The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

’You’re a sensible one, at least.’

Shen Lu poured Li Zexing another cup.

This time, Li Zexing didn’t rush to drink. He observed the cup carefully, then secretly activated his superpower.

Shen Lu frowned slightly and rubbed her arm. ’Why do I feel a chill again?’

"This tea is excellent. Where did you buy the leaves?" Li Zexing asked, choosing his words carefully. "I’d like to buy some for myself."

’The key to soothing the Spiritual Sea must be the tea leaves,’ he thought.

Shen Lu answered casually, "It was a gift."

A lie.

Li Zexing’s lie-detection superpower gave him the answer immediately.

’Is she unwilling to tell me, or is she just brushing me off?’

Li Zexing took a sip of tea. "Would you mind sharing their contact information? I really do like this tea."

’Of course it’s not convenient!’

Shen Lu complained inwardly, but she couldn’t say that so bluntly.

"The tea in the Upper City District is surely better than anything I could buy. Besides, my friend is a recluse and doesn’t like to meet strangers."

Still lying.

Li Zexing felt a hint of displeasure. It wasn’t that he’d never used things that could soothe the Spiritual Sea, but this was the first time he had seen something so effective.

If not for Fu Cheng, he would have used some other means to make Shen Lu spit out the truth right now.

’Wait, Fu Cheng?’

Li Zexing pondered for a moment. ’Could this tea be related to Fu Cheng?’

Li Zexing glanced at the secondary bedroom, hesitating over whether to go and ask him.

But he gave up on the idea.

Fu Cheng wasn’t someone you could easily get information out of. Although he was down on his luck now, he was still the eldest son of the Fu Family. He surely had some tricks up his sleeve, so it was best not to provoke him.

"Thank you for the tea." Li Zexing put down his cup and stood up. "I’ve imposed on you today."

"It’s no trouble."

Shen Lu rose to her feet as well. Suddenly, a clamor erupted from outside.

Shen Lu let out a curious sound. ’It’s not even mealtime yet, why is it so noisy?’

She walked to the window and peeked out. A large crowd had gathered at the restaurant’s entrance, pointing and gesturing at Li Zexing’s car with obvious excitement on their faces.

Shen Lu was instantly reminded of the idol fans from her previous world. Their expressions were identical.

"Are those your fans?" Shen Lu asked, looking back at Li Zexing. "You shouldn’t have driven your own car. You’ve been recognized."

"This car isn’t mine, it’s my dad’s." His own ride was a flamboyantly red supercar, while his dad drove this one more often. "Maybe they’ve never seen this car before and are just curious."

"Should I go down and handle it for you?"

"Sorry to trouble you."

Shen Lu went downstairs, walked out the front door, and clapped her hands to get the crowd’s attention. "Everyone, all you handsome guys and beautiful ladies, could you please not crowd around my customer’s car?"

"Your customer?" A girl closest to Shen Lu grabbed her hand. "Is it Li Zexing? Is it Li Zexing?! I saw someone say they saw Li Zexing driving this car this morning! Is he in your restaurant?"

As soon as she said that, countless gazes snapped to Shen Lu, so intense it felt like they could burn a hole in her face.

"No, you’re mistaken," Shen Lu lied with a steady voice. "This car does belong to the Li Family, but the person driving it isn’t Li Zexing."

"Really? The tip came from Pink Hair, it can’t be wrong, can it?"

Shen Lu said, "I wouldn’t know about that. Everyone, my little restaurant needs to open for business soon, so please don’t linger here for too long. If anyone wants to try our braised pork belly or Kung Pao chicken, you can come in and order at eleven."

With so many people around, Shen Lu couldn’t resist putting in a plug for her business.

Some people who had seen Shen Lu’s videos belatedly realized who she was. They had been so focused on the car and the excitement that they hadn’t noticed anything else.

"Oh, isn’t this Little Deer Cuisine, the place that’s been getting so much buzz lately?"

"I saw the video of the crawfish competition she held for her grand opening."

"Miss, is your braised pork belly really as good as it looks in the videos?"

Shen Lu replied, "This establishment doesn’t engage in false advertising. The flavor and quality of our dishes are guaranteed. You’re all welcome to come in and have a taste."

"That’s not a bad idea, but it’s still a while until mealtime."

"Miss, I’ll eat at your place later, but I want to wait by the car. Is that okay?"

"Ah, right, right, Miss! I was going to ask the same thing."

...

Shen Lu had seriously underestimated the fans’ fanaticism. She thought she could send them away with just a few words, but instead, they’d found a clever loophole—a perfectly reasonable excuse to stand guard by the car.

"The driver isn’t Li Zexing, so it’s useless for you to wait here," Shen Lu tried to persuade them patiently.

"That’s okay! I have a gift for Brother Xing. The driver can just take it to him for me."

"I prepared one too! A handmade bouquet!"

"I made a pink Biting Inhibitor by hand! It’s a perfect match for Brother Xing!"

Shen Lu was speechless. ...

’I shouldn’t have advertised my restaurant. Look at the trouble my big mouth has caused.’

Shen Lu went back inside to ask Li Zexing what to do.

"I’ve never encountered a situation like this in the Upper City District," Li Zexing said with a frown. "Maybe I should just go down, get in the car, and leave."

The people in the Upper City District prided themselves on being highly-educated and sophisticated. Even when they were fans of a celebrity, they would never do something like surrounding and blocking them. At most, they would say hello if they met and support him by buying merchandise.

Take Bai Wanwan, for example. She actually liked Li Zexing a lot, but when she saw him at the birthday banquet last time, she only watched him from a distance.

Of course, part of the reason she didn’t approach was that she didn’t want to provoke Princess Ruoxin. But even if Princess Ruoxin hadn’t been there, she would have only gone over to greet him, compliment his acting, and offer some words of encouragement.

"Don’t. I already told them the driver wasn’t you. If you go down there, they’ll know I was lying."

Shen Lu did not want to face a mob of angry fans. They could very well ruin her business.

"Here’s the plan. In a moment, you’ll start the car remotely. I’ll have someone drive it away, and you can leave through a different exit."

Li Zexing wasn’t happy about it. It’s not like he had to hide from people, so why should he have to sneak away?

Shen Lu didn’t care whether he was happy or not. She wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin her restaurant. This was a business she had built up one fried rice and one malatang at a time; it was her heart and soul.

Shen Lu called Lin Zhou and Ye Fan in. One was tasked with driving the car, the other with escorting Li Zexing to the checkpoint.

Once the arrangements were made, Li Zexing, however reluctant, went along with the plan.

’This is all for Fu Cheng’s sake,’ he thought.

Ye Fan went down to drive the car. When the waiting fans saw that it really wasn’t Li Zexing, they were deeply disappointed. Still, they tried to stuff their gifts into Ye Fan’s hands, asking him to take them to Li Zexing.

Ye Fan was big and burly, with a face that looked naturally villainous. He scowled, cursed a few times in a gruff voice, and forcefully shoved all the gifts back.

"Don’t shove this crap at me!"

The man slammed the car door shut, stomped on the gas, and sped off, leaving a group of dumbfounded fans in his wake.

"That guy is so rude! He wouldn’t even help deliver a gift."

"And so mean!"

"I’m going to leave a comment on Brother Xing’s social media and tell him to fire that servant!"

"No one said he was a servant, right? Maybe he’s one of Brother Xing’s friends?"

"Let’s go, let’s go. Sigh, when will we ever get to meet Brother Xing?"

"I’m going back to work. One day I’ll save up enough money to buy a pass to the Upper City District and see Brother Xing!"

...