Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Girl Who Paints

It was just after ten in the morning when the flow of people finally began to dwindle—Chen Yu let out a sigh of relief.

However, the girl in the panda outfit from this morning was still sitting at the flower bed not far away.

Chen Yu immediately became curious.

The girl's appearance was on par with Tong Ya's, and she possessed a distinct quality.

She didn't at all seem like someone who was there to cause trouble. Sёarᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

After quickly tidying up the tables outside, Chen Yu packed up two stuffed pastries and four fried cakes and walked over to her.

When he got there, he was taken aback to find that her drawing board featured the very scene of him selling fried cakes that morning.

And the girl's brushwork was incredibly lifelike; she had captured everything in vivid detail.

It looked like she'd spent the whole morning observing closely!

"Been drawing all morning, you must be hungry by now, right?"

Chen Yu's voice, quite magnetic, suddenly rang out, startling Tang Xiaowei.

She would shut herself away to draw comics every day, and it was indeed a bit dull.

And Tong Ya was now completely immersed in Chen Yu's world, barely paying Tang Xiaowei any attention.

Every morning when she woke up, Tong Ya would already be gone.

She was really curious to see what kind of man could make Tong Ya fall so hard.

At the same time, she also wanted to see if hot fried cakes and stuffed pastries would taste better.

"Are these for me?" Tang Xiaowei asked, seeming a bit dazed at the moment.

"Is there anyone else here?" Chen Yu replied, somewhat annoyed.

"But, boss, I didn't bring any money when I came out!"

Chen Yu tilted his head to examine the painting in Tang Xiaowei's hands.

"How about I give you some more fried cakes and stuffed pastries in exchange for this painting?"

Tang Xiaowei didn't hesitate as she handed over her oil painting to Chen Yu and started munching on the fried cakes and pastries he had handed her.

Chen Yu frowned slightly. The girl, who seemed quite dazed, was eating like a starving wolf.

He put the painting in the food cart, served a few sugar cakes and stuffed pastries on a plate along with a bottle of water, and placed them on the table in front of the cart.

"Little sister, don't squat there, come and sit here to eat!"

Tang Xiaowei nodded eagerly and sat down at the table, devouring the food.

Chen Yu sighed helplessly and returned to the cart to continue preparing semi-finished products.

"Old Chen, are the fried cakes and stuffed pastries I asked for earlier ready?"

Xie Jiang came over with a group of workers in tow.

"They've been ready for a while!"

Chen Yu immediately grabbed a large stainless steel platter, filled it with two hundred fried cakes and one hundred stuffed pastries, and set it on an outside table.

The workers, who had already tasted the delicious food that morning, couldn't wait to pounce on it.

"Eat slowly, there's more if it's not enough!"

Xie Jiang, however, waved his hand, "Old Chen, no need for formalities between us! You do your thing, and we'll pay together after we help ourselves!"

Chen Yu smiled and responded before heading back to the cart.

"By the way, Old Chen, the construction should roughly take shape by tonight, so come over and have a look then!"

Chen Yu extended his hand in agreement, then sat down to continue his busy work.

Tang Xiaowei, witnessing this scene, suddenly felt a special kind of warmth.

She had never experienced this kind of neighborly and supportive community feeling before.

Now this very scene unfolded before her, suddenly stirring her emotions.

"Right, I'll put these drawings into the comics!"

Muttering to herself, Tang Xiaowei proceeded to eat all the fried cakes and vegetable pastries in front of her.

Afterward, she took out some drawing paper from her backpack, laid it on her drawing board, and started to sketch.

Xie Jiang and the other workers, having finished their food, conscientiously cleaned up the tables and chairs.

Having paid, they said goodbye to Chen Yu and left.

It wasn't until two in the afternoon that Chen Yu finished turning all the remaining ingredients into semi-finished products.

Only then did he stretch leisurely and step down from the food truck.

But to his surprise, Tang Xiaowei hadn't left.

Moreover, several oil paintings had been moved onto the table next to her.

The paintings captured the very scene of him greeting Xie Jiang and the others moments ago.

"Little sister, are you here for some artistic inspiration?"

Tang Xiaowei chuckled, "Art comes from life! Don't worry, boss, I won't reveal your privacy; these are just practice sketches, I can give them all to you!"

Chen Yu waved his hand, "No need! What'll you have? It's on me!"

A gleam shone in Tang Xiaowei's eyes, "Really?"

"If you've been drawing my food truck for so long, I should at least treat you to a meal, but I only have drinks, fried cakes, vegetable pastries..."

"That's enough!" Tang Xiaowei interrupted Chen Yu directly, "Bring on more fried cakes and vegetable pastries. I've found that these two things help me find inspiration!"

Chen Yu, having no choice, went back to the food truck to fry some more for Tang Xiaowei.

By four in the afternoon, Tong Ya had picked up Tuan Tuan and arrived at the food truck.

But when she saw Tang Xiaowei nibbling on a vegetable pastry while painting, she looked completely astonished!

"Xiaowei, how come you're here?"

Tang Xiaowei looked up abruptly and quickly stuffed the last bite of the vegetable pastry into her mouth.

"I was bored at home, so I went out for a stroll to find some inspiration!"

But Tong Ya looked Tang Xiaowei up and down, then suddenly ran to the food truck's serving window.

"Chen Yu, did this kid pay for her food?"

Chen Yu was taken aback, "This girl squatted in front of my food truck all morning; seems like an art student. She was drawing all this time! I gave her something to eat because I was afraid she'd get hungry."

Upon hearing this, Tong Ya was immediately enraged, rolled up her sleeves, and moved forward to grab Tang Xiaowei's ear.

"This is outrageous! The fried cakes and vegetable pastries I bring you every night, all for free, and here you are, scavenging food and drink!"

Tang Xiaowei, wincing in pain, covered her ears, "It's not my fault, the boss was kind and gave them to me because he took pity on me! Plus, I didn't take it for nothing, I exchanged my paintings for it!"

"Even at this point, you dare to argue! Just drawing a few sketches and you expect to trade for such tasty food!"

Tang Xiaowei suddenly got serious, "Tong Ya, you can insult me, but don't insult my work!"

"Still being so sanctimonious with me!" Tong Ya grabbed Tang Xiaowei's ear and dragged her to the food truck bar, "Cut the nonsense, pay up now!"

Chen Yu, witnessing this scene, was taken aback.

"Looks like you two know each other!"

Realizing she might have overreacted, Tong Ya quickly let go of Tang Xiaowei's ear, crossed her hands behind her back, and posed playfully and cutely.

"That's right, she's the foodie roommate I always tell you about!"

Chen Yu gestured dismissively, "Then she's family, what's there to pay for! Besides, her painting is indeed good, every detail is lifelike! Hanging them in the shop will be a feature."

"Boss, you've got good taste!" Tang Xiaowei immediately perked up, "Then I'll paint a few more!"