Gorgeous Female Tenants

Although the scene of Lu Xiaomei holding Hua Ji was very funny, the feelings between them were particularly sincere.

Ding Keke clapped gently, showing a look of longing, and said with a smile, "I really envy you two, I hope you can love each other forever."

Xu Xiangbei shook his head. If Hua Ji and Lu Xiaomei were getting married, he wondered how Gu Xinyan and Ouyang Jiahui would react to the news.

Lu Xiaomei said excitedly to Hua Ji, "Hua Ji, I’m hungry. I’ve been hiding in the cupboard for so long, it’s taken a lot of energy."

Hua Ji smiled and said, "Once Brother Xu’s car is fixed, we can go out for a late-night supper."

"Sure, I want to go to that street-side baozi shop to eat meat buns."

Xu Xiangbei felt helpless. Whether or not these two get married, and no matter how their feelings may change, Lu Xiaomei’s love for buns will never change.

Soon, a strong voice from the mechanic below called out, "Brother Hua Ji, the paint job is done."

Hua Ji excitedly snapped his fingers and shouted down, "Alright, you guys can finish up for the day, I’ll lock up."

"See you tomorrow, Brother Hua Ji."

Hua Ji smiled as he put his arm around Lu Xiaomei’s chubby waist, a look of happiness on his face: "Brother Xu, your car is ready. Let’s go for a late-night supper. My Lu Xiaomei is already hungry, I need to take her for buns. After supper, you can head home."

At the mention of food, Xu Xiangbei felt full. Having drunk at the Ouyang Family’s place and eaten too much, he waved his hand: "I’ve had too much to drink tonight, I don’t feel like eating buns. You guys go ahead."

Hua Ji enthusiastically recommended, "The baozi shop has a wide variety of options—noodles, dumplings, fried rice, fried noodles, you name it. If you want stir-fry, that can be done too."

Not wanting to spoil the fun, Ding Keke tugged on Xu Xiangbei’s sleeve: "I’m a bit hungry too, shall we get some noodles?"

Seeing that Ding Keke wanted to join for supper, Xu Xiangbei had no choice but to go along.

The baozi shop wasn’t far from Hua Ji’s repair shop, just a ten-minute walk away.

As soon as they approached the baozi shop, the delicious aroma of freshly steamed buns wafted through the air. Lu Xiaomei took a deep breath.

She sighed in admiration: "It smells so good, even better than flowers."

Xu Xiangbei laughed, "That’s a true foodie’s spirit. To them, the scent of cooking is the most wonderful smell in the world."

Brother Hua Ji chimed in, "For our little sister here, the scent of buns is the most beautiful smell in the world."

Ding Keke covered her mouth, laughing: "You two speak so well of the foodie spirit; it seems you are both food lovers."

In this era, highly impacted by e-commerce, many brick-and-mortar stores have closed down, but the baozi shops remain standing tall at street corners.

The baozi shop owner is good at doing business. He not only sells buns but also offers dumplings, noodles, fried noodles, and fried rice. Although most are frozen dumplings and the fried noodles and rice are not top-notch, the variety gives customers more choices.

The baozi shop was doing well; even past ten at night, people kept coming to have buns and supper.

When the baozi shop owner saw Lu Xiaomei and Hua Ji coming, he quickly greeted them with a smile.

To him, Lu Xiaomei was a major customer and he had to serve her well.

Ever since Lu Xiaomei started coming, the baozi shop sold an extra five cages of buns every day.

In this competitive society, selling five extra cages of buns equates to a one-percent increase in competitiveness.

"Miss, there’s a seat here, please sit."

Lu Xiaomei was very pleased to be addressed as "Miss" by the owner.

"Miss, what would you like to eat today?"

Lu Xiaomei eagerly placed her order: "I want five cages of meat buns and a large bowl of seaweed egg soup. What about you, Brother Hua Ji?"

"I’ll have half a cage of buns."

Lu Xiaomei then asked Ding Keke, "What about you, Sister Ding?"

"I’ll have a bowl of vegetable noodles."

"What do you want to eat, Brother Xu?"

Xu Xiangbei was just there to accompany them and gave Lu Xiaomei a wink: "I’m not eating anything, just watching you guys."

Lu Xiaomei looked disappointed as she glanced at Xu Xiangbei. He really doesn’t know how to enjoy life. This baozi shop is the best around for miles.

While Lu Xiaomei and the others were eating, Xu Xiangbei walked out of the shop, feeling a bit bored, and lit a cigarette.

A disheveled beggar wandered into the shop, saw some leftover buns on a table, grabbed them, and started eating voraciously. He didn’t care that his hands, dirty with grime, had touched the buns, and gobbled them down quickly.

The baozi shop owner, seeing the beggar intrude, angrily shouted, "What are you doing here, get out."

The beggar argued, "People paid for this, just didn’t eat them. Why can’t I eat?"

Enraged, the baozi shop owner picked up a spatula and the beggar, realizing he was in trouble, hurriedly ran out, colliding with Xu Xiangbei, who was smoking by the roadside.

Xu Xiangbei glanced at the filthy beggar, feeling the face with the full beard was somewhat familiar, but couldn’t immediately remember who it was.

The beggar was shocked seeing Xu Xiangbei, lowered his head, and ran off. Xu Xiangbei could confirm that the beggar knew him and was someone familiar, those eyes were too familiar, so he quickly gave chase.

Xu Xiangbei blocked the beggar’s path and asked curiously, "Who are you, and why did you run when you saw me?"

When the beggar raised his head, revealing swollen eyes, it was like a bolt of lightning flashed through Xu Xiangbei’s brain, making his hand tremble so much the cigarette fell from his grasp, and he exclaimed in surprise.

The beggar tried to slip away from Xu Xiangbei, but Xu Xiangbei grabbed his arm.

"You, you’re Qian Duoduo? How did you end up like this?"

The reason Xu Xiangbei didn’t recognize him initially was that, in his impression, Qian Duoduo was a young master from a wealthy family. Although not particularly handsome, he was fair and chubby, always in a suit and tie.

He never would have connected him with the bearded, filthy beggar in front of him.

Recalling the days of eating seafood, drinking wine, and watching Russian dancers with Qian Duoduo, what a glamorous and delightful time it was.

Just last month, when he returned to Jiangcheng, it was Qian Duoduo who helped him sneak into the transport team to get on the Doris.

"Ouch, it hurts."

Qian Duoduo’s face twisted in pain, and Xu Xiangbei quickly released his grip on his arm, lifting his shirt to find a piece of gauze stained with blood wrapped around his arm.

From Qian Duoduo’s pained expression, the wound had not healed yet.

"What on earth happened? Didn’t your father have assets worth a billion? How are you out here begging?"

Qian Duoduo’s eyes reddened, tears started to flow: "Brother Xu, can I have a cigarette?"

The two sat on the curb, Xu Xiangbei in silence, while Qian Duoduo took a deep drag from the cigarette, exhaled, seeming like he hadn’t smoked a good one in days.

"Thank you, Brother Xu, goodbye."

Qian Duoduo finished the cigarette quickly, threw away the butt, gave Xu Xiangbei a grateful smile, and stood up to leave. Xu Xiangbei grabbed him again.