Chapter 90: Birthday

Chapter 90: Birthday

"No way! Che Shijie got fired from Yatai!" Fatty rushed to Zhao Yu's side early in the morning, saying excitedly, "He seriously got fired!"

"What? Wasn't he the boss's right-hand man at Yatai?" Zhao Yu was surprised. He'd been ready to go toe-to-toe with Che Shijie for a hundred rounds, but the guy had already gone down that fast.

"A person needs real substance to stand on. If all you do is play office politics, how can you hold onto the head chef spot?" Cao Xu said, holding a white porcelain wall plaque with carved peonies, his eyes full of admiration.

Seeing how calm he was, Zhao Yu asked curiously, "Master, you already knew about this?"

Cao Xu smiled. "I not only knew he'd get fired, I also know who made it happen."

"Who?"

Cao Xu patted Zhao Yu on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Mr. Gu's a good guy. Worth getting close to."

Zhao Yu immediately got that Gu Hansheng was pulling strings behind the scenes, but why did Cao Xu pat him on the shoulder? What did he mean, "a good guy worth getting close to"?

"Master, what did he say to you?"

"Just about the Che Shijie thing."

"Just that, and you can tell he's a good guy?"

"He's humble and speaks politely. That makes him a good guy, obviously."

Zhao Yu was stunned and dug a finger in his ear—who's humble? Who's polite?

Cao Xu added, "Besides, he's good-looking, accomplished at a young age, and impressive all around. Whoever marries him is gonna be treated well and be happy."

He watched Cao Xu carry the porcelain piece into the break room, seeming like he wanted to hang it on the wall to admire during breaks, and chased after him, asking, "Master, isn't this that limited-edition porcelain piece you loved but couldn't get? Where'd you get this one?"

Cao Xu paused mid-hang, cleared his throat. "I've got my sources."

"What sources?"

"That's for me to know."

"Master, you're the most selfless, upstanding guy. You wouldn't take bribes, would you?"

"Hey, don't flatter me. I'm busy."

Zhao Yu eyed him suspiciously but got shut out of the break room.

Fatty's intel was fast. Within a couple days, he found out Che Shijie got rejected by another Michelin restaurant. The livestream incident had put him in the hot seat, and it'd be tough for him to make a comeback anytime soon.

The boss of Yatai called Cao Xu, basically wanting him to come back and run the place, offering better pay and the head chef position, but Cao Xu turned it down flat.

A good horse doesn't graze on old grass—that was basically it.

Cao Xu hired two more solid chefs, and Jinyan settled into a stable groove. He and Zhao Yu could start taking turns with days off.

On his day off, Zhao Yu invited the lawyer over to eat and talk about Zhao Lianfeng's case.

"If things move fast, the trial could start by year-end," Lawyer Wang said. "Your brother went to see the prosecutor handling the case."

"Why did he go see the prosecutor?"

"The reason Zhao Lianfeng could come after you is because he was behind it, pushing things forward. He laid out the whole story, which let the case get to trial sooner. I figure you want this settled ASAP too. In a way, he did you a favor."

Zhao Yu was stunned for a second, then poured Lawyer Wang some tea. "Will the case drag him in?"

"Depends on what part he played and whether he acted with bad intent."

"Zhao Lianfeng stabbing me—he had no idea."

Lawyer Wang smiled. "Don't worry. If the case doesn't involve him much, he won't get dragged in too deep."

After seeing Lawyer Wang out, Zhao Yu had mixed feelings.

According to Zhou Lan, Chen Li went bankrupt. Her company ended up getting bought for a rock-bottom price, and after paying off debts, she was nearly broke. As for Chen Xitong, no one knew how he was doing.

To save that company, Chen Li pulled every trick, scheming against Gu Hansheng, but in the end, it all came back to bite her. Zhao Yu felt a little wistful but not sympathetic.

But with Chen Xitong, he felt different—he shook his head and let it go.

Time rolled into mid-October. The autumn air was crisp and clear, and Kaiyue's tires rolled over fallen maple leaves, pulling up to a roadside stall where Zhao Yu grabbed some pan-fried buns.

Ever since Zhao Yu brought these buns to Jinyan, everyone raved about them and kept asking him to bring more every few days. He'd gotten chummy with the vendor.

"This new flavor's a freebie. Have your coworkers try it. Come back if it's good!" The vendor cheerfully packed up several orders of the pickled bean ones.

"With your cooking, it's gotta be good! We'll be back!" Zhao Yu took the bag, stuffed it in his backpack, waved, smiled, and drove off toward Jinyan.

The second Zhao Yu walked into the kitchen, everyone swarmed him like starving wolves, yelling "Thanks, boss!" and grabbing the buns in a flash.

"Hey! Leave one for me!" By the time Zhao Yu turned around, all that was left on the table were a few empty bags. He said, "Master, why're you grabbing two as well? Don't get too greedy!"

Someone said, "Is this a new flavor? It's hot!"

Zhao Yu made as if to grab it back. "It's pickled beans. If you don't like it, hand it over."

"I'm eating it! Chef Zhao, I already took a bite. How could I hand it back?"

"But you had no problem grabbing it?"

"Heh, first come, first served."

The kitchen cracked up. Cao Xu said, "I made breakfast but haven't eaten. It's in the break room. Go grab it."

"Master's the best," Zhao Yu said, pushing open the break room door. But suddenly—pop—all the lights went out, and then candles flickered on.

The blinds were shut tight, so it was dim even in the daytime. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a birthday cake on the table.

"Happy birthday!"

"Chef Zhao, happy birthday!"

"Boss, happy birthday!"

The crowd shoved him into the room from behind. Someone popped a party cracker, and as the lights came on, confetti drifted down.

"What's the date today?" Zhao Yu asked, dazed.

"October 13th. You forgot your own birthday?" Cao Xu said.

"Chef Zhao, cut the cake already." Fatty rubbed his hands together eagerly and handed him the knife.

"Wait! There's also the long-life noodles Chef Cao made this morning!"

Zhao Yu got pushed up to the table, where the cake was decorated with the Jinyan logo and a little cartoon dude with spiky hair, two colorful candles stuck right in the middle, shaped like a 25.

He'd totally forgotten it was his birthday today, but someone remembered for him.

Zhao Yu lit up with a smile, made a wish that "Jinyan keeps getting better and better," then sliced up the cake and passed it around.

When he picked up the bowl of longevity noodles Cao Xu had made by hand, he suddenly got a little choked up. There was a time he figured his birthday only counted if he spent it with Aunt Guo, but Guo Lin, through the soft flicker of the candles, told him, "Our Xiao Yu's gonna meet more people who care about him and live even happier than he does now. Even if you're not celebrating with me, you'll still be super, super, super happy."

Aunt Guo's words had come true, because he really was happy.

"Whoa, Chef Cao, did you toss Sichuan peppercorns in the noodles? Chef Zhao's crying from the numbing!" Fatty cracked from the side.

Someone joked, "That's from being touched! Look how soft our Chef Zhao is—he's crying from emotion!"

"Are you guys gonna keep this up?" Zhao Yu held up his noodle bowl and started waving people off. "Get back to work! Once you're done with the cake, get moving! Why's everyone staring at me? Mu Qingqing, quit stirring the pot!"

"Mu Qingqing? Who's that?"

"You don't know? Fatty Chef's name is Mu Qingqing, hahaha!"

The kitchen burst out laughing, and Cao Xu couldn't help but crack up too.

That afternoon, Zhou Lan suddenly rolled up to Jinyan, and for once, that clingy guy wasn't glued to his side. Zhao Yu walked him to a private room and even whipped up Jinyan's signature afternoon tea.

"Assistant Zhou, feels like we haven't seen each other in a hundred years, huh?" Zhao Yu said.

"It's only been a few months—how's that a hundred years?" Zhou Lan smiled and pulled out three boxes from his bag. "I just got back from my hometown today. Here, these are for your birthday."

"Why'd you get me three gifts? You're way too nice."

"This one's mine." Zhou Lan picked one out, then pointed to the other two. "These are from Boss Chen and Xitong—they asked me to give them to you."

Zhao Yu glanced at the two boxes, then slid Chen Li's back toward him. "Give this one back to her. I don't want it."

Zhou Lan gave a "figured as much" look, put Chen Li's away, and asked, "Have you and Xitong made up?"

"No." Zhao Yu twirled Chen Xitong's gift box with his finger. "I just like the look of his box. By the way, your girl—uh, boyfriend—not glued to you today?"

"He's in the parking lot."

"Assistant Zhou, I remember you had a girlfriend in college. Are you sure it's okay being with this guy? He's not forcing you, is he?"

Zhou Lan shook his head, thinking of Fang Yuming's eager, puppy-eyed expression, and said, "He's a little annoying, but not that bad."

Zhao Yu ribbed him, "As long as you're happy."

Zhou Lan's ears went a little red as he switched topics. "Xitong passed an audition for some French orchestra. You know about that?"

Zhao Yu said, "No. Is he going to France?"

"He's not going. He also said he's done with piano." Zhou Lan sighed. "He's probably got other plans for the future, but if you're willing to take his gift, he'll be pretty stoked."

"Why doesn't he want to play piano?"

"I don't know." Zhou Lan shrugged. "But he's already sold that Steinway. Word is he'll be moving out soon."

Zhao Yu's hand, which had been spinning the box, stopped. His brow knit a little as he asked, "Moving where?"

Zhou Lan shook his head again. Ever since he stopped being Chen Li's assistant, he didn't know much about their news—he only kept tabs out of old friendship.

The two talked a bit more about what they'd been up to until Fang Yuming's call came through.

Zhao Yu rested his chin on his hand, watching him take the call, seeing him cup his hand over his mouth and murmur for ages before hanging up. He joked, "It's only been half an hour—does he have separation anxiety? Scared I'll steal you away?"

Zhou Lan smiled awkwardly. "We've got stuff to do in a bit, so I'll take off now."

"I'll walk you out."

Zhao Yu got up and walked him out, spotting Fang Yuming waiting by the curb in the distance. The second he saw Zhou Lan, he stepped up and wrapped his arms around him, getting stares from people passing by.

Fang Yuming planted a kiss on his cheek without a care, only to get shoved away hard with both hands.

Zhao Yu watched them go, feeling weirdly bothered by the look Fang Yuming shot him—like he was jealous.