Wu Ge sat at the entrance of the fast food restaurant today, plagued by an ominous premonition.
His drooping eyelids twitched from time to time, nearly popping his eyeballs out.
Sitting on the stool, Wu Ge frowned and pressed them back down. He then glanced at his phone.
The phone screen remained calm.
No messages in the Taiping Luxury Garden chat group 1.
No messages in group 2 either.
Everyone seemed to be asleep. He was probably just overthinking it.
He had already delivered the meal to Bo Ting earlier. What could possibly go wrong?
Wu Ge let out a sigh of relief, chiding himself for being paranoid lately.
As the sky outside gradually darkened, looking like rain was imminent, Wu Ge slowly stood up and casually gathered the tables and chairs placed outside the shop.
He looked up and saw his “wife” sitting at the cash register, watching TV.
The old TV, bought years ago, stuttered during playback. Probably due to poor signal, the ancient idol drama playing inside sounded a bit eerie.
Fortunately, it was just his wife across from him. Wu Ge felt at ease.
The Boss Lady glanced at him.
“No more orders this afternoon?”
“Nope.”
With only one person in the entire neighborhood ordering food, of course there were no more after delivery.
The Boss Lady nodded.
“Then forget it. I won’t clean the kitchen. I’ll just finish chasing this drama.”
Wu Ge: …
Since when did the kitchen need cleaning?
They had never even used the thing!
Wu Ge shook his head, placed the chair aside, and prepared to close the door and hang up the “Closed” sign.
But the next second, an unexpected knock came from outside.
The half-closed wooden door of the small neighborhood eatery was lightly rapped.
Two “thuds,” drowned out by the TV noise, nearly went unnoticed.
Bo Ting only realized how dark it had gotten outside after coming downstairs. It was about to rain.
He needed to buy something quickly and get home.
He quickened his pace a bit. When Bo Ting arrived at the familiar little shop, he saw that Wu Ge was already preparing to close up.
Huh?
Ending so early today?
He had thought Wu Ge opened from dawn till dusk, given how active Lele Fast Food Restaurant was with orders.
Thinking this, Bo Ting still reached out and knocked on the door.
“Wu Ge, you there?”
“I’m here to buy something.”
The clear, familiar voice echoed outside.
Wu Ge first suspected he had misheard, but after the voice called out again, he reacted.
Wasn’t that Bo Ting?
Wait, Bo Ting was here?
He instantly turned to his wife.
She looked startled too, quickly turning off the TV, and stared at him in bewilderment.
“What’s going on?”
Didn’t you say you already delivered the order?
The Boss Lady signaled with her eyes.
Wu Ge: …
Wu Ge didn’t know either!
Who knew what had gotten into Bo Ting, coming over at this hour?
The tall, slender figure was already standing outside.
In a flash, Wu Ge shot his wife a look, tidied his disheveled appearance, and went to open the door.
“Little Bo.”
“We were just about to close.”
“Didn’t we already deliver your midday order?”
Wu Ge couldn’t help confirming again.
Had Bo Ting grown to the point where one meal wasn’t enough now?
Bo Ting looked a bit embarrassed.
“Sorry, Wu Ge.”
“The lunch you delivered got knocked to the ground by Doudou and the others during their playfight.”
“I’m here to get another one.”
“Can you make it again?”
He instinctively peeked inside the shop.
Seeing the Boss Lady at the cash register, he nodded friendly.
Wu Ge: …
Ah, that was it.
Should’ve said so earlier. Nearly scared him to death.
He had thought Bo Ting suddenly wanted to eat in the shop.
That would’ve blown their cover.
Wu Ge’s facial muscles relaxed a bit. He smiled, grabbed a chair from the corner of the table, and handed it to Bo Ting.
“No problem.”
“We’ll make this last one before closing.”
“Little Bo, just wait here. It’ll be ready soon.”
“Fried rice again, right?”
Bo Ting nodded. Seeing the Boss Lady stand up to head to the kitchen, he asked.
“Yes, add an egg, please, Boss Lady.”
The Boss Lady smiled amiably and went into the kitchen.
Bo Ting sat alone on the stool under the eatery’s eaves.
Just a few minutes later, after brewing all afternoon, the dark clouds in the sky finally burst. Following a massive “boom,” a downpour started.
The eatery’s eaves offered no shelter against the torrential rain.
Bo Ting had just adjusted his mask when he got drenched.
What the hell?
Couldn’t even wait for him to take the fried rice home?
He instinctively vented to Mr. Xu on his phone.
Bo Ting turned to Wu Ge, who stood awkwardly inside.
“Wu Ge, maybe I should wait inside.”
“It’s no good getting soaked out here.”
He was wearing a raincoat, but only a fool would stay outside when he could be in.
Wu Ge: …
Hearing the sizzle of stir-frying from the kitchen, Wu Ge hesitated but stepped aside.
But the next second, as Bo Ting entered the eatery, his nose twitched in confusion.
“Weird, Wu Ge. Why doesn’t the Boss Lady’s fried rice smell like anything?”
Were the range hoods in small eateries this advanced now?
He had expected a smoky assault upon entering.
Wu Ge: …
“Hahaha, your sister-in-law’s got great technique. Uses very little oil.”
Less oil meant less smoke smell, right?
Wu Ge explained guiltily.
Bo Ting nodded understandingly.
Low oil, huh. Makes sense.
Lele Fast Food Restaurant’s red-braised pork rice was only ten yuan, and fried rice was priced at a rock-bottom five yuan. Saving on oil was expected.
But the Boss Lady’s skills were impressive. With so little oil, she could still make such fragrant fried rice.
Egg-coated rice grains, distinct and glossy.
Thinking of the lunch box ruined by Doudou and Tang Yuan, Bo Ting felt regretful.
That was food, after all.
With everyone in the neighborhood staying in due to the translocation, these were vital supplies.
He wondered how long Wu Ge and his wife could hold out.
Suddenly pondering if he could still order takeout in the coming days, Bo Ting shook the water off his raincoat hood and turned to ask, “By the way, Wu Ge.”
“Did you guys stock up big before the translocation?”
Huh?
Why ask that suddenly?
Wu Ge, still mulling over the smoke issue, didn’t react immediately and froze.
He saw Bo Ting walk further in while speaking.
Wu Ge, thinking Bo Ting was just seeking shelter, was about to say “Yeah, we bought a lot.”
But then Bo Ting glanced at his phone and casually placed his hand on the kitchen door handle.
Wu Ge: !!!
Wait, what was he doing?!
Wu Ge’s eyes widened, too late to stop him.
He watched as Bo Ting twisted the handle and suddenly opened the door.
The air fell silent at that moment.
Wu Ge froze in place, forcing an awkward smile.
And Bo Ting…
Bo Ting was dumbfounded too.
Who could’ve imagined that opening the kitchen door would reveal a completely empty kitchen?!
Truly empty, no exaggeration.
The roughly ten-square-meter kitchen had nothing—no rice, oil, salt, not even a pot!
The Boss Lady was solemnly holding a spatula, pretending to scrape tiles.
The “sizzle” he had heard outside was just the spatula on the tiles?
Bo Ting looked again uncertainly.
The Boss Lady was still performing her “emperor’s cooking.”
Caught frying air, she awkwardly turned around, their eyes meeting.
Bo Ting took a deep breath and closed the kitchen door.
The Boss Lady exhaled sharply, nearly scared to death moments ago. She quickly tossed the spatula.
Outside the door, Bo Ting and Wu Ge exchanged glances.
Wu Ge dryly chuckled: “Uh, Little Bo.”
“The fried rice should be almost done. Still want it?”
Bo Ting: …
“Ahem, maybe not.”
“I suddenly remembered I have instant noodles boiling at home.”
“Sigh, Doudou kindly made them for me. I said no, but it insisted.”
“It even sent me a video.”
Wu Ge knew Doudou was a dog.
It had scared him on his second delivery.
But at that moment, neither called out the lie.
Wu Ge stiffly escorted Bo Ting out, quickly shut the door, and handed him an umbrella.
Bo Ting held the umbrella Wu Ge shoved into his hand, at a complete loss for words.
He opened his phone. Doudou hadn’t messaged him.
It was Mr. Xu who had replied.
Bo Ting’s expression was odd. He still couldn’t process the scene.
So… the food he had been eating was all air?
No wonder he got hungry right on schedule every day.
Bah!
And Wu Ge’s restaurant dared charge such prices for air.
Selling air and taking money—shady merchants!
Fuming, Bo Ting umbrellas his way back to the building and couldn’t resist venting to Mr. Xu.
“Mr. Xu, guess what I discovered going downstairs for food today?!”
“Really pissed me off.”
Good thing he found out early, or he’d feel ripped off just thinking about it.
Inside Rong’an Building:
Xu Qinglai sat in his chair, eyes on the emoji on his phone. He raised a brow.
