Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 5

She’s So Cool

When Su Ruixi’s assistant saw Su Ruixi holding and slowly rubbing her stomach, at that moment she knew…

When Su Ruixi’s assistant saw her holding and slowly rubbing her stomach, she knew immediately that Su Ruixi’s gastritis was acting up. While pouring her a cup of warm water, she called out, “Director Su, the takeout has arrived. Would you like to eat something?”

Su Ruixi took a sip, but her stomach was still cramping, and the warm water did little to help. Hearing her assistant’s words, Su Ruixi’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. She could already imagine the taste of the takeout – it would either be bland and tasteless or too greasy.

But as the saying goes, “People need food like iron needs to be strong” [人是鐵飯是鋼 | rén shì tiě fàn shì gāng | Chinese idiom meaning everyone needs to eat], and feeling anxious about skipping a meal, Su Ruixi decided to eat something anyway.

However, when Su Ruixi sat on the office sofa and looked at the boxed meal placed on the coffee table, she still didn’t feel like eating. The boxed meal her assistant ordered was already one of the best options available – it was from a famous private kitchen [私房菜館 | sī fáng cài guǎn | restaurant serving home-style dishes] in their city, completely different from regular delivery app offerings.

This was what Su Ruixi usually ate on normal days.

The presentation alone outshone all other takeout options. The plastic bowls were decorated with blue and white porcelain patterns, and they were substantial, not flimsy at all. The lids were soft covers, and everything was kept in an insulated box, still warm when taken out.

When all the lids were removed and the small bowls arranged, the exquisite dishes looked mouth-watering.

Yet Su Ruixi had no appetite because she could tell just by looking what these dishes would taste like. The vegetables would likely have a layer of oil poured over them – they looked glossy, but in reality, would probably be mushy and greasy in the mouth.

The mushrooms in the mushroom and vegetable dish definitely had sugar added, making them sweet and losing their original fresh mushroom fragrance.

Not to mention the meat dishes – restaurants’ secret to tasty cooking is using plenty of oil, much more than home cooking. But for Su Ruixi, dishes cooked with so much oil just made her feel nauseated.

The rice wasn’t any better – to make it soft and fluffy, they definitely added a few drops of oil while cooking. It was fine to eat occasionally, but having it too often would surely become unpalatable.

These days, all takeout food was guaranteed to be oily, and Su Ruixi had gotten used to it. But whenever she thought about the egg fried rice she had a few days ago, the takeout in front of her seemed completely unappetizing.

Everyone used oil, and she had seen Sun Miao make egg fried rice, so she knew the process. First, add oil to the wok, swirl it around, then add the rice. Logically, egg fried rice should be even more oil-heavy, but that small shop owner’s fried rice was exceptionally light and fresh.

Thinking about it this way, this private kitchen’s takeout just wasn’t up to par – she could tell just by looking at all the oil.

The more she thought about that egg fried rice, the less she could swallow her food. After just two bites, Su Ruixi couldn’t eat anymore. She simply put down her chopsticks and told her assistant, “I’m going to the hospital. My IV drip isn’t finished yet. Call me if anything comes up.”

The assistant responded with an “okay,” but couldn’t help wondering why her boss’s departing figure… looked somewhat like she was fleeing in panic? The assistant shook her head – what was she thinking, how could she describe her boss that way?

Sun Miao was waiting for her rice cooker to finish cooking when she unexpectedly got to eat melon [吃瓜 | chī guā | Chinese internet slang meaning to watch drama unfold]. She had been sitting quietly in her chair when she saw a young nurse come out of the hospital. The hospital’s back street was quiet on this workday afternoon, with even the surrounding shops closed for their afternoon naps.

When Sun Miao first saw the young nurse, she thought she was going to eat lunch – after all, nurses eat at all sorts of times, nothing strange about that. But seeing the nurse’s unfriendly expression as she stood at the entrance looking around, it was clear she wasn’t there to eat.

Since she wasn’t a potential customer, Sun Miao lowered her head and went back to playing with her phone.

Shortly after, the person the nurse was waiting for arrived. Sun Miao wasn’t paying attention, but caught a glimpse of a young man from the corner of her eye. She assumed he was the nurse’s boyfriend, and not wanting to hear a couple’s conversation, she put on her poor-quality earphones and started watching videos.

However, gradually, her low-quality earphones let some outside sounds leak through.

Something seemed off – it sounded like an argument.

Sun Miao knew this wasn’t her business and she shouldn’t eavesdrop on private matters. But she was still concerned about the nurse, so she turned off her video’s sound. Though she kept her earphones on, she was actually listening to what was happening beside her.

At first, she just wanted to check the situation, thinking she’d ignore it if it was just a normal couple’s quarrel.

But as soon as she turned off her sound, she heard something explosive – the nurse’s voice was sharp: “Aren’t you tired of this? We’ve already broken up, why do you keep coming to my workplace?!”

The man’s voice was equally loud: “Broken up? How can we break up without my agreement?! Even if we do break up, you need to return all the money you squeezed out of me!”

The nurse was dumbfounded, and after a moment her voice became even shriller: “Money I squeezed out?! We split everything AA [AA制 | splitting the bill equally], even for meals and movies. You only brought snacks to my workplace twice! Those online gift packages didn’t even total 200 yuan! And you’re saying I squeezed money from you?!”

Whew, what a prime example of a weirdo guy [極品奇葩男 | jí pǐn qí pā nán | lit. top grade/premium weird/odd flower man | derogatory term for an unreasonable, toxic man].

Cherish life, stay away from men.

Sun Miao felt fortunate that she was a lesbian, so she wouldn’t encounter such a stingy man. Not that there weren’t weird women out there, but proportionally speaking, there were more weird men.

She kept watching the situation, worried the nurse might get hurt. A verbal argument wasn’t much to worry about, just words being exchanged, but if it escalated to violence, the nurse would definitely be at a disadvantage. Although we live in a society governed by law where people generally don’t resort to violence, you never know when a weirdo might lose their temper.

Sun Miao was also a woman, and if she were to face off against a man, she wouldn’t fare much better. But she figured two people were better than one, plus she had been running a breakfast shop before and now managed a food stall, working long hours from dawn to dusk until exhaustion. Her work intensity and physical labor were incomparable to regular office workers.

Logically speaking, she shouldn’t be too disadvantaged.

Though she didn’t think the man would actually get physical – not many people dared to do that these days.

While they had been arguing for a while, and Sun Miao thought it would stay verbal, the man suddenly seemed to lose control and made aggressive movements. Realizing the situation was getting dangerous, Sun Miao yanked out her earphones and rushed over.

They weren’t far from her, only about ten steps away. The weirdo guy grabbed the nurse’s arm, and she clearly struggled in pain from his grip. As they pushed and shoved each other, the conflict seemed ready to escalate.

Sun Miao ran over, shouting: “What are you doing? Let go, let go! How dare you grab and pull someone in public! Can’t you see she’s unwilling? Release her immediately!”

Perhaps realizing someone had intervened, the weirdo guy instinctively loosened his grip. Sun Miao pulled the nurse to her side and faced the man: “I’ve been watching for a while now. What’s wrong with you? She clearly doesn’t want this, why are you forcing her? This is a hospital, her workplace. You think if she calls out, people won’t come running?”

This south entrance had no security guard because it was just a small pedestrian gate that only got checked during regular patrols, with the main control room monitoring through cameras. If there had been a guard, they would have already intervened when the nurse was being grabbed.

Hearing Sun Miao’s words, the weirdo guy was stunned for a moment. He initially seemed to shrink back, but then, realizing Sun Miao’s status—just a street vendor selling food—he straightened his back again.

“What’s it to you? Go mind your stall. What’s a penny’s worth of business do you have in a couple’s argument? Who asked you to be a meddler!”

—What a psycho!

Sun Miao cursed in her mind. Seeing Sun Miao being berated after coming to help her, the nurse immediately fired back: “What’s wrong with someone helping me when they see something wrong? You want money back? Send me the receipts for those two bags of snacks! I’ll transfer the money right away!”

Clearly, the nurse just wanted to be rid of this weirdo guy, even willing to pay for those tasteless, cheap snacks.

But the weirdo guy showed his true colors, opening his mouth like a lion [獅子大開口 | shī zi dà kāi kǒu | to make an exorbitant demand]: “Two thousand yuan, plus the money for your birthday dinner, and I booked a hotel that day but you didn’t come, making me waste the room fee. You need to pay for all of that!”

Not just the nurse, but even Sun Miao’s eyes widened: What kind of person is this?!

The nurse was even more incredulous: “Are you sick in the head? That birthday was your idea because you said our birthdays were close together, and I paid for the movie afterward! Why would I go to a hotel with you? Your greed is showing right on your face!”

“Don’t care, you must pay the money.”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab the nurse again, but Sun Miao swiftly slapped his hand away: “What are you doing? If you want to talk, then talk properly, don’t get physical!” Sun Miao’s slap was forceful, quickly leaving the man’s hand red. He was furious: “You hit me first! Even if we call the police, I’m in the right!”

What, was he threatening to hit her now?

Sun Miao was ready to fight back if he made a move, but at that moment, she heard the familiar sound of high heels striking the ground, accompanied by a familiar voice.

“No need for you to call the police – I already have.”

The weirdo guy turned around, and Sun Miao and the nurse looked too, only to see Sun Miao’s crush approaching with an impressive aura. Su Ruixi walked with a cold expression, straight back, and quick steps, her commanding presence seemingly reaching eight feet tall.

The man who had been so aggressive just moments ago instantly deflated.

Although it might have been inappropriate timing, Sun Miao couldn’t help thinking: Wow, she’s so cool, I love her so much!

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