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Chapter 47: Terrifying Bipolar Disorder

Going back 10 minutes….

Chu Zining watched Lu Li and Shao Linlin walk away, and her heart felt painfully sour.

Glancing at Auntie Zhao, who was tidying the table, Chu Zining asked timidly, “Auntie Zhao, did you just say that boy is that girl’s boyfriend?”

She had clearly heard Auntie Zhao tell the girl, “No need, no need. Thanks to your boyfriend’s help, how could I take your money?”

Auntie Zhao said with a smile.

After clearing the table, Auntie Zhao casually replied, “Of course they are; if they weren’t dating, why would they be eating together at night?

Heh, Linlin’s boyfriend looks like a frail scholar, but who knew he was so manly! The moment he spoke, those two thugs were scared stiff!”

Auntie Zhao moved closer to Chu Zining and laughed, “Little Chu, if you ask me, when you look for a boyfriend someday, make sure he’s this manly! Handsome or not is secondary; what matters is that he makes a woman feel safe!”

She coughed twice and went on, “I have a nephew who isn’t as good-looking as that boy, but he’s tall and sturdy, and his character is impeccable… honester than my own man. How about I set you two up when you have time?”

Chu Zining was already dazed by the first half of the speech and didn’t hear a word of the rest.

“So he really does have a girlfriend; he helped me only because he’s kind and I looked pitiful.” Biting her lip, Chu Zining felt an intense bitterness.

Seeing Chu Zining staring vacantly toward the street as if still looking at Lu Li, Auntie Zhao instantly felt displeased.

“Eh? You’re still unwilling? My nephew may be a bit dull, but Little Chu, you aren’t exactly sociable yourself; don’t set your sights so high. Do you really think you can land a boy like Linlin’s boyfriend? Heh, forgive me for being blunt, but Linlin’s family runs a Martial Arts Club and has money to burn; she’ll never have to worry about food or clothing. The kind of boyfriend she can date isn’t someone you could ever hook up with.”

Chu Zining lowered her head and whispered, “I… I’m not thinking about him. It’s just… I still have college ahead of me, and I haven’t thought about dating yet.”

Auntie Zhao snorted, “College? With a mother like yours, you think you can afford college? Heh, Little Chu, don’t blame me for nagging, but it’s better to be realistic; for a woman, finding an honest man to marry beats everything else.”

Chu Zining said no more; she had never been good at socializing.

Auntie Zhao pulled out 200 yuan and stuffed it into Chu Zining’s hand. “You’ve worked hard today, and there are no more customers. Pack up and go home soon. After what happened, I’m closing early.”

After all, the two thugs had paid more than 400 yuan extra, and Auntie Zhao feared they would return once Lu Li left.

Chu Zining glanced at the 200 yuan in her hand and frowned delicately. “Auntie Zhao, didn’t we agree on… 300?”

Auntie Zhao glared back. “You’re lucky to get 200. Your hair fell into the food, and my shop was almost trashed! Docking you 100 is already merciful since nothing serious happened. Besides, I’m closing early, you didn’t work late, so isn’t 200 perfectly reasonable?”

Chu Zining’s eyes reddened; she knew full well Auntie Zhao was wronging her on purpose because she had refused to meet the nephew.

“Enough, enough, get moving, stop dawdling.” Auntie Zhao shooed her away. “Oh, and wake that old man sleeping in the corner table; really, coming to a diner just to snooze.”

Chu Zining said nothing more, fetched her backpack from the kitchen, and walked toward the janitor.

Just then, a man wearing sunglasses and a face mask walked in.

Auntie Zhao’s eyes lit up and she hurriedly called to Chu Zining, “Little Chu, come on, cook something for the customer!”

With no choice, Chu Zining walked over to the masked man again. “May I ask, what would you like to order?”

“Nine-loop Pork Intestine!” the man answered in a muffled voice.

Chu Zining froze. Nine-loop Pork Intestine?

She knew Nine-loop Pork Intestine was a classic dish of Lu cuisine and had watched Uncle Zhao make it, but… she couldn’t cook it herself.

After all, not everyone could stomach pork intestine; it wasn’t exactly a homestyle dish, and she had never learned it specifically.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make that. Could you choose something else?” Chu Zining asked cautiously.

The masked man frowned hard. “This is a Lu cuisine restaurant, and you can’t cook Lu cuisine?”

Chu Zining replied meekly, “This particular dish is tricky; I really can’t do it.”

The masked man glanced at the walls, where a picture and price of Nine-loop Pork Intestine were plainly posted.

“You really can’t make it?” His breathing quickened; behind the sunglasses his eyes narrowed, and hot breath escaped his mouth.

His bipolar disorder flared up again.

He had seen short videos online explaining how plain-clothes officers often disguised themselves as harmless vendors to arrest criminals.

A telltale flaw of such officers was that they knew nothing about the trade they pretended to run!

Could this girl in front of him be an undercover cop in disguise?

The masked man tensed at once and reached for the knife in his pocket.

Bipolar disorder is a kind of mental illness characterized by alternating moods; during manic episodes, patients display elevated emotions, increased speech, and boundless energy; whereas during depressive episodes they often show low mood, loss of pleasure, reduced speech, fatigue, and sluggishness.

Hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and extreme mental tension can accompany the condition.

The masked man’s bipolar disorder was extremely severe, and full-blown persecution delusions had already set in.

It never occurred to him that Chu Zining was just a young girl and could not possibly be an undercover cop.

Just as he hadn’t considered it when Shao Linlin had suddenly approached him before.

He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the knife in his pocket.

“This is a Lu cuisine restaurant; isn’t the picture of Nine-loop Pork Intestine right there on the wall? And you can’t cook it?” the masked man asked, his voice trembling.

Chu Zining explained patiently, “I’m sorry, our head chef isn’t in today, and I can only do simple home dishes. Could you order something else?”

By now the masked man’s mind was a complete mess; he could think of nothing else, and sweat coated the hand clutching the knife. “You really can’t cook Nine-loop Pork Intestine?”

If Chu Zining said once more that she couldn’t make it, he would draw the blade immediately!

Yet Chu Zining noticed none of this and still said, “I’m sorry… I… ”

“Oh dear, I’m late, terribly sorry! The customer wants Nine-loop Pork Intestine, right? I’ll make it right away.”

At that moment, a leisurely voice drifted in from the doorway.

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