Chapter 46 046 Crispy Bun [Second Update] (Revised)...

Yao Qingqin's arrival relieved Wen's mother of a huge burden.

The sesame seed cakes sold at the entrance were getting better and better every day, and the word about this shop on the street corner near the school gate quickly spread among students.

By Friday, even Wen Fan heard students excitedly talking about going to eat pancakes with vegetables for lunch on his way to school.

"Hurry up, I see that there are always a few people in Class 3 who run very fast."

"I'm doomed, I'm terrible at the 800 meters."

"I think we should divide the work and find the fastest one."

"Then let XX grab the seats, XX do the accounting, and XX write down what everyone wants..."

Wen Fan never expected that a simple sesame seed cake with vegetables would be interpreted as a military strategy by these first-year high school students. The way they arranged it, anyone who didn't know better would think it was something major.

Upon entering the classroom, Wen Fan distributed two breakfasts to Han Lulu and Qin He.

Han Lulu's eyes lit up: "It's steamed buns!"

The steamed buns she had been longing for were the ones she had only brought to Qin He once that day!

"Huh? It doesn't look like a steamed bun."

Han Lulu picked up a steamed bun, and the front of the bun looked as if it had blossomed.

"Is the bag damaged?"

Wen Fan put down his schoolbag: "It's not bad, this is called a 'broken crispy bun'."

She stayed up late doing her homework last night, so she thought she'd make herself a flaky pastry. She used the leftover flaky pastry to make flaky buns this morning.

The key to making crispy flaky buns lies in making two types of dough: a water-based dough and an oil-based dough. Properly rolling out the dough is crucial for achieving the layered, flaky layers that create a beautiful, translucent, mille-feuille-like crust that is both visually appealing and delicious.

Han Lulu took a bite, and tears almost streamed down her face.

"I've never eaten such delicious steamed buns."

The steamed buns are filled with braised pork, the filling having a sweet and savory flavor. The filling is oily and flavorful, the meat juices seeping into the flaky crust, creating a complex texture. The outer layer is chewy and flaky, the middle is soft and oily, and the filling is rich and savory…

Han Lulu was utterly amazed by the steamed bun.

She devoured all four buns, completely ignoring the envious glances from those around her.

After finishing her meal, she licked her fingers as if she wanted more, and Wen Fan subtly moved away from her.

Han Lulu: "Honestly, I think if you opened a shop with this skill, you could open stores all over the country. Hey, how much does your chef actually earn a month?"

Wen Fan turned a page of the book, taking a moment to think.

"Five hundred a month, I guess."

She receives 500 yuan in pocket money from her mother every month, which of course does not include food and clothing.

Han Lulu: "..."

"Stop joking, I really want to ask!"

She wondered if she still had any hope of ever being able to hire someone like that in her lifetime.

"Alright, alright, if we don't talk about salary, can you at least tell me the chef's name?"

She went to search to see if the other party had any family background in traditional arts and crafts; maybe that family even ran a shop there.

Wen Fan turned another page of the book.

"Hello!"

Wen Fan had no choice but to raise his head, looking rather helpless: "From the very beginning, I never said that it was my family's cook who made it, did I?"

She didn't know how many lies the original owner had told, which was why she was too lazy to explain them one by one. But she didn't hide anything either, yet no one asked.

Han Lulu's eyes widened: "That's you..."

Wen Fan: "I did it."

Han Lulu: ……

Wen Fan: "My family runs a restaurant, right across from the school on the food street, next to the pharmacy."

Wen Fan: "The shop mainly serves claypot rice and braised dishes. You can try it if you're interested."

Han Lulu's eyes were glazed over: "Let me sort this out."

Wen Fan shrugged indifferently and continued reading his book.

Han Lulu had a thousand things to say, but in the end, they all boiled down to one sentence.

What are you after?!

Those breakfasts I gave to Fu Chuan before.

She has such a great skill, yet she still studies.

Fu Chuan lied and claimed that his family was wealthy.

What's the point of all this?

Wen Fan: "I'm thinking of making some sticky rice cakes next week, do you want some?"

Han Lulu: "...Eat!"

The world is vast, but the belly is the biggest.

Hmm... Han Lulu suddenly felt a little happy about Wen Fan's restaurant.

She lowered her voice: "I won't tell anyone about your family situation."

Especially Jin Rui, if he knew, who knows how nasty he would be to say it.

"It doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't know, he'll probably find out tonight."

Han Lulu was shocked: "What? You're going to tell him yourself?"

Wen Fan looked at Fu Chuan and Fang Weiyue in front of her. She knew immediately who sent the message to her phone. She originally planned to ignore it, but when she thought of those shoes that cost more than 10,000 yuan, Wen Fan felt a little unwilling.

She knew it was the original owner's voluntary contribution, but... that was more than ten thousand yuan.

When the original owner was in her first year of high school, her monthly allowance was 1,200 yuan, which included lunch and dinner. She saved 5,000 yuan by living frugally. She saved another 3,000 yuan from the tutoring fees given by her mother. The remaining few thousand yuan came from selling a small gold pendant that her mother had bought for her since she was a child.

Fu Chuan may never have even worn the shoes that cost so much money.

The most likely explanation is that it was thrown away somewhere long ago.

Wen Fan thought she should at least ask. Although it would be a little awkward to take back something she had given away, she figured it would be fine if Fu Chuan didn't need it.

Han Lulu was still worried about her.

Wen Fan pinched her cheek: "It's okay."

Some things can't be lied about. She was also tired of the fact that people still habitually associated her with Fu Chuan and his ilk even after so long since the start of the semester. It seemed like the best option was to be upfront about it.

When Wen Fan went home for lunch, he told his mother that he would be back later.

"The students went out for a walk and came back around nine... eight o'clock."

Wen's mother was overjoyed to hear this. Her biggest worry was that her daughter would be isolated at school, but now it was all right; someone was going out to play with her. She took out five hundred yuan from behind the counter and stuffed it into Wen Fan's pocket.

"Don't ask others to pay when you go out. Be generous, and Mom will give you more money when you run out."

Wen Fan said helplessly, "How could I possibly spend so much... I haven't even finished spending the money I was given at the beginning of the semester."

"Take it even if you don't spend it all! As long as you don't use it all to buy milk tea, you can use it for anything else."

Wen Fan muttered softly, "I haven't been drinking much lately."

I only drink lychee iced wine once every two days.

In the evening, after finishing his math tutoring, Wen Fan said goodbye to Qin He and went to the west gate of the school.

"Oh, she really came!"

"Hilarious, no matter how good he pretends, he can still do whatever Brother Chuan does with a snap of his fingers."

Fu Chuan smiled faintly, "Now that everyone's here, let's go." As he spoke, his eyes subtly fell on Fang Weiyue, who looked dejected to the side.

Wen Fan had thought there wouldn't be many people today, but seeing so many people, he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to talk to Fu Chuan about sneakers, so he quietly followed along.

Jin Rui originally wanted to say something sarcastic, but Fu Chuan kept glancing at him unintentionally, so Jin Rui swallowed his words and just kept praising Fu Chuan.

"Brother Chuan is awesome, this bar is members-only!"

Fu Chuan twirled the keys in his hand: "My uncle said the resident singers there are good, and the food is prepared by a Cantonese chef."

"If it weren't for Brother Chuan, we wouldn't have had this opportunity!"

"You must try it properly later."

Two or three people echoed Jin Rui, while the other boys exchanged a knowing glance with a smile.

Even if they usually treat each other like brothers, who would respect someone like that?

Each person had their own thoughts, but Wen Fan was wondering how the group would get there—by taxi or bus, surely not by walking.

"Get in the car."

Wen Fan looked ahead and saw several motorcycles lined up in various colors. The motorcycles, with their metallic sheen, looked expensive. Fu Chuan and his friends were all wearing helmets, and Jin Rui was also laughing and joking as he looked for someone to give him a ride.

Wen Fan looked at the helmet extended in front of him.

Fu Chuan gave a half-smile: "Would you like to ride in my car or Old Zhou's?"

The guy called Lao Zhou seemed to be used to Fu Chuan using him as a raft, and joked half-jokingly, "Hurry up and choose, or you won't get another chance like this."

Fu Chuan seemed very certain that Wen Fan would choose him, even his helmet was gray in the same color scheme.

Fang Weiyue seemed to be in great pain and remained silent.

Fu Chuan: "Hmm?"

Wen Fan glanced at Fu Chuan, then at Fang Weiyue.

The people around seemed to enjoy this love triangle, but Wen Fan just thought they were all crazy.

She cautiously stepped back and slung her schoolbag over her shoulder.

"No, I need to go home and help my parents. If you don't mind, you can eat at my house. My house is right across from the school, the second to last Wen's Restaurant."

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

After Wen Fan finished speaking, not only was Fu Chuan stunned, but everyone else stared at her in disbelief.

Wen Fan originally wanted to leave, but he was really unwilling to give up, so he took a few steps and then turned back.

He looked at the stunned Fu Chuan and asked, "There's something I'd like to ask you, Fu classmate."

Fu Chuan: "...You go ahead."

"The sneakers I gave you before, the limited edition ones... if you don't need them anymore, could you give them back to me?"

Fu Chuan seemed to be choked, remaining silent for a long time.

Jin Rui, however, had already realized what was happening and was looking at Wen Fan as if he were trash.

"You still want things you've already given away? You're really something else."

Wen Fan glanced at Jin Rui, ignored him, and instead spoke sincerely with Fu Chuan.

"I'm really sorry, but those shoes are a bit beyond my means, so if you don't need them, please return them to me. Of course, if you have other considerations, then forget it."

Wen Fan was quite frank, and it was this very frankness that made Fu Chuan very uncomfortable. But he still agreed.

"I left it at home, I'll go back and find it for you."

Wen Fan's eyes lit up instantly: "Thank you, Fu. Have fun!"

After saying that, he left without a trace of regret.

As soon as she left, Jin Rui and the others started shouting and making a ruckus.

"Her family used to own a restaurant, so why is she pretending?"

"I'm going to ask her when I go to school next week, 'Is it fun to pretend to be rich?'"

"That's hilarious, he even asked for a pair of sneakers back. Only our Brother Chuan is so generous."

...

Fu Chuan lit a cigarette.

Fang Weiyue, who was standing next to me, had already left sometime earlier.

One of the boys noticed that Fu Chuan was in a bad mood, so he jokingly changed the subject: "How about we call it a day? I have some things to take care of at home, let's reschedule for another day?"

"Let's do it another day."

Jin Rui and the others were clearly unwilling, so Fu Chuan casually tossed them a card and told them that anyone who wanted to go could go and just mention his name.

Watching Fu Chuan's retreating figure, the boy who had suggested rescheduling shrugged.

"Today is really weird."

Wen Fan is eccentric, and Fang Weiyue and Fu Chuan are also eccentric.

How can anyone still have the mind to play? Let's break up!

Wen Fan got home around 7 p.m. The shop was now fully occupied with one more person, so Wen Fan only stayed for a short while before going home. As soon as she got home, she received a message from Fu Chuan.

The sneakers have been found; they're at the school gatekeeper's.

Wen Fan was overjoyed, so fast!

She casually replied with a thank you and hurried off to get her sneakers.

The sneakers I received were brand new, clearly never worn before.

Wen Fan listed his sneakers on a second-hand website, setting a price of 8,000 yuan based on the platform's recommendations. They were snapped up almost immediately after being listed, with the buyer frantically messaging him in the background.

Can I deliver the goods in person, dear?

Give me the address, I'll come over right now!

Wen Fan stared blankly as the amount in the backend changed to eight thousand. As long as the other party received the goods, the money would be in her account.

【……Can. 】

Wen Fan packed the sneakers and soon met the other party at the agreed location. A boy with curly hair took the box, checked it inside and out, and his voice was filled with excitement.

"Eight thousand yuan, right?" He really hit the jackpot. He had been looking for these shoes for a long time, and who would have thought he could get them in such good condition?

Wen Fan nodded.

With a ding, Wen Fan's account received an extra eight thousand yuan.

Having received the money, Wen Fan didn't delay. Before the mall closed, he picked out a pendant at a jewelry store—a small golden lotus seedpod.

The difference is that the one Wen's mother bought before was hollow, but this one...

The gold shop staff were skeptical: "This pendant is pure gold and weighs more than six grams."

Including labor costs, a single pendant costs over six thousand yuan.

Although Wen Fan felt the pinch, he still let the other party wrap it up.

After bringing the pendant home, Wen Fan placed it on a rarely used counter at the foot of the bed. Some of the original owner's belongings were on the counter.

Comic books, small cards, and old hair clips.

Wen Fan poured a cup of the milk tea he had bought on the way onto the table.

"...Love has always been unreliable; may you soon escape this sea of ​​suffering."

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Author's note: I apologize, but I've reconsidered and made changes to the section about sneakers.