NOVPUB46: Chapter 46: “Woof” (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote)
46: Chapter 46: “Woof” (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote)
He Ao’s movements were incredibly fast, and Yuan Nannan stopped talking, instead watching He Ao’s actions in astonishment.
When she saw him fling the noodles out of the ladle, catch them mid-air, and flip them over, she even applauded,
“So awesome!”
By the time He Ao had packed up two bowls of noodles and handed them over, Yuan Nannan’s eyes were filled with little stars, “He Ao, you’re so amazing!”
As she spoke, she mimicked the motion He Ao had just made with the ladle on her hand, “This, this, I’ve only seen this on TV and done by those famous chefs before, you’re really amazing, how did you do that?”
“Nothing special, just practice.”
He Ao chuckled helplessly.
He had realized that Yuan Nannan was the kind of girl who grew up carefree, seemingly unaware of the world, yet retained her purity.
“Thank you.”
Liu Nan realized that He Ao didn’t seem to care much about this awkward encounter and slowly let out a sigh of relief.
She had some classmates from less fortunate backgrounds who were afraid of being discovered by others working part-time jobs or coming from difficult family situations.
Usually, if they were seen, it would be quite embarrassing for them.
After all, there were indeed those who, upon stumbling across a classmate running a street stall, would spread the news all over and even mock them.
Most students had thin skins and high egos, unable to withstand such blows.
At that moment, Liu Nan suddenly thought, why weren’t there any rumors about He Ao running a street stall at the school?
Logically, he was so close to the school when running his stall that it should have been easy for someone to run into him.
Then she recalled the rumors she had heard from Yuan Nannan about He Ao, like ‘battling hooligans’ and being ‘fiercely ruthless’.
Could it be that He Ao created these rumors himself to cover up the fact that he ran a street stall?
But she quickly dismissed the idea.
Considering how skillfully He Ao knocked out the would-be kidnapper and his familiarity with the police, it seemed more likely that He Ao did have some sort of ‘side business’.
Looking at He Ao, she suddenly felt that this classmate was shrouded in an aura of mystery, as if he had innumerable secrets.
Every time she thought she had uncovered another hidden side of him, he would, like peeling an onion, immediately reveal a new layer, one after another, making it hard to discern which one was the real him.
Yuan Nannan didn’t have as many thoughts as Liu Nan.
She directly opened one of the packaged cold noodles, broke apart the chopsticks, grabbed some noodles, and was stunned on the spot, “So delicious!”
She slurped up a mouthful of noodles and then looked at He Ao with muffled enthusiasm, “He Ao, all the students say you have a private gang and lead your brothers to fight for territory every night.
Some even say you’re a member of some mysterious organization with superpowers, responsible for secretly maintaining world peace.
Turns out you sell cold noodles here…
slurp…
so delicious.”
“What kind of nonsense rumors have you been listening to…” He Ao looked at her with a mix of amusement and disbelief, “I’m just a law-abiding student who sells cold noodles, with no gang affiliation or membership in any organization maintaining world peace.”
Liu Nan was holding the other bowl of noodles, her mouth agape.
She clearly remembered that the two kidnapper’s accomplices had called out ‘Brother Ao’ and ran away scared witless at the sight of him.
He Ao said he had no other identity, and she was somewhat hesitant to believe that…
“Oh, is that so.”
But Yuan Nannan truly believed him.
As she nodded, she looked at He Ao with starry eyes, “It’s really tasty!
He Ao, you’re so talented!”
“We had originally planned to treat you to some snacks,” Liu Nan said somewhat helplessly, glancing at her friend and then at He Ao.
Yuan Nannan was like this, unable to resist tempting food, spending her days searching for delicious eats, “but who knew you were the boss.”
She thought for a moment, “Obviously, we can’t treat you to that, but do you have any free time coming up?
I’d like to invite you out for a meal.”
Her eyes widened earnestly as she looked at He Ao.
The quiet night breeze blew through the girl’s curls, across her fair skin, and over her beautiful cheeks.
From a young age, Liu Nan had always been the school beauty, the kind who would turn heads and attract the gazes of both boys and girls wherever she went.
The advantage of being beautiful is that your life is filled with conveniences, like strangers picking up your tab when you dine alone, boys eagerly helping you with your luggage, gaining easier concessions during negotiations and trades, and scoring higher in interviews and presentations.
Liu Nan basically wouldn’t mistreat anyone who helped her.
But there were very few who could reject her requests to her face, because she was simply too beautiful.
People are always biased towards good-looking individuals, and even many girls find it hard to refuse Liu Nan’s requests face-to-face.
Declining over the phone is acceptable.
But when you are face-to-face, how could you possibly say no to such a beautiful girl inviting you for a meal?
When she posed this question, He Ao clearly hesitated for a moment.
He didn’t reject her outright, seeming to fall into thought.
A sigh of relief escaped Liu Nan’s heart.
It was the first time she realised that inviting someone to a meal could be so difficult.
Without even making it to the dinner table, how could she possibly return the favor to He Ao, let alone start doing so?
Her beauty’s charm offensive would not fail!
If it did, she’d be a puppy!
He Ao seemed to have really sunk into contemplation; he slowly squatted down and took out a black notebook from a drawer beneath the stall.
Then he flipped to a page and began counting, “Liu Nan, there are, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, five people ahead of you.
We have to respect the order of things, right?
I think you are too persistent.
I’m not always available.
When it’s your turn, I will contact you.
There’s no need to insist on inviting me for a meal right now…”
As he spoke, he noticed Liu Nan’s gaze growing dull.
“Liu Nan?”
He called out, somewhat puzzled.
Liu Nan came back to her senses, and staring blankly at He Ao, she bit her silver teeth,
“Woof!”
He Ao: ¿
“Nannan, let’s go back.”
With her face flushed red, Liu Nan grabbed Yuan Nannan, who was focused on enjoying her noodles, and started heading outside, whether out of anger or shame was unclear.
“Liu Nan, wait for me to finish this bite.”
Yuan Nannan was almost in a daze as Liu Nan dragged her off.
He Ao felt like there must be a ‘?’ above his head.
She had just been calmly reasoning moments ago; why the sudden change?
Really strange.
But He Ao didn’t dwell on it for too long.
After Liu Nan left, the flow of customers began to pick up, and he had to get busy making money.
“Boss, how much for this cold noodle dish?”
As He Ao was seeing off the last customer in that group, a somewhat crisp female voice sounded in front of him.
He looked up to see a girl with ear-length hair and a black, simple mask.
Her exposed half face and eyes were exquisitely made-up, her pupils shining as clear and luminous as jewels.
