Chapter 15 Do You Know What He’s Doing? Setting up Street Food Stalls All Over Town!
Miss Li took a closer look at Lu Xiyao’s stir-fried noodles. They seemed different from the usual stir-fried noodles. The rice noodles were fried to a golden color, looking oily but not greasy, and the aroma was incredibly tempting.
“Well, Miss Li will try a bite then.”
Lu Xiyao politely pushed the noodles towards her.
Miss Li went to grab a pair of chopsticks, took a bite, and put it in her mouth. The noodles had a refreshing yet springy texture, with a faint, crispy aroma. The savory flavor danced on her tongue—it was simply delightful.
How could these noodles taste so good?
“Miss Li, are the noodles good?” Lu Xiyao asked.
“They really are. Yao Yao, did you bring these from home?”
“Yes, my dad made them.”
It suddenly clicked for Miss Li—Lu Xiyao’s dad, Lu Qin, was the one who rode the food cart to drop her off at school. So, he was selling stir-fried noodles at street stalls.
But wow, these were some magical noodles—they were just too delicious!
Miss Li had never tasted stir-fried noodles this good before.
“Miss Li, do you want some more?” Lu Xiyao extended her little hand and pointed to the noodles.
“I… no, no, thank you. You eat it, Yao Yao.”
Truthfully, she did want more, but…
Miss Li smiled awkwardly, setting the noodles back in front of Lu Xiyao and patting her on the head. It wouldn’t be right for a teacher to eat a student’s lunch.
Lu Xiyao happily resumed eating her noodles.
Meanwhile, the kids around her couldn’t stop staring at her lunch, suddenly losing all interest in their own food.
Miss Li chuckled and gently tapped each kid on the back of their heads.
“Come on now, eat your own lunch and focus.”
Zhong Shuyi, still savoring the last bit of noodle stuck to her lips, slurped it into her mouth. She turned to Lu Xiyao and said, “I’m going to ask our chef to make stir-fried noodles for me tomorrow too.”
“Sure,” Lu Xiyao said, her face gleaming with happiness as she savored the delicious noodles. She was so content it felt like she was floating.
Then, she pulled out another container and opened it, revealing a full bowl of mung bean soup. She took a spoonful, her joy doubling as she kicked her feet under the table, completely satisfied.
Zhong Shuyi glanced at the yellow-green soup and asked, “Yao Yao, what’s that?”
“Mung bean soup. My dad made it too. It’s super tasty!”
Zhong Shuyi used her spoon to scoop a bit of the soup and tasted it.
“It’s so sweet and delicious! Your dad is amazing—everything he makes is so good! I’m going to ask our chef to make mung bean soup tomorrow too.”
“Yep, you can do that.”
Later, during playtime, more and more kids began gathering around Lu Xiyao.
“Lu Xiyao, here’s a strawberry hair clip for you. I have two, so I’m giving you one.”
“Lu Xiyao, you can play with my robot dog toy.”
“Yao Yao, let’s play with modeling clay together.”
“Lu Xiyao, could you bring extra noodles tomorrow so I can try some? Please?”
“Lu Xiyao, here, have some beef jerky. Can I try your dad’s noodles tomorrow?”
Seeing so many kids surrounding her with hopeful looks on their faces, Lu Xiyao thought for a moment, then said, “Okay, I’ll ask my dad to make an extra portion tomorrow so you all can share.”
The moment she said that, all the kids started jumping around with joy.
During free time, Lu Xiyao’s smartwatch rang. The screen of Lu Xiyao’s smartwatch displayed two elderly faces—Shen Muyan’s parents, who were also Lu Xiyao’s grandparents.
“Grandpa! Grandma! Hello!”
“Little Yao Yao, we’ve missed you so much!”
“Daddy said you went abroad for a vacation. Was it fun?”
“Not fun at all. The food was terrible—either raw meat or fast food. Your grandpa has lost weight from hunger,” Shen Hongda said, patting his stomach with a pitiful expression.
This 60-something-year-old man, usually authoritative and serious in the office, turned into a playful grandpa around Lu Xiyao.
“Then come back soon, Grandpa. I’ll have my dad make stir-fried noodles for you.”
“Stir-fried noodles? Grandpa doesn’t eat noodles. Grandpa will take you out to eat something better.”
Beside him, Jiang Qin smiled gently.
“My little princess Yao Yao, did you miss Grandma? How have you been? Have you been behaving at preschool?”
“I’ve been very good. Mommy and Daddy got divorced, and now I live with Daddy in a new house.”
Lu Xiyao pouted. Seeing her grandparents reminded her of her parents’ divorce, and it had affected her more than she realized.
The smiles on the faces of her grandparents immediately vanished.
“Divorced? When did this happen?”
Shen Hongda and Jiang Qin were clearly shocked, and their breathing became uneven.
They asked Lu Xiyao for more details and then began to comfort their precious granddaughter.
“Yao Yao, sweetie, your grandparents will always be your grandparents.”
“That’s right. Anytime you want to come stay with us, just tell Grandpa, and I’ll personally come pick you up.”
Hearing their comforting words, the sadness in Lu Xiyao’s heart quickly faded, and her smile returned.
After the call ended, Shen Hongda immediately booked the earliest flight back to China.
At the Auré International Hotel, inside the top-floor luxury office, Shen Muyan’s phone rang. She had just finished a meeting and was feeling tired, but the voice of Shen Hongda scolding her from the other end snapped her attention.
“Dad! I already told you about my divorce from Lu Qin a while ago.”
“Yes, and I didn’t agree then either! Lu Qin is such a good son-in-law. Where do you think you’ll find someone like him again? You need to go and remarry him right away!”
“Dad, this is between Lu Qin and me. Please don’t interfere. We’re both adults. Think about it—why would Lu Qin agree to the divorce too?”
Shen Hongda paused for a few seconds before grumbling, “You and your mom are going to be the death of me!”
“Why did you make Lu Qin leave with nothing? How’s he supposed to take care of Yao Yao by himself? Do you even know what he’s doing right now? He’s out there setting up food stalls all over the place!”
Shen Muyan’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise. Lu Qin, a graduate of a prestigious university, should have no trouble finding a decent job.
“I can help him with that. I’ll arrange a good job for him right away.”
Shen Hongda quickly shot down the idea. “No! Men have their pride. Since he walked away from the divorce without taking anything, he won’t accept any help from you either. Leave it to me. I’ll handle it.”
After giving his daughter a five-minute lecture, Jiang Qin took over the phone and spent another 20 minutes nagging.
When the call finally ended, Shen Muyan rubbed her temples, feeling irritated.
Setting up a food stall?
Why was Lu Qin doing that? And with their daughter in tow?
Shen Muyan was at a loss for words, imagining the scene. She picked up her office phone, dialed a number, and instructed someone to look into the situation.
In the few days since the divorce, she had been overwhelmed with work. Otherwise, she would have sent someone to check on her ex-husband and daughter sooner. Then, she grabbed her smartphone, opened WeChat, and sent a message.