Chapter 156 - A Hot HOT Meal Together 1

"Oh, here we are." The two Mings stood outside a storehouse restaurant a kilometer away from the university. From its oriental store design, anyone could tell that the food was of Chinese origin. Yue Guang asked, "You're okay with spicy food right?"

"Yeah, I can eat spicy food just fine," Ming answered.

"Just fine eh?" Hearing Ming's reply, Yue Guang smirked.

"What's up with that facial expression of yours?"

"Nothing much," Yue Guang changed the topic, "Let us head into the restaurant."

Inside the storehouse, it was as expected. The restaurant was designed with a Sichuan style layout with wooden tables and stools. Lanterns hung across the wooden ceilings and there was an old lady sitting at the cashier counter at the front of the restaurant.

"Welcome back little boy." The old lady spoke in Chinese to Ming Yue Guang.

"Hello, Popo. I brought my friend with me this time." Ming Yue Guang replied back in Chinese. Popo was the Chinese term for grandma. It wasn't that Yue Guang was actually addressing his real grandma, but was more of him being extremely close with the old lady.

Ming understood Chinese as his family had forced him to take Chinese language lessons all the way till high school. He greeted the grandma respectfully before following Yue Guang to his usual seat. That day, there were many customers already having their meal. Yue Guang lead Ming upstairs. Right in front of the steps was a closed wooden door that Yue Guang opened and walked through. It was as if the boy had been here a thousand times and was fully familiar with the entire restaurant.

When the pair walked through the door, they were on the balcony that overlooked the dark night skies. Above them were small little LED lights that lit up the balcony nicely.

"Is this place typically available for guests to sit?" Ming realized that all of the top and bottom floor was taken by other people, only this table wasn't taken.

"Yeah, in the summer the table is open for customers to sit. However, it is so cold now that no one in the right mind would sit outside."

"But we are sitting outside…" Ming knitted his eyebrows when hearing Yue Guang's explanation.

"Hahaha! It's fine! I'll just ask the Da Jie to bring out the portable heater for us." Yue Guang shouted out for Da Jie (AKA big sister in Chinese), who was the lady boss of the restaurant. When Yue Guang had called for her, a lady looking like she was in her early thirties appeared by the door. Her face looked extremely angry as she stormed towards Ming Yue Guang.

"Did you just shout for me! Why do you sound so disrespectful ah?" The Da Jie pulled and pinched Yue Guang's face angrily. When she turned her head around, she realized that there was a guest, she immediately toned down her attitude and greeted Ming, "Oh there was a guest here. Nice to meet you. You must be this little runt's friend."

"Ah haha. Yes, it is nice to meet you Da Jie. M..My name is Li Ming." Ming broke out a cold sweat after seeing how the Da Jie had treated his loud friend. He greeted her back even though he was scared of her.

"Well, any friend of this little runt is a welcomed guest in my restaurant." The Da Jie smiled brightly in front of Ming. When she turns her head to look at Yue Guang, her expression changes into that of a devil. "What do you want to order? The usual?"

"Yes please, Da Jie." Ming Yue Guang replied politely. His hand is still rubbing the spot of his face that the Da Jie had pinched and pulled.

"Ah? Are you sure your friend over here will be able to eat your order?" The Da Jie question with a slightly shocked look.

"Yes, yes. Can we please have more meat?"

"Ya lah. Ya lah." The lady boss walked back into the warm storehouse, "The two of you can carry on talking."

When she left, Ming turned to Yue Guang and asked suspiciously, "From what I can tell, it seems like you have ordered something very surprising."

"What do you mean by that?" With cute innocent eyes, the older student tried to play it off.

"Ah whatever…" Ming couldn't be bothered to try questioning further. The boy was far too playful for him to get anything out of him. Rather, he asked something else.

"Do you come to this restaurant very often?"

"Nowadays, not really. I have been busy with exams and internsh.i.p.s. Back in last year, I used to come and eat in the restaurant every month." Yue Guang talked about his experiences in the restaurant. "However, I have known and frequented this restaurant ever since I was 14?"

"You've come here since you were a teen?"

"Yeah, haha. The story is actually interesting.." Ming Yue Guang went ahead to tell the young man the day that he first came to know about this restaurant.

Back then and even till this day, Ming Yue Guang's home was a bus stop away from the University Campus. The Middle School that Yue Guang attended was also around the University too. He would always walk past the restaurant as the bus stop was right beside the storehouse.

One day, Yue Guang was extremely hungry as he had skipped his lunch because he had forgotten to bring his allowance to school that day. While walking to the bus stop, the boy smells the same delicious and addictive smell wafting from the Chinese restaurant. Unable to control himself, he stood by the entrance and started to take big sniffs of the aroma. It didn't take long for the old grandma to spot a random little boy by the entrance.