Chapter 87

Page Thirty-Six Pingcheng Old Street

This place was originally also Pingcheng Street. Because of the renovation and new construction of Pingcheng New Street, this area came to be called Pingcheng Old Street.

A second-hand small appliance store, an arcade with old-style street games, a crowded but not messy old bookstore, a chess room where old men play against each other, a small shop by the entrance with a coin-operated ride-on toy car.

Tán Lǐn Huā’s so-called paradise is just such an overly old-fashioned street. Clearly separated by just a few streets from Pingcheng New Street, here it is visibly desolate and stagnant.

“Paradise?”

“You probably can’t understand, right? When I was in elementary school, Yán Grandpa would always take me and Liúliú to the chess room over there.”

Her face carried a restrained, gentle smile, which was very attractive.

I understood what Tán Lǐn Huā was talking about. Born in a village, my childhood memories were mostly centered around the small shops on Mí Fēng Street, where I played card packs with Zhào Zhào and Xiǎo Hǎi Táng, bought snacks, and got a bottle of cola for one yuan, with five jiao refunded when you returned the bottle.

Apart from parents and teachers, the third most familiar person for village children must be the chubby shop owner at the small shop. Oh, now he’s the chubby old man.

But finding such a simple street in the bustling downtown area really surprised me, like finding a fried pancake in a high-end Western restaurant, though rustic, it had a warm feeling.

“Do you think it’s not a good place for a date?”

Seeing me frozen at the intersection, Tán Lǐn Huā thought I was dissatisfied. She slightly turned her body, staring at my face, her long black hair falling down, revealing sparse light.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with it. It actually feels familiar.”

“That’s good then. Let’s go eat first.”

Saying we were going to eat, Tán Lǐn Huā led me into a small noodle shop by the roadside.

Although it was called a noodle shop, they also sold rice dishes and dumplings. However, this approach seemed somewhat out of touch, especially for an old shop that had been around for who knows how many years. The owners were proud, and since it was a noodle shop, their specialty was naturally noodles.

Lifting the curtain at the wooden door, I followed Tán Lǐn Huā into the old shop, which seemed to have not been renovated for a long time. The wallpaper had yellowed and showed spots of black mold.

But the standing air conditioner at the shop entrance was quite powerful, spraying white frost. Standing by the outlet for a while made my head ache. Above the corner hung a color TV, and next to the counter was a cold cabinet, stuffed with chilled cola and other ingredients that needed to be kept cold.

Bamboo strips nailed onto the wall board displayed the menu. Although simple, there were plenty of options. Facing the colorful soup noodles, I fell into a dilemma of choice.

As a regular customer, Tán Lǐn Huā didn’t even look at the menu. After hesitating for a moment, she made her decision.

“Boss! Red-braised fish belly noodles!”

It was fish belly, and if handled poorly, the whole bowl of noodles could be ruined by the fishy smell.

“Coming up!”

There was no one watching the counter, but a voice from the back kitchen shouted, though the speaker was unseen. The voice sounded somewhat heavy, likely belonging to an elderly woman.

“I want chicken stewed with mushrooms! And bring two bottles of cola!”

When entering a new restaurant, it’s best to be conservative when ordering to avoid any mishaps.

“Got it! The drinks are in the cold cabinet, help yourself!”

Another shout.

The noodles would take some time. Tán Lǐn Huā found a spot near the air conditioning vent and sat down. I opened the cold cabinet door and took out two glass bottles of cola.

“So today you’re looking for your innocent childhood back?”

“Sort of… Kǎi, how do you think I’ve been doing lately?”

“Starting from today? Or should we start from the Water World?”

“All of it.”

She blinked her eyes at me, this expectant gaze making my heart race.

I should face reality, and the Tán Lǐn Huā before me is already a full-fledged girl.

“Mm, let me think… Before, if I wanted to hang out at the bookstore to enjoy the air conditioning, you wouldn’t drag me away, right?”

Her eyes widened in surprise, “What? Why are you saying this? Didn’t you tell me to follow my feelings?”

I couldn’t tell if she was pretending to be ignorant, but her expression amused me.

Taking the bottle opener from the table, I popped open the cola bottle, creating a puff of white smoke.

“I was just joking. Instead of asking me, you should ask yourself.” Pushing the cola towards her, I inserted a straw for her and continued, “Do you feel you’re acting according to your true self? How does it feel to act on impulse?”

“I’m mindful of the boundaries. If I acted completely on impulse, you might dislike me.”

“It’s okay, speak your mind. How will you know if I dislike you unless you say it?”

“Are you sure you won’t get angry?”

“I promise.”

Tán Lǐn Huā took a sip of cola, her hesitant gaze becoming resolute.

“I hope you’ll take off those large-framed glasses…”

“I refuse!!”

“See! You’re mad!”

“…”

She pointed at my forehead with a laugh, completely unaware of my thoughts of strangling her.

“Red-braised fish belly noodles, chicken stewed with mushrooms!” A plump middle-aged woman walked out of the kitchen, carrying plates of food for us.

“Oh, isn’t this little Lǐn Huā? Haven’t seen you in a while, you’ve grown more handsome, and your voice has changed too? I didn’t recognize you just now by your voice, thinking who knew so much about our fish belly noodles.”

So the fish belly noodles are the signature dish here?

“I’ve changed a lot. Boss, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, we came here on a date today.”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”

I was slurping my first bite of noodles when Tán Lǐn Huā’s words almost choked me.

“Boyfriend?” The plump woman sized me up from top to bottom, as if X-rays were passing through me. Her disbelief was clear, “Little Lǐn Huā, Yú Mom must warn you, don’t get fooled by someone?”

“Why not? Can’t I have a boyfriend?”

“Of course you can. Look at that boy from the Yán family, isn’t he better than this guy?”

“I’m listening!” This woman’s words were quite hurtful.

The Yán family’s boy refers to Yán Liúzhuǎn, right? I can’t compare to him?

My grades aren’t as good as his, nor am I as wealthy, and my artistic cultivation is far behind. But I’m more handsome!

Thinking carefully, am I not just a pretty boy, albeit a male one… No, I shouldn’t feel inferior.

I shook my head, interrupting my random thoughts.

“Lǐn Huā, I don’t deny the date, but why am I your boyfriend?”

“Wow, Kǎi, if we’re dating and you still aren’t my boyfriend, does that mean you only see me as a plaything?”

…

In that moment, I truly wanted to strangle this brat. But this big lady looked strong, and she casually rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight. If it came to a physical confrontation, I would be the one getting strangled.

“Alright, boss, we were just joking. We’re just ordinary friends.”

Tán Lǐn Huā was somewhat considerate, saving me from a difficult situation…

“After all, she’s a girl, how can she be my boyfriend?”

Suddenly, she snatched my large-framed glasses away. The big-eyed woman stared at me, disbelief written all over her face, her mouth wide open.

She has no conscience at all, taking away my glasses makes her a devil.

“Oh, you’re really a young lady. Yú Mom misjudged earlier. I’ll go get you an egg.”

Once she left, I glared at her angrily.

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you mad? Didn’t we agree not to get mad?”

She handed me back my glasses.

“You’re deliberately trying to make me mad!”

“If I act on impulse, it turns out I still upset Kǎi.”

“People indeed need to hide themselves sometimes…”

The big lady added a poached egg as a topping for both me and Tán Lǐn Huā.

A single egg trying to mend my wounded psyche?

Soft-boiled egg, truly fragrant.