88 Crazy for Noodles (2/2)
The white noodles covered in handmade beef sauce, topped with a bouncy egg. The egg white was just right, and the yolk was still in a half-cooked state, like it would burst and slither down into the noodles with a slight poke from the chopstick. The incredible presentation combined with the alluring scent. Even though it was just a simple noodle dish, the quality greatly impressed Yao Zhixing.
”See this‽” Yao Zhixing purposely moved the bowl of noodles toward Han Chu, gloating, ”Now, don't you regret saying you're not hungry? Ha ha ha…”
Ha your head! Han Chu gave his friend a side-eye and suppressed the feeling of hunger that was burgeoning. ”If you don't eat it soon, the noodles will clump together.”
Yao Zhixing nodded in satisfaction. He pulled his bowl back and used his chopsticks to mix everything up. After taking a bite, he instantly raised a thumb up at Ye Shuang.
These people came to my home without warning, used my kitchen to cook my noodles, and even used my beef and eggs, but in the end, I did not even get the sauce of the noodles…
Han Chu felt a bit offended, but he was not one to be angered over something as frivolous as a bowl of noodles. He used his gaze to stress his displeasure before continuing to make the call to rush Brother Wong's group.
…
”We'll be there in another ten minutes, but Mr. Han, didn't you tell us to go to the nearby market to buy some food first‽”
After answering the call, Brother Wong, who sat in the front seat of the taxi, turned around and reported to his colleagues, ”It sounds like Mr. Han is not in a good mood today; he seems weirdly agitated.”
”How agitated is he?” Lawyer Lin pushed on his glasses and commented calmly, ”The schedule I was assigned today is very weird, and the fact that Brother Wong was given a day-off by the client is an extremely rare case as well. Furthermore, Ye Shuang was also told to get off work early. If I'm not mistaken, some problems have arisen within this case. Mr. Han normally would not ask us to gather at his place…”
It clicked for Brother Wong. ”Yuanyang, you mean this case might be cancelled? That explains Mr. Han's mood.”
Lin Yuanyang was Lawyer Lin's full name. He nodded. ”If it's just a small problem, it might be troublesome but solvable. If that's the case, Mr. Han will just be a bit annoyed. If it's a big problem, Mr. Han's mood will be more than a little bit not good.”
Brother Wong finally understood why Lawyer Lin would ask how agitated Han Chu sounded on the phone. ”Actually, I can't really judge what Mr. Han's mood is really like on the phone. In any case, he did not sound happy…”
Being observant of one's emotion was too high-end of a skill, and Brother Wong had not mastered that yet.
”So, you're not so sure yourself‽” A cold glint flashed across Lawyer Lin's glasses. ”For the sake of safety, we had better wait for Mr. Han to calm down first before we show up at his place. Sir, do you mind taking us to XX Market? I hear they sell the freshest meat.”
The driver was speechless; their destination was just minutes away, but the customer suddenly told him to take a detour to XX Market, which was at least ten minutes away. From their conversation, it sounded like they were going to buy some ingredients before going to this ”Mr. Han's” place. 'The customer is always right', and the driver was not going to turn down the opportunity to earn more money, so he made a U-turn at the next junction and drove the other way.
Han Chu had no clue what had happened to Brother Wong's group. After he made the rushing call, he regretted it. He felt like he was being way too unlike himself, a paragon of calmness. Therefore, in the next one hour, even though Brother Wong's group was still nowhere to be seen, he could only console himself with an explanation like probably the traffic was worse than he thought.
Just like that, Ye Shuang and Yao Zhixing finished the noodles, and even the fruit plate, took some drinks out of Han Chu's fridge, and started to watch the television in his living room.
As the night fell, the energy to be angry had left Han Chu. Even his stomach had stopped growling—his stomach had gotten used to the feeling of hunger. Finally, the doorbell rang.
He answered the door with negative energy swirling all around him. Outside the door, Brother Wong's group smiled apologetically at him with shopping bags hanging all over them. ”We're so sorry, Mr. Han. The roads were so crowded, and the lines at the market were so long so…”
”Come in.” Han Chu did not even have the energy to say anything to them. He glanced at them weakly before pointing at his shoe rack, telling them to put on slippers. ”Forget about the dinner. We'll jump straight to the point—I need to discuss Miss An's case with all of you.”