Love first sight
After graduation, Lao Shui returned to his hometown and opened a noodle shop. Lao Shui’s father had also run a noodle shop, and having learned a few skills from his father, Lao Shui’s craftsmanship was quite impressive. For the next few years, Lao Shui ran the shop alone.
Those who had eaten at Lao Shui’s noodle shop only knew that he was still single and that his noodles were delicious. In the early years when Lao Shui first opened the shop, many enthusiastic elderly ladies were busy matchmaking. Seeing such a handsome, skilled single man, they couldn’t let him go. They came to propose matches so often that they nearly wore down the threshold of Lao Shui’s noodle shop. Although Lao Shui felt helpless, he always treated the ladies politely each time they came.
The ladies, seeing that Lao Shui wasn’t interested in anyone, directly asked what kind of girl he liked. Lao Shui could only deflect by saying he wasn’t ready to start a family and didn’t want to ruin a girl’s life. Hearing this, the ladies became even more enthusiastic, saying Lao Shui was considerate and that any woman married to him would be happy.
Lao Shui found these comments both amusing and exasperating, but had no choice. When forced to meet a girl, he would simply say he didn’t like her. After repeatedly declining, the ladies saw his lack of enthusiasm and eventually gave up.
So, Lao Shui focused on making noodles, and his customers focused on eating them. Time passed, and just when Lao Shui thought he would spend his life alone, a girl walked into his noodle shop. The moment Lao Shui saw her, he called a friend. His friend, thinking Lao Shui had fallen in love at first sight, advised him to: one, persist; two, be shameless; and three, persist in being shameless.
Lao Shui hung up and brought the noodles to the girl, but she didn’t even look up. The girl started coming to Lao Shui’s noodle shop frequently, always sitting in the same spot and ordering the same noodles.
Each time, Lao Shui would silently watch her, sometimes adding a marinated egg to the bowl or having the staff bring an extra meat bun. Then, for a while, the girl stopped coming, and Lao Shui wondered if she had sensed his feelings.
One rainy day, just before closing, the girl appeared. As usual, she ordered a bowl of noodles, and Lao Shui sat across from her. She quietly ate her noodles while Lao Shui awkwardly chatted about the weather. There was still a marinated egg at the bottom of the bowl. The girl didn’t eat it; she just seemed lost in thought. Lao Shui didn’t dare speak.
The girl gently poked at the noodles with her chopsticks and then slowly said she was leaving the city to live elsewhere, thanking Lao Shui for his care. Lao Shui didn’t say another word. The girl sat with him for a while longer before leaving, never to return.
In the following days, Lao Shui continued to make noodles seriously but spoke less, often lost in thought. Sometimes he even served the wrong noodles to customers. The elderly ladies gossiped that Lao Shui seemed downcast.
One night, after closing, Lao Shui glanced at the spot where the girl used to sit and felt a pang of sadness, remembering their first meeting. Soon after, the noodle shop changed hands. The elderly ladies started speculating about what had happened to Lao Shui, with some suggesting he might have gotten into trouble.
In another city, the girl lived a mediocre life, greeting people around her but often feeling lonely. Recently, she kept hearing her colleagues talk about a new noodle shop, praising its delicious food and honest, sincere owner. Listening to them, the girl thought of Lao Shui and his caring nature.
On a whim, she went with her colleagues to the new noodle shop. After taking a bite of the noodles, she stood in a daze for a long time before walking straight into the kitchen. There, she saw a familiar figure quietly making noodles. Her vision blurred as she realized she didn’t want to leave again.
When Lao Shui turned and saw the girl, he didn’t know how long she had been there, but he was relieved she had come back. Lao Shui smiled at her, holding a bowl of noodles without saying a word, simply thinking he wanted to spend his life with her, no matter how long that might be.
Perhaps you think Lao Shui’s love story sounds unreliable.
It is quite unreliable, even Lao Shui admits that.
But isn’t love itself an unreliable thing?
What is love in this world? A good bowl of noodles changes everything.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
