11: Chapter 11 A Movie for Three

Time passed, and at 12:00 PM, Yang Shiguang lit the firecrackers, officially announcing the opening.

Behind him, thunderous applause erupted inside Shuicifang.

The shop was already packed, with extra tables added.

The dishes were served—12 dishes in total, a mix of seafood and Xiang cuisine per table.

Unfortunately, they hadn't hired a chef yet, so Yang Shiguang had to take charge of the cooking, and An Miaomiao was forced to become a little cook once again.

By the time the dishes were served at every table, both Yang Shiguang and An Miaomiao felt like their hands were cramping.

After all, they weren't professional chefs, and they had only sold semi-finished products like braised shrimp before, never experiencing high-intensity, non-stop stir-frying and ladling.

When Yang Shiguang went to toast, his hands were trembling.

At 2:00 PM, the last batch of customers—specifically, A-Long being carried away by his four underlings—left, still shouting.

"Brother Shi, keep drinking!"

"I'm not drunk yet!"

"Why does this crab of yours have six claws?"

Yang Shiguang wasn't much better off; although he could still stand, he was nearing an unconscious state.

After the people left, he collapsed onto the sofa and fell sound asleep.

Unfortunately, he couldn't rest for long; they had to continue business at 6:00 PM, after all, it was the opening day.

The whiteboard at the entrance had a big "20% off for everything" written in red pen.

Moreover, there were so many new dishes.

It was another bitter battle.

On the day of the official opening, customer flow reached twice what it had been before.

The entire shop was full, and there was even table-sharing.

By the 9:00 PM peak, many customers had to get takeout because there was nowhere to sit.

The people waiting outside for takeout could have filled at least 10 mahjong tables.

Passersby thought an illegal gathering was taking place.

It wasn't until midnight that the number of customers started to decrease.

By 1:00 AM, the last batch of customers finally left.

During this time, a small interlude occurred.

Those two regulars, the tall student and the chubby student, also came.

The two arrived early and still had a place to sit.

The chubby student was holding the menu, hesitating over the new dishes.

Just then, An Miaomiao walked over with pen and paper to help them order.

Seeing An Miaomiao standing beside him, just as he was about to speak, the chubby student interrupted:

"Little sister, don't say a word. Just bring one of every new dish, these scallops, mantis shrimp, and everything else!"

An Miaomiao naturally ran to the kitchen happily, while the tall student's jaw almost dropped at his buddy's actions.

The chubby student spoke again before he could even open his mouth:

"What are you looking at? What's wrong? I know you're going to laugh at me again!"

"Well, let me ask you, I'm 'trash' at the game, what can I do?"

"Let me ask you, the stats are too high, I can't beat them! What can I do?"

"I'm a shut-in, I've just never had a girlfriend, what can I do?"

"Answer me!"

"You dog, calling me a 'noob,' I just like cute girls, I can't resist! What can I do?"

"Answer me! Looking in my eyes!"

"Tell me! Why?"

"Why? Baby why?"

Hearing him say this, the tall student sighed:

"Sigh, forget it, the result is the same anyway."

...

After 1:00 AM, once they had finished cleaning up, You Li and the others left Shuicifang first.

When You Ge and Yang Shiguang were getting ready to leave, they found that An Miaomiao had fallen asleep on the sofa, lying on her side.

This girl had truly worked hard, busy all day long.

You Ge and Yang Shiguang had been able to sleep for a while in the afternoon because they had been drinking, but this girl hadn't slept at all.

Yang Shiguang gently lifted An Miaomiao's slender waist with one arm, while the other arm passed under the bend of her fair legs.

Applying force slowly, he let her little head rest on his chest and carried her gently to the back seat of the tricycle in a princess carry.

He sat down first, then gently laid her down, letting her rest her head on his lap.

Everything was very gentle.

An Miaomiao didn't seem to wake up; she was breathing evenly, with a look of happiness on her face.

You Ge closed the shop door, got on the front seat, and rode the vehicle toward the road to Lu County.

They hadn't yet left Hejia Avenue.

Hejia Avenue at midnight was still very lively.

On the side of the street, there were people who had drunk too much talking loudly, people hawking goods, people arguing, and so on.

"Come, come, sheep kidneys, sheep kidneys! One and you won't lose your energy all night!"

"You've drunk too much, stop drinking."

"No, I'm not drunk yet... I can still drink! Let me tell you, when I was in school... I had a lot of girls... *vomit*."

"Tell me, who did you go to a hotel with yesterday! Tell me!"

"Who said it was a woman?"

"Damn it! I'm truly impressed, lady!"

"Want to... buy a disc? ... *vomit*"

"He Qiang! Get back here! He Qiang!"

The noise around them was too loud.

Yang Shiguang frowned slightly and gently covered An Miaomiao's little ears as she lay on his lap.

No one noticed that her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her closed peach-blossom eyes curved slightly like crescent moons.

...

Leaving the city center, the riverside road in the middle of the night was still quiet, with only the rustling sound of the breeze blowing through the leaves.

"Shiguang, about that."

"Hmm, go ahead."

The two of them were talking in lower voices.

"They didn't dare ask you, so they were all asking me how things are between you and Zishan."

"Oh, and what did you say?"

"Me? What could I say? I don't know, I didn't know either, what exactly is the situation with you two."

Yang Shiguang turned his head to look at the rippling river.

"There's no situation, isn't it just like that?"

"You... what exactly are you thinking? Do you still love her?"

"Haha, what do you think?"

"What do I think? You must still love her."

You Ge rode the tricycle, paused, and continued.

"After all, it's been three years, and I know you. You're a stubborn person."

"Besides, she promised that as long as you also got into Xiangtan University, she would be with you. What reason do you have to give up?"

As he spoke, You Ge continued to exclaim:

"I was stunned by your drive to study during your senior year of high school. This was for her, right?"

Yang Shiguang smiled, noncommittal.

Stubborn? Perhaps it was an obsession.

Yang Shiguang looked up at the bright moon and recalled his previous life.

Liked her for three years, and the result was like a bolt from the blue.

Did he still love her during the four years of university? For the first two years, perhaps love still outweighed hate, with repeated humble attempts to win her back and repeated blows.

The last two years, it should have been hate outweighing love.

And after that, perhaps it was just an obsession.

But this obsession was too heartbreaking.

Even on the eve of setting the oil tank on fire, he was still looking at her photo and shedding tears.

So what about now? Has he let go?

The obsession of thirteen years in his previous life.

Yang Shiguang himself didn't know if he had let go.

But there was one thing he could be sure of: in this life, he couldn't, and didn't want to, have any more excessive interactions with her.

This was also the reason why he didn't want to see Zhang Zishan so early.

Unknowingly, Yang Shiguang thought of the song he sang the most in his previous life during university and began to hum it slowly.

"The love I gave you has always been quiet"

"In exchange for the concern you occasionally gave"

...

The tricycle stopped downstairs at An Miaomiao's place.

Yang Shiguang first called to wake up An Tian and asked him to open the door.

Then, using a princess carry, he gently carried An Miaomiao upstairs.

After greeting An Tian with lip movements, he walked toward An Miaomiao's room.

After gently placing An Miaomiao on the bed, he took off her shoes and socks.

Then he walked softly to the bathroom, washed two towels, and hung them over his arm.

He picked up one and gently wiped her forehead, face, ears, and neck.

Then he picked up the other and gently wiped her lotus-root-like arms, the bends of her legs, her little feet, and every inch of skin not covered by clothes.

Finally, he tucked her in, brushed away the few strands of hair scattered on her cheeks, and left softly.

The sound of the door closing rang out, and the living room returned to silence.

An Miaomiao gently opened her eyes.

She had actually woken up when she was carried onto the tricycle.

Recalling Shiguang's gentle movements as he laid her down, gently covering her ears, gently carrying her upstairs, gently wiping her face, arms, and so on.

Every detail was so gentle and thoughtful.

Happiness filled her whole body, as if she were soaking in 38-degree sugar water, warm and sweet.

But then she recalled his conversation with You Ge.

He didn't deny it; everything he did was for Zhang Zishan.

Sadness flooded her heart again, like the Bar, pushing away happiness wave by wave.

It was like falling from warm water into an ice cellar; the sudden low temperature made her whole body tremble.

An Miaomiao turned on her side and hugged her pillow.

The tears at the corners of her eyes could no longer be locked away; they fell like pearls, gathering into silver threads.

"Shiguang, why are you so good to me, even if... you're just being good to a younger sister."

"I... can't hold it back anymore, really, my heart hurts so much."

For eight years, An Miaomiao had been tightly suppressing this jar named 'love.'

But the love inside the jar was not static; it was slowly gathering and accumulating.

Now, it was not far from overflowing.

"It was clearly a movie for three people"

"But I could never have a name in it"

For her, how could this song not be fitting?