CH 22.2

Treat You Breakfast (2)

At six in the morning, it wasn’t scorching outside. Many breakfast stalls had set up small tables outside the door. Some students already sat outside and ate on the streets.

They walked while searching along the road and many gazes intentionally or not drifted toward them. Some girls looked at each other, secretly took out their phones, and aimed their devices at them.

Ruan Qingmu bent down and asked two girls who were eating soft bean curd on the side of the road, “Can I ask where the Li Ji Steamed Dumpling Soup Restaurant is at?”

The two girls were embarrassed and hurriedly put away their phones. “Ah! Walk straight ahead to the end of the alley. It’s the one on the left side with many people.”

Ruan Qingmu looked at them and raised his brows. “Thank you. But if you want to take a picture, make sure it’s a good picture.”

One girl saw that he was friendly and bravely whispered with a red face, “We will. We will make you guys look good.”

Ruan Qingmu shrugged his shoulders. “No need to care about him.”

He turned his head to look at that person beside him with sharp brows and phoenix eyes. “Anyway, he will look good no matter how you take the picture.”

The two girls screamed softly, looked at each other, and giggled.

The girl gathered her courage and asked, “Then, can we alter the picture? We will do our best to retouch it.”

Ruan Qingmu said seriously, “You’re not allowed to retouch him. You’re only allowed to retouch me.”

Qin Yuan stood still and looked as Ruan Qingmu kept chatting with the two girls. His face became colder instantly.

Ruan Qingmu still wanted to say something, but a girl pointed behind him. “Class monitor Qin is going.”

At the end of the alley, the dumpling restaurant was indeed hidden on the left side.

The front side of the first floor of a residential building had been renovated. Nobody knew how they passed the inspection, but the students who came here to eat steamed soup dumplings were cramped together. It was obviously more prosperous than other store businesses along the street.

A steamer basket only had eight small dumplings inside. Because the skin was thin and seemed to be exquisitely made, the full soup inside could be faintly seen. It was piping hot when combined with the black-red Eight Treasure Congee.

“Coming, two baskets of fresh meat dumplings and two bowls of eight treasure congee –” the lady boss shouted, took the food from the big steamer basket full of white steam, and placed the dishes in front of them.

Ruan Qingmu picked up one with the chopsticks and placed the dumpling on a small plate. He poured a little vinegar on it, opened his mouth, and sucked in the food. As expected, the soup inside wasn’t only fragrant, but the color was also bright; the broth was clear and not turbid.

After finishing up the soup, he ate the ground meat inside. It was also equally dense and tasty, with a slight sweetness of the local flavor.

Qin Yuan picked up a dumpling, glanced at Ruan Qingmu, and saw his fussy and particular eating method. He coldly said, “We don’t need to attend the morning reading class with the rate you’re eating.”

Ruan Qingmu sneered. “Eat, drink, and be merry are above all important things in one’s life. What are you hurrying for, ah.”

Several students at the neighboring table stealthily looked at them. They were both boys and girls.

Ruan Qingmu unhurriedly ate a few, then shook his head. “The ground meat is fresh, but the dumpling skin isn’t thin enough. It will be good if another flavor is added to the soup. The vinegar is also a bit monotonous and the taste isn’t rich.”

Qin Yuan raised his head, looked at him, and spoke in a flat tone. “Oh, indeed. It will be best to add a bit of matsutake seasoning to the ground meat. The dip-in vinegar used here is a bit mediocre. If they use Ninghua Fu Yiyuan Qing or Shanxi Shuita, the sour taste will last longer.”

Several girls beside them swallowed their dumplings without tasting it and their faces were full of complicated looks. “…”

Let it be, let it be. The two boys looked handsome and the way they ate was also pleasing to the eyes; they could be totally forgiven for showing off.

But why was the top student so deadly earnest? Was he really replying or being sarcastic?!

Ruan Qingmu raised his head, slightly smiled, and looked at Qin Yuan. “I used to eat an excellent steamed soup dumpling before. It wasn’t made with crab roe but only pure meat. They would only produce 100 baskets every day and I had to wait in line to buy them. Unfortunately, we can’t eat it anymore now.”

Qin Yuan let out an “Mm” and said, “Crab roe dumplings are delicious because the ingredients are good. It’s a real skill if they can make it delicious using ordinary fresh meat.”

The boys from another table beside them quietly looked at each other. One lowered his head and took out his phone, secretly sending a message to his friend. “I’ve fucking gained a knowledge. These two people are boasting so earnestly.”

“I don’t think Qin Yuan is boasting and his family is so well off. Ruan Qingmu is the one boasting!”

“I admire them greatly. They could even talk about these things with a straight face.”

Ruan Qingmu finished eating the last dumpling, tilted his head, and sighed. “This taste is all right. After all, it’s only a tiny breakfast stall. Wait for me to find a truly delicious one later and I’ll invite you to eat there.”

Qin Yuan looked at him and his expression was a little weird. “Do you love to eat steamed dumplings that much?”

Ruan Qingmu calmly looked at him for a while. His smile was a bit odd and he seemed disappointed by something.

“It’s not that. I just want to treat you to eat it.”

Once in his previous life, this person heard that he was the one who massacred and exterminated everyone in the Feng Lei Manor. He insisted on running a thousand miles, chased, and attacked him at night. Ultimately, they couldn’t fight anymore due to having no more strength. They arrived at a bustling town in the early morning and a famous steamed dumpling shop’s banner swayed in front of them.

As they fought and attacked, they had to fill their stomach no matter how much they hatefully wanted to stab the other person.

Under the sunrise in the early morning, the two people sat on a wooden table outside the shop in an unfamiliar small town with bloodstains covering their bodies. They calmly ate two baskets of fresh meat steamed dumplings.

He didn’t know why, but he kept remembering the dumpling taste from that shop and Qin-shaoxia’s cold as-ice-face at that time.

Although he ate elegantly and was full of self-restraint, he just felt that this person must be the same as him and thought that the dumpling taste of that shop was excellent.

Otherwise, why would this person especially take a detour to this small town while traveling to the desert to pursue his enemies and eat the fresh meat soup dumplings again?

Furthermore, he had also arranged a set of additional tableware on the vacant seat in front of him.

He even arranged a cup of peach blossom wine for him, the one who had already died. It was just like how they sat face-to-face and drank together in the past.