After Dai Yingmei left, Sang Yu stopped drawing and threw the scrapped manuscript into the trash can.
He walked around aimlessly in the small room, but his mind was muddled and it was difficult to calm down.
In a sense, Dai Yingmei was right, that incident had not actually passed, and the harm caused to him by Jia Sibo was still there. But he was a coward, and he had lost all courage and energy to face everyone and bring up old things again.
Sang Yu stopped and noticed that the sun outside had risen very high. He suddenly wanted to go out for a walk and bask in the sun, feeling the warmth of the sun on his body.
He put on a mask and walked out of the house, walking straight along the road without any destination. Unknowingly, he came across Immortal’s Banquet restaurant.
This place used to be a restaurant he owned and now it has completely transformed into a completely new look.
Sang Yu had a hard time when he was a child. It was a luxury to go out for a delicious meal in a restaurant. When he was very young, he had a dream, which was to open a restaurant of his own when he grew up.
So he later became a star and had money, most of which he spent to open a great restaurant. Later, the number of restaurants increased from one to three.
–However, because of Jia Sibo, he lost everything.
By some strange coincidence, he crossed the road and walked to the door of the Immortal’s Banquet restaurant. He opened the door and walked in.
As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the aroma of various dishes mixed together. He saw that the tables in the store were full of customers. They were either smiling, talking, or eating happily. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.
“This honey-glazed roast chicken tastes really amazing!” The guests at the table closest to the door were chatting with their companions while eating.
“Yes, it’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I don’t know how they prepared this honey sauce. It’s different from other places.” Their companion agreed.
Both diners wore disposable dining gloves as they tore off a chicken leg and took a bite. One of them spoke while their mouth was full, so their speech came out slurred. “I have to ask the waiter later if this dish can be packed. I want to pack one and take it back to my wife. She loves roasted chicken with honey sauce the most.”
Sang Yu couldn’t help but look at the shiny brown roasted chicken with honey sauce on the table in front of him. At the same time, the salty and sweet aroma of the roasted chicken penetrated his nose, stimulating his appetite.
Sang Yu swallowed and suddenly felt hungry.
He has been suffering from an eating disorder for the past six months and his sense of taste felt degraded – all foods became rather tasteless. He has not had such a strong desire to eat for a long time.
“Sir, are you alone?” The waiter saw Sang Yu standing at the door and asked.
“Yeah,” Sang Yu looked away, “I’m alone.”
“It’s like this. We don’t have any empty seats on the first floor. There is a private room on the second floor, but you are only one person. It may not be cost-effective to choose a private room.” The waiter explained, “If you don’t mind, you can get a seat there, and I’ll give you a number. Please wait for a seat on the first floor, and I’ll lead you upstairs.”
–
Yu Antong was busy, so he came to the Immortal’s Banquet kitchen to discuss and research new dishes with his two assistants. He worked all morning, and only had time to relax now, where the customer number started to increase during lunchtime. Because he didn’t want to bother the chefs, he chose to take a break, especially because he became tired after standing for a long time.
He took off his apron and said, “Then I’ll go back first and come back tomorrow.”
Zhao Juan: “You must come tomorrow.”
Yu Antong smiled and replied, “I will come if there are no special circumstances.”
He walked up to the door and saw the waiter talking to a new customer.
Yu Antong slowed down, and he felt that the gentle temperament of this customer was somewhat familiar. When he got closer, Yu Antong took a closer look at the man’s features, and it seemed like…
Sang Yu sensitively noticed that someone was looking at him, and he turned to look over.
Yu Antong whispered uncertainly, “Are you Sang Yu?”
Sang Yu blinked and was stunned for a second, then smiled politely and asked, “Do you still remember me?”
He and Yu Antong met once when they were signing a contract for this restaurant. Unexpectedly, Yu Antong could recognize him even though he was wearing a mask.
Even though Sang Yu was wearing a mask, Yu Antong could see from his curved eyebrows and gentle temperament.
It is said that people should not be judged by their appearance, but Yu Antong did not believe that a person like Sang Yu, who looked very gentle, would actively seduce a married man.
Coupled with his understanding of Jia Sibo from these recent events, Yu Antong felt that Sang Yu should have been slandered by Jia Sibo in the first place.
People were coming and going in the lobby. When Yu Antong heard the waiter say there were private rooms upstairs, he took Sang Yu upstairs with him.
After closing the door, Sang Yu took off his mask and said warmly, “I was passing by here and wanted to come for a meal. I have no other intention. You can go and do your work and ignore me.”
Yu Antong found that Sang Yu was much thinner than the last time they met. As a star, he should be monitoring his weight, but now he is distressingly thin.
A person with bad conduct would likely to be selfish. They would never let theirself to lead such a miserable life. Looking at Sang Yu’s current appearance, Yu Antong believed more and more that he had been deceived by that scum Jia Sibo, and even pushed as the scapegoat.
“What do you want to eat?” Yu Antong gave him the menu, “Please order it and I’ll bring it to the waiter when I go down.”
Sang Yu browsed the menu. After a while, he asked Yu Antong with clear confusion in his tone, “I just saw a customer eating a roast chicken with honey sauce downstairs. It smelled very fragrant. Isn’t this dish on the menu?”
Sang Yu wondered if he had missed it and wanted to read it again. At this time, Yu Antong explained, “It’s not on the menu. This dish has just been launched and is still being tested to measure customer satisfaction. It has not been officially included in the menu.”
“Do you want to eat this? I’ll have someone cook it for you,” Yu Antong offered, “Would you like anything else?”
The dishes on the menu looked very appetizing. Sang Yu said hesitantly: “They all look pretty good to me. It’s my first time here. As the boss… can you recommend some dishes to me?”
‘Sang Yu looked so thin, so he must not have eaten well lately. His gastrointestinal function is probably not very good. He can’t eat too much greasy food at the moment. Roasted chicken with honey sauce is very greasy. Let’s not give him that…’ Yu Antong thought he was a little pitiful, so he decided as he put away the menu: “I’ll make you some soup. I guarantee it’ll be delicious.”
Sang Yu quickly sensed Yu Antong’s kindness. He said in a small voice, “Thank you.”
The kitchen has all the ingredients, so Yu Antong chose the thin pork chops as the broth’s base, which would take less time to stew.
“Eh? Why are you back here again?” Zhao Juan turned around and saw Yu Antong.
Yu Antong replied, “A friend of mine is coming over, I want to personally cook a soup for him.”
“Then you can use this pot.” Zhao Juan freed up a pot for him.
Yu Antong put the meat into the pot, added water and boiled until the blood foam was formed. He skimmed those off, poured out the water, and added fresh water to the pot. Into the pot, he added green onion, ginger, and a few drops of white wine to remove the fishy smell. After the water boiled, he reduced the heat and let it simmer. He decided to add corn, lion’s mane mushroom, and yam.
This soup doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be tasty and warm. After it’s cooked, he removed the aromatics, then added some salt and pepper to taste.
“Try this. It has lion’s mane mushroom, corn, yam, with pork ribs as its base. I’ll treat you to roast chicken next time.”
All those ingredients have the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach and replenishing qi deficiency in traditional Chinese medicine. They are suitable for Sang Yu, who seemed to have a weak appetite.
The soup that had just come out of the pot was steaming and full of aroma. Sang Yu picked up a small spoon, scooped out a spoonful of pork rib soup, and blew it gently. The soup was clear and not greasy at all.
He sipped it. It wasn’t greasy, but it was filled with the meaty aroma of pork ribs and a hint of sweetness from corn.
He picked up a piece of corn, which was a fat corn with a sweet taste. He finished the corn cob in several mouthfuls, and then ate a piece of soft ribs that was stewed until it fell off the bone…
Not long after, Sang Yu drank all the small bowl of pork rib soup and cleaned it off.
He hadn’t experienced this kind of satisfaction brought to him by food for a long time. For a moment, he actually wanted to cry.
People who have been depressed for a long time will often collapse because of a small thing. However, somehow, this warm bowl of soup actually reminded Sang Yu that there’s still a small light of hope in this murky water he called his life. It might be hidden, but he kinda… wanted to pursue it.
“Can you listen to me?” Sang Yu mumbled. He really couldn’t help it. He wanted to find someone to talk to.
After Sang Yu finished speaking, he felt that his words were too abrupt. He should not spread his negative emotions to others. No one should accept his negative energy and absorb it. “I’m sorry, I was presumptuous. Forget it.”
Yu Antong suddenly felt that Sang Yu was so kind yet pitiful. Under what circumstances would a person be unable to hold back and want to express his true feelings to someone he didn’t know well?
And even though he could no longer bear any more, he still cared for others so tenderly. How could such a good person meet such a scumbag as Jia Sibo!
Yu Antong wanted to comfort him to the best of his abilities. Gently, he said, “It’s okay, just tell me.”
With that, Sang Yu’s defenses crumbled.
Sang Yu cried and told his whole story. From when he was approached and pursued by Jia Sibo, to when he just thought he had found a lover who could stay with him for the rest of his life. He learned that Jia Sibo was actually married, and he became despised by everyone as this shameless mistress. He fell into hell, and his whole life became dark without a trace of light.
He also talked about Dai Yingmei, who came to see him just now.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I still have the courage to face this.”
Yu Antong handed the tissue to him, “Do you want to hear my opinion? I am not a party involved and know all the details, so take it with a grain of salt.”
Sang Yu nodded.
Yu Antong said, “It’s normal to be blinded by someone you trusted. And when you find something is wrong, the most important thing is not to escape, but to face it bravely. Plus, this matter isn’t your fault, you’re just too unlucky to be deceived by that scumbag.”
“After you see his true face, shouldn’t you stay away from him? Let others see his face clearly, and let him receive the punishment he deserves?”
“In fact, the most important thing is not to punish him, but to save yourself. You have trapped yourself in the past and cannot get out. Do you want to continue like this?”
“Only by facing this matter head-on can you know how to free yourself and start a new life again.”
“–Of course these are just my personal thoughts, it’s up to you what you want to do. After all, talking about it is way easier than actually doing it.”
Sang Yu wiped away his tears completely silently. He took a while to collect his emotions. “Thank you for being willing to listen to me, and thank you for telling me this. I think I have the answer. Thank you very much today.”
Sang Yu thanked Yu Antong a lot before leaving. He thought he had to do something to come out of the shadow of that incident.
There are still many beautiful things waiting for him in life – today’s warm sunshine, that fragrant pork rib soup, and he still was owed that delicious-smelling roasted chicken with honey sauce.
He still wanted to move forward.
“I heard Mom said you didn’t eat on time at noon today?”
Xing Lixuan thought of this before going to bed at night.
Yu Antong came home late at noon because he met Sang Yu. Mrs. Xing was worried about her daughter-in-law’s health and didn’t know what to say, so she quietly told her son about it. She wanted Xing Lixuan to give more advice to Yu Antong, so he would take care of his health. After all, he still had a baby in his belly, so needed to take extra precautions.
When Xing Lixuan mentioned that, Yu Antong thought of Sang Yu. He became angry when he thought of the experiences Sang Yu told him. He pointed at Xing Lixuan and said, “If you dare to cheat on me, I will chop your dick off and beat you to death!”
–This exclamation was given without context. No matter how smart Xing Lixuan was, he couldn’t guess what his wife was thinking.
Xing Lixuan frowned. “What are you talking about?!”
–Didn’t he just ask why Yu Antong failed to eat on time? Why the topic swerved into this?
Yu Antong told him about Sang Yu, and Xing Lixuan slapped him on the butt gently.
“Why did you hit me!”
Xing Lixuan said, “Comparing me to a scumbag, and having so little confidence in me, should you be beaten for this?”
Yu Antong knew that he was in the wrong, so he hugged Xing Lixuan and acted coquettishly, “Smelly husband, even if I am wrong, you can’t hit me. You must always love me and treat me as your little baby.”
The author has something to say:
Tongtong: Aren’t I still your little baby?!
Xing-zong: Being my baby does not mean you won’t be spanked for wronging me.
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