Chapter 102.1
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Chapter 102.1: Instant Noodles Take Only Three Minutes
Ye Xiao took Qin Yunxi to a 24-hour Lanzhou beef noodle shop. Next to the noodle shop was a 24-hour convenience store as well.
It was already past two in the morning. The later the night, the colder it got.
Ye Xiao could feel a hint of chill seeping through her clothes, let alone Qin Yunxi, who was wearing a Lolita dress.
In any case, Qin Yunxi shuffled along as if moving sideways and was eventually led into the Lanzhou beef noodle shop by Ye Xiao.
The moment they stepped inside, warmth enveloped her instantly.
The lady boss was eating a bowl of spicy hot pot as her late-night snack. The aroma filled the air, making Qin Yunxi twitch her nose and feel her appetite stir.
“What’s that? I want to eat that!” Qin Yunxi pointed at the spicy hot pot in front of the lady boss.
“Little girl, this is my midnight snack!”
“If you want to eat it, come back during the day. Too bad the six-yuan bowls aren’t available anymore!” After saying that, the lady boss pointed to the menu hanging above the cash register. “Pick whichever dish feels right to you.”
Qin Yunxi’s eyes darted back and forth across the menu. After scanning each dish, she turned around and asked, “Are these things even edible?”
“What kind of question is that? If you’re going to complain, this big sister won’t treat you!”
“It’s not that…” Qin Yunxi trailed off, suddenly stricken with indecision.
“How about lamb stew with flatbread? Braised beef rice bowl? Xinjiang big plate chicken?”
She quickly selected a few dishes she’d heard about online from netizens and looked at Ye Xiao eagerly. “I want to eat all of them.”
Ye Xiao gave her a once-over. “Miss glutton, are you the reincarnation of Zhu Bajie or something?”
Qin Yunxi’s face turned slightly red as she hesitated. Before she could settle on anything, Ye Xiao interrupted her again and made the decision for her. “These take too long! Lady boss, one bowl of beef noodles!”
“Huh?” Qin Yunxi turned to Ye Xiao, stunned. “Didn’t you say I could choose?”
“This one’s faster to make. Aren’t you hungry? Oh, by the way, do you want to try some cooked beef? It’s not like those rare, bloody steaks!”
Ye Xiao pointed to a large piece of beef behind the glass, covered with a white cloth.
“Didn’t we already order beef noodles? Why would we need extra beef?” Qin Yunxi asked curiously, like a walking encyclopedia of “Why’s.”
“You’ll see soon enough,” Ye Xiao said with a helpless pout. If Qin Yunxi managed to find more than three pieces of beef in the noodles, Ye Xiao would consider it impressive!
“Should we get some, then?” Qin Yunxi asked tentatively, unsure if such an addition would be too expensive for someone like Ye Xiao, who seemed like a little girl.
After all, how much money could a child her age have to treat someone to a meal?
Feeling a little ashamed, Qin Yunxi realized she was actually letting someone who appeared much “younger” than her treat her to food. She vaguely recalled seeing Ye Xiao’s account balance flash by earlier but hadn’t seen the exact amount. If she had, she might not have continued entertaining such odd thoughts.
Eventually, Ye Xiao ordered an extra two liang of cooked beef and two tea eggs.
When the tea eggs were placed on the table, it wasn’t long before the cold beef salad was brought out.
Qin Yunxi sat at the table, resting her chin in her hands, curiously eyeing the beef salad, which was seasoned with green peppers, vinegar, and red chili.
However, she made no move to pick up her chopsticks.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Ye Xiao asked.
“Huh? Isn’t the meal not all here yet?” Qin Yunxi asked, looking confused.
Ye Xiao was exasperated. “Big Sister, you’ve already run away from home—why are you still worried about those stupid rules?”
“Oh…”
Qin Yunxi shrank her neck slightly and hesitantly pointed at the basket of chopsticks. “Do I use those to eat?”
Ye Xiao stood up, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and handed them to Qin Yunxi. After inspecting them carefully, Qin Yunxi confirmed they were indeed chopsticks.
“Wait here. When the noodles come, just start eating!”
Ye Xiao pushed the shop’s door open and headed to the convenience store next door.
She wasn’t particularly in the mood for beef noodles. Seeing how innocent Qin Yunxi was, Ye Xiao was reminded of her own naive college days in her previous life, though she was never as socially detached as Qin Yunxi.
She suddenly felt like eating instant noodles.
A bowl of instant noodles, two sausages, and a braised egg—this was Ye Xiao’s go-to late-night snack combo back in college. She didn’t eat it often, though, because every time she brought out this combo at midnight, it would inevitably trigger her roommates’ dramatic groans.
The smell of instant noodles was just too strong. Once prepared, the aroma would fill the entire dorm room.
At the checkout counter, Ye Xiao placed her chosen items in a pile.
“Do you want me to prepare it?” The night-shift cashier, a man with a scruffy beard and a weary look, spoke sparingly.
Ye Xiao nodded at first but then remembered the beef noodle shop’s broth next door. She shook her head instead—she’d never tried instant noodles made with fresh noodle soup before.
Her gaze suddenly landed on a small box on the counter, placed alongside candy and children’s snacks. The box had “Beilele” written on it.
Casually, she picked up a box and added it to the counter.
The cashier raised his eyebrows slightly, giving Ye Xiao a curious glance, but still didn’t say anything. After all, finger cots weren’t necessarily only used for *that* purpose.
After paying, Ye Xiao stuffed the finger cots into her pocket—better to keep something like that out of sight, especially from girls.