Night, 22 o'clock sharp.
The lights are shining brightly near the bustling university town, outside a mid-to-high-end Internet cafe with not too many customers.
The billboard for "Heart Rain, Heaven on Earth" displays various familiar game covers.
The sound of the flute breaks dreams, the lightning flashes, and the Internet cafe is as lively as ever.
The hum of the computer, the sound effects of the game, and the laughter and curses of a group of e-sports enthusiasts were intertwined in this late night.
Suddenly, a yawning sound sounded in front of the bar.
"Network administrator, help me turn on a machine."
Chen Mofan, who was wiping the glass behind the bar, raised his head. After seeing the person clearly, he smiled warmly and said, "Hey, it's Xiao Liu. Long time no see."
"Damn it, wasn't there an exam that I had to take some time ago? Hurry up and review. Otherwise, if you fail the exam, your family's living allowance will be less until you pass the make-up exam, and you won't be able to take care of your business, Brother Chen."
"Haha, the arrogant academic who has won the first-class scholarship for three consecutive years is actually worried about failing the exam?" Chen Mofan sneered, then cleared his throat and said, "Okay, your number has been called for you, Zhou Japan is full, and I will give you an extra 200 recipe pages. Oh, by the way, there is good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"
"Ah? Just listen first."
"The good news is, I made a mistake and the accessory accidentally snapped for you. Congratulations, I'm glad you got the 8th-level golden gun!"
thump!
"Hey, where is the person?" Chen Mofan suddenly noticed that Liu Hui had disappeared and looked around with some confusion.
But the next moment, a hand slowly rose from under the bar, startling Chen Mofan.
"Grass (a plant), what are you doing lying on the ground? It's scary."
After swearing angrily, Chen Mofan grabbed Liu Hui's hand and pulled him up.
Before Chen Mofan could speak, Liu Hui held Chen Mofan's hands with tears in his eyes and said, "Brother Chen, you don't need to say it anymore. I already know the bad news. My profession is a warrior. You want to say this, right?" .”
"If it doesn't work out, you can switch to the rifleman's profession. My own son is much better than some sewer samurai."
"No, samurai is my belief!" Liu Hui stretched out a hand and sternly rejected Chen Mofan's persuasion, "Brother Chen, needless to say, it is impossible for me to change my profession. Are you ready tonight? I want to stay up all night! I’ll transfer the balance of the power leveling payment to you first, Mou Bao or Goose Xin?”
"Anything is fine." Chen Mofan smiled and waved his hand, handing the small slip of password for boarding and Liu Hui's ID card to Liu Hui's hand.
At this moment, a loud shout came from the hall.
"Network manager, Unit 39 has a secret braised pork set meal with braised eggs! Add iced black tea!"
"Okay!" Chen Mofan turned around and responded, then quickly urged, "Okay, go get on the plane, otherwise the password will expire and you will have to re-enable it later."
"Okay, Brother Chen, get me a spicy chicken set meal with Coca-Cola."
Liu Hui said with a smile, and then ran towards the box.
"This kid..." Chen Mofan shook his head in good faith. After calling the girl in the stands next to him, he picked up the apron under the bar and tied it on, then turned and walked towards the kitchen that was transformed from the utility room in the corner of the Internet cafe.
Chen Mofan, 30 years old, graduated from a university. When he was 27 years old, he couldn't stand the humiliation and overtime culture in the workplace.
So, amidst the confusion and even doubts from all his relatives and friends, he chose to take off Kong Yiji's long gown and resolutely became the network administrator of an Internet cafe next to a university in his hometown mountain town.
Although the income is a bit meager, it is better than leisure, and Chen Mofan feels satisfied to do a job that can bring happiness to everyone.
As for cooking, it is purely Chen Mofan's personal hobby.
How should I put it, the owner of Xinyu Internet Cafe is a woman who has had a rough life. She is 34 years old and is slightly older than Chen Mofan.
It is said that when he was young, in order to support his boyfriend's college and postgraduate entrance examinations, he dropped out of school early and started doing manual labor that did not require any academic qualifications.
From serving dishes and washing dishes in restaurants to washing cars in car dealerships...
But no matter what, I didn't expect that the seven-year long love race and youth sacrifice would result in the first sword on the beach to kill the person I wanted.
Fortunately, the scumbag is not completely dehumanized. Out of guilt, he used the money earned from selling patents within a year after the breakup to make up for the kindness and debt he had incurred over the past seven years, and now the two of them are clean.
Soon thereafter, an Internet cafe called "Xinyu, Heaven on Earth" opened next to the university where the scumbag once studied.
Perhaps those seven years have exhausted all the woman's passion for life.
In the following years, the boss lived a lazy life without leaving home and taking out food.
Until Chen Mofan's arrival, after tasting Chen Mofan's craftsmanship at a dinner party with colleagues, the small kitchen of Xinyu Internet Cafe was renovated in a week.
In the words of the boss, 70% of the net income of the small kitchen belongs to Chen Mofan. As for whether it opens or not, she doesn't care how many copies it sells every day. Just send one to her room on the second floor every day at meal time.
In response, Chen Mofan accepted the job with a wry smile.
Self-taught cooking skills out of hobby are naturally not as good as those of real professional chefs, but with the blessing of talent, they are beyond the level of ordinary people. The main reason is that home-cooked recipes bring the taste of home.
Naturally, people who come to order from Internet cafes are not too picky about their taste. Anyone who has eaten most of Chen Mofan's dishes will say "delicious".
There is no need for any gorgeous praise, just "delicious" is the greatest encouragement to the chef.
Since then, the reputation of a "cook who was delayed by network management work" in Xinyu Internet Cafe has spread, and it has attracted a group of college students to the Internet cafe.
It's a pity that this "cook" is too lazy and only takes orders during a few fixed free times every day. When the time comes, he "gets off work" and goes back to work as a network administrator.
It is now 2025, and the business of Internet cafes is no longer as popular as it was ten years ago. The business model has changed from quantity to quality. Network administrators can also do their own things when they are not busy.
After delivering the set meal ordered by the customer and a late-night snack to the second floor, Chen Mofan returned to the bar with two plates of French fries, fried chicken wings and other snacks.
It was 11 o'clock in the evening. After this point, no more customers would come. Chen Mofan opened an anime that he had stored for a long time and was being updated on the computer monitor at the bar, preparing to spend this wonderful night leisurely. .
"Wow, Brother Chen is making delicious food again." The girl who had been watching for half an hour saw Chen Mofan return to her post and quickly went to snatch the chicken wings from his plate with a smile.
Chen Mofan smiled and pushed the plate between the two of them. He was used to this kind of life, it was relaxing and beautiful.
But that's it.
A bunch of red and blue fireworks burst into the night sky.
Boom~boom!
The fireworks exploded into brilliant fireworks.
Chen Mofan, who heard the commotion, had already put down his plate and came to the door, looking at the brilliance in the sky.
"It's so beautiful..." A familiar voice came to his ears. Chen Mofan turned around and saw that it was the boss who had also arrived at the door of the store at some unknown time.
"I just don't know why, but there seems to be a very sad sound in the fireworks."
A sad voice? Chen Mofan pricked up his ears, but heard nothing.
But after just thinking for a moment, Chen Mofan seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly said: "Sister, the past is past, people have to look forward..."
"Yes, store manager, it's been so many years. You should be relieved. The scumbag is gone and we, the lovely employees, are with you..." The girl at the front desk also came over at this time.
"No, I really felt that there was a sad sound... hidden in the fireworks..." The woman looked at the sky blankly and said seriously.
