Chapter 276: Waiting for Her in Vain

On Monday morning, inside a soybean paste noodle shop on Ancient Street in Licheng, the proprietress had just opened the rolling shutter door and turned around, ready to get busy in the kitchen.

Her foot had only just lifted when she saw a tall figure approaching.

She spoke subconsciously: "We've only just opened, young man, you..."

Once she saw clearly that the person coming in was wearing a black mask, his cold, clear brows and eyes were unforgettable.

The words she hadn't finished speaking stuck in her throat; unable to go up or down, her face flushed red all at once. Realizing she had been rude, she hurriedly said, "You've come."

"Mm."

The other party only responded indifferently.

The proprietress wiped sweat from her heart; she truly couldn't imagine how such a young man could have such a powerful aura. What on earth did he do for a living?

Sheng Yu nodded slightly toward her, "I need to borrow your shop's kitchen again today."

As he spoke, he pulled a stack of banknotes from his wallet and handed them to her.

Looking at the money in front of her, which was no less than ten thousand yuan—enough to cover her shop's turnover for several days—the proprietress accepted it with a smile, "Easily done, easily done, feel free to use it."

Sheng Yu had no checks and did not use cards; cash was convenient and would not leave any traces.

He strode with his long legs toward the back kitchen.

The proprietress followed respectfully behind him.

There was no need to guess; she knew he appeared here for the sake of the young woman who had come to her shop to eat soybean paste noodles last time.

However, she was also very curious: how was he so certain that day that that young woman would come to her shop to eat noodles?

Could it be that the sign he had her put at the entrance for the new soybean paste noodle dish had worked?

Could it be that that young woman liked eating soybean paste noodles?

The proprietress shook her head inwardly; what kind of relationship was this, anyway?

Going to such great lengths to make soybean paste noodles for the other person to eat, yet not showing his face—was he really this pure-hearted?

Sheng Yu walked into the back kitchen. The soybean paste noodle shop's back kitchen had two assistants; as soon as they saw Sheng Yu, they both stopped what they were doing, stood quietly to the side, and looked at each other nervously.

"Carry on as you were." Sheng Yu walked to the refrigerator and took out ingredients from inside.

Today he was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt, so he didn't need to roll up his sleeves.

But not only had the proprietress at the entrance seen it, the two assistants had seen it too.

On his right wrist, he wore a light-colored hair tie; it had probably been worn for quite a long time, as the hair tie had faded so much that its original color was no longer recognizable.

The two assistants muttered to themselves: how could a man who was so tall and had such a powerful aura wear a hair tie used by women on his wrist?

Sheng Yu sensed their furtive, measuring gazes but didn't take them to heart; he washed the vegetables, chopped the vegetables, and began preparing the vegetable toppings that Zhu Yuan liked to eat.

He stayed busy until the meal rush; many customers came to the shop, and the two assistants were busy beyond measure. Sheng Yu's tall and upright figure stood to one side, appearing completely out of place.

The proprietress came in to serve noodles and saw him standing there, "Sir, let me bring you a chair; you should sit for a while."

Sheng Yu glanced at his wristwatch. The last two times he had seen her, she was wandering around Ancient Street at about this time. It was already mealtime now; she couldn't endure hunger, and once hungry, she easily lost her mood, so she would definitely look for something to eat.

Last time she had offered suggestions to the proprietress, and according to her style of doing things, she would definitely want to taste it next time.

She had come on a Monday both times.

He guessed that since there were many people on the two weekend days, she didn't like places that were too crowded, or perhaps she felt that there were fewer people on Mondays and it was freer to stroll around; she would definitely choose to come to Ancient Street to play on a Monday.

But today it was already this late, and yet she had not appeared.

Sheng Yu stood to one side, his expression somewhat gloomy. He pulled out a cigarette and a battered lighter with chipped paint, clicked it a few times without success; he held the lighter and gave it a flick, then pressed it again, but still didn't succeed.

Sheng Yu: "..."

The two assistants watched as this tall, handsome, powerful-looking man who appeared very wealthy held a broken lighter and tried to light his cigarette for quite a while without success.

One of them stepped forward and handed over his own lighter, "Sir, use mine."

"No need." Sheng Yu was aloof, gave the lighter another flick, and finally got the cigarette lit.

Facing his aloof manner, the assistant scoffed inwardly: dressed like a human, pretending to be rich, yet carrying a broken lighter.

And acting aloof toward him!

What a poser!

The assistant rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

By the time the noon meal rush passed, the customers in the shop gradually thinned out.

The proprietress sat at the cash register eating a bowl of soybean paste noodles, looking toward the back kitchen from time to time. She saw Sheng Yu take a stool and sit in front of the prep table, also eating a bowl of soybean paste noodles.

Why wouldn't one say there is a difference between people?

She and the assistants were each holding a bowl of noodles to eat; one look and you could tell they were just scraping by.

Yet some people were also holding a bowl of noodles to eat, but they made it look like a Michelin-starred meal—elegant, truly elegant.

Sheng Yu finished the bowl of soybean paste noodles elegantly and took out his phone to check the time.

It was one o'clock.

She still hadn't come.

Until evening, when the sky was almost dark, Zhu Yuan still hadn't appeared.

The customers in the shop increased again, and it was lively.

Sheng Yu silently untied his apron, turned around, and left from the back kitchen.

When he drove away from Ancient Street, a strong desire drove him to head toward the small courtyard in the suburbs.

Could it be that the one surnamed Pei had discovered him and taken Yuanyuan to another place again?

The car accelerated suddenly, traveling on the road like lightning.

Opposite the small path leading to the small courtyard, there was a row of planned housing. In front of a second-floor window of one of the buildings, Sheng Yu pushed aside a corner of the curtain and looked at that small courtyard with the lights on.

Under the twinkling stars of the summer night, it appeared exceptionally warm.

Sheng Yu picked up his binoculars, aimed the lens at the small courtyard, and searched for that familiar figure.

When he saw Zhu Yuan walking from the room toward the courtyard, Sheng Yu's grip on the binoculars tightened, and he let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

She was still there.

The corners of Sheng Yu's mouth curled up slightly, and he watched Zhu Yuan without blinking.

She seemed to be holding something in her hand as she walked toward the courtyard, where a tree was planted, its shade like a canopy, very suitable for cooling off.

If one ignored the man lying on the rocking chair under the tree's shade, this place was indeed very beautiful.

He saw Zhu Yuan holding a cup of something and handing it to Pei Ling.

Pei Ling sat up from the rocking chair at once, said something to Zhu Yuan that he could not hear, then stood up, rubbed his large hand over the top of Zhu Yuan's head, took the item, and drank it in one gulp.

Watching Pei Ling drink what Zhu Yuan had prepared for him in one gulp with one hand, while his other hand ruffled Zhu Yuan's hair.

They were so intimate.

The binoculars in Sheng Yu's hands suddenly shattered.

The cold wind whistled, and the snow fell even more heavily, burying the traces of the carriage wheels in an instant.