“I wasn’t scared, just thought he wasn’t particularly handsome, but he had a certain charm. He should be able to find a very nice girlfriend.”
“Yeah, not many people at the hospital know about this yet.”
“Actually, I don’t have any opinions about same-sex relationships. After all, orientation is just a unique aspect of someone’s psychology.”
“Then why are you so scared?”
“Mainly because he got too close to me just now. I didn’t feel anything at first, but when you mentioned it, I naturally got nervous.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, then I have to tell my brother.”
“Don’t~”
“You’re definitely lying. If you really had a girlfriend, how could you tell me? If I tell my brother, he’ll definitely call you in for a talk.”“…” You’re overthinking it. Your brother doesn’t really care about me anymore.
“By the way, we’ve been talking for a while now, and I haven’t asked your name yet.”
“Xu Lin(徐林), the ‘Xu'(徐) with two people(双人徐), and ‘Lin'(林) as in forest(林). It’s a very simple name, nothing compared to yours.”
“No, no, the origin of my name is actually quite awkward.”
“Back then, my grandpa and dad liked watching the TV show ‘Justice Bao’. They often saw phrases like ‘clearing up injustices’, so they ended up giving me this name.”
“Really?”
Xu Lin thought his name was given casually enough, but didn’t expect someone else to have an equally casual name.
[T/N: Xu Lin is quite a common name in China.]
“My name was also given by my grandpa. When I was born, he and my grandma happened to be at a market in a place called Yulin Village, which was full of various trees.”
“When they got back, they gave me the simple name ‘Xu Lin’. Actually, when I was a kid, I was a bit envious of my classmates’ three-character, even four-character names.”
“So, judging by your reaction, you talked to your parents about changing your name?”
“Yeah, did the doctor sister talk to her parents too?”
“When I heard they got my name from ‘Justice Bao’, I wanted to change it, but later I thought it sounded pretty nice, so I let it be.”
“Haha, when I was in elementary school, I told my mom. Then my mom and dad said go ahead and change it! They also thought my name was too plain.”
“Then, whether it was a coincidence or someone leaked it, my grandparents came to the city to stop them that afternoon.”
“So, you didn’t want to change it when you grew up?”
“Yeah, in middle school, I met an old Taoist on the roadside. He told me, ‘With a gentle breeze, a forest of a thousand miles stirs; isn’t your name good enough?'”
“At that moment, I thought this name didn’t need changing.”
Xu Lin recalled the old man lying on the street, with piercing eyes, asking for his name, nodding and smiling the whole time.
“Didn’t he ask for money?”
“No, but I gave him the two coins left over from buying breakfast.”
“The noodles are here!”
The proprietress’s call was accompanied by a fragrant steam, and two clay pots were placed on the table.
The steam and the soup inside bubbled and gurgled as if still boiling on the stove.
“Eat while it’s hot,” the proprietress said as she placed two spoons on the table, “on the house.”
“No, you’re running a small business here.”
“I don’t usually give you anything, but I’m happy today, okay?”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Don’t mention it, eat up.” With that, she ran back to the kitchen.
“Uncle might not be here, and Auntie is busy by herself. They really have it tough.”
“Uncle used to be quite wealthy, but later he lost money playing the stock market. With the remaining money, he opened this noodle shop. It gets crowded at night, but it’s just enough to get by.”
“Really, nothing is easy these days.”
“Business is tough, so our family always stressed finding a stable job.”
“That’s why I became a doctor, my brother is a teacher. The other kids are either civil servants or have ‘good jobs’ with fixed salaries.”
Xu Lin also nodded. Although he liked freedom, he thought it was understandable that every parent would think this way.
Having a very stable income, from a realistic perspective, is indeed a sound choice.
Of course, if you feel you have talent and ability, there’s no harm in giving it a try. You might succeed and end up like some big bosses.
Naturally, if you become wealthy, you can boast about your entrepreneurial journey all you want, but for those who don’t succeed, anything they say is just nonsense.
How many people succeed? How many fail in starting a business? If it were that easy to succeed, everyone would be a success.
“Let’s eat.”
“Okay.” Xu Lin picked up a bite of rice noodles, blew on it lightly, and put it in his mouth. His tongue trembled instantly.
It was a bit hot, but very delicious, with a strong spicy kick!
However, the spiciness did not overshadow the fresh flavor of the soup that accompanied the rice noodles, which were also very smooth and chewy.
“Delicious!”
“Right? Drink some soup, you’ll be even more surprised.”
Watching Zhu Zhaoxue across from him drink the soup without blowing on it, Xu Lin blew on his several times before daring to take a sip.
“This soup is amazing.”
Although he had never had authentic “Crossing the Bridge” rice noodles before, the broth was incredibly well-made, clearly simmered with several ingredients.
“Right.”
Seeing Xu Lin enjoy it so much made Zhu Zhaoxue quite happy because when she previously brought a few colleagues here, they all complained it was too oily and too spicy to handle. Finding someone who also liked rice noodles and spicy food made her feel that this afternoon’s work might be easier.
Although there was quite a lot of rice noodles, Xu Lin, having not eaten much in the morning, finished it all. If the soup hadn’t been too spicy at the end, he would have drunk all of it too.
“Whew!”
“Feeling good?”
“Yes, thank you, Doctor, for the treat.”
“I should be thanking you for your help last time; otherwise, I would have had to wait for my colleagues to find me.”
Zhu Zhaoxue’s hypoglycemia wasn’t that severe, but she had to work overtime last time and skipped lunch, which made her feel really dizzy.
She was really moved when he reached out to help, and it turned out he was her older brother’s student. It was fate that he came to deliver yogurt at that moment.
“It was just a small favor. I’ll head home now. You should rest too; you must be very busy at work.”
“Okay.” She stood up to get ready to scan the code and pay, but Xu Lin quickly grabbed her wrist, which surprised her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t move, your clothes are caught on the table leg. If you pull, we might end up washing dishes and buying a new bowl.”
She looked down and saw that her clothes were indeed caught on the table leg.
“Almost… I’ll go pay.”
“Okay.” Xu Lin nodded, then a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
Sure enough, as long as there’s a pretty girl, this system of yours never misses one!
Xu Lin had already guessed that any pretty girl around him would be chosen by the 12 Zodiac System.
Now there are only three left. Let’s see what you come up with for the next three. Will the system retire then?
At this moment, Zhu Zhaoxue finished scanning the code to pay, and the lady boss came out.
“That’s 36 in total, transferred.”
“I told you, the drinks are on me.”
“Auntie, you’re running a small business; I can’t have free drinks. We’ll be going now.”
“Alright, take care.”
They walked out of the rice noodle shop, and a man wearing sunglasses, riding a flashy red scooter, stopped at the entrance.
Seeing Zhu Zhaoxue, he quickly took off his glasses and walked over.
“This is the owner of the rice noodle shop.”
“Xiao Zhu, finished eating?”
“Yes.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yeah, handsome, right?” Zhu Zhaoxue, having been asked so many times, made a joke.
“Handsome, about seventy percent as handsome as I was when I was young.”
“Stop bragging outside and come in to work!” The boss’s wife poked her head out from inside and scolded her husband.
“Oh, oh. By the way, I passed by the shop I wanted to rent today and found out it was actually rented out!”
“The one on Xinghuo Road?” the boss’s wife asked.
“Yes.”
Xinghuo Road?
Xu Lin suddenly thought of his rent-free shop.
Could it be my rent-free shop they’re talking about?
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