On the street behind the palace, there was a chef who had repeatedly rejected invitations from international restaurants. She ran a small shop.
The delicacies there had extremely arbitrary prices. For the same dish, it might cost one hundred today and a thousand tomorrow. When the chef was in a bad mood, the price could even rise to ten thousand, and it was sold in limited quantities with intermittent “gugu” sounds. Despite this, many people still made reservations and waited.
The service there was terrible. Customers were actually asked to carry their own dishes and clear the tableware. Oh, and they had to wipe the tables too! “Oh my God, this boss is absolutely crazy!”
A diner closed the news app on his phone and said to his companion, “Well, do you understand how powerful this restaurant is now?”
But his companion had no time to chat with him. He was devouring the steamed buns on the table voraciously.
“Hey! Wait! Leave me a couple!”
“Boss, another basket of steamed buns!” the diner shouted toward the shop entrance.
Standing at the shop door, Yan Wei, who was looking forward to the back of the palace, didn’t even turn her head. “No more selling!”
“Boss, how can you be like this? Can’t you just raise the price like before? Why stop selling altogether?” the customer cried in despair.
“I just won’t sell anymore! Hurry up and leave after finishing!” Yan Wei said impatiently.
The customer could only slowly enjoy the last basket of steamed buns and sighed, “Sigh, she clearly has a beautiful face now, but her personality is just too bad.”
Two diners from nearby tables took the opportunity to mock him, “The boss is really gentle with her crush! It’s just that you’re not good-looking enough!”
“Hey, how can you guys talk like that!”
Three tables of diners started arguing loudly.
Standing at the door, Yan Wei glanced at the time. It was almost ten o’clock, but there was still no movement from the palace. It seemed like that person wouldn’t come after all.
Returning to the shop, she started driving out the diners: “I’m closing now. Hurry up and finish.”
The three tables of diners were used to this and quickly continued eating their breakfast.
After the customers left, Yan Wei pulled down the roller shutter and prepared to lock the door.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind her: “Have you closed already?”
Hearing the voice, Yan Wei’s face lit up with surprise. She turned around and saw Xia Yu walking toward her from the other side of the palace.
“I thought no one was coming to eat,” Yan Wei said as she opened the door again and happily invited Xia Yu in.
A slow-moving customer stared in disbelief at Yan Wei. She had just driven everyone away, yet claimed that no one had come to eat!
After Xia Yu entered, Yan Wei hung a “Closed” sign at the entrance.
She led Xia Yu upstairs and seated him. There was only one table on the second floor, with large windows facing the street that provided excellent lighting, making the space cozy and tidy.
“What do you want to eat today?” Yan Wei asked Xia Yu.
“The usual,” Xia Yu replied.
Yan Wei went downstairs first and brought up a bowl of dried shredded pork soup and a basket of steamed buns.
As Xia Yu picked up his chopsticks and started eating, he couldn’t help but marvel at how much Yan Wei’s cooking skills had improved.
Halfway through the meal, Xia Yu saw Yan Wei carrying a small bamboo basket upstairs.
Yan Wei placed the basket in front of Xia Yu and said expectantly, “I made a new kind of steamed bun. Try it.”
Xia Yu looked curiously at the steamed bun inside the bamboo basket.
It was a steamed bun the size of a baby’s palm, with a smooth surface, and the soup inside could be faintly seen flowing.
“What’s it called?” Xia Yu picked up one steamed bun. Under the sunlight, it looked even more translucent.
“White Jade Bun,” Yan Wei urged him, “Hurry up and taste it.”
Xia Yu took a bite. At first, it felt like a white glutinous rice ball, but when it entered his mouth, it revealed the deliciousness of a steamed bun, with a hint of sweetness.
“Delicious!”
Hearing Xia Yu’s comment, Yan Wei smiled with her eyes narrowing into crescents.
Xia Yu quickly finished one and reached for the second.
This time, he bit too hastily, and the soup burst out, squirting onto Xia Yu’s neck.
Before Xia Yu could react, Yan Wei became anxious. She came to Xia Yu’s front, leaned down, and took off her apron to wipe his neck.
The touch of her hand on Xia Yu’s neck made him feel a bit ticklish. Lowering his gaze, Xia Yu wanted to tell Yan Wei that this wasn’t appropriate, but he was distracted by a sight.
After taking off her apron, Yan Wei was wearing just a regular T-shirt, and leaning forward made it easy for her to expose herself.
Unaware of the situation, Yan Wei finished wiping Xia Yu’s neck and lifted her head.
“Be careful when you eat,” she told Xia Yu.
Feeling guilty, Xia Yu absentmindedly reached for the third White Jade Bun, trying to change the topic: “This bun is really big.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he was in trouble.
Yan Wei looked at the White Jade Bun in confusion, not understanding how such a small bun could be considered big.
However, if Xia Yu said it was big, then it was big.
She continued introducing, “Not only is it big, but it’s also tender, right?”
Xia Yu looked at Yan Wei in astonishment and nodded awkwardly.
“If you take a sniff, you can even smell the sticky rice fragrance,” Yan Wei happily said. Nothing made her happier than receiving Xia Yu’s approval.
“Oh,” Xia Yu’s gaze was a bit wandering.
“Because it uses a modified white rice ball dough for the skin…” Yan Wei was about to continue explaining, but her subconscious slowly kicked in, telling her that the conversation just now seemed a bit problematic.
After five seconds of thinking, she finally understood the whole context and her face immediately turned red.
Seeing Yan Wei’s reaction, Xia Yu knew the truth had been exposed. He lowered his head and pretended to be focused on eating buns.
Yan Wei poured a cup of tea for Xia Yu and sat beside him.
After finishing breakfast, Xia Yu stood up to prepare to leave.
“If you want, I can make it for you every day,” Yan Wei said with her head lowered.
Before Xia Yu could reply, she nervously lifted her head to clarify, “I mean the White Jade Bun.”
Xia Yu thought for a moment, sat back down, and looked into Yan Wei’s eyes.
When he was in high school, Yan Wei often hung around him and even confessed to him. Xia Yu had thought that after so many years, Yan Wei would have forgotten this feeling. However, he never expected her to be so persistent.
This shop had been operating next to the palace for a year now.
Xia Yu was not a heartless person. He had witnessed Yan Wei’s persistence. Although he didn’t have feelings for her before, over the course of this year, having three meals a day here gradually nurtured new emotions within him.
He reached out and touched Yan Wei’s cheek.
Yan Wei looked at Xia Yu nervously.
“Just White Jade Buns aren’t enough, you know.”
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