What Are Your Tastes? chapter 29
Is it possible that he likes Zhou Yanchuan?
Walking through the night, crossing narrow alleyways, Zhou Yanchuan led Lu Yunchu to the unassuming entrance of a shop. Despite its ordinary appearance, the bustling crowd of diners and the noise inside and out hinted at something less than ordinary.
Steam rose continuously from a large pot behind the counter window, causing the yellow light bulb hanging above the door to be surrounded by a white haze, casting a dim glow.
A tin sign hung on the side, easily overlooked unless one paid attention, bearing the words “Lv’s Duck Noodle Soup”.
“You’ve never eaten at a place like this before, have you?” Zhou Yanchuan asked Lu Yunchu, standing outside the shop.
“How could I?” Lu Yunchu replied. “With my dad around, I never had the chance. But I’m in my twenties and have lived independently. I’ve been to plenty of small joints near the university town.”
“The taste here is definitely better than those places,” Zhou Yanchuan said, starting to move inside.
“Hey,” Lu Yunchu stopped him. “Looks like there’s no space left, right?”
“There is,” Zhou Yanchuan replied without hesitation. A man around fifty, who seemed to be the owner, continued Lu Yunchu’s words from inside the shop, “Xiao Zhou always has a spot whenever he comes. Would you like to sit inside or outside?”
“Let’s sit outside,” Zhou Yanchuan said to Lu Yunchu. “It’s warmer out here; it might get a bit stuffy inside.”
“Alright.”
“Great!” The owner immediately pulled out a folding square table from inside, and the two helped to set it up. “Zhou, you brought a friend over?”
“Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan grinned. “Consider this my way of advertising for you.”
“Sure,” the man grinned back. “Tonight’s meal is on me. No need to be polite.”
“Wait, wait, why be so polite?” Zhou Yanchuan immediately grabbed the other person and joked, “I like your place, that’s why I wanted to treat my friend here. If you cover for me, where does that leave my face? Don’t pull this on me!”
“You, really…” The owner glanced awkwardly at both of them, “Alright, let Zhou have some face. The usual dishes?”
“Yes,” Zhou Yanchuan turned to Lu Yunchu, “Do you want dry mixed noodles or soup noodles?”
“Soup noodles.”
“Can you eat duck gizzards and duck blood?”
“I can.”
He instructed the owner, “Two bowls of soup noodles, duck blood in one, stir-fried duck gizzards in the other—oh, add some chili.”
The owner was surprised, “But I thought you don’t eat spicy food?”
“It’s for my friend.”
“Forget it, whether I eat it or not is fine,” Lu Yunchu turned to the owner, “Better not add it.”
“Alright, coming right up!”
After the owner left, Zhou Yanchuan and Lu Yunchu sat down on plastic stools around a square table.
“You really don’t want to try it?” Zhou Yanchuan looked at him, “The stir-fried duck gizzards with a bit of spice are delicious. I can’t handle it myself; a few bites and I need half a bottle of water, not to mention a stomach ache.”
Lu Yunchu remembered his hesitation about eating spicy food last time and smiled, “Then let’s skip it for now. It’s not far; I can always come back later to try it myself.”
As they talked, the owner came over again with utensils and poured tea for them.
“Young man, if you like it, come often. You’re Xiao Zhou’s friend, I’ll still give you a discount.”
“Thank you.” Lu Yunchu secretly asked Zhou Yanchuan, “Are you close with the owner?”
After the owner left, Zhou Yanchuan told him, “I’ve been eating here since ten years ago.” Mr. Lü had been calling him “Xiao Zhou” for ten years.
“That long?”
“They used to be near the train station. They just moved recently, and next month they’re opening another one next to the theater, managed by his son,” Zhou Yanchuan continued, “Before they weren’t well-known. After Hongchuan became popular, I often helped advertise in my circle of friends, and business kept getting better.”
No wonder the owner treated him like family.
“You don’t know, back when I was working outside, tired after a day, eating a bowl of duck noodle soup made me feel satisfied. It was less than ten yuan a bowl back then, and Mr. Lü saw how hard we worked, always gave us extra meat.”
Lu Yunchu’s attention shifted elsewhere, “You and…?”
“Oh,” Zhou Yanchuan blushed slightly, “Me and my ex-girlfriend.”
Posts seen on the gossip forum flashed through Lu Yunchu’s mind, confirming that Zhou Yanchuan did indeed have a girlfriend before.
“She had a better job than me, but those days right after starting work were tough too,” Zhou Yanchuan spoke about the past without hesitation.
The dish arrived first, steaming hot even in winter, causing sweat to form. Floating on top were greens and dark red chunks of duck blood. The soup, deep in color with no hint of fishiness, had thinly sliced duck pieces soaking in it.
“So, about her now…” Lu Yunchu was just thinking aloud about the posts, unconsciously speaking, realizing that his cheeks were burning.
“She got married long ago,” Zhou Yanchuan said with a faint smile, not upset at all, “but not to me.”
His expression lacked despair, but being single for many years was indeed a fact.
“You haven’t dated since then?”
“No,” Zhou Yanchuan glanced at Lu Yunchu, who was lost in thought, “don’t guess randomly. I’m not a romantic, I can move on from the past.”
Listening to him, Lu Yunchu withdrew his wandering thoughts. “Hmm.”
“You don’t like women, but relationships, as you said, require mutual feelings. It’s unnecessary to just marry someone for the sake of it.” When the stir-fried duck gizzards arrived, a scent of sauce filled the air. He pointed with his chopsticks, “This is good, try some.”
“Alright.”
Naturally, the topic of the past drew to a close. However, after taking a bite, Lu Yunchu’s gaze shifted from the dish in the center of the table to Zhou Yanchuan.
When he browsed that post before, he was merely curious. How Zhou Yanchuan felt at the time, how long it took him to recover… None of these thoughts had crossed his mind, let alone sympathy.
Now, imagining it again, his mindset wasn’t so simple.
He wrapped his fluctuating emotions in layers of feigned indifference—Zhou Yanchuan was a good friend, a helpful neighbor, someone who stood up for him, who brought him to small restaurants when he was feeling down…
Unveiling these layers bit by bit left only discomfort. He felt uneasy about Zhou Yanchuan’s disappointed past, even though the man himself seemed indifferent now.
Perhaps he had stared too long, as Zhou Yanchuan seemed to sense something. He raised his head slightly, still holding a noodle in his mouth, and noticed Lu Yunchu was indeed watching him, quickly biting off the noodle, now darker from the soup.
“Not tasty?”
Caught off guard, Lu Yunchu’s heart raced a little. After hearing his unsuspecting question, he regained composure. “It’s good, just a bit hot.”
“I prefer it hot in cold weather. It warms you up instantly.”
“Yeah,” Lu Yunchu picked up his chopsticks. “That makes sense.”
There were other tables around them, bustling with noise, but between the two of them, there was a quiet, almost isolated atmosphere. In this seemingly independent space, only the soft sound of slurping soup could be heard.
Many things had happened that day. Meng Xiao’s provocation had left little trace in Lu Yunchu’s mind, but the strange emotions towards Zhou Yanchuan during dinner were something he couldn’t grasp or easily dismiss.
Strange fluctuations trembled in his chest, spreading to every part of his body, initially passionate but ending in calm.
Could it be that he liked Zhou Yanchuan?