Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Ke, ke, ke! Let’s not talk about that now. Let’s talk about your CEO Ji and gay boyfriend, instead, eh?”
Tang Xiaoyu coughed violently and then teasingly turned the tables on Pei Ge.
“Hey, Xiaoyu! Can you watch what you say?!” A tint of red crept into her cheeks, and, not knowing if her senses were wrong, she felt the taxi driver steal a glance at her.
“What’s there to watch? Ze, ze, ze! I say, Ge Ge, you already had a one-night stand with him, so what is there for you to be shy about?” She giggled at the blushing Pei Ge as she whispered this to her ear coquettishly.
“Xiaoyu, I already told you that I had made a mistake, and nothing had really happened between us.” Pei Ge looked at her best friend indignantly as she refuted her words.
This Tang Xiaoyu is still bullying me even now that we are all grown up.
“Mhm, mhm, mhm. Just haven’t hit the last base,” her best friend smilingly agreed with a wink, “It is really a pity for you.”
“Tang Xiaoyu!”
“Alright, alright. My mistake, alright?”
They arrived at their destination amid their ruckus.
After alighting from the taxi, their sights were greeted by a rather old building, and the smile on Tang Xiaoyu’s face faded a little.
The alleyway where they were currently at was not wide. On either side of the spotted stone pavement was a row of small eateries. The white walls around them made everything look peaceful and quaint.
The two walked down the narrow alleyway in comfortable silence.
Their footsteps halted when they reached a bistro with an old signboard framed by a lantern on either side.
“This restaurant is still open, huh,” Tang Xiaoyu remarked; her voice was thick with emotion as her face became filled with nostalgia.
“Yes. It’s been over a decade and it’s still surprisingly doing business,” she smilingly agreed as she stood next to her best friend, her face equally filled with reminiscing.
This lane had been their food haven and could be considered as their secret base back then.
When they were much younger, happy or sad, they would come here to eat or daydream.
In the past, this alleyway was very orderly and clean, and it was rather crowded, too.
A decade later, the lane looked old due to poor maintenance and few people were about.
Many shops had closed as a corollary, but their favorite eatery was surprisingly still in business.
“Let’s go, Xiaoyu.” She beamed at her in high spirits.
“Ge Ge, you are still as stingy as ever. Are you really planning to give me a welcome-home dinner at a bistro?” Tang Xiaoyu arched an eyebrow at her. She looked as if she were unhappy, yet her eyes said otherwise.
“Yi, you’re not satisfied? Let’s change to another restaurant, then.” She immediately turned to leave after curtly saying this.
Tang Xiaoyu threw her arms around her neck and giggled. “Alright, alright! After all these years, your temper is still as bad. Go, go, go! Let’s eat here! I’ve been missing this restaurant’s sweet corn egg drop soup overseas.”
Pei Ge smiled at her best friend’s words.
“Mhm!”
“Yi, Ge Ge, do you think the lady boss will remember us now that we are all grown up?”
“I doubt it; it’s been so long.”
“Xi, xi! True. You don’t look like your younger self, so she definitely won’t recognize you.”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
They entered the old bistro with much laughter.
However, the two of them received a shock once they were inside it.
Not only was the interior design foreign, even the lady boss was different.
“Eh, did we enter the wrong shop?” Pei Ge was stunned. While she had checked if this restaurant was still in business, she had forgotten to see if the owner was still the same.
“We didn’t enter the wrong shop, but we did enter the wrong shop.” She sighed in disappointment.
The shop itself was the same, but the owner was no longer the same.
After some thinking, they accepted the plausibility of it. The shop was small, so how could it have stayed in business for so long?
“Hey, are you two here to eat or what?” the lady boss, who was at the payment counter, called out to them unhappily when she saw the two merely stand at the entrance for quite some time.
They shared a look and smiled despondently.
“Why don’t we eat somewhere else?” Pei Ge suggested helplessly.
“It’s fine; let’s eat here.” Tang Xiaoyu shook her head. She still missed this place.
She then pulled Pei Ge to sit at their usual corner.
The two had just sat down when the lady boss came over with the menu.
“What do you want to eat?”
The menu was even more foreign for the two. This restaurant that used to serve home-cooked food was now a Sichuan1 restaurant.
“Do you have sweet corn egg drop soup here?” Tang Xiaoyu asked as she placed the menu down and directly addressed the lady boss, instead.
“Sweet corn egg drop soup?” The lady boss was stunned for a while.
“You don’t serve it?” She frowned slightly.
“Have! Have! Of course, we have it. I’ve jotted it down; do you want to order anything else?” she asked warmly.
At her confirmation, they casually ordered a few more dishes.
However, they were very unhappy at the change of ownership.
“Eh, it’s all my fault, I didn’t personally check the place, causing you unnecessary unhappiness now,” Pei Ge apologetically said in a voice tinged with depression.
I was already at the door before, so why didn’t I come in to see? If I had done so, today’s mistake could’ve been avoided. Now, I’ve made her happy for nothing.
“Don’t worry. I’m already very happy that you remembered what I missed the most.” She shook her head and smiled brightly.
“If I knew, I would’ve brought you home for dinner, instead.” Pei Ge pursed her lips in disappointment.
“Puh! Darling, I want to spend some lovey-dovey time with you alone today. Let’s leave meeting mother-in-law to after we are done with our intimate exchange!”
1. Sichuan cuisine – is a style of Chinese cooking that is spicy, oily, and especially peppery. It originated from Sichuan Province in southwestern China.
