This is not the date I wanted.

08 Dream Moon Line 1st day (Part )

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“Suck…ah~”

Shidou held the ramen in his hand, drank the remaining soup in one gulp, and exhaled with satisfaction. "The chewy noodles, the rich soup, and the appropriate side dishes not only did not reduce the original deliciousness of the ramen, but instead elevated it to a higher level. It is worthy of being the ramen made by the boss lady. It is really as delicious as ever."

"Hehe, this level is just a piece of cake."

Unlike when she was working seriously, Meng Yue had a relaxed smile on her face at this moment.

"It's incredible... Even though I know a little bit about making ramen, I still feel like I can't compare."

Shidao showed a little curiosity on his face. He had borrowed Mengyue's kitchen to try making ramen, and although the taste was good, it was obviously different from Mengyue's ramen.

How should I put it... The power of Yumezuki's ramen is satisfying and warm, and the taste is endless. This is something Shidou can't do.

"Is it really like the boss lady's homemade exclusive recipe as rumored?"

"Well, in a sense, it is true..."

After a moment of silence, Meng Yue nodded with a slightly mysterious smile.

Although the statement "in a sense" always feels like it has a deeper meaning, after all, I have admitted it, so that is the fact.

The noodles are fermented by a special method? The soup is made of special ingredients? Or is it some rare special ingredients? As a person who loves cooking, I am curious about the truth of this delicacy.

"Um, Madam Boss, although I know this request is very rude, could you please satisfy my curiosity and tell me the contents of the secret recipe? Just a little bit will be fine!"

Shidou clasped his hands together and prayed to Meng Yue.

"Well..." Meng Yue thought for a moment, then smiled, "If you want to remove that ♂ and marry me as a woman, and inherit this Meng Yue House, I can tell you~"

"Um... I'm a little bit..."

Hearing this, Shidao couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Meng Yue, who was watching this scene, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You took it seriously. It was obviously a joke. Young man, you need to learn to be humorous, don't you understand?"

"Ha ha……"

Shidou could only smile awkwardly and said nothing.

"The store is closed now, and I'm almost done preparing dinner for my sister, so..."

Just when Shidou was about to pack up and leave, suddenly, Mengyue pressed his shoulders from behind.

"Wait a minute~ What do you want to say about Shidou being late for work today?"

"Eh? Didn't I already apologize?!"

"If an apology is all that's needed to solve the problem, there won't be a need for police in the world. Hehe, actually, I'm trying a new kind of ramen, and I'm worried that no one will be my experimenter... Tasters, Shidou-kun, try it as an apology~"

"Experimenter! You definitely said experimenter just now!"

Shidou, who felt a huge sense of crisis, complained loudly.

"Ah... I don't understand what you said. Did you hear it wrong, boy?"

Pretending not to hear Shidou's complaints, Mengyue ran into the kitchen with a slightly bouncing step and took out a new bowl of ramen.

Is this ramen? This was Shidao's first thought after seeing the real thing.

A yellow-white paste-like soup, pale noodles with a subtle sense of translucency, and a side dish of dried squid that exudes a deliberate smell, just from the appearance, it completely makes people lose the desire to eat.

“This is squid and scallop ramen with salad dressing. This time, as a takeaway treat, I added honey as a hidden flavor~”

"Well... I don't have much appetite, so forget it."

"If you refuse, your salary this month will be reduced by half~"

At that moment, Mengyue's face had a smile that would make anyone's heart beat, but in Shidao's eyes, she was no different from a devil.

"Then... just one word..."

After hesitating for a moment, weighing the pros and cons between money and his own tongue, Shidao made a difficult choice.

"Hmm, come, let me feed you, ah~"

Perhaps from a third party's perspective, Gokawa Shido is currently being gently fed by a peerless beautiful girl, which is an enviable and hard-to-get-ridden thing...if you don't count the black aura emanating from the girl's chopsticks while picking up the food.

With twitching eyes, he looked at the food in front of him, then looked at Mengyue who was deliberately showing a bright smile in front of him. Shidao swallowed his saliva, and finally hardened his heart and ate the food that looked like ramen.

——Ugh! The sweetness of honey and the saltiness of squid collided with each other in an unbelievable way, and each of them rapidly developed in a bad direction. The sticky salad dressing mixed with the noodles made people feel as if they were not eating food but some kind of excrement. The esophagus instinctively resisted swallowing it. It was like overturning a five-flavor bottle, and all kinds of deliberate flavors collided in the mouth, torturing people's nerves, and made Shidao have the urge to bite off his tongue for a moment.

This is no longer just unpalatable; it's a destruction to the taste buds.

Then, in the next moment, Shidou relied on the last bit of consciousness he had left, covered his mouth, and ran madly towards the toilet.

"Then~ Mengyue House is closed today."

Meng Yue said with a satisfied look on her face.

……

"Ha, it's a miracle I'm even alive."

After returning home, Shidao lay down on the sofa, touched his stomach with a lingering fear on his face, and slowly let out a long breath.

"It should be said that because you know how to make delicious dishes, it is not difficult for you to make bad dishes. You are really worthy of being the boss lady... Uwa..."

As soon as he accidentally recalled the taste from before, Shidao's face suddenly turned pale. He covered his mouth and felt that his stomach, which had been emptied, seemed to be starting to churn again.

"Brother, you've worked hard, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

"…I'm sorry, Kotori. I'm not in the mood to cook today. Just go to the convenience store and buy some bento for dinner." "Oh! Then I'll buy the special takeout from the family restaurant!"

"Didn't you hear what I just said... Um, my phone and wallet with my bus pass were left at Mengyue House."

Feeling his empty pockets and looking at the darkening sky, Shidao showed an embarrassment on his face.

(I should go back. I hope the boss lady hasn’t locked the store yet.)

Shidou trotted back to the shopping street. It was already dark, and the shopping street that was bustling during the day was now much quieter. Moreover, it was closing time for Yumezuki-ya, and the Tenmachiya across the street was not very popular either. Therefore, the flow of people on this road was different from that during the day. It was so quiet that there was almost no one to be seen.

"Ha...it's closed after all."

Although he had anticipated this situation to a certain extent, after confirming that all the doors were locked tightly, Shidou still dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

Eh? Why is there a folding ladder here?

Looking at the folding ladder that he had not seen before leaving with some surprise, Shidao raised his head and found that the window above, which was originally locked, was opened by a small hole cut in it.

There was no need for Meng Yue to sneak into her own store in such a sneaky way, which meant... there was a thief?!

After realizing this, Shidao became anxious and wanted to take out his cell phone to call the police, but then he realized that his cell phone was in the store.

For a moment, Shidao showed an embarrassed expression.

"Well... although breaking into someone's house is illegal, if I find the thief and he doesn't do anything, I will definitely be scolded by the boss lady. Besides, my phone and wallet are also there."

Shidao muttered to himself for a few words, gave himself some reasonable reasons, then climbed up the folding ladder and climbed in through the pried-open window.

"Hehe... I finally found the secret recipe. Now... my Tonomachiya will finally usher in a glorious era..."

Not long after entering the house, I saw a masked man in black clothes stealthily rummaging through the cupboards in the lighted kitchen. After finding a note, he let out a cry and carefully put the note into his pocket.

That guy, is he here to steal the secret recipe of Mengyuewu? !

Although he had never seen it, Shidao knew that the secret recipe of Mengyue House was developed by Mengyue alone to make his business prosperous. It supported the foundation of Mengyue House. If it was stolen, it would be a huge blow to Mengyue.

If the other party was just here to steal some ordinary money, Shidao would probably look for an opportunity to secretly observe the other party's identity in the dark and then report it to the police. However, the other party's behavior was to blaspheme the efforts of the person he respected, which really aroused Shidao's anger.

"Stop it, you thief!"

"Ouch! No! Run!"

Shidao's sudden appearance startled the other party. The thief looked obviously panicked. After looking left and right, he saw a door on the other side that he could escape from, so he hurriedly ran towards that exit.

"Stop! Give me back the boss lady's secret recipe!"

Shidou hurried forward and grabbed the other person. Although the other person was much taller than Shidou in terms of body size, it seemed that this was also his first time as a thief. After being discovered, he was completely panicked and was actually locked up by Shidou and unable to move.

"Well, you must be dreaming... How could I be caught here? I have a huge ambition to make Tenomachiya the number one ramen shop in the shopping street. Before I achieve it, I - Tenomachi Hiroto, will never be caught!"

By the way... you have already revealed your personal information.

"Watch out! Secret technique - Escape!"

The restraining feeling in his arms suddenly disappeared, Shidou looked down and found that what he was holding in his hands was only the nightgown that the other person was wearing.

"Hehe... A mortal like you can't stop my ambition. It will take you five hundred years to catch me."

At the door, a masked thief wearing only a pair of crotchless pants...or should I say, a masked exhibitionist, looked up with a smug smile, then turned around and ran away.

Even so...Tonomachiya is just across the street.

Shidou looked at the other person walking into the house, with dark lines on his forehead.

"I say...what's the matter? I'm trying to catch up on my sleep..."

"Madam Boss, this is bad, someone just appeared here...!!!"

Suddenly, a familiar muttering came from behind. Shidao turned around and his face suddenly turned red.

Mengyue was not wearing pajamas on her upper body at this time. Except for a bra covering her chest, her slender waist, delicate belly button, and the girl's tender skin were completely exposed to Shidao's sight.

It seemed that because she was woken up from a deep sleep, Mengyue still looked a little sleepy. She rubbed her eyes and looked confused.

"...Shidou...Is it already this late...Oh no, I have to go prepare the soup..."

"No! Madam Boss! Clothes, clothes!"

"...?"

Tilting her head in confusion, Meng Yue gradually regained consciousness. After seeing the time, place, people, and her own outfit clearly, she quickly understood her current situation.

Then, the gaze towards Shidou became extremely piercing.

“………………Moshimoshi, is this the police station? Someone is trespassing here and intends to sexually assault me.”

"Wait a minute! Madam Boss, please listen to my explanation!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Shidou quickly explained what happened to Mengyue.

"I see... The people at the Tonomachiya across the street are really boring. They have time to think about the shortcomings of their own store and actually do such petty thefts. And you too, Shidou, why did you come out to fight with them for no reason? Are you trying to show off? If the other party gets impatient and takes out a kitchen knife from the kitchen, you won't be able to laugh."

After changing her clothes, Mengyue explained to Shidou with a serious face.

"I have deeply realized my mistake, Madam Boss, so can you please put the kitchen knife that is pointing at me somewhere else?"

Shidou kept his sitting posture, sweat ran down his back as he looked at the cold blade that was resting on the tip of his nose.

"Hmph...really." After slowly letting out a breath, Meng Yue's expression calmed down a little and she slowly put down the kitchen knife.

"Isn't it just that something was stolen from the store? Don't tell me you don't know which one is more important, your life or yours."

"……Feel sorry."

After sensing the other party's concern for him, Shidao also felt very guilty for his momentary impulse.

"Well, I knew you were an idiot a long time ago. I'll forgive you this time."

After getting Mengyue's forgiveness, Shidao breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked with some concern.

"So, what about Tonomachiya?"

"Hmm? Just leave it alone."

Seeing Mengyue's indifferent attitude, Shidao was stunned.

"Eh? But they took our secret recipe..."

"I don't remember leaving any secret recipe notes in the store. Besides, it's not a special thing. It doesn't matter if it's stolen. Oh... By the way, the other party broke into our window and rummaged around in our kitchen. We really need to extort money from him... and compensate him."

"Haha..." Seeing Meng Yue's malicious smile, Shidao laughed dryly twice, then asked curiously, "Eh? What was the thing that Tonomachi stole before?"

“That should be the recipe of the best 10 dark cuisines I have researched so far.”

Shidou suddenly began to sympathize with the owner of Tonomachiya.

(Tonomachi (foaming at the mouth): "Tonomachiya...Abomination...Gurgle gurgle vomit...")

"Well, now that you've got the food, hurry back. Tomorrow is Saturday, and the customer flow will be more than double today. If you don't want to eat the 'new dishes', don't be late for work again!"

"Yes!"

——The next day.