Chapter 9: Lychee Wood Roasted Goose

Zheng Qiaoling’s mother, Xie Zufang, rushed out from the kitchen. “Why did Jingyu leave so soon? He hasn’t even eaten! Did you say something to him?”

Zheng Qiaoling replied, “What could I say? Do you think he came all the way here to give you apples out of the goodness of his heart? He came for Lan Lan. When Lan Lan ignored him, he just left!”

Xie Zufang sighed. “So, what about him and Lan Lan?”

“No chance. It’s not going to work.”

Xie Zufang sighed again, feeling disappointed. She had been hoping that if the two of them worked out, she could become related to the factory director’s family.

Song Xilan glanced at her watch. It was just past 9 AM, so she decided to go home, grab a large enamel jar, and head out to buy some roast goose.

Sheng Ji Roast Meat was a well-known, long-established roast meat shop. It was said to have been around longer than their Li Min Food Factory!

The shop’s most famous dish was the lychee wood roasted goose, which was golden and red in color, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, fatty but not greasy, fresh, juicy, and carried a unique fruity aroma.

They only roasted two batches of goose every day: one at 10 AM and another at 3 PM. Within an hour, they would all be sold out. If you arrived late, you might miss out.

Today, Song Xilan was after the 10 AM batch.

When she arrived at Sheng Ji, it was still before 10, but there was already a crowd outside, lining up.

She counted, and there were about ten people ahead of her. She should still have a chance to buy some, so she felt reassured and joined the line.

Each roast goose was sold whole, but most people didn’t have the means to buy an entire one. It was more common to buy a quarter or a small piece to taste. So, Song Xilan wasn’t too worried.

However, it seemed like today, because of the holiday, people were being more generous and buying more. The person in front of her, who might have been buying for someone else, surprisingly bought three whole geese at once.

The people behind stared wide-eyed as they saw him walking away with so many.

When it was Song Xilan’s turn, there was only one goose left.

The Song family had big appetites, and she had originally planned to buy half a goose, but seeing how many people were still waiting behind her, she felt guilty. She was about to ask for just a quarter with the lower half of the goose, which included the leg, when suddenly, a thick elbow shot out in front of her, forcefully pushing her aside. A loud voice called out, “I’ll take the last roast goose! Cut it into big pieces, and add extra plum sauce.”

Song Xilan was stunned. “What’s your problem…?” She didn’t finish her sentence as the burly man, with a face full of muscles, glared at her. She held her tongue.

Her parents had always told her not to pick fights with bullies. If she got hurt, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Others in line who had wanted to speak up fell silent when the man turned to glare at them.

Everyone accepted their misfortune and quietly dispersed.

Song Xilan, feeling frustrated, thought it would have been better not to come today. After standing in line and smelling the roast goose, she ended up getting nothing.

But going home empty-handed didn’t sit right with her. Maybe she could get some char siu (BBQ pork) instead?

Just then, a strong arm appeared in front of the burly man. “Hold on.”

The burly man glared, raising his fist to swing. “You old fool, looking for death?”

“Watch out!” Song Xilan gasped.

Then, a tall man quickly grabbed the burly man’s fist, squeezing his hand so hard that they could hear the bones creaking. The sound made Song Xilan cringe.

The text in her mind appeared again.

[President Jiang is super handsome.]

[I have to admit, when it comes to male charm, I’m totally on the side of the big villain, President Jiang.]

Big villain? Song Xilan quickly realized. Last night, she had mistaken that terrifying man for a beggar, and people had called him the big villain. His name seemed to be Jiang… something.

Could this be the man from last night?

Song Xilan didn’t recognize him at all.

The man in front of her was tall, clean, with freshly shaven hair that had a slightly awkward appearance but still looked good. His head shape was perfect, and the short hair suited him well—if your head shape was wrong, this hairstyle could be disastrous.

He had wheat-colored skin, long eyebrows that almost reached his temples, bright and sharp phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips pressed together lightly. His side profile had a sharp jawline.

The hand gripping the burly man’s fist was long and powerful, full of strength.

Song Xilan’s heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, she realized her perception of male attractiveness was about to change.

She had always thought she didn’t like men with rugged looks, but now she realized it wasn’t that she didn’t like them, it’s just that she had never met a man who was rugged and handsome enough to change her mind.

She used to think she liked the delicate, soft-looking type of guy like Yang Jingyu, but compared to the man in front of her, Yang Jingyu’s appearance now seemed quite trivial and petty.

The burly man’s palm was being squeezed, causing him to scream in pain, “Y-You, let go! Ah, it hurts, it hurts!”

Jiang Chengxiao lazily glanced at him, “Are you still cutting in line?”

The burly man, who usually bullied others, had never encountered someone like this. He couldn’t move at all with just one hand holding him, and the grip was terrifying. “No, no, I won’t do it again!”

Jiang Chengxiao loosened his grip. “Then get lost!”

The burly man didn’t dare to say anything more and quickly ran away.

Jiang Chengxiao turned around and saw the plump girl staring at him with wide eyes, as if the stars from the sky had fallen into her eyes.

He smiled. “You can buy it now.”

Song Xilan stammered, “Y-You go ahead and buy first!”

Jiang Chengxiao replied, “I’m not buying, you buy it!”

Song Xilan looked behind her and noticed that everyone in line for the roast duck had been scared away by the burly man. She then happily said, “Comrade, please cut half a roast goose for me, the right side.”

The roast goose shop owner swiftly used his big kitchen knife, slicing the goose expertly into small pieces and placing them into the large enamel jar that Song Xilan had brought. “What sauce do you want?”

“Please pour some roast sauce on it, thank you, sorry for the trouble,” Song Xilan politely responded.

She couldn’t help but recommend, “It’s really delicious. Don’t you want to try some?”

Jiang Chengxiao smiled and looked at the enamel jar in her hands. “Then, why don’t you let me try?”

Song Xilan generously handed the jar over, but Jiang Chengxiao didn’t move. Instead, he leaned in slightly, parting his lips as if signaling for her to feed him a piece.

Song Xilan’s face turned red, and she quickly withdrew her hand. “You… how can you act like a rogue!”

But in her heart, she thought, those people weren’t wrong when they called him the villain.

What’s a villain? Someone like the Japanese soldiers in war films, the murderer in crime stories, or even in a drama, the one who’s always up to no good.

Her parents always said that you can’t judge a person just by their appearance, and it turns out they were right. Who would have thought that someone so well-mannered on the outside could actually be such a bad guy?