“Ah Shen, have you found Little Ru?!” The old man suddenly looked up at the son standing in front of his desk.
He was seventy-eight this year. Once straight-backed, he was now slightly hunched — but in this moment, it seemed like all strength had drained from him.
His eyes flickered with hope, eager to believe but afraid to.
This anxiety stemmed from too many past disappointments.
Han Shen pressed his lips into a thin line. Though his expression was restrained, a suppressed excitement sparkled in his overly clear eyes.
Like the old man, he was both thrilled and scared — the result was a nervous expression.
“It should be Little Ru. She’s older now, but her facial features haven’t changed. Even her name is the same.”
“She’s in Linhuai?”
Han Shen nodded. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go now!”
“Slow down. Bring your ID and the old photos. The car’s already ready — it’s waiting outside.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll go slow…” The old man nodded, but the hurried movements betrayed his urgency.
Han Shen watched but didn’t stop him.
His little sister was alive…
This news was like a miracle to the whole family.
He was just as emotional — how could he ask the old man to stay calm?
Because of one moment of confusion, they had lost the daughter, and his mother had cut ties with him. For over twenty years, he had lived with guilt and remorse.
Now that they finally had news of Little Ru, how could the old man sit still?
Just as the two of them got in the car, ready to set off, Han Shen’s phone rang—
“Hello? What?! Which hospital?! Alright, Dad and I will head there immediately.”
…
Back in the capital, Han Yunru knew nothing of this.
She and Jiang Da were completely swamped — not only with the new private kitchen restaurant, but also with the pancake shop behind No. 1 High School.
The restaurant brought new excitement, while the pancake shop reminded them of their roots. Since they couldn’t abandon either, they had to handle both.
After gathering opinions from fans online, Jiang Da decided that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays he’d work at the private kitchen while Han Yunru would go to the pancake shop; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, they’d switch. Sundays would be a toss-up — the couple would appear together wherever they felt like.
Fans were pleased. Some had worried that the new restaurant’s success would lead to the pancake shop being closed. This arrangement was ideal.
Only Jiang Da wasn’t thrilled…
“Doesn’t this mean for six days a week, we’re not together during the day?”
Han Yunru responded, “En… that’s true in principle. But we’ll still be together in the evenings.”
Jiang Da pouted. “Wifey, can’t we just do everything together? Work the private kitchen on M/W/F, pancake shop on T/Th/S. We’ve got San Pang and the others at the restaurant — I can prep all the tricky ingredients and spices ahead of time and label everything. As long as they follow the steps, it’ll taste the same as mine.”
“As for the pancake shop…” he thought aloud, “we can have Fu Man and Ah Biao take shifts, same schedule split. Plus, Aunt Liu’s there too — we’re not short on hands.”
Honestly, he’d thought it through well. It could actually work.
But…
Han Yunru replied, “You already promised the fans. Xiao Douzi’s posted the schedule. Isn’t it a bit late to back out now?”
Jiang Da ruffled his hair in frustration. “Then what do I do?”
Han Yunru just shrugged.
“You don’t feel sad at all?” he asked.
“I’m too happy that business is booming — what’s there to be sad about?”
“But we’ll be apart for six… whole… days.”
Han Yunru laughed, her eyes helpless. “You’re not a kid. Why are you so clingy?”
“I’m not clingy!” Jiang Da flushed — thankfully, his dark skin hid most of it. “I just… don’t want to be apart from you.”
The last part came out in a rush, as if afraid others might hear.
Han Yunru shot him a look, her own cheeks coloring. “Watch your mouth! What if Yueyue or Chenxing hear and laugh at us?”
Jiang Da nervously glanced around, then chuckled. “They’re upstairs. Can’t hear.”
“Still, don’t say it!”
“But I’m telling the truth…” Jiang Da grumbled softly.
A rare moment of defiance — one of the few times he wouldn’t listen to his wife.
In the end, they stuck to the original plan. Jiang Da’s suggestion was rejected.
The tall, burly man looked utterly pitiful, hugging his wife and whining, “I really don’t want to…”
Han Yunru, tickled by the stubble on her neck, hissed, “Don’t move… there’s nothing we can do. We agreed already.”
“Can’t we change it?”
She shook her head.
Jiang Da drooped like a bullied shar-pei, miserable.
Feeling bad, Han Yunru relented. “Let’s try this schedule for a while. We can change it later, okay?”
“Okay!” Jiang “Shar-Pei” Da perked up instantly, eyes gleaming.
…
After witnessing Jiang Ji hit over ten trending topics on opening day, Cao Dou gained a whole new respect for the power of the internet.
No exaggeration — that level of exposure might cost tens of millions in ads.
Now managing Jiang Ji’s social media, he’d been updating consistently, and followers were increasing rapidly. Engagement was rivaling that of professional creators.
They had high-end equipment, fancy editing, background music, captions — but Cao Dou was just filming Han Yunru making desserts or Jiang Da busy in the kitchen. Even so, his views and shares matched, even beat them in likes.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of mission. He had to keep improving for the fans.
So he went to Wu Qian again.
“…You want to learn video editing?”
“Yes!” Cao Dou nodded, eyes firm.
“I don’t know how, but I’ll find someone who does — Little Zhang—”
Soon, Cao Dou was learning editing while continuing updates.
Fans quickly noticed—
“Huh? The video quality is better?”
“Did he get proper lighting?”
“The camera doesn’t shake anymore. Did Brother Dou finally buy a tripod?”
“He even added slow-mo! Applause!”
With all the positive feedback, Cao Dou was even more motivated.
He was also in charge of hiring.
That used to be Han Yunru’s task — but she was too picky: no dirty habits, no bad tempers, no laziness…
Result: she couldn’t hire anyone.
Even Aunt Liu was introduced by Jiang Fuyue.
Cao Dou was different — young, flexible, and adaptive. Even if someone tried to slack, he’d guide them. If they still didn’t shape up, he’d fire them.
Thanks to his efforts, Jiang Ji’s staff was now more complete than ever.
To clarify responsibilities, he split them into teams — service team, greeters, cashiers, kitchen helpers.
Each had subgroups: cleaning, dishwashing, ingredient prep, etc.
Some had only one or two people, but at least the duties were clear, and everything ran smoothly.
When Jiang Fuyue found out, she gave advice: “You could also add rewards or performance-based incentives.”
A little healthy competition helps any team improve.
Inspired, Cao Dou started drafting rules that very night.
…
Originally, Jiang Fuyue had agreed to return to the lab the day after tomorrow.
But the next day, Han Yunru didn’t let her or Little Brother Jiang go to the store.
With nothing to do, she decided to return early.
She took a cab to the DNA Biotech Lab, swiped her keycard, passed through the long hallway, and turned into the locker room.
She changed into a white lab coat, tied her long hair into a ponytail, washed her hands at the cleaning station, and entered the workspace.
But…
“Where is everyone?”
The large space was empty — computers off, no open files, no signs of activity.
“Old Jin?”
“Old Bai?”
She wandered around. “Weird… where did everyone go?”
At that moment, she heard a faint noise from the core lab area.
She approached and placed her keycard on the scanner. Beep, beep.
The door opened.
