Chapter 112: Regret, Just So Much Regret

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Regret, Just So Much Regret

At 3:25 PM, a RUMBLE from his stomach pulled Chen Zheng out of his focused work state.

He glanced at the time. Only five minutes left until afternoon tea.

Turning his head toward the pantry, he could see the administrative staff bustling about inside. A faint, alluring aroma wafted out and drifted under his nose.

Chen Zheng couldn’t help but twitch his nose twice. A savory, salty scent. ’Today’s afternoon tea isn’t cakes and cookies,’ he thought.

His nose twitched again. Star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns... and was that a faint, fresh scent of fruit he could smell in the mix?

’With such a complex aroma, what on earth is for afternoon tea today?’

Filled with anticipation, he waited until 3:30 and then made a beeline for the pantry.

The closer he got to the pantry, the richer the aroma became. His stomach growled even more wantonly, and he could feel himself starting to drool.

As he stepped over the threshold into the pantry, Chen Zheng saw a rectangular table laden with all sorts of braised dishes.

Clear, disposable containers were filled with a variety of foods: potatoes, lotus roots, quail eggs, kelp...

What they all had in common was their deep color. A rich, tea-colored sauce tightly coated every piece, glistening under the light.

"Chen Zheng, what are you doing blocking the doorway?"

A voice interrupted Chen Zheng’s reverie. He quickly took a couple of steps forward, grabbed a set of disposable utensils, and began to dig in.

One, two, three...

More and more colleagues joined the feast. For once, no one was making small talk during afternoon tea. Instead, they were all busy stuffing their faces.

The braised dishes were delicious, but eating too many of them made you thirsty.

Chen Zheng casually grabbed a cup. Without looking to see what was in the beverage dispenser, he simply turned the spigot. A clear, golden liquid GLUGGED into his cup, and the distinct fragrance of apple wafted out, neutralizing the rich, overpowering aroma of the braised food.

The cool liquid flowed down his throat, soothing his agitated mouth and esophagus, and silencing their clamor.

He downed the entire cup in one go, completely relieving the dryness in his mouth and throat. Chen Zheng felt like he could go another three hundred rounds.

But dreams were one thing, and reality was another. There wasn’t enough to go around, and the braised food feast was already coming to an end.

Still wanting more, everyone reluctantly put down their chopsticks and started chatting, with most of the conversation revolving around the braised food.

As they talked, they started drooling again. A few people couldn’t resist running over to ask Wu Yaqi which shop she had ordered today’s braised dishes from.

After answering a few people, Wu Yaqi finally couldn’t take it anymore and directly posted the link to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s website in the main group chat. The world was instantly at peace.

Chen Zheng returned to his desk and opened the link. He was surprised to find that this Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant didn’t just sell braised dishes; they also sold boxed meals...

At 5:00 PM, it was time to get off work.

Lin Xu Yang quickly tidied up his desk, slung on his backpack, and walked out of the office.

During his lunch break, he had already gone to a mall near his workplace and bought clothes, picture books, and toys for Kangkang and Lele. He’d also had a buddy buy amusement park tickets, which had just been delivered to him.

After dinner, he saw that it was almost 7:00 PM. Xu An should have finished his own dinner and chores and be at home by now.

Lin Xu Yang said goodbye to his buddy and rode his bicycle toward Xu Family Village.

「Xu Family Village.」

After finishing dinner and tidying up the house, he noticed the pile of chopped firewood in the kitchen was running low again, so he picked up his axe and started splitting wood.

Suddenly, he heard the loud roar of a motorcycle engine. The sound grew closer and closer, finally stopping in front of his house. Then came a knock on the courtyard gate.

Xu An put down his axe, opened the gate, and saw Lin Xu Yang standing outside.

"Brother Lin," Xu An called out, quickly ushering him in. "Why did you come over so suddenly? You didn’t even give me a heads-up."

"It’s been a while since I saw you, so I missed you." Lin Xu Yang handed the large and small bags he was carrying to Xu An and casually asked, "How’s business at the fast-food restaurant lately?"

"It’s pretty good." Xu An took the bags and glanced inside, finding them filled with children’s clothes, toys, and books. A big question mark appeared over his head.

’It’s not a holiday or anything. Why is he giving me so many things?’

"Remember when we were chatting before, and I mentioned my sister’s college entrance exam scores?" Lin Xu Yang noticed Xu An’s confusion and explained, "She put down Hongxi University as one of her choices, and she got her acceptance letter yesterday."

After saying that, Lin Xu Yang remembered that Xu An was also a high school graduate this year. He quickly asked, "I remember your scores weren’t bad either. You should have received your acceptance letter by now, right?"

Xu An just chuckled and didn’t answer. He carried the bags into the house, then went to the kitchen and came back with two cold cans of cola, handing one to Lin Xu Yang.

Seeing that Xu An didn’t reply, Lin Xu Yang assumed he hadn’t received his acceptance letter yet. He didn’t press the matter and changed the subject.

"The hygiene at your restaurant, food safety... no problems in those areas, right?"

"You don’t have to worry about that, Brother Lin. There are no problems at all." Xu An was very strict about this, and the staff were cooperative, so there had never been any issues in that regard.

"Good, as long as there are no problems. Just pay extra attention to these things recently," Lin Xu Yang reminded him cryptically.

’Is there going to be a new round of food safety inspections? It’s only been half a month. Could something have gone wrong somewhere?’

Xu An was filled with doubt, but Lin Xu Yang’s reminder was so roundabout that he guessed it must be something he couldn’t speak about openly.

Sure enough, Lin Xu Yang only mentioned it briefly and didn’t continue the topic, instead chatting about other things.

After chatting about miscellaneous things for a while, Lin Xu Yang got up to leave. Just as he was about to head out, he suddenly pulled three tickets from his pocket and handed them to Xu An.

"My friend bought these amusement park tickets. He was planning to go with his family of three, but something came up last minute, so he couldn’t go and gave them to me. But I’ve been too busy lately and just want to rest on my day off, so I’m giving them to you. You can take your little brother and sister to the amusement park."

Taking the tickets doubtfully, he saw one full-price adult ticket and two half-price children’s tickets. Xu An immediately understood.

’Looks like this is part of Brother Lin’s thank-you gift,’ he thought.

He wanted to refuse, but after a moment’s thought, he decided against it. Pushing it back and forth would just make things awkward and overly formal between them.

"Thanks. I’ll take them to the amusement park and make sure they have a great time." As he spoke, Xu An waved the tickets at Lin Xu Yang. "I won’t let your kind gesture go to waste."

After seeing Lin Xu Yang off, he closed the courtyard gate and returned to his room. He saw Kangkang and Lele sitting on the bed, staring at the bags Brother Lin had just brought. The expression ’I want to open them and see what’s inside’ was written all over their faces.

Seeing Xu An come in, they both looked at him in unison and asked, "Brother, are these presents from Brother Lin? Can we open them and see?"

After getting Xu An’s permission, the two little ones joyfully and clumsily tore open the bags, letting out periodic cries of "Wow!" They were clearly very happy with the gifts from Lin Xu Yang.

As they unwrapped, the two of them started chattering like three hundred ducks, clamoring for Xu An to help them change into their new clothes.

Their racket gave Xu An a splitting headache, but he had no choice but to change their clothes. The second he finished, they leaped off the bed and scurried into their grandmother’s room to show off.

Xu An couldn’t help but click his tongue. He gathered up all the shredded plastic bags on the bed, then grabbed the two kids, held them down, and changed them into their pajamas.

The new clothes hadn’t been washed yet. It was fine to try them on, but they needed to be washed before being worn properly.

Seeing how excited they were, Xu An couldn’t resist teasing them a little. He told them he was taking them to the amusement park this weekend.

That really set them off. They jumped up and down excitedly, grabbing his head from the front and back and bouncing around as if they were at a rave. It felt like they were about to pull all his hair out.

In the end, he had to resort to force to suppress them. He grabbed them, held them down over his lap, and gave each a slap on the butt before they finally calmed down.

Their bodies stopped moving, but their mouths didn’t.

"Brother, can I wear the new clothes Brother Lin bought us to the amusement park?"

"Brother, are there slides at the amusement park? Are there swings? Are there roller coasters...?"

"Brother, when are we going? Can we go tomorrow? I want to go to the amusement park tomorrow."

"Brother..."

Xu An stared blankly at the wooden beams of the ceiling. He regretted it. He regretted it so, so much. ’Why did I have to tell them the news right before bedtime?’

He finally managed to wait until their excitement wore off and they fell asleep. Then, a strange sound suddenly echoed through the room.

CREAK, SQUEAK, SQUEEEAK—

’Is that... the sound of woodworms chewing through the wood?’

He pressed his ear against the bed and listened for a while. He realized it was coming from the thick wooden post at the head of the bed.

Reaching out to touch it, he found that parts of the post were already hollow, with only a thin layer of surface wood left. His finger easily pressed into it, bringing out a puff of fine powder.

’It really is woodworms. This bed has reached the end of its life!’

Having identified the source of the strange sound, Xu An lay back down, ready to sleep.

A small hand smacked him across the face, and a small leg draped itself over his stomach...

Xu An’s eyes went vacant again. ’Nope! I have to get a new bed!’

’I’ll get a small bed for the two little ones and let them torture each other!’