Chapter 102.2
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Chapter 102.2: Instant Noodles Take Only Three Minutes
Back at the beef noodle shop, Qin Yunxi was anxiously waiting, her eyes scanning the door like a hawk. She was terrified Ye Xiao might abandon her and run off on her own.
It wasn’t long before Ye Xiao returned with a plastic bag in hand. Qin Yunxi was still sitting there, chopsticks untouched.
When Ye Xiao pulled out a cup of instant noodles and placed it on the table, Qin Yunxi grew even more curious.
“Excuse me, ma’am, do you have any noodle soup here?” Ye Xiao called out.
“There’s some in the thermal tank over there. Help yourself,” the lady boss replied, barely glancing at Ye Xiao as she remained engrossed in her drama. If she knew Ye Xiao was about to make instant noodles, her reaction would have been worth seeing.
Ye Xiao sat back at the table and skillfully peeled off the plastic wrapper from the instant noodles. She tore open the paper lid, revealing the seasoning packets inside and the golden, naked noodle block lying in wait for her attention.
First, she opened the seasoning powder packet. The brown powder scattered across the golden noodles like falling sand.
Next came the sauce packet. As soon as she tore it open, a strange yet enticing aroma wafted out, making Qin Yunxi sniff instinctively.
Finally, Ye Xiao opened the vegetable packet, sprinkling the tiny, dehydrated vegetables—cute and shriveled—over the noodles.
She then bit into a sausage, stripping it of its plastic casing before slicing it into small pieces with a plastic fork.
Holding the noodle cup, she walked over to the thermal tank and poured in just enough hot soup to cover the sausage slices. She fixed the plastic lid back on with the fork and sat down to wait.
During this time, Qin Yunxi kept staring intently at Ye Xiao.
It was her first time witnessing the entire process of making instant noodles.
Ye Xiao’s movements were smooth and practiced, with every step brimming with practicality.
Especially the final touch—using the fork to secure the lid on the noodle cup.
If Ye Xiao hadn’t demonstrated it right in front of her, Qin Yunxi would never have thought a fork could be used like that.
After a long while, Qin Yunxi finally spoke. “This is the first time I’ve seen this.”
Ye Xiao replied nonchalantly, “Big Sister Oddball! Your world is so far removed from us ordinary mortals. I feel like we’re living on completely different planets.”
“I didn’t mean for it to be like this,” Qin Yunxi said awkwardly.
“I know, and I don’t blame you,” Ye Xiao said. “Big Sister Oddball’s life is on a completely different level from ordinary people. How could you expect ‘lesser fish’ to understand your struggles?”
Hearing this, Qin Yunxi looked pained again.
“Strict parents, exceptional nannies, even a cat that overeats on steak—all these are experiences that boring lesser fish could only dream of in their lifetimes. Do you seriously expect them to understand your pain?”
Qin Yunxi stayed silent, but her expression was conflicted.
After a while, she stared at the label on the noodle cup, which read “Spicy Beef Noodles,” and asked, “How can I get others… to understand?”
At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder why Ye Xiao had gone out of her way to buy instant noodles when there were beef noodles available in the shop.
“First of all, Big Sister Oddball, you should start by learning to understand things that are different from your own world,” Ye Xiao said.
Qin Yunxi struggled to chew on her words, breaking them down into pieces she could comprehend.
Before Ye Xiao’s noodles were ready, Qin Yunxi’s beef noodles were served first.
The aroma of cilantro mixed with the scent of the soup, rising with the steam, instantly filled Qin Yunxi’s nose.
“It smells amazing!”
“Of course it does!” Ye Xiao replied.
Qin Yunxi picked up her chopsticks and poked at the few pieces of beef placed on top.
“One, two… just two tiny sugar cube-sized pieces of beef?” Qin Yunxi murmured, staring at her bowl.
The next moment, Ye Xiao opened the lid of her instant noodles. A wave of rich, savory aroma burst forth, wafting up in steamy tendrils toward the ceiling before spreading and filling the entire space.
Qin Yunxi, who had just picked up her chopsticks, set them down again. Suddenly, the beef noodles in front of her didn’t smell as appetizing anymore.
The scent from Ye Xiao’s instant noodles—something Qin Yunxi had never experienced before—completely overshadowed the aroma of her beef noodles.
It was a fragrance unlike anything from Western cuisine or even the beef noodles in front of her.
Ye Xiao checked the texture of her noodles, then covered the lid again.
“Big Sister Oddball, weren’t you hungry? Why aren’t you eating?” Ye Xiao asked.
Qin Yunxi froze, only snapping out of it when Ye Xiao reminded her to hurry up and eat.
“If you don’t eat soon, the noodles will get soggy, and then they won’t taste good anymore.”
Yet Qin Yunxi couldn’t help but compare—her beef noodles had nothing on the alluring scent of Ye Xiao’s instant noodles.
Gathering her courage for the second time in her life, she tentatively stepped into the unknown. “I want to try yours…”
Ye Xiao: ???
Realizing what Qin Yunxi meant, Ye Xiao glared at her while protectively shielding her instant noodles like a small animal guarding its food. “How could you ignore your beef noodles and try to take mine?”
“Yours smells better,” Qin Yunxi admitted.
“But your bowl costs way more than mine!”
“Even so, I just want to try yours.”
Ye Xiao’s mouth twitched. To her, instant noodles weren’t just food—they carried the weight of past memories and youthful nostalgia.
But in the end, she reluctantly pushed the cup of noodles toward Qin Yunxi and watched as she casually used Ye Xiao’s fork, still warm from her earlier use, to lift a few strands of noodles.
“Big Sister Oddball! It’s just instant noodles—why are you acting so reserved? There’s no need for all that aristocratic etiquette here.”
Qin Yunxi’s face turned red.
After a moment, she looked up again, her expression transformed. It was as if a parched land had finally received rain. As the noodles, coated in rich broth, slid into her mouth, she felt warmth spreading through her entire body—a comforting, soothing sensation.
Even the small pieces of sausage Ye Xiao had cut earlier, now softened by the broth, were unbelievably delicious.
Compared to the bacon and other meats she’d eaten with Western cuisine, this humble sausage was leagues better in flavor, even if it didn’t have much of a meaty texture.
“This is amazing!”
Before long, the sound of slurping noodles filled the air, spreading throughout the shop.
“This is so delicious!” Qin Yunxi exclaimed.
As Qin Yunxi slurped her noodles, she briefly lifted her head to say a few words before quickly burying herself back into the bowl.
Ye Xiao, on the other hand, picked up a spoon and slid the bowl of beef noodles over to herself. Staring at the cilantro floating on the surface, she couldn’t help but suspect whether this “big sister” had purposely swapped bowls with her because she didn’t like cilantro.
With a bitter expression, Ye Xiao painstakingly picked out the cilantro leaves one by one. After finally clearing them all, she carefully peeled a tea egg, revealing its smooth white surface, and dropped it whole into the bowl.
Luckily, she had only ordered a simple bowl of beef noodles for Qin Yunxi—not knife-cut noodles or stir-fried la mian—otherwise, she’d have never agreed to the swap.
Given her own appetite, eating too much at night would definitely land her in the same predicament as the little cat Coke, who had overindulged in steak. But at least Cola was eating steak, Ye Xiao was just stuck with noodles.
Ye Xiao took her chopsticks and slurped a mouthful of noodles. Before she could take a second bite, Qin Yunxi had already finished the instant noodles, her unsatisfied gaze now fixed on Ye Xiao’s bowl.
As if guessing her thoughts, Ye Xiao nudged the beef plate in front of her toward Qin Yunxi.
“Is this good?”
But Qin Yunxi’s unwavering eyes remained locked on her noodle bowl.
Ye Xiao sighed in exasperation. “Big Sister Oddball, are you still hungry?”
After some hesitation, Qin Yunxi nodded firmly. “A little…”
“…!” Ye Xiao was at a loss for words. Truthfully, she wasn’t much better off herself.
The day before, she’d only had half a cup of coffee in the afternoon before being roped into labor by Lu Shiyu. Finally, when she managed to sneak out for the night, she ran into Qin Yunxi.
“Want to try?” Ye Xiao asked reluctantly, her expression betraying her inner turmoil.
“Just a bit,” Qin Yunxi said, her face slightly flushed with an unmistakable hint of greed.
Resigned, Ye Xiao pushed the noodle bowl in front of Qin Yunxi. She was about to reach for a clean disposable pair of chopsticks when Qin Yunxi simply used the fork she’d already been eating with to scoop up the noodles.
Well, beef noodles weren’t much thicker than instant noodles anyway.
At least she wouldn’t fight her over the beef, right? Ye Xiao thought, focusing on the plate of beef slices. Picking up her chopsticks, she began eating the beef herself.
“Hmm, it’s tasty. These two dishes are quite similar, but this one’s not as good as the instant noodles,” Qin Yunxi said after licking her lips thoughtfully.
Ye Xiao massaged her forehead and leaned back in her chair.
What else could she say? Eating instant noodles in a beef noodle shop was bad enough, but if the boss or chef overheard someone claiming their noodles were inferior to instant noodles, who knows if they’d get kicked out on the spot.
After finishing their meal, Ye Xiao didn’t leave. It was too cold outside, and her rented apartment didn’t feel safe either.
Switching to a clean table, Qin Yunxi leaned against it, and the two of them basked in the warmth of the air conditioning.
“So, what’s your plan now?” Ye Xiao asked absentmindedly while scrolling through her phone. Although her phone was on silent, the number of missed calls had already reached triple digits.
Aside from the five women she’d scheduled with packed activities, the other calls were all from Lu Shiyu, who had practically cornered her last night.
“When are you jumping into a lake again?” Ye Xiao asked casually, as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Qin Yunxi, feeling warm and drowsy, didn’t want to think anymore. Her mind was pleasantly empty.
“Maybe I’ll wait a few days.”
“Don’t feel like jumping anymore?”
“Mmm? I think I’ll think it over more seriously.”
Her voice, now almost a mumble, grew softer as her eyelids drooped.
“Planning to go back home?” Ye Xiao asked.
“No, I’m not going back,” Qin Yunxi murmured, her voice growing faint. “If I go back, I’ll be beaten to death.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad~ At least this way, Big Sister Oddball can save herself the trouble of writing a will!” Ye Xiao quipped with mock cheer.
Qin Yunxi no longer had the strength to respond. Her lips moved slightly, but no words came out. In the end, she slumped over the table and fell asleep.
The shop owner noticed but didn’t disturb them. She began tidying up the table, figuring it was no big deal since late-night customers were sparse.
Most of the action wouldn’t pick up until around 3 or 4 a.m., when night-shift drivers or people who had been playing mahjong all night suddenly came in, hungry.
As she picked up Ye Xiao’s bowl of instant noodles, the shop owner gave her a sidelong glance.
Meanwhile, Qin Yunxi was deeply asleep, dreaming vividly. In her dream, Coke had accidentally taken the wrong medicine and grown to an enormous size.
Riding atop the massive Coke, she soared across rooftops, leaping through clouds and flying freely.
The next morning, when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.