Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 28. Back-to-school Workday (Part 1)

August 2, 1995, Wednesday. Guan Xuchen woke up at 7:45 a.m. to find that his parents had already left for work. After freshening up, he entered the kitchen, lifted the lid of the pot, and saw a bowl of plain noodles left for him by his mother. He grumbled, "Noodles again." He quickly devoured the noodles and then headed out the door.

Guan Xuchen first made his way to the residential quarter where Gao Xinglang lived, and saw that Gao Xinglang was already waiting under the large banyan tree at the entrance. He trotted over, beaming, and said, "Sorry, Lang. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here myself," Gao Xinglang checked his watch and said, "It's only 8:10. We still have time for breakfast."

"Lang, haven't you had breakfast yet?" Guan Xuchen inquired.

"Well, not yet. I thought I had to go back to school for cleaning duties anyway. So I'd grab a bowl of noodles at that shop near the school." Gao Xinglang explained, then asked, "Soupy, have you had breakfast? Why don't you head back to school first? I'll join you after I finish my noodles."

"I..." Guan Xuchen looked at Gao Xinglang and was about to say, "I've already had breakfast." But instead, he inexplicably replied, "I overslept and haven't had breakfast yet."

"Oh, then let's go have breakfast together." With a smile, Gao Xinglang said, "I'll treat you to noodles."

"Great, great, I love noodles the most," Guan Xuchen responded cheerfully, before he continued with a hint of concern, "But aren't we supposed to gather at half past eight?" Is there enough time?"

"Soupy, don't worry so much. Twenty minutes is plenty for a bowl of noodles. And today is just the back-to-school workday. It's not like it's the official start of school. Based on past experience, most students won't be punctual on the back-to-school workday," Gao Xinglang said with a grin.

The duo arrived at the noodle shop near the school. Gao Xinglang glanced at the menu on the wall and asked Guan Xuchen, "Soupy, what kind of noodles would you like? Beef noodles? Fish ball noodles? Or wonton noodles?"

Guan Xuchen, having already had breakfast at home, still felt quite full. He looked at the menu and hesitated, "Maybe—maybe I'll just have a bowl of plain noodles."

"Soupy, don't worry about money. Since I'm buying, you can't just have plain noodles," Gao Xinglang said frankly, "How about wonton noodles? I remember you like wonton noodles."

"Alright then." Guan Xuchen replied with a wry smile.

"Boss, two bowls of wonton noodles, please." With that, Gao Xinglang paid five yuan. Then he and Guan Xuchen found two seats facing each other and sat down.

A short while later, two bowls of wonton noodles were brought to their table. Gao Xinglang began eating immediately. He first scooped up two wontons with his spoon, swallowed them, and then picked up a bundle of noodles with his chopsticks and slurped them down. Guan Xuchen felt a bit amused as he watched Gao Xinglang wolfing down the noodles. But when he looked at the large bowl of wonton noodles in front of him, he felt quite embarrassed.

"Soupy, why aren't you eating? Don't you like it? I find it quite tasty." Gao Xinglang asked curiously while eating.

"It's not like that..." Guan Xuchen hesitated. Then scooped up a wonton with the spoon, slowly brought it to his mouth and swallowed it.

"Delicious, isn't it? The wonton noodles here are quite good," Gao Xinglang said smilingly.

"Mm, it's delicious," Guan Xuchen nodded in agreement. Then, under Gao Xinglang's watchful eye, he picked up a bundle of noodles with his chopsticks and ate them.