Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 304

For Xing Conglian, the dividing line between spring and summer was marked by the large influx of crawfish to the market.

In reality, he had no particular requirements for food and often ate instant noodles and takeout with Lin Chen.

However, just like Lin Chen’s obsession with breakfast, he had a passionate love for crawfish.

Thirteen spices were good, steamed shrimp was also nice, but only spicy crawfish was the king, unparalleled.

Moreover, in a year, there were only one or two months when crawfish reached their peak in taste, so it wasn’t excessive to drive a hundred kilometers to Yongchuan to eat crawfish for two days during the weekend.

When he proposed this idea to Lin Chen, they had just left their office building.

“Then let’s go.” Lin Chen replied.

Wang Chao cheered from behind. Xing Conglian looked up at the fiery clouds in the sky and felt that the weather was truly pleasant.

As a genuine man, there was no need to prepare when going out. They arrived in Yongchuan with just one press of the gas pedal before the sky completely darkened.

This time, of course, they didn’t need to show off or worry about being embarrassed, so they decided to find a place not far from Yongchuan University to stay.

The suburban hotels like Cohen May couldn’t even order take-out. Besides a comfortable bed, they had nothing else to offer.

However, when they were getting off the highway, Xing Conglian still sought Lin Chen’s opinion.

Lin Chen opened his phone and randomly selected a budget hotel around 500 meters from the late-night food market based on ratings. When placing the order, Wang Chao in the backseat was still complaining, “Why do you need A’Chen Gege’s help to search for things? What’s my status?”

Lin Chen turned to ask him if he had any other ideas, such as staying near the children’s amusement park…

Wang Chao seriously considered this suggestion, but in the end, his overwhelming love for spicy crawfish prevailed.

And it didn’t stop there. Perhaps Lin Chen’s question triggered some memories in Wang Chao, and the teenager started rambling about his bitter experiences and reminiscing about the sweet moments.

“At that time, we really, during our hardest times, ate canned soybeans for three months, and even our farts smelled like that.”

“We even had to chew on camel meat in the desert, and the taste was simply bizarre.”

“When the Boss said he was retiring and returning to the country, I was so happy that I cried. Finally, we wouldn’t have to eat pizza every day. It was like living like a god!”

Wang Chao’s story became more and more outrageous. He even started to cry and wipe his tears in the lobby of the budget hotel while telling Lin Chen about the first time he had spicy crabs and cried over it.

“I held onto the table and refused to leave. The Boss tricked me and said there was crab at Mailin that was even better! Later, I found out it was a lie—a complete lie!”

“Okay!”

In the elevator, although Lin Chen’s face remained calm, Xing Conglian finally couldn’t help but stop Wang Chao. “Didn’t I compensate you afterward?!”

“Wow, Boss, are you talking about the month we ate stewed mutton as compensation? Mailin, tropical climate, scorching heat, and stewed mutton, for me!”

“What’s the matter? Do you have any complaints? The stewed meat was even airlifted from China.”

“But the dipping sauce! The key is that Mailin’s lamb dipping sauce is sweet! That’s what I mean by bizarre!”

“Bizarre.”

When the elevator arrived, Lin Chen, who had had his hands in his pocket the whole time, said nonchalantly.

Xing Conglian was dumbfounded and slowly turned his head.

“Eating soybeans for three months is also excessive.”

Entering the corridor after the elevator, Lin Chen said again.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao almost choked up and clung to Lin Chen’s thigh.

“For these two days, just order whatever you want, and your boss will pay for it.” Lin Chen swiped the room key, firmly making the final decision.

Wang Chao felt like he had won a lottery and couldn’t help but shout for joy. To show his support for his A-Chen Gege, Wang Chao immediately turned around and said he wanted to queue at Wangji Spicy Crawfish. Within three seconds, he disappeared from sight.

Lin Chen entered the room and opened the window for ventilation. The hotel’s location wasn’t great, the furnishings were simple, and the family room had a small dining area with one table and four chairs. The bar counter only had an electric kettle and some tea. Lin Chen quietly boiled water and sat in one of the chairs, waiting for it to boil.

Xing Conglian sat down across from him, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start.

The air was filled with the hissing sound of an electric kettle boiling water, and the sound of vehicles passing by outside the window was clear yet somewhat distant. The atmosphere settled into a comfortable calm.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen’s face under the soft yellow light and blinked gently. “Consultant Lin, what’s wrong?”

“Obviously, I’m feeling a little sorry for you,” Lin Chen said straightforwardly.

The water had just reached a boil. Lin Chen stood up to heat the cups and brew two servings of green tea.

Xing Conglian stood up and walked over to hug him. His stubbly chin rubbed against Lin Chen’s neck, but it didn’t interrupt Lin Chen’s tea preparation.

“Then I’ll have to treat you, you little glutton. You know how much you can eat,” he said with a smile.

“But I also feel a bit emotional. After feeling emotional, it’s appropriate to be a little angry.”

When Consultant Lin mentioned being “a little angry,” it meant just that—not too much or too little.

But with that peaceful tone, Xing Conglian was afraid that he might accidentally spill hot water on him.

He could only steel himself and say, “It’s not like I can’t apologize first. If I apologize, you will surely ask me what exactly I did wrong, and if I don’t know, I’ll have to kneel on the keyboard. But how could I not know? Everything that happened before is a thing of the past, like a dream or an illusion. It’s best to view it as such, and now everything is fine…”

Lin Chen finally put down the electric kettle and turned around. He also hugged Xing Conglian in return, and Xing Conglian let out a sigh of relief.

“If it were the old me, I would probably think that since you didn’t say anything, I shouldn’t ask either, and it’s fine to respect each other’s privacy regarding some past secrets…”

“That’s right!”

“However, that’s when I had secrets that I couldn’t tell. Now that I have no secrets, how could you still have secrets… Wife.”

As Lin Chen spoke, he kissed Xing Conglian’s earlobe, causing Xing Conglian to shiver and swallow a mouthful of saliva. “What do you want to hear?”

“Let’s start with the three months of canned soybeans.” Lin Chen paused. “You can skip the classified parts.”

Xing Conglian kissed him back and earnestly expressed his loyalty. “Actually, there are no classified parts, and how could there be anything I can’t tell you?”

“Why have you never mentioned it before?”

“A true man sheds blood, not tears.”

“Hm?”

Xing Conglian fell silent but held Lin Chen tightly. He could only say, “I felt very bitter. My personal qualities were not enough, and it wasn’t appropriate to talk about it as a casual chat.”

“On this point, you’re far inferior to Wang Chao,” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian let out a long sigh, unable to argue.

When Lin Chen said he was “inferior”, he meant that he wasn’t as carefree as Wang Chao, who didn’t take things seriously and would bravely face any situation.

For people like them, the most common way of dealing with things was to let the past be the past, not say much about it, and leave it at that.

However, some things would not truly be in the past until the day they were mentioned again.

This was probably some form of psychological treatment, but Xing Conglian thought it could also be classified as “when you’re unhappy, I’ll kiss you to make you feel better.”

In the end, this topic didn’t continue.

Wang Chao quickly called them, shouting in a panicked tone, “Boss, there are 500 tables waiting for Wang Ji. Has the world gone crazy?”

“If it’s so hard to wait at Wang Ji, don’t you have experience? Why didn’t you hack the queue system in advance?” Xing Conglian angrily replied.

“Boss, I’m a high-level expert, hacking a small crawfish restaurant’s queue system is beneath me!” Wang Chao said angrily, then turned into a flatterer. “But I have a new idea!”

“What do you want to do?”

“Why don’t you buy Wangji now?”

“Fuck off!” Xing Conglian was furious. “Do you think I’m demeaning myself by making a call for this kind of thing?”

“I think it’s quite imposing, like a domineering president.”

“Then hacking a queue system is also quite expert-like, right?” Xing Conglian sneered. “Or can’t you get in?”

“The art of provoking doesn’t work on me.”

Wang Chao wanted to say more, but Lin Chen finally spoke helplessly. “Do you guys still want to eat?”

“Of course!”

They both said simultaneously, on the phone and in person.

“No way, huh?” Lin Chen paused, then changed his tone. “Is there a way that you both don’t want to help?”

“As ordinary people, there’s really no way,” Wang Chao said righteously.

Looking into Lin Chen’s eyes, Xing Conglian also nodded.

“Alright then.” Lin Chen took out his phone and dialed a number. “I guess I’ll have to figure something out.”

20 minutes later, they stood together at the entrance of Wangji, surrounded by a dense crowd of customers. The aroma of crayfish wafted through the door, and Wang Chao was excited. “A’Chen Gege, you truly deserve to be the man supported by the boss. One phone call, and we’ve settled it with Wangji. Can we go in now?”

“Wait a little longer.” Lin Chen’s gaze drifted, giving a non-committal reply.

Wang Chao sniffed, his face showing a worried expression.

Sure enough, just at that moment, a figure in a tailored suit emerged from the end of the street. It was a scorching hot day, yet the person was still dressed in a smoking-gray suit with a dark blue tie, like someone from another world.

Wang Chao looked at the person for a few seconds, then exclaimed in fear, “Boss, is hacking the queue system still not possible? I was wrong!”

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