The Game of Life

Chapter 613: Chapter 611 To be continued

Master Sun Maochai asked a few more questions about Sun Guanyun’s two sons, but Mr. He didn’t know much about Sun Guanyun’s situation. He could only share some basic information as they chatted away the time while eating.

While they were chatting, Jiang Feng took the opportunity to test the limits of his movement. This time, his range was quite extensive; he could walk as far as half a meter from the kitchen door.

Just as Jiang Feng was aimlessly wandering near Master Sun Maochai, checking out what other customers were eating, the kitchen door suddenly opened.@@novelbin@@

A Little Radish sneaked out from the kitchen, as if up to no good.

“Master Sun, look, that’s Master Sun’s grandson,” Mr. He pointed towards Sun Jikai.

Master Sun Maochai looked towards Sun Jikai, and Jiang Feng did the same. But before Jiang Feng could get a clear look at Sun Jikai’s face, everything went dark, and he couldn’t see a thing.

Jiang Feng: ?

It was as if something had momentarily hit him; the darkness lifted and light returned in an instant, and Jiang Feng stumbled and fell to the ground. Struggling to get up, he looked up and was surprised to find a door right in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, it was the back door of Jubao Building’s kitchen.

While Jiang Feng was still somewhat dazed, he heard Master Sun Maochai’s voice.

“One order of lobster baked in superior soup, one order of Yi noodles, and another Foong Lai custard soup,” he ordered.

Jiang Feng turned towards the sound and saw Master Sun Maochai sitting on a chair, handing the menu to a waiter.

Master Sun Maochai was wearing different clothes, having switched from a formal suit to ordinary attire. Mr. He was nowhere to be seen. The setting was still in the Jubao Building, but their seat had shifted from a good spot near the center of the place to the worst seat close to the kitchen door.

Master Sun Maochai sat alone at the table, waiting for his meal like any regular diner.

Jiang Feng instantly realized what had happened; he was still in Master Sun Maochai’s memories, just from a different time.

He had only experienced this sort of thing once before—the first time he looked into Jiang Huiqin’s memories. After that, he had never encountered a similar situation.

Master Sun Maochai seemed in good spirits, tilting his head towards the kitchen door with an occasional glance at his watch, as if checking the time. His fingers rhythmically tapped on the table, as if to the melody of a song.

The door opened.

A Little Radish sneaked out from the kitchen.

What a familiar scene; Jiang Feng had witnessed almost the exact same scenario just minutes before.

This time, Jiang Feng could clearly see Sun Jikai’s face. At this age, Sun Jikai appeared to be only four or five years old, his little face chubby, indicating he usually ate well.

His hair was shaved very short, and he wore a dark, dirt-resistant outfit with what looked like sauce stains on the sleeves. His round face was the very picture of laziness.

Sun Jikai made a quick exit from the kitchen, bumping straight into Master Sun Maochai, who was nearest to him.

Sun Jikai gave Master Sun Maochai a wary look, but seeing that he wasn’t angry, he flashed a charming smile in his direction.

Master Sun Changping was nearby, and seeing what had happened, he quickly stepped forward to pick up Sun Jikai, apologizing to Sun Maochai: “Sir, I’m so sorry; this is my son. Sometimes he likes to run around the restaurant. Are you all right?”

“It’s fine; it’s good for kids to have some energy,” Master Sun Maochai responded with a smile. “Manager Sun, your son is really cute. May I ask how old he is?”

Master Sun Changping put Sun Jikai down, saying, “He’ll be five in the second half of the year. He’ll be starting school soon.”

After speaking, Master Sun Changping led Sun Jikai towards the front desk, asking as they walked, “Did you eat lunch?”

“I did; Grandpa is busy outside. Dad, I want some candy,” Sun Jikai said loudly.

“Didn’t you already have candy this morning? Your mother says you should eat less candy. If you eat too much, you might get cavities and toothaches, and then you won’t be able to eat the meals Grandpa makes.”

“Daddy, what’s a cavity?”

“A cavity is when you eat too much candy, and bugs smell the sugar. They crawl onto your teeth and bite you!” Master Sun Changping began to scare his son.

Hearing the conversation between the father and son, Jiang Feng couldn’t help but reveal a knowing smile.

Turning his head, he saw that Master Sun Maochai was wearing a smile just like his own.

Just as Jiang Feng was about to sneak into the kitchen to see if he could catch a glimpse of Sun Guanyun cooking, darkness enveloped his vision once again. When he came to, he found himself still in the same spot, with Master Sun Maochai seated in the old position, except the clothes on his body had changed.

Jiang Feng: ?

A series?

The door opened, and out slipped a Little Radish, Sun Jikai, who still appeared chubby but seemed a bit taller than before.

This time, Sun Jikai didn’t bump into Master Sun Maochai, but he smiled at him as if he recognized him, then dashed towards where his father was.

Jiang Feng’s vision went dark again.

Jiang Feng: ???

What the heck? What kind of memory is this? Are all the masters’ memories so extraordinary?

Jiang Feng had braced himself to see Little Radish Sun Jikai sneak out of the kitchen for the fourth time, but this time the darkness seemed to last longer, and he waited for more than a dozen seconds without it clearing.

Jiang Feng: ?

“`

Cassette tape?

Crash?

System reboot?

Then he saw the light.

It wasn’t the kind of light one sees upon opening their eyes; it was the kind of light that suddenly turns on a lamp in the dark. A white dot of light suddenly appeared in the air, incredibly eye-catching amidst the pitch black.

Jiang Feng watched as the white dot gradually spread, forming a line, twisting and turning, eventually forming four big characters.

To be continued.

Jiang Feng: ???

???

Then he was kicked out of the memory.

Jiang Feng: …

Jiang Feng sat on the bed, silently questioning life.

What had he just seen in his memory?

It seemed that aside from stumbling upon a shocking revelation, he hadn’t seen much else. He only saw Sun Jikai sneaking out from the back kitchen again and again, as if repeatedly filming a scene for a movie.

Indeed, you get what you pay for; a task involving two segments of memory is either a dud or watered down.

Jiang Feng opened the attributes panel and began to search through the recipes. He wanted to see what kind of dish this strange memory could offer him.

Jiang Feng scoured the recipe column from top to bottom but found no new recipes.

Jiang Feng: ?

Jiang Feng searched again, and still, he found no new recipes.

Jiang Feng: ???

He even wanted to call Sun Maochai to ask why his memory didn’t yield any recipes.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t and didn’t dare do so.

The key issue was, he didn’t have Sun Maochai’s phone number.

While he couldn’t call Sun Maochai, Jiang Feng could call Sun Jikai. If Sun Maochai’s appearance in that last memory was like a strange cameo by the lead actor, then Sun Jikai was undoubtedly the worthy second male guest star.

Jiang Feng dialed Sun Jikai’s number.

Mr. Jiang was already eager to step into the Jubao Building’s kitchen and scold Sun, the student who couldn’t master the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon’s thickening process.

“Hello?” Sun Jikai answered instantly.

“Hey, Sun Jikai, I just wanted to ask when we’re meeting tomorrow morning? I want to confirm the time tonight so I can go directly to Jewel Building to find you tomorrow morning,” Jiang Feng said.

“Huh?” Sun Jikai was still somewhat confused.

For Jiang Feng, it felt like having watched a memory resembling a terrible film rated lower than three stars, overflowing with mixed emotions, full of indignation, and only wanting to scold the director and actors. That’s why he made a call that might have been unnecessary but felt justified.

But for Sun Jikai, it had only been half an hour since he was eating at the same table with Jiang Feng, and two hours since he was practicing the preparation of the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon under Jiang Feng’s guidance. Mr. Jiang, out of his love for the job, had taken the trouble to call and confirm the next teaching time within just half an hour, a dedication that moved Sun to near tears.

Remembering Mr. Jiang’s tendency to oversleep, Sun suggested, “How about a bit later, after ten o’clock?”

“Ten is too late. I can’t stay here for many days, so let’s make the most of our time. Let’s set it for 7 a.m. tomorrow morning then, at Jewel Building,” Jiang Feng said decisively and hung up before going to the desk and starting to recall how Sir used to scold him back in the day. He was preparing to copy down some scathing lines for use the next day.

Sun Jikai, whose call got disconnected: …

Sun Jikai was overwhelmed with emotions, his eyes even started to moisten slightly.

Although he and Jiang Feng got along fine, he always felt a sense of rivalry with Jiang Feng, a friend but also a competitor of the same age.

Perhaps Jiang Feng didn’t know it, but at least Sun Jikai thought so.

Sometimes, he would fantasize about “thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi; don’t bully the young and poor,” about Jewel Building regaining its past glory through his efforts, and about defeating Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Zhang Guanghang, those known to have better culinary skills than him, one by one.

But now, Sun Jikai didn’t feel that way at all.

Jiang Feng was his friend, a true friend.

Friends were there to help, not to defeat.

“Ding, congratulations to the player for achieving the accomplishment: ‘Turn Enemies into Friends’, and for receiving the achievement reward [A Segment of Sun Jikai’s Memory].”

Jiang Feng: ?

Did Master Sun just fantasize about something he shouldn’t have a moment ago?

“`