Chapter 13: The Lost Puppy is Found

Gu Momo lingered at Taotie Delicacies for a while. Just as she was about to leave, the cat squad returned. Leading the pack was Taxue, who had a “Lost Dog” flyer clamped in his mouth.

Back already? Gu Momo was intrigued and decided to stay, curious to see how things would unfold. She watched as Taxue padded over to Yun Tao.

Yun Tao took the flyer from Taxue’s mouth and unfolded it. On the paper was a tiny dog paw print, as though the dog had signed it with a flourish.

Gu Momo was utterly charmed. She laughed softly, then leaned over toward Yun Tao. “Did you find the dog?”

The paper carried the faint scent of the puppy. Yun Tao turned to Taxue and asked, “Did you take it home?”

Taxue nodded.

Yun Tao looked back at Gu Momo and confirmed, “We found it.”

Watching the seamless interaction between Yun Tao and the cats, Gu Momo couldn’t help but marvel. It really seemed like this kid could communicate with animals!

Seeing her wide-eyed expression, Yun Tao tilted his head, thinking she didn’t believe him. “It’s the little dog from the ceramics shop,” he explained. “If you take the bus later, you might pass by and see it.”

Taking his words to heart, Gu Momo kept an eye out for the ceramics shop on her way to catch the bus. Sure enough, she spotted it with its wide-open doors. Inside, there were no customers or staff in sight. She walked a little closer and peeked through the fence. There it was—the dog from the flyer. It was filthy, as if it had been through one heck of an adventure.

The shop owner was busy giving the dog a bath, grumbling under his breath but unable to hide the joy in his eyes.

A stream of water arc through the air, creating a rainbow against the evening sky. Gu Momo couldn’t help but smile, pulling out her camera to capture the moment. She knew she’d always remember this scene—so full of warmth and joy.

When Gu Momo got home, she felt completely different from earlier—relaxed, even happy.

Her mom noticed immediately. “You’re in such a good mood! Did something great happen?”

“Something good?” Gu Momo mused. “Well, it started with something frustrating, but it turned into something really nice. And I met some really great people!”

She grinned and added, “I had the most amazing scallion oil noodles. Next time, I’ll take you and Dad there.”

“If even you, Miss Picky Eater, say it’s amazing, it must be amazing! I’m already looking forward to it.”

Gu Momo rarely shared much about school or work with her family. She was used to handling everything on her own—ambitious and self-reliant, the kind of “perfect child” other parents admired. But somehow, over time, a distance had grown between her and her family.

As she held onto the piece of candy Yun Tao had given her, Gu Momo suddenly said, “Mom, actually… there’s something I’ve been dealing with lately. I’ll tell you about it once I’ve figured it out.”

Her mom immediately asked, “Do you need my help?”

“No, it’s just a small thing. But I do have something happy to share with you, so don’t worry.”

Watching her daughter retreat to her room, Gu Momo’s mom couldn’t help but feel comforted. It felt like her daughter was a little more thoughtful and closer than before.

Gu Momo sat down at her desk, took a deep breath, and opened the company’s internal forum. Her boss’s clarification post was now pinned at the top, and the post spreading rumors about her had been deleted. The moderator had even jumped in personally, publishing the investigation results and confirming the original poster was guilty of slander.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Just as she was about to discuss it with her friends, she noticed the so-called “parachute intern” had already been removed from their group chat. Her supervisor announced that the intern would officially be leaving the next day.

Gu Momo’s private messages were flooded. After catching up on her friends’ updates, she finally pieced together what had happened. Someone had brought the forum incident to their department head, Professor Chen. It turned out that the useless intern was the nephew of a manager and had been abusing his connections all along. Professor Chen had originally let it slide out of courtesy, but when the intern crossed the line by interfering with her team’s competition and stirring up workplace drama, that was the last straw. Mr. Chen personally investigated the matter and promptly fired him.

Gu Momo let out a sigh of relief. Staring at Professor Chen’s phone number, she muttered, “So it was all just a misunderstanding… I guess I won’t bother her after all.”

Her phone suddenly lit up. It was a call from Professor Chen.

Startled, Gu Momo hurriedly picked up.

Professor Chen’s voice was gentle. “Momo, I’ve already heard about what happened on the forum. That was my oversight, and I’m sorry you had to go through that. Next time something like this happens, tell me right away, okay? Don’t let yourself be wronged like that. Focus on preparing for your competition—I’ll be back from my trip soon.”

Gu Momo felt a warm rush of gratitude. “Thank you, Professor Chen. I will.”

After hanging up, she opened her window and unwrapped the candy Yun Tao had given her.

It was sweet. Really sweet. Ever since she first visited Taotie Delicacies, it felt like everything had been turning around for the better.

She thought about how her mood had shifted after eating the scallion oil noodles and about the ceramics shop owner reuniting with his dog. An idea suddenly struck her—wild and completely irrational: Could those magical scallion oil noodles really fix people’s moods? Maybe even make their problems disappear?

Could food really be that miraculous? Was it possible other people who ate the noodles were also having good luck?

As the candy melted in her mouth, filling it with sweetness, Gu Momo found herself sitting next to her mom, watching TV and chatting about her day. The invisible wall that had separated them for years slowly dissolved—just like that piece of candy.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qing was on the phone with her friend Panda, barely able to contain her excitement.

“Wait, are you serious? Manager Chen is really leaving?”

“For real,” Panda confirmed. “Apparently, he didn’t get the raise he wanted and decided to strike out on his own.”

“Great decision!” Jiang Qing cheered, kicking her feet in the air. “Here’s hoping the next manager doesn’t spend all day policing whether the female staff wear makeup or not.”

After a bit of mutual venting, Panda added, “You know, with your skills, have you thought about going for a promotion? You’d be perfect for it.”

Jiang Qing was pragmatic. “I don’t quite have the seniority for that yet, but a raise might actually be on the table.”

The next day at work, Manager Chen announced his resignation, explaining that he’d be leaving after the transition period. His phony farewell speech about how much he’d miss everyone only left the team secretly hoping they’d never cross paths again.

Later, Jiang Qing was called into the director’s office. When she emerged, she was all smiles.

No promotion, but a raise—and a big bonus for her last project. That night, she treated her team to dinner, saying, “Pick the place. My treat!”

Panda barely let Jiang Qing finish talking about the Worry-Free Scallion Noodles before he chimed in eagerly, “Let’s go to Taotie Delicacies!”

Li Yunyun was the first to back him up. “I’m in!”

Lately, her appetite had returned, and she credited it all to Taotie Delicacies.

The shop was a bit of a trek from the office, but this was no ordinary bowl of noodles. It was the kind that could supposedly improve your luck, so naturally, the whole group quickly agreed.

Jiang Qing raised a practical concern. “Taotie Delicacies still doesn’t allow dine-in yet. I’ll check with Taotao—if it’s too packed, we can just go back to my place instead. Cool?”

“Cool!” Panda grinned. “I’ve been dying to go to your place and pick some lychees off your tree anyway!”

After confirming with Yun Tao, who assured them there’d be space, the group of dedicated Taotie Delicacies fans squeezed onto the subway and headed to Shanhai Street after work.

Shanhai Street was lined with towering trees, the weather was perfect, and stray cats lounged everywhere. But these weren’t your typical street cats—they were clean, plump, and clearly well-fed. Some sprawled lazily on stone benches, watching old men play chess with the kind of calm that anyone would envy.

Panda sighed wistfully. “Boss, living here must feel like heaven.”

“It’s nice,” Jiang Qing admitted. “Ever since Taotie Delicacies became a viral hit, the businesses on this street have been booming too.” She pulled out her phone. “I think it’s time I gave Worry-Free Scallion Noodles another shoutout.”

The group burst into laughter, playfully teasing her. “Boss, you’re practically a food influencer at this point!”

“What can I say? Posting about Taotao’s noodles gets way more likes than my actual work posts.” Jiang Qing wasn’t exaggerating. Recently, she’d even received offers from brands asking her to promote their products—for pretty decent money too. Of course, she’d declined. Right now, her heart was fully devoted to spreading the greatness of Taotie Delicacies.

As she thought about what to write, she stumbled upon a trending post about Worry-Free Scallion Noodles.

The author, a marketing professional running several popular craft market brands, had posted it on her personal account. Her content was usually a mix of fashion tips and work-life anecdotes, and she had nearly 100,000 followers. Coincidentally, Jiang Qing was one of them.

Curious, Jiang Qing clicked into the post and kept reading:

“Not long ago, we ran into a serious work crisis. For an upcoming market event, the venue we’d booked suddenly fell through. We were stuck—either we found a new place last minute or we had to cancel the whole thing. With events like this, everything has to be planned well in advance. A last-minute hiccup? Almost guaranteed disaster.

“A lot of people had been looking forward to this market event, and our team had poured so much effort into it. Everyone was crushed. Even my assistant was in tears.

“When we’d exhausted all our options and were about to announce a postponement, we decided to grab dinner and call it a day. My assistant, scrolling on her phone, suddenly found this little place nearby called Taotie Delicacies.

“She said, ‘I need to see something cute to cheer up,’ so off we went to grab a bite. And, as luck would have it, they had a new item on the menu—Worry-Free Scallion Noodles.

“The name alone felt like fate. ‘What else could solve our troubles but this?’

“So, there we were, sitting on stone benches, slurping noodles like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, all our pent-up frustration just… disappeared. Honestly, looking back, all I remember is the gorgeous sunset that night and how ridiculously good those noodles were.

“Then the magic happened. Not long after I got home, I received an unexpected call. A creative park in the city, planning a celebration event, invited us to host a market event there. They’d heard about our venue trouble and wanted us to join their event instead. It was perfect timing. I don’t know how else to explain it except… those noodles really did chase our troubles away!”

They really do, Jiang Qing thought, nodding along in her head as if she were right there with the poster.

The story left her with a realization: her recent streak of good luck couldn’t just be coincidence!

As a fashion designer, Jiang Qing kept close tabs on city market events. It didn’t take her long to recognize the story: the nearly-canceled event was the National Style Weekend Market, and the last-minute venue was the Black & White Creative Park.

She wasn’t the only one who connected the dots. The comments section was buzzing with people decoding the story. The National Style Weekend Market was a beloved event held annually for the past three years, and people had been eagerly awaiting this year’s announcement. Hearing that the crisis had been resolved was a relief to many.

Of course, not everyone’s focus stayed on the market.

[“All I wanna know is how good that bowl of noodles really is.”]

[“Trouble-solving noodles? Sign me up!”]

[“I need to see these ‘cute treasures’ ASAP!”]

Then there were the skeptics: [“Come on, it’s just a coincidence. Nobody really believes noodles can change your luck, right?”]

But the skeptics were quickly drowned out.

[“Why not try? Good food and maybe a bit of luck? No harm!”]

[“It’s just like having fish for Lunar New Year. You don’t question it; you just do it!”]

[“Honestly, I just want a good bowl of scallion noodles. This city seriously lacks decent ones!”]

Jiang Qing didn’t hesitate to throw another log on the fire. She posted a new note: Ate Worry-Free Scallion Noodles, got a raise!

Something about the word “raise” seemed to have a universal appeal because her post blew up almost instantly.

[“If you’re talking about a raise, I’m suddenly wide awake!”]

[“If a raise is on the table, I’m heading straight there!”]

The magic of Worry-Free Scallion Noodles spread far and wide. Some shared their stories online, while others shared them in person with friends and family.

And just like that, the tales of Worry-Free Scallion Noodles began weaving their way through the vast web of the internet, one story at a time.