She thought that as a wealthy young man, he certainly wouldn't have gone through such hardship and toil as she did when starting his business.

But now, after hearing what he said, she realized that there are no shortcuts to success. In particular, for someone like him who has spent more than 20 years developing a career he loves, the effort and dedication he has put in is naturally not as easy and effortless as it seems to others.

In the past, she focused solely on being a chef, and her mind was always on how to innovate and improve her culinary skills.

But now, as a chef and small business owner, her thoughts and considerations are much more complex than before.

But he clearly has more to consider than just his own situation.

Because he was very successful.

"How could that be? Of course, many people say I'm lucky, but good luck can only bring temporary opportunities, and it's impossible for it to last for more than 20 years."

"That's true. Just look at my two sons-in-law. People who don't know them might think they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, which is why they have so much. But I've seen it with my own eyes. They work much harder and are much more diligent than other people their age."

Many mediocre people are not mediocre because they lack opportunities or have a low starting point, but because they have never seriously tried to do something.

Therefore, he was destined to live a mediocre life.

Just as Luo Yifan said, a person may have good luck once or twice, but it is impossible for the god of fortune to favor them for a lifetime.

Chen Jing, who had finally mustered the courage to invite Luo Yifan to accompany her, was worried that the two, who had been in a cold war, would feel very awkward sitting together and have nothing to say to each other.

But as it turns out, she and he still had a lot to talk about.

The two chatted all the way, and before they knew it, the driver had taken them to the entrance of the wholesale market.

The two got out of the car one after the other, but the conversation continued.

“After I returned to China, I didn’t have high requirements. I just wanted to find a job that I could do. But I soon discovered that it was impossible for me to find a job that I liked and could do well in L City.”

Chen Jing talked about the reason and motivation for opening this restaurant: "When Ying'er asked me if I wanted to open a shop, my first reaction was yes! But after opening, I found that everything was not as simple as I thought, but everything also seemed not as terrible as I thought."

Luo Yifan understood her thoughts. "Yes, actually, many things, as long as you take the first step and persevere with your beliefs, you will soon find that what you thought was impossible has all become reality, and what you thought you couldn't get through has actually been overcome without you even realizing it. When you look back, you are already standing where you want to stand."

Luo Yifan's words were clearly not just meant to encourage Chen Jing, but rather were based on his own experience.

"Yes, I will persevere!"

Chen Jing smiled at him again, and the two walked side by side into the noisy market.

Luo Yifan's heart raced at her grateful and shy smile, and all he could hear was the rapid pounding of his own heart.

At that moment, he knew that he probably really had no way back.

Because there's no going back.

In the instant he hesitated, Chen Jing had already walked several steps away. Just as he was about to jog to catch up, Chen Jing stopped, turned around, and quietly looked at him, waiting for him.

Luo Yifan strode over, and Chen Jing looked at him and asked, "Can't stand the smell and noise here?"

Luo Yifan shook his head. "No, I'm just confirming some things."

Chen Jing glanced at him again and unexpectedly saw something in his eyes that she couldn't bear to look at. Her heart, which had been undisturbed for a long time, was stirred with ripples.

She quickly turned her head away, not daring to ask him again what he wanted to confirm.

Her panic was noticed by Luo Yifan, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart.

"Jing-jie, why are you so late today?"

Normally, Chen Jing would arrive at the wholesale market at 6:30 in the morning, but today, she was worried that Luo Yifan wouldn't be able to get up, so she booked the time a little later.

"Yes, I'm taking my grandson to school!"

Chen Jing stopped in front of a stall, exchanging pleasantries with the owner while already picking out several ingredients and tossing them into her basket.

"Approximately how many kilograms does this weigh?"

Luo Yifan also came over and reached out to help pick.

"Ten jin." Chen Jing didn't turn around to look at him, only giving him a simple answer.

"Oh? Aunt Jing, is this your new boyfriend?"

The stall owner was a man in his thirties, the same man who always joked that Bai Xiangdong was Chen Jing's husband.

However, although he was a gossip, his gossip was always fresh and of the highest quality, so Chen Jing usually ignored his gossip.

In addition, when she came here with Bai Xiangdong before, that big man Bai Xiangdong didn't take these jokes seriously at all. Sometimes, he would even pretend to put his arm around her shoulder to show affection.

But now, being asked this in front of Luo Yifan, and with the word "new" in "new boyfriend," really makes people wonder.

Sure enough, Luo Yifan's hand, which was picking out ingredients, paused noticeably for a moment.

Chen Jing quickly said to the stall owner, "Boss, don't talk nonsense. Brother Dong is just an old neighbor of mine."

Luo Yifan, who had been frowning, immediately relaxed upon hearing her words.

She only emphasized that Bai Xiangdong was not her boyfriend, but did not say that he wasn't!

Does this mean that she is ready to accept him in her heart?

Luo Yifan's mind was in turmoil, but his face showed no sign of distress. He calmly picked through the ingredients, and then, whether intentionally or unintentionally, his hand touched hers.

The two of them paused for a moment, then simultaneously looked up at each other.

Just like before, Chen Jing glanced at it briefly before quickly looking away.

Luo Yifan stared intently at her for a while before turning his gaze back to his work.

After walking around the wholesale market, Chen Jing was asked similar questions several times.

And each time, just like the first time, she only denied her relationship with Bai Xiangdong.

She neither admitted nor denied anything about Luo Yifan, or rather, she didn't mention him at all.

Luo Yifan's joy grew like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

When the two of them had bought all the ingredients they needed and put them back in the car, Luo Yifan felt like his heart was about to burst with joy.

The two sat down in the car, the car started, and the driver, with great foresight, raised the partition.

"Ah Jing..." Luo Yifan was a little impatient to confirm some things.

Chen Jing interrupted him, "Let's talk about it when we get back!"

As he spoke, he unscrewed the bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls of water to calm his nerves and cool his burning heart!