The Game of Life

“It’s almost ready, the thickening sauce will be done in a moment,” Jiang Feng replied.

Due to the special preparation of the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon, it had to wait until the guests had arrived before the pine needles could be removed, so the wait was usually quite long.

“Jin, go tell Mr. Chu that the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon will be ready in five minutes,” Ji Yue said, turning to a waitress beside her.

Jin immediately turned and left.

The clock on the wall showed 6:47 p.m., almost seven, the actual start of the evening rush hour. The lobby of Taifeng Building was already bustling with activity, and not even a few spare rooms were left on the second and third floors. The business was even better than on the opening day.

“Ji Yue, how many tables are still vacant now?” Fan Mei called out to Ji Yue, who was hastily heading to the front desk.

“Aside from the reserved tables, there are four two-person tables and two six-person tables left in the lobby. All the large tables are occupied, the second-floor private rooms are fully booked, and there seems to be two private rooms available on the third floor,” Ji Yue replied.

Fan Mei frowned, “Are there any no-show customers who had reservations?”

“I’m not sure about that. Xiaoling, can you check the front desk for no-shows who had reservations?” Ji Yue said, turning to Xiaoling.

“If there are customers who haven’t arrived past their reservation time, make sure to call them first and emphasize that the deposit is non-refundable to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Today is Qixi so the customer traffic is definitely huge, remain extra vigilant to prevent any mishaps. Are the snacks and lemon water for the waiting guests ready?” Fan Mei instructed.

“Qi Rou is preparing them,” Ji Yue said.

“Where is Qi Rou?”

“I think she’s over there,” Ji Yue pointed to the northeast direction.

“Sister Ji, we’ve run out of cups for the pearl milk tea.”

“The cups for the pearl milk tea are in that… forget it, I’ll get them. You go busy yourself with something else. Which table ordered the pearl milk tea?” Ji Yue felt that as soon as she finished her shift today, she definitely needed to go home, take a shower, and sleep. Only after waking up the next day would she consider how to deal with her brother at home.

…

By the time the evening rush hour ended, it was already past ten.

The kitchen’s rush hour ended earlier than the dining hall’s. While the waitresses were still shuttling between tables, the chefs could finally take a short breath and start cleaning up the kitchen.

Only now, in all the busy chaos of the past few hours, did Jiang Feng realize that he hadn’t steamed his corn flour rose bouquet yet.

Not only was it not steamed, but the dough had also dried up, becoming somewhat hard and pitiful to look at while still being slightly soft.

Touching it, you could even get flour on your hands.

Jiang Feng stood in the corner, looking at the six corn flour roses he had shaped in the morning, and fell silent.

Should he shape a new bouquet?

But if he were to make a new one, not only would there not be enough time, but it would also be quite conspicuous and out of place to knead the dough while everyone else was taking a break.

What should he do now?

Should he still give this strange Qixi gift or not?

Jiang Feng wanted to sneak a peek at what Wu Minqi was doing, then he realized he couldn’t see her past the rack.

Suddenly, Jiang Feng heard footsteps.

Just like any middle or high school student who sneaks to play with their mobile phone in their room, upon hearing footsteps outside the door, Jiang Feng subconsciously hid the corn flour rose bouquet behind his back and turned to find that it was Zhang Guanghang.

He had come to get the chocolate roses he left in the freezer.

Jiang Feng immediately realized what would happen next and, without caring about the now failed bouquet of corn flour roses, waited for Zhang Guanghang to leave before going over to Wu Minqi by the stove and poking her with his finger.

“Hmm?” Wu Minqi turned around.

“Zhang Guanghang is about to confess his feelings to Ji Yue,” Jiang Feng said.

Wu Minqi instantly got the message and joined the ranks of the onlookers.

Sang Ming, seeing Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Zhang Guanghang all go out, tapped Han Yigu next to him, “Is there something going on outside? Why did they all go out?”

“If you want to know, just follow them out and see,” Han Yigu said.

Finding the reasoning sound, Sang Ming followed suit.

Zhang Weiyu, seeing Sang Ming also leave, curiously followed.

Han Yigu thought for a moment and followed closely behind.

Tang Tang, clueless but curious, also went out.

Jiang Jiankang felt there was something suspicious going on and…

…

In the blink of an eye, there were only two elders left in the kitchen.

“All of them running around in a flurry, what’s all the fuss about?” Jiang Weiguo said.

“They’re young, who knows what they’re up to,” Jiang Weiming said with a smile.

Zhang Guanghang had a chocolate rose hidden behind his back in his right hand and stopped Ji Yue, who was on her way to the second floor.

“Ji Yue, I have something I want to talk to you about, can you come over for a moment?” Zhang Guanghang said.

“Hmm? Sure. Is there a problem with the picture I sent you last night?” Ji Yue, unsuspecting, walked toward Zhang Guanghang, and they both moved to a corner.

As he turned around, Zhang Guanghang swiftly moved his right hand to the side, and Ji Yue didn’t see the object he was holding at all.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi were the first to come out, finding a perfect spot to spectate, where they could clearly see the people involved, hear some of the conversation without disturbing them.

When Jiang Feng turned his head, he found that the place behind him was packed with people.

Jiang Feng: ???

Nani???

“Brother Feng, what are they doing?” Sang Ming asked, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“Shut up, don’t disturb others who are having a romantic moment,” Jiang Feng said softly.

Sang Ming: ???

“What’s up?” Ji Yue asked, leaning against the wall.

Zhang Guanghang raised his right hand and presented the chocolate rose to Ji Yue.

“Cest la plus belle aubaine que je taie rencontré. (Meeting you is the luckiest thing that has happened to me.)”

Ji Yue: …

Although she could roughly guess what Zhang Guanghang meant, she didn’t understand a word he was saying.

The crowd of onlookers in the back: …

What did he just say?

“Would you like to go out with me?” Zhang Guanghang seamlessly switched to Chinese.

This time, Ji Yue got it, and although she was a bit surprised, she still wholeheartedly accepted the chocolate rose from Zhang Guanghang’s hand, her smile blooming like the rose in her hand: “I would love to.”

“There’s still something to deal with in the lobby, I’ll head over there first.” As she left, Ji Yue sent a sharp glance in the direction of Jiang Feng and the others.

By the time the evening’s business finally finished, and everyone started to head home one by one, it was nearly midnight. Zhang Guanghang originally planned to escort Ji Yue home, but she graciously declined.

When Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi finished packing up and went out the back door, they found Ji Yue waiting for them at the back entrance.

“Young man, how did the melon taste tonight?” Ji Yue had been waiting at the portal for quite some time.

Jiang Feng: …

You just got confessed to by your Prince Charming, and instead of going home with your man, you’re staking out the back door for me.

“Not bad, not bad.” Jiang Feng wore a fake smile on his face.

“I’ve got something serious to talk to you about, let’s walk and talk, Minqi, may I borrow your man for a couple of minutes?” Ji Yue said.

“Feel free,” Wu Minqi nodded.

“Something serious?” Jiang Feng was somewhat puzzled.

“I need to take some time off, my pay can be deducted or whatever, but the length of my leave might be quite long, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” Ji Yue said earnestly, “I only found out after checking my phone when I got off work. Mrs. Wang has already left, so I came straight to you. My irresponsible little brother, didn’t he hack their school’s administration system? Now the school wants to dismiss him. My dad is out of town on business, and my mom is alone at home; she wants me to hurry back.”

“When are you leaving?” Jiang Feng inquired.

“If you approve, I’d like to leave tomorrow afternoon,” Ji Yue said, “I casually mentioned it to Sister Fan, and she said she could take care of my work for a while, but somehow I feel bad about leaving her all that work for her to do alone.”

“It can’t be helped if family matters take precedence. If it gets too busy, I’ll just ask my great-aunt to come over and help,” Jiang Feng said.

“I can help, too,” Wu Minqi offered.

“Thanks,” Ji Yue sighed, “Why do all these things happen at once, both good and bad?”

“Ahem,” Jiang Feng felt that now that the business talk was over, it was time for some gossip, “Comrade Ji Yue, when did you two actually start getting together? You only speak a few words when you meet; you don’t seem to have much to do with each other.”

“Young man, what era are we in that we need to meet face to face to talk?” Ji Yue gave a slight smile towards Jiang Feng and took out her phone, “Of course it’s WeChat, do you think I’m talking to my brother every day until midnight?”

Jiang Feng indicated his understanding.

Online relationship.

“But I was still shocked when he suddenly confessed today,” Ji Yue said, “I thought we were at least a month away from that.”

“No signs at all?” Jiang Feng was incredulous.

“Were there any signs when you confessed to your Minqi?” Ji Yue countered.

Wu Minqi was taken aback by the sudden mention of her, and the truth of the matter made her cheeks flush.

“If I were to guess the reason, I could think of a few,” Ji Yue continued, “When we were chatting, I noticed something. Are his parents not very affectionate with each other? I feel like his views on love and marriage are a bit different from ours.”

“Different?”

“He’s more… how should I put it? He’s a non-marriage advocate. He treasures everyone he’s ever liked yet is somewhat afraid of their affection, so he tends to preemptively confess, beating the woman to it. I always felt that what he felt for his ex-girlfriends was more gratitude than love, which is why his view on relationships is somewhat distorted. Although he’s dated many times, his relationships always end quickly,” Ji Yue instantly became an expert in relationship analysis.

“Then why did you still agree?” Wu Minqi was somewhat perplexed, “Aren’t you worried about a lack of security?”

“Security? If we worry about that when in a relationship, wouldn’t that be too cautionary?” Ji Yue said, “I like him, he pursues me, why wouldn’t I agree? As for the rest, who knows if we’re even compatible before dating? When you’re of age to date, you should date wholeheartedly; otherwise, we might not have the energy when we’re older.”

“I won’t interrupt your lovey-dovey talk anymore, I’m heading off first, I need to get some rest,” Ji Yue walked away quickly.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi were left speechless for a moment.

“Minqi, do you feel like Ji Yue’s view on love is quite different from ours?” Jiang Feng asked.

Wu Minqi gave a serious nod.