most average folk in these parts. He was aloof for a young man, though he was always polite. Once, when you injured your foot, he even carried you here just so the two of you could enjoy my wonton noodles together.”
Fu Tingyu’s grip on Qin Shu’s hand tightened. In a tone belying his barely restrained irritation, he grounded out two words. “Let’s go.”
Qin Shu pursed her lips in displeasure but did not contradict him. Bowing low, she bade farewell to the boss, “Thank you, Lady Boss.”
She followed Fu Tingyu out after giving her thanks.
The Lady Boss watched them leave with a heavy heart. Sighing, she murmured, “How ti flies… They’re all adults now.”
The young waitress looked at her mother with so confusion, “Mom, do you know them?”
The mother of the teenaged girl nodded. “Yes, that woman used to co by very often to our wonton noodles.”
“Then how about that man beside her? Do you know him too?” The love-struck girl pestered her mother eagerly.
At this mont, the Lady Boss of the noodle house suddenly rembered that she still had plenty of work left for her in the kitchen. “I’m going to help your father. He’s probably struggling with the orders.”
No sooner had she made this declaration than another guest entered, promptly ordering a bowl of wonton noodles.
Han Xiao happened to see the Lady Boss as he entered the noodle shop “Lady Boss, give a bowl of wonton noodles.”
The Lady Boss stopped in her tracks. One handso man had just left, and another arrived. There was sothing about the man’s voice that chilled her to the bone.
Han Xiao found an empty seat and sat down, quietly waiting for his wonton noodles to arrive.
The Lady Boss stared at her new custor thoughtfully. It did not take her long to recognise Han Xiao since she had been talking about him re monts before. Quickly, she asked her daughter to prepare the wonton noodles while she walked up to Han Xiao and asked, “Are you the boy who often accompanied that little girl to eat wonton noodles?”
Han Xiao nodded. “Yes.”
The jovial, middle-aged boss recounted her eting with Qin Shu and Fu Tingyu upon seeing another familiar face she had not seen in a long ti. “That little girl you often ate with left with a handso man not too long ago. If you had arrived earlier, you would have t them. The three of you could have caught up.”
“I know.”
Surprised, the Lady Boss echoed, “You know? Then how did you…”
“The Lady Boss still rembers .” Han Xiao cut her off.
“Well, I had the deepest impression of that little girl, and you boys always followed her wherever she went. It’d be strange if I didn’t rember you all.”
The Lady Boss took the seat opposite Han Xiao, like an old friend playing catch up.
Although he could guess the identity of the other man who brought Qin Shu to the noodle house to eat, Han Xiao still asked, “Who else ate with her here?”
“Why that handso man who just left with her was the other fellow who ca here to eat wonton noodles with her. I never really liked him, then or now; he always was too surly for my liking. You arrived right after they left.”
With so hesitation, the Lady Boss decided to pry a little. “Where did you go after that incident?” Without giving Han Xiao a chance to respond, she prattled on, “That day, the little girl seed to be in a bad mood. She ca here to eat noodles alone, and that handso guy chased her all the way here. She never ca back to eat until today. For the longest ti, I thought you were the one who made her unhappy. Now, I’m not so sure. What happened between the two of you?”
It was a slow day for business, so she had ti to spare.
Han Xiao paused. There was only one reason why he never returned: He had left Mount Qi. “I left.”
“No wonder I haven’t seen you in a long ti. I only saw those two coming here.” The Lady Boss clapped her hands in realisation.
“The little girl often ca here to eat wonton noodles, but she never paid for it herself. It was always that handso guy who paid. I think they had a bet of so sort where the loser would treat the other to a al. The poor young man always lost, so he paid for the al every ti they ca.”
She never knew whether to laugh or cry every ti the duo appeared for wonton noodles.
Han Xiao listened to the boss’s chatter, gaining a clearer picture of the ti following his departure from Mount Qi.
He thought that after he left, no one would eat wonton noodles with his Little Munchkin.
He was not irreplaceable, but neither was he replaced. It lifted a great weight over his shoulders.
Sensing the change in Han Xiao’s deanour, the Lady Boss poured him a cup of water and placed it in front of her guest.
“Thank you,” Han Xiao accepted the cup of water graciously, taking a sip. He did not imdiately put down the glass, nursing it in his hands.
The Lady Boss continued, “One day, I saw that she was in a good mood, so I asked her, why didn’t the boy who had been following you co along?”
Han Xiao looked up at the boss, waiting for her to continue.
“She said that you left.”
Han Xiao clenched the cup in his hand and asked, “What else did she say?”
The Lady Boss’s daughter brought Han Xiao his bowl of wonton noodles and placed it in front of him. She glanced at her mother, who was gaily chatting and scread inside.. What happened to the work she needed to do in the kitchen?!
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