VFGRC Chapter 23

TL: Moonlit

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Half an hour ago.

Yu Bai, who was doing well in his business, received a WeChat call.

Seeing that it was Ji Rongyu, who was taking care of Xing Xing at home, Yu Bai immediately stopped what he was doing.

Before answering the call, Yu Bai thought that something had happened to Xing Xing, which was why Ji Rongyu was calling him.

To his surprise, as soon as Yu Bai answered the call, he heard his beloved son’s sweet and clear voice.

“Daddy! Xing Xing just woke up from his nap!”

Xing Xing woke up early this morning, so he took his nap early and woke up early as well.

When Yu Bai was at home in the past, the first thing Xing Xing would do after waking up from his nap was to wear his little slippers and search for his daddy in the room.

And now… even though Yu Bai wasn’t at home, when Xing Xing woke up from his nap, he would immediately call himself.

Feeling the overflowing love from his son, a smile formed on Yu Bai’s lips, full of sweetness.

Before he could respond, Xing Xing spoke again.

“Daddy, can you make grilled cold noodles?”

The rush of fatherly love surged in Yu Bai’s heart, and his smile froze for a moment.

???

Grilled cold noodles?

Immediately after, on the other end of the WeChat call, Ji Rongyu’s voice came through.

While Xing Xing was taking his nap, Ji Rongyu was sitting next to his bed, using his phone to handle work matters.

Ji Rongyu’s schedule and time were relatively free.

As long as Ji Rongyu wanted to, he could even live without working for a lifetime because he was the top food investor in China. The profits from the shops he had previously invested in were enough to provide him with a worry-free life.

However, Ji Rongyu’s character wouldn’t allow him to become a lazy person like that. In addition, Ji Rongyu had a relatively full schedule for the next two months, and canceling any plans would undoubtedly cause some urgent little troubles to be resolved.

While Xing Xing was waking up, Ji Rongyu was handling investment applications on his phone and watching a video sent by a “Grilled Cold Noodles Chain” that recently applied for investment.

In the video, all kinds of grilled cold noodles sold by this “Grilled Cold Noodles Chain” were shown.

This “Grilled Cold Noodles Chain” was skilled in video production. Ji Rongyu could tell that the filming angles and post-production filters were carefully designed by the videographer.

Of course, these flashy techniques couldn’t impress Ji Rongyu because the most important thing about the food was its taste, followed by its business concept… and lastly, the icing on the cake, such as promotion, etc.

But…

A distinctly audible sound of swallowing saliva came to Ji Rongyu’s ears.

Only then did Ji Rongyu realize that the chubby little toddler who had been lying quietly in bed had woken up at some point.

Xing Xing’s round eyes were fixed on the grilled cold noodles on Ji Rongyu’s phone screen, and he quietly drooled.

Since falling ill, Xing Xing had been eating porridge and light dishes every day, and drinking plain water or bitter medicine. Occasionally, he would have some milk candy or strawberry sugar-coated hawthorn as his only solace.

Although Yu Bai’s porridge and dishes were delicious, after eating them for a long time, Xing Xing felt that his mouth had become bland, without any flavor.

Thinking of the scallion pancakes he used to eat and the flavorful teppanyaki, Xing Xing’s mouth was watering.

Even when Xing Xing was dreaming during his nap just now, he dreamt that there were delicious meals in front of him.

But those big meals grew wings and even if Xing Xing tried his best to move his short legs, he couldn’t catch up with the flying meals.

In his dream, Xing Xing could only watch the delicious dishes get farther and farther away.

When Xing Xing woke up and saw the snacks on Ji Rongyu’s phone screen that looked appetizing and resembled the teppanyaki made by Yu Bai, his mouth couldn’t help but salivate.

His thoughts were written all over his face, and Ji Rongyu knew what he was thinking with just a glance.

But Xing Xing was a little face-saving toddler who always liked to hide his true thoughts.

After coaxing and tricking Xing Xing, Ji Rongyu finally managed to extract his desire to eat grilled cold noodles.

So Ji Rongyu called Yu Bai.

After all, Ji Rongyu didn’t know how to make grilled cold noodles, and the ones bought outside might not taste good.

Of course, Ji Rongyu wouldn’t explain the entire cause and effect of the situation to Yu Bai.

Ji Rongyu concealed the part about his work matters and only shared a portion of it, and Yu Bai immediately agreed.

Today was a sunny day, and the afternoon sun was slightly brighter than the light in the refrigerator, giving off a warm feeling. It was suitable weather for toddlers to come out and play.

After reminding Ji Rongyu to dress Xing Xing warmly, Yu Bai placed an order on a food delivery app and bought a raw cold noodle skin, which was delivered to his snack cart.

After Yu Bai sold several portions of teppanyaki, Ji Rongyu arrived with Xing Xing at Sanjiaokou.

From a distance, Yu Bai heard Xing Xing’s adorable voice.

“Daddy!”

As soon as Ji Rongyu put Xing Xing down, he immediately walked towards Yu Bai, stepping on his little shoes, and familiarly found Yu Bai behind the snack cart. Like a small pendant, he gave Yu Bai’s legs a big hug.

Just as Yu Bai finished packaging three portions of teppanyaki at the same time, ready to bend down and pick up Xing Xing, Xing Xing put his hands on the edge of the snack cart, standing on tiptoes.

“Daddy, is the grilled cold noodles ready?”

Yu Bai: …

Whether it was his illusion or not, Yu Bai felt that in his eldest son’s heart, grilled cold noodles seemed to be slightly more important than him, the father…

Yu Bai felt like his heart, as an old father, had shattered into a pile of glass shards.

“Daddy?”

With his chubby hands resting on the snack cart, Xing Xing turned his little head. His watery ink-black eyes blinked gently, like a cute little dog waiting for its owner to feed it.

Yu Bai: “I’ll make it now!”

The process of making grilled cold noodles was simple, and it was quick to prepare. However, food, like grilled, would become cold after a while in winter, and it wouldn’t taste good.

So Yu Bai waited until Xing Xing arrived before starting to make the grilled cold noodles.

The customers waiting in line were regulars who knew that the owner of this teppanyaki cart had an adorable and lovable son.

These customers also had toddlers and knew how precious their own children were to them.

Therefore, when they saw Yu Bai openly “cutting in line” for Xing Xing, the customers didn’t complain.

Making a portion of grilled cold noodles would take no more than five minutes, and they could wait.

But… when did the teppanyaki stall start selling grilled cold noodles? Why didn’t they know about it?

Several customers in the front row, who had never seen Yu Bai make grilled cold noodles before, gathered around curiously.

At this time, Ji Rongyu also walked to the snack cart.

Whether it was an open-air, bustling snack cart or a quiet kitchen at home, when Yu Bai was cooking, he seemed to transform into a different person. His focus and dedication were evident in his eyes as he gazed at the food.

Flipping, cracking eggs, flipping again…

Most of the customers watching were only average cooks at home, so they couldn’t discern the details of Yu Bai’s grilled cold noodles.

Although Ji Rongyu wasn’t skilled in cooking, he had been involved in the food industry for many years and had abundant theoretical knowledge. He had also seen many top chefs prepare dishes in front of him.

Therefore, Ji Rongyu could tell that each time Yu Bai flipped the food, it was precise and perfectly timed.

The smooth egg mixture adhered to the cold noodle skin, solidified, and when Yu Bai scooped it off with a spatula, there was no leftover egg residue on the iron griddle.

To enhance the texture, Yu Bai added eggs to both sides of the grilled cold noodles.

Then, he added lettuce, pork loin, and sausages.

With two small spatulas in his hands, Yu Bai skillfully rolled up the grilled cold noodles, cut them into sections, and placed them in two paper boxes, pouring sauce over them.

The smaller box was obviously for Xing Xing.

Since Xing Xing hadn’t fully recovered from his illness, he couldn’t eat heavily seasoned food. So in Xing Xing’s portion, Yu Bai poured a bit less of his specially prepared teppanyaki sauce and added more of the sweet and sour tomato sauce that kids liked.

In the larger paper box, Yu Bai added enough of both sauces according to the general taste of adults.

This was a teppanyaki stall, not a dedicated grilled cold noodles stall, so Yu Bai could only use the available ingredients and sauces to create a basic grilled cold noodles dish.

Seeing the small paper box that Yu Bai handed to him, Xing Xing didn’t get upset.

In Xing Xing’s eyes, he was just a small toddler. If Daddy gave him a large portion of grilled cold noodles, he definitely couldn’t finish it, and it would go to waste!

The steaming hot grilled cold noodles exuded the tangy aroma of tomatoes and the slightly spicy fragrance of teppanyaki.

Xing Xing licked his soft lips and picked up a small fork to poke at a piece of cold noodle skin.

When this piece of double-sided, egg-coated noodle skin entered his mouth, Xing Xing’s tongue first touched the smooth and tender egg. As Xing Xing’s teeth bit into the grilled cold noodles, the cold noodles wrapped in the egg were slightly crispy and emitted an enticing heat and aroma.

At the same time, the slightly spicy teppanyaki sauce clashed with Xing Xing’s taste buds, but the sweet and sour tomato sauce softened the spiciness, making it appetizing and delicious.

When he bit into the crisp and moist lettuce that still had a bit of moisture, it greatly offset the slight greasiness from the sausage and pork loin in the grilled cold noodles.

In just a short moment, Xing Xing had already finished a piece of grilled cold noodles.

“Grilled cold noodles are so delicious!”

Xing Xing’s cheeks were puffed up, and his round ink-black eyes were like lit light bulbs.

“When your mouth is full, don’t speak,” Yu Bai said. “Be careful not to choke.”

Xing Xing immediately closed his mouth and nodded vigorously.

Xing Xing had been so enthralled by the grilled cold noodles that he forgot he shouldn’t speak with food in his mouth!

Seeing Xing Xing enjoy it so much, Yu Bai also picked up a piece of cold noodle skin with a fork.

In his life, when Yu Bai was in college, after finishing his part-time job and returning to school, he loved buying a steaming hot grilled cold noodles from a snack cart near the school gate and eating it while walking as his dinner.

By the time he arrived at the classroom for the evening self-study, he would have finished eating the grilled cold noodles in his hands.

In the unheated self-study classroom, the warm grilled cold noodles in his stomach were the best weapon for resisting the cold of the southern winter.

Yu Bai had never made grilled cold noodles in his two lifetimes, but when he was in college, he watched the snack cart owner making them every day, so he naturally learned how to make them.

Yu Bai put a piece of grilled cold noodle skin into his mouth.

The fire was just right.

If there were more ingredients and seasoning options, this grilled cold noodles would probably be even more delicious.

After tasting it, Yu Bai saw Ji Rongyu standing silently next to his snack cart, watching the grilled cold noodles in his hand.

Yu Bai would be busy making teppanyaki in a moment and definitely didn’t have the time or leisure to eat such a large portion of grilled cold noodles.

Seeing that Ji Rongyu seemed to want to try the grilled cold noodles, Yu Bai handed the larger portion of grilled cold noodles, which he had already tasted a piece of, to Ji Rongyu.

Yu Bai: “Do you want to try it?”

Ji Rongyu’s slender ink-black eyes blinked.

In the past, when he saw others eating leftovers, he would have disdainfully ignored it.

But now…

The aroma of teppanyaki mixed with the fragrance of tomato sauce collided, creating a wonderful scent that stirred Ji Rongyu’s stomach.

“I’ll try it.”

As Ji Rongyu spoke, he took the large paper box and…the fork that Yu Bai was holding in his hand.

Yu Bai: ?

Yu Bai: “I was using that fork…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ji Rongyu inserted the fork into the grilled cold noodles and put it in his mouth.

The edge of the fork touched Ji Rongyu’s pale pink lips and was pulled out.

Ji Rongyu, who was focused on eating the grilled cold noodles and hadn’t paid attention to Yu Bai’s words, looked at Yu Bai with a bewildered expression in his eyes.

Ji Rongyu: “What’s wrong with you?”

Yu Bai: …

He chose to remain silent.

Huh! It’s just sharing a fork, what’s the big deal!

During high school and college, Yu Bai had seen his same-sex friends share the same cup and drink from the same bottle!

“Snack cart owner, are you still selling grilled cold noodles? Can you make me a portion?”

“I want one too! It looks so delicious!”

“I want one with double-sided eggs! I haven’t had grilled cold noodles for years since graduating from college. I’ve been thinking about it all the time!”

When Yu Bai made grilled cold noodles, the aroma of the noodles and the sizzling sound of the golden cold noodles were truly tempting.

The customers watching also saw Yu Bai’s son, Xing Xing, holding a small bowl of grilled cold noodles and enjoying it with relish. Their mouths almost couldn’t help but salivate.

They also wanted to eat grilled cold noodles!

To reach the minimum order amount for delivery, Yu Bai bought three packs of grilled cold noodle skins at once.

One pack of grilled cold noodles contained six noodle skins. Yu Bai thought that if Xing Xing wanted to eat grilled cold noodles again in a few days, he could make it for dinner. By eating it two or three times, they could finish all three packs of grilled cold noodle skins.

But what Yu Bai didn’t expect was that after making a portion of grilled cold noodles on the iron griddle of his snack cart, several customers were suddenly interested in buying grilled cold noodles.

Yu Bai: “I just made this grilled cold noodles for my son as a treat, it’s not very authentic…”

“It’s okay!” The customers in the front row were regulars who had tasted Yu Bai’s cooking skills, and they naturally trusted him, “We’ll eat whatever kind of grilled cold noodles you make!”

Yu Bai was choked by the customers’ words.

The customers’ eyes had a faint green light—a hunger like a wolf that hadn’t eaten for three days and nights on the grassland.

Yu Bai: “…Okay. But I don’t have many grilled cold noodle skins, only a little over ten pieces. Once they’re sold out, I won’t sell them anymore.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll buy!”

“I’ll buy too! Add teppanyaki tofu, teppanyaki rice cakes, and the skewer of teppanyaki that I chose!”

Yu Bai: “Don’t rush, take your time in line.”

The customers who were waiting at the back, knowing that they probably wouldn’t be able to buy the grilled cold noodles, looked at Yu Bai with hopeful eyes.

Feeling an inexplicable pressure, Yu Bai’s hand holding the spatula trembled slightly.

“W-What’s wrong?”

Customer: “Can you still sell grilled cold noodles tomorrow?”

Yu Bai: “Well…”

Customer: “Don’t tell me you can’t! I have a friend, if he can’t have this grilled cold noodles, he’ll…”

Yu Bai: “…I’ll think about it.”

Five seconds later, tears welled up in the customer’s eyes as they blinked, “Have you thought about it?”

Yu Bai: I don’t want to speak.

If it were a toddler making that expression, Yu Bai might have softened and agreed to continue selling grilled cold noodles tomorrow.

But this person making the expression was a bald guy with a full beard!

Also, it had only been five seconds, what could he have thought about!

After vaguely appeasing the bearded customer, Yu Bai, exhausted, turned to look at Xing Xing.

Xing Xing, who was stuffing his mouth with grilled cold noodles, had a blissful smile on his chubby face.

Yu Bai, who had lost all his energy, felt revitalized.

Wuwuwu! His son’s smile was his best motivation for working!

Xing Xing noticed Yu Bai’s gaze and turned his little head to look at him.

Xing Xing blinked his ink-black eyes. “Daddy?”

Why was Daddy looking at Xing Xing?

“Xing Xing, Uncle Yu next door who sells candied hawthorns sent you strawberry candied hawthorns again. After you finish the grilled cold noodles, remember to say thank you to Uncle Yu at the candied hawthorn stall next to us, okay?”

Strawberry candied hawthorns!

Xing Xing nodded vigorously. “Okay! Xing Xing will go there after eating!”

Although Xing Xing was young, he had a good memory.

Uncle Yu had given him delicious strawberry candied hawthorns several times, and Xing Xing remembered it.

Because… if it weren’t for Uncle Yu’s strawberry candied hawthorns, Xing Xing wouldn’t have had anything delicious to eat or drink these days, and life would have been dull.

Yu Bai said, “Okay. But when you walk, you can’t eat the grilled cold noodles. Be careful not to hurt yourself with the fork, understand?”

After realizing that his snack cart was quite popular among toddlers, Yu Bai recently bought some new utensils for cooking, including a slightly blunt wooden fork. However, even if the fork was dull, there was still a possibility of it hurting the toddlers.

After instructing Xing Xing, Yu Bai turned to Ji Rongyu and asked him to keep an eye on Xing Xing.

—

Xing Xing was an obedient and well-behaved toddler. Under Yu Bai’s repeated reminders, Xing Xing held the fragrant grilled cold noodles in his hands but didn’t take a single bite.

As he took small steps toward Yu Dong’s candied hawthorn stall, Xing Xing overheard a conversation between two other toddlers.

There were other toddlers!

Xing Xing couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and curiously looked in the direction of the two toddlers.

At three years old, Xing Xing had never attended kindergarten.

Ever since Xing Xing could remember, Yu Bai would take him to the company every day. On weekends, Yu Bai would at most take him to nearby shopping malls for a stroll.

As a result, Xing Xing rarely had contact with other toddlers.

Xing Xing used to be a bit shy, but children’s personalities change quickly, and in the past few days, Yu Bai took him out to the snack cart every day, making Xing Xing’s character become more lively and outgoing, and he was no longer as shy as before.

Now, when Xing Xing saw someone approaching him on his own initiative and talking to him, it was even more so when he encountered other toddlers!

Moreover…

Xing Xing’s round ink-black eyes twinkled.

He seemed to feel that the chubby toddler, who was short and looked like a balloon, was somewhat familiar! It seemed like he had seen him somewhere…

Xing Xing’s clever little brain quickly remembered.

Right! Wasn’t he the toddler who asked Xing Xing if candied hawthorns were delicious at the hospital a few days ago!

At this moment, Xing Xing heard the chubby toddler saying, “This is the sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn my dad bought from the sugar-coated hawthorn stall next door. Do you want to try it?”

The sugar-coated hawthorn stall next door… wasn’t that Uncle Yu’s sugar-coated hawthorn stall!

Uncle Yu’s sugar-coated hawthorn stall had sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn?

Previously, when Yu Bai was delivering eight-treasure rice pudding to Yu Dong, he had also prepared two portions for himself.

One morning, he steamed a portion of eight-treasure rice pudding as breakfast for himself and Xing Xing.

At that time, when Xing Xing scooped a spoonful of the pudding, it looked softer and stickier than regular rice, and he ate it in one bite.

The sweet grains of rice with a soft and sticky texture easily captured Xing Xing’s heart.

It was the most delicious rice he had ever eaten!

Daddy said that the outer layer of the eight-treasure rice pudding, which was white and sticky, was sticky rice.

If it weren’t for the fact that sticky rice was hard to digest, Yu Bai would have given Xing Xing a larger bowl, and he would have been able to eat two more bowls!

Upon hearing the words “sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn,” and recalling the soft and sticky texture of the sticky rice, Xing Xing was almost drooling!

If the other toddlers didn’t want to eat the sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn, he wanted to eat it!

But Xing Xing couldn’t just ask the other toddler for the sugar-coated hawthorn… Xing Xing looked at the grilled cold noodles in his hands.

They could exchange!

Xing Xing eagerly held the grilled cold noodles and ran up to the other toddler, Qiuqiu.

Xing Xing: “One piece of grilled cold noodles, with delicious noodles, sweet vegetables, and savory meat… I’ll trade it for your sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn. It’s definitely a fair deal!”

Qiuqiu was intrigued.

Grilled cold noodles with meat and vegetables, which smelled delicious, was much more tempting than his unattractive-looking sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorn!

Qiuqiu: “But I don’t like vegetables. I’ll trade it for the noodles and meat…”

Xing Xing raised his little eyebrows and rejected him immediately, “No!”

Qiuqiu, with his small round eyes filled with confusion, asked, “Why?”

“Toddlers need to eat more vegetables to grow tall! Vegetables are nutritious, and eating more can make the body healthy!” Xing Xing said, “We met before at the hospital, and you probably got sick easily because you didn’t eat enough vegetables, right?”

Qiuqiu’s body trembled as Xing Xing hit the nail on the head.

Xing Xing continued, “So, you should eat more vegetables and you’ll become thinner…”

The adults on both sides of the line couldn’t help but find it amusing when they saw a plump and soft toddler earnestly educating another even plumper and rounder toddler about the benefits of eating more vegetables to stay healthy and become thinner…

It was a scene that was truly amusing.

Qiuqiu, with a nervous expression on his little face, said, “Okay, I’ll eat it…”

“That’s right!” Xing Xing handed the grilled cold noodles to Qiuqiu, “Actually, meat and vegetables taste the best when eaten together! Eating only meat will make you feel greasy, but with vegetables, it won’t!”

Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment, “Is that true?”

There was a natural trust between toddlers.

Qiuqiu took the grilled cold noodles that Xing Xing handed over and took a bite.

The combination of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, along with the meat and cold noodles with added eggs, brought a satisfying sensation.

The crisp lettuce blended perfectly to remove any greasiness from the grilled cold noodles, and the sauce, cold noodles, and meat suppressed the slight bitterness of the lettuce itself.

Meat and noodles with added vegetables really tasted better!

Qiuqiu almost wolfed down the piece of grilled cold noodles, and he immediately stuffed the bag of sticky rice hawthorn candied hawthorn into Xing Xing’s chubby little hand.

Qiuqiu’s round eyes sparkled, “I’ll give you three sticky rice sugar-coated hawthorns in exchange for three pieces of grilled cold noodles!”

Xing Xing: “No deal!”

 

Author’s note:

Qiuqiu: What?! No deal?! My world is collapsing!