The Taste of Those Days

As they left Eastsea Academy, steeped in youthful passion, Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena seemed to slowly awaken from a deep, sorrowful dream. Still wearing their ordinary disguises, they were like drops of water falling into a river, drifting aimlessly with the crowd through Eastsea City's bustling commercial district.

The lingering glow of the setting sun draped the modern city in a warm golden veil. Soul-guided neon lights along the streets gradually lit up, competing with the clouds on the horizon. The clamor of voices, the rush of air from passing hovercars, the music spilling from shops... together formed an urban symphony brimming with everyday life.

Just then, a rich, mellow aroma of meat with a strange penetrating quality slipped forcefully yet familiarly into their nostrils like an old friend. The scent seemed magical, blending the layered fragrance of countless spices with the uniquely full, mouthwatering richness of beef that had simmered for a long time. In an instant, it stirred a taste memory deeply rooted in their souls.

With their current cultivation, they no longer needed ordinary food to sustain their lives. Yet this fragrance seemed to bypass the defenses of reason and knock directly on the doors of instinct and emotion. An intense, uncontrollable craving to taste it once more surged within them.

They stopped at the same time and followed the scent with their eyes.

It was an unremarkable little shop. Its sign was made of plain wood, with four bold characters carved into it—Old Li Beef. The door stood open, and a young waiter in a clean apron stood outside, warmly and energetically calling for customers.

"Come on, come on, take a look! Old Li Beef, Eastsea City's ten-thousand-year-old establishment! A secret family recipe passed down for ten thousand years! You won't find this flavor anywhere else in Eastsea City!" The waiter's voice was loud and full of pride.

"Ten thousand years..." Tang Wulin softly repeated the words, and something inexplicably stirred in his heart. He turned to look at Gu Yuena and saw the same dazed curiosity flash through her disguised black eyes.

"Please, come in, you two! I guarantee you won't regret it!" The sharp-eyed waiter spotted them lingering outside and immediately hurried over, enthusiastically ushering them into the shop, half inviting and half guiding them inside.

The interior was antique and even somewhat worn. Most of the tables and chairs were made of raw wood, polished smooth and warm by time. Old-looking black-and-white photographs and calligraphy hung on the walls. Overall, it felt less like a restaurant and more like a quiet old-fashioned teahouse. The rich aroma of beef hanging in the air was even more tangible and enticing here, as though it had seeped into every inch of wood.

An older waiter led them to a small table by the window, handed them a menu, and recommended with a smile, "First time here, right? You have to try our signature clay pot beef! We use ancestral clay pots and our secret old broth, simmering it slowly over low heat for more than six hours. The beef turns tender and flavorful, while the broth becomes rich and mellow. It's the treasure of our shop, passed down for ten thousand years!"

"Clay pot beef..." Tang Wulin looked at those words on the menu, and an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over him. Without giving it much thought, guided by the tempting aroma and the craving in his heart, he said, "All right, two servings... no, four servings of clay pot beef." Instinctively, he felt that one serving might not be enough.

Gu Yuena gave him an amused glance but did not object. A knowing smile flickered in her eyes. Still such a big eater.

They did not wait long. When the waiter approached carrying the rustic dark clay pots, still steaming fiercely, that familiar and tantalizing scent reached its peak. As the lids were lifted, even thicker white steam rose up, carrying an irresistible meaty fragrance. Inside, the broth was deep red and clear, while large chunks of beef trembled gently in the soup, their color utterly tempting.

Tang Wulin impatiently picked up a spoon, scooped up a piece of beef, blew on it, and put it into his mouth.

His teeth closed gently, and the beef practically melted on his tongue. It was incredibly tender while retaining just the right touch of chewiness. The complex spices had perfectly seeped into every strand of meat fiber—rich, savory, with an almost imperceptible hint of sweetness and warmth. This taste... was far too familiar! Paired with fragrant rice, it was simply exquisite!

He could not help wolfing it down, his movements unconsciously speeding up, as though he had become that boy again in Eastsea Academy's cafeteria, devouring food like a whirlwind.

Gu Yuena ate more elegantly, but she was not slow either. This familiar delicacy was like a key that opened the floodgates of memory. As she ate, she listened to the surrounding diners chatting and laughing.

"Hey, every time I come to Eastsea City on business, I have to stop here for a meal! This flavor is incredible!"

"I heard the recipe really was passed down from ten thousand years ago. Our ancestors really knew their craft!"

"Yeah, they say even those few were regular customers here back then!" someone said with a smile, introducing the food before them.

Those words were like puzzle pieces, fitting one by one into the blank spaces of their past. So this place, this shop, this flavor, had long been an indispensable part of their youthful memories. The sorrow stirred by Teacher Wu's statue seemed to be slowly soothed by this warm, tangible food, leaving their hearts fuller and more grounded.

At some point, Gu Yuena had finished the serving before her. She set down her utensils without urging him, simply propping her cheek on one hand as she smiled at Tang Wulin, who was still bent over his food across from her.

Watching his focused, satisfied profile, watching his eyes narrow slightly in delight at the delicious food, Gu Yuena's thoughts drifted far away. Beneath her disguise, her true features curved into an exceptionally gentle smile. She remembered ten thousand years ago, in Eastsea Academy's cafeteria, seeing this boy sitting alone in a corner. He had been eating the free Meal C with such enjoyment and devotion, as though he were savoring the finest delicacies in the world. For some reason, she had placed a meat bun from her own tray onto his table. He had looked up, his mouth still stuffed with food, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at her and said, muffled but sincere, "You're such a good person."

That clumsy yet adorable scene overlapped with the man before her, who was still so passionate about good food. Time had passed, and all things had changed, yet some things at his core had never changed at all. Affection flowed through her eyes like spring water, nearly overflowing.

Tang Wulin seemed to sense her gaze and looked up, meeting eyes full of tenderness and memories. He was startled at first, then his face reddened slightly in embarrassment. Instinctively avoiding such direct emotion, he lowered his head and pretended to continue eating.

At that moment, a fragment of memory as clear as if it had happened yesterday exploded in his mind without warning—

In that scene, it was no longer the disguised Gu Yuena, but that black-haired, black-eyed girl with a cool bearing and a trace of stubbornness—Gu Yue. She stood before him, stepping out of a low-key yet luxurious soul-guided car. Several exquisitely prepared dishes sat in the back seat, their fragrance filling the air. With a faint smile and a calm voice, she took the dishes from the car one by one. "Here, I made these for you myself. Hurry and try them."

The flavor in that memory was entirely different from the richness of the clay pot beef before him. It was more homely, fresher and lighter, yet it struck just as deeply at the soul. The affection contained within those words, "I made these myself," was something he now tasted again ten thousand years later, feeling its profound weight.

As though possessed, he lifted his head and looked intently at Gu Yuena, who was still gazing at him so gently from across the table. The words slipped out of his mouth.

"Gu Yue." His voice was slightly hoarse from the memories, carrying an unprecedented seriousness.

"I want to eat food you've cooked again."

In an instant, Gu Yuena's disguised face flushed bright red, the color spreading all the way to her ears. She had never expected him to make such a request so suddenly, especially in this situation. Memories of cooking for him ten thousand years ago surged into her mind along with a wave of shyness. Flustered, she avoided his burning gaze, turned her head toward the window, and replied in a proud, slightly coquettish tone as she tried to compose herself.

"Hmph! In your dreams! We'll... we'll see how you behave from now on!"

That look of clearly caring while insisting on pretending she did not perfectly overlapped with the image of the girl from ten thousand years ago, calm and wearing a faint smile.

Seeing her like this, Tang Wulin's heart was filled with soft warmth from the returning memories and the vivid person before him. Rather than feeling disappointed, he chuckled softly. He stood, picked up a napkin from the table, casually wiped his mouth, then walked to her side and gently rubbed her smooth black hair beneath the disguise.

"All right. I'll behave myself." His voice carried both laughter and a promise.

Gu Yuena lightly shook her head in a token display of "resistance," but her body honestly did not evade him. Instead, she rubbed her head slightly against his palm, like a cat enjoying being petted.

When they paid and left, the enthusiastic waiter was still calling out at the door. "Finished eating, you two? Come again next time! Our ten-thousand-year-old shop's flavor will never change!" Yes, it would never change!

Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena exchanged a smile without answering, but they both understood. Some things truly had never changed.

Outside, the setting sun had painted most of the sky in brilliant orange-red and violet-pink. Naturally, they reached for each other's hands, their fingers interlocking tightly. Like the most ordinary couple in the world, they no longer needed any disguise or concealment. They simply leaned close to each other as they strolled through the streets of Eastsea City, blanketed in dusk.

Their shadows stretched long beneath the sunset, intertwined as they walked deeper into the city, toward the next warm memory they would seek together.