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

Throughout the morning class, Chu Shen was preoccupied with one thought:

What exactly had he done to win the favor of those two living legends?

They had eaten the potato stew with meat yesterday, but the favorability hadn't increased at that time.

Previously, their favorability had only gone up after eating his fried rice. Upon closer calculation, the sudden increase of twenty points in favorability—one from last night and another from this morning—didn’t seem to make much sense.

Could it be a delay in the favorability system?

If Yan knew about Chu Shen’s current doubts, she would probably feel a bit helpless.

She wasn’t the type to think highly of someone just because of food!

Initially, her favorability toward Chu Shen wasn’t very high, mainly because of the psychological shadow cast by the so-called "halo individuals."

As for now, the fried rice was delicious, and anyone who could cook well naturally earned some goodwill.

Last night, seeing Chu Shen’s unfortunate situation, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him.

They had been taken from the shop for a urine test, which was an unjust ordeal, and it wasn’t something they could blame on the chef.

Even though Chu Shen’s small restaurant had been surrounded by nosy onlookers last night, he still firmly kept his promise and got up early this morning to cook fried rice for everyone.

Yan thought that Chu Shen was a pretty good person.

Setting aside other things, given how frequently Chu’s small restaurant had been inspected and reported, most people would have cursed the heavens and the earth by now. But Chu Shen remained calm and even helped promote Yi Zhi’s fruit business.

If her previous favorability was solely based on his cooking skills, her current goodwill was because of the person he was.

The girls of Room 320 were eating fried rice. Gu Jiasui had rushed back to school early this morning after not returning last night. Ding Ling, as usual, had entered the dorm just before curfew, and Chu Bingbing had stayed at Lakeside Paradise and hadn’t come back.

The lights went out on time, and after a tiring day, Yan had fallen asleep early. It wasn’t until Monday morning during breakfast that she talked with Ding Ling and Suisui about what had happened the day before.

“A drug test?” Gu Jiasui’s beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.

“A urine test?” Ding Ling paused her chopsticks.

“Yeah, it’s an experience I’ll never forget,” Chu Bingbing said, picking up a piece of pickled celery with her chopsticks.

Yan felt a sense of relief in her heart. Thank goodness Gu Jiasui hadn’t been there yesterday. Otherwise, the hot search might have climbed even higher. The stacking of halo individuals buffs was already overwhelming, and she couldn’t imagine what kind of explosive situation it would have caused.

“So, you guys had potato stew with meat yesterday?” Ding Ling blinked, catching the key point.

“We barely had a few bites before we were taken away for testing,” Yi Zhi said with a pained expression, occasionally glancing at her phone, where the flood of new messages was giving her a headache.

Didn’t Chu Shen say the shop only had a 500-person group chat? Why had the messages been non-stop since last night?

As they ate, Yan scrolled through her phone. Although last night’s hot search had fallen off the homepage, it was still ranked around the teens when clicked.

A quick scroll through real-time updates showed someone had posted a photo of the notice displayed at the entrance of Chu's small restaurant. The comments under the post were filled with lamentations.

【Owner is attending school; temporary closure. Return date unknown.—Chu’s Small Restaurant】

“Owner! How can the owner still be in school? My goodness, such a stroke of fortune has come, and you’re closing?”

“I’m crying. Those people who went to his place are insane. Now the owner’s gone, and no one can eat there anymore.”

“I’m going crazy. Boss Chu, please, how long are you closing for? Is it until winter break?”

“I’m genuinely furious. Can those blackmailing streamers just drop dead? My friends and I worked so hard to keep this hidden gem a secret, but it’s been reported so many times, and now it’s been exposed. They’re even live-streaming outside the owner’s house. Why can’t you people just let me live in peace?”

The customers, haunted by the memory of the fried rice, were going insane, but there was no way they could blame the owner.

The owner had to attend school—after all, he was enrolled in a top-tier university in the country. He could only cook for two days a week after finishing his classes, and now, with all the commotion, no one knew when they’d get to eat his food again.

In the classroom at Bin University, Chu Shen had set his group chat to “Do Not Disturb.” He had saved enough money from running the shop to cover his living expenses for all four years of university.

Given ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‍the current situation, it was better to let things cool down. Once the hype passed, he could quietly reopen. In the meantime, he wasn’t particularly keen on cooking anyway. After all, he could still practice in the Chef God Space at night.

Once he had practiced the potato stew for about a month, he could reopen and introduce new dishes.

Since being bound by the Chef God System, Chu Shen hadn’t taken a break. During the summer, he had practically opened the shop every day, and after school started, he had to juggle classes and the shop, leaving him with almost no days off.

It was time for him to take a proper rest.

One of the good things about the Chef God System was that, although there were tasks, they weren’t mandatory. He could even negotiate with the system. Although the system wasn’t thrilled about it, there were no penalties for closing the shop.

Meanwhile, thanks to the attention from netizens, “Righteous Brother Xiong” had been taken away, and that same night, a certain district in Bin City released a blue-background police announcement stating that the case was still under investigation.

For Chu Shen, this week of quiet classes at school was almost worry-free.

Although the internet had dug up his surname and the university he attended, there were hardly any photos of him since he always wore a chef’s uniform and a mask while working at the shop.

Occasionally, his classmates would joke, “Brother Chu, that famous fried rice chef who’s been trending online—is he related to you? Do you know him? Can you get us a spot in line?”

Chu Shen would just laugh it off. During the day, he attended classes, and when he had free time, he strolled around campus, chatted with his roommates, and played games. This was what university life was all about.

Of course, nights were different.

While his roommates in Room 414 slept, Chu Shen would call out to the Chef God System in his mind.

“System, how do I enter the Culinary Dao River?”

Chu Shen was like a child who had just gotten a new toy, eager to dive in.

“How long does time pass in the Culinary Dao River? How much of a time difference is there compared to reality?”

Previously, when Chu Shen entered the Chef God Space at night to practice his cooking skills, the time ratio was roughly one-to-one. If he practiced for eight hours, eight hours would pass in reality. However, due to the special spatial enhancement, Chu Shen would wake up feeling refreshed and full of energy after his practice sessions.

That said, he didn’t enter the Chef God Space every night. Chu Shen was worried that if he kept this up for too long, he might become something less than human. Sleep was still important.

In response to Chu Shen’s question, the system replied matter-of-factly: “The Culinary Dao River is different from the Chef God Space. When the Chef God Heir enters the Culinary Dao River, time does not synchronize with reality. There is no time difference.”

“No time difference at all?” Chu Shen was stunned.

“System, are you saying that if I enter the Culinary Dao River at 11 p.m., no matter how long I stay, it will still be 11 p.m. when I come out? Time stands still?”

“The Chef God Heir may interpret it as such. The Culinary Dao River projects the Chef God Heir in a form detached from reality.”

A soul projection?

Previously, in the Chef God Space, a body identical to his real one would appear for practice.

"Then I'll apply to enter the Culinary Dao River tonight," Chu Shen said.

"The Culinary God's successor, please close your eyes and prepare."

With the voice of the Culinary God System, Chu Shen closed his eyes and immediately found himself in the familiar Culinary God Space. However, unlike before, this time a long, winding river stretched out before him.

The river appeared before his eyes, meandering in silence, with nine bends and eighteen turns.

He was stunned. Chu Shen had thought "Culinary Dao River" was just a metaphor, but it turned out to be a literal river.

"Please step forward, Culinary God's successor," the system's voice echoed. Chu Shen moved forward, gazing at the river that twisted and turned within the space, with no visible beginning or end.

"Shouldn't there be a boat? I can't just jump in, can I?" Chu Shen asked. Although his body was still outside, would his soul drown if he jumped in?

As soon as he finished speaking, a small canoe appeared. Without hesitation, Chu Shen stepped into it. The river rippled, and the scenery around him changed.

This was...

Mist rose on both sides of the river, and within the mist, silhouettes from history began to appear along the banks.

He saw someone skillfully carving a cow with a knife, the movements almost magical.

He saw a massive bronze vessel with a fire beneath it, where ancient people from thousands of years ago were cooking food.

He saw a carefree scholar, light on his feet, carrying a square piece of pork, leisurely working by the stove.

Chu Shen watched as one scene after another flashed by—each one a different cooking or food preparation scenario. The small boat he was in drifted with the wind, and with every blink of his eye, he saw a new scene.

There was tea brewing, wine fermenting, rice steaming, and cows being butchered. Different ingredients were transformed into countless variations by skilled hands, and the styles of clothing he glimpsed could have composed a song of dynasties.

Chu Shen reached out to touch one of the scenes, and the canoe was suddenly caught in a whirlpool.

Before he could react, he opened his eyes to find himself being pulled along by someone.

"Brother Chu, hurry! Master Su has agreed to teach us how to make braised meat today!"

Chu Shen was dragged along, realizing he had transformed into a child, about nine or ten years old, and both he and the person pulling him were dressed in ancient clothing!

Master Su? Braised meat? Combined with the clothing, Chu Shen's heart skipped a beat.

Was this the Master Su he was thinking of? The one whose poetry everyone had memorized since childhood?

Culinary God System, are you this powerful?

...

Yi Zhi had been incredibly busy this week. She was truly swamped.

Although she had prepared herself when she gave Chu Shen access to her alternate account, she never expected so many people to buy from her.

She couldn't understand it. The amount of fruit she had placed in Chu Shen's small restaurant wasn't much, and even if there had been two hundred customers that day, why were nearly a thousand people adding her as a contact?

Wasn't the group supposed to have only five hundred members?

She was overwhelmed, renting a warehouse a bit off-campus, customizing packaging, negotiating prices with courier companies, and frantically planting crops in her space.

The strawberries and various types of cherry tomatoes from her space were selling like hotcakes, and most customers were placing at least two orders. Although Yi Zhi had announced that orders would take one to two weeks to ship in hopes of discouraging some buyers, very few canceled their orders.

Her strawberries, priced at nearly ten yuan each, were being bought in bulk—three to five pounds at a time!

With a massive backlog of orders, Yi Zhi had no choice but to expand her planting area. She had initially just wanted to deal with the excess fruit in her space, but now she was practically running a farm.

Thankfully, her space had expanded significantly, and she had a large stock of fruit ready to be packed. With the help of the spiritual spring and her own ability to accelerate growth, she could keep up with the demand.

Growing the fruit was one thing, but the packaging was the real headache. This week, aside from attending classes, Yi Zhi spent all her time in her space—planting, harvesting, and packaging.

Fortunately, Yi Zhi was strong, and the spiritual spring in her space kept her going despite the non-stop work.

After packaging and shipping large quantities of fruit, Yi Zhi added a tiny bit of spiritual energy to each package to keep the fruit fresh. These boxes needed to be delivered the next day as fresh produce, but she couldn't just take them out of her space. She had to rent a warehouse and a van, sometimes pretending to deliver the goods herself and other times driving to the courier drop-off point.

After a whole week, Yi Zhi finally had the process more or less under control.

From planting and harvesting to packaging, shipping, and customer service, she was doing it all by herself.

After shipping out all the orders from customers who had visited Chu Shen's restaurant, Yi Zhi didn't even have a day to rest.

Most of the customers were from Bin City, where Chu Shen's restaurant was located, so local deliveries didn't even require next-day shipping—they arrived the same afternoon.

And when the quickest customers tasted the fruit that evening—

"Holy crap, this flavor is amazing! It's just as good as the fruit from the restaurant!"

Some customers hadn't even tried the free fruit at the restaurant and had only placed orders because Chu Shen had mentioned it in the group chat.

But after tasting it, they immediately placed more orders—for their families, for their friends.

Even though the fruit was expensive, the high price matched the top-tier quality. It had been so long since they had tasted fruit with such natural flavor!

After shipping out all the orders, Yi Zhi quickly calculated the normal supply capacity of her space and announced that, to ensure quality, she would only accept a fixed number of orders each week. She would ship them out as the fruit ripened, and once the limited stock was sold, that was it. She switched to selling on Taobao, with a limited quantity available each time. She simply couldn't handle more.

She had only wanted to deal with some excess fruit, not run a one-woman farm!

As for why she didn't hire help, Yi Zhi had considered it carefully. While she could hire someone for packaging and customer service, the planting and harvesting had to be done by her. And since this wasn't a full-time fruit business, she couldn't hire long-term employees. Short-term or daily workers probably wouldn't meet her standards.

In the end, Yi Zhi learned one thing very clearly: if you don't know how to manage a team, you'll end up doing everything yourself!

For Yan, this was an ordinary week, a week where nothing happened.

From Monday to Saturday, the calm campus life made her feel as if she had stepped into a different world.

Nothing happened!

On Saturday, Yan and Zhu Jue even went to see a movie and shopped at the mall, and still, nothing happened!

"Could it be that last week was just too eventful?" Yan wondered.

The two of them stood by the glass railing on the fourth floor of the mall, leaning on the handrail and watching a performance in the central atrium below.

Yan fell into deep thought. Could this temporary calm be the calm before another storm?

But aside from her and Zhu Jue, the other roommates still seemed busy.

"Yi Zhi has been really busy this week. Normally, she's in the dorm except for classes, but this week, she's been nowhere to be seen."

"Sometimes when she comes out of the bathroom and sees us, she even gets startled."

Yan mused, stroking her chin.

"Every day in the dorm, she’s glued to her phone and computer, sending messages non-stop. I almost thought she was in an online relationship," someone remarked.

Zhu Jue paused for a moment. "But Chu Shen has been acting normal this week—well, not entirely normal. He’s suddenly become obsessed with the Song Dynasty. He went to the library to borrow books like *The Biography of Su Dongpo*, related literature, and even *The History of Song*."

"Aside from going to classes, Chu Shen just stays in the dorm reading books and watching documentaries."

This was unusual for Chu Shen, who used to jump at the chance to join Ye Ping'an and Yuan Ye for gaming sessions.

This week, their gaming group was often short on players, and Zhu Jue even got called in to fill the gap.

"Huh? So it’s not Chu Shen who’s been in touch with Yi Zhi," Yan, who loved gossip, was surprised she had guessed wrong.

"But Yi Zhi has been bringing back a lot of fruit lately. There’s so much that the five of us can’t even finish it. It’s like a happy problem," Yan continued.

"She sent some to our dorm too. Chu Shen said it’s because Yi Zhi’s relatives’ farm sent over a huge batch after they had too many customers at the shop," Zhu Jue explained.

"Her relatives’ farm?" Yan’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. The fruits Yi Zhi had brought to Chu Shen’s family restaurant were clearly from the same source.

Thinking about Yi Zhi’s recent mysterious comings and goings, could she have rented a farm somewhere in Bin City?

Even if it were her relatives’ farm, it’s unlikely they’d have such a limitless supply of high-quality fruits.

It made more sense if Yi Zhi owned it herself.

And then there were the other ingredients she sent to Chu Shen’s shop—things like potatoes and sweet potatoes. If they were all from the same farm, it must be a huge operation. There’s no way Yi Zhi could grow them on the small plots of land the agricultural college allocated to students.

Yan felt her reasoning was solid.

Fruit orders exploding—Yi Zhi handling the orders—her mysterious behavior this week—it all added up!

And the quality of these fruits was unmatched by anything on the market. They were in a league of their own.

Yan’s description of them as "refining one’s essence and marrow" might have been a bit exaggerated, but it wasn’t far off.

"Jue Jue, you’ve noticed it too, right? Eating those fruits feels like..."

The performance in the mall’s atrium was a bit noisy, so Yan and Zhu Jue leaned in close to whisper, making sure no one else could hear.

Zhu Jue nodded. "It’s like absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. After eating them, I feel sharper, like my senses are heightened."

Yan nodded vigorously. From the gardenias at the start of the semester to Yi Zhi’s recent trips to the flower market, it was almost certain now—Yi Zhi was an apocalypse survivor with powers related to soil and plants, a so-called "wood-element" ability user.

Only that could explain the unique quality of the fruits and her skill in identifying precious stones.

Last Saturday, Yi Zhi had brought back a box of chrysanthemums from the flower market. Yan had watched them day by day as they miraculously revived on the balcony, even undergoing some strange transformations.

"Ability users are amazing. Their money-making potential is insane," Yan whispered to Zhu Jue.

They had discussed selling fruits in the dorm before, and Yan guessed Yi Zhi was following some of Chu Bingbing’s suggestions. The fruits weren’t cheap.

Of course, this income was nothing compared to the billion-yuan days Yi Zhi had during her time at the antique street.

After watching the performance for a while, Yan and Zhu Jue walked out of the mall, still chatting quietly. "Jue Jue, what other kinds of abilities do you think there are?"

Compared to the century-old dynasty behind Gu Jiasui or the ghostly world behind Ding Ling, Yan was more curious about Yi Zhi, who came from the apocalypse.

The apocalypse—a world at its end. What kind of environment could that be?

The fact that humans evolved abilities in such conditions spoke volumes about how harsh survival must have been.

And observing Yi Zhi’s habits only deepened Yan’s awe. Her relentless early-morning workouts, rain or shine, her massive appetite, and her careful attitude toward everything—these were all marks left by the apocalypse.

Yan didn’t know how Yi Zhi had lived before, but at least now, it was clear that Yi Zhi, the apocalypse survivor, was living a good life.

"If she’s confirmed to be a wood-element user, then according to traditional classifications, there should at least be the five-element abilities, right? Like controlling metal, wood, water, fire, and earth," Zhu Jue speculated.

"Hmm, that makes sense. Maybe there are also abilities to communicate with animals," Yan added.

If there were abilities related to plants, there should also be ones related to animals. Yan’s imagination ran wild.

But thinking carefully, she hadn’t seen Yi Zhi use her abilities for combat. Maybe she was a specialist in cultivating plants, like a "life skill" player in a game.

Thankfully, Yi Zhi was probably a wood-element user. If she were a fire-element user, that would feel incredibly dangerous.

The two walked out of the mall and onto the street. The area around the mall had a mix of trendy photo spots, art installations, and food stalls.

It was the weekend, and some places were crowded. Yan and Zhu Jue wandered toward a quieter area and noticed a door standing in the middle of the street.

It was a wooden door with strange patterns and a sign that read "Little Shop."

"Huh? Is this part of the art installations?"

"It’s just a door. There’s nothing around it selling stuff. Is it still being set up?"

Yan was curious. The door stood alone, and the passersby acted as if it were perfectly normal, not finding it strange at all.

A few meters away, there were other odd art installations—statues spaced about ten meters apart.

"This mall has partnered with some artist group. It’s probably part of the installations," Zhu Jue agreed.

"Jue Jue, this door looks like it’s growing out of the ground," Yan said, blinking.

The door had no frame, just a handle, and no visible support like a metal stand. Yet it stood firmly in place.

The two stood in front of the door, holding hands. Yan’s free hand twitched with curiosity.

Sometimes, hands have a mind of their own. Before her brain could react, her hand reached out.

She didn’t touch the handle. Her fingertips barely brushed the surface of the door, using no force at all. In the next second, a blinding white light burst before their eyes.

"What’s happening? My eyes!" Yan exclaimed.

Zhu Jue closed her eyes but instinctively reached out to shield Yan’s.

With their eyes closed, they heard a calm male voice.

"Welcome to the Magical Little Shop."

"Greetings, guests."

When they opened their eyes, they were stunned by the scene before them.

It was as if the world had shifted in an instant. They were no longer on the street outside the mall.

In front of them was a shop. A long-haired, handsome young man sat behind the counter, watching them.

"The shop doesn’t have many items. Feel free to browse," he said.

Yan and Zhu Jue turned to look behind them. The lone door was gone, replaced by the shop’s entrance.

He yawned, and Yan blinked hard, trying to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

A new aura appeared.

Above the head of the long-haired young man floated five golden characters:

**[The Dimensional Convenience Store]**