Chapter 145: Rage in Vain, Trash
Boss Cao froze.
Then, realization dawned.
He flew into a rage.
’So that’s why fewer people are coming for noodles!’ he thought. ’It’s Shen Lu, working against me again!’
"This is just too much!"
Boss Cao slammed down his noodle strainer and stormed over to Little Deer Cuisine.
"Shen Lu, get your ass out here!" Boss Cao pointed at Shen Lu, who was standing at the front counter, and started screaming. "Have you no fucking humanity? Will you only be satisfied when you’ve driven me to ruin? To be so young, yet so vicious—aren’t you afraid you’ll be struck by lightning?!"
Normally, Shen Lu couldn’t be bothered to deal with Boss Cao. She would just have Ye Fan haul him away.
But today was different. She had a side quest.
The restaurant was full of customers right now, and every single one was craning their neck to watch the show. If she didn’t handle this properly, she risked her satisfaction rating taking a hit.
She would not allow what happened last time to happen again.
Shen Lu walked out from behind the counter, a pleasant smile on her face. "Boss Cao, we can sit down and talk about this calmly. Besides, if you’re going to accuse me, you should at least state your reasons, right?"
Boss Cao hated Shen Lu’s unflappable calm; it made him look like a raving lunatic by contrast.
"Stop putting on an act, Shen Lu! Aren’t you just getting back at me for taking your customers by pulling these dirty tricks?" As he spoke, Boss Cao’s eyes reddened. "You think you’re the only one having a hard time? I’m struggling too! I have a whole family to support! Yes, my cooking isn’t as good as yours, but I’ve worked hard to improve. I even lowered my prices to rock bottom, just to make a little hard-earned money."
"But you—you won’t even let me earn that little bit. You have to snatch every last penny from my hands. Shen Lu, are you trying to force my family to die just to prove a point?!"
Shen Lu raised an eyebrow. ’What’s this all about? When did Boss Cao change his style?’
She glanced around and saw that many of the oblivious onlookers were actually falling for Boss Cao’s Oscar-worthy performance, their faces showing expressions of sympathy.
’Huh?’
’Wait, I never had any intention of getting revenge on Boss Cao. And those customers he lost? That was his own doing. How is he pinning this on me?’
’Good grief. This guy is just so pissed off he’s come to sling mud at me, hasn’t he?’
"Boss Cao, please calm down first." Shen Lu was never afraid of a war of words, but today she had no room to maneuver. Boss Cao wasn’t listening to a thing she said. Wiping away non-existent tears with his sleeve, he turned and left.
That’s right, he just left. It was as if he’d only come to vent his frustration and anger, not to seek any real explanation.
But by storming off like that, he made himself seem incredibly wronged and pitiful, which in turn made Shen Lu look forceful and domineering.
Shen Lu watched as her satisfaction rating, which had just scraped its way to four stars, slowly began to fall again.
Shen Lu: ???
’Hey, you rubberneckers, don’t you have any sense of fairness? If you’re going to judge who’s right and who’s wrong, can’t you at least hear both sides of the story first? Jumping to conclusions is so reckless, don’t you think?’
"Boss Cao!" Shen Lu followed him and grabbed his arm. "Boss Cao, there must be a misunderstanding. Don’t be in such a rush. Come in and have a cup of tea!"
At the same time, Shen Lu secretly sent a message to Lin Zhou, telling him to restrain Boss Cao.
With her slender arms and legs, Shen Lu was obviously no match for Boss Cao’s strength.
Boss Cao thought so too and tried to shake her hand off, but in the next instant, he found his movements turning sluggish.
It was as if something was wrapped around his limbs, preventing him from exerting his full strength.
’What’s... what’s happening?’
Boss Cao was stunned. He tried to cry for help, but his vocal cords wouldn’t vibrate. He couldn’t make a single sound.
Then, Shen Lu tugged him by the sleeve and "invited" him back into the restaurant, step by step.
’No!’
’This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! I don’t want to go into Shen Lu’s restaurant, I don’t want to sit down, and I certainly don’t want to listen to her excuses!’
He knew full well the real reason his customers had left. He had only come to find Shen Lu with the thought that ’If I’m miserable, you’re not going to be happy either.’ He just wanted to get under her skin.
What else could he do?
He couldn’t win a fight, his cooking skills were inferior, and apart from running his mouth, he was powerless.
Even if everyone eventually found out the truth, it didn’t matter. He’d at least be able to annoy Shen Lu for a few days, and that would be satisfying enough.
There were chairs and small tables in the waiting area. Shen Lu had Boss Cao sit down and personally poured him a glass of mint water.
"Boss Cao, there must be some misunderstanding here." Although Shen Lu was smiling, a faint chill flickered deep in her eyes, hidden by her long lashes so others couldn’t see it clearly. "They say people in the same trade are rivals, and you and I have had our disagreements in the past, which has led to today’s friction."
’Misunderstanding my ass!’
’There is no misunderstanding!’
Boss Cao’s mouth flapped open and closed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make a sound, much less slam the table and storm out.
He narrowed his eyes, a bone-deep chill creeping into his heart.
’Could it be... Shen Lu is a Superpower User?’
’How else could he explain his body being out of his control?’
’Damn it, what kind of Superpower User spends their days swinging a spatula behind a stove?’
Shen Lu secretly sent another message to Lin Zhou, telling him to make Boss Cao react.
And so, like a puppet on a string, Boss Cao nodded his head, as if agreeing with Shen Lu’s point of view.
"I’ve always believed that we’re only truly well-off when everyone is doing well, and that true prosperity comes from shared wealth. It’s definitely not right for me to be the only one making money. Besides, I have limited energy and not enough staff, which is why I only serve lunch."
Shen Lu knew that after Boss Cao’s scene, all sorts of people would come by to gawk. This was a good opportunity to declare her position to the other merchants on the street.
She had no intention of taking all their business. She was a reasonable person, and they could all coexist peacefully.
"I don’t agree with this accusation of ’stealing customers.’" Shen Lu brought the topic back to the day’s events. "I didn’t lower my prices, and I didn’t spread any rumors. How can you say I stole your customers?"
"Customers are capable of independent thought. They are free to choose where they fill their stomachs. They chose to go to Boss Cao’s noodle stall before, so of course, they can also choose to eat at my restaurant now."
"When Boss Cao noticed he had fewer customers, did he ever think to look for the reason within himself?"
"Can you really attract customers back just by blaming others?"
"Or is it that you see me as a young girl who’s easy to bully, which is why you keep coming to make trouble for me, again and again?"
Listening to her, Boss Cao’s blood boiled. His face turned beet red, and his eyes bulged as he glared at Shen Lu, wishing he could leap forward and take a bite out of her.
’He was more than a decade older than her, yet this little brat was putting on airs and lecturing him in front of a whole crowd?!’
’She has no respect for her elders! She doesn’t know her place!’
’And what was that about her being a little girl who’s easy to bully?’
’Her, easy to bully?’
’In what world is *she* easy to bully?’
’Isn’t *he* the one being bullied right now?!’
’Damn it, I’m being railroaded!’
Boss Cao had a million curses he wanted to scream, but he couldn’t get a single one out. He couldn’t even move. All he could do was glare furiously at Shen Lu.
A faint smile touched Shen Lu’s lips.
’Heh, I just love it when they can’t stand me but are powerless to do anything about it. Go on, seethe in your impotent rage, you useless bum.’