novelraw Chapter 115 : You’re Really Eating That!
Chapter 115 : You’re Really Eating That!
Chapter 115: You’re Really Eating That!
“Boss, give me a scrambled egg with cilantro, chicken gizzards mixed with cilantro, stir-fried shredded chicken with cilantro, stir-fried pork belly with cilantro, tiger skin green peppers mixed with cilantro, and finally a clam and winter melon soup to wrap it up, make sure you add a lot more cilantro for me!”
After work, the three of them went to a restaurant they used to frequent called Delicious Stir-fry, where Miss Yuan waved her hand grandly and deliberately ordered six dishes, all with cilantro.
The restaurant owner was stunned. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought this girl was born with a cilantro deficiency in her body.
But holding firm to the belief that “the customer is God,” the owner didn’t intervene. If you dared to order it, he dared to cook it.
Miss Yuan was quite an interesting person. She could eat high-end delicacies in luxury restaurants, and she could also eat roadside snacks and hole-in-the-wall eateries without the slightest sign of disgust.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the three of them were able to become good friends. Or rather, Miss Yuan carried a kind of casual and unrestrained aura. Though she had a fiery temper and could spew C-language curses at the slightest displeasure, if you got along with her, she was an easygoing heroine who cared little about trifles.
This was quite different from Liu Rushuang, who always gave the impression of being exquisitely refined, obviously raised as a wealthy young lady. Her aura was far too distinct.
By comparison, if it was only about making friends, most people preferred someone like Miss Yuan, mainly because she was pressure-free to be around.
As for Liu Rushuang, although she didn’t look down on ordinary people of modest means, her looks and aura alone made many people hesitate to approach her.
At the dinner table, looking at this table full of green dishes, Lin Mo couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. When it came to having a sharp tongue, among the people he knew, Sichuan Girl and Miss Yuan were in a league of their own.
Miss Yuan combined power with wealth, wit with perspective, and a carefree mindset with strong confidence. Her insults were simple, but the enjoyment was absolute.
Meanwhile, Sichuan Girl was purely a natural-born talent, a stats monster. If she were the opposite gender, she would probably be a Ning Caichen-level master of cutting remarks.
“Come on, eat. How could there be people in this world who don’t like cilantro? Anyone who doesn’t eat cilantro is a heretic. That woman in your WeChat looks healthy at a glance, surely full of vitality after eating it.”
Miss Yuan personally put a chopstick-full of cilantro onto Zhang Wei’s plate.
Lin Mo rolled his eyes. The hell? Since when does ‘healthy at a glance’ and ‘full of vitality’ get used like that?
“Wei, you’ve got something going on lately? You’re all stirred up, huh?”
Hearing this, Zhang Wei scratched his head, quickly explaining: “Sister Yuan, Brother Lin, don’t mess with me. Give me a little face, alright?”
“Face? How much is face worth? Come on, what’s the situation? If we hadn’t stopped you, were you planning to transfer her money?” Miss Yuan asked, chewing on a piece of chicken gizzards mixed with cilantro, looking extremely satisfied.
Originally today, Lin Mo had received startup capital and wanted to invite Zhang Wei for a proper get-together with the three of them.
But when this matter came up, Miss Yuan decided on the spot that they must come here and order a cilantro feast. After all, in better places, the cilantro series might not be this complete.
“Sigh, isn’t it just that my family recently introduced me to a blind date? We added each other on WeChat, chatted a bit. I saw her photo too, felt she seemed nice, so I wanted to get to know her. I mean, at my age, right? Back home, lots of guys my age are already dads. And besides, dating costs money, doesn’t it?” Zhang Wei felt uneasy under their stares and finally explained.
“Blind date? Wei, that doesn’t sound right. Yuan and I saw the way you two were chatting behind your back, we thought you were in some online romance with a nearby stranger. Have you two even met in person?” Lin Mo questioned.
Although he had never been on a blind date himself, he knew what online dating vibes looked like—and this was it. And since it was already a blind date, wasn’t meeting in person the natural thing to do?
But instead of meeting, the replies were half-hearted, while she was very practiced at guiding the guy into spending money on her. This cilantro-hating girl (blind date version) was a bit of a player.
Zhang Wei shook his head: “No, it’s been several days since we added each other. I’ve been wanting to meet, but she says she doesn’t have time. My mom told me this girl’s hometown is the same as ours, just happens to be working here, and our families matched us up. Do you think I might be rushing it? Maybe I should wait until this weekend?”
Lin Mo glanced at Miss Yuan: “Sister Yuan, what do you think?”
“Me? I see the art of language from a woman.” Yuan Meng shook her head while scrolling through Zhang Wei’s chat history with the cilantro-hater on his phone.
Then she tossed the phone back, which Zhang Wei hurriedly caught: “What do you mean, Sister Yuan? Isn’t that just how girls are? Being reserved?”
Hearing that, Miss Yuan sneered: “I skimmed through your chat logs. The first day you added her, your conversation was decent. On the second day, you exchanged photos. To be honest, you two are about the same level. You’re fat, but she’s not slim either, and her photo is so heavily photoshopped I couldn’t tell what she really looks like.
But the key moment came that second day. After exchanging photos, her replies suddenly weren’t as enthusiastic. Then came a classic line: ‘I’m kind of a slow-to-warm-up person.’
From then on, your chats were sprinkled with ‘I’m thirsty,’ ‘I’m hungry,’ ‘I’m out of makeup.’ And you actually sent her money or ordered delivery each time.
Today she asked if her dress looked good. When you said yes, she immediately followed up with how expensive it was, that she couldn’t afford it but liked it a lot.
If I’m not wrong, she wanted you to buy it for her but couldn’t ask outright, so she hinted. Then if you offered, she would politely refuse once before accepting. That’s how you’d become the sucker.”
Zhang Wei was incredulous: “No way, it was just milk tea and takeout. And today, I didn’t buy her the dress, and she didn’t say anything. She even told me to eat more when I had dinner with you guys.”
Lin Mo slapped his forehead. He had this strange sense of déjà vu. After thinking, he realized—it was the same pattern as Zhao Tingting.
Except this cilantro-hater’s level was clearly lower than Zhao Tingting’s. Goddess Zhao had the looks and the means. She never bothered with small stuff—when she acted, it was for a big haul.
And her targets were clear—not poor guys. Of course, if an average guy insisted on sending gifts, she wouldn’t refuse.
“Based on how the plot usually goes, if I’m not mistaken, soon your chats will turn into: ‘I have no clothes to wear,’ ‘I ran out of sunscreen,’ ‘my foundation is finished,’ ‘my rent is due,’ ‘my phone died, I need a new one.’ She’ll paint herself as destitute just to keep chatting with you. And with your personality, you’d definitely shell out.” Lin Mo boldly predicted.
Miss Yuan clapped his hand in agreement.
“No way, right? You guys are saying things that haven’t even happened yet. And even if I did send her milk tea and food, that’s not much money.” Zhang Wei still struggled to believe.
Miss Yuan took a deep breath, sipped her Coke, and said: “Do you know what gradual temptation means? Step by step, increasing the stakes. She can’t just start by asking you to pay her rent or buy her a phone. And if we hadn’t shown up today, weren’t you about to transfer her money for that dress?”
“So what you’re saying is, she’s a manipulative woman?” Zhang Wei asked in disbelief.
But to his surprise, both Lin Mo and Miss Yuan shook their heads in unison.
“No, not exactly.”
Their answer shocked Zhang Wei.
“What? Now I’m confused. Didn’t you just say she had a problem and was deliberately making me spend money? How is she not manipulative then?” Zhang Wei’s fat head was full of question marks.
“Girls who smoke, drink, party, and have tattoos aren’t necessarily bad girls. By the same token, a girl who calls herself slow-to-warm-up and occasionally complains to get stuff isn’t necessarily manipulative. Maybe she’s just practicing ‘survival of the fittest.’” Miss Yuan muttered while munching on cilantro.
At this point, Zhang Wei was completely lost. He knew every word Miss Yuan said, but strung together, it was incomprehensible.
“I don’t get it!” Zhang Wei shook his head, the fat on his face trembling until his left cheek almost slapped his right.
Miss Yuan sighed: “Simple. Why does a woman tell you she’s slow-to-warm-up? Because she’s running an auction. She’s raising the bid, dragging you along so you don’t run away, while she checks for higher offers.”
Lin Mo: “If you’re chatting fine, then suddenly one day she ignores you, that’s because the auction ended. She found her winning bidder. You lost in the meal-ticket competition.”
Miss Yuan: “If you confess and she rejects you but still stays in contact, that means she’s keeping you as backup welfare. If she gets dumped someday, you’ll be her safety net.”
Zhang Wei timidly raised his hand: “W-what if I confess, and she neither agrees nor rejects?”
The two of them:
Alright, alright, so you’re playing hard to get, huh?
Miss Yuan suddenly stood up, stomped one foot on her chair, and looked at Zhang Wei with eyes full of contempt: “If she doesn’t agree, that’s a rejection! Why do you need so many explanations? Can’t understand reasoning? Fine, I’ll put it in words you can get.”
Then she pointed straight at Zhang Wei’s chubby white face and shouted loud and clear:
“Idiot!!”
Zhang Wei: .
Sure enough, reasoned persuasion was far less effective than direct cursing. At least now, Zhang Wei’s eyes looked a lot clearer.
“Here’s what you do—make time to meet her soon, have a meal. Talking online is useless. Meeting face-to-face will show you the truth. If she’s not right, bail. If you think she’s okay, keep going.”
Finally, Lin Mo offered some comfort to Wei. After all, this was a blind date, and they couldn’t treat it too lightly.
Zhang Wei thought about it and agreed. He even invited the two of them to tag along and analyze from next door.
Miss Yuan was, of course, happy to oblige. Being a mischief-lover, she usually had to create her own fun. Now that fun had delivered itself to her door, she had to join in.
“No problem, Wei. Leave it to your Sister Yuan. I’ll make sure the analysis is crystal clear.
Dealing with cilantro-haters is my specialty.”
Lin Mo thought about it. By Friday, he should still be in the city, so he nodded in agreement too. After all, free time was free time.
“Let’s eat.” Miss Yuan waved at the two.
Zhang Wei, still distracted, scooped up a mouthful of cilantro from his bowl and shoved it into his mouth.
The next second, a black inflatable hammer came down on his head.
Yuan Meng: “You’re really eating that!”
Zhang Wei: .