"Look, it’s Xiaojiang Noodle Shop!"
Jiang Xiaoqi’s colleague, Xu Xinrui, said as she looped her arm through hers:
"This noodle shop is super popular online. So many people have eaten here, and everyone who has says it’s delicious. I’ve been wanting to try it for ages."
"We’ll see. We still have to go pick out books."
As the subject group leader, Jiang Xiaoqi had come with her colleagues to a bookstore in Berkeley. Their plan was to select some books suitable for children’s summer reading, which they would then recommend to their students. From that list, parents could choose what to buy for their kids.
"A noodle shop is a bit low-class, don’t you think?"
The person who spoke was named Zhu Xiaopeng, and he was standing next to Jiang Xiaoqi.
He was wearing navy blue casual pants, a white polo shirt, and had a buzz cut. From the looks of it, he seemed to be a few years older than Jiang Xiaoqi.
After Zhou Hejuan left, a new principal came to the school.
Zhu Xiaopeng was the new principal’s nephew and had been assigned to a job in logistics.
After learning that Jiang Xiaoqi was going to select books to recommend to students’ parents, he had insisted on coming along. The excuse he gave was that since he was in logistics and also responsible for school procurement, he could help select some textbooks.
The reason Jiang Xiaoqi wanted to come to Berkeley was twofold: first, because there was a large bookstore here, and second, because she wanted to eat noodles at Lin Jiang’s shop.
Because she had never been.
But now that Zhu Xiaopeng had tagged along, she didn’t want to go anymore.
If Lin Jiang was in the shop and saw a man following her around like a sycophant, it could easily lead to a misunderstanding, and she didn’t want that to happen.
"The class is fine, I think. Look at the decor inside. I think it looks quite nice," Xu Xinrui said.
"I’m not talking about their decor," Zhu Xiaopeng said with a smile. "It’s just, we’re all out together. Eating noodles seems a bit plain, don’t you think?"
"Tonight’s on me. Order whatever you want."
That’s what he said, but while he was speaking, his eyes were fixed on Jiang Xiaoqi the entire time.
The implication was clear: she was to decide what they would eat that night.
"It’s my mom’s birthday today. She’s already made dinner and is waiting for me. We have to choose quickly, I need to get home soon."
Xu Xinrui didn’t say anything, knowing that Jiang Xiaoqi was rejecting Zhu Xiaopeng.
"Oh, so it’s Aunty’s birthday today!"
Zhu Xiaopeng acted as if he’d discovered a new continent, saying:
"Later, I’ll buy a bouquet of flowers and order a cake. You can take them back to Aunty, or I can deliver them personally. That would be more sincere."
"There’s no need to trouble you, Teacher Zhu. Let’s just go look at books first."
"Alright, let’s take care of business first."
Jiang Xiaoqi was feeling a bit irritated. She had specially changed into a new dress today, planning to come here to eat at Brother Jiang’s place, but Zhu Xiaopeng had ruined it all.
’This simp!’
’So annoying!’
"Teacher Jiang, why do you keep looking over at that noodle shop?" Zhu Xiaopeng asked.
"It’s nothing. Just looking around."
After giving a casual reply, Jiang Xiaoqi averted her gaze, lest Zhu Xiaopeng say anything else.
"What are you looking at, glancing all over the place?"
Just as Jiang Xiaoqi pulled her gaze back, Lin Jiang walked up to her.
"Brother Jiang!"
Seeing Lin Jiang, Jiang Xiaoqi’s expression lit up with delight.
Lin Jiang smiled and nodded. "Are you here to eat?"
"Summer vacation is about to start, so I want to select some books to recommend to the kids’ parents," Jiang Xiaoqi said.
"There’s a big bookstore here, and your shop happens to be here too, so we came over."
"As it happens, I’m free right now. I’ll go take a look with you guys."
"Mhm."
Jiang Xiaoqi was delighted. Judging by Brother Jiang’s attitude, it seemed he hadn’t misunderstood.
"Hey, handsome! Still remember me?" Xu Xinrui waved and greeted Lin Jiang.
"I remember. I saw you once last time when I went to pick her up."
"Wow, handsome has a great memory," Xu Xinrui teased with a smile.
"Just now, Xiaoqi mentioned you opened a shop here. Where is it? We should go support you sometime."
Lin Jiang pointed to his noodle shop. "It’s this one. If you come to eat in the future, just mention Xiaoqi’s name, and it’ll be free for you."
"Huh? You’re the owner of this internet-famous noodle shop?! We were just saying we wanted to eat here."
Xu Xinrui looked at Jiang Xiaoqi. "That’s not very nice of you, not telling us about this."
"I was afraid Brother Jiang wouldn’t charge us, so I was too embarrassed to say anything."
"With the relationship you two have, why even talk about money? Honestly," Xu Xinrui teased.
"If you don’t come eat, I will. I’m thick-skinned anyway; I love free food."
"Oh, honestly..."
Before Pandora’s Box was opened, Jiang Xiaoqi was still a shy, innocent girl. Naturally, she couldn’t handle this kind of teasing and stomped her foot in embarrassment.
"Then just put it on my tab. I’ll pay for it later."
"I’m staying out of it. It’s between you two anyway."
"Alright, alright, let’s get back to business. Let’s go pick out the books."
"Okay, let’s go."
Very naturally, Jiang Xiaoqi looped her arm through Lin Jiang’s, and they walked towards the bookstore together.
Zhu Xiaopeng’s pupils contracted. He watched them, grinding his molars, and could only settle for second best, moving to stand with Xu Xinrui.
"What’s the deal with those two? I’ve never heard that Teacher Jiang has a boyfriend."
"They’re probably in that ambiguous stage," Xu Xinrui said.
"He came to pick up Qiqi once before. Their relationship seems to be quite good."
Xu Xinrui’s eyes darted around for a moment, feeling that what she said wasn’t quite impactful enough.
"And he’s well-off financially. There are people lining up to eat noodles every day. He must be rolling in it."
"If you think that, you just don’t understand the influencer economy," Zhu Xiaopeng said, as if he were an expert giving a lecture.
"This kind of internet fame only lasts for a while. After some time, it’ll die down."
As he spoke, Zhu Xiaopeng turned to look back at Lin Jiang’s noodle shop.

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