Thinking back, those were some of the few happy moments we had.

Later on, we got caught up in one whirlpool after another. Sometimes it was just me facing it, sometimes just Yu Chengfei, and sometimes both of us together. Our fates became tightly intertwined.

After messing around for a while, the sky gradually darkened. Yu Chengfei suggested we go eat, and Nan Nan immediately hailed a taxi. Yu Chengfei rolled his eyes and said, "Where do you think you're going to eat? Isn't there a noodle shop right across the street?"

Nan Nan looked up at the dirty sign of the noodle shop across the street and frowned. "Can you even eat the food from that place?"

"Eat it if you want," Yu Chengfei said, heading towards the street.

I quickly said, "Nan Nan jie, let's go. The noodles there are pretty good; I eat there often."

While I was speaking, Yu Chengfei had already taken four or five steps ahead. Nan Nan snorted and hurriedly ran to jump on Yu Chengfei's back, shouting, "Yu Chengfei, are you itching for a fight? Do you need me to use my tweezers on you?"

Yu Chengfei carried Nan Nan across the street, and I followed closely behind into the noodle shop. Under the dim lights, a few small tables filled the room. As soon as we sat down, Nan Nan took out a wet tissue to wipe the table, pointing at the greasy surface. "Look at this place. Can you eat here? Let’s go somewhere else. At least it would be clean and hygienic!"

Yu Chengfei whispered to me, "See? Her princess syndrome is acting up again!"

"What did you say?" Nan Nan glared at us. "Two grown men whispering, isn't that gross?"

Yu Chengfei ignored her and loudly called, "Boss, give me fifteen servings of noodles, three for here and the rest to go!"

Nan Nan quickly added, "One serving without scallions and cilantro, and not too greasy!"

Yu Chengfei muttered something under his breath that neither Nan Nan nor I could hear clearly, but we knew it wasn’t anything nice. So, Nan Nan pinched Yu Chengfei's waist and gave it a hard twist...

I felt the entire street could hear Yu Chengfei's scream.

By the time Yu Chengfei recovered, the three bowls of noodles for us were finally served. Nan Nan looked at the bowl in front of her, filled with scallions and cilantro and a layer of grease on top. She couldn't help but get angry. "Didn't I say no scallions and cilantro? Didn't I say not so greasy? Do you believe I will tear down your shop now?"

The boss poked his head out and said, "You can tear down the shop, but I won't change the way I make the noodles. Making it your way would ruin my reputation."

"Ah!" Nan Nan was furious, waving her hands around as if ready to fight the boss. At the critical moment, Yu Chengfei pulled her back and said kindly, "Alright, he's right." Then he started picking out the cilantro and scallions for Nan Nan and scooping off the top layer of oil with a spoon.

"There, eat up." Yu Chengfei pushed the bowl back to Nan Nan with a look of "how troublesome."

"Hmph, if you think I'm so troublesome, don't bring me here," Nan Nan said as she carefully wiped her chopsticks with a wet tissue.

"You insisted on coming, didn't you?"

"You still dare to talk back!" Nan Nan reached over again, and Yu Chengfei's scream echoed through the street once more.

I watched them with a smile. Even though Yu Chengfei claimed he didn’t love Nan Nan, he was much gentler with her than anyone else. Sometimes, do we even know ourselves if we truly love someone?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It was obvious Nan Nan rarely ate in such places. She gritted her teeth and gingerly extended her chopsticks toward the bowl of noodles that looked unappetizing, determined to integrate into Yu Chengfei's life. She took a brave first bite.

Instantly, her expression changed, turning from disbelief to amazement.

"How is it? Tasty, right?" Yu Chengfei asked with a smile. Then he said to me, "Eat up, Haozi. What are you staring at?"

"Yeah, yeah." I buried my head and started eating the greasy but flavorful noodles. For us poor folks, this was a gourmet feast, and the noodle shop owner's skills were exceptional.

Yu Chengfei also started eating voraciously. Besides loving to sleep, he was a top-notch foodie.

"It's so delicious!" Nan Nan genuinely praised, then started eating heartily.

"It's better with scallions and cilantro; you just don't know how to enjoy it," Yu Chengfei said while eating.

"I'll never touch those things, but this is already delicious," Nan Nan said as she ate, showing none of the grace of a lady. Even the loud Summer Snow seemed more refined than her. It's strange, but I kept thinking of Summer Snow today. Was it because her words this afternoon were so shocking?

"We should stay apart for now. Wang Hao, once you figure out whether you love me or Taozi, then come find one of us." I thought about Summer Snow's words as I devoured the noodles.

When we were almost done eating, I couldn't help but ask, "Yu Ge, Nan Nan jie, what’s going on with Maizi now?"

Nan Nan said, "Don't worry. He's fine. Yuan Shao knows his limits. Maizi is the kind of person who can be dealt with using money. And that stab not only pierced his stomach but also his courage. If your school expels him, he'll never be a problem again. Just focus on your studies at Chenggao and stop hanging out all the time like Yu Ge."

"Your sister-in-law is right..."

"I'm his sister, not sister-in-law!" Nan Nan said, baring her teeth. "Don't drag Haozi to your side!"

"Alright, alright," Yu Chengfei said helplessly. "Haozi, your sister Nan Nan is right. From now on, focus on your studies at Chenggao. At first, I wanted you to come to the technical institute because I wanted you to join our gang. We already have someone like Yuan Shao, a skilled fighter, but we lacked someone like you, a strategist. But then I realized you really wanted to stay at Chenggao. Asking you to transfer was like asking you to go to the guillotine..."

"I can be a strategist!" Nan Nan waved her chopsticks, eagerly volunteering.

"Forget it. Your brain has so much water it’d ruin any stew," Yu Chengfei retorted without hesitation.

"Ah! How dare you insult me!" Nan Nan pounced on Yu Chengfei, pinching both sides of his waist.

This time, Yu Chengfei's scream was louder than the previous two, even the noodle shop owner couldn't help but peek out.

"Maizi got taken down by you because he didn’t have a strategist by his side," Yu Chengfei said to me. "That’s why he fell step by step into your trap. Remember this: before making any decision, think carefully about whether there might be a trick. The simpler something seems, the more likely it’s a deep trap."

"Got it." I nodded heavily, chewing over Yu Chengfei's words. If it hadn't been for him, I would have been expelled along with Maizi. So, I took every word from Yu Chengfei as enlightening advice.

"Oh, look at you," Nan Nan teased. "You’ve only been at it for a year, and you think you can play life coach?"

"I have nothing to say to women... Ah!" That piercing scream again made my heart tremble.

"Let’s break up, let's break up!" Yu Chengfei slammed the table. "Nan Nan, I can’t stand you anymore. We have to break up today."

"Fine, who’s afraid of whom?" Nan Nan glared at him, both huffing as they went back to their noodles.

After eating, the owner packed the remaining twelve servings. I took six, and Yu Chengfei took six. As we left the noodle shop, Nan Nan clung to Yu Chengfei’s arm as if nothing had happened.

"Are you two good now?" I asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Yu Chengfei smiled wryly. "This is my new girlfriend, Nan Nan. I’m introducing you."

At the internet café, we distributed the noodles to Yu Chengfei’s brothers.

"Yu Ge, I'm heading back to school."

"Not staying for a bit?"

"No," I said. "Too tired today, I’m going back to rest."

Yu Chengfei walked me out of the café, with Nan Nan following as usual. "Can’t you stop following me for a bit?"

"No way," Nan Nan said stubbornly. "I’m afraid you'll run off again." She jumped onto Yu Chengfei’s back.

Yu Chengfei had no choice but to carry her while escorting me. "Head back," Yu Chengfei said. "Chenggao should be fine now, but keep an eye on Lao Gou. He’s much more treacherous than Maizi. If you have any conflict with him, try to avoid it. A wise man knows when to retreat. Your power is far from his."

"Got it." I nodded.

"Come to me if there's any trouble," Yu Chengfei continued. "But don’t rely on me for everything. I’m at the technical institute, and it’s not easy to intervene in Chenggao’s affairs. Each school, no matter how divided, will unite against an outsider. That’s why Meng Liang went to Ye Zhan for help instead of handling it himself. He was afraid he wouldn’t get out if he entered Chenggao. Keep all this in mind, though I trust you’re not one to stir up trouble."

"Alright." I kept nodding.

Nan Nan, meanwhile, was tugging on Yu Chengfei’s ear, singing, "Pigsy~ carrying his wife~ over one hill after another~ out of Gao Village~ enjoying the scenery~ heading to the Cloud Lodge Cave~ hurry up~ don't let the Monkey King catch up~ ya ya~ yo yo~"