The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The Vice Minister of the City’s Propaganda Department is a genial-looking, chubby middle-aged man.

He heard that Fu Yu and Zhang Qun were classmates and even complimented them with a few words, smiling.

Fu Yu submitted the registration form, and Vice Minister Wang explained the specific time and procedure of the competition to him in detail.

He also told Zhang Qun to note Fu Yu’s clothing size so that on the day of the competition, all participants would need to change into uniform attire.

Before Fu Yu could request contact info from the other party, Vice Minister Wang proactively said, ”You and Xiaozhang are classmates, so you can communicate with him promptly if there’s anything.”

Fu Yu nodded, realizing that during their lengthy conversation, he had forgotten to exchange contact information with Zhang Qun.

After leaving Vice Minister Wang’s office, Fu Yu and Zhang Qun added each other on WeChat.

Seeing Fu Yu’s WeChat profile picture, Zhang Qun suddenly asked with a smile, ”Oh, is it still the same one? It’s the same as your old QQ profile picture, right?”

Fu Yu’s profile picture was a light gray, chubby bunny with closed eyes, wearing a blue shirt, looking adorably clumsy.

This picture was initially sent to Fu Yu by his deskmate, and finding it amusing, he casually set it as his QQ profile picture, later using it as his WeChat avatar as well.

Fu Yu chuckled too, ”Just got used to it.”

Zhang Qun asked gossipingly, ”By the way, how’s your deskmate Guo Xinyi doing now?”

Fu Yu was taken aback and shook his head, ”I don’t know, I haven’t contacted her since leaving school.”

Zhang Qun looked surprised, ”You haven’t? Back then... ah, I thought you were still in touch with her.”

Recalling the gentle and beautiful figure from his memory, Fu Yu smiled and said, ”No, it was too rushed at that time, only managed a goodbye. Of all our classmates in Class 1, I’ve been in contact with you the longest. As for the others, I don’t have their contact info, and we haven’t met since leaving school.”

Zhang Qun hesitated to say more, but in the end, he just said, ”I do keep in touch with a few classmates, but being in different places, the relationship can’t compare to before.”

Fu Yu understandingly nodded.

In the vast sea of people, being able to reunite with Zhang Qun was already a great stroke of fate.

Evidently, Zhang Qun thought the same way.

After exchanging WeChat, Zhang Qun then proactively swapped phone numbers and home addresses with Fu Yu, to make it easier to find each other when needed.

When Fu Yu was leaving, Zhang Qun escorted him all the way to the entrance of the municipal office building, and when greeting the security guard, he made a point to introduce him as his classmate.

Fu Yu felt warm inside hearing this, thinking how lucky he was to have known Zhang Qun back then.

Leaving the government office building, he checked the time and found it was already eleven o’clock.

During the lunchtime rush, the restaurant kitchen was at its busiest.

Fu Yu didn’t procrastinate further, hurriedly caught a cab back.

Sitting in the taxi, Fu Yu impulsively sent a frequently-contacted emoji to Zhang Qun.

Zhang Qun quickly replied, ”Definitely gotta!”

Fu Yu chuckled, turning to look at the commercial street whizzing by outside the window.

In this once unfamiliar city, he now had one more friend.

How nice!

Upon reaching Qianlima, Fu Yu, in a good mood, walked straight in through the main entrance.

Along the way, a few waiters greeted him warmly.

Fu Yu got along well with everyone in the restaurant.

Partly because he was well-presented, gentle, and courteous.

And partly because after the previous incident, people knew his culinary skills were superb, making him the potential rising star in the kitchen.

Those in the front hall hoped to have good relations with those in the kitchen, as their work often intertwined. Good relations meant better mutual assistance and harmony.

For the dish deliverers, it was even more essential to maintain good relations with kitchen staff, given their frequent interactions.

Fu Yu was briskly heading towards the kitchen when he saw Jiang Mo hurrying over as he passed the ordering area.

”Chef Fu!”

Seeing Fu Yu, Jiang Mo was instantly delighted.

Fu Yu stopped, surprised, and looked at Jiang Mo, asking, ”What’s up?”

Jiang Mo quickly pointed back to the ordering area, ”Come over and take a look, there’s someone refusing to pay for their meal!”

Fu Yu was a bit startled, someone refusing to pay at Qianlima?

Qianlima’s prices are at least medium level, focusing on seafood, with dishes easily costing seventy to eighty each, and if you order a hairy crab, it’s over a hundred.

To dine and dash here, this person sure knows how to pick a place!

But...

Fu Yu didn’t move, ”Shouldn’t you call security for this?”

Jiang Mo hurriedly explained, ”Security came by and said we have to wait till the customer finishes dining, and if they really don’t pay, that’s when they can take action.”

Hearing this, Fu Yu asked in surprise, ”How do you know they’re going to dine and dash?”

The customer hadn’t even ordered yet, how could she be so sure they intended to skip out without paying?

Jiang Mo confidently said, ”They just look suspicious! Didn’t even bring a phone!”

Fu Yu’s curiosity was piqued, he nodded, ”Alright, I’ll go over with you and take a look.”

Jiang Mo cautioned, ”I think we should be careful; if they order something really expensive, try to block it if you can.”

Fu Yu thought this might be tricky.

After all, you couldn’t prevent a customer from ordering, especially when the seafood was right in front of them; you couldn’t claim it was out of stock.

Fu Yu followed Jiang Mo into the ordering area.

As they rounded the pillar, they saw a young man standing there, meticulously selecting seafood.

The man was very slim, not tall, wearing a plain white shirt and very baggy pants.

The outfit seemed normal enough, except for the deep blue slippers on his feet, which looked very cheap.

Throw in a lanyard with keys around his wrist, and it’s a typical bathhouse getup.

The ordering area was extremely busy at this time, with two order clerks accompanying their respective customers, enthusiastically making recommendations, while carefully steering them away from the young man.

The young man seemed completely oblivious, focusing solely on selecting seafood, inspecting each one carefully.

Fu Yu turned to Jiang Mo, so it was his sloppy attire that warranted him as a potential dine-and-dasher?

Meanwhile, the young man appeared to have chosen the seafood he wanted to order and turned around.

He saw Fu Yu and Jiang Mo approaching.

The young man called out, ”Hey! Waiter, I want to order this!”

Fu Yu: ”!”

The man’s white shirt wasn’t just a shirt; it was a hospital gown, and there was... a urine bag hanging from his waist?

Oh crap!

Was this guy seriously a hospital escapee?

Fu Yu was dumbfounded!

No wonder Jiang Mo said this guy was planning to dine and dash.

With a getup like this, he didn’t look like he was here to eat seriously!

The young man pointed back at the prawns in front of him, ”Give me some of these, I’ll have two pounds!”

Jiang Mo reflexively looked towards Fu Yu.

Fu Yu: ”...”