NOVPUB45: Chapter 45: Classmates’ Encounter (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote)
45: Chapter 45: Classmates’ Encounter (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote)
He Ao carefully observed the silver test tube in his hand, looked at it for a long while, but couldn’t find anything special about it, so he had no choice but to put the test tube away.
Actually, he hadn’t planned on taking the test tube out with him, but just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that the young man had easily knocked open his security door that had been welded with eight anti-theft chains, so he went back and pocketed the test tube.
Before he could secure a stable safe house, carrying it with him was the safest way, and, if he ran into trouble while outside, he could replenish it in time.
It was now a little past nine in the evening, when the pedestrian traffic wasn’t high, but there were still sporadic customers coming by.
He Ao tucked the test tube into his pocket, had just gotten up to see if any customers had arrived when a blurry figure appeared under the dim street lamp in the distance.
This silhouette was somewhat familiar, but not quite, and as it slowly approached, He Ao made out his face.
Zhang Ansha, the researcher from the ‘Abnormal Human Research Institute.’
Zhang Ansha had also seen He Ao from afar, he nodded slightly at He Ao, but didn’t walk towards him, instead, in a swift motion, he turned towards the other side of the street, where there was also a cold noodle stall.
In this area, it was only natural that there wasn’t just He Ao’s stall selling cold noodles, there were five or six other stalls, some selling barbecue, some selling oden, it’s just that He Ao’s business was the best.
However, the stall across the street selling cold noodles had just set up recently, seeing He Ao doing good business, they wanted to try their hand too, and right from the start, they began a price war with He Ao, hoping to leverage a pricing advantage to drive He Ao out and take over the market.
Big bowls, small bowls, they were all one yuan cheaper than He Ao’s.
This indeed affected some of He Ao’s business, but not much, after all, the taste of He Ao’s noodles was there.
And He Ao didn’t follow suit by lowering his prices, he chose better ingredients, and consequently, his costs were higher, his prices were already very affordable, there was no need to get caught up in the quagmire of a price war.
By now, there was almost nobody at the stall across the street, He Ao watched as Zhang Ansha ordered a bowl of cold noodles and sat down at a table behind a tree, then his gaze firmly fixated on the depths of the night.
What mission was he on this time?
A light of realization flashed through He Ao’s mind.
Since there were no customers, Zhang Ansha’s cold noodles were ready very quickly.
He Ao watched him take a bite of noodles, was silent for two seconds, then silently got up, crossed the street and walked over to He Ao’s stall,
“A small bowl of cold noodles, please.”
“Sweet and sour or spicy?”
He Ao smiled as he looked at him.
“Sweet and sour, to go.”
Zhang Ansha’s gaze didn’t linger on He Ao, instead, it remained locked on the deep night.
He Ao quickly mixed the cold noodles, packed them, and handed them over with a pair of disposable chopsticks,
“Here you go.”
“Hmm,” Zhang Ansha took the packed cold noodles from He Ao, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Your cold noodles are really quite delicious.”
“Thank you.”
Nothing delighted a chef more than when diners sincerely complimented the deliciousness of the food they made.
Zhang Ansha waved goodbye to He Ao, then crossed the road again, going back to his original spot, but instead of continuing to sit at the seat of the opposite stall, he squatted by the tree, eating the cold noodles He Ao made while continuing to watch the depth of the night.
······
For some reason, He Ao felt Zhang Ansha was being a bit too much, because the boss of the cold noodle stall across the street seemed to not look too pleased.
He Ao, after all, couldn’t bear to see anyone looking upset, so he shifted his gaze away from the boss’s face across from him and followed Zhang Ansha’s look towards the deepening night.
After a while, two blurry figures emerged from the darkness.
They were two young girls, one tall and the other short.
The taller one was probably around one meter sixty-seven, almost reaching one meter seventy, with mid-length hair just past her shoulders, slightly curled at the ends.
She wore a loose beige knit sweater, with its long hem covering her waist and hips, and extending over her black-stockinged thighs.
With an adolescent freshness yet dressing in a mature outfit, the contrast between the two gave her a unique allure.
The shorter girl was about one meter fifty-something, close to one meter sixty, wearing a festive red hoodie with blue wide-leg jeans, looking lively and clever.
The girl in the red hoodie held a cell phone in her hand, looking around and pouting in complaint, “Why is this place so out of the way?
I wish we hadn’t come.”
“It’s fine,” the taller girl smiled.
Her eyes scanned around and quickly fixated on He Ao’s stall under the lights.
She pointed to He Ao’s stall and said, “Nannan, is that it?”
“It seems so,” the hoodie girl shook her phone towards He Ao’s direction, “That should be it.”
Then she excitedly jogged forward, “Liu Nan, let’s go over there~!”
At this moment, He Ao also got a clear look at their faces.
His physical condition had improved after all, and his vision was much better than before.
The taller one was Liu Nan, and the shorter one, who wasn’t seen as often, seemed to be in the same class as Liu Nan…
called…
Yuan Nannan?
As the two approached, they also recognized He Ao under the streetlamp at his noodle stall.
“He Ao?!” Yuan Nannan was clearly shocked.
She quickly ran over and circled He Ao twice, then looked at Liu Nan with a surprised expression as she slowly approached, “Liu Nan, look, it’s He Ao, for real, and he’s alive.”
He Ao: ?
Liu Nan was also rendered a bit helpless by her friend’s antics.
She smiled apologetically at He Ao and spoke softly, “He Ao…
are you doing business here?”
“Yeah,” He Ao nodded, not really caring about these things, “I’m running a noodle stall here, selling cold noodles.
Want to try some?”
“Wow!”
Yuan Nannan, shocked, circled He Ao’s stall, “So you’re the one running that cold noodle stall everyone on the school forum said was really good?
Is this you…
experiencing life?”
“More precisely,” He Ao shrugged, “it’s for living.”
Yuan Nannan was a bit confused, obviously not quite catching on.
“Nannan,”
Liu Nan quickly took hold of her friend.
Although Yuan Nannan’s family was much poorer than hers, she was still born into a local wealthy family in Xidu, pampered and spoon-fed, and being unexposed to society in school, so her understanding of life was somewhat skewed.
In Yuan Nannan’s circle, peers her age were expected to spend their days in leisure and conversation about shopping, board games, pocket money, where to go skiing, or traveling, so she was momentarily struggling to comprehend the phrase “for living” as told by her peer, He Ao.
Liu Nan held her back, fearing she might say something to hurt He Ao.
“Um, we’ve come for cold noodles, could you give us two bowls?
Big bowls, one with sweet and sour, the other spicy, to go,” Liu Nan said softly, looking at the sign above He Ao’s stall.
“Sure, just a moment.”
He Ao didn’t care much for Yuan Nannan’s remarks.
He quickly scooped up the noodles and started preparing them.
Right then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhang Ansha bolting out like an arrow released from its bow, disappearing into the night.
Wasn’t he here to protect Liu Nan?
He Ao was puzzled.
