Gan Lan was quite broad-minded. After a good night’s sleep, all her stress melted away. She just needed to be herself; no matter what difficulties she faced, she would meet them head-on. Besides, with so many people protecting her, if she still couldn’t be kept safe, it only meant she didn’t have the luck for it.
Full of energy, she got up to wash up and brew some soup. She hadn’t had the time to make the snail soup yet. Later, she planned to check on the char siu rice noodles and beef rice noodles made by the other stall owners.
After a busy morning, she followed her robots toward the cafeteria. Along the way, students occasionally greeted her. Gan Lan was now a genuine celebrity at Mingzong.
Of course, not everyone liked her. Case in point: a girl was currently glaring at her with pure hatred. Who else could it be but Fu Yanran? Her so-called lackeys were nowhere to be seen, leaving her looking rather lonely and pitiful. Though, it was only a look.
"Don’t get too smug just yet!" Fu Yanran ran up to Gan Lan, pointed at her, dropped this baffling remark, and immediately turned and ran away.
Gan Lan was completely baffled. What had she done now? The thought processes of these kids were simply beyond the comprehension of an "old lady" who considered herself a mature adult. Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up with her robot squad, which had already moved quite far ahead.
"Junior, how do you have the free time to come by today?" the Student Council President, Lin Youran, called out in greeting.
"Junior, the robots are enough. But it feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you. I actually missed you." Liao Shenggu, who was standing in line, compared Gan Lan’s height to his own and added, "You seem to have grown taller! Last time, you only reached my neck, but now you’re almost at my chin. Not bad, not bad!" He rested his chin on his hand and nodded thoughtfully as he looked at her.
Gan Lan didn’t really want to engage with him, but out of politeness, she replied, "Thank you for your concern, Senior. Have you been eating too much spicy food lately? Your face is covered in breakouts. If you hadn’t spoken, I almost wouldn’t have recognized you."
Standing behind Liao Shenggu, Wang Zi slapped his thigh and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Junior, you have no idea! This guy actually had the guts to tease your robots. He harassed all five of them, one by one. Now, whenever Yi, Two, Three, Four, and Five see him in line, they automatically crank his spice level up to the maximum! Hahaha!"
"Exactly! This is what they call ’play stupid games, win stupid prizes’!"
"He cries every time he eats, looking absolutely pathetic. But he still does it again the next time! What kind of thought process is that?"
Hearing this, the others chimed in to roast him. He was certainly a man of great courage; they respected him as a true man!
Liao Shenggu grimaced, looking somewhat pitiful. In truth, he didn’t want to run his mouth either. But whenever he saw anything related to Gan Lan, he just couldn’t help himself. Afterward, when he recalled his actions, he always wanted to slap himself a few times! Yet, the moment he saw her, his filter vanished again. He wanted to cry—especially when Gan Lan praised the five robots for a job well done.
"Hahaha, they really did a great job! People like him deserve to be punished properly!"
"The Junior’s robots hold grudges just like she does. We’ll have to be careful in the future, otherwise, we’ll be crying with no tears left."
Seeing the robots methodically blanching the rice noodles and adding toppings, Gan Lan decided not to go over and help. They were coordinating perfectly well on their own. Instead, she walked toward the owners of the other cafeteria windows.
Pang Dun saw Gan Lan approaching and hastily ran up to her. "Junior, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for you for ages. Come try the beef rice noodles and char siu rice noodles we made and tell us how they taste. We think they’re pretty good, but there’s still some difference compared to yours."
Wu Shihan walked over holding a bowl of noodles completely covered in beef, using his chin to motion for her to sit down over there.
Gan Lan... Gan Lan followed his gesture and sat down at a nearby table. Honestly, Wu Shihan was much more pleasing to the eye when he kept his mouth shut, so she decided not to bicker with him. She had deliberately skipped breakfast this morning, knowing this exact scenario would play out.
"Junior, try mine too!"
"And mine, and mine! This is the first time I’ve made something so delicious. I’m almost moved to tears by my own cooking."
Gan Lan stared at the bowls accumulating in front of her—one bowl, two bowls... eight bowls of rice noodles. She was the one about to cry.
"I can’t eat this much. Bring me a small bowl and some serving chopsticks. I’ll slowly taste test each one so nothing goes to waste," Gan Lan said gently to the stall owners surrounding her.
"The Junior is absolutely right! I’ll go get them right now." Before he even finished speaking, Pang Dun darted off.
That left Gan Lan and the remaining seven people staring at each other in silence. One of them, a male student with a rather sharp, weasel-like face, curled his lips at Gan Lan in disdain.
Slightly annoyed, Gan Lan confronted the boy directly. "What’s with that expression? If you’re not happy, you don’t have to do this. It’s not like I owe you anything!"
Mao Meng was startled. He pointed at himself. "Are you talking to me?"
Gan Lan nodded. "If you have a problem with me, just say it. What’s the point of pulling a face like that?"
Wu Shihan backed her up. "Mao Meng, I didn’t expect you to be grateful to the Junior, but what the hell is that attitude? If you’re unhappy, spit it out! There are plenty of people who want to learn; we don’t need you!"
The other stall owners quickly chimed in. "Exactly! Ever since the Junior said she’d teach us in exchange for Credit Points, you’ve been acting like this. You’re acting like a total ingrate!"
Facing the barrage of criticism from the group, Mao Meng couldn’t hold back anymore. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up, shouting agitatedly, "If it weren’t for her, would we have to beg her so humbly to teach us? It’s such a simple dish, I could figure it out myself in a few days! Why should we have to give her a cut of our profits? Who does she think she is!?"
Hearing this, Gan Lan calmly nodded. "Since you put it that way, our cooperation ends right here. You are strictly forbidden from watching or learning how to make any of the food I produce. I will inform the school and have you added to my blacklist! Everything you’ve watched before and everything you’ve learned now cannot be used for profit! If I catch you doing so, I will report you to the school! I’ll even call the police to protect my rights!"
Mao Meng spat in contempt. He picked up the food he had made and dumped it right in front of Gan Lan. "Who cares!"
A cleaning robot noticed someone wasting food and making a mess of the floor. It immediately rolled over and announced, "Student detected wasting food: fine of 1,000 Credit Points. Student detected dumping items and dirtying the floor: additional fine of 10,000 Credit Points and one minor demerit!" It then displayed the payment account directly in front of Mao Meng and said sternly, "Please transfer the fine to the school’s account and clean the floor yourself. You are not allowed to leave until it is spotless!"
Mao Meng was so furious that he had completely forgotten the school cafeteria’s rules. In a moment of hotheadedness, he had done something incredibly stupid!
If it weren’t for their relentless nagging, and hearing Gan Lan say she was putting him on her blacklist, he wouldn’t have lost his mind with rage. He originally thought that if he annoyed her, someone as generous as her would probably just tell him to get lost. That way, he wouldn’t have to share his profits and could keep everything for himself.
He had already learned the recipe anyway, so she had outlived her usefulness. If she released a new dish, he could just spend a few Credit Points to download the video and learn it. He never expected things to escalate this severely—to actually be blacklisted!
He couldn’t bring himself to lower his head and apologize. He could only glare furiously at Gan Lan and the other stall owners. They were supposed to be on the same side, yet the moment Gan Lan arrived, they acted like dogs, licking her boots. It was absolutely disgusting!
Had they forgotten that Gan Lan was the one who caused this situation in the first place!?
He had been thoroughly humiliated today, but he would definitely get his revenge. They had all better wait and see—especially that piece of trash, Gan Lan!