Seven years

The only guest

It's 7 PM, and the famous A food street is deserted, with not a single customer due to the extremely cold weather and a thick blanket of snow covering the entire street.

At the very end of the food street, in a noodle shop, is the Wang family. They are an Asian family who immigrated to country A with dreams of getting rich, opening a shop to sell their traditional homeland dishes. But life was not as they dreamed; life in this foreign land only made them poorer and poorer.

A hoarse voice, thick from too much smoking, continuously emanated from the rude, plump man: "Getting unluckier and unluckier. If I only earn a few dollars a day, what will I use to feed this family?"

After saying that, Mr. Wang looked at his 10-year-old son, who was still enthusiastically and noisily playing games, then looked at the thin figure diligently working outside the shop, and he sneered: "There are no customers anyway, who is this unlucky person trying to show off their diligence to?"

That "unlucky person" was Amy Wang, his eldest daughter.

Ignoring the faint murmurs, Amy happily sang along to the music in her headphones and meticulously wiped the snow off the tables, chairs, and dining utensils in the shop. She didn't care that her hands were red from the cold. Because if she sat still, she knew she would be scolded and beaten.

Suddenly, her mother, Mrs. Wang, returned, saying in a shrill voice: "All the shops at the beginning of the street sent staff out to hand out flyers promoting their food. Customers all stop at the beginning of the street, how can they come to our noodle shop..." This was accompanied by a sharp curse.

After saying that, they all fell silent.

Suddenly, David Wang stood up and walked towards that thin figure. He used his strong, calloused hands to slap that bony body and shouted: "Get out there, advertise, and bring customers here for me! Stop pretending to be diligent, it's annoying!"

The accumulated frustration from the shop's poor business was all unleashed on Amy Wang. She had been accustomed to this treatment since she was a child.

He kicked the dishwashing basin even though Amy was washing the dishes and chopsticks that previous customers had used. His youngest son, engrossed in his game, heard the noise and yelled: "Dad! Don't hurt my sister!"

David was angry that his biological son was defending Amy, and he yelled at his son: "You dare to yell at your own father to defend an outsider? You unlucky person, not only do you make the shop's business bad, but you also cause a rift between my son and me! You're sullen every day, it annoys me! Get out!"

Seeing David's long tirade and that he was about to hit her, Amy shook her head at her brother, bit her lip to endure the pain, and tremblingly stood up, saying softly: "I'll go right now."

Anna, seeing her trembling, couldn't bear it either. She followed her outside and interjected: "Amy, you see, if we don't sell noodles, we won't have money to send you to school."

Amy nodded to her mother, though inwardly she secretly scorned, her tuition and daily living expenses were from scholarships she had worked hard to earn: "Mom, give me money to print flyers." Her money was only enough to feed her until she received her scholarship.

Anna's face darkened: "Look, if we don't sell noodles, where would I get the money!"

Then, she left her outside, pulling her youngest son, who wanted to go with Amy, back into the house. Even though the door was closed, Amy could still hear the echo: "No customers, don't come back to my house! Useless!"

Her face was expressionless as she rummaged through her two pockets to check her current money. She looked up at the bakery near her house, sighing out white puffs of smoke: "Bread again..."

...

"Hello, please take a look..."

"Please take a look at the menu..."

"Our shop has noodles with a very special broth..."

Amy Wang had tried to spend a portion of her living expenses, which she had saved for the entire winter break, to print 100 flyers. Three hours passed, and the thick stack of flyers was half gone, but she still hadn't managed to attract a single customer. Because everyone was rushing home after a long day, no one wanted to stroll through the food street in such cold, snowy weather.

But she still encouraged herself to keep trying, one hand clutching her aching stomach from not eating properly, the other continuing to solicit customers.

With only about 10 flyers left, Amy gradually felt desperate, and she began to think about where she could temporarily sleep tonight…

"Hello, our store sells noodles with a very special broth, please take a look…" She introduced while thinking.

But this person actually took the flyer from her hand, stopped, and looked at it intently. Amy was stunned, and she raised her eyes from those slender hands upwards.

A young man. He seemed interested in the content of the flyer.

Perhaps tonight she could sleep indoors.

"Hey, girl…" Jasper Scott gently waved his hand in front of the girl who was staring at him, smiling slightly at her face, which was cold but a little innocent.

"I'm here… Oh, do you want to eat noodles?" Amy snapped back to reality.

"Yes, can you take me to your noodle shop?" This man always kept a warm smile when speaking.

"Of course, please follow me."

On the way to the food street, Amy remained silent, looking down at the road, not at all like a marketer. They didn't talk. It seemed Jasper couldn't stand the silence and took the initiative to speak: "It's so cold today, I really want a hot bowl of noodles to warm myself up."

Amy still didn't say much: "Hmm." She nodded to show respect.

Jasper: "..." He looked down at the thin figure walking in front of him and decided to remain silent.

…

Upon arriving at Wang's noodle shop, she arranged a relatively warm seat for the customer and found the cleanest menu to give him. Jasper took it and looked at the menu intently.

Looking inside, a warm family was gathered around the fireplace, watching TV together.

Only now did Amy have a chance to clearly see the young man's face. His fair skin, flushed from the cold, and his high nose attracted her gaze. His eyelashes also seemed really long… She began to lose focus…

"This is my first time eating this dish. Can you recommend the best one?" Suddenly, he looked up, and his warm, gentle voice made her hastily look away.

"Can you recommend one for me?" Jasper smiled shyly at her, feeling that this girl often lost focus.

Hearing this, Amy quickly repeated the familiar introductions she said every day.

Jasper still hesitated: "Which one do you usually eat? Make that one for me."

A hot bowl of noodles was brought over, and Amy said as she served it: "The correct way to eat is with chopsticks, but you can use a fork to eat more easily."

Jasper confidently picked up a pair of chopsticks and praised, "Thank you. It looks delicious." Despite his confidence, when he picked up a noodle with chopsticks, perhaps because he was used to using a fork, his fingers weren't very flexible, and he dropped the chopsticks on the table several times.

Seeing her look at the chopsticks he dropped, Jasper's face flushed slightly with embarrassment: "This is my first time using chopsticks, so I don't know how to use them."

She encountered this often. She demonstrated how to hold chopsticks and then let him follow.

Jasper was still clumsy and couldn't pick up the noodles: "Then I'll use…"

Before he finished speaking, he froze, looking at the small, cold hands that touched his to adjust his grip on the chopsticks, making his weak heart beat unusually fast. Now it was his turn to lose focus.

Amy realized her impoliteness, quickly withdrew her hand, and panicked: "You should eat the noodles while they're hot, don't let them get cold." Perhaps she was attracted by those beautiful hands and couldn't control herself.

This sudden action made them both a little awkward, and Jasper also awkwardly replied: "Okay, okay, I'll eat it deliciously…"

Perhaps wanting to quickly escape this awkwardness, Amy went to the cashier to get a book, quietly choosing the table closest to the door to sit and do her homework. In the shop, besides the cheerful chatter of the Wang family, there was only the faint sound of the man eating noodles, which made her a little distracted, so she didn't notice that there was always a gaze secretly looking at her back.

"Girl, I want to pay."

Amy avoided the gaze of the tall man in front of her: "5 dollars." She felt that these turquoise eyes were too beautiful and sparkling, easily captivating her.

The man paid her,

Before stepping out of the noodle shop, he turned his head back, smiling gently: "Next time, choose a warm place to do your homework, the weather is very cold. Don't let your body get cold." It was still a gentle voice, as if reassuring someone.

Her hand, which was clearing the noodle bowl, paused. Only now did she realize her hands were so cold they were numb. But she had long been used to this. In this house, no one had ever paid attention to these small things; they only cared about what benefits she could bring.

Amy politely thanked him for the reminder. Her red hands recoiled, unconsciously hiding behind her back.

Jasper shook his head: "The noodles are delicious, I will come here often. See you again."

Her eyes followed his tall figure as he gradually walked away. In her mind, there was only one thought that she would never forget.

This customer's smile was wonderful. How good must his life be for him always to have such sincere smiles?

...

That was also their first meeting.