Chapter 14: Eating and Shopping Together

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Lu Chengfeng replied to the landlady, "Just bring what you mentioned earlier. I'll eat anything."
"Alright, please wait a moment, both of you," the landlady said, immediately taking a liking to Lu Chengfeng.
She turned to her husband and called out, "One large and one small signature beef noodle soup, plus one order of sweet and sour pork and a plate of stir-fried choy sum."
The owner responded, "Got it."
The landlady glanced back at Lu Chengfeng, then brought over a pot of tea and two cups, setting them down.
While pouring tea for Shu Yan, she smiled and said, "Director Shu, remember I told you about my maternal uncle’s son? The one who’s a university professor? I ran into him the day before yesterday and mentioned you."
"He thinks very highly of you and asked me to find out if you’d be interested in having a meal together, maybe meeting him?"
Lu Chengfeng immediately became alert and looked intently at Shu Yan.
Shu Yan shook her head repeatedly.
"Thank you for your kindness, landlady, but I really have no plans to marry right now. And as you know, our work keeps us very busy—I truly don’t have time to have meals with others."
The landlady looked disappointed but persisted, "Why don’t you add each other as friends first? You can chat and see how it goes."
Shu Yan replied, "Sorry, landlady, we’re not allowed to chat during work hours, and once off duty, we have to rest every minute we can. I really don’t have time to make friends."
The landlady sighed regretfully.
She then turned to Lu Chengfeng and smiled, "Captain Lu, do you have a girlfriend? Would you like me to introduce you to my daughter? She works at a bank and is both beautiful and gentle..."
"Sorry, landlady," Lu Chengfeng interrupted her, "I already have someone I like."
Shu Yan instinctively glanced at Lu Chengfeng.
Lu Chengfeng met her gaze briefly, then continued to the landlady, "Landlady, Director Shu and I still have some work to discuss."
The landlady sensed the cue and said, "Alright, you two talk. I’m sorry—I tend to forget everything once I start chatting. I’ll go back to the kitchen and get your dishes out as soon as possible."
After the landlady left, Shu Yan deliberately said, "She’s quite nice. I’ve met her daughter a few times—she really is very pretty."
Lu Chengfeng stared at her. "Are you so eager to shove me into another woman’s arms because you’re afraid I’ll cause you trouble?"
Shu Yan was momentarily speechless.
Lu Chengfeng took a sip of tea before continuing, "I’m not the kind of man who’s casual about these things."
Shu Yan frowned. "When did I ever say you were casual?"
Lu Chengfeng said, "Good. Then don’t help outsiders set me up with girlfriends."
Outsiders...
That sounded as if they were family.
Having spent one night together, they became like family?

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The memory of the previous night made Shu Yan’s throat dry, so she quickly picked up her cup and sipped some tea to soothe it.
Soon, the landlady returned with a tray holding two bowls of beef noodle soup, one large and one small.
She placed the smaller bowl in front of Shu Yan and the larger one in front of Lu Chengfeng.
"Take your time. The sweet and sour pork will be ready soon," the landlady said before hurrying away.
Shu Yan picked up the chili oil bottle nearby and poured a little into her soup.
Then she added some vinegar.
Afterward, she looked at Lu Chengfeng and explained, "It tastes better this way."
Lu Chengfeng followed suit, adding chili oil and vinegar to his soup.
He then took a spoonful and tasted the broth. "Hmm, the flavor’s good, the broth is fresh and sweet, and the noodles must be delicious, too."
The landlady appeared again, carrying the sweet and sour pork and the stir-fried choy sum.
"Our noodles are hand-rolled here—you’ll want to come back for more once you try them, Captain Lu."
"This sweet and sour pork is very popular, too. Take your time, I’m going to the back to work, just call me if you need anything."
"Thank you, landlady," Shu Yan replied.
Once the landlady left, Shu Yan took a piece of sweet and sour pork and bit into it. "It’s freshest right out of the wok. Try some."
Lu Chengfeng also took a piece, biting into it and chewing a few times.
After swallowing, he said, "Not bad. Perfectly cooked, and the sauce is well balanced—this place really knows its craft."
Curious, Shu Yan asked between bites, "Do you cook? Do you often make your own meals?"
Lu Chengfeng replied, "A bit. On my days off, I cook a few dishes myself. How about you? Do you cook?"
Shu Yan shook her head. "Rarely. I only know how to make simple things. Back in school, I ate at the cafeteria. After starting work, I eat at the office cafeteria. I don’t have much time to explore cooking."
Lu Chengfeng was curious, "So who cooks for you when you’re on holiday? Your mom?"
Shu Yan’s expression darkened. "No, my mother lives in a care facility. When I’m on break, I intern at various departments as a forensic pathologist, so I get to eat at their cafeterias."
Lu Chengfeng was surprised. "You mean you started interning as a forensic pathologist at different departments since college?"
Shu Yan nodded. "Yes. Is that strange?"
Lu Chengfeng said, "Not strange. I’ve just never met anyone who loves forensic work that much."
Shu Yan said frankly, "Well, now you have."
They ate for about twenty minutes. Lu Chengfeng insisted on paying, saying he wasn’t used to letting a lady pay.
As they left the noodle shop, Lu Chengfeng suddenly asked Shu Yan,
"Do you know if there’s a supermarket nearby? I want to buy some daily necessities. I only brought a few changes of clothes this time."
Because of the cold weather, Lu Chengfeng had brought many winter clothes, which took up a lot of space.
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So he had to buy daily necessities locally.
Shu Yan thought for a moment, then said, "I’ll take you. I also need to restock some household items."
Her laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste—all needed replenishing.
Lu Chengfeng was grateful. "That would be great, thank you."
Shu Yan hailed a taxi and got into the back seat, giving the driver their destination.
Lu Chengfeng followed suit and got in beside her.
Ten minutes later, they arrived, and Lu Chengfeng immediately scanned to pay the fare.
They got out, and Shu Yan led the way toward the shopping mall, taking the escalator down to the basement supermarket.
Worried Lu Chengfeng might try to pay again, Shu Yan suggested, "Let’s each take a shopping cart and pick out what we need separately."
They each pushed a cart, shopping for their own necessities.
Lu Chengfeng followed her lead, pushing a cart as well.
Wherever Shu Yan went, he followed, occasionally picking up one or two items he needed—things like body wash and shampoo.
"Where are you staying now? At a friend’s place or have you already rented somewhere?" Shu Yan asked as they walked.
Lu Chengfeng answered truthfully, "I’m temporarily staying at a college friend’s house."
Shu Yan was curious, "Your college friend? Is he a cop, too?"
Lu Chengfeng said, "He was a police officer for a year. You probably know him—the first place we met was his bar."
The bar he mentioned was “First Encounter.”
That was the place where Shu Yan and Lu Chengfeng had met the night before.
Shu Yan was shocked. "You’re Shi Wei’s college classmate... Right, he graduated from Hongcheng Police Academy. So you graduated from there, too."
"No wonder you showed up at First Encounter the other night. You came to find Shi Wei? So why did you drink with me?"
Lu Chengfeng said, "He invited me to drink, but then he suddenly left to meet some friends. What about you? Why were you sitting there alone drinking? Do you often drink alone?"
"Of course not. I was invited there, too," Shu Yan quickly added, afraid of misunderstanding.
"My best friend invited me. She’s also at our unit, working in the forensic clinic at the city hospital. We were roommates in college, too."
Lu Chengfeng smiled, "Shi Wei and I were roommates as well."