Chapter 186 — Sold Out, Stall Closed

"Then let's still go on the weekend..." Kang Xiaobo clearly had no intention of giving up such a good opportunity.

Tests came almost daily in senior year. Half of every morning's classes were spent on exam papers. Wei Zhao might have started out treating it all as a game while carrying out his mission, but by now he had completely merged into this life, into this school, this class... and most of all, into this age...

Lately Wei Zhao felt he had grown much younger, and had begun to look at things from the perspective of this age. He had come to enjoy shooting the breeze with his new brothers, joking around with pretty girls...

He had come to love this school, love this class... love Tang Yun, that somewhat proud yet very adorable girl... Only, he had no idea how long all of this could last.

Perhaps a few days, perhaps a few months, and he would return to his former life. None of this would belong to him anymore.

Having truly tasted the beauty of life, Wei Zhao had grown weary of his old existence... Nothing but thrills and endless killing, not a single redeeming point to speak of. Before his enemies, Wei Zhao had grown numb.

It was time to have a talk with the old man. Perhaps this was the life he truly yearned for?

At noon, Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaobo left the classroom. Because the last period had a test, class had run late, and Senior Three Class Five had let out a little later than the others. By now, most of the students in the teaching building had already gone.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, as usual, had gone to the cafeteria. They always ate in the small dining hall on the second floor, so they never cared how crowded the first floor was. There was no need to line up to order.

The snack street was always bustling and lively at noon. Senior three students were too pressed for time to come here often, but the first and second years had already packed the place full.

The snacks here could hardly be called clean or hygienic, nor especially delicious, but compared to the cafeteria's mass-produced slop, they tasted quite a bit better and cost quite a bit less.

Tang's mother's barbecue stall, tucked toward the back of the snack street, was unusually packed today, students swarming it in layer after layer. That was how news spread on campus—good or bad, it traveled fast. Just like how Wei Zhao had passed a love letter to Tang Yun, and within a single class period, practically the entire senior year knew about it.

The same went for Tang's mother's barbecue stall. The mouthwatering aroma, plus the rave reviews from students who had eaten there, had drawn a crowd of curious newcomers who packed the stall tight. That was how it often went—the bigger the crowd, the more people wanted in on the excitement, because a crowd meant good food.

Tang's mother was thrilled, but she was also genuinely struggling to keep up. Judging by how things were going, the ingredients she had prepared today wouldn't even last through lunch. She'd have to go home this afternoon and prepare more.

"Should we still go over?" Wei Zhao asked Kang Xiaobo with a wry smile. "There are a few too many people. Asking her in front of this whole crowd when to come to her place this weekend—isn't that just asking for trouble? You think Tang Yun would actually answer?"

Kang Xiaobo figured that made sense. Tang Yun was already afraid of people saying she and Wei Zhao had something going on. If they rushed over right now and asked her when to come to her house this weekend, how would she possibly answer? And if things got awkward, the weekend invitation might just get canceled.

"Then... should we wait a bit?" Kang Xiaobo asked hesitantly.

"Come with me to the bookstore first, I need to buy something." Wei Zhao nodded. "We'll come back in a while, after the lunch rush thins out."

Kang Xiaobo had no idea what Wei Zhao wanted to buy, but he was now utterly devoted to Wei Zhao. Whatever Wei Zhao said, he agreed without a second thought.

At the bookstore, watching Wei Zhao buy a Xu Shilan concert DVD, Kang Xiaobo was a little surprised. "Boss, you like Xu Shilan too?"

"Oh... hah..." Wei Zhao didn't know how to answer. "I like her a bit..."

"A bit?" Kang Xiaobo blinked. If it was only a bit, why go all the way out here to buy the genuine copy?

"Actually, it's a gift for a friend," Wei Zhao could only explain it that way.

Fortunately, Kang Xiaobo didn't press further, and the topic shifted to Xu Shilan herself. "Boss, I like Xu Shilan too. I heard she's one of the rare pure and innocent girls in the entertainment industry..."

Pure and innocent girl? Wei Zhao curled his lip. How many so-called innocent girls had been proven otherwise? That kind of surface image couldn't be trusted.

The two of them ate beef noodles downstairs from the bookstore, then headed back to school.

When they reached the snack street, they were surprised to find that Tang's mother's stall was gone. The other stalls were still there, and it didn't look like any law enforcement had come to drive anyone off—besides, the snack street had the street office's approval, so under normal circumstances no one would come to chase them away.

Wei Zhao was puzzled. "Xiaobo, was it right here just now?" He pointed to the spot where Tang's mother had set up her stall.

"Yeah, so why is it gone? Boss, hold on, let me ask someone." Kang Xiaobo walked over to the barbecue stall at the very front of the snack street and asked, "Uncle, quick question—where did that Tang's Barbecue further in go? Wasn't it just here a moment ago?"

A flicker of resentment crossed the stall owner's face. He said coldly, "Sold out, stall's closed. Buying from me is the same."

"Never mind then, yours isn't good anyway." Kang Xiaobo said it offhandedly and turned to leave.

"Damn it," the barbecue stall owner cursed. He was about to explode with rage. Today, almost all his customers had been stolen by Tang's Barbecue. His stall, the very first one on the snack street, had sold two-thirds less than usual, and it infuriated him.

Before, when Tang's Barbecue hadn't been doing so well, he hadn't paid it any mind. But now he was burning with jealousy. He'd been selling barbecue on this snack street for years—he was one of the "old-timers" here. Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten the spot at the very front.

And yet this "old-timer" had been beaten by a "newcomer" like Tang's mother, which made Zhang Biaogan furious. Seeing another student come looking for Tang's Barbecue and even saying his own barbecue wasn't good, Zhang Biaogan's face immediately darkened.

And this was only the first day—plenty of students still didn't know about it. If this kept up for a few more days, how would he have any business left? Zhang Biaogan felt he had to do something.

After all, before today, his family's barbecue had sold the best on this snack street. But ever since Tang's mother got hold of some new recipe from who-knows-where today, the whole situation had flipped in an instant.

With a dark expression, Zhang Biaogan walked over to another barbecue stall. "Old Wang, how's business today?"