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Chapter 40: Gathering at Good Flavor

The masked man saw Lu Li walk away with Shao Linlin in his arms and slowly slid the dagger back.

“So they really are a little couple…”

He breathed a sigh of relief; Shao Linlin’s blatant approach just now had truly startled him.

After years of delivering goods outside, he had witnessed plenty of scenes and never dared to drop his guard.

Once, a partner of his let down his defenses toward a young beauty in black stockings, even whistled at her cockily, and then… was disarmed and arrested by that very woman.

Only later did they learn that the woman in black stockings was a police officer.

Evil grew, but the righteous grew even craftier; nowadays the good guys used more tricks than they did to catch them.

“Why hasn’t the contact shown up yet!” He glanced at his phone, anxiety eating at him.

Just then the phone rang, and he answered in haste, “Hello! Where are you?”

A lazy voice came from the other end, “Almost there, how’s it on your side?”

“I’m already on West Street, nothing unusual here; get here quickly, and once the money and goods change hands I’m taking a boat off the mainland tonight.”

The other end drawled, “Don’t rush; your spot may not be safe, be careful and switch locations.”

“Switch to where?”

“There’s a greasy spoon on East Street that serves Shandong cuisine, called ‘Good Flavor’; we’ll meet there.”

“I’ll head over right now!”

“No hurry; wander around West Street for 20 minutes first, see you later.”

“What’s the passcode?”

“Nine-loop Pork Intestine!”

“So mine is, ‘Did you slip or do it on purpose?’”

Silence hung over the line for a moment before the voice replied, “That joke isn’t funny; just order a plate of Nine-loop Pork Intestine and I’ll find you.”

Clack… the call ended.

“Idiot, weren’t you the one joking first?” the masked man cursed, pocketed the phone, looked around, and headed north.

…

“Alert lifted, the suspect is moving north!”

“Copy, cameras are tracking him; don’t tail him immediately, we can’t blow our cover!”

“Roger!”

Taking her hand from the earpiece, the policewoman exhaled in relief, “Good thing that girl’s boyfriend led her away, otherwise we’d have had real trouble.”

She shot a sidelong glance at the nearby hotel and snorted softly, “Kids these days are so precocious; shouting about that kind of thing on the street… no shame at all, the world’s going downhill…”

…

Lu Li dragged Shao Linlin toward the hotel; at first she complained, but as his grip tightened she ended up half-yielding, half-resisting.

“So what do you want to eat?”

“Silly girl, what else could it be? Of course it’s you!””

Just recalling that conversation made her head spin.

If Lu Li pounces on me later, should I keep my eyes open, close them, or half-open one and close the other?

She felt her brain was about to overload.

But… isn’t this progressing too fast? Dad said a girl shouldn’t be too casual.

For today I’ll only let him kiss me; that other thing can wait until tomorrow, mm-hm, I’m not that easy.

Having made up her mind, she gently pushed his hand away and mumbled, “Lu Li, I think we’re moving a bit too fast…”

“Oh, sorry, I was a bit abrupt just now; I really don’t like shredded-chicken noodles,” Lu Li spoke first.

“Huh?” She blinked; why did he suddenly sound so proper when a moment ago he’d seemed ready to swallow me whole?

“Lu Li, I mean, I think we should start out as friends,” she murmured, lowering her head.

He asked in surprise, “We already are friends; do you not see me as a friend?”

“Ah?” She looked up; his eyes were clear, none of the earlier heat.

“Of course we’re friends,” she panicked a little, “It’s just, didn’t you say you wanted to eat…”

You clearly wanted to eat me in one bite just now, why deny it now?

Lu Li scooped the Little White cat off his shoulder and play-bit its ear. “This kitty is so adorable, I could just eat it up.”

Little White shook its head, raised a paw against his cheek, and seemed a bit disdainful.

Shao Linlin: “…”

Eh? Was that what he said? Did he really say that?

Could I have imagined it?

Wow, I knew it… how could Lu Li suddenly say something so over the line; I definitely overthought it!

She pouted and stared enviously at Little White, who was using its paw to keep Lu Li at bay, her jealousy almost reaching molecular disintegration.

Rotten Little White! Resisting him like that… doesn’t know how lucky it is!

Thanks to the boost from his Culinary Arts knife skills, Lu Li’s fingers were exceptionally nimble; in no time he rubbed the cat until it went boneless, and it lay comfortably in his arm, even casting a smug glance at her.

Now her jealousy really did reach molecular disintegration; suddenly she felt like the unnecessary extra.

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let Dad buy me that stupid cat. From today on, I’m quitting the Cat Cult!” she thought gloomily.

“Want to grab a meal? I’m hungry,” Lu Li said out of nowhere.

He had no intention of telling her about the potential incident earlier; scaring the girl would do no good, and the police would handle it.

Playing dumb beat meddling; sticking his nose in would only create trouble for the cops.

“Mm-hm.” At the mention of food, she perked right up.

Conquering Lu Li would be a long-term project; Linlin, you’ve got a long road ahead!

After cheering herself up, she raised her cute face. “Lu Li, what do you want to eat? There’s a place in West Street that’s really good, but it’s kind of pricey, so I don’t usually treat myself.”

He thought for a moment. “How about we check out East Street? No need for a fancy meal; a small diner’s dishes are fine.”

West Street wasn’t too safe; better to head over to East Street, he thought.

“Sure, sure, a small diner is great. I remember a Shandong joint on East Street called ‘Good Flavor’; it’s really nice,” she suggested at once.

As a professional foodie, she knew every eatery on the pedestrian street like the back of her hand.

“All right, that Shandong place it is,” he decided; what they ate didn’t matter, getting away from dangerous West Street was the key.

…

Back-kitchen of the ‘Good Flavor’ Shandong diner.

“Little Chu, my old man’s back went out and he’s hospitalized today, so he can’t cook; the whole kitchen’s counting on you!” a kindly auntie said as she fastened an apron on Chu Zining.

Chu Zining said worriedly, “Auntie Zhao, will this work? My cooking is far below Uncle Zhao’s.”

Auntie Zhao waved repeatedly. “Why not? He himself says that after 3 years of teaching you, there are a few dishes you make better than he does!”

“But what if the customers aren’t satisfied…”

After tasting Lu Li’s food at lunch, her confidence had taken a huge hit.

She knew her dishes were at best home-style fare, worlds apart from his; even Uncle Zhao, who had run this diner for 20 years, couldn’t match him.

If he were the chef, no customer would have any complaints.

Auntie Zhao laughed. “Relax; if anyone’s unhappy, I simply won’t charge them. Xiao Chu, I trust you; just help me for this one evening and I’ll give you 300 yuan.”

She bit her lip. “O-okay, then.”

With the money she could repay Lu Li for the lunch.

Mm, and she still had to treat him to a few meals to thank him for helping her several times.

Would 300 yuan be enough…

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