Chapter 214: Beef Noodles
Anyway, this mission has no restrictions.
Jiang Ning decided to take it slow first.
Little Honey restored her body to its original functions, letting her feel hunger for the first time.
Jiang Ning touched her pocket, and there was still one hundred yuan inside.
She had withdrawn all the money from her mobile phone and given it to the village chief.
This one hundred was stuffed in there by who knows who.
Jiang Ning followed her memory and found the beef noodle restaurant near the house that Xie Jingyan used to rent.
The shop was still the one from her memory, but unlike the small scale before, its storefront was now three times larger. The only good thing was that it hadn’t moved locations; it had just knocked down the wall of the next door shop, and after renovation, it looked decent.
This place had developed too.
All the people from the old town area had moved away before, and this area was planned for demolition to build a large square.
Jiang Ning passed by the old house where Xie Jingyan used to live.
The iron gate at the entrance was rusty and mottled, and the old house inside had become even more ancient after years of settling, with moss climbing all over the cracks in the walls.
Jiang Ning stood still for a long time.
It was as if the scene from when she was seventeen emerged before her eyes.
Xie Jingyan rode a bicycle from here, crossing half the city district, just to go to White Manor to find her.
Jiang Ning lowered her gaze.
But…
That youth was about to get married.
Jiang Ning felt that this was just an excuse Little Honey deliberately found to cure her.
What female lead…
She seemed to only be able to be a supporting character.
Putting the matter aside, Jiang Ning ordered a bowl of beef noodles.
The shop’s business was very good, and it had hired two employees, but the one cooking the noodles was still the boss lady.
“Beef noodles with extra meat, less green onion, no cilantro.” After Jiang Ning finished speaking, she sat down at a seat.
The boss lady called out loudly: “Alright!”
She looked up at Jiang Ning and instantly felt like her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Why did this girl look so familiar?
She couldn’t quite remember, so she couldn’t help but look a couple more times.
It wasn’t until she brought the noodles over to Jiang Ning that she suddenly realized: “I remember now, you’re that female classmate who ate noodles here with Xiao Yan ten years ago, right?”
Her voice became excited: “Wow, after so many years, how do you still look the same as you did at eighteen?”
Jiang Ning smiled awkwardly: “Aunt, sorry, I’m not the person you’re thinking of.”
The boss lady let out a confused “Ah.”
She looked left and right; Jiang Ning really looked just like that female classmate from back then.
She was a bit suspicious: “Really…”
Jiang Ning nodded and smiled at the boss lady: “I really am not. This is my first time eating here.”
Since Jiang Ning had said so.
The boss lady naturally wouldn’t say anything more.
She just found it a bit strange…
Could there be two people in this world who looked exactly the same?
But seeing how young Jiang Ning was, she also thought it was her eyes playing tricks.
Jiang Ning slurped the noodles and sighed as she exhaled a breath of hot air.
The taste was still as good as ever.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boss lady keep glancing her way, and Jiang Ning felt helpless too.
She wasn’t from this world after all.
Moreover, she didn’t even have an ID card now.
She probably couldn’t be found in any records.
While eating the noodles, she thought about how to get close to Xie Jingyan.
After all, she still had an assassination mission.
After so many years, he should have achieved success in his career by now, right?
The glass door behind her was pushed open, and a low, magnetic male voice sounded: “Boss lady, one bowl of beef noodles with extra meat, less green onion, no cilantro.”
The boss lady responded: “Alright, please sit.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ning inexplicably lifted her head. How could someone order the exact same noodles as her?
Not far away stood a man who was tall with long legs.
He was wearing a black coat, and his figure looked very sharp.
It wasn’t until he turned around that Jiang Ning saw his face, and her eyes widened in shock.
Compared to his youthful look ten years ago, the twenty-eight-year-old Xie Jingyan had gained the charm of a mature man.
His features were still as stunningly beautiful as before, his pale skin making him look even colder than the snow outside. His black hair was combed neatly without a strand out of place, and the mole under his eye was still alluring, adding a touch of allure.
Whether it was the him from before or the him now, he was always a striking presence wherever he went.
Xie Jingyan’s dark eyes shifted slightly, meeting Jiang Ning’s delicate little face, his gaze indifferent.
Jiang Ning immediately buried her head and ate her noodles frantically.
She just wanted to finish eating quickly and leave.
Someone sat down across from her, seeming to carry a sandalwood scent that was refreshing.
His voice rang out, like shattered ice hitting the ground, cold and indifferent: “Jiang Ning.”
Jiang Ning’s body stiffened, but she quickly regained her composure. She looked up with a bewildered expression: “Sir, are you talking to me?”
Xie Jingyan’s face showed no emotion: “Who else? There’s no one around but you.”
Jiang Ning: “…”
Damn.
This bastard of a man.
Jiang Ning cursed inwardly, but kept a bewildered look on her face: “I don’t know you, and my name isn’t Jiang Ning…”
Xie Jingyan let out a light chuckle, somewhat cold: “Don’t pretend.”
Jiang Ning: “…”
But Jiang Ning still denied it vehemently: “I really am not. You’ve got the wrong person.”
The noodles were served.
Xie Jingyan didn’t bother with her anymore.
He buried his head and ate the noodles.
Jiang Ning cursed inwardly.
Logically speaking, Xie Jingyan should be in the Capital City!
How could he appear in Jin Cheng!
And he acted so familiar with her at first sight.
For Jiang Ning, it had only been ten months since she last saw him.
But for Xie Jingyan, it had been a full ten years!
Just when she thought Xie Jingyan would ask her something else.
He finished his noodles, paid, and left directly.
Jiang Ning: “…”
An assassination opportunity was right in front of her, and she hadn’t cherished it.
Jiang Ning psyched herself up and decided to go to the supermarket first after leaving to buy a knife.
She sat in her seat for another five minutes.
Then Jiang Ning dawdled out.
Xie Jingyan was smoking at the entrance.
The cold wind swirled with the smoke as he stood on the steps, his side profile sharp, making him seem even more aloof and indifferent.
At least…
This person was no longer the youth from her memory.
Jiang Ning felt he was very unfamiliar.
She lowered her head and looked at the seventy-five yuan in her hand.
She had just eaten a bowl of noodles that cost twenty-five yuan.
With the remaining seventy-five, she wasn’t sure if she could find a place to stay.
She couldn’t go to Father Jiang or Madam Jiang either.
She wasn’t even sure if Madam Jiang was still alive.
After all, according to the original plot, Jiang Ning died, and Madam Jiang committed suicide afterward.
Besides, Jiang Ning was well aware that she had no blood relation to them.
The only connection was her appearance.
She looked exactly like this world’s Jiang Ning.
All the relationships were built on the original Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning inexplicably felt no sense of belonging here.
But she could still try to find Shen Jinhe, since she needed to stay here for a while.
Xie Jingyan glanced at her and asked: “Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride?”
Jiang Ning was just about to thicken her skin and hitch a ride to the Capital City.
A loud child’s voice rang out from not far away: “Father! Mother and I have been waiting for you for a long time!”
Jiang Ning looked up, and across the street, Su Wanyuan was holding a little girl’s hand, walking toward Xie Jingyan…
Typo correction
