Chapter 226: Chapter 136: You Should Work Hard to Win Over Such a Good Girl

It was past lunchtime but not yet evening, so there weren’t many restaurants on the street serving food.

The two of them went to a noodle shop near their residential complex and simply ordered two bowls of noodles.

"The Zha Jiang Mian with peas at this shop is delicious."

Chen Xin said with a smile, "Don’t think I’m being cheap by not treating you to something nice. I’ve arranged for a big dinner tonight."

"Do you know where I grew up?"

Xu Yun couldn’t help but chuckle. "Of course I know the noodles here are good."

"Oh, right." Chen Xin stuck out her tongue playfully.

’I can’t believe I’m introducing local specialties to a local.’

’It’s like reciting the Dao De Jing to Laozi himself—totally redundant.’

The owner of the noodle shop also recognized Xu Yun, and business was slow at the moment.

She came over with a smile and greeted him, "Xu Yun, it’s been a long time since you’ve come for noodles."

"But you’re as charming as ever, Ma’am."

Xu Yun teased, "If you told me you were eighteen, I’d believe you."

"You brat. Haven’t seen you in a few years, and after living in the big city, that mouth of yours has gotten awfully fresh."

The proprietress shot him a look of mock anger. "How dare you flirt with me. Believe it or not, I’ll tell your mom."

Although they called her "Ma’am," she was only about seven or eight years older than Xu Yun, just around thirty-three.

She was in full bloom!

Back in his school days, he and his group of high schoolers with raging hormones would come back every week and flock to this place for noodles.

The good taste was one reason; another was that the proprietress was pretty with a great figure, and they all liked coming to see her.

As for whether they had other ideas when they went home late at night, that was unclear.

In any case, he hadn’t.

Because back then, he’d had a crush on his English teacher.

’Thinking back on it now—that tender age, my awful self, those shameless thoughts.’

’I wonder how my English teacher is doing now.’

’By my calculations, she should be about the same age as the proprietress now.’

"Please don’t, I was wrong."

Xu Yun said, "You know me. I’m not afraid of heaven or earth, but I’m terrified of my mom."

"Good that you know." After bantering with Xu Yun, the proprietress looked over at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin had also been coming here often for meals recently, so her face was familiar.

But the two of them rarely spoke.

Every time Chen Xin came, she would eat her noodles and leave, never staying to chat.

Seeing her with Xu Yun this time, she took the initiative to greet her. "Hey, pretty lady, so you know Xu Yun! Next time you come, I’ll cook you a bigger portion."

"Thank you, Ma’am," Chen Xin said, following Xu Yun’s lead.

Xu Yun said jokingly, "Ma’am, this is my friend. You have to take good care of her when she comes to eat from now on."

"How should I take care of her?"

The proprietress teased, "If I give her an extra-large serving each time, she won’t be able to finish it."

"Ma’am, are you looking down on her?"

Xu Yun said, "She can eat a lot, don’t you worry."

"Shut up!"

Chen Xin said, flushed with annoyance, "Ma’am, don’t listen to his nonsense. I don’t eat a lot, just a normal amount."

"Haha, don’t worry, I won’t listen to him. He’s full of hot air."

The proprietress laughed. "I know him too well."

Chen Xin nodded. "Yes, yes! Not a single word he says is true. All he knows is how to lie."

"So you two are a united front today, huh?"

Xu Yun grumbled, "Ma’am, I’ve been giving you business for years. How can you side with an outsider like this?"

"What do you know? This is women helping women, of course."

The proprietress gave a meaningful smile.

Today, being with Xu Yun, this pretty young woman named Chen Xin was clearly much more cheerful than when she used to come alone.

As someone with experience, she could tell at a glance that this girl most likely liked Xu Yun.

At the very least, she had a very good impression of him!

A woman always acts differently in front of a man she likes.

She’d heard that a month ago, he was supposed to get married, but for some reason, it didn’t happen.

Everyone was saying the woman’s side thought his family was too poor.

Others said the woman had cheated and was caught red-handed by Xu Yun, so they broke up.

In short, there were all sorts of rumors.

After Zhang Sujuan came back, she never mentioned the matter or gave any explanation, as if nothing had happened.

But everyone knew that in a small town, this sort of thing was a huge loss of face, regardless of who was right or wrong.

But there was one thing she was sure of now.

Xu Yun definitely wasn’t poor anymore. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have casually paid her 20,000 yuan for noodles all at once.

’If he’d gritted his teeth and paid it just to show off in front of a pretty girl...’

’...then the cost of that flex was a bit steep.’

While they were eating noodles, on the other side of town, Zhang Sujuan was rock-steady, playing mahjong with her friends.

"Sujuan, your son is back. Aren’t you going to go see him?"

"Yeah, why don’t we wrap it up? We can play again another day."

"No, no, let’s keep playing."

Zhang Sujuan said with a laugh, "You don’t understand. Today, he has something more important to do than see me or come home."

"What’s that?..." her mahjong partners asked, a bit confused.

"It’s a matter of whether or not I get to hold a grandchild soon." Zhang Sujuan just wanted her son to get together with Chen Xin.

Besides, it was the girl’s birthday today. Shouldn’t he be spending it with her?

He could see his old mom anytime, and keep her company anytime!

Compared to all that, settling on a daughter-in-law for herself was the real priority.

’Sigh, I wonder if Xu Yun bought Chen Xin a birthday present?’

’And if he did, I wonder if it’s something she’ll like.’

’My son is great in every way, except when it comes to women. Then he’s a block of wood, completely clueless.’

If Chen Xin heard what Auntie just thought, she would probably burst out laughing on the spot and retort, "Auntie, are you sure you don’t have some kind of misunderstanding about your son?!"