VFGRC Chapter 66

On Saturday, the eve of business, Yu Bai received a message from Ji Rongyu.

[Ji Rongyu: I saw someone online recommending the potato hot dog sticks you made.]

[Ji Rongyu: [Image]]

[Ji Rongyu: I haven’t tried them yet, really want to eat them.]

Seeing the expression pack of the golden retriever drooling sent by Ji Rongyu, Yu Bai could fully imagine the adorable expression of Ji Rongyu, who resembled a large golden retriever, silently salivating when he came across the potato hot dog sticks he made on his phone.

A slight curl appeared at the corner of Yu Bai’s lips.

[Yu Bai: [Image], [Image].]

Yu Bai then sent several photos he had taken of the potato hot dog sticks he had made to Ji Rongyu in succession. Among them, Yu Bai accidentally included one where his chubby face revealed a satisfied expression while tasting the star-shaped potato hot dog stick.

The next second, Yu Bai’s phone rang.

Yu Bai answered the call, and Ji Rongyu’s voice sounded in his ear.

“Are you deliberately sending those photos?” Ji Rongyu lowered his voice slightly, sounding like a pitiable puppy, “You know I want to…”

Yu Bai blinked his eyes lightly, “I didn’t send them deliberately. I just saw that you wanted to eat them, but you’re not in City J, so you can’t have them. That’s why I sent you a few photos, letting you ‘quench your thirst’ a bit.”

Ji Rongyu’s lips twitched slightly, “Just a few photos, how could that quench my thirst?”

There seemed to be an underlying meaning in Ji Rongyu’s words, but Yu Bai didn’t catch the deeper implication.

Yu Bai chuckled, “Well, you’ll have to wait until you’re free to come to my shop and eat.”

Ji Rongyu said, “Once I’m done with this busy period, I’ll definitely come to your shop every day and try everything delicious in your shop!”

Just then, Yu Bai heard a young woman’s voice coming from Ji Rongyu’s end of the phone.

“Rongyu—hurry up and change your clothes, Mom will be here soon…”

The woman’s voice suddenly became softer, as if Ji Rongyu intentionally covered the phone microphone.

Yu Bai’s smile froze.

Who was the young woman beside Ji Rongyu? What was her relationship with Ji Rongyu? Why did she address Ji Rongyu so intimately? And who was the “mom” she mentioned?

“Teacher Yu, I’ve been thinking about the peach blossom sauce you made for a few days. I found a way to make jasmine flower sauce. Could you take a look…”

Perhaps the continuous busyness in the afternoon had gradually made Yun He forget some of his past troubles.

In these past few days, Yun He had become more spirited. Whenever he had some spare time, he would consult with Yu Bai about various cooking methods.

In the snack shop, Yun He’s relationship with the other staff remained neutral, but compared to before, he had become more attached to Yu Bai.

Yun He was a reserved person, but that didn’t mean he lacked emotional intelligence or couldn’t read others’ expressions.

When Yun He saw Yu Bai’s gradually darkening expression as he took the phone call, he immediately realized that now was not the best time to approach Yu Bai.

Yun He was about to silently swallow the latter half of his sentence, but unexpectedly, Yu Bai proactively called him.

Yu Bai forced a smile on his face, “Xiao Yun, do you need something from me?”

Yun He hesitated, “Um… not really, it’s just…”

“I overheard earlier, it’s about the jasmine flower sauce, right?”

Yu Bai said, “First, help me tie the apron belt, then I’ll listen to your thoughts…”

Even though Yun He was familiar with Yu Bai, he still maintained his habit of keeping a certain distance from others.

Yun He’s body was tense, and as he watched Yu Bai’s figure in front of him, he silently sighed.

His boss was great in every way, except he lacked a sense of distance from his employees.

But in this imperfect world, he was fortunate to have met Yu Bai.

Yun He slowly tied the apron belt for Yu Bai.

“Teacher Yu, it’s done.”

When Ji Rongyu brought his ear closer to the phone again, he heard the conversation between Yu Bai and Yun He.

“Thank you. Yun He, can you help me tie the apron…”

Tying the apron?!

Ji Rongyu couldn’t help but recall the first day of business at Yu Bai’s snack shop, where Yu Bai and the young chef he had newly hired stood close together in the small space, tying apron belts…

Such an atmosphere had an inexplicable effect on Ji Rongyu, and at that moment, a strange sense of panic surged within him.

So, on that occasion, Ji Rongyu had taken the initiative to step forward, forcefully pushing aside the tall and thin Yun He, who looked like a utility pole, and had personally tied the apron belt for Yu Bai.

However, just a couple of days had passed, and now Yu Bai had let that guy tie his apron again?

Could it be that Yu Bai had taken a liking to that guy?!

At the thought of this, Ji Rongyu’s heart skipped a beat.

Yu Bai wouldn’t be interested in that guy… right?

After all, Yu Bai had once mentioned that he had a beloved wife.

Yu Bai was a straight man, so how could he possibly be attracted to another man?

“Tsk.”

Ji Rongyu furrowed his brows deeply, and dangerous glints flashed in his narrow phoenix-like eyes.

Why did he always get upset whenever he thought about this matter?

“Xiao Yu, didn’t your fourth sister tell you to change your clothes quickly? Mom and the guests are already downstairs. If you don’t hurry, Mom will be unhappy!”

Ji Rongyu irritably yanked off the tightly tied black necktie around his neck and unbuttoned a few shirt buttons, revealing his smooth and well-defined bronze chest.

“Tell Mom that I have something to do later. Whether it’s a blind date or a business meeting, I’m not interested. Let her handle it herself.”

“Xiao Yu! Mom won’t be happy if you do this! Besides, Mom is doing all this for your own good…”

Ji Rongyu pushed the door open with a forceful gesture, “I’m already an adult. Don’t I have the right to choose my own partner?”

“Of course, it’s just that you’re almost thirty…” You haven’t been in a relationship before, and there’s no gossip about you. Is that normal?!

Even he, not to mention their parents, had started to worry about Ji Rongyu.

Ji Rongyu was the youngest child in the Ji family. Although the Ji family upheld a wolf-like education, his older siblings secretly pampered him to some extent.

Naturally, they hoped Ji Rongyu could have a happy and fulfilling family.

Unfortunately, Ji Rongyu was running too fast, and his third brother couldn’t bring himself to voice the words he had wanted to say.

—

At 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, “Galaxy Snack Shop” opened its doors.

As Yu Bai pulled back the curtain that shielded the sunlight, he was almost startled by the scene outside the shop.

In front of the entrance to “Galaxy Snack Shop,” there was already a long line of people, their impatience evident as they eagerly awaited the shop’s opening.

The sharp-eyed customers at the front of the line spotted the curtain being lifted, and they immediately excitedly informed those behind them.

“The doors are open! ‘Galaxy Snack Shop’ is open!”

Yu Bai had just opened the glass door when the customers rushed into the shop, many of them are familiar faces who were already regulars.

After some inquiries, Yu Bai learned the reasons behind the influx of customers today.

First, it was Saturday, a day when many customers who couldn’t visit Yu Bai’s snack shop during weekdays could finally come.

Second, on the second day of Yu Bai’s official opening, the popular food blogger “Light Cuisine Journal,” known for her high reputation and following in City J, had posted scenes from her visit to Yu Bai’s snack shop on her various social media platforms.

Seeing the cozy atmosphere of “Galaxy Snack Shop” and its wide variety of snacks—it was not only a perfect place for photography but also for relaxing and passing the time—a group of retired elders and grandmas in City J, who spent most of their days at home, felt tempted.

Furthermore, many City J netizens who had been eagerly anticipating Yu Bai’s culinary skills, but hadn’t been able to try his snacks due to various reasons, all flocked to “Galaxy Snack Shop.”

Therefore.

On Saturday, “Galaxy Snack Shop” experienced its highest customer flow since its opening.

At noon, before “Galaxy Snack Shop” had even opened its doors.

Tan Shuyi squeezed into the crowd, standing shoulder to shoulder with other customers, and he was nearly going mad.

Tan Shuyi had originally planned to avoid the peak hours at “Galaxy Snack Shop,” so he arrived early when the shop had just opened.

However, to his surprise, when he arrived at the entrance of “Galaxy Snack Shop,” he found that the line had extended all the way to the end of the street.

How could there be so many people in front of this snack shop?!

If it weren’t for Tan Shuyi’s father being persuaded by his drinking buddies in the “Drinking Friends Group” to buy the wine-infused sweet rice balls from “Galaxy Snack Shop,” Tan Shuyi would have turned around and left.

Who would be foolish enough to stand in line for so long at a snack shop just to buy a bowl of wine-infused sweet rice balls?

Aren’t these wine-infused sweet rice balls from various streets and alleys all more or less the same in taste? Even if this shop’s taste was good, how much better could it be?

Tan Shuyi let out a heavy sigh.

Fortunately, after the official opening of “Galaxy Snack Shop,” the queue began to move faster.

In no time, Tan Shuyi had entered the interior of “Galaxy Snack Shop.”

Hey, it really was something else.

As soon as Tan Shuyi stepped inside, he was greeted by a variety of delightful aromas of snacks.

Just by inhaling these tantalizing scents, one could tell that the chefs here were skilled.

Even though Tan Shuyi was in his early thirties, he couldn’t help but salivate at the aroma of the snacks beloved by young people.

Deciding that after he managed to buy the wine-infused sweet rice balls, he would wander around the snack shop and try out other snacks, Tan Shuyi headed for the freshly-made snack counter, where there wasn’t a particularly long line.

“Hello, may I take your order?”

Tan Shuyi replied, “Um… two bowls of wine-infused sweet rice balls, and one of them for takeout.”

Today being Saturday and him having some free time, Tan Shuyi wanted to try the wine-infused sweet rice balls that his father had been obsessing over.

When Yu Bai brought the peach blossom wine-infused sweet rice balls to Tan Shuyi, his expression changed, and then changed again.

Wait, was he seeing things correctly?

“Wait a moment, is this… your shop’s wine-infused sweet rice balls? Does your shop have any other varieties of wine-infused sweet rice balls?”

The translucent pale pink wine-infused soup was adorned with round and plump, adorable sweet rice balls, and several vibrant peach blossoms floated on the surface.

No matter how you looked at it, this didn’t seem like something a grown man would enjoy!

“This is indeed our shop’s wine-infused sweet rice balls. For the time being, we don’t have any other varieties.”

Tan Shuyi thought about his big and hearty, easily inebriated father, who could shatter a table corner with a single palm strike when he got tipsy. He was actually obsessed with such a delicate and pink snack…

Hiss—