Chapter 14: Not an Older Sister, but a Mother

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Not an Older Sister, but a Mother

The couple, Old Zhang and Xiao Li, left with four freshly made orders of egg fried rice, leaving behind a fried rice stall now crowded with new customers.

Just a moment before, Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall had been completely deserted.

Only two customers had come by, and the first thing they said upon seeing Nan Zhi was:

"Ma’am, why’d you move spots?"

They were repeat customers from yesterday.

As these two customers waited, they casually mentioned in passing—

The couple at the new fried rice stall hadn’t just copied Nan Zhi’s "Golden Egg Fried Rice" sign; they were shamelessly telling other customers they were all one family and that the food tasted the same!

"We even ran into some other people who were probably recommended by friends who ate your egg fried rice yesterday. They were cursing up and down the street, saying they’d been scammed! Ma’am, you’ve got to watch out!"

Between the amazing food and her good looks, the customers had a great impression of Nan Zhi, so their warning was well-intentioned.

But Nan Zhi knew it wouldn’t be an easy problem to solve, so she simply smiled and offered a few words of reassurance.

She actually seemed calmer than her indignant customers.

The viewers in the livestream chat were so frustrated they were breathing fire:

[Is this scripted? Is this scripted? Is this scripted?]

[What kind of variety show writer would dare to write a script this stressful? I’d tear them to shreds!]

[It’s probably to create dramatic conflict and contrast... but I’ll be dead from rage before we even get there!]

[I suddenly feel like I’m watching a TV show. The heroine gets bullied by some minor villain’s dirty tricks, and we’re all just waiting for her epic comeback...]

[A comeback? Look at Nan Zhi. She’s such a pushover. Does she look like she’s capable of fighting back? Miss Nan, can’t you channel some of that "go crazy and smash the studio" energy from before?]

[I’m so pissed! I’m so pissed! AHHHH!]

...

Many people in the chat were threatening to leave the livestream and never watch again.

But in the end, the viewer count only dropped by a handful.

Clearly, most of the audience was waiting for the "script" to turn around so they could finally let out a breath of relief!

Now, with Old Zhang and Xiao Li having staged their dramatic "Family Feud Over Fried Rice," a wave of customers was drawn to the stall.

Then those customers brought more customers, creating a positive feedback loop.

Business at the fried rice stall gradually picked up.

The number of viewers on the livestream skyrocketed along with it, breaking 200,000 and surpassing the previous day’s peak!

...

While Nan Zhi was busy making fried rice, Nan Yi had his own job to do.

His exquisite little face, which looked as if it were carved from ice, remained serious as he nimbly weaved between customers, in charge of collecting money.

"Hello, three orders of egg fried rice. That’s 60 yuan."

"A total of 40 yuan, thank you."

"You can scan the QR code."

He didn’t speak much, but he remembered each customer’s order and total perfectly.

He would even state the total instantly, as if it required no thought at all.

A customer, bored while waiting, started to tease him:

"Wow, you’re so smart! You can calculate that so quickly!"

He’d already heard similar comments several times. Nan Yi was no longer on edge like a startled bird; now, he just pursed his lips, a silent show of disagreement.

The customer then asked with a knowing smile:

"How old are you? Three? Four? It’s so impressive that you’re already helping your big sister at such a young age!"

Nan Yi was suddenly displeased.

His eyelashes, as thick as little fans, cast a faint shadow below his eyes.

His little face was stubborn, yet he countered softly but with great insistence:

"She’s not my sister."

It was noisy, and the customer didn’t quite hear him, letting out a confused, "Huh?"

Nan Yi tilted his little face up and raised his voice slightly:

"She’s my mom!"

The customer heard him clearly this time.

They were surprised at first, then quickly apologized.

"No wonder you two look so alike! I’m sorry, your mom just looks so young, it was my mistake!"

Nan Yi shook his head and said seriously that it was fine.

’He felt a faint, secret joy at the customer’s comment about their resemblance.’

A hidden camera captured the scene:

[Is Nan Yi secretly happy?]

[I thought his relationship with Nan Zhi was bad...]

[I guess kids just naturally long for their mothers!]

[Whoa, seeing their business pick up, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!]

[Am I the only one who thinks Nan Yi is actually really smart? He’s doing it all in his head, and he’s super fast.]

[I never used to like sullen kids like Nan Yi, but now that I think about it, he seems really mature. At least he can help Nan Zhi shoulder the burden.]

...

Nan Yi had no idea so many people in the chat were praising him.

He had just taken a payment and was about to head back behind the food cart to help with small tasks like packing and bagging.

Suddenly, his little face went taut.

It was peak time, with about five or six people standing in front of the stall, packing the area around the small cart so tightly you couldn’t get through.

So when a man quietly slipped to the edge of the crowd, getting ready to leave, he didn’t draw much attention. Someone even stepped aside to let him pass.

In the blink of an eye, the man had squeezed through the throng and vanished into the stream of pedestrians.

Without a second thought, Nan Yi shot off after the figure nimbly weaving through the crowd.

The man was fast. Being an adult with long legs, he was halfway down the street in the blink of an eye.

Nan Yi gritted his teeth and sprinted. When he finally caught up, he grabbed the corner of the man’s jacket.

The man in the black jacket turned, surprised.

"What do you want, kid?"

His voice drew the attention of several passersby.

Panting from the run, Nan Yi lifted his stubborn, beast-like little face, his dark eyes like hidden daggers.

His lips were pressed into a thin line, one hand still locked onto the man’s jacket.

He freed his other hand and held up the payment QR code that hung around his neck.

"Pay up. Sixty yuan."

The man’s heart leaped in shock.

He instinctively glanced down at the bag of fried rice in his hand.

The onlookers who had stopped to watch began to put two and two together:

"Did this guy just dine and dash?"

"He looks so well-dressed. How could he do something like that? Tsk, tsk."

"Hey, buddy! Just pay the kid! You’re a grown man, what are you doing?"

"Yeah, seriously, who dines and dashes these days!"

"..."

A murmur of discussion rose from the crowd.

But as the gazes of contempt and disdain fell on him, the man didn’t admit his guilt and slink away as everyone expected.

The man furrowed his brow, looking deeply troubled. His tone was gentle.

"Hey, little guy, I think you’re mistaken. I already paid."

The man had thick eyebrows and big eyes; he didn’t look like the stereotypical shifty-eyed crook who’d stoop to petty theft.

His expression and posture, in particular, seemed utterly sincere, completely at odds with what the crowd had anticipated.

This made the onlooking crowd, who had just been rebuking him, start to waver.

Nan Yi clenched his jaw, his small body radiating immense fury.

"No! You’re the one who didn’t pay! I remember!"

Looking exasperated, the man even kindly crouched down to meet Nan Yi’s gaze.