Chapter 38
Among the running crowd, the fans of the “Wonton Boss” formed a particularly striking sight.
Many older customers had previously held stereotypes about young people who were “obsessed with celebrity idols,” thinking they just sat at home watching TV and playing computer games, spending money on expensive merchandise, pulling all-nighters gaming… surely they couldn’t be in great shape.
But reality proved them wrong.
After five minutes of running, most people were panting heavily, yet the fan club members—led by Ye Ming and Tan Tingting—remained swift and determined.
“Blue skies and white clouds! Charge, duckies!!! Jian Boss’s fried rice is just ahead—we can already see the morning market!”
“Blue skies and white clouds, running together~”
“Hang in there! Once we reach the market, we’ll distribute new freebies!”
“Blue Skies and White Clouds” was the fan club’s chosen name.
Some people were about to slow down, exhausted—but the moment they heard the word “freebies,” their eyes lit up with renewed vigor. It was as if they had been injected with adrenaline, surging forward with fresh energy.
The university students from Beijing University watched in shock.
—We all go to the same school, so why are you guys built differently?!
Fake college military training: Standing at attention, marching drills, military combat exercises.
Real college military training: “Jian Boss’s fried rice is ahead—run faster to get freebies!”
Although she was further back in the queue for food, Ye Ming was running at the front of the group, snapping away with her camera. Every shot she took of Jian Yunlan was breathtaking. She nodded in satisfaction.
Jian Boss, cooking while running, had his hair swept back by the wind, revealing a smooth forehead and exquisite features. The sunlight highlighted his sharp facial contours, and his deep blue eyes gleamed like the sky.
Add to that the massive black wok in his hands and his flawless flipping technique—there was an absurd beauty in the scene, a ridiculous yet mesmerizing charm.
This was exactly why they loved him!
Being a fan of Jian Boss was easier than breathing.
Not only was he handsome, but he was also incredibly skilled (his cooking was top-notch). He never played up romantic gossip (his work environment had no peers of the same age), never mistreated fans, had no scandals, never engaged in petty rivalries, and best of all—being his fan required no financial investment (the most expensive thing was his fried rice, which cost just 50 yuan per bowl).
Loving an idol like this? They considered themselves lucky!
On the very first day Jian Boss set up his stall outside Beijing University’s south gate, Ye Ming and her boyfriend, Xie Anyang, had instantly become his fans and founded the support club. The first confession post on the university’s social wall? That was her doing too.
Later, when Jian Boss gained fame outside the Yuanzhou Group building, their fan club grew larger and stronger. Seeing more and more people become his fans filled Ye Ming with pride.
Jian Boss himself was in great physical shape—standing for hours under the scorching sun, constantly wielding the wok, flipping food, and working near the intense heat. If he could do all that, his fans naturally couldn’t lag behind.
Take Ye Ming, for example—after days of chasing after Jian Boss, combined with her gym workouts, she now had tanned skin and well-defined abs. She was radiating power!
She used to care about being pale and skinny, but now, she was incredibly satisfied with her physique. Just the other day, when she encountered a pervert trying to take upskirt photos, she knocked out three guys with a single punch!
Tan Tingting felt the same way.
Like Ye Ming, she was also running at the front of the group—sketchbook in hand, drawing as she ran. A small, chibi-style Jian Yunlan had already taken shape on the page, holding a wok, chasing after the tricycle, frying rice mid-stride. The tiny chef hat on his head made him look incredibly cute.
Yes, most of the chibi-style fan merchandise came from Tan Tingting. Within the fan club, she was affectionately called “3T Big Boss,” always at the front lines delivering the cutest illustrations.
She had actually picked up drawing back in high school—using it as an outlet for her anxiety and stress. During the toughest days before college entrance exams, drawing had been her escape.
But after the exams, she got into a relationship with her clingy ex-boyfriend, who monopolized her time, forced her to drift apart from friends, and left her little room for drawing.
Then, thanks to Jian Boss’s wontons, she saw her ex for who he truly was. After breaking up, she picked up her pen again.
And she was happier than ever!
As she admired her own artwork, her phone buzzed. Three people had messaged her:
—Her ex-boyfriend, labeled “Scumbag.”
—A junior from the sports department, labeled “188cm Abs Guy.”
—A senior PhD student, labeled “Rich Handsome Heir.”
“Ugh, annoying,” Tan Tingting muttered, blocking them one by one. “Can’t they see I’m busy?”
With them gone, the world was finally quiet again. She picked up her pen and shaded in a brilliant sunflower.
Ever since breaking up, people had praised her drawings, saying they had gained a new level of vibrancy—especially those related to Jian Boss. The wontons, the fried rice… her art captured them perfectly, full of life and atmosphere.
A heart free of men wields a pen with divine talent!
So, with burning passion in their eyes, the massive horde of food lovers chased after Jian Boss’s tricycle, arriving at the Yunchuan morning market.
The stall owners were dumbfounded.
They watched in bewilderment as a tricycle sped toward them at top speed, a wok still sizzling hot at the back. The stall owner on the tricycle was running alongside it, flipping rice mid-air with masterful skill.
What kind of dedication was this?!
The street vendors’ eyes shone with newfound admiration.
However…
Where did this god-tier food stall even come from?!
Not only did this food stall bring its own customers, but it also came with an entire fan club!
This kind of scene—they had never witnessed before!
Gu Tiancheng was extremely reliable and parked the tricycle at the same spot where they had set up during the night market. Jian Yunlan was already familiar with the area. As soon as the vehicle stopped, he immediately started heating up the wok for a new batch of fried rice. The sizzling sound of hot oil filled the air, and golden fried rice tumbled in the wok…
That familiar aroma instantly brought back memories for many, transporting them to that special night, through layers of rich fragrance, until they caught a hint of fresh lemon.
Take Wen Moli, for example.
Ever since she had eaten the lemon fried rice at the night market, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Later, she saw Jian Yunlan’s rise to fame online. Although she really wanted to taste that divine fried rice again, her workplace was too far from Yuanzhou Group, and the lines were always too long—she simply couldn’t get a spot!
She never expected that while casually strolling through the morning market today, Jian Yunlan would suddenly show up, riding a tricycle right past her.
Overcome with excitement, Wen Moli immediately joined the line. The surrounding crowd, too, surged forward like a tide.
Beside her, a male college student who had also tasted the night market’s lemon fried rice slicked back his hair with confidence. Many other customers shared similar sentiments and sighed emotionally:
“He set up his stall here—he’s thinking of me~”
“If this isn’t a secret crush, then what is? Haha, fried rice, here I come!”
“This is destined love! I haven’t even gone to find him, yet he’s come to me instead. Ahhh, an unstoppable romance…”
Wen Moli: “…”
How were they this confident?!
Unlike the self-assured customers, Wen Moli was feeling a bit pessimistic as she looked at the long queue in front of her.
So many people… Could she really get a portion?
In the middle of the line.
Li Yun shared the same concern, but even more than that, she was fuming over an ongoing argument.
Yes, an argument.
—The middle section of the line was clearly divided into two factions. On the left stood the ‘Ning Sheng Camp,’ led by Li Yun, Li Mingxi, and their fellow students from Beijing University’s Computer Science Department. On the right stood the ‘Gu Xingzhou Camp,’ made up of Gu Xingzhou’s secretary and his loyal subordinates.
Yesterday, Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou had fought in public and were arrested on the spot. They still hadn’t been released.
The cause of their brawl, how it happened, and who was right or wrong—these topics were still fiercely debated among the crowd of customers.
As Ning Sheng’s classmate, roommate, and friend for three years, Li Mingxi and the others naturally took his side.
—There was no way Ning Sheng would have started the fight. That Gu-something guy must have done something outrageous first, like stealing fried rice or something equally despicable. Ning Sheng was merely delivering justice!
Meanwhile, as Gu Xingzhou’s well-paid subordinates, his employees naturally supported him.
—Whoever pays their salary is their boss. They couldn’t possibly take the money and then not defend him, right? Where else would they find such a generous… No, such a good employer in the future?
With entirely different motives, the two groups stood in line, arms crossed, glaring daggers at each other.
Li Mingxi aggressively demanded, “Our Ning Sheng was perfectly fine before he got to the fried rice stall. Then he suddenly got into a fight with your so-called boss. Is this how you people ‘take care’ of your superior?”
Gu Xingzhou’s professional team was momentarily speechless. After a pause, the secretary hesitantly spoke:
“Uh, Ning Sheng’s mom… Well, you see, they’re both young and impulsive. Sometimes, when it comes to delicious fried rice, a little verbal dispute can…”
Yet, their confidence was visibly weaker.
They weren’t sure how the fight started either, but knowing their boss—who acted unhinged on a daily basis—provoking someone until they snapped wasn’t exactly surprising.
Seeing Li Mingxi take the lead and gain the upper hand, the Ning Sheng faction pressed forward.
Li Yun started laying out facts and evidence: “Ning Sheng is an outstanding student with impeccable character. He’s helped elderly grandmothers cross the road since elementary school and has a sterling reputation at Beijing University. And your boss—hmm, what exactly are his good qualities?”
The secretary nervously responded, “Our boss… pays high salaries.”
Beijing University’s Computer Science students raised their eyebrows. “Ning Sheng is a nationally recognized top student who has won the National Scholarship three years in a row!”
The secretary, dry-mouthed, replied, “Our boss… pays high salaries.”
Li Mingxi delivered the final blow: “Ning Sheng has even been acknowledged by Jian Yunlan himself! He’s peeled shrimp for him before! And he always gets first place in the fried rice line! That level of dedication is beyond ordinary people!”
At first, the surrounding onlookers had remained neutral, but the moment they heard this, their respect for ‘Ning Sheng’ skyrocketed.
Whoa, he peeled shrimp for Jian Yunlan?!
[Jian Yunlan’s Acknowledgment.jpg]
And he always gets first place in line?!
Only those who had spent countless hours queuing at the fried rice stall truly understood the weight of that achievement.
The crowd buzzed with conversation. With this final, crushing argument, the ‘Gu Xingzhou Camp’ was utterly defeated.
The secretary, ashen-faced, muttered, “…Our boss pays high salaries.”
Boom!
The battle was over.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Gu Xingzhou Camp had been completely overwhelmed, left with no chance of fighting back.
Even neutral bystanders stepped in: “I’m just an objective observer, but honestly, from what I’ve heard, this really does sound like Gu Xingzhou was in the wrong.”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Gu Xingzhou’s secretary and his professional team were sweating bullets.
They huddled together, whispering among themselves for a while, even pulling out a notebook and pen to jot down some notes and sketches.
The Ning Sheng faction stood with their arms crossed, waiting, thinking the other side was preparing for a counterattack—maybe they still had some secret move left.
The Ning Sheng faction remained on high alert, ready for anything.
But after a long discussion, the secretary and the professional team suddenly slammed their notebooks down, their expressions completely changed: “You’re right!”
Ning Sheng faction: “??”
The secretary and professional team wiped away their tears: “You have no idea what we’ve been through all these years! Wuwuwu!”
“He’s the one who spills the fried rice everywhere, and every time, it’s me who has to clean it up!”
“He talks nonsense every day, doing crazy things, and I’m forced to support him, even have to say lines like, ‘The boss hasn’t smiled in ages,’ or ‘This is the boss’s gift to you, don’t be ungrateful!'”
“He always calls me up in the middle of the night, forcing me to go to the club and watch helpless university students working there under duress…”
Each complaint from the professional team was filled with sorrow and frustration.
Just a moment ago, the Ning Sheng faction was full of confident energy, but now, they were at a loss. Why did it feel like… they were the ones who were more pitiful?
The Ning Sheng faction exchanged helpless glances, and out of humanitarian concern, they could only walk over, pat them on the shoulder, and offer a handkerchief for comfort.
“Ah, never mind, never mind, don’t cry anymore.”
“You guys have it hard too… we’re all just working folks, it’s not easy for anyone.”
“Fried rice will be up soon, cheer up, it’ll be our turn any minute now!”
“By the way, why aren’t Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou here today?” someone casually asked, “Are they still in the orange grove?”
Everyone instantly fell silent.
Right.
Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou—both were the number one fans of fried rice, even willing to fight over it…
So why weren’t they here?
To understand why Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou weren’t at the front of the line, we need to rewind the time a little.
Let’s go back to Officer Zhang.
After finishing his fried rice, Officer Zhang asked Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou to take him to the stall and stand in line. But after walking for a while, Officer Zhang became dissatisfied.
“Since you guys have made up, why are you still acting so cold?” Officer Zhang looked to the left, then to the right, sensing something was off. After thinking for a moment, he had a brilliant idea: “How about this—why don’t you guys hold hands?”
Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou: “???”
“Are you listening to yourself?!”
Officer Zhang: “Good friends, holding hands to get fried rice, what’s wrong with that?”
“Or… are you guys lying to me? You haven’t really made up, have you?”
Both of them fell silent: “…”
After a moment, Ning Sheng stiffly stretched out his hand with a forced smile. Gu Xingzhou, with a fake grin on his face, gritted his teeth and grabbed his hand.
They both held tightly.
It was as if they weren’t going to let go until they crushed each other’s hand.
Break his hand and see how he eats fried rice today! Ning Sheng thought.
How is his grip so strong? Does he want to have an arm-wrestling contest? I’m not losing! Gu Xingzhou thought.
This bizarre hand-holding activity continued until the city inspectors arrived.
Looking at the inspectors and the busy food stall in the distance, Officer Zhang lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, “I’ll go talk to the inspectors.”
He walked toward the inspectors wearing fluorescent vests, handed one of them a cigarette, and lowered his voice, “Bro, do you think you could be lenient on this? I’ll buy a fried rice first, then you can go and close it down, alright?”
The inspector: “???”
“Are you even a real cop?!”
Meanwhile, on the other side, as soon as Officer Zhang walked away, the hands that Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou were holding instantly released, faster than a shock.
“If it weren’t for the fried rice, I wouldn’t even think of shaking your hand.”
“You think I want to hold your hand?”
Ning Sheng already pulled out an alcohol swab and started wiping his fingers.
Gu Xingzhou’s face darkened, unwilling to lose the battle. He looked around for something… finding nothing, he could only angrily wipe his hand on his clothes.
Who does he think he’s looking down on?
Soon, the crowd quickly started running forward, chasing after the tricycle.
Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou, unwilling to be outdone, began to run as well. Though it wasn’t obvious at first glance, Ning Sheng had been doing farm work since he was young. Though he appeared slim, he had a thin layer of well-defined muscles all over his body. His strength and endurance were excellent.
But Gu Xingzhou was different.
As a qualified domineering CEO, he naturally had beautiful eight-pack abs, but since childhood, he had always traveled in luxury cars, never having to personally engage in activities like running!
To put it simply, Gu Xingzhou…
Was a bit out of shape.
The first five minutes were okay, but by the sixth minute, Gu Xingzhou started to feel his eardrums thumping, his legs wobbling, the world spinning, and he was gasping for air.
It was a bright sunny day, and at 9 AM, the sun blazed down. Even though there were some tree shadows, he was still sweating profusely, his heart racing.
By the tenth minute, Gu Xingzhou was struggling to breathe.
“Is this it?” he thought, gazing at the blue sky, his eyes filled with despair. In that near-death illusion, a bowl of fried rice appeared before him.
A steaming, golden, fragrant fried rice.
It was handed from his mother’s hand to the young Ning Sheng’s hands ten years ago, then finally passed to the street vendor, who stirred it up on the bustling food stall, creating a fragrant dish filled with wok aroma.
All these years, all the running, searching, and persistence, it had all been to taste that steaming, delicious dish again, to feel the happiness that burst forth with each bite.
“I’ll never be able to eat such good fried rice again,” Gu Xingzhou smiled bitterly, a smile filled with endless sadness and sarcasm. “Ha, haha… everyone can eat this fried rice, not just me. It turns out I’m unworthy.”
He looked up through the dappled tree leaves, staring at the endless blue sky.
The sunlight fell on his face, but Gu Xingzhou felt cold, as if he were in a frozen wasteland. His steps slowed.
The crowd of runners rushed past him, all laughing, shouting, and excitedly chasing after the tricycle full of hope.
Finally, Gu Xingzhou was left behind, gasping for air, exhausted, alone in the dark, gloomy corner.
“My whole life has been unworthy…” he muttered.
He forced a smile, gave up struggling, and the last of his strength faded away. He closed his eyes and fell backward—
But a pair of hands caught him.
The touch of those hands was familiar, with the scent of alcohol, clear joints, long fingers, and callouses from frequently typing on a keyboard.
It was Ning Sheng.
Ning Sheng pulled him up in one swift motion, threw him over his shoulder, and started running forward with Gu Xingzhou.
Gu Xingzhou’s eyes snapped open: “?”
The sunlight shone on them, warm and bright. The tree shadows swayed, and the surrounding scenery quickly receded. Ning Sheng ran incredibly fast, passing several people in the blink of an eye, moving like a gust of wind through the crowd.
Looking at Ning Sheng’s side profile, with thick eyelashes and a calm gaze, Gu Xingzhou felt his heart tremble.
His heartbeat quickened. Was Ning Sheng really coming back to get him?
Did Ning Sheng really care about him?
“Why… why are you helping me?” Gu Xingzhou asked, lips tight, struggling to speak. “Do you still—”
Ning Sheng furrowed his brows and shot him a cold look. “You promised me, you’d share half of your fried rice. Did you forget? Want to go back on your word?!”
Gu Xingzhou: “…”
Ning Sheng was really angry about how Gu Xingzhou had slowed them down. While running, he muttered angrily: “If you make me miss the fried rice, I swear I’ll come back next week and haunt you.”
Gu Xingzhou: “…………”
He knew it!
It was all because of Mr. Jian’s fried rice, sob sob sob.
Gu Xingzhou wished he could travel back in time and punch the delusional version of himself from ten seconds ago.
Ning Sheng’s posture as he carried Gu Xingzhou was far from graceful. It was more like carrying a sack of potatoes, and Gu Xingzhou’s stomach happened to rest on Ning Sheng’s shoulder. With every step, Gu Xingzhou almost felt like he was going to throw up.
“Slow down, my ancestor,” Gu Xingzhou said, his vision blurry. “I get motion sickness… No, I get people-sickness!”
Ning Sheng clicked his tongue.
“Stop whining.”
He readjusted his grip, changing the position.
It looked like a princess carry.
But there was a subtle difference—
Because Gu Xingzhou’s face was facing down.
Visually, it was like Ning Sheng was carrying a man over 1.8 meters tall, quickly running forward.
The crowd cast admiring glances:
“Wow, amazing! This kind of weighted running could make it to the Olympics, right?”
“Everyone’s really going all out just to get a bite of fried rice.”
“The eighty-year-old man, paralyzed on one side, his son never left his side and even carried him to eat fried rice…”
The paralyzed elderly man, Gu Xingzhou, was speechless: “…”
And Ning Sheng, who was called ‘the son,’ was even more annoyed: “I’m his grandfather!”
Not far away, suddenly having gained a father figure, Gu Tiancheng, Gu Xingzhou’s father, sneezed: “Achoo!”
Who’s thinking of me?
