0015-C.TLAY,Night.15
Chen Shanye found out that he was blocked by Ruan Mei when he was busy with the lunch rush at Wang Hu's fast food restaurant.
Most of the shop, which is less than 15 square meters, is taken up by the fast food counter, and the remaining space is occupied by two folding square tables. The green-leaf fans on the wall are spinning loudly, but they can't blow away the damp and stuffy air in the shop.
He didn't have time to wipe the sweat beads from his forehead, which quickly slid down into the corners of his eyes and stung his eyes.
Chen Shanye didn't rub his eyes, staring blankly at the "Are you up?" he had heard and the glaring red dot.
He lowered his head, and sweat dripped from the ends of his black hair onto the screen of his mobile phone.
The world became quiet, as if it had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and my ears were blocked by sea water.
I don’t know how long it was, maybe two minutes, maybe only twenty seconds.
Wang Hu poked his head out of the kitchen and called out to him, "Shanye, there are guests!"
After struggling to surface from the whirlpool, Chen Shanye took a deep breath, responded to Wang Hu, put his phone back into his back pocket, and asked the customer whether he wanted to take the food away or eat in the restaurant.
He scooped up the little remaining stewed pork ribs with mushrooms with an iron spoon in the lunch bowl, and also scooped a large spoonful of bean curd sheets and pork intestines, and covered it with fried eggs and vegetables. The lunch box lid could hardly hold back the mountain of dishes.
"Lao Wang, please continue to let Shanye help here. Only with him can I eat meat." A regular customer scanned the code to pay and smiled while carrying the heavy lunch box.
"Get out! You make me sound like a stingy person!" Wang Hu waved his hands, saying he was disgusted but still had a big smile on his face.
Chen Shanye's delicious cooking has spread around the area. He and his wife have a strong taste for food, so they tend to use too much salt and oil. Some of their dishes are also too spicy, so the reviews on the food delivery app are mixed.
But after the Chinese New Year, when Chen Shanye came, he adjusted the dishes and flavors. He even turned ordinary home-cooked dishes into signature dishes. In addition, this man was honest and never shook the spoon when scooping meat and vegetables for others. At first, Wang Hu had some opinions and felt that the income was not enough to cover the expenses. But after the epidemic stabilized, the store's takeaway orders and in-store customers increased significantly. The fast food restaurant had established a reputation for being economical and delicious, and Wang Hu was very satisfied.
"Hey, Shanye, don't you really consider coming to my shop to work together?" Wang Hu asked him after seeing the customer off.
Chen Shanye lowered his head and filled two portions of rice. "No, my sister-in-law will be back next week, so you don't have to pay me any more. I'll write down a few recipes for you, and you can just follow them. If you have any questions, you can always come to me."
This wasn't the first time Wang Hu was rejected by Chen Shanye, so he expected it, so he stopped insisting: "Okay, wait until my wife comes back. She said she wants to treat you to a drink, so you must come then."
"Have you forgotten what I do at night? I can't drink." Chen Shanye covered the lunch box and put it in a plastic bag.
"Oh, yes, yes, look at my brain, I can't remember things." Wang Hu slapped his head.
This time he remembered something: "Oh, right, when my wife comes back next week, her cousin will come to Guangzhou with her. She will help out in our store. I'll introduce you to her then."
He winked and smiled, "Who knows, maybe you two will fall in love with each other someday. Then you'll have to call me your cousin-in-law from now on!"
Chen Shanye frowned: "You don't know what my situation is? Why are you just like Zhong Mang, introducing me to someone else?"
"Your wife..." Wang Hu paused, then changed to a more polite way of saying it. "Your wife has been gone for so long. Zhong Mang doesn't know, but I know you were planning to complete the paperwork last year. You've waited for her for so many years in vain, so you've done your best. You should have done this a long time ago!"
Last year, when Wang Hu just opened the store, Chen Shanye also came to help for a few days. One day, Wang Hu accidentally overheard him talking to someone on the phone, probably a lawyer. Chen Shanye consulted him on how to file for divorce in this situation.
Wang Hu has been feeling indignant. He has known Chen Shanye four years ago. At that time, Chen Shanye had just come to Guangzhou and rented a small room next to him.
This man was really tolerant. He never mentioned the fact that his wife ran away. It was not until a year ago when Zhong Mang came to Guangzhou to find Chen Shanye that he learned about it from Zhong Mang.
He and his wife both thought that the woman was blind, but they could do nothing about it. There was indeed a world of difference between a small county and a big city, a small driver and a big boss.
"Don't delay the girl. If I don't finish the formalities in one day, I will..."
Chen Shanye stopped tying the knot on the plastic bag and thought he might know why Ruan Mei blocked him.
He remembered Wang Hu’s WeChat account, which used a pair of twin sisters as his avatar.
And he used the avatar made by Chen Siyang.
He returned to the rental house with two meals in his hand and knocked on Zhong Mang's door. After waiting for a while, Zhong Mang, who had gotten up specially for lunch, opened the door and greeted him with a yawn, "Brother..."
Zhong Mang walked into the toilet to pee, and said in a vague tone: "You eat first, I haven't brushed my teeth yet..."
When he came out after washing up, he saw Chen Shanye sitting on the stool in a daze, with his lunch box still in the plastic bag.
"What's wrong with you? Are you worried about something?" Zhong Mang opened the bag, and bursts of fragrance came out from the lunch box.
"Zhong Mang."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Didn't you say before that my WeChat profile picture shows that I'm married?"
Zhong Mang lifted the lid of his lunch box and nodded, "Of course I did. Didn't I ask you to change your profile picture before? Change it to a selfie or a landscape photo. That way, if you want to date someone, it will be easier for you to chat with them and not scare them away from the start."
He broke open his chopsticks, picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it into his mouth. The ribs were stewed until they were tender and tasty, and the flesh and bones separated with a light bite of his teeth.
Zhong Mang spat out the bone and then asked the somewhat distracted Chen Shanye, "Brother, what's wrong with you? I told you this a long time ago, why are you suddenly bringing it up again today?"
"... Never mind, it's okay, let's eat."
Zhong Mang didn't understand why Chen Shanye was hesitant to speak, but hunger stopped him from asking further questions. The rich and delicious food that was almost overflowing grabbed his attention.
So he didn't notice that Chen Shanye was holding the bamboo chopsticks very tightly.
Chen Shanye gripped the steering wheel very tightly, almost using all his strength.
He glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that the white Fit had disappeared from his sight.
I don't know at which intersection the two of them parted ways.
"Master, is that pretty girl fully responsible for the rear-end collision just now?" the male passenger in the back seat asked curiously in bland Mandarin.
Chen Shanye was too lazy to explain too much and answered him through the mask: "That's right."
"I see you guys didn't talk for long just now, how come you finished so quickly?"
"I said I have passengers in the car, so don't waste too much time. It's not a big problem anyway, so let's settle it privately." Chen Shanye stopped at a red light, and the wipers frequently cleared the fog in front of his eyes, which soon became blurred again.
The male passenger laughed out loud: "I don't think so. Maybe he saw that pretty girl and took the opportunity to add her on WeChat because they wanted to settle the matter privately?"
Chen Shanye recalled the glaring red dot, shook his head and smiled without answering.
The male passenger continued to speculate: "She must be interested in you. Seeing that you didn't have an umbrella, she gave you hers. Hey, handsome guys have their own..."
Chen Shanye turned his head to look at the folding umbrella that was placed upside down on the passenger seat mat. Water droplets hung on the umbrella, like a purple-black rose that was about to bloom at night.
Ruan Mei forced the umbrella into his hand as soon as he finished speaking. The umbrella handle carried her residual warmth, and her fragrance was still lingering under the umbrella.
He didn't know what words to use to describe the fragrance on Ruan Mei.
It's like a rose inserted in a bottle of foreign liquor, nourished by the liquor. It looks strong and domineering when it blooms, but the petals are kept delicate and soft. The fragrance emitted after being crushed always makes people feel tipsy and intoxicated.
Ruan Mei stuffed the umbrella into his hand and stepped out from under it. In an instant, the blazing flames above his head were soaked through by the pouring rain.
The strands of hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks were like coral-colored seaweed, and her eyes, immersed in the water, were like pebbles in a clear stream. Chen Shanye heard her say, "Take the umbrella, and then tell me how much the car repairs cost."
Chen Shanye gritted his teeth, and his voice sounded a little aggrieved: "But you blocked me."
Ruan Mei opened the car door, her hands raised to her head to provide a slight shield, and said with a pout, "I let you out a long time ago... I just realized you deleted me too."
————Author’s nonsense————
Bear with it for a while, after the awkwardness comes xxxoooxxxooo
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