Chapter 09
“By the way, who is that handsome young man in your shop? Is his last name Wu too?”
Wu Xing nodded and lied, “He’s a distant relative of mine.”
The landlady let out an “oh,” popped a beef roll drenched in sauce into her mouth, and said with a look of gossipy excitement, “I thought you two were a husband-and-wife shop.”
Wu Xingâs cheeks turned red instantly. He waved his hands repeatedly, explaining, “No, it’s not like that.”
Even though he was an Omega and A-Jiu was an Alpha, they weren’t in that kind of relationship. Besides, he was a low-quality Omega with a very low chance of conceiving children; what Alpha would ever want to be with someone like him?
“It’s not what it’s not, why are you blushing?” The landlady leaned in, her brows curving slightly.
“It’s just too hot today.” Wu Xing paid for the items, picked up two mung bean popsicles, and returned to the shop.
Inside the wonton shop, A-Jiu was standing on a stool, using a feather duster to deal with a newly discovered spider web. The Alpha was wearing a sleeveless undershirt, and whenever he moved, his toned, well-defined abdominal muscles were exposed.
Wu Xing clutched the mung bean popsicles, feeling his face grow even hotter.
“Xing-ge, your face is so red.”
Wu Xing hurriedly avoided the other’s gaze and handed a mung bean popsicle to A-Jiu.
“Yeah, it’s too hot outside.”
A-Jiu stepped down from the stool and said, “Xing-ge, you blush so easily. Your skin is thinner than a wonton wrapper.”
Wu Xing touched his burning cheeks, stuffed the popsicle into the otherâs hand, and used his phone to search for the trending “sticky spicy hot pot” (nianhu malatang). He discovered that all the viral food mukbang videos featuring this sticky style of spicy hot pot had very high view counts. Wu Xing clicked into those videos; just looking at the colors made him feel hungry, and he wanted to order an identical takeout delivery.
“Excuse me, are you Mr. Wu Xing?”
In the scorching heat, two men in law enforcement uniforms walked in, one after the other.
“Xing-ge?” Seeing the uniforms, A-Jiu remembered how Wu Xing had almost turned him over to the shelter, and he called out, feeling somewhat panicked.
Wu Xing nodded and said, “I am.”
“We received a report that the Wu Wonton Shop is selling raw food outside the scope permitted by its food business license, which violates relevant laws and regulations.”
Chapter 8: Midsummer
Wu Xing was stunned for three seconds. He took off his gloves and brewed two cups of green tea, placing them attentively beside the two officers.
“Officers, please, have some tea.”
It was true that the small wontons were raw, but Wu Xing was only promoting the shop’s grand opening. He couldn’t understand why something like that would be reported.
“We aren’t selling raw food outside our permit scope; those small wontons were being given away for free,” Wu Xing said, observing the two officers as they sat down.
One of the taller officers glanced at the Omega wearing the white apron, raised an eyebrow, and retorted, “Is that so?”
“It really is. We haven’t done anything illegal or against the rules.”
Wu Xing forced a smile and bowed repeatedly as he spoke to the officers.
The man sat upright in his chair, blew on the hot steam without intending to drink the tea, and said sarcastically, “Well, the report has already been filed, so we have to process it, don’t we?”
A-Jiu stood beside Wu Xing with his mouth pouted, bowing stiffly along with him, staring at the swirling steam of the hot tea without saying a word.
“Of course it needs to be handled, but our situation shouldn’t count as a violation, right?”
Just as Wu Xing was about to continue explaining, someone thrust a finalized document into his hands. In black and white, it stated that the Wu Wonton Shop had violated the “Food Safety Law,” and the last page was a fine notice that required his signature.
Looking at the astronomical amount of the fine, the Omega felt dizzy and lightheaded, thinking for a moment that he had heatstroke.
The shorter man stood up, patted the Omega boss on the shoulder, and reminded him in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Boss Wu, you might want to think about whether you’ve offended anyone lately.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Xingâs pupils dilated, and he bit his lip.
This was a malicious report. The law enforcement in the slum district had always been negligent; they saw this as an opportunity to squeeze some grease out of the Wu Wonton Shopâwhy wouldn’t they take it?
“Sign here.”
The officer pointed to the space for the person in charge’s signature, his voice stern and brooks no argument.
“Pay the fine within three days.”
Wu Xing stopped arguing. He picked up the pen and signed his name, stroke by stroke, on the notice.
The two officers strutted out of the Wu Wonton Shop, leaving Wu Xing sitting quietly on the chair, saying nothing.
“Xing-ge, how much money do we have to pay?”
Wu Xing leaned back, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”
The Omega untied his apron and washed his hands. He thought that what A-Jiu really wanted to ask was perhaps how much money they had left. Ever since he opened this wonton shop, his expenses had far outweighed his earnings. Money flowed away like water, and no matter how much he tried to fill the void, it was never enough.
Wu Xing felt like the Jingwei bird from the mythsâno matter how hard he worked to drop little pebbles into the sea, he found that the ocean remained an ocean.
A-Jiu stepped closer, seemingly wanting to comfort Wu Xing.
“I’m fine. Go do your work.”
No matter what, Wu Xing would hold on. There had been countless moments of sadness in his life, and he had made it through every single one.
He would not be easily defeated.
Wu Xing blinked, took a deep breath, and buried his head in his work.
During the break that afternoon, the Omega went to the bank to pay the fine. The sun was scorching, and Wu Xingâs skin felt hot the moment it touched the light; it turned out that the peak of summer had arrived without a sound.
“Xing-ge, who do you think reported us?”
Wu Xing first thought of the landlordâs son-in-law who was eyeing the inheritance. That guy seemed to have a grudge against A-Qiang; he wondered if he had come to cause trouble for him. It could also be the people from Old Liuâs Dumpling Restaurant, as they had lost quite a few customers ever since the Wu Wonton Shop opened.
“I don’t know.”
Wu Xing shook his head. He decided to stop doing promotions for a while; if he was reported again, he wouldn’t even be able to keep the shop open.
Tomorrow was Monday.
Wu Xing would finally be able to take a day off, and he gave A-Jiu the day off as well.
The Omega woke up early, brushed his teeth mechanically, and began to study how to improve the shop’s dry-toss wontons. He wanted to use the logic of the “sticky spicy hot pot” to make his existing dry-toss wontons even more enticing.
Wu Xing put on his apron, boiled water, and took out the leftover shrimp and crab roe wontons from last night from the freezer. These wontons were the most expensive item in the shop; each one contained a hand-peeled shrimp, and the pork filling was coated with orange-red crab roe.
Wu Xing mixed sesame paste and peanut butter to create a sauce similar to the sticky spicy hot pot, added a spoonful of chili oil, and tasted a tiny bit with a small spoon.
It seemed a little bland.
A-Jiu finished washing up and, seeing Wu Xing busy in the kitchen, walked over naturally.
“A-Jiu, try this.”
Wu Xing flipped the spoon over and handed it to A-Jiu.
A-Jiu didn’t take the spoon; instead, he leaned his mouth forward. The Alphaâs delicate M-shaped lips gently encased the small spoon, rendering the flip of the spoon uselessâthe other not only ate the sauce but also touched the part where the Omega had just tasted it.
There might still be Wu Xingâs saliva on it.
He should have just grabbed another spoon.
“It seems a bit salty.”
A-Jiu was sensitive to the heat; he was wearing a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of very short athletic shorts, revealing his firm, powerful thighs.
“Xing-ge?”
A-Jiu was very close to Wu Xing, and the warm, youthful vitality radiated onto the honest Omega.
“I… I’ll adjust it and see.”
The Alpha said “Mm,” boiled the plump, large wontons, fished them out, and placed them into a ceramic bowl.
Wu Xing increased the ratio of sesame paste to peanut butter, took a freshly opened jar of chopped chili sauce from the refrigerated section, and drizzled a layer of red oil over the top.
“Delicious.”
A-Jiu used his chopsticks to mix the wontons, eating them mouthful after mouthful, unable to stop.
“Really?”
A-Jiu nodded and commented, “Itâs very appetizing.”
Wu Xing smiled, thinking that if someone as heat-averse and easily lacking appetite as A-Jiu said it was good, it couldn’t be bad.
“Xing-ge, are you planning to introduce this as a new item?”
“Yes.”
This should be a flavor no one else had done; he had been inspired by the sticky spicy hot pot.
A-Jiu ate the dry-tossed wontons with the mixed sauce until the bowl was empty. After thinking it over seriously, he offered his suggestion:
“Itâs just that after eating a lot of it, it feels a bit cloying.”
Wu Xing held the bowl; he, too, had felt it was a bit cloying when he reached the last two or three wontons. But without the peanut butter and sesame paste, the sauce would just be red oil and chopped chili sauce, which would be too oily and salty, and it wouldn’t distinguish itself from the dry-tossed dumplings served with vinegar and chili at ordinary dumpling houses.
“You have a point.”
A-Jiu finished cleaning the kitchen and dining area and sat on the wicker sofa in the living room. Knowing that Wu Xing couldn’t bear the expense of running the air conditioner, he moved the fan to the side of the sofa and pointed it at himself.
“A-Jiu, are you very hot?”
The Alpha shook his head and replied, “It’s alright.”
Wu Xing headed out to buy fresh vegetables and fruits, having received a message from Dr. Zhu saying he wanted to come over for dinner that night. The fruit stall was filled with an array of colorful options, and Wu Xing bent his knuckles to knock on a watermelon.
Thump, thumpâ
The sound suggested the melon was perfectly ripe.
“Handsome, our watermelons are guaranteed sweet. If itâs not sweet, you donât have to pay.”
“Then I’ll take one.”
“Sure thing.”
When Wu Xing got home, A-Jiu wasn’t sitting on the wicker sofa blowing the fan; he was half-squatting, tinkering with the TV. Because they had been so busy with the shop opening and running promotions, they always forgot to buy batteries for the TV remote, so they had to press the buttons on the console itself to change channels.
