The Gourmet Customizer

Comparing the photo on her phone, magnified ten times, to Bai Xiaobo’s back, Ling Shuyu was almost one hundred percent certain.

It was those flowery shorts!

’To think I misunderstood Boss Su...’

At this thought, Ling Shuyu suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Ever since that day she’d misunderstood him, she had been subconsciously keeping her distance from Su Chen.

She only acted somewhat normally during work.

’Dammit!’

’Bai Xiaobo is actually that kind of person?’

’He always seems so cheerful and goofy, I never would have thought he had this kind of hobby!’

’I’ll stay away from him from now on.’

’He’s the reason I’ve been so distant with the boss lately. Damn him!’

After deleting the photo, Ling Shuyu quickened her pace into the kitchen. As she passed Bai Xiaobo, she shot him a cold glance.

’Just as I thought. Even President Ling is laughing at me. I can’t show my face at the company anymore, WAHHHH...’

Bai Xiaobo noticed Ling Shuyu’s look, and his heart sank even further.

’It’s one thing to get shot down, that’s not so embarrassing. But coming to the office to get hammered afterward is just mortifying!’

Entering the kitchen, Ling Shuyu saw Su Chen boiling water, and her guilt swelled. "Boss, I’m so sorry..."

"Hm?" Su Chen was completely baffled. "What for?"

’How do I even explain this...’ Ling Shuyu turned to the side, unable to meet Su Chen’s gaze. "Boss, don’t you worry! I’ll make sure your new department is a success! I’ll get everything set up perfectly!"

’Where did this sudden burst of energy come from?’

But in any case, Su Chen nodded. "I hope everything works out for the best."

In the pot to his left, which had a thin layer of oil at the bottom, Su Chen waited until the oil started to smoke before cracking three eggs into it all at once.

After the eggs had firmed up slightly in the high heat, he casually flipped the pan, turning all three over.

’I’m really not cut out for cooking...’ Ling Shuyu thought to herself as she watched Su Chen’s movements.

’I can’t even do that simple move. And that’s just with three eggs. If there was anything more in there, I wouldn’t be able to lift it at all.’

Once the surface of the fried eggs was slightly browned, Su Chen poured all the boiling water from the other pot into the pan. Just like he’d done before, the fat from the eggs instantly emulsified, and the broth immediately turned a beautiful, milky white.

He then added three portions of dragon’s beard noodles to simmer and placed three stalks of leafy greens on top.

While the noodles were cooking in the pot, Su Chen got out three bowls.

He started with a base of chopped scallions in each, then added a splash of soy sauce, a sprinkle of pepper and MSG salt, and finally, a tiny dollop of lard.

Then he ladled the boiling noodle broth into the bowls and stirred until everything was evenly mixed.

The noodles, now perfectly cooked, were lifted with chopsticks into the bowls. On one side he arranged the greens, and on the other, the fried egg.

"Alright, three bowls of noodle soup. This is all I’m making, so I hope it’s enough!"

The three of them weren’t picky about where to eat, simply standing by the kitchen counter.

Bai Xiaobo took a sniff. "Boss, you’re the first person to ever make me noodles this late at night. Not even my mom has done that!"

He was visibly moved.

Su Chen pretended to gag. "Look at you, what a mess. Getting wasted over a woman? How pathetic."

"Why can’t you get wasted over a woman?" Ling Shuyu asked coolly. "It’s just a little pathetic, that’s all."

The smile on Bai Xiaobo’s face froze halfway before vanishing.

’Couldn’t you just say it all at once?’

Su Chen picked up his egg with his chopsticks and took a bite. An egg fried over high heat can turn out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, as long as the temperature and timing are perfectly controlled.

The center of the yolk was only about sixty percent cooked, and it tasted exquisite.

’SMACK SMACK~’

Su Chen took a sip of the noodle soup. He wanted to say something about Xiaobai’s situation. "It’s okay to be sad for a while. Youth is a past we begin to miss before we’ve even had time to live it."

This sudden display of poetic sentiment left both Ling Shuyu and Bai Xiaobo staring, dumbfounded. They saw Su Chen’s expression turn sorrowful, yet he seemed to be smiling in self-consolation. "You’ve already walked with her as far as you could. What comes after is no longer your concern."

Bai Xiaobo: ???

’Wait a minute, Boss, how come you suddenly sound even more heartbroken than I am?’

Ling Shuyu, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback. She rather liked those two lines Su Chen had said; she just never expected the boss to have such a poetic side.

"So yeah, that girl’s a real piece of work. Next time she comes in to eat, I’ll add a couple of extra spoonfuls of chili for you!"

Ling Shuyu: (┬＿┬)

’The boss’s good image never lasts longer than three seconds. Three seconds flat.’

Bai Xiaobo was also speechless. "Boss, you know, in the future, you could just stop after the first half of what you say."

"Huh?" Su Chen didn’t see anything wrong with it. "Why?"

"No reason. I’ll go get you guys something good."

Xiaobai ran to the fridge and, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, produced three cans of Coca-Cola. "They gave these away for free when I bought some Coca-Cola the other day. There were only three, so I hid them, hehe!"

’Well, I’ll be damned!’

’You sneaky little devil!’

Su Chen unceremoniously grabbed one and opened it with a FIZZ. "Coca-Cola tastes best at 4 degrees Celsius."

"Why’s that?" Ling Shuyu asked, playing along.

’She always felt like Su Chen enjoyed dropping bits of trivia in any situation. The key thing was, he always managed to pull it off perfectly and look cool, which was incredibly frustrating.’

’I wish I could be cool like Boss Su just once...’

"Because at 4 degrees Celsius, the carbon dioxide and water in the Coca-Cola achieve a perfect fusion, which makes it incredibly refreshing to drink."

GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG!

A single gulp of the ice-cold Coca-Cola drove away the summer heat. It was unbelievably refreshing. But then Su Chen, after taking just that one gulp, tossed the rest into the trash can, leaving Bai Xiaobo and Ling Shuyu staring at each other in disbelief.

’The boss doesn’t usually seem like a wasteful person, does he?’

Su Chen was in a good mood tonight, so he decided to drop another bit of trivia on them. "A three-dollar can of ice-cold Coca-Cola? The first sip is worth two-fifty. The rest is only worth forty cents."