After My Rebirth Chapter 23: Cooperate

Chapter 23: Cooperate

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Li Wenxing glared at his phone, his face twisted with frustration. A classmate beside him noticed his unusual expression and patted his back with concern. “Wenxing, are you okay?”  

Li Wenxing snapped out of it and forced himself to smile at his classmate. “Oh, I’m fine.”  

“As long as you’re okay.” The classmate smiled and said, “I saw that you didn’t look well. I thought you were feeling unwell. It’s almost your turn. If you’re uncomfortable, you should let us know.”  

“Mm, okay.”  

Li Wenxing stared at the screen again for a while. When he saw some malicious comments directed at Li Sinian in the comment section, he felt a little satisfied and closed Weibo.  

However, before he could turn off his phone, a new message popped up from Lin Yuan.  

[Lin Yuan: Wenxing, did you see Weibo? A’Nian really signed a contract with Minghui Kitchenware. Now you can rest assured.]  

For the first time, Li Wenxing found his boyfriend, who had gone to great lengths to win his favor, so annoying.  

Was he crazy? Did he think Li Wenxing couldn’t check Weibo himself? Why did he have to tell him?  

Li Wenxing typed a reply without any expression, his words contrasting sharply with his cold demeanor.  

[Wenxing: Mm, I saw it on Weibo. I thought my brother had been tricked, but now that I know it’s real, I’m relieved. [Cute]]  

Lin Yuan sent a head-pat emoji in reply. Li Wenxing mentioned that he still had his defense to finish, so Lin Yuan didn’t reply further.  

In fact, Li Sinian’s situation really affected him. He had always been only of average ability, but after remembering how Li Sinian managed to do so well after leaving home, he couldn’t focus and only performed at half his potential. He barely passed the defense and was even criticized by the teacher.  

While his classmates were all celebrating their newfound freedom and discussing where to go out that evening, Li Wenxing couldn’t get into the mood.  

He repeatedly declined his classmates’ invitations and drove home.  

When he arrived home, Li Wenxing found that only Li Cheng was there.

Seeing that Li Wenxing was heading out to have fun with his classmates, the housekeeper only prepared dinner for Li Cheng. When Li Wenxing returned and mentioned that he hadn’t had dinner, the housekeeper hurriedly went to cook.

Li Cheng, noticing his youngest son returning early, was puzzled. “Wenxing, why are you back so soon? Didn’t you go out with your classmates?”

Li Wenxing smiled and answered, “My classmates are going to a bar, but I didn’t want to go to such a noisy place. It’s much more interesting to stay home and eat with you, Dad.”

Li Cheng chuckled, grabbing a piece of meat and placing it on Li Wenxing’s plate. “Alright, since you’re back, let’s eat together.”

Auntie Zhang soon brought Li Wenxing’s portion of the meal, and father and son sat across from each other, beginning to eat in a warm atmosphere.

After a few bites, Li Wenxing put down his chopsticks and casually asked, “Dad, how’s older brother been recently?”

Mentioning Li Sinian made Li Cheng’s smile fade slightly. “Why bring him up all of a sudden?”

Li Wenxing bit his lip, looking a bit awkward. “I know it was because of his mistake that you kicked him out, but it’s been so long now. Shouldn’t the anger have faded? You haven’t seen him for a while, don’t you miss him?”

Li Cheng scoffed. “Miss him? He might not miss me. How long has it been since he left home? Not only did he not apologize, but he hasn’t even called to check on us.”

Li Wenxing carefully observed his father’s expression and realized that Li Cheng didn’t know that Li Sinian had become an internet celebrity and was now working with Minghui.

Of course, Li Cheng wouldn’t follow a small influencer. Even if Li Sinian’s collaboration with Minghui made headlines, it was Minghui’s name that gained attention, not his. Li Wenxing knew about it only because Lin Yuan’s company had briefly discussed cooperation with Li Sinian. If even he didn’t know, Li Cheng certainly wouldn’t.

“Maybe older brother has just been busy recently?” Li Wenxing said, “You wouldn’t let him come back, so he had to find a way to make a living. Maybe he’s too busy with work to call.”

Li Cheng looked at his son curiously. “Has your brother come to find you?”

“No… No, he hasn’t,” Li Wenxing’s eyes darted around.

At first, Li Cheng only suspected that Li Wenxing knew about Li Sinian’s current situation, but now he was completely sure.

His face darkened. “What’s going on with your brother? Did he come to see you? Tell me the truth!”

Li Wenxing, rarely scolded by Li Cheng, shrank under his father’s stern tone. He carefully glanced at his father and, after a moment of hesitation, answered loudly, “He didn’t come to find me.” Then, in a softer voice, he mumbled, “I just recently heard from Lin Yuan about what older brother’s been doing, and I don’t think it suits him. I wanted to ask you, could we let him come back?”

Just by looking at Li Wenxing’s face, Li Cheng could tell that Li Sinian’s new job wasn’t anything good. His face grew even more serious. “What’s he doing now?”

Li Wenxing hesitated for a while before answering, “He… he’s working as an influencer.”

Seeing Li Cheng about to erupt, he quickly added, “But he’s already received an advertisement from a big company! It’s impressive, you don’t need to worry!”

“I just… I just think this kind of work isn’t suitable for him, so I…”

Li Cheng scoffed again. “An influencer, and now he’s working with a big company. Isn’t that great? No need for me to worry!”

“Dad…” Li Wenxing called out, but was immediately silenced by Li Cheng’s glare, swallowing his words.

“Wenxing, if you don’t want me to get upset, don’t mention Li Sinian again.”

Now, it wasn’t even “your brother,” but straight-up “Li Sinian.”

Li Wenxing, scared into silence, lowered his head and quietly resumed eating.

Looking at the rice in his bowl, a smile finally appeared in his eyes.

So what if Li Sinian was working with Minghui? He was still never coming back home.

The two of them ate in silence for a while, until Li Cheng suddenly spoke again.

This time, his tone was no longer stern, but full of concern.

“Wenxing, you’ve graduated now, you should start focusing more. In a few days, I’ll arrange a position for you at the company. You need to start getting involved in the business.”

Li Wenxing’s smile deepened.

Now it was perfect—his good brother might come back, but it seemed like things would never be the same.

He feigned surprise, looking up at Li Cheng, then, seeing the seriousness in his father’s eyes, smoothly changed the subject and started talking about school.

**

Since Li Sinian became the first influencer to secure a partnership with Minghui Advertising, he quickly became popular, not just on C-Platform, but across major websites.  

However, the most popular thing wasn’t him, but his innovative dish: spicy pig’s trotters made with red yeast rice for coloring.  

The trending topic about Li Sinian’s collaboration with Minghui only stayed on the hot search list for a few hours, but his spicy pig’s trotters stayed there for almost two days.  

Food bloggers followed his recipe and gave it great reviews.  

The next morning, Li Sinian, unusually diligent, went to the restaurant to prepare for the lunch rush.  

Before he could even get close, he saw many young people gathered in front of his small restaurant in small groups.  

Li Sinian paused for a moment, squinted, and carefully looked up at the sign, confirming that it was indeed his restaurant, then continued walking over.  

When the young people heard footsteps, they turned around in unison. Seeing Li Sinian, their eyes lit up.  

They were all loyal followers of the Yueyue Food Review blog, and after seeing the blog’s strong recommendation of this relatively unknown small restaurant, they decided to try it.  

At first, they just wanted to have a meal, but they didn’t expect to see a handsome guy.  

“Is the owner of this small restaurant this handsome?!”  

Li Sinian greeted the young people and uncertainly asked, “You all… came to eat?”  

They nodded and replied with phrases like “Of course we came to eat” and “We’ve been waiting for a long time.”  

Surprised, Li Sinian was taken aback.  

When did his small restaurant get such business? Besides Jiang Rongxuan, were there really people willing to wait outside for it to open?  

But despite his surprise, Li Sinian didn’t let the customers wait outside. He quickly opened the door and invited the young people in.  

The restaurant wasn’t large, with only six tables. It didn’t feel crowded when only one or two people came to eat, but now it seemed a bit cramped.  

Li Sinian placed a newly printed menu on each table.  

The new menu wasn’t much different from the old one, except for the addition of one new dish: his innovative spicy pig’s trotters.  

The dish was placed at the end of the menu, with “must order” marked in bold letters, making it stand out.  

The reason major brands spend huge amounts of money on advertising is that it is very effective.  

Recently, spicy pig’s trotters had been trending on the hot search list, so when the customers saw the dish, even though they knew it wasn’t exactly the same as the one trending, they still ordered it.  

Li Sinian kept track of each table’s order and casually asked while customers were deciding what to order if they lived nearby and how they came to eat here.  

All of them replied that they didn’t live nearby, and some had even traveled from a neighboring city specifically to try the restaurant.  

They were all fans of the “Yueyue Food Review” blog and had come after Yueyue strongly recommended the place.  

Li Sinian immediately thought of the two young women from the Media University who had come to eat at his restaurant that day.  

He had initially thought they were just completing an assignment, but it seemed like it was more than just their assignment.  

When Li Sinian entered the kitchen, he took out his phone and glanced at the review of his restaurant posted by Yueyue Food Review.  

The article was very concise with no filler, and the two girls had only mentioned that they came after watching his live broadcast on C-Platform, but they hadn’t included any of the potentially gossip-worthy details in the article.  

Apart from the brief description of the restaurant’s environment at the beginning, the rest of the article focused entirely on the taste and flavor of several dishes.  

Yueyue Food Review was a very popular influencer, as seen by the fact that after the article was posted, many people had traveled from far away to eat at his restaurant.  

The blog’s large following was likely due to its straightforward reviews and honest evaluations.  

Since all the customers ordered the spicy pig’s trotters, Li Sinian started by preparing the dish and served it to each table.  

As he brought the plates to the tables, he overheard the young people discussing the dish that was trending on the hot search.  

“I’ve wanted to try spicy pig’s trotters since I saw that video. I didn’t expect this place to have it. Even though I know it might taste a little different, I still ordered it.”  

“Me too, me too! I even tried making it at home, but it was a disaster. I guess I’m not cut out for cooking.”  

Li Sinian quietly set down the plates without saying anything.  

His video didn’t show his face, and the only time he appeared in public was during that live broadcast. Live broadcasts were different from videos; unless someone specifically took a screenshot, his photos didn’t spread widely.  

Most people knew about him because of Minghui, and the Weibo post mentioning him was mainly about Minghui, with an image of Minghui attached. He only had a screenshot of his C-Platform homepage.  

The trending topic about his collaboration with Minghui only lasted for a few hours, while his innovative spicy pig’s trotters remained on the hot search list.  

So, these customers who didn’t follow influencers didn’t recognize him.  

After setting the dishes down, Li Sinian turned to go back to the kitchen to prepare other dishes. The young man who had been speaking earlier stopped him and asked if they had honey passion fruit.  

Li Sinian remembered that Yueyue had also recommended the honey passion fruit in the post.  

The honey passion fruit wasn’t listed on the menu; Li Sinian usually made it for himself or offered it as a complimentary drink to customers.  

Now, he realized he might need to add it to the menu since his honey passion fruit was much better than what others offered, thanks to the honey he bought from a beekeeper he knew.  

When Li Sinian brought the honey passion fruit to the table, the customers were already eating.  

It turned out that his innovative spicy pig’s trotters did match people’s tastes, and as soon as he walked over, he heard several tables of young people praising how delicious the trotters were.  

“I feel like I’ve had spicy pig’s trotters before, but they’ve never tasted this good.”  

“It’s really fragrant, and there’s no heavy soy sauce taste, the spiciness is just perfect.”  

“The best pig’s trotters, really! Even the red yeast rice version probably isn’t as good as this, though I’ve never tried it, I just feel like it wouldn’t taste as good.”  

Li Sinian placed the drinks down and retreated back into the kitchen to continue preparing the remaining dishes.  

Since Li Sinian was the only one working in the kitchen, the pace of serving dishes wasn’t fast. Every time he brought a dish out, the dishes on the tables were already eaten.  

Luckily, the food was delicious, and Li Sinian’s handsome, almost otherworldly face was always smiling politely, so he didn’t receive any complaints.  

When the young people finished their meal, they asked Li Sinian if they could take some honey passion fruit to go.  

Li Sinian was nearly exhausted by then, so he brought out the remaining drinks and only charged them a small cost.  

The young people left, satisfied and happy.

Li Sinian was afraid that more customers would come, so he quickly closed the door and went home.  

Running a restaurant was really tiring, especially doing it alone.  

After such a tiring afternoon, he decided to rest in the evening.  

Li Sinian didn’t open the door at night and continued to experiment with new dishes at home.  

The next day, he still felt exhausted, so he rested for another day.  

After resting for one day, he wanted to rest again. This time, he ended up closing for three more days.  

On the fourth day, Li Sinian felt an overwhelming urge to reopen the restaurant. To shake off the guilt from not opening, he decided to go to the restaurant as soon as he got up.  

But before he could leave, he received a WeChat message from Jiang Rongxuan.  

[First customer: Boss Li, aren’t you planning to reopen? If you don’t, your restaurant’s door will be trampled!]  

Li Sinian was confused, but then Jiang Rongxuan sent him a picture, which cleared up his confusion.  

The background in the picture was an ordinary yet familiar street, clearly the one where his restaurant was located.  

But now, the small sign of his restaurant was no longer visible because a large crowd had gathered at the door, looking like a queue at a tourist attraction.  

Li Sinian was stunned, but quickly realized what had happened—it was probably due to the big influencer, Yueyue, who had posted a review of his restaurant, bringing in all the customers.  

Li Sinian went to Yueyue’s Weibo page and saw the article. It turned out that during the three days his restaurant was closed, the comment section had exploded.  

As soon as customers left at lunchtime, they checked in under the article, leaving glowing reviews.  

Some people wondered why all the reviews were so positive, suspecting that the restaurant had bought fake reviews. But most people still trusted Yueyue and went to the restaurant to check it out, curious about how good the food really was.  

Locals from Suzhou even came the same night to check in. But instead of tasting the food, they saw the notice posted at the door.  

[The boss is tired, taking a break. Not sure when we’ll reopen, if you get tired of waiting, you can go somewhere else (smiley face)]  

Some of those who checked in shared the photo in the article’s comment section, which stirred up even more interest. Those who thought the reviews were fake, as well as those who believed the food must really be good, were now even more intrigued.  

They really wanted to know just how good the food could be to make the boss so confident in putting up such a carefree notice.  

Thus, Yueyue’s page added a daily question.  

[Is the restaurant open today?]  

New followers might not understand the question at first, so long-time followers explained that it was for a restaurant that didn’t know when it would open.  

As for why the restaurant wasn’t named, but simply referred to as “the restaurant”? Because that was actually the name of the restaurant!  

This is the nature of human curiosity—the harder it is to get, the more people want to know.  

And so, this led to the long queues outside the restaurant that day.  

Li Sinian exited Yueyue’s page and glanced at the photo Jiang Rongxuan had sent. He then sent a WeChat call to Zheng Ming.  

Coincidentally, Zheng Ming and the classmates who often visited for free food were still on break, so he could call them for help.  

Last time, with only six tables, he was exhausted. Now, with so many people, if it was just him, he was afraid he would end up shutting the restaurant down the next day.  

Yes, he was that fickle.  

He had complained about not having enough customers before, but now seeing so many people, he was already feeling tired.  

Li Sinian took Zheng Ming and the others to the restaurant.  

It didn’t seem like much in the picture, but seeing it in person, he was shocked by how exaggerated it was.  

There were two long lines at the entrance of the small restaurant. Not even sixty tables could fit all these people.  

Li Sinian looked at the two long lines and suddenly wanted to leave.  

He thought, “Forget it. Maybe I should just close the door. After all, I was just playing around with this restaurant. Closing it isn’t impossible.”  

Just as Li Sinian was considering closing up and transferring the restaurant, he saw Ma Chi, who was at the front of the line. Ma Chi turned around, and his sharp gaze immediately locked onto Li Sinian.  

Li Sinian suddenly had a bad feeling, and the next second, he heard Ma Chi, with excellent vision, raise his hand and shout at him, “Boss Li! You’re finally here! Open the door! We’ve been waiting forever!”  

Li Sinian, “…”

With Ma Chi’s shout, the crowd in line all turned around, and a mix of awe and complaints filled the air.  

“My God, is this the restaurant owner? Is he really this handsome?”  

“Could you at least leave a phone number when you close? We’ve been waiting forever.”  

“I saw a comment from a sister saying the boss was super good-looking, and she wasn’t lying!”  

“Now that you’re here, could you hurry up and open the door? We’ve been waiting for over an hour after opening, and we’re starving.”  

But no matter how much they discussed, the two lines parted in unison, and the crowd obediently made way for Li Sinian.  

Li Sinian smiled apologetically and quickly walked up to open the door.  

Zheng Ming followed behind him and quietly asked, “What happened? When did your little restaurant get so popular?”  

“Today.”  

“What?”  

The door opened, and Li Sinian pushed it wide, letting the customers at the front of the line go in first. Then he put an arm around Zheng Ming’s shoulder and pulled him to the side, forcing a smile as he said, “It started today. If it weren’t for the crowd, I wouldn’t have come to ask for your help.”  

Zheng Ming glanced back, “With so many people, just the two of us, can we handle this?”  

He paused before adding, “And you’re the only one cooking.”  

Li Sinian couldn’t hold it in anymore and put on a face of despair. “Just do what you can. We’ll make as much as we can. If it gets too much, we’ll stop.”  

Zheng Ming’s eyes widened, “People came to your restaurant to eat, and you’re just going to stop serving?”  

“If I can’t handle it, what can I do?” Li Sinian sighed. “Maybe I should hire some students.”  

Then he gritted his teeth. “I’m just born to work myself to death. I came to Suzhou to open a little restaurant in such a remote spot because I wanted a peaceful life, and now it’s busy again. So frustrating!”  

Zheng Ming scoffed, “Such humblebragging.”  

Li Sinian slapped him on the back of the head and then walked into the restaurant.  

Zheng Ming turned around to call his friends inside to help, but when he did, he met a pair of very dark eyes.  

The owner of the eyes was a very young boy wearing a black T-shirt, with slightly dark hair, and a black earring in his left ear.  

He looked like the kind of popular campus heartthrob you’d find in a university.  

Zheng Ming instinctively lowered his gaze, subconsciously avoiding the boy’s eyes.  

But after he looked away, he realized something felt off. He had never seen the guy before, so why was he acting so shy?  

He turned back, only to see that the boy had stopped looking at him.  

The young man had that impulsive streak often found in young people. He didn’t like the feeling of being perceived as weak in that brief moment of eye contact, so he walked into the restaurant, still slightly irritated.  

Li Sinian went straight into the kitchen. Since Zheng Ming and the others were out front, he only needed to focus on cooking.  

With so many people, if he went out to help, he would definitely collapse from exhaustion.  

Business had always been slow at the restaurant, and Li Sinian hated wasting ingredients, so the stock was very limited.  

He didn’t even think about buying more ingredients, as he didn’t want to exhaust himself further.  

Before the menu came in, Li Sinian quickly cut some ingredients. He didn’t cut much before Zheng Ming came in with the orders.  

Li Sinian glanced at him and said, “Go out and tell the customers still in line that we have limited ingredients today and won’t be able to serve everyone. Let them decide whether to leave.”  

Zheng Ming felt a little regretful; that was a lot of potential business.  

But when he looked at Li Sinian’s thin figure, he didn’t say anything. He just turned and went out to follow Li Sinian’s instructions.  

Some of the customers further down the line left after hearing they might not get food, but there were still some who were really looking forward to their meal and chose to stay and wait.  

The customers at the front figured it was almost their turn, so they didn’t leave.  

In the end, the notice didn’t send away many people, not even a fifth of the crowd.  

When Zheng Ming came back in with the menus, Li Sinian asked about the situation outside, and Zheng Ming gave him an honest update.

Then Li Sinian’s knife movement paused for a moment, and he slightly tilted his head, letting out a soft sigh.  

For some reason, in that instant, Zheng Ming felt as though he saw despair in Li Sinian’s eyes.  

He didn’t know how many tables had been served, but after about two and a half hours, the ingredients finally ran out.  

Li Sinian tossed the knife down with relief and went outside to check on the situation.  

The six small tables were all full, and although it was past lunchtime, there was still a considerable line outside.  

Looking closely, it seemed like nothing had changed from earlier?  

Li Sinian immediately furrowed his brows and called Zheng Ming over, asking, “What’s going on? I feel like I’ve cooked so many dishes, why are there still so many people?”  

Zheng Ming pondered for a moment. “Well, here’s the thing…”  

He recounted the earlier scene.  

Since Li Sinian was the only one cooking, he couldn’t move quickly. The first batch of customers had started complaining.  

“Why is the door opening so slowly, and the food is taking so long? If you’re not going to do business like this, just close up already.”  

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting outside forever, and now I still have to wait after I get in. Unbelievable.”  

“This is my first time coming to this so-called popular restaurant, and it’ll be my last. If it wasn’t for the boss being handsome, I’d be cursing right now.”  

In a small restaurant, everything said inside could be heard clearly outside. As the customers outside overheard these complaints, they started getting frustrated. Some were even considering leaving.  

Just then, Zheng Ming came out with the dishes.  

The first table to get their food was from the group that had complained the most. They performed a complete transformation.  

One second they were grumbling about the slow service, and the next, their words turned into exclamations of surprise.  

“What? Why is this so delicious?”  

“Is this Gong Bao Chicken? Why does it taste so different from the ones I’ve had before? It’s similar but just tastes so much better!”  

“I think I understand why the boss is so laid-back. If I could make food this good, I’d want to open the door when I felt like it and close it when I didn’t.”  

In a small restaurant, what was said inside could be heard outside, and the customers waiting in line saw the sudden change in attitude from the first table. This made them reconsider leaving.  

Now, not only did they stay, but they also became more eager to taste the food.  

What kind of flavor could make those people change their minds after just one bite? They were really curious!  

Almost every table of the first batch of customers had the same experience: they complained one second, and the next, they were praising the food.  

Some of the customers, seeing this transformation, took the opportunity to ask Zheng Ming, “Why is your food so delicious?”  

Zheng Ming answered, “First, it’s the ingredients; second, it’s the method. All our vegetables are grown in our village, so they might be fresher than what you find in the supermarket.”  

“Of course, the most important thing is the cooking method. Every dish on the menu is based on the original recipe, but our boss has improved it. Some of the sauces and chili oils used for the cold dishes were developed by him using his own recipes.”  

Hearing this, the customers understood.  

So, in the end, it was the exclusive secret recipe.  

The customers who had been in line didn’t leave, and there were new customers arriving due to posts about the restaurant. These new customers saw the reactions of those who had already eaten and heard the descriptions from those who had been in line, so they decided to stay as well.  

This created the scene Li Sinian saw when he came out.  

Even though he had been cooking for two hours, none of the customers had left.  

Li Sinian, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, leaned against the wall and couldn’t help but think to himself again: he was truly born to work hard.  

The customers outside were urging him, and Zheng Ming responded, then told Li Sinian, “By the way, a lot of customers have been asking about the honey passion fruit. Do we still have any?”  

Li Sinian shook his head. “No, it’s all gone.”  

After the last batch of drinks was finished, he had focused on researching new dishes and completely forgotten about buying honey.  

Zheng Ming sighed regretfully. “Oh well, some people even said they saw posts about the honey passion fruit and were willing to pay a high price for it. Too bad.”  

Li Sinian, worried he might forget again, took out his phone and made a note in his reminder to buy honey.  

More customers were urging from outside. Zheng Ming responded, then turned to hurry Li Sinian. “Didn’t you hear the customers starting to complain? Hurry up and get back to cooking!”  

Li Sinian gave a forced smile. “What should I cook? We’ve run out of ingredients.”  

Zheng Ming immediately said, “Should I go buy some now?”

“Buy your grandpa!” Li Sinian grabbed Zheng Ming by the collar and yanked him back. “Go tell the people outside that we’ve run out of food. Tell them to come back next time.”  

“???” Zheng Ming stared at him in horror. “Are you human? It’s late, and everyone outside must be starving by now. And you want me to tell them there’s no food? You’re trying to get me killed!”  

Li Sinian replied coolly, “If you don’t go, I’ll tell Lu Yao that you like her.”  

Lu Yao was the Qing Mei Zheng Ming had secretly admired for a long time.  

Zheng Ming spat at him, “You really are something!”  

Though he grumbled, Zheng Ming still went outside to tell the waiting customers that there was no food left.  

Li Sinian sat in the kitchen for a while, and when he heard things had quieted down outside, he grabbed his phone and went out.  

Zheng Ming and a few of his classmates were clearing the tables, and the customers had all left.  

Oh, there were still two left: Jiang Rongxuan and Ma Chi.  

Li Sinian walked up to Jiang Rongxuan. “Why are you still here? The ingredients are all used up. If you want to eat, you’ll have to come back next time.”  

Jiang Rongxuan smiled at him, raised his hand, and in it, he was holding a large bag of KFC takeout.  

“I know you’ve been working hard, Boss Li, so I brought you some lunch. I know fast food can’t compare to your cooking, but it’ll do for now. Just think of it as filling your stomach.”  

Li Sinian was slightly surprised.  

Helping to bring lunch wasn’t something a customer who had only seen him a few times would do, but he had to admit, Li Sinian was touched.  

It was like working all day and suddenly having someone offer you a cup of hot coffee—very heartwarming.  

Given the relationship between him and Jiang Rongxuan, the polite thing to do would have been to refuse, but right now, he was both tired and hungry and couldn’t bring himself to turn down the ready-to-eat KFC meal.  

Li Sinian thanked Jiang Rongxuan, grabbed the takeout bag, and sat down at a cleared table.  

Just as he was about to eat, he saw Zheng Ming sneak up to him, press his hand down on the food, and seriously whispered in his ear.  

“Don’t eat! The guy in the black t-shirt isn’t a good person!”  

Li Sinian raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”  

“Why do you say that?”

Zheng Ming told Li Sinian about how Jiang Rongxuan had glared at him when he first entered the restaurant. He used exaggerated words to describe the look, turning Jiang Rongxuan, a strong young man, into a sinister murderer in his story.  

As he spoke, he turned around and happened to lock eyes with Jiang Rongxuan, who looked back at him with a dark and fierce gaze. Zheng Ming jumped in fright and immediately began to poke Li Sinian’s arm, “Just like this! It’s terrifying! I think he’s a murderer! You can’t eat what he gave you!”  

Li Sinian turned to look and saw Jiang Rongxuan smiling at him gently.  

He turned back to Zheng Ming and grabbed a handful of his hair. “You’re mistaken. That’s my first customer, and he’s a good guy.”  

Zheng Ming wanted to say something else but stopped when he saw Jiang Rongxuan walking over. He immediately shut his mouth and rolled to the side to continue wiping the tables.  

Jiang Rongxuan glanced at him and then sat next to Li Sinian, asking, “Why aren’t you eating? Is this fast food really that hard to swallow?”  

“No, it’s fine,” Li Sinian said, carefully looking at Jiang Rongxuan for two seconds. Not seeing any abnormal emotions in his eyes, he subtly shifted his gaze.  

Zheng Ming and the other high school students had already eaten earlier, but after working for so long, they were clearly hungry. Li Sinian gave each of them a thousand yuan as thanks for helping out, and the group of students happily left to get something to eat.  

After finishing his meal, Li Sinian looked at Jiang Rongxuan and Ma Chi, still sitting in the restaurant. “Do you two have anything else?”  

Ma Chi immediately sat down and flashed a flattering smile at him.  

Li Sinian smiled back and spoke first, “Is it about opening a restaurant?”  

Ma Chi nodded sheepishly. “I’ve really thought about it and learned from my mistakes. This time, I’m coming with sincerity. Do you want to hear me out?”  

Li Sinian nodded. “Go ahead.”  

Ma Chi pulled out a tablet and showed Li Sinian a list he had written. “From the frequency you open your shop and the tired look you get after each meal, I can tell you love sharing your cooking but are also afraid of the work that comes with it.”  

“So, if we collaborate, all you have to do is share your recipes, and I’ll take care of all the dirty and tiring work.”  

“I’m planning to open a chain of restaurants, so I’ll handle everything—company registration, restaurant location, decoration, hiring waitstaff, and so on. All you need to do is teach the managers of each restaurant your recipes.”  

“I’ve thought about the company structure. There’ll be three of us working together. Little Jiang, he’s wealthier, and he can invest in our venture.”  

“We’ll split the shares equally between the three of us. Boss Li, you don’t have to do anything except provide your recipes.”  

“Of course, your recipes will be the foundation of the entire restaurant, and if you’re not satisfied with this share distribution, you can take 50%, and the other 50% will be split between the two of us.”  

After saying this, Ma Chi instinctively looked at Jiang Rongxuan.  

Li Sinian caught this glance, and it didn’t go unnoticed.  

The terms Ma Chi offered were exactly what Li Sinian had been hoping for—he wanted to share his cooking with others but didn’t want to be overwhelmed by the work of running a restaurant. His recipes weren’t worth much; they were well-known methods with a bit of his own twist. His original dishes might be worth more, but those recipes were already posted online in videos. Given these conditions, it was clear that Ma Chi was sincere.  

However, from that glance, it was obvious that these terms weren’t entirely Ma Chi’s idea.  

Li Sinian distanced himself from the Li family because he didn’t want to repeat his past life, where he worked himself into the ground and ended up with a poor outcome.  

If he really just had to provide recipes and could earn income, this sounded like a good option.  

The main reason, though, was that with the current flow of customers, unless the business really closed down, he would have to hire people and expand the scale. That would surely be more tiring than collaborating with Ma Chi and the others.  

If the restaurant did close, he’d be reluctant, so this middle ground seemed like a decent option.  

Li Sinian rested his chin in his hand and slowly nodded. “Under these circumstances, the terms you’re offering are very tempting. I’ll think about it.”  

With the possibility of a partnership in the works, Ma Chi jumped up excitedly.  

Jiang Rongxuan also smiled, his lips curving up.  

As they were leaving, Ma Chi exchanged WeChat contacts with Li Sinian.  

Before they parted, Jiang Rongxuan, besides expressing his hope to collaborate, asked, “Can I call you ‘older brother’?”  

Li Sinian looked at him in surprise, and Jiang Rongxuan explained, “I think you’re interested in working with us. Since we’ll be running the company together, I just want us to be closer, starting with how we address each other.”  

Seeing the sparkle in Jiang Rongxuan’s eyes, Li Sinian felt awkward but didn’t reject the request. Jiang Rongxuan smiled, clearly as happy as Ma Chi.  

Li Sinian realized that agreeing to the partnership didn’t seem to make Jiang Rongxuan as happy as agreeing to let him call him “older brother.”

 

 

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