The "Inside Scoop" at the Hole-in-the-Wall and a Strict Split of the Bill

The food came out faster than Han Dong could curse someone out.

When the first plate of twice-cooked pork arrived, the wok hei was still rising from it. Wrapped in garlic shoots, the meat glistened red with oil. Mapo tofu, dry-fried green beans, and fish-fragrant shredded pork followed close behind, with a large bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup added at the end.

The little restaurant wasn't big, and as soon as the dishes were set down, they filled the wooden table.

Han Dong's eyes nearly popped out.

"Stop talking. Save a life first."

He reached out with his chopsticks and snatched two big slices of twice-cooked pork. They were so hot he kept sucking in air, but he refused to let go.

"Holy shit, that smells good."

"So damn good."

"This is better than my mom's cooking. Even if she'd beat me for saying it, I have to tell the truth today."

His words came out muffled, his cheeks bulging. Before long, food was piled into a little mountain in his bowl, the rice pressed down again and again. He moved as fast as if he were fighting a war.

Chen Ziang had been a little put off by the surroundings at first.

The chairs were ordinary, the corners of the table were a little worn, and an old air conditioner hung on the wall, though it blew a good strong breeze. But after he took a bite of the fish-fragrant shredded pork, his brow relaxed.

It really did taste good.

It wasn't the kind of strong flavor forced out with heaps of seasoning. The heat was just right, and there was plenty of wok hei. The twice-cooked pork in particular had just the right balance of fat and lean, while the garlic shoots were cooked through without getting old and tough. Even someone as picky as him couldn't find any major fault with it.

Zhao Yifan didn't eat quickly.

He didn't wolf his food down like Han Dong, or look everything over before picking up his chopsticks like Chen Ziang. He simply ate his food and drank his water in an ordinary way.

Only twice during the meal, his gaze fell unobtrusively on Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan was eating too.

He didn't put on airs, nor was he particular about anything. He picked up food, helped himself to more rice, and drank soup, all with natural ease.

You could spot tells in the way many people ate.

People of modest means, when they were starving, would scramble for food, their hands and eyes moving with urgency. Those with a little money were prone to acting awkward in a place like this, finding fault with either the table or the bowls and chopsticks, as if they had to make it clear they didn't belong.

Lu Chuan did none of that.

He seemed like the kind of person whose pace never faltered, no matter where he sat or what he ate.

In a hole-in-the-wall, he was like this.

Put him somewhere grander, and he would probably be the same.

Zhao Yifan lowered his head and took a sip of soup.

This roommate really didn't seem to have been raised in an ordinary family.

Han Dong demolished four bowls of rice and finally recovered from "about to die" to "able to talk."

He leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach, his face full of satisfaction.

"I'm alive again."

"I really thought I saw my great-grandma up ahead, waving me over."

With that, his energy returned, and he started looking for something to talk about.

"Hey, what plans do you guys have for the next four years of college?"

"I'll go first. My family hasn't arranged anything for me, so my goals are pretty simple: don't fail any classes, don't starve to death, and ideally find a girlfriend. If I can't get a girlfriend, at least let me lose twenty jin before graduation."

Chen Ziang snorted.

"Those goals are really down to earth."

"Of course."

Han Dong slapped his chest.

"The wishes of the people have always been plain and simple. What about you, President Chen?"

The topic landed right in Chen Ziang's area of expertise.

He put down his chopsticks and pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands. His tone sounded casual, but it still carried a hint of superiority he couldn't quite hide.

"My main reason for going to college is to get a diploma."

"Besides that, I'll follow my family's lead and get to know some more exclusive circles."

Han Dong immediately played along.

"Like what?"

"Like yesterday, when my dad came to see me. He mentioned that lately he's been pulling strings at the International Finance Mall, trying to get me on the list for a limited-edition watch from a top luxury brand."

Chen Ziang leaned back.

"You might not know this, but the waters run deep with those top luxury brands. Money alone won't get you what you want. The stuff displayed at the counter is all mass-produced stock nobody wants. For the really good things, it depends on your VIP level. My dad said the brand's regional director hinted that he'd have to bundle at least five hundred thousand yuan's worth of unpopular jewelry and leather goods just to qualify for the waiting list."

Han Dong's chopsticks stopped dead, and his eyes went wide as bronze bells.

"Damn, you have to buy half a million's worth of junk just to get a watch?"

"Five hundred thousand! That's enough to buy an apartment in my hometown's county seat! That rule's insane."

Hearing Han Dong's exaggerated exclamations, Chen Ziang could no longer keep the corners of his mouth from curling up. This was exactly the effect he wanted. That air of exclusivity, with ordinary people unable even to reach the threshold and left staring helplessly, soothed his vanity like an iron smoothing out wrinkles.

But a glance out of the corner of his eye showed him that the two people across from him hadn't reacted at all.

Zhao Yifan hadn't even raised his head and was still sipping his soup unhurriedly.

Lu Chuan was pouring himself tea, without the slightest ripple in his gaze. To him, the sum of five hundred thousand seemed little different from spending fifty yuan on a roast duck.

When he heard the words "bundled purchases for a limited-edition watch," Lu Chuan's hand didn't even pause. In his previous life, he had tried to squeeze into those circles, and he knew the high-end luxury brands' purchase requirements, the inside story of their contract manufacturing, and even their counter salespeople's tricks better than his own major's coursework.

The cup was full.

He put down the teapot and casually chimed in.

"That brand's purchase requirements changed at the beginning of this year."

The smug smile on Chen Ziang's face froze.

Lu Chuan blew on the steam rising from his cup, his tone as flat as if he were merely saying it was a little hot today.

"That so-called regional director who hinted you should bundle five hundred thousand yuan's worth of goods was most likely just trying to clear their slow-moving year-end stock. The people who can actually get that limited-edition watch don't need to rack up purchase history at a store at all. It depends on whether they've gone through the 'skip-the-line fast track' in headquarters' customer code database."

He put down his teacup and continued.

"And last month, they quietly downgraded the material used for the escape wheel in that limited-edition watch's movement. Its value retention has already collapsed. If your family really spends five hundred thousand bundling a pile of junk, what you'll get in the end is just a stripped-down version made on a contractor's assembly line, and the salespeople will treat you as a sucker who helped them hit their targets."

When those words fell, the atmosphere at the table changed.

Han Dong was completely lost. Escape wheels, value retention, code databases—those terms might as well have been an incomprehensible heavenly book to him. He smacked his lips, stuffed a piece of tofu into his mouth, and muttered.

"What wheel? Retain what value? Does any of it smell as good as this twice-cooked pork?"

With that, he went back to tackling the rice in his bowl, paying those few lines of heavenly writing no mind at all.

Chen Ziang, however, couldn't be as carefree as him.

His hands stopped moving altogether, and for a moment his expression went blank. His dad had still been boasting over the phone yesterday about finding a way in, only for Lu Chuan to lay the whole matter bare today.

But in front of everyone from the dorm, Chen Ziang couldn't let his young-master pride take the hit.

He didn't know whether what Lu Chuan said was true, but he instinctively stiffened his neck and forced out a retort.

"Stop repeating hearsay."

"My dad's friend is the regional director. How could he not know whether the rules changed? As for the movement being downgraded, those are just sour-grapes rumors made up online by people who can't afford it. How could a top luxury brand do something that would ruin its own reputation?"

His words were tough, but Chen Ziang's heart was already beating like a drum.

Those technical terms had rolled off Lu Chuan's tongue far too easily; it didn't sound made up at all. He clenched his back teeth and secretly decided that as soon as they finished eating and returned to the dorm, he had to call home and find someone to check whether the rules for that watch had really changed. If they had... then his family had nearly walked right into becoming suckers for Jiangcheng's business circles.

Sitting across from them, Zhao Yifan slowly stopped moving his chopsticks.

The others didn't know whether it was true, but he did.

Just half a month ago, his mother had received an internal letter of apology from the brand's headquarters. It had not only mentioned a change to the VIP codes for the skip-the-line fast track, but also discreetly compensated her for the difference in price caused by the replacement of the movement's materials. This was inside information known only to core clients at the very top.

Zhao Yifan raised his head and gave Lu Chuan a long, searching look.

Only after he finished speaking did Lu Chuan realize he'd chimed in again.

It was an old habit from his previous life. Whenever he found himself in a situation like this, his mouth moved faster than his brain.

Seeing that the three of them each had different things on their minds, he offered no further explanation. He simply picked up his tea and took a sip, as though what he'd just said was nothing worth mentioning, then naturally changed the subject.

"We're about done. Let's settle the bill."

The owner came over and added it up.

Four dishes, one soup, and seven bowls of rice.

One hundred and twenty yuan in total.

Not a cent more or less. Just right.

Lu Chuan was sitting close to the counter, so he scanned the code.

With a beep, the payment went through.

Then he turned to the other three. His tone was gentle, but his meaning was perfectly clear.

"Thirty each."

"Transfer it to me on WeChat."

Han Dong reacted fastest, whipping out his phone like he was drawing a gun.

"Come on, I'll send it right now. Can't break the rules. It's 504's first meal together, so we have to do it properly."

As he spoke, he sent the thirty yuan over, then made a point of showing his screen.

"See that? Instant transfer. Speed is what I'm all about."

Zhao Yifan was just as straightforward, lowering his head and tapping his phone twice.

Soon, another thirty yuan arrived on Lu Chuan's phone.

Chen Ziang sat there staring at the WeChat screen for two seconds before finally transferring the money.

Thirty yuan.

Not much.

So little it was almost laughable.

Yet it was precisely those thirty yuan that stirred the awkwardness and shock in his heart together.

Lu Chuan wasn't being polite.

Nor was he playing hard to get.

When he said they'd split the bill, he really meant it.

Not a cent more, not a cent less.

This person who seriously collected thirty yuan for a meal in a shabby little restaurant had just casually revealed hidden secrets behind top luxury goods.

"Got it."

Lu Chuan checked his phone and confirmed that all three payments had arrived before getting up.

At this point, the rule had been firmly established.

No one was to use money to do anyone a favor on the first day.

No one was to think a meal could buy them any kind of standing.

As they walked out of the restaurant, the night breeze in the alley finally swept over them.

The smell of cooking fumes faded a little. The back street was still noisy in the distance, but this nearby alley was much quieter. With his fill of food and drink, Han Dong had come back to life. He practically had the wind at his heels as he walked ahead, chattering all the way about tomorrow's class meeting and whether their counselor would be a tough customer.

For once, Chen Ziang didn't argue back. He was clearly still absorbed in what had been said earlier.

Zhao Yifan walked beside them, his expression unchanged, revealing nothing.

Lu Chuan followed half a step behind, hands in his trouser pockets, walking slowly toward the dorm.

Just as he turned out of the alley, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

It wasn't WeChat.