ARLQLCC chapter 12

 

Su Ji greeted Yan Shao with practiced ease, “Good afternoon. What would you like to eat?”

“Ah… I…” Hearing this, Yan Shao immediately lowered his head to look at today’s dishes. After staring for a long while, he felt that every dish looked delicious. “I’ll still have a bit of everything today. Chef Su… you can help me decide how much to serve.”

Su Ji nodded, took the tray he handed over, and began serving the dishes one by one.

During this time, Yan Shao’s gaze remained fixed on him.

Su Ji noticed it, but he did not ask about it. After serving the food, he handed the tray back to Yan Shao and smiled. “All set. Enjoy your meal”

A long line had already formed behind Yan Shao, and the teleportation array was still glowing nonstop. Besides disciples from the Yunxian Sect, quite a few disciples wearing the uniforms of other sects had also arrived.

The reason Yan Shao had walked so quickly earlier was so he could say a few more words to Su Ji before the line formed. However, after speaking less than two sentences, so many people had already arrived.

Looking at the other customers lining up behind him and the gentle smile at the corner of Su Ji’s lips, he ultimately could only nod to Su Ji while carrying his tray. After paying, he headed to the dining area, turning back every few steps.

Su Ji did not glance sideways and continued serving the disciples in line.

Throughout this time, Chu Zhaoye kept staring at Yan Shao gloomily.

His paws were a little itchy. He wanted to find someone to scratch.

His hands were steadily collecting payments, but his thoughts had already drifted to who knew where.

If yesterday could still be explained as excitement at seeing a good-looking person, then today’s behavior of turning back every few steps already said everything.

He was up to no good!

He was definitely up to no good!

They had only met twice, yet he was already acting in such an unsightly manner. It was practically written all over his face that his intentions were impure.

Now that Su Ji had opened a cafeteria here, this Yan Shao would definitely come to eat every single day. If he was already this reluctant to leave after meeting only once or twice, then after repeated contact, wouldn’t he become utterly devoted to Su Ji?

What if one day he secretly confessed to Su Ji, and Su Ji, with lard clouding his heart, actually agreed?

And then the two of them privately pledged themselves to each other while he wasn’t paying attention…

“Bang!”

The round magical artifact trembled three times after the kitten slapped it with one paw. The disciple who had just paid turned around in fright, holding his tray, and looked at the kitten radiating low pressure behind him, wondering if he had somehow offended it.

The disciples waiting to pay behind him had the same question.

How could a kitten only the size of a palm emit such a terrifying aura? Could this be the true form of some mighty expert?

…

On the second day after the cafeteria opened, Su Ji sensed Ma Tuan’s bad mood twice. But he was overwhelmed with miscellaneous tasks at the moment, and with disciples lining up one after another, he had no way to comfort him immediately. He decided to ask after closing.

There were simply too many people today. Su Ji suspected that the people from the Yunxian Sect had gone overnight to advertise for him at other sects.

But more people meant considerable income. It was truly exhausting, but joyful.

Dining area.

After receiving their food, many disciples gathered around Yun Xicheng.

Su Ji’s guess was correct. The reason so many disciples from other sects had come today was indeed largely due to Yun Xicheng and his friends.

As the son of the sect master of the Yunxian Sect, Yun Xicheng was fairly well known among his peers. On top of that, he was talkative, generous, and backed by a father in the Mahayana realm. He had friends across sects large and small.

Ever since eating Su Ji’s food here and being completely amazed, his spiritual communication device had not stopped receiving messages. If he wasn’t praising Su Ji, he was about to praise Su Ji.

Many disciples from other sects, like him, had suffered greatly from the food in their own sect dining halls. Hearing such high praise from him, they dragged their fellow disciples here to see whether it was really as delicious as Yun Xicheng claimed.

But the majority were still disciples from the Yunxian Sect.

At dinner last night, everyone who had packed food carried their reheated delicacies and paraded past their own dining hall in a line, making the other disciples extremely envious.

Because too many people came to ask about it, Yun Xicheng simply sat on a table and began recounting his one-day trip to Linggu Mountain.

He praised Su Ji’s cooking as unmatched in heaven and on earth, boasting all the while as he shoveled food into his mouth.

If anyone doubted him, Yan Shao and the disciples who had gone after that female disciple would raise the takeout bowls in their hands and firmly confirm Yun Xicheng’s words.

In the end, with the aroma of the food and Yun Xicheng’s silver tongue, he successfully lured nearly half of the Yunxian Sect disciples to Linggu Mountain, all for the sake of tasting it for themselves.

As more and more people gathered around Yun Xicheng, he picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork, took a satisfying bite, and called out, “Is everyone here today?”

Responses immediately rang out from all around.

“Senior Brother Yun, since you recommended it so enthusiastically, how could we not come and try it?”

“I want to see whether it’s really as delicious as you say!”

Someone joked, “Senior Brother Yun, if I eat it later and don’t think it’s as amazing as you said, you’ll have to reimburse my meal!”

As soon as Yun Xicheng heard this, he became energized and immediately stood up. “Hey, I’m telling you, I, Yun Xicheng, never deceive people. Good food is good food, bad food is bad food. If you think this isn’t as tasty as your own sect dining hall, come find me and I’ll reimburse you, alright?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the voices agreeing with him immediately grew louder.

“Deal! Senior Brother Yun is generous!”

“With Brother Yun’s words, how can we not eat to our hearts’ content!”

“I haven’t even taken a bite yet, but now that you’ve said that, I’m going to start eating!”

Yun Xicheng waved his hand carelessly. “Eat, eat.”

The sound of everyone moving their chopsticks rose in unison.

Yun Xicheng, however, stopped eating. He set down his chopsticks and observed their expressions.

As expected, after the first bite entered their mouths, astonishment appeared on nearly everyone’s faces, one after another. For a moment, no one spoke. Instead, they tacitly took second and third bites.

Yun Xicheng said to Yun Che, “See? I told you they wouldn’t be able to resist Chef Su’s cooking! Even if they wanted me to reimburse them, they couldn’t pretend not to like it.”

Yun Che said speechlessly, “You really know how to use words.”

Yun Xicheng laughed. “As long as you understand what I mean.”

A nostalgic expression appeared on his face as he spoke. “Looking at them now is like seeing myself yesterday. From dismissive to completely convinced, all it takes is one bite.”

Yun Che looked disgusted. “It’s only been one day. Don’t make it sound as if several hundred years have passed.”

Yun Xicheng smacked him on the head. “What do you know? I was the first person to eat Chef Su’s food in the cafeteria. It’s only right for me to feel nostalgic!”

Yun Che could not be bothered to respond and lowered his head to continue eating.

Seeing that Yun Che did not want to talk, Yun Xicheng clapped his hands. “Brothers and sisters, how is it? Now you know I wasn’t wrong, right?”

The disciple who had joked earlier about reimbursement was the first to raise his hand. He was still chewing, but that did not stop him from replying to Yun Xicheng. “Senior Brother Yun, I’m convinced. It feels like all the food I ate before was for nothing!”

Yun Xicheng laughed. “Is it good? Do you still want me to reimburse you?”

“No, no, no. Not only is that unnecessary, I should be thanking Senior Brother Yun for telling me!”

“I heard you can get takeout here. I’m bringing some back tonight too.”

As soon as one person said this, his companion slapped him.

“You secretly brought a takeout container without telling me?!”

“Haha… You didn’t ask, so I didn’t say anything…”

“Bah! Tonight when we go back, you have to give me half!”

“No way, I won’t even have enough for myself!!”

…

The cafeteria wasn’t very big, and they were speaking loudly. Su Ji heard everything from beginning to end.

As the dishes in the serving trays gradually ran low with more and more people arriving, his hands became sore from serving, but he still had to hold back from laughing.

He knew that the cafeteria’s booming business was inseparable from Yun Xicheng’s promotion, but he had not expected that one person could know so many people. Nearly everyone present could strike up a conversation with him.

A few pieces of mung bean cake were probably not enough to properly thank them. Su Ji decided that after he made new dishes, he could invite Yun Xicheng and Yun Che over as guests.

There was only one line left. Su Ji estimated that once this line finished, there would be no food remaining. To prevent anyone from coming for nothing, he used a spell to close the passage from the teleportation array into the cafeteria.

He had increased the amount of food today, but it still sold out quickly. Although even more people might come in the future, if it exceeded the maximum he could handle, he would definitely be unable to cope, so he had no plans to increase the quantity further just because of the larger crowd.

After all, besides regular meals, he also planned to sell some pastries. Together, the workload was already considerable.

The final line in the cafeteria had finished, and after the teleportation array was closed, no new people arrived. Su Ji’s lunchtime serving work for the day was finally over.

Thinking about the kitten in a bad mood, he quickly walked to the payment area after serving the last person.

As soon as he came over, Chu Zhaoye naturally sensed him. When he was picked up, he skillfully burrowed into Su Ji’s arms.

Su Ji stroked his head and coaxed him. “What’s wrong? You’ve been in a bad mood these past few days, and you didn’t sleep well last night either. You’re not sick, are you? How about I take you to Medical Valley this afternoon?”

Hearing this, Chu Zhaoye quickly climbed out of his arms and shook his head so hard it almost left afterimages.

Su Ji said worriedly, “You’re really not sick? Then tell me, Ma Tuan, why have you been unhappy for two days in a row?”

Chu Zhaoye froze on the spot.

He couldn’t exactly say that he disliked that big guy Yan Shao but had no way to deal with him, so he ended up getting angry at himself.

That would be far too embarrassing for a cat.

He held it in and said nothing, not even uttering a single meow.

Looking at the kitten’s awkward expression, Su Ji frowned and recalled the times when Chu Zhaoye had been in a bad mood.

After thinking about it, he found a clue.

Yesterday, after Yan Shao talked to him, Ma Tuan had been in a bad mood and had even meowed unusually fiercely.

Today, he was in a bad mood again after Yan Shao came to get food.

Su Ji hesitated as he looked at the kitten clutching his clothes and slowly asked, “Ma Tuan… do you not like Yan Shao?”

Chu Zhaoye: “…”

He had not said anything, not even meowed once. How did Su Ji know? Could he read minds?

Then did that mean Su Ji also knew everything he had been thinking last night?

The kitten’s expression instantly turned guilty.

Catching the fleeting change in Chu Zhaoye’s expression, Su Ji understood that he had guessed correctly.

He tried asking again, “Why don’t you like him? He doesn’t seem to have provoked you, and he looks like a good person.”

Chu Zhaoye: “???!!!!”

A good person??

Didn’t you see the look in his eyes!!

It was practically written all over his face that he was interested in you!!!

Su Ji did not notice the earthquake in the kitten’s pupils and continued, “How about I let him come over to play more often in the future? If the two of you spend time together, maybe your opinion of him will improve.”

Chu Zhaoye: “…………”

Chu Zhaoye: “Meow!!! Meow meow meow!!!”

 

---

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨