She’s a Passerby, But Can See the Protagonist’s Halo

◎A Chef Named Chu Shen Decides to Wander◎

For Chu Shen, closing the Chu Family Eatery after graduating from university was a major weight off his shoulders.

Despite announcing the closure well in advance, the regulars—after futile protests—started lining up even earlier, crowding the place during its final days.

Everyone who frequented the eatery knew the head chef was a Bin University graduate. They were all curious about what Chu Shen planned to do next.

If it were joining a lab or working for some ordinary company, how could it possibly compare to running his own profitable little restaurant?

Many customers had hoped Chu Shen would dedicate himself full-time to the eatery after graduation, making meals more accessible. Instead, not only did that not happen, but the place shut down entirely.

"I don’t really know what I want to do," Chu Shen admitted.

"I just feel like I’m still young and shouldn’t be tied down."

"Besides, what kind of good dishes can a chef who’s always cooped up in the city make?"

After closing the Chu Family Eatery and before bidding his friends farewell, Chu Shen drank a little too much.

"So he still thinks of himself as a chef," Yan whispered to Jue Jue.

Chu Bingbing’s eyes welled up with tears. Good heavens, she had fantasized that after graduation, Chu Shen would keep the restaurant open, allowing her to simply walk downstairs for lunch every day. But now, the guy had run off!

Yi Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her own path was set—continuing her studies and work at the Agricultural Sciences Institute, where the workload would undoubtedly be heavier than during undergrad. She’d been dreading the thought of still supplying Chu Shen with ingredients, trapped in a cycle of farming at school by day and in her personal space by night.

All good things must come to an end. Graduation meant going separate ways, but it also left behind something special.

For instance—the video of Chu Shen breaking down mid-conversation and sobbing hysterically with Yuan Ye for half the night, now saved on everyone’s phones.

"I had to juggle school and the restaurant—do you know how hard that was? Waaah!"

"Day after day, catering to you lot, taking custom orders like I’m some kind of miracle worker. Why don’t you just work me to death? Waaah!"

The image of Boss Chu sniveling and ranting left a deep impression on Yan.

"Low pay, endless work, and so far from home—this line of work is brutal, waaah!"

"Life… life, man."

As the two brothers wept in each other’s arms, Yan thought perhaps the tears held more than what could be put into words.

Things they had to bear because of the expectations that came with their reputations.

In the year-plus since Chu Shen left Bin City, he didn’t even return for the New Year.

Still, Yan and the others knew he was doing just fine.

That October after graduation, Yan and Jue Jue received a huge box of chestnuts from Chu Shen, complete with a recipe—"Chestnut Rice."

That evening, fragrant Wuchang rice and sweet chestnuts simmered into a moist, aromatic dish.

On subsequent weekend nights, while Bin City was still warm, the two huddled around the stove, brewing tea and roasting the chestnuts Chu Shen had sent, along with persimmons from Yi Zhi.

Unlike the sugar-roasted chestnuts sold along Ning City’s streets in autumn and winter, chestnut rice and roasted chestnuts had their own unique charm.

By January, Yan was even more stunned.

Two vacuum-sealed bags of pickled cabbage arrived from the northeast, with a note from Chu Shen:

"No recipe needed for this, right? Learned how to pickle it from an auntie. Let me know if it’s got the right kick."

In spring, a courier delivered the freshest bamboo shoots via high-speed rail straight to their doorstep in Bin City. As Yan signed for it, she couldn’t resist texting Jue Jue:

"He can afford to hire couriers but can’t come back himself?"

"He’s just scared we’ll force him to cook if he returns. The coward."

At this point, Boss Chu was more like a wandering frog—a long-term runaway who never came home.

A gourmet version, of course!

The guy was clearly chasing seasonal ingredients across the country. The biweekly deliveries of local specialties and recipes, paired with their shipping origins, revealed his latest whereabouts.

The group even started betting pools, guessing where Chu Shen would go next and what he’d send back.

Yan called these little surprises in life "small but certain happinesses."

Incidentally, since Chu Shen and Yi Zhi were away, the group gave him a new nickname.

[Zhu Jue]: @WanderingChef, when are you coming back?

[WanderingChef]: Soon, soon.

Every time they asked, the answer was the same: "Soon, soon."

No one pressed further, though their cravings for his fried rice grew stronger.

Then one day, Yan stumbled upon a post on social media.

Not from their city, but from faraway Shencheng.

"AAAAHHH, friends near Xincheng! Does anyone know where the guy selling grilled cold noodles at the crossroads went? Tall, handsome, and most importantly—his grilled cold noodles are to die for!"

The post included a photo. Though the vendor wore a mask and gloves and was only shown in profile, Yan was certain it was Chu Shen.

The guy had secretly started a street food stall?

Even worse, replies soon poured in from all over the country.

"Huh? Huh? That silhouette, that side profile—isn’t this the guy who sold insanely good egg burgers near my place for two weeks?" — IP: Nancheng

"Wait, that cart frame looks familiar. Are you the skewer guy? Do you know how much I’ve missed you?" — IP: Jincheng

"OMG, isn’t this the plum juice vendor? I still remember the taste of his traditional plum drink!!!" — IP: Xicheng

"What’s with the skewers, egg burgers, and plum juice? Boss Chu, is that you? The culinary god himself! You closed your restaurant just to degrade yourself to street vending??? You don’t understand—this is the world’s No. 1 fried rice master!"

...

Yan immediately forwarded the post to the group chat, and chaos erupted. Everyone started @-ing WanderingChef.

Chu Shen stayed silent—whether busy or pretending to be dead, no one knew.

Then someone initiated a group video call. Faces popped up one by one until Chu Shen finally joined.

"Well, well, look who it is—the Street Food King," Yuan Ye teased sarcastically.

"Skewers, egg burgers, grilled cold noodles, stir-fried rice noodles..." Yi Zhi listed them off one by one.

"Why the sudden video call?" Chu Shen’s voice was breathless, the wind howling in the background.

"What are you doing? Are you running?" Lin Fan asked.

The noise on Chu Shen’s end grew louder—car horns blaring.

"Hey, buddy, run faster! The city inspectors are catching up—"

"Holy crap, your engine’s so fast—is it modified?"

The group froze, then burst into laughter simultaneously.

"Boss ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍Chu, you’d better run—"

"If you get caught, don’t expect us to bail you out."

"Especially since none of us got to try those skewers, egg burgers, or grilled cold noodles."

On the other end, Chu Shen grumbled.

"Piss off, all of you. You’d love to see me get caught, wouldn’t you?"

"When are you coming back? Should I come bail you out?" Ding Ling sounded genuinely concerned—she hadn’t had his egg fried rice in ages.

"I haven’t been arrested yet, who are you bailing out?" Chu Shen tossed his head, feigning coolness.

"The Culinary God has completed his training. Time to return and serve you ungrateful lot."

"HAHAHAHA—"