Soul Patch

Chapter 321 He's got something wrong with his head!

The storyteller glanced at the small restaurant next door and slapped his folding fan against his right palm.

"And then... what exactly happened?"

"Yes, why didn't you say so at this crucial moment?"

……

The crowd watching the spectacle stared intently at the old man. Seeing that the storyteller was squinting his eyes, as if deliberately keeping the audience in suspense, some impatient people in the crowd urged him on.

Wenjie entered the breakfast stall and was slightly taken aback.

Believe it or not, the shop looks quite small from the outside, but it's actually quite spacious inside, with five or six tables and chairs scattered around, and a few customers sitting in twos and threes.

The aroma of meat and porridge mingled with the unique fragrance of fried dough sticks and fried bread, filling the room.

At the table closest to the door, a middle-aged woman was with two children. One of them, a girl with pigtails, had her rosy cheeks close to her bowl of porridge and was slurping it down.

The boy next to him kept switching the steaming bun between his two hands, blowing on it for a while, and then tentatively took a bite. His little mouth was instantly filled with the juicy meat filling of the bun, and he chewed it with gusto.

The mother kept nagging from the side: "Hey, slow down, slow down, don't burn your mouth."

Watching the two children eating with great enthusiasm, Wenjie reached up and touched his stomach; he was indeed a little hungry.

An Ran and A Wen were straightening their food and looking for seats when they saw a figure moving at the door and instinctively looked over.

"Hey, Wenjie, over here!" Wenjie called out to Wenjie, holding a bowl of tofu pudding in one hand and a bowl of fried dough sticks in the other.

Wenjie looked up at them, his gaze then shifting to the food in their hands.

The three of them found a corner spot to sit down.

"Boss, another basket of steamed buns and a bowl of porridge!"

"it is good!"

The boss quickly got to work and soon called out to Awen, "The steamed buns and eight-treasure porridge are ready! Come and get them."

As Awen was about to get up, Wenjie patted his shoulder and said, "You eat, I'll go."

The boss's long table wasn't far from the door. Wenjie walked from inside to the other side of the long table, and was about to pick up the porridge that was served on the table when he saw a group of people gathered behind the large oil pot set up by the door, where the oil was bubbling.

He casually asked, "Which part is this referring to?"

"Huh?" The boss didn't understand what the person in front of him was referring to, and looked up at him blankly.

Wenjie glanced at the steps in front of the shop next door.

The boss looked over and saw Old Li, who was surrounded inside, and a knowing look appeared on his face.

He laughed and said, "Brother, you don't live around here, right? This old Li guy has something going on here."

He pointed to his head as he spoke.

"Oh? He's not mentally stable..." Wenjie looked thoughtfully at Old Li after hearing this. Coincidentally, Old Li, tapping his folding fan, also looked over at the shop.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and Wenjie politely nodded and smiled at the other person.

Looking away, Wenjie hesitated as he looked at the shop owner: "It doesn't seem like it. He looks quite normal. What story excerpt was he telling?"

The shop owner's face darkened, and he said sadly, "A while ago, his son jumped off a building. Ever since then, he's always sitting here telling stories."

Ugh! He wasn't really telling stories, not even any excerpts, just rambling on about random things..."

Wenjie's expression hardened, he straightened up slightly, and looked down silently at the table.

After a long pause, he said in a deep voice, "So many people were listening, and he... gave a very insightful presentation."

Wenjie silently picked up the porridge and steamed buns and returned to his seat.

When Andy saw Wenjie return, he swallowed the sugar-coated fried dough in his mouth and asked in confusion, "Wenjie, what were you talking about with the shop owner just now?"

"It's nothing..." He picked up the disposable chopsticks, gently broke them apart, and scraped the burrs off the chopsticks back and forth.

Ten years ago, environmental awareness was not as strong, and disposable chopsticks, plastic bags, and paper cups were still widely used.

Without hesitation, he picked up a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Andy and Wen exchanged a glance, both of them able to tell from each other's eyes that Wenjie was acting strangely.

Andy gestured towards Wenjie with his chin. Wenjie put down his chopsticks, leaned closer to Wenjie, and said, "Wenjie, what happened? You seem distracted."

Wenjie popped another bun into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.

Under the astonished gazes of the two people, he swallowed the steamed buns with force, and ate two in a row. He coughed violently, whether he choked or something else.

His eyes were red from coughing.

Eddie quickly handed Wenjie the porridge in front of him and said gently, "Here, have a sip and calm down. You ate too fast!"

"Cough, cough, cough... Hmm, it's nothing!"

After a while, Wenjie finally stopped coughing.

He took a sip of porridge, patted his chest, and wiped his mouth with a disposable napkin.

There are some things that they wouldn't understand even if you told them. After a moment's thought, Wenjie quickly said:
"Is there another problem with the system? Can you access the system interface or your personal interface?"

Andy and Awen were both taken aback by the question.

Then they all tried to log into the system, and unsurprisingly, none of them could.

Andy suddenly realized the problem. Her narrow eyes widened, and she blurted out, "Then how do we get out?"

Awen had just picked up his chopsticks when he heard Andy's words, and the chopsticks fell to the ground with a "clatter." He exclaimed, "Could it be...could it be that we're trapped in the system?"

(End of this chapter)