Chapter 15
With everyone watching in anticipation, Ning Sheng took a bite of the wonton.
The moment he bit down, the slightly hot, incredibly crispy wonton skin cracked open in his mouth, releasing a burst of rich, savory juices mixed with oil. The filling contained fresh pork and shrimp, balanced by bamboo shoots and chives that cut through the richness. The meat was so tender and juicy that when combined with the golden, crispy shell, it created an irresistibly delicious texture.
There was a taste of lard!
Ning Sheng immediately noticed it. He had been raised in the countryside by his mother and grandmother, and every New Year, his family would render lard—pure white and aromatic. Adding it to these fried wontons was the perfect finishing touch, elevating the fragrance and umami to another level. Each bite was incredibly satisfying.
The deep-fried wontons were bursting with aroma. The rich scent of sizzling hot oil and meat filled the air. With every chew, his mouth was overwhelmed with the full-bodied, meaty flavor.
Ning Sheng happily ate one after another.
Then, he picked up another crispy wonton, dipped it generously into the vibrant red sweet chili sauce, and took a bite.
Ning Sheng: “!!!”
The fried wonton coated in sweet chili sauce was an entirely different kind of delicious. The crispiness of the wonton combined with the tangy, spicy kick of the sauce was a flavor explosion. The thin, crunchy skin, soaked in the orange-red sauce, became slightly sweet and sour, perfectly balancing out the richness. The bold, smooth flavor of the sauce enhanced the fresh sweetness of the shrimp and pork filling.
At that moment, he took a sip of the ice-cold lime soda…
The chilled liquid hit his tongue, instantly washing away the lingering heat and oil. The refreshing scent of lime and the sweet tang of the soda spread through his mouth, while the carbonation fizzed and tingled in his throat. It was incredibly refreshing.
Ning Sheng’s eyes widened slightly, and he gulped down two large sips.
The mildly sour soda completely balanced out the greasiness of the fried wontons. But as soon as he finished drinking, he found himself craving the hot, crispy wontons again. And so, one bite of wonton, one sip of soda—just like that, in no time, he had finished the entire serving.
The others, watching his expression, listening to the crunch of the crispy wonton skin and the bubbling of the fizzy soda…
Ahhh, so jealous!
You didn’t even need to taste it to know it was amazing!
Jian Yunlan worked quickly, and soon, a dozen more servings of freshly fried wontons were ready.
More and more people were now holding their servings, happily eating under the streetlights.
In the background, the distant chatter of people filled the air. The warm, humid breeze of a late summer evening brushed past. Amidst the golden-orange glow of the setting sun, the cicadas chirped lazily.
On a weekend evening like this, gathered with a few close friends, chatting, laughing, savoring crispy fried wontons, and sipping ice-cold lime soda…
This was pure bliss.
“My god, I can die happy now.”
“I’m so happy. Really, I could eat a hundred servings of these wontons!”
Li Yun nudged Tan Tingting while eating, laughing. “Aren’t these way better than that manipulative jerk Zheng Xiang?”
Tan Tingting, her mouth stuffed full of wontons, squinted in satisfaction. “Who’s Zheng Xiang? Gulp gulp gulp, forgot already!”
Nearby, the security guards were also happily eating, while a Doberman trotted around them, staring longingly at the food in their hands.
“You can’t have this,” one of the security guards said. “Dogs can’t eat wontons.”
Of course, the real reason was that he just didn’t want to share.
The dog: “Whimper?”
Devastated.
“Wang Jianhua, you got the vinegar dip, huh?” Professor Murong eyed Professor Wang’s serving, cradling his own plate of mayonnaise sauce wontons. “Let me try a bite.”
Recalling past incidents, Professor Wang turned away protectively with his bowl. “Not a chance!”
Professor Murong: “…”
Stingy!
Han Lin and Xie Anyang, the prized students of Professors Wang and Murong, exchanged helpless glances and shared a bitter smile.
Did their mentors argue again today? Yep.
But… the wontons were too good, so they decided to let it slide!
Ye Ming didn’t eat with her boyfriend, Xie Anyang. Instead, she sat with her fellow fan club members. After happily finishing their wontons, they pulled out their cameras and started taking pictures.
Ning Sheng, completely immersed in his food—handsome and adorable—snap, snap, snap!
Jian Yunlan, standing at his stall, bathed in twilight, apron-clad and frying wontons—gentle and stunning—snap, snap, snap!
These were top-tier shots!
Ye Ming handed out the Q-version cartoon fan fans she had prepared—decorated with a cute chibi drawing of Boss Jian. In the sweltering summer heat, the fans were incredibly useful. Everyone excitedly thanked her.
Upon closer inspection, there was a QR code on the fans.
A link to the street food stall owner’s fan club group chat.
Everyone: “…”
Meanwhile, Ning Sheng had already finished his food but still wasn’t fully satisfied. He gazed longingly at Li Mingxi’s bowl.
Li Mingxi, sensing danger, clutched his bowl protectively.
“Ning Shen, I only have ten myself. It’s not that I don’t want to share with you.”
Zhao Huan, the guy who had just challenged Ning Sheng to a match in Summoner’s Rift, painfully picked up a wonton from his own bowl and handed it over. “I can give you one, but—”
“Ahm.” Ning Sheng bit into it immediately.
“—you have to let me copy off you during exams,” Zhao Huan finally finished his sentence.
Ning Sheng: “….”
Hearing this, the other guys quickly realized this was a pretty good deal.
“Ning Shen, I also—”
“Fine, you can have one of mine too.”
“You guys are way too sneaky!”
“Hahahaha!!!”
The college boys playfully wrestled, throwing punches and kicks at each other, drawing the attention of the people around them.
In the middle of the crowd, Ning Sheng clutched his stomach, laughing the hardest.
*
Universal Live Streaming Room
Jian Yunlan’s live stream currently had 5,579 viewers. Just now, a golden tag flashed next to the stream’s title:
[Character ‘Ning Sheng’ Storyline Completion 75%] Achievement Badge
This meant that all the personal tragedies in Ning Sheng’s storyline from Paranoid Possession had been completely resolved by Jian Yunlan!
The remaining 25% of his story was all tied to Gu Xingzhou.
[Even though the total storyline completion is only 33%, ranking about 30th among all streamers, he fully cleared Ning Baby’s personal arc!]
[That’s pretty impressive.]
[Damn, Ning Baby acts totally different around Boss Jian! He’s cold and untouchable with others, but with Boss Jian, he’s like a little strawberry candy! What’s going on here?!]
[Paranoid Possession has been streamed so many times, but Boss Jian is the first one to earn this achievement badge.]
[They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. (._.)]
[I feel bad for the students at Beijing University. When they realize next week that Boss Jian isn’t coming back to set up his food stall, they’re going to be devastated… Professor Wang might just flip the whole campus upside down.]
[Boss Jian really has some skills.]
[Lmao, who was it that said he’d get eliminated in a week? That aged poorly.]
Amidst the lively discussion, a single comment silenced the chat:
[Don’t celebrate too soon. Ning Sheng’s storyline may be completed, but the hardest part of Paranoid Possession was never his arc.]
Now that they thought about it, that was true.
Ning Sheng had always been cold and distant, hard to get close to. Many streamers had failed to earn his trust. But in the end, he was just a broke college student. As long as you had money, understood the storyline, and adjusted his fate a bit, his arc wasn’t actually that difficult to clear.
The real reason Paranoid Possession had remained unconquered for so many years was because of Gu Xingzhou.
—That well-dressed devil.
The unpredictable, rabid dog. The reckless and domineering eldest son of the Gu family.
Fans of the novel loved him. Paranoid Possession took the classic tyrant CEO obsessive love trope to the extreme. But those who hated him despised him, calling him a scumbag who deserved to be burned in a crematorium a thousand times over.
Even though Jian Yunlan had fully cleared Ning Sheng’s personal arc, his overall storyline completion was still only 33%.
The fastest progressing streamer had already reached 37%. They hadn’t completed as much of Ning Sheng’s story as Jian Yunlan, but they had advanced further in Gu Xingzhou’s arc.
So while all of them were in the 30% range, the other streamers had a more valuable completion rate than Jian Yunlan.
What worked for Ning Sheng might not work for Gu Xingzhou, who ruled with an iron fist and did whatever he wanted.
It definitely wouldn’t be that simple.
As the chat fell silent, a slow-moving golden comment from the top-ranked supporter glided across the screen:
[You guys don’t get it. Jian Shen has everything under control.]
Mashu, for one, wasn’t worried at all.
Even if no one else believed it, she was convinced—while everyone else was panicking, she alone saw the truth.
As a veteran reader of Paranoid Possession, she knew that the ever-strategic Jian Shen definitely had a plan! Everything was unfolding just as he intended!
To boost morale, Mashu casually threw in a luxury cruise ship donation.
A dazzling ocean animation and cruise ship special effect flashed across the screen, with waves splashing dramatically onto the chat.
[Mashu the rich lady is still here! Big sis, send me 50 bucks!]
But the terrifying shadow of Gu Xingzhou still loomed over everyone.
Some tried to lighten the mood, joking:
[Well, you never know. What if even that dog Gu ends up bowing before Boss Jian’s food stall?]
The chances were slim.
But—what if?
*
After wrapping up a week of joyful street vending, Jian Yunlan returned to his villa and flopped onto his bed.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
The Chef God System app, marked by a little chef’s hat icon, sent a notification. Jian Yunlan tapped on it, and fireworks burst across his screen:
[After a week of hard work, you have brought countless food lovers soul-comforting delicacies. The Chef God System stands by your side through thick and thin~]
[Congratulations! You have completed the main quest: ‘Set Up a Stall at Beijing University’s South Gate.’]
[System detected prerequisite conditions met, [Employee List] has been unlocked.]
Jian Yunlan opened the menu in the lower-left corner, and sure enough, a new option appeared:
‘Employee List.’
However, the list was completely empty, with only one line of text:
“You haven’t hired any employees yet~”
…Wait, does this mean he could hire employees?
That was kind of interesting.
[You have a new task reward waiting to be claimed!]
Following the system’s prompt, Jian Yunlan clicked ‘Claim Rewards.’ His screen flickered, and two new items appeared:
[Obtained: [Ordinary Street Vendor Tricycle] x1]
Note: This tricycle is equipped with an electric motor to help you escape from city inspectors. A great asset to your street food business!
[Obtained: [100% Taming Collar] x1]
Note: A mysterious little toy well-loved by insiders! Be sure to use it when your target’s guard is down~
Jian Yunlan: “……”
Wait… so he would be chased by city inspectors in the future?!
And what the heck was this ‘100% Taming Collar’ supposed to be for?! Who was he even supposed to use it on?!
Jian Yunlan: “??? System, explain yourself.”
But the system ignored his questions and popped up another notification:
[You have a new recruitable employee!]
[Mandatory Side Quest: Recruit your first target employee within 24 hours.]
[Target Employee: Taotie.]
Mashu ?? omg she’s so funny lol