Crossover Anime: Miss, please don't do this, I still have a silly cat to raise.

Get out of here, you love-struck fool, don't keep your brother from going home to drink fish soup.

Ding Dong!

[Little Vegetable Eats Little]: Help me!

[Super Hunter Lu Xiaonan]: No, I want to go home and drink fish soup.

[Little Vegetable Eats Little]: One Hundred Federal Credits!

[Super Hunter Lu Xiaonan]: Your hunter is online, dear boss, please rest assured.

Lu Nan smiled. "Great! Here comes the extra income!" he thought. "It's a pity that the Gathering Hall's quest wasn't triggered. Otherwise, I could have made even more money. It seems that Banai isn't very sincere."

Lu Nan nudged Dai Miao, who quickly pulled out a tissue from its "little pocket." The two wiped their mouths and walked over.

"Hey! Hachimi-senpai! You're here too?" Lu Nan seemed to have just noticed Hachimi and asked in surprise. He then pushed past the boy named Kusuke and went up to her. "Senpai, you haven't finished talking about the back-to-school tutoring you mentioned last time. Do you have time now?"

When Banami looked at Lu Nan, who was smiling broadly and had sparkling eyes as he leaned in front of her, she suddenly became somewhat lost in thought.

Chapter 39 Refuse if you feel uncomfortable

"Senior?" Looking at the stunned Banami, Lu Nan tilted his head.

As if she had just come to her senses, Banami laughed and said, "Haha, look at my memory, I almost forgot. Today is fine too, but..." She pretended to be troubled and glanced at Kusuke and Karen beside her.

"I have something to do here, senior? It's hard to teach you." Banai's eyes were sincere, and she acted so realistically that she almost fooled Lu Nan.

Lu Nan lifted up Dai Miao and gave her a pitiful look: "Huh? But school starts the day after tomorrow! Dai Miao and I don't know anything right now. What if we get lost on the first day of school? Senior won't just leave us alone, right?"

At the opportune moment, Daimiao added insult to injury: "Senior is the best, meow~"

Yagami declined again, "But what about here, Senpai..."

Karen noticed Hanami's predicament and pulled on Sosuke's arm, saying, "Then Anja should help her junior out. After all, he's an alumnus. As for shopping, Sosuke and I can go together."

Seeing that Banai seemed to be enjoying the tug-of-war, she tried to refuse again, but Lu Nan pulled her up and they ran away.

This tug-of-war is never-ending! Anyone who didn't know better would think we were exchanging red envelopes for Chinese New Year! Get out of here! Run, you silly cat!

"Thank you so much, senior! I'll borrow it now since I see you're here!"

"Bye-bye meow!"

After turning two corners and confirming that the two were completely out of sight, Lu Nan finally released Banami.

"What do you mean by 'borrowing'? That's weird." Banami rubbed her wrist; it still hurt a little from being dragged around.

"As long as it works, boss, the job is done. What do you think of the reward...?" Lu Nan Cangying rubbed his hands together, while Dai Miao raised his little round hand, looking ready.

Banami chuckled, "Alright, thank you for helping me out of this predicament."

She took out one hundred federal dollars from her small wallet and placed it in the little hand that the cat was holding up.

Seeing that he had received his reward, Lu Nan beamed with joy, almost ready to start a shamanistic dance with Dai Miao on the roadside.

Just a casual performance, less than five minutes and I can earn a hundred Federal Coins. What a great deal! I'm so lucky today. I'm so grateful to the boss for being so generous!

"Speaking of which, why are you guys still hanging out together? I thought you were going to have a complete falling out." Adhering to the principle of providing excellent after-sales service, Lu Nan asked Banami. His pure professionalism had always made him successful, but today it seemed that something unexpected had happened.

Once questioned, Banami started to pour out her grievances like a floodgate had opened, rambling on and on.

In short, they didn't break up and are still on good terms. Moreover, Hua Lian, the woman's boyfriend, is even more grateful to her after learning that she was the one who helped them, and wants to take her with him wherever he goes.

Little did she know that this was the most painful thing for Banami. Putting aside the fact that she liked Kusuke, it was already hard to watch Kusuke showing affection with other women. Just the feeling of constantly being fed dog food was unbearable for anyone. It was a complete torture for single people.

"Do you know how frustrated I was when they were singing love songs in the private room? Damn it!" Banami rubbed her head in frustration, making her smooth, shoulder-length blue hair all messy.

"Then just refuse," Lu Nan said, holding the silly cat.

"Hmm?" Banami turned to look at him.

“I said, then just refuse.” Lu Nan’s eyes were calm, as if he were stating something very ordinary: “Refuse to do things you don’t want to do, refuse to do things you feel uncomfortable with, isn’t that the right thing to do?”

"But......"

"If you can't even say no in a relationship, isn't that just too unfair?"

Seeing that Banami had lowered her head again, seemingly lost in thought, Lu Nan ignored her and said to himself, "Whether it's friendship, love, or anything else, rejection is a right that all humans possess."

“It’s not like the police are coming to arrest you. Refusing is like being detained. If you can’t even refuse in a relationship, then that relationship is rather twisted.”

As Lu Nan spoke, he lifted up Dai Miao: "Like how Dai Miao refused to let me bathe him. Even though I'm his boss, Dai Miao feels embarrassed when his boss bathes him, so he refuses without hesitation. I don't think it's a big deal. I will respect Dai Miao's decision. That's all."

"The example the boss gave was terrible, meow..."

"Has this little kitten forgotten he's still in the boss's hands? He deserves a spanking!"

Banami suddenly laughed, her expression no longer so gloomy: "I didn't expect that Junior Lu Nan would be a life mentor?"

Lu Nan waved his hand: "It's just a little extra service after the commission. My professional ethics are very high."

Banami blinked: "Then thank you, Lu Nan, you have such great professionalism~"

"If you really want to express your gratitude, why don't you recommend a restaurant that you think has delicious food?" Lu Nan accepted the thanks without hesitation and offered to reciprocate.

Because the gas pipe at Grand Blue broke down and needed repairs tonight, the fish soup plan that was prepared for tonight was also cancelled. However, it will be fixed tomorrow, so Uncle Kotegawa is planning to have a dinner party tomorrow and invite the diving club, Stile, Chisa, Iori, and Lunan's friends to come over, just as a pre-school... opening banquet?

In short, Lu Nan and Dai Miao will have to figure out their own food for today. Lu Nan originally planned to go back and have some instant noodles, but after being interrupted by Banai, he figured the original bus had already left, so he decided to eat out instead.

As for why I asked Hachimi to recommend it, it's because Hachimi is definitely a seasoned foodie and knows some incredibly hidden gem shops. The only way to get into these shops, besides accidentally stumbling upon them, is through internal referrals, just like finding a job—it's a cruel reality.

"Oh? You want me to recommend someone? Of course! Call me 'senpai' first, then let me hear your recommendations?" Banami said with a smile.

Lu Nan crossed his arms expressionlessly in refusal, and casually gave Banami a new nickname: "Old Banami."

Banami's face immediately scrunched up: "What? That's an awful nickname! I don't like it!"

Lu Nan pouted, "So you don't like it? What? You think I won't call you that just because you don't like it?"

"Hey, this is proof of our relationship. Isn't calling each other by our special nickname much better than just calling me 'senior sister' in a dry way?"

Banami snorted, "Oh, is that so? Then I'll refuse too. After all, someone just taught me how to refuse!"

"Hey? You dare use your father's magic against your father?"

"Hahahaha, what is this now? It's so funny!"

Chapter 40 Ramen King!

"Oh, so this is the place Lao Ba recommended?" Lu Nan looked up at the sign: "Hakata Tenryu Ramen? What an arrogant name."

"If Banana says it doesn't taste good, kick her butt, meow." Dumb Cat looked serious, as if it had already prepared its foot.

To be honest, this restaurant really fits Lu Nan's fantasy of a hidden gem restaurant in a back alley. It's tucked away deep in the alley, unassuming, with few customers, and looks quiet and peaceful. It's obviously full of mystery, and you can tell that some reclusive master has been there.

Without further ado, we'll only know if it's delicious or not after we try it. Lu Nan and Dai Miao immediately pushed open the door and entered.

The decor was very ordinary, looking no different from a typical ramen shop. The owner was stirring something in a pot. Besides Lu Nan, there was an uncle with an unusually haggard face that looked like it had been ravaged by society, and a pretty girl with pink hair. When she saw Lu Nan come in, she smiled and nodded as a greeting.

Lu Nan picked up Dai Miao and helped him sit down. The two of them were staring at the menu on the sign, choosing the type of ramen they wanted to eat. Little did they know, while they were looking at the menu, someone else was also watching them.

The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. These two looked like young people who had wandered into the shop by mistake; they probably had no idea what the essence of ramen was.

Just like that little girl over there, the battlefield of ramen is not something a little girl can easily step onto.

I, Lu Xiaoshan, have been deeply involved in the art of ramen tasting for over ten years, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call myself a king among ramen tasting masters.

In Blue Ocean City of the Eastern Federation, this is the only ramen restaurant that can be considered top-notch. I just don't know if these young people can understand the essence of it.

Uncle Xiaoshan couldn't help but sigh. If they really just wanted to enjoy the delicious food, he would teach them a few simple tricks later.

For example, when it comes to the most crucial aspect of choosing ramen, the highly-rated Shinjin no Tonkotsu Ramen is indeed a safe choice, but it's just that—a safe choice—and not exactly amazing.

The true gourmet's choice has to be the soy sauce, quietly hiding in the corner...

"Two servings of soy sauce pork bone, a little less so."

what!

Uncle Xiaoshan's eyes widened in disbelief. How did this young man know? It was clearly...

"I'll have a soy sauce tonkotsu ramen too, but not too light!" The pink-haired girl raised her hand, looking very excited for the ramen to come, her eyes sparkling.

Huh? Has some incredible young person recently entered the world of ramen tasting? Or am I just out of touch with the times?

No, no, no, Shan, we can't rush this. This is just the first step in appreciating ramen. There's more to come.

"What firmness do you want for the noodles?" the ramen shop owner asked casually.

"Here it comes!" Uncle Xiaoshan couldn't help but shout in his heart. The so-called firmness of ramen refers to the time it takes to cook the ramen after it has been boiled and taken out of the water. If it is too soft, the noodles will become completely bloated and swollen while you are eating the ramen, resulting in a loss of texture.

If it's too hard, the texture will be too dry, preventing the ramen from fully soaking in the broth, which is a mistake!

Therefore, the "harder" option is the most popular!

"One softer, one firmer, please give double the side dish to the firmer one."

"Extremely hard!"

Completely different voices rang out! What a mistake!

Uncle Koyama couldn't help but wail inwardly. Double the side dishes seemed like a blessing, but in reality, it would cause the entire texture of the noodles to become mixed together, and the salt content would be excessive—completely unacceptable! This was a desecration of ramen!!!

"Your noodles." The ramen shop owner's voice rang out at just the right time. Uncle Koyama's noodles were ready. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt as if he had just seen a hint of approval in the ramen shop owner's eyes.

Well then! Since things have come to this, I can only see if I can salvage the taste buds of these young people! Let the king-level ramen connoisseur—Lu Xiaoshan—correct your mistakes!

The most basic principle is to first find the most authentic aroma in the soup, and then enjoy it from the diagonal of the most fragrant red ginger.

Secondly, there's the taste. First, scoop up a spoonful of broth and savor it while it mixes with the air, stimulating your taste buds. In this way, you can savor the information conveyed by smell and taste from a god-like perspective.

Then come the noodles. Try a small amount first, then swallow and enjoy.

Finally, there's water. To savor the delicate texture and enjoy the pleasure of the taste, water washes away the oil and salt residue left on the tongue. Doing this step makes a world of difference.

This concludes one round. Repeating this process multiple times is what we call "water cycle".

Now, the noodles for the young people have arrived. Let's see how you treat this bowl of delicacies.

A cute pink-haired girl was engrossed in something, a smile playing on her lips, looking extremely focused.

The blue kitten and the black-haired young man moved in unison, each first scooping a spoonful of noodle soup into their mouths, prompting Uncle Xiaoshan to nod repeatedly in approval.

But what happened next completely baffled Uncle Xiaoshan. The pink-haired girl raised the small spoon in her hand and smiled happily, as if she had completed a work of art. Upon closer inspection, it looked as if the spoon contained a miniature bowl of ramen that had been shrunk to the same size!