Because he needed to get takeout from the state-run restaurant, and since he had walked back yesterday, Gu Zhiyuan rode a bicycle and parked it at the entrance today.
After discussing it, the three of them decided that Lin Hong would take a bus to the entrance of the machinery factory and wait for them.
Gu Zhiyuan took Xu Ningyan to the state-run restaurant on his bicycle. As soon as Xu Ningyan entered, the older woman waved to her.
As Xu Ningyan approached, she whispered, "I've been waiting for you to come so I can start cooking. Just wait a moment, it'll be ready in a bit!"
He immediately shouted to the kitchen, "Braised fish, one serving of braised pork hock."
The head chef agreed, turned on the fire, washed the wok, poured in oil, and started stir-frying.
The older sister pulled Xu Ningyan to sit next to her and gave her a handful of boiled peanuts.
While waiting for the food to be ready, he chatted with Xu Ningyan: "Hey girl, did you bring a lunchbox? You need a lunchbox to take this food with you, right?"
Xu Ningyan took out two large lunch boxes from her bag, placed them on the counter with a clatter, and smiled at the woman.
The older sister spat at her: "You little rascal, you're quite clever—"
The two were chatting happily, while the customers who had been waiting for ages without their food finally lost their patience and slammed their fists on the table: "What's going on? She came later, why are you cooking her food first? We've been waiting for ages and haven't received a single dish!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ningyan felt a little embarrassed and stood up to say something.
The woman grabbed him and pulled him behind her, rolled her eyes, and slammed her ticket holder down: "What are you yelling about? What are you yelling about? Does having a loud voice make you right? She paid a deposit and made a reservation in advance! Of course, she gets priority! Eat if you want, or leave! Don't you know where you are? How dare you cause trouble here? If you keep making a scene, you're not eating today!"
Hearing the commotion outside, the chef inside poked his head out, holding a spatula and a wok: "Who's causing trouble here? Do you still want to eat?"
He scanned the entire room.
Several burly men sat huddled on the bench, looking aggrieved and not daring to utter a sound.
The entire room fell silent.
The chef snorted, turned his head back, and continued tossing the wok.
The eldest sister then reassured Xu Ningyan, "Don't be afraid! Ignore them! Anyone who dares to cause trouble won't get any food!"
Nowadays, if you want to eat, you can only go to state-run restaurants or the canteen of your work unit.
However, company canteens are generally not open to the public. If state-run restaurants don't sell food, then you really would have to go hungry.
So even though there were several burly men, they didn't dare to say a word. After all, being humiliated was a small matter, but going hungry was a big deal.
Xu Ningyan was both amused and exasperated. In the novels she had read, it was always said that the staff and salespeople of state-run restaurants had a bad attitude, but she never expected it to be this bad.
No wonder there are slogans on the walls of supply and marketing cooperatives and state-run restaurants: Customers must not be beaten arbitrarily!
No wonder! Judging by this situation, if those big men muttered a few more words, the chef might just come out with his spatula and cleaver to start a fight.
The chef had already finished the preparations and worked quickly, using two stoves and two pots together to prepare two dishes in no time.
The older sister handed the lunchbox in, the chef packed it up, and then pushed it back out.
The braised fish and braised pork hock had such an irresistible aroma that everyone in the room secretly swallowed their saliva.
Xu Ningyan gave the money and tickets, took a few steamed buns, thanked the older sister and the chef, and was about to leave.
The older sister grabbed him and whispered, "Do you still have any mushrooms? We want some more."
Xu Ningyan looked around and said, "I'll come again tomorrow."
The eldest sister then understood, smiled and released Xu Ningyan, waving to her to indicate that they would meet tomorrow to talk.
After leaving the state-run restaurant, Gu Zhiyuan waited outside for half a day without showing any impatience.
Instead, he sat calmly on the bicycle, his long legs supporting the bike, one hand on the handlebars, the other unconsciously tapping his thigh, lost in thought.
He was already handsome, and with his white shirt, black pants, bicycle, and the sunset reflecting on him, he looked like a painting.
The young women coming and going couldn't help but turn their gazes to him.
Despite being looked at with admiration and amazement by so many young women, Gu Zhiyuan remained unmoved and at a loss for what to do. He merely frowned slightly, showing a hint of displeasure.
Seeing Xu Ningyan come out, his slightly furrowed brows relaxed. He took the lunchbox in the net bag from Xu Ningyan and hung it on the handlebars of his bicycle.
Then he gestured for Xu Ningyan to get in the car.
The young women were all filled with regret; did he already have a boyfriend?
Some sharp-eyed people noticed the significant age gap between the two and couldn't help but speculate that they might not be lovers, but siblings.
Xu Ningyan jumped onto the back seat without hesitation, then grabbed Gu Zhiyuan's clothes and said, "Alright, let's go!"
Gu Zhiyuan pushed off with his feet and rode off steadily for a long distance.
It takes almost half an hour to cycle from the state-run restaurant to the machinery factory.
Gu Zhiyuan glanced at his watch. "Hurry up, let's take a shortcut so we don't keep people waiting too long."
Before Xu Ningyan could answer, he pushed off with his foot, turned the handlebars, and went into a small alley.
Not only are narrow alleyways not as smooth as main roads, but children also run around in them.
Gu Zhiyuan pressed the bell as he rode past the children like the wind.
The further we went, the more remote the road became, and the bumpier it got.
Xu Ningyan's buttocks went numb from the jolting, and she almost fell off several times. Luckily, she reacted quickly and grabbed Gu Zhiyuan's waist, preventing her from falling.
Gu Zhiyuan was in a hurry and took this side path without thinking too much about it.
Until Xu Ningyan suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, her warm arms, through the thin layer of fabric, the astonishing temperature made him involuntarily tighten his waist and abdomen, his heart skipped a beat, and the bicycle wobbled from side to side a few times before he came to his senses and grabbed the handlebars, stopping the wobbling.
Then Xu Ningyan complained from behind, "Big brother, slow down, there's someone behind you!"
Gu Zhiyuan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was riding too fast! Are you alright?"
Xu Ningyan withdrew one hand, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and quickly rubbed her bottom. "Big brother, you're not riding too fast, you're flying too slowly! The Lin family isn't going anywhere, can you please worry about my life first?"
The warmth in his waist suddenly disappeared by half, and Gu Zhiyuan felt a little uncomfortable, his muscles involuntarily stiffening.
Before she could even speak, Xu Ningyan felt Gu Zhiyuan's muscles twitching and relaxing. The firmness and the feel of his muscles were irresistible. She couldn't help but touch his waist twice with the hand that was still holding him.
I couldn't help but scream in my head: Wow! I finally touched it! Alive! A pro's! Abs!
This is something I can brag about for the rest of my life!
Gu Zhiyuan really didn't expect that Xu Ningyan would touch his waist twice without warning.
For a moment, I didn't know how to react, and I even forgot to pedal the bicycle.
If Xu Ningyan hadn't noticed something was wrong and pinched his waist, making him shudder in pain and quickly regain his senses, he probably would have rolled onto the ground along with the bike.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
