Afterwards, Chongzong gladly accepted Van's invitation.
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Van drove, taking Chongzong to a ramen shop that she and Manranyama Souren often visited.
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This ramen shop had a simple facade, simple decoration, and a simple menu.
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So simple it was hard to connect this ramen shop with someone like Manranyama Souren.
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Upon entering, the menu was written on a small blackboard hanging on the wall. There were only two items on the menu: fried rice and pork bone ramen.
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All the customers who came either ordered a bowl of ramen, a plate of fried rice, or the combo of pork bone ramen with fried rice.
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One by one, they chatted and laughed with the ramen shop owner, enjoying their delicious meals.
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"Today, the other little miss didn't come along?" (Ramen shop owner)
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When Van walked in, the shop owner's gaze immediately followed and warmly greeted her.
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"Yes, the young lady had other plans today." (Van)
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Soon after, the shop owner noticed Chongzong following behind Van.
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"Who is this handsome young man behind you? Boyfriend?" (Ramen shop owner)
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The shop owner deliberately teased.
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Van, feeling a bit flustered, shook her head.
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"N-no, it's not that, just purely..." (Van)
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But she stopped halfway through her sentence, unsure of how to describe her relationship with Chongzong.
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In Van's rigid mind, she couldn't find the right words to define her and Chongzong's relationship.
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"The boss is just kidding. We're just friends." (Chongzong)
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Chongzong timely finished Van's sentence, helping her out.
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Upon hearing Chongzong use the word "friend," a barely noticeable smile appeared on Van's face.
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"I was just joking, young man. Don't be nervous, hahaha." (Ramen shop owner)
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The understanding shop owner quickly jumped in and steered the conversation back to ordering.
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"Same as usual, young lady?" (Ramen shop owner)
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"Yes, a ramen and fried rice combo." (Van)
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"What about the young man beside you?" (Ramen shop owner)
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After some thought, seeing Van's slender frame order a ramen and fried rice combo, Chongzong thought he should order the same to be enough to eat.
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So, Chongzong said a phrase that would lead him to deeply regret in fifteen minutes.
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"I'll have the same." (Chongzong)
"Okay, two servings of fried rice with noodles coming right up!" (Noodle shop owner)
After shouting the order, the owner gave Chongzong a thumbs-up.
Chongzong didn't understand the significance of the thumbs-up at that moment, but he didn't dwell on it.
Van and Chongzong then found two adjacent seats and sat down.
Five minutes later, two steaming bowls of noodles were served.
With rich soup base, golden slices of barbecued pork, chewy noodles, but Chongzong's focus wasn't on those...
—Isn't this a bit too much?
Chongzong looked at the bowl of noodles that seemed almost as big as his head, feeling a bit bewildered.
Two minutes later, two servings of steaming fried rice were also brought out.
Grain by grain rice, shiny scrambled eggs, greasy diced sausages, but Chongzong's attention wasn't on those either...
—Are they kidding? So much? Can we finish it?
Chongzong looked at the plate of fried rice that was as big as his head, feeling full already.
With deep skepticism, Chongzong sneakily glanced at Van, only to find Van calmly spooning and eating the fried rice, mouthful by mouthful, without rushing, also eating the noodles.
A spoonful of fried rice, a bite of noodles, with such a pacing, calmly eating, in no time, half of the noodles and fried rice were already gone.
But Van showed no intention of stopping and continued eating.
No fear in the face of this fried rice and noodle combo.
—Are they kidding???
—Van is such a big eater, isn't he???
—Where does he put all this fried rice and noodles???
Recalling the owner's question to Van, "Is it the usual for you?" it seemed for Van, it was just another day.
—This is just unbelievable!
Chongzong discreetly looked at what others had ordered and realized that except for those muscular men, most had either ordered fried rice or noodles separately.
It was then that Chongzong understood why the owner had given him a thumbs-up.
But it was already too late.
What to do, give up?
Feeling full already, having eaten only three quarters of the noodles and half of the fried rice.
But beside him, Van was crunching away without any signs of stopping.
"..." (Chongzong)
Chongzong patted his now bulging belly, sighed silently, and then reluctantly continued eating.
Half an hour later, Van, who had finished earlier, sat politely beside him, not looking at his phone or Chongzong, just waiting.
While Chongzong was still struggling.
One hour later, Chongzong finally finished his battle, sweating profusely and almost unable to stand up.
Meanwhile, Van seemed as if he had not eaten at all, not a drop of sweat on him, showing no sign of change.
When it came time to pay, the boss once again gave Chongzong a thumbs up, leaving Chongzong to awkwardly smile with a pale face, afraid that he might vomit if he opened his mouth.
One thing that comforted Chongzong was that such a huge portion only cost 650 yen per person, which was quite cheap.
"Sorry for the poor service!" (Noodle shop boss)
