Chapter 22 Next Time
There aren't many restaurants near the city library; you have to walk across two streets to reach a more lively neighborhood.
It would take more than 20 minutes to walk there, and with the time for lunch, Jiang Wan found it a bit troublesome.
Besides, she was already very hungry and couldn't possibly walk that far on an empty stomach.
The bus requires waiting at the stop, and there aren't many taxis around here, so she hitched a ride with her dad this morning.
So she decided to just grab something nearby and eat whatever was available to fill her stomach.
"What do you want to eat?" Zhou Chong asked, turning his head as he walked beside her.
Jiang Wan looked around at both sides of the street, thought for a moment, and pointed to the street corner, "How about that one?"
Zhou Chong looked in the direction she was pointing, and saw a Lanzhou noodle restaurant.
He raised an eyebrow, looking down at Jiang Wan with a hint of hesitation in his eyes, "You want to eat that?"
"Yeah, in the dead of winter, a bowl of hot noodle soup would be so warming." Jiang Wan nodded, then asked him, "Don't you want to eat noodles?"
“No.” Zhou Chong shook his head. “Then let’s go.”
The two sat down at a Lanzhou noodle restaurant and each ordered a bowl of noodles.
Inside the transparent enclosure, a ramen chef wearing a white hat was kneading dough. He pinched off a small piece of dough, stretched it back and forth in his hand a few times, and the thin noodles unfolded like silk threads.
Jiang Wan found it fascinating; she never expected that such a small ramen shop would have a transparent kitchen.
This noodle-making skill is much better than the noodle-making performance at Haidilao.
She stared intently at the ramen chef, completely unaware that Zhou Chong, sitting opposite her, was also watching her.
They watched the chef making noodles with such focus, their eyes sparkling like a little child.
Only after the chef put the noodles into the pot did Jiang Wan look away, excitedly tugging at Zhou Chong's sleeve, "The noodles the chef just put into the pot, are they for us?"
Zhou Chong glanced back and said, "Hmm."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Jiang Wan exclaimed.
Zhou Chong was a little confused by her surprise. Isn't this the case at every Lanzhou noodle restaurant?
"Is this... your first time eating Lanzhou noodles?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes, yes." Jiang Wan rested her chin on her hands and nodded vigorously. "I just found out that Lanzhou noodles are actually handmade. The chef's skills are amazing, and the noodles are so thin."
Jiang Wan was telling the truth. She had lived to the age of twenty-eight and had never eaten Lanzhou noodles. She had only seen many small halal shops like this on the street, but had never gone inside.
She probably wouldn't have walked into this store if she hadn't had no other options today.
But she never expected that such an unassuming ramen shop would harbor such hidden talents.
Seeing her surprised expression, Zhou Chong chuckled and lowered his head.
That's true, how could a pampered little princess like to eat at such a hole-in-the-wall restaurant?
It was probably just a passing fancy, something I wanted to try once in a while.
Soon, their ramen was served.
A few thin slices of beef float on the fragrant noodle soup, along with a generous handful of bright green scallions.
Jiang Wan frowned immediately. "There's so much scallion. I forgot to tell the shopkeeper not to put scallions in."
Zhou Chong looked up and glanced into her bowl of noodles. "How about we order another bowl?"
"Never mind." Jiang Wan shook her head, picked up her chopsticks, and began to pick out the chopped scallions little by little.
There were many small pieces of scallion, and she carefully picked them out, moving very slowly. Her hands were getting a little sore, and she had only managed to pick out a small portion of them.
She put down her chopsticks and rotated her wrist.
Just then, her bowl of noodles was moved to the opposite side.
Zhou Chong held the chopsticks steadily and deftly picked out the scallions one by one, his movements much faster than Jiang Wan's.
Noticing Jiang Wan's gaze, he explained without looking up, "These are serving chopsticks."
Jiang Wan was taken aback, and her gaze shifted to the side, where she saw another pair of chopsticks resting on Zhou Chong's bowl.
He was so thoughtful; worried that she might mind, he even brought her a separate pair of chopsticks to pick out the scallions.
But she didn't mind at all.
On the contrary, she was very happy.
Jiang Wan smiled, pursed her lips, picked up her chopsticks again, reached into her noodle bowl, and continued to pick out scallions with Zhou Chong.
"I don't mind whether these are serving chopsticks or not." She lowered her eyes, but the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and her voice was the same. "Thank you, Zhou Chong."
Zhou Chong paused, then slightly raised his eyes.
The steam from the noodle soup rose up like a thin mist, blocking the view between the two, but behind the mist, the girl's smiling eyes were clearly visible.
It's curved, like the moon in the sky.
Although it was noon and there was no moon in the sky, he felt it in his heart.
The scallions were quickly picked out, and Jiang Wan took back her bowl of noodles. "Eat up, I've kept you from eating your noodles."
"fine."
Zhou Chong shook his head, and when he turned to his own bowl of noodles, he hesitated for a moment, then instead of changing his chopsticks, he directly stuck the "serving chopsticks" into his noodle bowl.
Then, he put the other pair of clean chopsticks that were resting on the rim of the bowl aside.
Although there was very little beef in the beef noodles, the handmade noodles were very chewy and the soup was very flavorful. After finishing the noodles, Jiang Wan couldn't help but drink half a bowl of soup, leaving her little belly bulging.
Fortunately, it was winter, and the sweater was loose, and the down jacket was even looser, so Zhou Chong wouldn't notice.
She put down her bowl, waved to the owner, and called out, "How much is this table?"
The boss looked over and said, "Twenty."
"Okay." Jiang Wan took out her coin purse, which contained a twenty-yuan bill.
She was about to pay when Zhou Chong stopped her.
"I'll do it."
"No," Jiang Wan shook her head and refused. "This meal is on me."
"Why should you pay?" Zhou Chong asked, then paused, as if he had thought of something, "If it's to thank me for the notes I gave you earlier..."
"No, that's not it." Jiang Wan interrupted him. "I told you before, we're deskmates, and deskmates don't need to be so polite with each other."
Zhou Chong was stunned for a moment, "That's because..."
"Nothing special." Jiang Wan handed the twenty-yuan bill to the shopkeeper, zipped up her coin purse, turned around and smiled at Zhou Chong.
"I'll treat you this time, and you treat me next time, okay?"
next time……
Zhou Chong stared blankly at the person in front of him.
There will be... a next time?
"Is it okay?" Jiang Wan pouted slightly, still waiting for Zhou Chong's answer.
Zhou Chong slowly curled his fingers and pinched his palm.
“Okay,” he said.
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