Chapter 161: When Shall We Meet Again?

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: When Shall We Meet Again?

Another chaotic day came to an end. Nan Zhi calculated the time.

"Two days left."

She couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

Even though she was like a fish in water in the kitchen, the explosive growth in orders had left her too tired to even speak.

Before, when she cooked, she would remember the camera and occasionally interact with the audience watching the livestream.

But now...

She was just a heartless stir-frying machine.

Of course, the food was still as good as ever.

But while Nan Zhi was happy...

...the livestream chat was filled with wails of despair:

[What? Wasn’t it three days? Damn it, who fast-forwarded my time!]

[Nan Zhi’s math is right. The last day is for tallying up the mission results, so the restaurant will definitely close early.]

[This is a bolt from the blue! What about my plans to save up and go to Yanjing to eat at Nan Family’s Small Restaurant?]

[Look at Nan Zhi’s expression. She’s probably thinking, ’Finally, this damn life of endless work is over!’]

[Please keep it open, Boss Nan! I’m begging you!]

[What if next season they just move the restaurant to a new place? Preferably near my house... hehe! A girl can dream!]

[Come to my city! I’ll give you the full tour—food, drinks, fun, everything! I’d definitely go every single day!]

[Great idea! Why not turn the kid’s variety show into a national tour for Nan Family’s Small Restaurant?]

[You think this is a concert tour or something?]

...

The smiles on the audience’s faces seemed to transfer to Nan Zhi’s.

She happily prepared the staff meal.

While everyone was chaotically cleaning up the restaurant and getting ready to eat,

she slipped out the back door of the kitchen, a bowl of cat food in her hands.

A few days ago, Nan Yi had seen some stray cats nearby and had excitedly asked Nan Zhi for food to feed them.

So, Nan Zhi had looked up a recipe online and used the leftover meat scraps to make something the cats could eat.

Any cat food made by Nan Zhi’s own hands was world-class cat food!

On the strength of this cat food alone, Nan Yi had, in a short time, become the king of the stray cats for several streets around!

Today, Nan Yi was busy playing with his friends, so the cat-feeding duty fell to Nan Zhi.

She carried a large basin of mushy, lumpy cat food. It didn’t look particularly appetizing, but its fragrance spread for miles, continuously attracting the neighborhood strays.

They circled around Nan Zhi, rubbing their bodies and tails against her calves. Fawning and flattery radiated from every single whisker.

Nan Zhi saw this and smiled.

She recalled how Nan Yi had boasted to her about how much the cats liked him. She decided not to burst his bubble for now and let him keep gloating.

"Come and eat, you little fair-weather felines."

She walked to their usual spot and portioned the cat food from the basin into several bowls.

A few stray cats of various colors skillfully found their spots and squeezed in.

At first, there were only three or four, but later the group grew to over ten, far more than usual.

’Has the fame of my cat food spread among the strays? Are these new customers brought in by the regulars?’

Fortunately, Nan Zhi had prepared a larger portion than usual today, so there was enough to go around.

The strays, now full and satisfied, didn’t rush to leave. Instead, they flopped onto their backs in front of Nan Zhi, exposing their bellies and meowing at her nonstop, as if to say, ’Come on, pet me!’

When Nan Zhi didn’t move, they got back up, took a few steps closer, and then dramatically flopped onto her feet with a THUMP, whining as they peeked up at her.

...It was a perfect dramatization of a staged accident!

Nan Zhi’s eyes curved into crescents as she laughed.

The dim yellow light from the streetlamp fell gently around her, coating her in a warm, soft glow.

It also sent a flood of emotions through Qing Qing, who was watching this scene.

She had received news about Zizhi today, leaving her both happy and regretful.

Happy that the obsession that had plagued her for years finally had a breakthrough.

But regretful that her intuition had been wrong once again.

Fortunately, she hadn’t rashly approached Nan Zhi. She was the only one whose emotions were on a roller coaster.

Nan Zhi didn’t know a thing.

Qing Qing sighed silently and walked forward slowly.

"Feeding the cats?"

Hearing the voice, Nan Zhi looked up. The pure smile brought on by the cats hadn’t completely faded from her face yet, now joined by surprise.

"Auntie? You haven’t left yet?"

At least two hours had passed since Qing Qing and Fu Yunfeng had eaten dinner.

Nan Zhi hadn’t expected Qing Qing to still be here.

She quickly realized.

"Are you waiting for Fu Chao? I can go get him..."

"No, I came to see you."

Qing Qing’s words left a bewildered look in Nan Zhi’s eyes.

’See me? Why?’

Nan Zhi had indeed felt that Qing Qing’s attitude toward her was kinder and friendlier than anyone else’s.

But she had chalked it up to fate and hadn’t thought much of it.

After all, she felt the same way.

But for Qing Qing to do this...

"I heard you’re closing the restaurant soon. I was worried we wouldn’t have many chances to meet in the future, so I came to see you specially."

Qing Qing offered what seemed like a reasonable explanation.

Whether Nan Zhi believed it or not was another matter entirely.

Nan Zhi replied in a light, joking tone,

"Fu Chao and I are friends. If you don’t mind, Auntie, I can bring Yiyi to visit you in the future."

Qing Qing instantly understood Nan Zhi’s implication. Her expression softened, and she said with a smile in her voice,

"Don’t worry, I haven’t misunderstood your relationship."

Nan Zhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, afraid Qing Qing might get the wrong idea again, she quickly added,

"Fu Chao is a very good person."

Qing Qing raised an eyebrow.

Then she abruptly changed the subject.

"So that’s why you sent a special snack to his father?"

"Huh?"

"I didn’t get one before."

"..."

Nan Zhi was too surprised to speak.

Was Qing Qing’s behavior...

’Jealousy?’

’Probably not.’

’Dissatisfaction with the difference in treatment?’

’That’s a bit more likely.’

Nan Zhi had only observed them from a distance, but she had accurately judged that—

—Fu Chao’s parents’ relationship was likely not very harmonious.

And where there’s no harmony, there’s comparison.

So it was possible that Qing Qing had sought her out over such a small matter.

Nan Zhi didn’t find anything wrong with it.

On the contrary, she felt that for someone with Qing Qing’s cool and distant personality to say such a thing meant she genuinely saw Nan Zhi as a close junior.

Nan Zhi’s smile deepened, becoming even more sincere and enthusiastic.

She immediately declared that once she was done with work and had time, she would cook a huge feast just for Qing Qing! Whatever Qing Qing wanted to eat, she would make!

"Wonderful!"

Qing Qing’s face seemed to light up.

In that instant, she smiled with the simple, pure joy of a child!

The faint, lingering trace of regret in her heart vanished into thin air.

Qing Qing suddenly felt that it didn’t matter if Nan Zhi wasn’t her child.

She really liked Nan Zhi anyway, and it would be nice to have another close junior to keep in touch with!

’Oh, and that little guy!’

"Remember to bring Yiyi. He hasn’t called me Grandma yet."

It was as if Qing Qing was getting competitive, like a child herself, absolutely determined to hear Nan Yi call her Grandma.

Nan Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she could only agree.

Soon, Qing Qing left.

She waved, and her figure disappeared at the end of the alley.

Nan Zhi stood where she was, feeling a strange sense of melancholy for some reason.

’I wonder when we’ll see each other again.’

she thought to herself.