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Wang Zhifeng wasn’t planning much when he went looking for Lin Yi- he’d only wanted to make sure what Huaijun said was true. He’d ask Principal Ding Binggong to take the matter into his own hands if Huaijun had lied about bringing Lin Yi to the station for just a written statement.

Zhifeng felt more at ease after learning that Lin Yi was fine. The matter with Tang Yin, on the other hand, didn’t seem like something he should be bothering with anymore- after all, the girl was under Lin Yi’s protection. Lin Yi still held his secret in his hands, and while it wasn’t too strictly stated that relationships were prohibited in the workplace, Zhifeng was sure that there’d only be trouble if the board of directors found out.

After all, they were paying him a high salary for him to manage the school, not play around with women.

As a result, he only gave Lin Yi’s shoulder a pat, telling him not to go overboard with Tang Yin at school- it’d be hard for Zhifeng otherwise.

Lin Yi only smiled bitterly in response, not bothering to explain the complicated situation he was in. Zhifeng probably wouldn’t have believed him anyway.

Most of the students were already back in class by the time Lin Yi stepped in. Zhong Pinliang seemed to be saying something to Mengyao, with Mengyao ignoring him as usual.

Pinliang, on the other hand, wasn’t about to give up anytime soon. After all, there weren’t any other boys who could offer competition- he was the only one who could even be chasing after Mengyao. It was this reason alone that justified his patience.

Lin Yi didn’t pay the guy any heed either. Pinliang bothering Mengyao like that wouldn’t lead to any big problems, not anytime soon, at least.

“Boss, what did the dean ask for you for? Is it caz of the fight yesterday?” Xiaobo asked worriedly- he’d participated in the incident, too.

“Ah no, it’s some stuff about my transfer.” Lin Yi lied, not intending to tell him about Huaijun visiting him.

“Oh. That’s good.” Xiaobo nodded. “By the way, boss, I passed by class nine just now. The curtains were pulled up, and the window was open- Tang Yin’s eyes were red! It’s like she just cried… Do you think Zou Ruoming was bothering her again?”

“How… How should I know……” Lin Yi sweated- Xiaobo’s observation was pretty good……

Lin Yi was planning on going to the canteen for lunch when Xiaobo nagged him about getting some barbeque. “I should’ve had more last Friday- I really want some barbeque right now!”

Mrs. Tang’s barbeque stand wasn’t anything special- there weren’t any secret recipes or anything, and it _was_ just a street stand.

Tang Yin wasn’t there to help out this time. The truth was that lunchtime was a vital rest period the students needed, before they dived back into the sea of examinations and homework again.

She’d planned on calming herself down a bit after what Lin Yi had done to her. She’d be hard pressed to get back into a studying mood otherwise.

The barbeque didn’t get too much business during lunch hours- There wasn’t any uniqueness to the stand, and there was a canteen in the school, too. Mrs. Tang placed two tofu curl skewers on a female student’s table before she noticed Lin Yi and Xiaobo. A smile formed on her face. “Lin Yi, here with your friend again?”

“Yeah……” Lin Yi said, feeling a little bad- it was Xiaobo who’d wanted to eat there; he wasn’t the one bringing a friend. Tang Yin went and said all that about Lin Yi trying to please her mom, too…… “How’s business, aunty?”

“Never on Mondays.” Mrs. Tang answered with a shake of her head. “Not a lot of customers today- I’d just put the stand up, too. Here, sit, sit. What would you two like?”

“Twenty mutton skewers, two mutton steak skewers, and two skewers of chicken necks and tofu curls. Two beers, too. Same as two days ago.” Xiaobo was the kind of guy who didn’t like changing his eating patterns.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be drinking- we still have class later.” Lin Yi had the dean giving him huge backup at school, but he’d had his mind set on experiencing high school life in its purest form. He didn’t want to have too much special treatment, and while beer was pretty much like water to Lin Yi, that wasn’t the case for Xiaobo.

“Ha…… No beers then.” Xiaobo said to Mrs. Tang, not very brave or willing to drink on his own.

Mrs. Tang, on the other hand, found it curious- wasn’t Lin Yi one of the Big Four? He’d even given Zou Ruoming that beating the other day without much mercy, so what was with this reserved attitude towards drinking? She’d thought that people like Lin Yi and Zuo Ruoming ignored stuff like that, drinking whenever or wherever they wanted.

Mrs. Tang thought a little deeper into it, and realized that Lin Yi didn’t have that delinquent young master aura, the kind of aura that Zou Ruoming had. Quite the contrary, the kid treated her very respectfully! It seemed that rich parents gave their children a better upbringing, unlike the gangster-styled environment Zou Ruoming grew up in.

Lin Yi was really growing on her at this rate.

It wasn’t long before the food arrived- Lin Yi and Xiaobo were the only customers.

Lin Yi bit into a chicken neck skewer as Xiaobo dug in. He turned to Mrs. Tang, who didn’t seem preoccupied with anything at the moment. “Aunty, you could actually barbeque your chicken necks into a New Orleans flavor, and make that a specialty of yours. It’ll improve business……”

“That sounds about right, but I…… Don’t know how……” Mrs. Tang smiled bitterly. “It’s just a small stand, we don’t need a specialty.”

“Oh no, don’t forget that many shops start off small.” Lin Yi continued. “You actually don’t need to know too much, there’s pickled material you can buy online. Ah, you can ask Tang Yin to help you if you don’t use the internet……”

Lin Yi always bought stuff online for the old glutton back home on the mountain.

“Oh? Really? It’s probably pretty expensive though, isn’t it?” Mrs. Tang said. She didn’t know much about stuff like that, but Lin Yi’s words got her interested… After all, who wouldn’t want better business for their store?

“No, not really, but you need to have costs before you can have profit.” Lin Yi said. “If you have time you could actually make the sauce yourself. I’ve done some research on that New Orleans recipe before, I’ll go write it out and give it to you tomorrow. It’s just some sugar, chilli, stuff like that, things you can buy at markets.”

“That’d be really nice, thanks, but I think I’ll make the sauce myself. It’s a small business, after all, we’re not earning much in the first place……” Mrs. Tang was getting a little excited- she didn’t expect Lin Yi to have done research on that sort of thing.

“It’s really nothing.” Lin Yi said with a shake of his head.

“Then I’ll ask Tang Yin to get it from you tomorrow. Those skewers will be on the house the next time you come!” Mrs. Tang’s impression of Lin Yi couldn’t be better at that point- he was such a good kid!

She thought that it was extremely commendable for Lin Yi to be so humble and kind to people- it was especially so when he came from a rich family! Although, Mrs. Tang would be in for quite the surprise if she ever caught Lin Yi in one of his cocky moments…… Lin Yi’s cockiness was so intense that it’d dig a hole in the sky if he really felt like it……

_Have Tang Yin get it from me..?_ Lin Yi scratched at his nose as he thought about the notion. Tang Yin probably never wanted to see him again if she could help it…...

heh heh, ez top 3

not-so-ez patreon :/

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap