Yan was not angry, and the agent came back in time to hear what Mr. Lin said. “Unfortunately, you didn’t fulfill my condition.”
He exclaimed and showed a face of disappointment. It seemed like the deal was not successful.
Yan was not angry but smiled slightly and said, “Mr. Lin, the moment you mentioned your condition, I already knew I would fail. I’m here to tell you that your wife has passed away, but she’ll forever live on in your heart. Moreover…” She lowered her eyes and seemed as if she thought of someone else. “Just being able to love someone dearly… You’re a blessed man, Mr. Lin.” Unlike her who never had anything, not to mention anyone to lose.
Mr. Lin looked at her and moved his lips but was unable to say a thing.
“Alright, it was a pleasure to look at your recipes today. It was an honor, but my father is still waiting for us to take care of him at the hospital, so I must take my leave now.” After saying that, Zhou Xiaoyan grabbed onto Luo Huimei’s arm and said softly, “Goodbye, Mr. Lin.”
Luo Huimei left with extreme disappointment as she was pulled by Yan. After that, Mr. Lin’s voice could be heard from the back. “Please wait.”
Zhou Xiaoyan stopped and turned around. “Anything else, Mr. Lin?”
“100,000 a year. What do you think?”
“Huh?” It seemed like she had not heard him. Luo Huimei widened her eyes as if she could not believe what she had heard.
“Although you didn’t fulfill the condition for the full waiver, at least the rent can be reduced to 100,000 a year. I’m not sure if you’ll find the price agreeable?”
Zhou Xiaoyan held her breath. “Mr. Lin, this—”
“You’re the first chef who could look through my state. Before this, the people who came and negotiated… They only came to impress me with their culinary skills or tried their best to recreate the same dish as my wife’s.”
However, only he knew the taste. His wife had already passed away. No one in this world could recreate the same taste as her dishes. No matter how much one tried to imitate it, the taste of his wife’s cooking was unique. However, Yan thought out of the box and made a bowl of noodles which resembled his current state of mind. No one liked bitter things, so that bowl of noodles… was disgusting. However, despite being extremely bitter, it left a hint of sweetness on the tongue. It was like every endless night of him missing his late wife before remembering her sweet smile.
“Therefore, the rent will be 100,000 a year. I, too, hope… that she wouldn’t lose all her efforts after she left.”
After exiting the Lin residence and getting in the car, Luo Huimei felt that everything was like a dream. “This is too unexpected, Yan. Why didn’t you tell me before? I thought you would follow the recipe and recreate the dish. I didn’t know you had this unique idea in mind.”
The agent also nodded his head vigorously and praised her. “Exactly. I already said from the beginning that you’re a smart woman, but I didn’t expect you to be more amazing than I expected.”
Zhou Xiaoyan smiled faintly and explained softly, “Actually, I wasn’t being smart at all; I just know every chef has their unique taste. It’s as if every human is unique on their own. Although there will be similarities, they won’t be the same person.” After she spoke, her thoughts slowly drifted away.
After she came to a deal with Mr. Lin and was about to leave, Mr. Lin looked at her as if there was something he wanted to say to her but hesitated. At that time, she did not know what he wanted to tell her and only looked at him quietly. At last, Mr. Lin smiled and said suddenly, “Ms. Zhou, if you can find someone who can stay with you forever, you must not give up and cherish that person.”
It did not seem like a particularly special sentiment after she heard it. However, as she thought about it more, something seemed strange about it. Why would Mr. Lin tell me something like this? But… what’s the part that’s weird about it?
Everything seemed to progress smoothly like how it should have. The other party merely did not want the store that his late wife had put the effort in to go to waste. That was why he came up with such a strict condition, yet she broke the rules. As such, she did not fulfill the condition…
“Yan, let’s tell your dad about the good news when we get back. After that, we’ll decide on the grand opening of the store. It’s already furnished, so we just need to choose a good day to start the business.”
Zhou Xiaoyan came back to her senses and nodded. “Okay.” Forget it. There’s nothing to feel weird about. Everything is progressing as it should. I’d better not think too much.
“Oh, right, do you want to invite that friend of yours for the grand opening? Since the person treated you well and cared for you, you must remember to invite her.” Luo Huimei was pretty happy when speaking about this since she did not expect everything to go so well.
Zhou Xiaoyan knew that the person her mother was referring to was Han Muzi. After she left the company, probably because she was running away from her, she did not make a call to Han Muzi at all. She did not even send a single WeChat message. As such, both of them had not been in contact for a very long time. I’m not sure how she’s doing now.
Since she had decided to let go, what else was she afraid to face? The more afraid she was of something, the more she should face it head-on.
“Sure, I’ll give her a call about this tonight.”
“Okay.”
…
On the other side, Mr. Lin was sitting alone in a daze after everyone left. Unbelievable. That was the worst bowl of noodles I have ever eaten. It was bitter when he put it inside his mouth. However, he kept trying it just for the hint of sweetness within the bitterness. After a while, he seemed to think of something and smiled calmly while making a call on his phone.
“You have good taste. She’s a serious and thoughtful girl.”
A moment of silence later, a cold voice sounded from the other side of the phone. “Is it done?”
Mr. Lin nodded his head. “Yes.” After answering, he seemed to think of something funny. “I haven’t seen you in so many years. I didn’t expect you to come to me because of a woman.”
The other party seemed uninterested in the topic. “I have a meeting in five minutes.”
Mr. Lin looked at the watch on his wrist. “Since there’s still five minutes to go, why not talk a bit longer with me? How did you two meet?”
“Lin Xuzheng, how did she pass? Even though I asked for your help, I know that you’re strict.”
After hearing this, Lin Xuzheng went back to eating his noodles while lowering his head. He was seriously taking in the flavor of the noodles. “She… reminds me of my wife.”
The other party stopped breathing for a moment. “What?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t have any thoughts about her. It must have sounded a bit misleading. It’s more like the noodles she made reminds me of my wife.”
After hearing this, the other party went silent. Lin Xuzheng smiled and said, “She’s a nice lady. You have to cherish her if you mean it. Life is short. If you don’t spend time with her now, there won’t be a chance again in the future.”
