My Exclusive Dream World Adventures

Chapter 101: 101 Got Played
 

“Boss, I’ll take fifty servings of noodles.”

Chen Xu had just opened the door to the noodle shop when the round-faced man from last night came again – this time, he drove directly there and parked in front, getting out of the car and saying, “Pack them all up.”

“Handsome, you’re back! Come, have a seat,” said Chen Ziqi, who was arranging the tables and chairs, as she eagerly greeted him.

“Thank you, little sister.”

The man smiled, then turned to ask Chen Xu, “Do you have enough ingredients prepared for today?”

“Fifty servings, we should have enough, just a moment.”

Chen Xu nodded. He hadn’t gone for his morning exercise, opting instead to stay at the shop to make broth. Obviously, making money was a bit more important. He was using the same pot as before, which was just about enough for fifty servings.

Chen Ziqi thought that this was a major customer and that her service attitude should be better, so she asked, “Did the noodles from last night clump together?”

The man said, “They were fine. My office is quite close, so it didn’t take much time to take them back.”

At that moment, another person came over – it was Yanqing, “Boss, I’ll have two servings of fresh meat noodles, the large bowls, to go.”

Chen Xu, who was busy in the kitchen, looked up and said, “I’m sorry, we’re sold out.”

“Sold out?”

Yanqing looked puzzled at the table placed on the empty spot, which hadn’t been set up yet, and said discontentedly, “Boss, you just opened, are you turning away business?”

“It’s really sold out.”

Chen Ziqi was in a good mood today and explained, “This gentleman just packed fifty servings, and we’ve run out of ingredients.”

“Fifty servings?” Yanqing looked at the man in surprise and couldn’t help asking, “Can you even eat all that?”

The man didn’t like his attitude, glanced at him, and said, “What does it matter to you?”

Realizing his tone had been somewhat harsh, Yanqing didn’t want to back down and said to Chen Xu, “Boss, can you make an exception and make one serving for me? My girlfriend has a stomach condition and can’t eat much else; she loves your noodles. Please, do me this favor.”

Seeing him like this, Chen Xu said, “Alright, but you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“No problem.”

Yanqing stepped back and noticed that the tables weren’t set up yet, and he moved forward to help.

Chen Ziqi, annoyed, said, “Are you stupid? We’ve sold everything and we’re about to close up, why set up the chairs?”

“Oh, okay.” Yanqing stopped awkwardly.

Half an hour later, Chen Xu finished making all the noodles, precisely keeping enough for one serving for Yanqing.

After collecting the money, he prepared to close up.

“You need to get a bigger pot,” suggested Chen Ziqi.

“There’s no rush,” said Chen Xu.

Chen Ziqi looked at him and sighed, “I can see now, you’re too conservative in your actions, not making a decision without strong certainty. In today’s society, that won’t work; you’ll miss many opportunities.”

“Just you and your nagging,” Chen Xu pulled the door shut and said, “Alright, you’ve been here so many days and I haven’t taken you out yet. We have time now, let’s go to the mall.”

“Awesome, I want to buy clothes, shoes, and gifts.”

…

The following morning, Chen Xu went for his morning exercise again.

He received the basic “Stamina” card, which not only enhanced his recovery ability but also improved his energy.

These past few days, he had been sleeping only five to six hours each night, yet he was energetic all day long. In the morning, he would go running, during the day he would be running around, and at night, he still had to make noodles, but his body surprisingly could handle it. It was like he had returned to his teenage years when he had endless energy.

This morning, he even woke up before the alarm went off, and afterwards, he felt no drowsiness at all. It was unlike before, when he would always hit snooze for an extra ten minutes, trying to steal every minute he could.

At around seven, he had just finished his second round of running and felt that he had exercised enough.

His progress was very quick; today, he could already run continuously for thirty minutes, and two rounds made an hour. He thought that was enough and decided to head back to the shop.

As if led by some ghostly force, he walked towards the alley he had passed through yesterday.

When he reached the telephone pole, he did not see the girl from yesterday, and he couldn’t help but check his waist pack. Before leaving the house that morning, he had also brought along the school card he had found, thinking he might just bump into her.

The whole alley was deserted, not a single person in sight.

He looked up and noticed that the small supermarket at the corner had already opened, so he walked over.

“Boss, give me a pack of Furong Wang.”

He bought a pack of cigarettes, paid for them, took out the school card, and asked, “Do you recognize the female student who was feeding the cats by the telephone pole yesterday? I found her school card, I’ll leave it with you. If she comes looking for it, you can return it to her…”

As he said this, he noticed the shopkeeper suddenly looking behind him with a surprised expression. Just as he was about to turn around, a hand suddenly reached out and took the school card from him.

“It’s you!”

Chen Xu saw that it was the girl from yesterday, still dressed in her school uniform with earbuds in. She was quite tall, almost as tall as him, and looked slim.

Her eyes were bright and clear, and being looked at by her made him feel somewhat guilty. He explained, “I found it by the telephone pole yesterday.”

The girl secured her school card, nodded slightly as a thanks, and then turned to leave. As she left the door, her long ponytail lifted. There was a white kitty cat on the binding band.

Chen Xu felt helpless. Today’s high school students really lacked manners, not even saying a thank you. Chen Ziqi was the same but she seemed older than Ziqi, probably a high school student.

He stored his cigarette pack properly and left the shop.

…

Chen Xu arrived at the company on time; Luo Xiyun still had not shown up for work, publicly said to be on a business trip abroad. However, he believed what Secretary Guo told him before, that Luo Xiyun had fallen ill.

Even though he couldn’t contact her, Chen Xu wasn’t worried. He was still patient and just carried on with work as usual.

That evening, as Chen Xu and Chen Ziqi were just opening the shop door, Yanqing came over.

“Boss, someone played you,” he said with an indignant face as soon as he arrived.

Chen Ziqi had just moved a table out and asked in confusion, “Why are you so startled? You aren’t making sense. Who played us?”

Yanqing said, “That fat man from yesterday.”

“Fat man?”

“The one who ordered fifty servings of noodles yesterday.”

“How is he fat?” Chen Ziqi was speechless. “Just a round face. Forget it, get to the point. How did he play us?”

Yanqing pulled over a chair and sat down, stating, “Today I was on XX Road handling some business and went to eat lunch in a newly opened noodle shop. I saw that damn fatty there. I asked around, and it turns out he’s the owner of that noodle shop.”

“I thought it’s not right. Why would he, a noodle shop owner, come to your place and order so many servings of noodles?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Ziqi immediately understood, her eyes widening in shock and anger, “You mean he was stealing our broth recipe?”

“Exactly.”

Yanqing said excitedly, “I specifically ordered a serving of noodles, and the taste of that soup was very similar to yours. It was just a lot saltier.”

Chen Ziqi, frustrated, said, “Chen Xu, someone is stealing from us. We need to go confront him.”

PS: It’s the weekend, asking for a wave of recommendation votes.