I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

The old man put down his chopsticks and stared sharply at Jiang Che.

Song Yuqi's heart was in her throat.

She was about to speak up to smooth things over when Jiang Che calmly picked up a rag and wiped his hands.

"I don't know any Old Li."

"I just mixed it up myself. If you don't like it, you don't have to pay."

The old man looked at him for two seconds.

Suddenly, the old man slapped his thigh loudly, startling Lu Han, who was serving noodles at the next stall.

"Good lad!"

The old man simply pulled a red bill out of his pocket and slammed it onto the chopping board.

"This tastes amazing! Old Li's stubborn apprentice studied under him for ten years and still can't match your skill! Give me five bowls, and I'll take them to go!"

Song Yuqi's eyes lit up, and her previous tension vanished instantly. She smiled broadly as she took the money and received her change.

"Alright, sir! One bowl is five yuan, five bowls are twenty-five yuan, here's your change of seventy-five yuan, please take it!"

With this local old man as a living advertisement, all the neighbors who were taking a stroll around gathered around.

"Old Chen is notoriously picky about food. If he says it's good, it can't be bad. Give me two bowls too!"

"Young man, add more diced radish for me!"

A queue quickly formed in front of Jiang Che's stall.

The two worked together seamlessly and began the assembly line operation.

Jiang Che's hands moved non-stop, cooking noodles, scooping them out, shaking them dry, and pouring sauce over them, all with fluid, effortless movements.

Song Yuqi was responsible for collecting money, bagging, and handing out chopsticks.

"Two bowls of mildly spicy, one without scallions!" Song Yuqi shouted.

"it is good."

Jiang Che responded, precisely dipping the spoon in his hand twice into the red oil bowl, and neatly avoiding the scallion bowl with the other bowl.

They didn't even need to make eye contact; they looked just like a young couple who had been running a stall in Hubu Alley for ten years.

As Song Yuqi packed the bags, she glanced at Jiang Che.

The man was wearing a pink floral apron, which should have looked ridiculous, but the way he was intently staring at the noodle pot was somehow damn handsome.

Although the early autumn mornings in Wuhan are cool, sitting next to two large, boiling pots, the steam rises directly onto your face.

Jiang Che's forehead quickly beaded with sweat, and a few strands of hair clung damply to his brow bone.

His hands were busy, so he tilted his head to try and wipe away the sweat.

Without thinking, Song Yuqi grabbed a tissue and pressed it against his forehead.

"Don't move."

She softened her voice and carefully wiped away his sweat.

Jiang Che paused, turning his head to look at her.

The two were standing very close together.

The morning sunlight shone on Song Yuqi's face, making even the fine downy hairs on the tip of her nose clearly visible.

She stared intently at his forehead, her gaze intensely focused, and the faint scent of citrus mingled with the sesame aroma of hot dry noodles wafted into his nostrils.

"What are you looking at? The noodles are going to clump together."

Song Yuqi felt uncomfortable under his gaze, her cheeks began to burn, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

Jiang Che let out a low chuckle.

"Alright, Boss Song is right."

He didn't dodge; he even lowered his head slightly to accommodate her height.

The live stream chat was already flooded with comments.

[Ahhh! Boss Song and her pink apron chef!]

[How come these two can even make selling hot dry noodles feel like an idol drama!]

[Jiang Che's smile just now... I was dead. Who could resist that?!]

On the other side, Bai Lu looked at her empty stall, the noodles in the pot had all turned into a lump of mush, and her fingers were almost tearing the floral dress apart.

This comparison is practically a public execution.

No.

The cameras were all focused on Jiang Che, so she couldn't just stand there doing nothing.

Bai Lu tidied her hair, flashed her signature sweet smile, and walked to the Red Team's booth.

"Teacher Jiang, Yuqi, you're both so busy, let me help you out."

As she spoke, she reached for the bowl of scallions on Jiang Che's cutting board, her body leaning intentionally or unintentionally against Jiang Che's arm.

Jiang Che didn't even glance at her. With a flick of his wrist, he took the bowl of scallions and moved it to the side furthest from Bai Lu.

"It's best not to touch the cook's stove."

Bai Lu's hand froze in mid-air, her face showing grievance.

"I just wanted to help; it's so hot, I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it all..."

"Your perfume is too strong."

Jiang Che tossed the freshly cooked noodles into the bowl before looking up at her.

"The wind is blowing this way, and all the aroma is wafting into the pot. Hot dry noodles are all about the sesame fragrance; do you expect customers to eat perfume?"

These words left no room for embarrassment whatsoever.

Chen He turned around at the next stall, suppressing a laugh as he punched the cutting board twice.

His brother is really good at dealing with green tea (a term used to describe someone who is overly cunning or manipulative).

That straight man's comment was so satisfying.

Bai Lu's face flushed red and then turned pale. She bit her lip tightly and couldn't say a word. She could only retreat to her stall.

Less than twenty minutes later, Song Yuqi handed the last bowl of noodles to a passerby, counted the change in her hand, and was so happy that she almost jumped up on the spot.

"Director! Five hundred and fifty-five dollars! We won!"

She waved the money in front of Wu Zheng, her face full of smugness.

Wu Zheng held the megaphone and sighed helplessly.

"The Red Team is the first to complete the mission! They've won a top-notch Wuhan breakfast deluxe set meal!"

Deng Chao only sold one bowl, and he had to beg and plead to sell it to a tourist from out of town.

He watched Jiang Che take off his pink apron, and felt a pang of jealousy.

"Jiang Che, you better confess, did you secretly attend classes at New Oriental?"

Jiang Che threw the apron on the cutting board and shook his slightly sore wrists.

"You wouldn't understand talent even if I explained it to you."

The deluxe breakfast set meal was served quickly.

Three-delicacy bean curd sheets, fried dough sticks, rice noodle soup with fried dough sticks and pan-fried buns filled a small table.

Jiang Che and Song Yuqi sat under a parasol, eating breakfast face to face.

Song Yuqi had been up all morning and was really starving.

She picked up a piece of bean curd skin and took a bite. The outer skin was crispy, and the glutinous rice and diced meat inside smelled so good it went straight to her head.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

Her cheeks were bulging, like a hamster hoarding grain.

Jiang Che slowly sipped his noodles, watching her eat like this, unable to suppress the smile in his eyes.

He pushed a plate of pan-fried buns in front of her.

Song Yuqi ate a little too quickly, and a few bits of bean curd skin stuck to the tip of her nose.

Jiang Che reached out and lightly brushed her nose with his index finger.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Song Yuqi paused in her chewing motion.

She stared blankly at Jiang Che, the warm touch of that finger still lingering on the tip of her nose.

That move is so unfair!

She quickly lowered her head to drink the powder, trying to hide her burning cheeks.

"I...I just wanted to finish eating quickly so I could record the next part of the show. This portion is huge, I'm almost bursting."

As she spoke, she patted her round belly and looked at the half-eaten bowl of rice noodle soup in front of her with a worried expression.

Jiang Che glanced at the bowl of noodles, then reached out and placed it in front of him. He picked up his own spoon and took a sip.

Song Yuqi's eyes widened, and she reached out to grab the rim of the bowl.

"I ate that!"

Jiang Che blocked with his wrist, firmly protecting the bowl.

"Wasting food is shameful."

Song Yuqi watched him eat what was left over with his own spoon, her cheeks burning red.

Does this man even know what he's doing?

Does he know that this counts as an indirect kiss?

Jiang Che swallowed a mouthful of noodles, lifted his eyelids to look at her, and spoke casually.

"It's not like we've never slept in the same bed before. What's wrong with me eating half a bowl of your noodles?"

puff!

Lu Han, who was sitting at the next table, spat out the mouthful of soy milk she had just drunk and coughed several times.

"Jiang Che! Have some decency!"

Deng Chao, who was starving and could only gnaw on a cold, dry bun, was furious as he watched the two of them flaunting their love.

"Wu Zheng! I protest! This program can't be recorded!"

The comments section was now buzzing with excitement.

He doesn't mind if she's eaten something that wasn't hers! That's true love!

[Jiang Che's speed in getting to know things is like he went straight from 2G to 5G!]

[Look at Bai Lu's face, it's so dark! She almost crushed the steamed bun in her hand, hahaha!]

Wu Zheng watched from behind the monitor with amusement.

With this level of popularity and buzz, this episode's ratings are definitely going to break historical records.

"Alright everyone, now that we've finished breakfast, let's head to the next checkpoint."

Wu Zheng raised the megaphone, interrupting the wailing of the crowd.

"The Jiangcheng Treasure Hunt, Second Stage, is about to begin!"