Idol Chapter 127

They finally managed to comfortably sleep the whole night on the second floor of the coffee shop.

The inflatable mattresses were elastic enough; though not ideal for fancy turns and rolls, they were the best choice for portability and sleep quality during their escape.

On the night of the third day and the day of the fourth, Team Corona relaxed significantly for the first time in a while, even daring to go out for a walk in disguise to buy breakfast early in the morning around five or six o’clock.

Xie Lianyun and Long Jia returned from a trip to the university, not only recharging the moisture-damaged distance lamp but also preparing a keychain with the same effect for everyone.

After taking turns to scout around, Huo Ren distributed the chef and waiter uniforms he had prepared earlier to everyone. Those with less convincing disguises were assigned to slack off in the kitchen, while Long Jia and he moved between the tables on the first floor, helping the boss while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Unexpectedly, business started to pick up.

The first time Huo Ren came, the first floor was all empty seats, with the waiters so idle they could play dance mats on the wooden floor.

Today, perhaps due to the temporary waiters’ good looks, from noon to afternoon, the crowd grew larger and larger, and everyone seemed to have a hearty appetite.

The kitchen was overwhelmed, and though they had intended to be polite, they could only ask the six idols to help out as waiters and kitchen apprentices, taking care of the business.

“C30 added another fruit tart!”

“Is the codfish cheese pizza ready? C15 is asking!”

“Right away, right away, you go ahead with the orange juice—”

Huo Ren suddenly felt like he was back at the Crown Coffee Shop, casually making a few cups of coffee and serving them.

Xie Lianyun was busy cutting sandwiches, Long Jia was helping take orders, and no one noticed anything amiss.

Until a customer took a sip ten minutes later and then coughed several times, his face turning pale: “What did you put in the coffee?!!”

Manager Zhou hurried over to apologize: “Sorry, sorry, we have some new people in our store, this meal is on the house, how about that?”

But the customer, relentless, suddenly stood up, holding his cup of coffee angrily: “You haven’t answered my question!”

Suddenly, the attention of other customers, who were eating peacefully nearby, was drawn, and they all looked up to see what was happening.

“Dish soap? Moldy cream? Or toothpaste mustard?” the Mediterranean uncle raged: “You owe me ten times the price! Otherwise, I’ll complain to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce about you, and get your shop shut down!”

Zhou Ji signaled Long Jia and Huo Ren to go to the kitchen with his eyes, agreeing very skillfully: “Okay, do you prefer Alipay or WeChat for the transfer?”

The uncle didn’t expect him to agree so readily and felt even less accomplished, becoming more irritable: “This is not about the money! According to the regulations, you should compensate me fifty times, are you trying to take advantage of me by scamming?!”

“Fifty times, okay,” Zhou Ji took out a calculator and tapped a few times: “This cup of coffee sells for forty yuan, I’ll compensate you three thousand, and on behalf of all the staff, I apologize, wishing you a pleasant weekend.”

The uncle, who had always been a bully, felt uneasy facing someone so compliant when it came to paying up, feeling a sense of agitation for not knowing how to react.

He vaguely felt he was being brushed off and insulted, pulled out his phone, and started making a call: “I’ll see if I can’t deal with you today—”

Zhou Ji’s expression changed, reaching out to stop the call.

The Mediterranean man, realizing he had found a weak spot, shouted, “You dare to stop me?” as he quickly connected to customer service to complain about the coffee shop in front of all the diners, loudly stating the address while heading towards the kitchen.

After hanging up the call, he lifted the curtain with a sneer: “I want to see what a mess your lousy shop is!”

Zhou Ji suddenly blew a sharp whistle urgently.

Instantly, six people emerged from the storage and washing area, all tall and looking like they had been trained, all with a cold demeanor towards the Mediterranean man.

The uncle didn’t expect to walk into what seemed like a scene set for a group beating, feeling panic-stricken and trying to run outside.

Damn, offended a shady shop, I’m done before the city management arrives.

But the six moved faster than him, silently sprinting out like they were shot from a cannon.

The Mediterranean man, feeling the rush of footsteps like a stampede, was already cringing, ready to crouch with his hands over his head, thinking he was about to be beaten by this gang of thugs.

Unexpectedly, the six didn’t give him a second glance, all running towards the side door, followed by three more people emerging from a corner, making nine in total disappearing in a flash, with the sound of cars speeding away outside.

In a blink, the kitchen was empty, and the hanging pans swayed in disarray.

Mediterranean: …?

He shakily got up, fearing the six strong young men would return for a final blow, but after waiting for a while, he only heard the sound of meat being chopped.

The old chef, holding a small hammer, pounded the meat patties: “Is the order for C11 ready?”

Zhou Ji snapped back to reality: “We’re missing two country-style burgers.”

The Mediterranean was utterly baffled, trying to make sense of the situation: “Scared? Nine of you don’t dare to take on one?”

Zhou Ji, having finished texting the waiter playing Gwent upstairs, put away his phone and glanced at him: “What nine?”

Soon, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce officials arrived to inspect the sanitary conditions and prepare to take the reported criminals back for questioning.

The Mediterranean rushed over, pointing towards the kitchen for the officials: “Over there, more than ten people disappeared just like that! There’s definitely something fishy going on here!”

“More than ten?” An official frowned: “How big is this Western restaurant that it needs ten chefs?”

“I didn’t count them exactly, but this is seriously weird, you mustn’t let them get away!”

“What nonsense,” a customer at the side clicked their tongue and exposed his lies on the spot: “I’m a regular here, and it’s only today that business picked up a bit. Usually, it’s so dead they’re almost ready to transfer ownership—you just keep making stuff up!”

The officials checked the IDs around and then inspected the kitchen, getting a general idea.

“This false reporting won’t do,” the lead official warned: “Next time there’s an incident like this, you’ll be the first to be fined!”

The Mediterranean in disbelief: “I’m not lying…”

Zhou Ji turned to the other customers: “How many waiters were here just now?”

The onlookers joined in: “Two!”

“And how many now?”

“Two!”

“Sir, our small broken shop has only two waiters in total, and hiring so many chefs doesn’t make sense, does it?”

The Mediterranean’s face turned from pale to red, thinking it would have been better to take the two thousand yuan offered earlier, spit, and walk out.

He was then stopped by other enforcers: “You are suspected of disrupting market order, please come with us.”

On another side, Long Jia and Huo Ren drove around the danger zone, heading towards the northwest corner of the city.

The Pikachu on the windshield flickered on and off, like a faulty electric mouse.

—This meant the trackers were still circling nearby, not yet pinpointing their direction.

With the two waiters’ phones from Zhou’s shop, Huo Ren and their teams could communicate via Bluetooth earpieces for safety, using codes.

“Need three more packs of breadcrumbs, then buy two boxes of wine.”

Go straight for three intersections, then we split left and right.

“A guest said they wanted to go on a desert trip in a few days, asking if we’d join.”

Meet at the wetland park later?

Pikachu’s eyes turned from yellow to red, starting to blink slowly.

Huo Ren sharply turned the steering wheel to shake off the distance, passing through narrow alleys and using more winding, indiscernible routes to evade tracking.

“Eat instant noodles there?”

Enough supplies?

“Yeah, I got both instant noodles and steamed buns,” Long Jia took a shortcut over the bridge, glanced at the now-normal Pikachu, and spoke again: “But the windproof jackets…”

Food’s enough, lacking tents.

“You wanna go?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go, the desert awaits you.”

So, one team went to supply point C to get more tents, while the other team arrived first at the wetland park to scout the environment.

Then, they met up at seven in the evening.

The group huddled together to hurriedly eat a pot of instant noodles, feeling somewhat downhearted as they squeezed into the tent.

They had hoped to spend the last three days peacefully in the Western restaurant, but after just one night, an incident occurred, ruining their new haven.

“What exactly happened…” Xie Lianyun, completely unaware of the situation in the kitchen, wondered: “Did that customer have rabies? How did he know we were in the kitchen?”

Huo Ren, realizing the incident might be related to him, heard Long Jia say, “It seems like he lost a bet and got addicted to swindling Manager Zhou, then came looking for trouble with you guys.”

“I see.” Bo Jue sighed: “It’s just bad luck.”

Camping by the lake was refreshing, but it got a bit cold at night.

The six of them, wrapped up, became listless, and the conversation gradually dwindled.

Xie Lianyun, leaning against Mei Shengyao, was dozing off when he suddenly heard rustling noises: “What’s that sound?”

“It’s me,” Chi Ji waved a flyer in his hand: “I’m folding paper boats.”

Chi Ji, skilled and crafty, not only folded the boats quickly but also made various types like sailboats and steamboats.

“I want to fold too!” Mei Shengyao scooted over: “Teach me, Brother Chi!”

Huo Ren found a candle in his bag, cut it into pieces, and helped place the candle pieces inside the boats.

As soon as the boats touched the water, a gentle night breeze blew, and the boats carrying bright lights drifted forward, making the center of the lake shimmer like morning light scattered across, mirroring the stars above.

Their previous gloom seemed to be swept away, calmed by the lake’s starlight.

Chi Ji squatted by the lake, watching the paper boats float away, his eyelashes curved in a sweet smile.

Bo Jue leaned against Xie Lianyun, mesmerized by the cascading lights above and below for a long time.

“Do you think,” he slowly said, “Noah’s Ark is like our boat?”

It seemed like every time they felt down, faced setbacks, or were hindered in life, their Chi Ji would lead them out like this.

Gentle and bright, just like the light on the paper boats.

“Yes,” Xie Lianyun smiled: “He’s the treasure I chose at first sight.”

Author’s note:

Thank you, do you know what you’re talking about x

Spent the day as a sniffling mess, but writing about Chi Ji suddenly cleared my nose and my headache vanished (?)