Zhang Shutong fell silent.
Or rather, there was no one who didn't fall silent.
Everyone stared at the pizza in the head chef's hands, and even the head chef fell silent.
"Please enjoy."
A deep melancholy drifted within his blue eyes. After speaking, he turned around and left without looking back.
"This, this..." Du Kang paled in consternation. "This is authentic Italian flavor?"
"Probably," Qingyi evaluated cautiously.
"Did that foreigner say 'Lao Gan Ma' just now? The kind of chili sauce we usually eat?" Du Kang continued to look aghast.
"Most likely," Qingyi evaluated even more cautiously. "I see fermented black beans."
"This can't be right..."
"Oh, you two shut up. Didn't he say it was an improvisation? Why obsess over whether it's authentic or not..."
Ruoping hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, thinking to herself that they were being so loud that it made Gu Qiumian lose face. What had she said just now? I come here often, and it's always delicious...
She also thought that this chef truly was a self-taught, wild cook just like Shutong had said, but this was far too wild. Ruoping discreetly sneaked a glance at Gu Qiumian's expression, only to find that Gu Qiumian was currently looking down at her phone, glancing at her phone and then sizing up the pizza in front of her. Her expression grew increasingly blank, and her brows knitted tighter and tighter.
"Have you eaten the Grilled Beef Twister?" Gu Qiumian suddenly asked in a low voice.
"I have..."
"Does this look like the Grilled Beef Twister?"
"Completely different," Ruoping answered without the slightest hesitation. If this resembled the Grilled Beef Twister, then the one getting discontinued wouldn't be the Twister, but KFC itself.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Gu Qiumian said coldly. "I heard them nagging about the Grilled Beef Twister the whole time. I just searched for it online, and it seems the ingredients include beef and Sichuan chili sauce..."
"But it doesn't have nata de coco," Ruoping pointed out the key to the problem.
"I also want to know," Gu Qiumian said each word deliberately, "why... there is... nata de coco."
Exuding a murderous aura, Gu Qiumian speared a piece of pizza. She had just drunk some wine, and her cheeks were flushed rosy, but the chill radiating from her body at this moment sent shivers down everyone's spines. Time seemed to freeze, and everyone's gaze converged on the piece of pizza at the tip of her fork, only to see a piece of nata de coco slide bit by bit over the cheese—
And then land on the plate with a wet splat.
The imposing aura on Gu Qiumian collapsed instantly because of this. Tossing her hair, she mechanically cut the pizza into small pieces. She looked as if she wanted to say something but held back, merely cutting it slice after slice.
Seeing this, Zhang Shutong shuddered.
He truly didn't dare to say that the nata de coco was exactly what he had asked to be added, and that it had taken quite a lot of effort to get it in there.
Sizing up the pizza in front of him, he also questioned his life choices for a moment.
Is this a fruit pizza? Yes.
Is this a savory-and-sweet flavor profile? Of course.
More than just a savory-and-sweet flavor profile, it was practically a grand gathering of savory, sweet, and spicy all together.
But which exact step had gone wrong for such a neither-fish-nor-fowl monstrosity to be served up?
Was this the free improvisation the man spoke of?
Looking at Gu Qiumian's expression, let alone a surprise, there was only pure shock. Zhang Shutong seemed to understand why her face was frozen like frost. She had confidently brought everyone to her favorite restaurant, only for the head chef to suddenly drop the ball. It was equivalent to a state banquet suddenly serving a dish of stinky tofu. She was inherently thin-skinned; who wouldn't be angry in her position?
Yet who could have imagined that the one administering the poison wasn't the head chef, but actually her personal lackey.
If it were discovered... Zhang Shutong thought about it. If it were a lackey he would likely be fired immediately, and if it were a Pokémon they would all be released back into the wild.
Zhang Shutong felt it was better not to say anything.
"Don't tell me," Du Kang said at this moment as he picked up a slice of pizza. "I suddenly discovered something. If you leave out the nata de coco, this actually looks a bit like the Grilled Beef Twister?"
"It doesn't," to his surprise, Gu Qiumian's knife and fork paused, and she interrupted in an unquestionable tone, "I'm not coming back next time."
Du Kang shrank his neck upon hearing this, not knowing which sentence had crossed the young miss the wrong way. He thought to himself, Could it be that Gu Qiumian is also a closet fan of the Grilled Beef Twister and doesn't allow anyone to defile its purity?
Qingyi also analyzed seriously:
"It shouldn't be. Although both use chili sauce, who uses Lao Gan Ma?"
"So what exactly is going on here?" Just as Du Kang's voice fell, he was kicked by Ruoping. Right then, his phone vibrated, and a message from Ruoping arrived in the group chat:
"Stop criticizing! Can't you see Qiumian is about to die of embarrassment!"
The two boys silently shut their mouths.
Better to just eat the pizza.
A single pizza pie was cut into six slices. Aside from Gu Qiumian being the first to spear a slice, everyone gave face and followed suit. But there were five of them, and the final slice was just left sitting there; for a moment, no one made a move.
The flavor truly was too bizarre.
Ruoping ate with a forced smile. If the nata de coco wasn't added, it could barely pass, but why did he have to add nata de coco? It could only be summarized as the head chef having a sudden brain fart.
Soon, the second pizza was served as well. The few of them carefully watched that Margherita pizza, terrified that a layer of yellow peaches would be hidden beneath the cheese to ambush them. Fortunately, this time it truly was a strictly classic flavor, and the taste definitely wasn't just mediocre; it was countless times better than Pizza Hut's. Feeling the rich milky fragrance bloom on the tip of her tongue, the handmade crust offering a wheaty aroma that was fluffy yet soft and resilient, Ruoping's impression of this restaurant, which had plummeted to the absolute bottom, finally recovered a bit.
Next came today's main courses—the baked salmon rolls and the roasted lamb chops.
A few bright raspberries were laid out beside the salmon rolls.
The hearts that everyone had just set down hung in suspense once more. In the end, Zhang Shutong let out a cough:
"Garnish. It's just garnish, don't be afraid..."
Perhaps as long as he stuck to a normal performance, the head chef of this restaurant still possessed a decent standard.
As the tender salmon rolls were sliced open, the frozen atmosphere also softened bit by bit.
Zhang Shutong let out a sigh of relief. He was just stuffing a piece of lamb chop into his mouth when someone beside him asked:
"What do you think of the flavor?"
"Excellent, everything is very delicious." Zhang Shutong acted as if the nata de coco pizza didn't exist.
"Then eat up." Her puffed cheeks flattened down, looking as if her anger had mostly dissipated, and she pressed the service bell to request another bottle of red wine.
"Still want to drink?"
"Uh-huh," Gu Qiumian smoothed her hair. "Accompany me."
The alcohol content of the red wine requested this time was even higher. He understood a bit of related knowledge, but it was strictly limited to books, unlike Gu Qiumian who sipped her wine while eating her lamb chops. Her movements were naturally very elegant, merely taking tiny sips, but it couldn't withstand the high frequency; very soon, the goblet was drained empty.
She pushed her glass forward, and Zhang Shutong helped pour for her. "Don't get drunk."
"I won't," Gu Qiumian let out a huff. "Don't underestimate me."
Thinking about it carefully, Zhang Shutong really hadn't hung out with her like this before. Perhaps she usually had such a high tolerance; the more she drank, the more excited she became, looking truly like a little alcoholic. Yet aside from her complexion turning a bit rosy, nothing unusual could be seen.
Except for her poor drinking etiquette.
She insisted on pulling him to drink with her, despite there being three other drinking buddies at the table. Of course, Gu Qiumian had asked everyone around as standard routine, but everyone politely declined, leaving only Zhang Shutong alone.
In the end, the dishes were mostly cleared out, and the time quietly reached past one o'clock. Qingyi and Du Kang possessed personalities that couldn't sit still, so the two went to the art wall to study the photographs. Ruoping, on the other hand, went to the restroom. This was how a gathering went near the end, with everyone splitting into separate groups—those who drank kept drinking, and those who chatted kept chatting.
Zhang Shutong was the one drinking.
He thought to himself that the real challenge was waiting for him right here. Now only he and Gu Qiumian sat in the booth.
The candle had burned halfway down, and the flame grew even weaker. They had selected a position close to the corner when they entered, which was also the dimmest corner of the entire restaurant—a perfect place to whisper secrets.
Every time he poured a glass for her, she would stare at him until he poured one for himself too, refusing to give up until it was done. Otherwise, she would look straight into his eyes without a word, twisting a strand of her hair into a curl around her fingertip.
Zhang Shutong thus noticed her nail art, which reflected a shade like red wine in the candlelight.
He could only conclude that she had been thoroughly stifled at home this past week. He simply threw caution to the wind along with her, picking up his goblet and draining it in one draft.
Gu Qiumian had practically finished a bottle of red wine almost entirely on her own, and even wanted to open another bottle. Zhang Shutong said forget it, forget it, they still had to go shopping this afternoon and she shouldn't pass out drunk, before she finally let the matter drop.
"Then what is the surprise you mentioned?" She opened her rosy lips, the warm breath she exhaled carrying a fruity fragrance.
Zhang Shutong glanced at the nata de coco pizza that had only one slice left.
"What about yours?"
"You tell me first." Gu Qiumian spoke as if she were acting spoiled now; she really had drunk too much.
"Mine is a secret too."
"Tch, fine, don't tell me then."
"What movie do you want to watch?" Zhang Shutong remembered he still had a mission to fulfill.
"You pick." She glanced at the time, but let out a sharp gasp. "It's so late."
Zhang Shutong was given a shove. "Eat faster, I still have to go shopping!"
Zhang Shutong secretly lamented over who was the one drinking here. He glanced at the table. "We're mostly finished. Shall we head out now?"
"Isn't there still that slice of pizza?"
"You want to eat it?"
"You eat it."
Zhang Shutong said, "Young miss, even if you are very frugal, don't make me eat it. I'm not a Muk." But Gu Qiumian tilted her head and thought for a moment:
"Let's play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever loses eats it?"
Zhang Shutong threw rock.
She was a beat slower, throwing paper.
"Don't cheat."
Zhang Shutong knitted his brows, preparing to battle again, but Gu Qiumian speared the pizza and brought it straight to his mouth. Helpless, Zhang Shutong took her fork, engaging in a psychological struggle against the already cooled nata de coco and fermented black beans.
Perhaps this was reaping what he sowed? Closing his eyes, he resolutely opened his mouth.
A flash lit up before his eyes.
Gu Qiumian had already put away her phone contentedly. "Going to pay the bill."
Chewing on that cooled slice of pizza, Zhang Shutong couldn't figure out what exactly she wanted to achieve even after a long while.
He felt a bit dizzy in his head now.
Zhang Shutong rarely had moments like this where he felt his limbs weren't quite listening to his commands. He didn't even know how they exited the restaurant doors. The sunlight outside was excellent; squinting his eyes, he looked at the winter sun, likewise not knowing how he had materialized on the second floor of the mall.
He stood in the middle of the crowd. The bright lights illuminated the pristine marble floor, which reflected people's silhouettes. Looking down, Ruoping and the others had already vanished from sight.
"Where are the others?" Zhang Shutong was a bit dazed.
"They went to the supermarket downstairs to buy things. Didn't I tell you?" Gu Qiumian was currently leaning against the display window of a jewelry shop, looking inside.
"What about me?"
"You come with me."
Zhang Shutong was pulled to the display window by her, discovering that Gu Qiumian was sizing up a pendant.
It was a pendant shaped like a four-leaf clover. Zhang Shutong was just thinking, Are you going to tie it into your hair again? Isn't that a bit much... before discovering that this was an anklet.
In short, it was an ornament tied around the ankle.
"Does it look good?" Gu Qiumian asked.
"It's alright," Zhang Shutong voiced his opinion.
"Goodness, I'm asking you if it looks beautiful or not?"
Zhang Shutong understood; he could only answer yes or no.
"Yes."
"Then let's go try it on."
Zhang Shutong was pulled into the shop by her again.
"It's winter right now," he couldn't help but remind her. What was the purpose of buying an anklet in winter?
"Winter clearance, cheap. Twenty-five percent off." The young miss blinked.
"You really know how to budget..."
But Gu Qiumian had already sat down on the sofa amid the welcoming voices of the shop staff. She wore a pair of flesh-toned tights today, a thickened style, yet it couldn't hide the slender and beautiful lines of her legs—one of the few choices for girls wanting to dress up nicely in the winter.
Zhang Shutong sat down beside her, rarely finding himself a bit more clear-headed. He was just about to say how she was supposed to try it on while wearing this kind of hosiery, but Gu Qiumian had already removed her tall boots. Only then did Zhang Shutong discover that they were stirrup leggings; she gently tapped a clean foot, with only a strap running beneath the sole of her foot.
The staff retrieved the anklet from the display case—silver. Gu Qiumian bent over to tie it around her ankle.
For an average person, placing a silver ornament against the skin would only make the skin look sallow, but her skin was white as snow, looking a bit dazzling for a moment.
"How does it look?" she raised her head to ask.
Zhang Shutong truly felt it was fine. He noticed her toes were also painted with red nail polish, looking like rubies beneath the lights, brilliant and radiant. Gu Qiumian curled her toes:
"Stupid."
"Wrap it up, please." She then instructed the staff.
A first small paper box was added to Zhang Shutong's hands.
The second shop was a luggage and bag store, a brand with a medium-to-high price tier—not a luxury item, but still a major international brand. The bags inside could easily run into a few thousand yuan. Gu Qiumian carried her white bag, walking a full circle inside before coming out. During that time she asked a few questions, but the sales assistant's attitude was lukewarm, even somewhat dismissive.
Zhang Shutong guessed it was because the sales clerk thought her bag looked too plain?
No trademark could be seen, and there weren't even any patterns—just diamond-shaped stitching.
Perhaps she was treated as a student who had no money in her pockets and merely wanted to satisfy her eyes.
Zhang Shutong couldn't tell how expensive her bag was either, merely feeling that the other party had missed out on a fat little lamb.
They took the escalator up to the third floor.
"What do you think of this tie?" Gu Qiumian asked.
"Can't afford it." Zhang Shutong discovered this was a luxury brand boutique.
"Better safe than sorry," she emphasized.
"Right, right," Zhang Shutong said dismissively. "The cost of one tie is enough for me to buy the best lure rod..."
"A fishing rod can't be tied around your neck," Gu Qiumian said crossly.
Zhang Shutong was at a loss for words.
Fortunately, the young miss's energy shifted elsewhere again; she was looking at a silk ribbon. Zhang Shutong glanced at the price tag; although he had long anticipated it, it was still staggering.
In the end, this silk ribbon wasn't wrapped up either.
"You looked at it for a long time."
"No discount, so forget it." She was quite vengeful.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, You really are approachable; that little bit of a discount isn't even worth the bottle of red wine you drank at noon.
Despite this, the sales assistants in this boutique were clearly well-trained. The moment they entered the shop doors earlier, they had first served up two glasses of hot drinks. Zhang Shutong took a sip; it was tea brewed with snow pears.
Worthy of being assistants in a luxury boutique, their attitude truly was excellent. Could they detect a person's aura? He could forget about himself, but for instance, was Continuous Autumn Rain radiating nobility?
No one would believe it if spoken aloud, but the fact was—the grand young miss had come to a luxury boutique simply to scrounge two cups of hot tea with him, preparing to dust off her skirt and leave after drinking them.
Only when they were right at the door of leaving did they hear a sales assistant smile and flatter:
"...That handbag of yours is a limited edition from our brand, right? When this was released, even our store couldn't get allocation. I heard the prices online are hyped up crazily; even scalpers have a hard time grabbing it..."
Gu Qiumian nodded carelessly, treating it as a response.
Alright.
It turned out the person knew her stuff.
To say things like an aura were fake.
Zhang Shutong thought about it and found it to be true; average people simply couldn't recognize the origin of her bag.
He looked at the bag in his own hands, truly not expecting this inconspicuous little thing to be worth five figures.
Following that, Gu Qiumian became even more approachable, completely ceasing to look for luxury boutiques. She ran back down to the second floor, specifically looking around places that sold small accessories.
Zhang Shutong felt that wealthy families didn't just live in a vacuum either; hadn't she eaten the steamed buns from the school gate before?
They had nearly walked through the entire mall, buying a pile of glittering little things along the way. In the end, the two sat on a bench to catch their breath. Zhang Shutong looked at the coat and paper bags in his hands, suddenly realizing why these things were in his hands. This didn't seem quite right. He had just nudged Gu Qiumian, but Gu Qiumian put down her phone and let out another sharp gasp:
"Time's up!"
"What time?" Zhang Shutong was puzzled.
"The movie, ah. Ticket inspection is at two o'clock. There are still ten minutes left, and we agreed to gather in a bit..."
Saying this, she nimbly moved her legs, her boots clattering loudly on the escalator. Zhang Shutong let out a sigh, feeling that he truly had drunk too much today; they had actually bought the tickets without him knowing it.
He slowly kept pace.
The cinema opened on the top floor. Fortunately, the young miss didn't torment him further. Just as Zhang Shutong stepped off the escalator, he saw Gu Qiumian queuing at the popcorn stand.
Seeing the sign reading "Large bucket of popcorn and cola combo meal price 50 per serving," Zhang Shutong's eyelids twitched, thinking to himself, Where did that posture of refusing to buy without a discount from just now go?
Placed on him and his best friends, going to watch a movie absolutely involved buying snacks in advance and smuggling them inside hidden in a bag, but Gu Qiumian refused to do so. She squeezed out holding two large buckets of popcorn. Just as Zhang Shutong was about to give her a hand, Gu Qiumian pouted, "There's still another bucket, I don't have hands to carry it."
Just like that, the two sat down holding three buckets of popcorn and five bottles of cola. Zhang Shutong felt a bit of pain for her wallet, but Gu Qiumian munched on popcorn while going to deposit her things. She returned holding her handbag:
"Where are the others?"
Only now did Zhang Shutong remember to fish out his phone and place a call to Ruoping.
Why had his brain truly become a bit stupid? He thought gloomily.
One fifty-five in the afternoon.
The five gathered in the cinema lobby. Du Kang and Qingyi were also carrying plastic bags, which truly were snacks and drinks bought from the supermarket. They weren't surprised upon seeing the popcorn, because they hadn't seen the price list.
Ruoping ran over to share snacks with Gu Qiumian, while Zhang Shutong remembered to ask what the movie was.
"007: Skyfall." Qingyi made a trademark turn-and-shoot motion.
Sure enough, this was a favorite of those with eighth-grade syndrome.
Zhang Shutong didn't coordinate with Qingyi today. He was simply wondering why this handbag had returned to his hands again. He followed behind the others for ticket inspection; having many people has this single benefit—going out to play means you don't have to worry about anything yourself, and someone manages to arrange everything through the confusion.
Not to mention there were two girls who loved to manage things in the line.
The dividing line between the lobby and the interior of the cinema was usually a massive carpet. Not a few people came to watch movies on the weekend. Squeezing inside following the crowd and looking back and forth, Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a bit fortunate that his head was dazed; otherwise, who knows how many lamentations would have surfaced.
This cinema—was the exact one where he had invited his senior sister to watch a movie back then—though in the end, in order to save a kidnapped child, he had looped until he was utterly exhausted, and didn't manage to watch it anyway.
It was also after that time that made Zhang Shutong want to rid himself of that ability.
But those were all things of the past.
Revisiting an old haunt, the scene was different and the people were different too. This mall was constructed very early on, and the shopping areas below had all been renovated once, but the cinema remained old. Zhang Shutong vaguely remembered that it wasn't until his first year of high school that it underwent a thorough renovation and decoration.
Take right now, for instance. The auditorium they went to was Theater 6, while a sign reading "Equipment Maintenance" stood right in front of Theater 5 next door. He remembered that during movies, instances where the big screen suddenly went black or the projector suddenly went out weren't things that hadn't happened before.
Raising his head to look at the ceiling, water had already seeped through in some places—perhaps the pipes of the central air conditioning?
Zhang Shutong wasn't certain either, only knowing that this place was old enough, and the maintenance of order was also average. If it hadn't been built on top of the largest mall in the city, its popularity would likely be cut in half.
But precisely because it was on the top floor of the largest mall, its popularity exploded on weekends.
Soon they entered the auditorium. Their seats were linked together, situated in the sixth row close to the aisle.
He was the last one, so he naturally sat on the very edge.
People came and went in the aisle, inevitably noisy and clamorous, and for a time figures intersected, to the point where describing it as shoulder-to-shoulder wasn't an exaggeration.
Zhang Shutong had observed before entering the venue. From stepping off the lift, they were either queuing or on the way to queue; the number of people could well be imagined. The entire auditorium was on the verge of being fully seated.
He was already light-headed to begin with, and the large crowd made it even more so.
In the darkness, someone handed him a bottle of water. He took it, knowing who it was just by the scent alone.
In the past when watching movies, he liked to sit with Qingyi; both liked quiet. Ruoping, on the other hand, would chat in a low voice with Du Kang. But this time everyone hadn't split the seats intentionally, seating entirely according to the order of entry.
Gu Qiumian had originally lined up ahead, but as she walked she knitted her brows, saying that when she tried on the anklet just now, her boot hadn't been zipped properly. By the time she straightened her back again, she was lined up in front of him.
In short—the two became desk mates again.
Gu Qiumian still lacked enough experience. If she were experienced, she wouldn't buy an extra-large bucket of popcorn; there was simply no place to put it. Right after sitting down she complained of the heat again, wanting to tie up her hair. Left with no choice, Zhang Shutong first placed her handbag beneath the seat on the side of the aisle, clumsily taking over the popcorn bucket while waiting for her to tie up her hair.
Yet he hadn't expected that Gu Qiumian would completely drop any mention of taking it back.
The movie soon started.
She focused intently on the screen, scoop a handful of popcorn from his arms every now and then. Just as Zhang Shutong was about to speak, she placed her finger in front of her lips, meaning for him not to disturb her.
Seemingly to add persuasion, Gu Qiumian added:
"My phone doesn't seem to be on silent, it's in the bag..."
So you actually know your bag is with me.
Zhang Shutong made a silent retort. Helpless, he freed up a hand, preparing to reach down beneath the seat to fish out the bag.
Yet his hand met empty air.
Zhang Shutong knitted his brows, hurriedly ducking his torso down and turning on his phone flash to shine a light.
He immediately confirmed—Gu Qiumian's bag really was gone.