TL: FallenMoon

The night grew dark, and only the bright moonlight, clear as water, penetrated through the car window, casting a faint light inside the car.

Seated in the backseat of the car was a man in his twenties or thirties, exuding a mature aura.

The man had handsome features, a tall nose bridge, and smooth facial contours. His black hair was firmly held in place with hair gel, emanating a restrained and dangerous vibe, akin to that of a black panther.

Ji Rongyu had a calm expression as he looked at the glasses-wearing young man who brought the four pieces of scallion pancakes into the car. His elongated ink-black eyes revealed no emotion.

“Bring them here,” Ji Rongyu said in a low, magnetic voice tinged with exhaustion and a lack of enthusiasm.

Hang Yuanshu, the glasses-wearing young man, had been with Ji Rongyu for two to three years and had already learned quite a bit about Ji Rongyu’s temperament.

Ji Rongyu was born into the Ji family, the first investment group in China. Like his parents and siblings, he was an angel investor.

There were many industries worth investing in, and each member of the Ji family excelled in different investment fields.

Ji Rongyu’s expertise lay in the food and beverage industry, although it didn’t necessarily mean he enjoyed the food.

On the contrary, Ji Rongyu’s pickiness, when it came to food, was bordering on extreme.

As the youngest member of the Ji family, Ji Rongyu grew up in a privileged environment and received abundant love from his parents and siblings. Coupled with his naturally sharp taste buds, he became particularly discerning in the realm of gourmet food.

If any restaurant managed to conquer Ji Rongyu with a dish, it was destined to gain fame in China in the future.

Huang Mao, sitting in the front seat, turned around and said, “Brother Yu, if you don’t want to eat it, there’s no need to force yourself. These kinds of street food stalls are generally not very clean. They have low prices and average taste. You’ll be attending a gourmet summit in a couple of days, and if you end up with an upset stomach…”

Before Huang Mao could finish his words, Ji Rongyu took a bite of the scallion pancake in his hand.

Seeing this scene, Huang Mao sitting in the front row shook his head helplessly.

How could street stall snacks be considered gourmet food?

He could guarantee that after Ji Rongyu took a bite of the scallion pancake, he would spit it out in less than a second.

However…

Huang Mao watched in disbelief as Ji Rongyu took a second bite, then a third, and a fourth…

Ji Rongyu ate the scallion pancake leisurely, his elegant demeanor evident in each small bite. Yet, the scallion pancake disappeared from his lips at a visible speed.

Huang Mao’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

Ji Rongyu actually finished an entire scallion pancake and even took a second one?!

Ji Rongyu didn’t finish a single person-sized dessert during dinner just now!

Huang Mao and Ji Rongyu had dinner at an upscale restaurant, which was currently the favorite of the elite in City J.

But tonight, Ji Rongyu only took a bite of each dish at that restaurant. Throughout the meal, his face remained dark as if it could drip ink.

Clearly, Ji Rongyu was very dissatisfied with the cuisine at that high-end restaurant.

Therefore, Huang Mao never expected that Ji Rongyu would spontaneously ask his assistant to buy scallion pancakes from a roadside stall, and they would surpass the dishes from that high-end restaurant?!

How was that possible?

Right under Huang Mao’s nose, Ji Rongyu finished one savory and one vegetarian scallion pancake, and now his hand reached for the third one.

Ji Rongyu remained expressionless as usual, but the speed at which he reached for the scallion pancake revealed his impatience.

“Boss…” Hang Yuanshu quietly reminded, “There are only two flavors of scallion pancakes. You’ve already tasted both just now…”

Ji Rongyu had a habit that when tasting such individual snacks, he usually bought two portions.

One portion for himself, and another portion for his trusted assistant to taste. This helps to train the assistants’ food discernment abilities and make them capable aides.

So when Hang Yuanshu bought the scallion pancakes, he bought two portions.

“I know.”

Ji Rongyu narrowed his slender eyes, and his icy gaze swept over Hang Yuanshu.

Ji Rongyu seemed to have forgotten about giving the remaining two portions of scallion pancakes to his assistant. His hand continued to reach for the remaining two pieces.

Hang Yuanshu immediately understood Ji Rongyu’s gaze—let go, or else his year-end bonus would be gone.

Hang Yuanshu:…

For the sake of his year-end bonus, Hang Yuanshu silently gave up his share of the scallion pancakes.

Hang Yuanshu looked at the scallion pancakes in Ji Rongyu’s hand, feeling a bit curious.

What kind of magical power does this seemingly ordinary scallion pancake possess that even his picky boss couldn’t help but eat several of them?

If he had known, he should have bought two more scallion pancakes earlier to taste their flavor.

After finishing the remaining two pieces of scallion pancakes, Ji Rongyu leisurely used a silk handkerchief to wipe his fingertips clean.

“Turn the car around,” Ji Rongyu said in a calm tone.

Huang Mao asked, “Turn around? Where are we going?”

“Go find the owner of that scallion pancake stall,” Ji Rongyu’s narrow amber eyes sparkled with an enchanting light. “I’m investing in his scallion pancake stall.”

“What? Y-You want to invest in a scallion pancake stall?!”

Huang Mao was so shocked that his mouth couldn’t close.

During Ji Rongyu’s time in City J, he tried many restaurants, but none of them piqued his interest in investment.

It was unimaginable for the food merchants in City J who were keeping an eye on Ji Rongyu’s investment activities that his first investment in City J would be a small scallion pancake stall?!

Huang Mao’s heart felt like there were hundreds of ants crawling inside his chest, itching uncontrollably.

Damn, what kind of divine taste does this scallion pancake have? It made him want to try it too!

The car quickly turned around and returned to the office building where Hang Yuanshu bought the scallion pancakes.

Unfortunately, they arrived one step too late.

Just ten minutes ago, Yu Bai had pushed the snack cart selling scallion pancakes and returned home.

——

Yu Bai had just sold four scallion pancakes to the glasses-wearing young man and was about to continue tidying up the stall when the sound of hurried footsteps in high heels approached.

The owner of the high heels was Yao Jia, who rushed towards Yu Bai. Upon seeing Yu Bai’s figure, Yao Jia let out a relieved sigh, “Thank goodness, you haven’t left yet! I thought you had already gone!”

Yu Bai recognized Yao Jia as one of the customers who bought his scallion pancakes in the afternoon. Seeing the anxious expression on Yao Jia’s face, Yu Bai felt a pang of worry. Could it be that this customer was in a hurry because there was something wrong with the scallion pancakes they ate?

Yu Bai’s thoughts raced.

Yao Jia urgently asked, “How many scallion pancakes can you make right now?”

Yu Bai was taken aback and replied, “I should be able to make another twenty or so…”

Yao Jia said, “Alright, give me twenty! Ten vegetarian and ten with meat. WeChat Pay is okay, right? I’ve already transferred the money to you!”

Hearing Yao Jia’s request to buy “twenty scallion pancakes,” Yu Bai was so shocked that he almost dropped the spatula in his hand. He hadn’t been able to sell twenty scallion pancakes in an entire day, yet this customer was buying twenty in one go!

Was he hearing things? Or did this customer misspeak the number?

Yu Bai double-checked, “Miss, do you really want twenty scallion pancakes?”

Yao Jia nodded, “Yes, I want twenty, freshly made…”

Yao Jia paused halfway through her sentence as if realizing something.

She must have startled the young and handsome snack stall owner in front of her. After all, it was extremely rare for someone to buy twenty scallion pancakes at once.

Yao Jia smiled and said, “Don’t overthink it. I’m buying twenty scallion pancakes at once because your scallion pancakes are really delicious!”

“After my son had one tonight, he cried and insisted on having more. Coincidentally, I have other guests at home today, and when they tasted a bite of the scallion pancakes, they all asked me where they were from! So I decided to buy twenty scallion pancakes so that they can all enjoy them at once!”

Yao Jia had guests coming to her house in the afternoon, so she took a half-day leave in advance to pick up her son from kindergarten and prepare to receive the guests at home. However, she was in a rush on the way and bought two plain vegetarian scallion pancakes near her office to satisfy her hunger. But she didn’t have time to eat them after buying them, so she kept the scallion pancakes in her bag.

In the evening, her son, Di Di, accidentally found the scallion pancakes in Yao Jia’s bag while playing. Di Di was young and had a big appetite, so Yao Jia ended up reheating the scallion pancakes and letting Di Di have a taste.

The scallion pancakes that had turned cold and then reheated would definitely have compromised taste and texture. Besides, Di Di was a meat lover, so Yao Jia thought he was merely curious about the scallion pancakes and would lose interest after taking a few bites.

But Yao Jia didn’t expect that Di Di would obediently devour the entire vegetarian scallion pancake! While eating the scallion pancake, Di Di even shared it with the other children brought by the guests…

Now things were in a bit of a mess.

After finishing the scallion pancakes, both Di Di and the other children looked at the empty plates and realized that the first scallion pancake they had eaten was also their last.

However, the children had been completely enticed by the scallion pancakes, and they couldn’t control themselves, resorting to all means to continue eating them.

Yao Jia had no choice but to take out another scallion pancake.

Seeing the children who usually didn’t like vegetarian food being irresistibly drawn to a plain vegetarian scallion pancake, the curious parents couldn’t help but takes a bite of the second scallion pancake.

Now, everyone finally understood why the children were clamoring for more scallion pancakes!

Even though the scallion pancakes were reheated, their crispy outer layer remained light and non-greasy, while the inside remained tender and flavorful, infused with the savory fragrance of the scallions and oil.

As they slowly chewed the scallion pancakes, the scallion aroma, oil fragrance, and doughy flavor would continuously blend in their mouths, creating new sparks.

Not to mention the children, even the adults found one scallion pancake insufficient.

That’s why Yao Jia didn’t hesitate and immediately rushed back to buy twenty scallion pancakes.

While Yu Bai was frying the scallion pancakes, Yao Jia watched him attentively.

As she watched, Yao Jia was quickly drawn to Yu Bai’s skilled technique of frying the scallion pancakes.

Frying twenty scallion pancakes quickly was no easy task.

Despite looking young and having tender skin, Yu Bai’s technique of frying scallion pancakes was exceptionally adept.

With a nimble spatula, Yu Bai flipped the scallion pancakes on the slightly concave griddle. Although different areas of the griddle received different heat, the crispness of the scallion pancakes made by Yu Bai was almost identical.

Yao Jia could cook as well, so she could tell that the young man in front of her had astonishing control over the cooking heat.

No wonder this stall owner could make such delicious scallion pancakes…

After a while, Yu Bai finished frying all twenty scallion pancakes.

“Thank you,” Yao Jia said satisfied as she received the scallion pancakes. She casually asked, “Will you be here tomorrow selling your pancakes?”

Yu Bai hesitated for a moment and replied, “I probably won’t be selling here tomorrow…”

Upon hearing Yu Bai’s words, the smile on Yao Jia’s face instantly froze.

Yao Jia couldn’t control the volume of her anxiousness and shouted, “Then where will you be selling?!”

“Ah!”

At this moment, a childish and milky voice suddenly sounded from behind Yu Bai’s snack cart.

A chubby and adorable human toddler dressed in a round, snowy outfit rubbed their sleepy eyes.

Little Xing Xing had been dozing off leaning against Yu Bai’s leg while waiting for him to make the scallion pancake for Hang Yuanshu.

Little Xing Xing was having a sweet dream but was suddenly startled awake by the loud shout.

Little Xing Xing’s tiny hands patted his pounding little heart as he struggled to lift his little head, wrapped in a thick scarf.

Little Xing Xing’s ink-black round eyes, dampened by mist, looked at Yao Jia in confusion.

Huh? Wasn’t the person who bought the pancake a glasses-wearing uncle just now? Why did Uncle turn into Auntie in a blink of an eye?

Author’s Note:

Treasure this chapter’s seme’s appearance.

The next appearance will be several chapters later (:з」∠)

Seme: Shift! What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?!!

PS: Unexpectedly, on the second day after starting this book, I got acute gastroenteritis… I was really in pain when writing about the scallion pancakes ┭┮﹏┭┮