Dilemma

The peace returned a few minutes after the men in suits disappeared from the scene. The two elder man continued their chat, the teenage girl began to serve some tea and the young boy began to pick up the dirty bowl and cutlery and brought them back to the kitchen.

It was as if the scene where Qin Zhan's hand threatened Mr. Su did not happen at all.

Gu Xin Ye turned her head and watched Qin Zhan, kneading the dough in his hand and pulling them to make noddles. Slowly, her gaze moved along the work station where the chopper was stuck on the wooden cutting board, then towards the lump of meat beside it.

Subconsciously, Gu Xin Ye swallowed and decided that she should not reveal who she was, or why did she come to Z Town.

If she had come to Qin Zhan and pestered him with her intention to employ him at one of her high-end restaurants, Gu Xin Ye was not confident that she would be able to leave this small town alive. It seemed that even if she was murdered by Qin Zhan, the town people would not hesitate to cover everything for him.

Just as she was deep in her thought, the old man called Old Qian sat beside her. Gu Xin Ye lifted her head and blinked.

"Young miss, are you alright? You do look pale," Old Qian spoke.

Gu Xin Ye glanced to where Qin Zhan stood before she looked at the old man.

"Ah, you were scared?" Old Qian's tone turned softer. "Don't worry. Qin Zhan was only trying to scare that city man. There's no way he would dare to kill a person. Or would he?"

Gu Xin Ye moved her body away, and her eyes grew wide as she stared at the old man.

Seeing her expression, Old Qian started to laugh. "I'm joking. I'm joking."

This time, Old Bei came and joined the two as well. He looked at his friend with a displeased look and said, "Old Qian, do you think everyone has the same strange humor as your granddaughter? Don't scare this young lady here lest she would be scared and pack up her bag to leave."

The teenage girl then came back with two hot bowls of noodles. "Old Bei, Old Qian. Please don't disturb our customers. Go back to your seat to eat."

The two old men gave an apologizing look at Gu Xin Ye and laughed before they returned to their seat to enjoy their noodles. Seeing that the men had started to slurp on their noodles, Luo Qi turned to Gu Xin Ye. "Your noodle will be ready soon. Please wait for a while longer."

As the teenage girl was about to leave, Gu Xin Ye pulled at the girl's sleeve. She glanced at Qin Zhan and asked Luo Qi. "Earlier… why did that man get angered that he wanted to kill people?"

Luo Qi followed her gaze and smiled. "It's nothing. Just that, when someone refused to listen to your words and kept pestering you to do something you did not want to do, of course, you too would get angry, right?"

"Luo Qi," Qin Zhan called from behind his work table. He poured the hot broth into the bowl and slid the bowl on the table. Just as everyone thought that the bowl would slide off the table, the bowl stopped.

Gu Xin Ye pondered over her decision to come over to the small town and Luo Qi returned with the bowl of noodles.

Picking up the porcelain spoon, Gu Xin Ye first tried the soup. Then, she picked up the chopsticks to try the noodle. Her movement stopped as she chewed at the springy noodles. It was soft, silky, and chewy. The soup was rich and fragrant. And the toppings made the noodle's taste better. Definitely not something like she had ever tried before.

Gu Xin Ye lifted her gaze and looked at Qin Zhan, as he was welcoming an elderly couple to the noodle stand. She swallowed the noodles in her mouth and paused as she saw the bright smile on his face.

It seemed that Qin Zhan seemed to have a good life in this town. Although he had left the city and his previous luxury life behind, he seemed very happy and had good relations with the townspeople.

Should she leave Qin Zhan and his peaceful life alone?

As she was immersed in her dilemma, the phone beside her rang. Once Gu Xin Ye saw the caller ID, her gaze started to darken. She stood up and informed the teenage girl that she will return to finish her noodle before she walked a distance away to answer the call.

"Xin Ye… It took you too long to answer."

"Uncle Wang. Why did you call me?" Gu Xin Ye sighed impatiently. "Do you need anything?"

There was small laughter coming from the other side. "Why would you assume that I need something from you? Can't an uncle call his niece and have a little chat?"

"You usually call me to your office to discuss work. Pleasantries between us stopped once you took control of the company. Let's get straight to the point, shall we?"

Wang Zhi Wei smirked. "You're impatient."

"I have a few other things I need to settle with."

"I heard that you are taking a month break."

"Work has been stressful for me. What's wrong with taking a long break? I have never taken a day off once I entered the company."

Wang Zhi Wei laughed at the other side. "But that is not what I heard. There are rumors around the company saying that you're trying to win over Chef Qin Zhan from The Orchid. If my guess was right, you went to look for Qin Zhan, right? You don't want to tell me anything about it?"

"I don't have anything to tell." Gu Xin Ye hurriedly said. Moreover, she has not made any progress. How can there be anything to tell?

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that some of the board of directors had heard about this rumor and they are very excited."

Gu Xin Ye's eyes darkened at this news. She did not expect that the board of directors would find out about this plan. Who is it? Who would leak her secret?

"Anyway, they are looking forward to having Qin Zhan on board with GDB Group. If you managed to talk to Chef Qin to work with us, the member of directors' opinion towards you will turn positive."

"You don't have to say anything, Uncle Wang. I know what I am going to do." Gu Xin Ye tightened her grip on her phone. "If there is nothing else, I'm going to hang up."

"Xin Ye," Wang Zhi Wei called out, getting Gu Xin Ye's attention before she hung up. "I trust that you will do your best. But, if you need any help..."

She did not let Wang Zhi Wei finish his words and pressed the red button to hung up. Gu Xin Ye bit at her nails as Wang Zhi Wei's words played into her mind.

Since the member of directors had found out about her plan, then, she cannot go back now. Or how else was she supposed to convince them to let her uncle hand over the company to her?

Qin Zhan is her only chance.

Gu Xin Ye ruffled at her hair in frustration, not knowing whether the next step she was going to take will be the right move or not. She turned around to head back into the noodle stand and stopped when she saw that a figure was standing not far away from her. It was Qin Zhan and he was watching her.