Yang Xiabing, who has always been very strict about her body image management, believes that maintaining figure and beauty should be a lifelong pursuit for women. She pays special attention to her diet, avoiding high-calorie foods, and primarily eating vegetables and fruits.

She jokingly refers to this as "eating grass."

More fashionably, it's called "light eating."

Despite her self-discipline, she couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food this time.

Like someone who hasn't had a full meal in ages, she stuffed large mouthfuls into her mouth, making tiny munching sounds.

She exclaimed with delight, "Mmm, mmm, mmm... the taste is truly amazing... so delicious!"

"It's really so delicious... glug glug..."

"Let's buy some more to take home later... glug glug..."

Huh?

What is that glugging sound?

Lin Manli, who was enjoying the lotus leaf steamed ribs, initially thought her best friend was drinking nourishing fish soup.

But then she realized.

The nourishing fish soup had already been finished!

So, the question is...

What is her best friend drinking now?

She raised her head in surprise and looked at the bright face opposite her, with delicate makeup and some sauce on the corner of her lips.

Yet she still exuded a captivating beauty.

Lin Manli looked at her best friend, who was acting unusually strange.

The perennial icy face had a rare ripple.

With a hint of surprise in her beautiful eyes, she asked, "Bingbing, do you know what you're drinking right now?"

"I'm drinking..."

Yang Xiabing replied instinctively, but before she could finish her sentence, she froze.

Oh dear!

What exactly was she drinking?!

What on earth is this stuff?

How could it taste so good?

Wait!

This little box seems to be...

Seems it must be the duck sauce ahhhh...

She had been enjoying herself so much, continuously popping food into her mouth, that she forgot all about the duck sauce!

She even completely forgot the matter of the duck sauce.

Now, she had instinctively picked it up, smelled something sweet and fragrant in her hand, and took a sip.

The taste was sweet with a hint of saltiness.

It had a sauce fragrance and a lipid aroma.

The flavor was delicious.

She instinctively took several more sips.

She finished an entire small box of sweet bean sauce that came with the roast duck!

Yang Xiabing: "..."

Lin Manli: "..."

The two of them were wide-eyed, silently staring at each other for a long moment.

"Ahem ahem ahem..."

Yang Xiabing cleared her throat, pursed her lips into an awkward yet polite smile, and explained, "Lili, let me tell you, it's mainly because this stuff is really too delicious... It's all the fault of that chef at the Delicious Restaurant stall, making even duck sauce taste so good that I accidentally drank it all..."

"However, the taste of this sweet bean sauce is particularly refreshing, not that kind of sticky or overly sweet sensation."

"Hmm~ There's also a special sauce fragrance, the taste is salty with a hint of sweetness, fresh and rich."

"In short, the taste is top-notch, I really should have used the sweet bean sauce to dip the roast duck just now!"

"That flavor must be absolutely superb!"

The more she spoke, the more regretful she felt.

But now, it was too late, she would just have to go buy another roast duck later.

As she was about to grab a bite of the lotus leaf steamed ribs to comfort her regretful heart, she heard her best friend agree.

"Yes, using sweet bean sauce to dip the roast duck really tastes superb."

Oh!

Does this count as acknowledging that the food at Delicious Restaurant is indeed delicious?!

Yang Xiabing teased, "Lili, from what you said, does this mean you indirectly agree that the stuff from the Delicious Restaurant stall is not worse than those places you wanted to drag me to?"

Lin Manli wasn't the type to stubbornly stick to her pride and suffer for it.

Learning to acknowledge others' merits is the first lesson in entering society.

Even if admitting it made her face tingle a bit.

"It's indeed quite good. Despite my years of serving as the editor for the Wenling City food magazine, covering numerous eateries and exploring many old brands, I thought I knew all the culinary stops in town, but it seems I've overlooked some…"

She elegantly nodded, gave a slight smile, and after some thought, added, "Hmm, I think this Delicious Restaurant is quite worth reporting. I guess I should thank you for finding such a treasure stall for me."

"Then how are you going to thank your hero here?"

"How would you like to be thanked?"

Lin Manli was already prepared to be thoroughly fleeced by her best friend.

Knowing her best friend well, it would either be a seafood feast or a French dinner.

But who would have thought, this time she guessed wrong...

"Just treat me to another delicious meal from Delicious Restaurant!"

"Uh… what did you say?"

Lin Manli almost thought she misheard. Every time she was asked to treat, it usually meant being thoroughly fleeced! Like before, when asked to treat, it was always for seafood feasts or French dinners…

Yet this time, the love for Delicious Restaurant's food made her lose interest in seafood and French feasts~

But upon second thoughts, she realized her friend's request made perfect sense.

After all, everything from Delicious Restaurant is so delicious!

It's the kind that makes you want to keep eating!

"Alright then! You go get in line to buy it, and I'll reimburse you later."

"OK..."

Yang Xiabing didn't feel like she was missing out on a great dining opportunity. She happily made an OK gesture with her hand, thinking that buying it and taking it home for dinner wouldn't be a bad idea. However, recalling her best friend's earlier words, she couldn't help but wonder, "Why am I the one going to stand in line to buy it? Shouldn't it be you?"

"I'm planning to find the owner of Delicious Restaurant later to discuss an interview report, so I can't help you stand in line."

"Alright then!"

After agreeing, the two continued to enjoy the remaining food.

A moment later.

It was all gone.

Even the cucumber sticks were all eaten, not a single one left.

Yang Xiabing took out a box of tissues, pulled out a few, and handed them to Lin Manli.

Then she grabbed a few for herself to wipe her lips and hands, before crumpling the tissues and tossing them into the empty takeout box.

She tilted her head back slightly, touched her stomach, and sighed, "Ah... I'm so full..."

"Same here!"

Lin Manli also rubbed her slightly protruding belly, feeling that this was the fullest and most satisfying meal she'd had in years.

It was also the first time she experienced how good food can have a soul, evoking a special sense of happiness from the heart!

After a short rest, they got up and headed back to the Delicious Restaurant booth.

As soon as they got nearby.

The two split up.

Yang Xiabing joined the queue at the back.

Lin Manli walked to the side of the booth, leaned over, and politely asked, "Excuse me, is your boss here?"

"I am. Is there something you need?"

Huang Tao looked up at Lin Manli, curious about what she wanted.

Lin Manli didn't expect the handsome chef with incredible skills to make such delicious food was actually the owner himself.

So young and already such a great cook.

And he's handsome too!

With just these two qualities, he could easily become very popular!

At this moment, only two words ran through her mind.

It's a sure thing!

"I didn't expect the owner to be so young and talented in cooking!"

She decisively took out a business card and handed it to the handsome owner, her lips curling into a charming smile, "Hello, I'm Lin Manli, the editor-in-chief of Wenling City's Food and Beauty Magazine. I'd like to interview and report on the food at your place. Can we discuss the details further?"

Nearby, chefs and booth managers from other stalls saw the editor-in-chief of the Food and Beauty Magazine personally inviting the owner of Delicious Restaurant to be featured in her magazine, and they all cast envious glances at Huang Tao.

Huang Tao was surprised.

He took the business card, checked the organization on it, and realized it was a well-known food magazine in Wenling City.

He didn't expect their editor-in-chief to take the initiative to offer a feature on his restaurant's food.

He remembered seeing this beautiful editor-in-chief queuing at his booth earlier, watching him slice fish and roast duck.

Perhaps she had come to the food festival specifically to discover great food, and she was satisfied with his offerings, deciding they were worth featuring, which led to her approach.

Of course.

Such free publicity was something Huang Tao naturally wouldn't reject.

However, he was currently participating in the food festival!

He couldn't find the time to discuss the report with the food magazine editor-in-chief, let alone accommodate their subsequent filming requirements.

Alas!

You can't have it both ways, so he had to give it up!

He smiled and politely declined, "I'm sorry, I'm going to be very busy these days, and I don't have the time right now."

The chefs and booth managers nearby heard this and were all wearing expressions of disbelief.

Oh my!

He actually turned her down...

If it were them, they would have agreed in a heartbeat.

Too bad!

The editor-in-chief wasn't interested in their food...

The chefs and managers nearby were crying inwardly...

Huang Yide and Ding Suqin, among others, were initially puzzled as to why Huang Tao refused.

They just thought that perhaps Huang Tao was refusing the magazine's invitation due to his current obligations to the food festival, feeling it was a bit of a shame but respecting his decision nonetheless.

Then, a look of surprise flashed in Lin Manli's eyes.

She couldn't believe the other party had outright declined her.

To know how many people clamor with heaps of money, trying to get featured in her magazine.

Now she, as the editor-in-chief, was offering free promotion for him.

Yet he wasn't interested.

He declined!

At any other booth, those owners would be pulling out all the stops to flatter and curry favor with her.

Unlike this young owner, who didn't even want to engage with her...

For the first time, she felt that the title of Food and Beauty Magazine's editor-in-chief wasn't as prestigious as she thought...

Standing in line, Yang Xiabing witnessed her best friend being rebuffed for the first time in her life. Her heart remained undisturbed, and she even felt a little amused.

She even took out her phone to snap a picture for memory's sake!

Not wanting to give up just yet, Lin Manli smiled gently again, "Boss, if you're busy these days, can we set up a time to talk in detail some other day? Of course, my magazine will fully accommodate your schedule..."

Huang Tao didn't expect the editor-in-chief to be willing to accommodate him.

Since the editor herself had gone so far, it would not be appropriate for Huang Tao to refuse again.

He nodded in agreement, "Alright then! Let's get in touch after the food festival ends!"

"Can you give me a contact number?"

"Sure!"

The two exchanged contact information.

The other chefs and managers nearby shed tears of envy.

This kind of treatment was truly one of a kind...

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