Chapter 6: The troublesome star who also has problems with eating 3
By the time I dragged my nearly falling apart body like a turtle to the Sichuan restaurant, there was already a large table of food in front of Norn.
The picky guy was stuffing food into his mouth with shining eyes, and his eyes were filled with tears of emotion as he stuffed the food: "Wow! It's delicious! It's really delicious!"
I looked at the table full of bright red dishes and couldn't help but covering my nose, but sneezes still came out of my throat one after another.
"A-choo! A-choo..."
The whole restaurant was instantly filled with the sound of my sneezes and Norn's shouting that the food was delicious. All the customers who were eating, as well as the boss who was counting the bill behind the counter, focused their eyes on us.
"Bai Jie Ni! Come and eat!"
Startled by my sneeze, Noon, who was completely immersed in the craze for peppers, rarely raised his head and greeted me. Then, without waiting for my answer, he started fighting with the peppers of various shapes on the plate.
I……
"Boss, give me a bowl of rice and a serving of stir-fried vegetables, no chili." I weakly found an empty table and sat down.
I must be the first one to eat dishes without chili in a Sichuan restaurant, right?
I looked at Norn who was enjoying his meal and suddenly felt really pitiful. We had agreed to eat together, but I ended up watching him chewing peppers.
Fortunately, this restaurant served the food very quickly. Even a serving of vegetables without chili was fried very deliciously. I ate a whole bowl of white rice with the vegetables while trying hard to hold back a sneeze.
Wow! So full!
I don’t know if it’s because I stayed in this environment filled with the aroma of chili for too long, but slowly I seemed to get used to the taste of chili. When I was finally full, I realized that I hadn’t sneezed for a long time.
This is really a good phenomenon!
I rubbed my swollen belly and sighed happily.
"Hello, sir. The total is 587 yuan. Thank you for your patronage!"
The beautiful waitress with a sweet smile handed me a bill, and then maintained good manners and waited for me to pay.
"Ah? Why are there so many?"
Before I could finish my happy sigh, I was scared back by this number. The two of us actually spent 587 yuan on food. What a steal!
"Sir, please check the bill carefully. The gentleman over there said he wants to pay his bill with yours. Yours is 15 yuan for vegetables and 2 yuan for rice, a total of 17 yuan. The gentleman ordered a lot, which are..."
I felt cold all over as I watched the beautiful waitress read out Norn's menu and prices at an extraordinary speed. Finally, she took a deep breath and concluded, "The total is 570 yuan, plus your 17 yuan, a total of 587 yuan. Miss, do you think I am wrong?"
That's right! Absolutely right! You know, I always get full marks in math exams. I can calculate the sum of these numbers with my eyes closed.
That’s true, but I…
I stiffly took out my wallet from my pocket, looked at the figure on the other side who was still eating hard, and finally took out all the money in my wallet with trembling hands.
Four 100-yuan notes, one 50-yuan note, two 20-yuan notes, and four 1-yuan notes. Oh, and there are three 10-yuan coins, so the total is 494.3 yuan, a difference of 92.7 yuan.
"Sister, look..." I raised my head pitifully.
The beautiful waitress who had smiled like a blooming flower just now had put away her sweet smile. She cast two contemptuous glances at me, then turned her head away and a deep voice rang out in the restaurant: "Boss! Come quickly! There are two people who are eating for free here!"
"Where is it? Where is it? How dare you come to my restaurant and eat a free meal!"
An old man whose fat body shook as he walked rushed over like a whirlwind at a speed that was very disproportionate to his body size. Then two cold rays shot out from his two slender eyes, and his short and fat fingers almost touched my nose: "Is that her?"
"It's unfair!" I quickly picked up all the money on the table and handed it to the boss with both hands, "Uncle... Oh no... Boss, I don't want to dine for free, I have money, but... it's not enough."
The voices became lower and lower, and I lowered my head lower and lower.
This was the first time in my life that I encountered such an embarrassing thing. I wished there was a crack in the ground so I could crawl into it quickly.
It's all Norn's fault. I had brought enough money with me when I went out today. If he hadn't wasted so much food before, causing me to compensate many store owners for their losses, and after he came here, he ordered a total of ten dishes and ate three bowls of white rice. Am I really so embarrassed? Woohoo...
I only spent 17 bucks myself.
Thinking of this, I cast a hateful gaze towards the dining table not far away, only to find that the table was empty.
No way? Could it be that the guy saw that the situation was not good and ran away before finishing eating?
Suddenly I felt like the sky was falling. Was I going to face the fat boss alone?
"what happened?"
Suddenly, a cold voice appeared behind me.
I was delighted and turned around quickly, and sure enough, it was the guy who I thought had left who was walking around.
Probably because he had eaten very well, Norn's face was not so pale at this time, but his lips were more colorful, and his eyes were frighteningly deep, looking at me with inquiry.
I don’t know why, but the moment I saw him, I suddenly felt very at ease.
"Well...I don't have enough money with me, almost 100 yuan short." I told him in a low voice.
"Tell me, you don't have enough money but you still ordered so many dishes. Are you here to eat and dine for free? Tell me, what should we do? If you are short of a dime, you can't leave today!" The fat boss finally said with his belly sticking out, "If it doesn't work, ask your friends to borrow some and have them deliver it to you!"
"I didn't bring my cell phone." I shrank my neck, then looked at Norn expectantly, "What about you? Do you have any money on you? Take it out first, and I'll return it to you later."
Norn's eyes flashed and he shook his head silently.
"What about the cell phone? Can I call other seniors in the study group and ask them to help me?" I continued.
"I didn't bring my cell phone either." He looked at me and then said nothing.
It’s really...all these bad lucks happen at the same time!
I twitched the corners of my mouth, barely maintaining a smile on my face, and gave a flattering smile to the increasingly ugly face of the boss: "Um...Uncle, can I borrow your cell phone for a moment?"
"Tell me about you... why are kids these days like this!" The boss looked at us with a sad look, as if he was looking at two delinquent teenagers, and then reluctantly took out his cell phone, "You tell me the number and I'll dial it, so that you won't take my phone away in the blink of an eye!"
Uncle, aren't you too wary?
A drop of cold sweat slid down my forehead.
Fortunately, I remembered the cell phone number of my former senior. I stuttered out the 11-digit number, and with a nervous heart, I stared closely at the phone next to my boss' ear.
The connection finally sounded, and the boss pressed the hands-free button and yelled into the phone in a particularly fierce tone: "Hey! Are you coming forward? Your friends are eating and freeing in our restaurant, you should quickly give them money, they are yelling..."
"Liar! You're such a big liar!"
Just as the fat boss was about to say my and Norn's names, a loud shout suddenly broke out from the receiver, and then a high-pitched voice mixed with indignation came out of the receiver.
"You actually made up a story in front of the president of my drama club! Hahaha, I won't believe you! Liar, I've memorized your phone number, I'll tell everyone around me, and no one will believe you! Just wait for your scam to fail, hahaha..."
The smug laughter was interrupted as the phone hung up. The boss stared at the phone angrily, his fat on his face trembling with anger: "Liar? How dare you call me a liar? Not only do you have to pay for my meal today, you also have to compensate me for my mental damages!"
Countless drops of saliva sprayed on my face, but I didn't move at all because I was already frozen.
It was not until now that I realized that the one who was truly wary was not the boss, but my former senior schoolmate who I had placed high hopes on!
Now all the routes for seeking help are cut off. Senior sister Qianqian, you are so cruel!
I looked at my still roaring boss and the crowd around me who were watching the show and Norn with tears in my eyes. Finally, I made up my mind and took off the lucky star hanging around my neck.
"Boss, look, this pendant is made of gemstones, so it should be worth some money. I'll mortgage it to you first, and then I can redeem it with money later, okay?"
"Huh?" The fat boss' eyes lit up and he reached out to take it.
However, just when his finger was less than a centimeter away from my lucky star, it was suddenly stopped by a white and slender hand.
Norn, who had been standing next to me, pulled me behind him, and just as the boss was about to lose his temper, he suddenly said, "I can't give you Lucky Star! But we can work to pay off the debt, what do you think?"
"You..." The fat boss was about to refuse subconsciously, but the next moment he glanced at Norn's face and nodded, "Okay, but you have to obey my orders!"
"no problem!"
I heard Norn reply loudly.
Twenty minutes later, Norn and I finally walked out of the restaurant, as——
Doorman!
Yes, you read it right! They were indeed doormen, and they were two doormen with very strange appearances.
I have to admire the efficiency of the fat boss. He found a black cloak that covered Norn from head to toe in such a short time. His hair that was tied up in the morning was let down and hung on both sides of his ears. The most exaggerated thing was Norn's face. He looked like a vampire, but he was covered with thick eye shadow and foundation, and his lips were so red that they almost looked like blood, and his pointed chin made him look like a real-life vampire.
I seriously suspected that the boss's daughter was an avid anime fan, because at that moment I was wearing a set of Sailor Moon armor. The silver armor shone with a cool luster in the sun, forming a sharp contrast with Norn's black.
"Huh? This restaurant is so unique. It even uses vampires and Sailor Moon to attract customers. I want to go in and take a look!"
"I'm going too! I'm going too! Take a picture for me first. I love Sailor Moon the most."
"I want to take a photo with a vampire so I can use it to scare people later, hahahaha!"
…
Just like that, outside a Sichuan restaurant full of Chinese style, a vampire and a Sailor Moon formed a unique landscape.
At noon that day, the Sichuan restaurant's business was booming, and more and more people were attracted.
I felt that the smile on my face was about to freeze, so I secretly turned my head to look at Norn, and found that he was still standing there motionless, but his whole body was emitting cold air. It was obvious that his whole body was emitting an aura of "rejection", but when the customer pulled him to take a photo, he not only did not push the person away, but also calmly followed the arrangement and posed.
I suddenly felt that the awkward Norn was actually quite amusing. Is this what we are doing now? Is it a promise that we must fulfill even if we have to kneel down?
Obviously there are other solutions.
"Um... why didn't you let me pawn the Lucky Star to the boss just now? If you hadn't stopped me, we wouldn't have to stand here." Finally, I found a space where no one was, leaning against the door frame as if I was exhausted, and asked Noen curiously.
"No reason." After waiting for a long time, Norn on the other side spoke calmly, "Isn't that something you value very much? Of course you can't just give it to others."
Really? It's something I value, so you want to help me protect it?
I opened my mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end nothing came out. It was not until another group of people came in that I finally regained my thoughts.
"Do you know the origin of this lucky star?" I don't know why, but I suddenly wanted to tell him the story of the lucky star, to tell the person who was protecting it with me, "Actually, I didn't buy this lucky star, it was given to me by someone else, and it wasn't an ordinary person, it was an alien."
I said this in a lighthearted way, and very distant memories came to my mind.
"I was only five or six years old that year. My parents were on the verge of divorce because of some conflicts. One day, I was crying sadly on the windowsill of my bedroom, and I met an injured uncle. The uncle was wearing a space suit and fell straight from the sky onto the windowsill of my house."
Thinking back to the uncle's embarrassed look at that time, I couldn't help but smile: "I secretly gave him medicine and food. Later, the uncle told me that he was actually the king of the planet Sartre. He traveled through interstellar space to come here because he wanted to understand the earth. Because the aircraft broke down, he had to stay on Earth for two days and wait for his men to find him."
At this point, I paused, then laughed at myself: "It's a coincidence. At that time, my parents quarreled every day and they had no energy to care about me, so they didn't notice that there was an alien in my room. Two days later, the uncle's men found him and he left. But before he left, in order to express his gratitude, he said he would give me good luck from the planet Sartre, so I got this lucky star!"
After I finished speaking, I turned my head and looked at Norn seriously, meeting his mesmerizing blue eyes, and told him one last little secret: "Do you know? This lucky star is really important to me, because since I got it, the conflicts that troubled my family were solved very quickly, my parents did not divorce, and peace returned to our home. I also regard this lucky star as the patron saint of my family. It has been with me for so many years. And since then, I have fallen in love with the starry sky, hoping to see an alien again."
I took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been buried in my heart for a long time.
"Norn, are you an alien?"
After a long moment, just when I thought Norn wouldn't answer, a quiet voice rang out: "Yes, I am!"
I looked at Norn, the boy dressed as a vampire. There was a strange light flashing in his deep blue eyes, and the look he gave me was extremely deep.
"I am not only an alien, but also the prince of the planet Sartre. The man you saved is my..." He paused, "He is my father!"
What? The uncle who gave me the lucky star is actually Norn's father?
"How could it be..." I said with difficulty.
"Noen! Bai Jieni!"
Suddenly, a figure who absolutely shouldn't be here jumped in front of us from nowhere - Yao Shanshan, holding a small notebook that she never leaves, pointed at me and Norn aggressively and said, "You...you actually came here to dress up as vampires and Sailor Moon. You have brought shame to the Elly Academy!"
Because of the huge shock I had just received, I was like a dazed and had no reaction for a minute after seeing Yao Shanshan. My mind was full of the conversation that had just been interrupted, and my dissatisfaction was about to overflow.
"This isn't a campus, what does it have to do with you what we dress up as?"
Yes, this snack street is obviously so far away from Ailey College. How could Yao Shanshan, who is said to regard the school as her home and even spends weekends on campus, come here?
"Noen!" The fat boss suddenly called out in the restaurant, "The kitchen is too busy, go and help!"
"You're actually going to help in the kitchen? As students of Eli College..." Yao Shanshan suddenly jumped in front of Noen again , apparently trying to stop him.
However, Norn didn't take her seriously at all. He gave her a cold look. Yao Shanshan was so scared that she took a big step back. I could only watch Norn walk in.
Oh my god! I suddenly remembered that this is a Sichuan restaurant, so the kitchen must be full of chilies.
Oops!
I anxiously wanted to chase after her to rescue the peppers, but Yao Shanshan blocked my way with her hands on her hips.
"Step aside!"
I don't want to waste time talking to her. This isn't school, and there's no need for me to be afraid of her right now.
"No!" Yao Shanshan's momentum was even higher than mine. She glared and took out her cell phone from her pocket. A huge picture appeared in front of me. "Look, now the entire city's forum is full of pictures of you and Norn causing a riot here. Shouldn't you feel guilty about this?"
I glanced at it, but couldn't see the content of the photo clearly. Anyway, since Norn and I got on the bus, people have been taking pictures non-stop, so it's not surprising that some photos were posted online.
All I knew was that the most important thing now was to go to the kitchen and rescue those poor peppers, otherwise the fat boss would probably be so angry that he would send us directly to the police station.
"This is not a school. Aren't you meddling too much?" I absentmindedly took a step to the left, trying to avoid Yao Shanshan.
But I didn’t expect her to follow me and almost put her phone against my face.
"How is it none of my business? You guys are fooling around outside in the Ailey Academy uniforms. This is bringing shame to the entire Ailey Academy. I have to take care of it!"
It's really unreasonable!
I rolled my eyes and was about to have a deeper discussion with her about this issue when suddenly there was a huge noise coming from the direction of the kitchen, as if many people were shouting in panic.
It's over! Norn must have done something to those peppers!
My eyes went dark and I don't know where I got the strength from, but I pushed Yao Shanshan away and ran towards the kitchen like a flash.
Yao Shanshan's exasperated voice came from behind: "Bai Jie Ni! How dare you run! I tell you, I heard your conversation just now, and I know that Norn is..."
What is it?
I paused.
The kitchen is right in front of us.
