ECG -Chapter 154 The Western Restaurant in the Alley

In his previous life, it was also 2004 when he had once stayed in this metropolis for an entire year. Back then, it had been at a large entertainment bar. Unfortunately, when he left, his departure had been quite miserable.

Because the newly appointed stage director was always secretly deducting the band’s wages, he could no longer tolerate it and beat the man so badly that he knocked out two of his front teeth. After spending 15 days in detention, he left this Eastern “Magic City” in despair.

He noticed that compared with his previous life, this world was different not only in terms of people, but also in terms of urban construction. Although the Oriental Pearl Tower was still there, its height and scale were clearly a little smaller than in his previous life.

Some streets that used to be extremely wide were narrower now, but the cleanliness of the city and the way pedestrians dressed had not changed in the slightest.

Lin Hao became more and more fascinated by this world. He was even more eager for his trip to Yanjing. He wanted to see the old courtyard house inside the Second Ring Road where he had once lived for two years, and he also wanted to check whether Tiantongyuan outside the North Fifth Ring Road existed…

He had lived in Yanjing for ten years, and had long considered it his second hometown.

More than forty minutes later, the car stopped by the roadside.

Only after Lin Hao turned around did he realize that Zuo Yao had already fallen asleep. She really was just a kid.

After getting out of the car, the two of them walked into a narrow, winding alley. Northerners called these places hutongs, while Shanghainese called them nongtangs.

Lin Hao looked up and saw many bamboo poles stretching across both sides above his head. The clothes hanging on them were all kinds of colors: bras as white as two steamed buns, gray boxer shorts, pink pajamas…

The stone path beneath their feet was smooth and clean, clearly having been there for many years.

As the sky gradually darkened, Lin Hao asked curiously, “Can anyone actually find this restaurant in such a hidden place?”

Zuo Yao somehow pulled out a hair tie. In just a few moves, she tied up her long draped hair into a ponytail. Turning around, she hopped along as she said, “People come here for the taste. This old restaurant has been around for decades. My parents really like this place!”

“We’re here!”

Zuo Yao stopped in front of a doorway. Lin Hao looked it over. The walls were built from piled stones, with many patches of moss faintly visible on them. Green ivy had climbed over the top of the wall, and it looked like it would cover the outside completely before long.

Lin Hao followed her down several steps and entered the courtyard.

The courtyard was not large. Above them was a colorful glass roof, with several exquisite crystal-like glass lamps hanging down, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

Toward the inside were two booth seats. In one of them, a man and woman were sitting close together, whispering softly.

An elderly man with completely white hair and beard walked over. Only when he got closer did Lin Hao realize that he was a mixed-race man, probably with some Chinese ancestry. Although he was already this old, one could still tell that he must have been extremely handsome when he was young.

“Hello, Miss Zuo!” the old man greeted with a smile, speaking in authentic Shanghainese.

Although Lin Hao had stayed here for a year in his previous life, he couldn’t speak Shanghainese. He could only barely understand a few phrases.

“Old An, I brought a friend to try your cooking!” It was obvious that Zuo Yao was very familiar with him. Perhaps afraid that Lin Hao wouldn’t understand, she spoke in Mandarin.

Zuo Yao patted Lin Hao on the shoulder. “This is Lin Hao!”

Then she walked over and patted the old man’s shoulder. “This is Old An, the owner here. He’s also the chef, waiter, and cashier!”

Lin Hao smiled and reached out to shake Old An’s hand.

“Mr. Lin, Miss Zuo, please come inside!” Old An also switched to Mandarin. His face was full of smiles as he gestured politely for them to enter.

The two of them walked further in. Zuo Yao was about to head inside the room when Old An stopped her with a hand.

“Sit outside. It’s cooler here!”

Zuo Yao ignored him and smiled at Lin Hao. “Old An has a lot of old photos. I’ll show them to you!”

Lin Hao clearly noticed the troubled look on Old An’s face. He guessed there must be some situation inside the room, so he didn’t want to go in.

But unexpectedly, Zuo Yao grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the room. Lin Hao had no choice but to turn around and give Old An an apologetic look.

The moment the two entered the room, they were stunned.

There really was something going on inside.

The room wasn’t very big. Directly opposite the entrance was a small bar counter. On the left side were two booths. In other words, including the two booths in the courtyard, this restaurant only had four tables.

At this moment, three people were sitting in the booth inside. The man facing the door looked to be around thirty years old. Although his face was somewhat pale, his features were quite handsome.

As for another man, from Lin Hao’s angle when entering, he could only see half of his face. Judging by his appearance, he also didn’t seem very old.

“Oh! Isn’t this the great singer Mao? What wind blew you here?” Lin Hao didn’t expect that Zuo Yao would know this person. From her tone, he could tell there was even a hint of sarcasm.

The handsome man in his thirties was also startled when he saw Zuo Yao, then he grinned.

“Miss Zuo, you didn’t come with your father?”

Before Zuo Yao could say anything, Old An followed them inside and said from behind them, “Miss Zuo, we have some matters to deal with. You and your friend should go sit in the courtyard instead.”

Lin Hao looked around the room. The decoration here was extremely old-fashioned, with a lot of those colorful glass ornaments. The walls were covered with wooden frames of various sizes and black-and-white photographs.

On the wall beside the service counter hung a dark leather guitar case. It looked like it had been there for many years.

Seeing that the owner had already said that, Lin Hao tugged lightly on Zuo Yao’s little hand, meaning: Let’s go outside.

From the moment they entered the room until now, she still hadn’t let go of his hand.

Zuo Yao turned around, rose onto her tiptoes, and leaned close to Lin Hao’s ear.

“This Mao Tong is a guitarist, but he’s a really bad person!”

The scent on Zuo Yao was very pleasant, especially since she was standing so close.

Hearing what she said, Lin Hao frowned slightly. This Zuo Yao was still too young. Whether someone else was good or bad, what did it have to do with them?

“Let’s go.”

Lin Hao used a little more force and pulled Zuo Yao outside.

Old An led the way. After the two left the room and sat down at the outdoor booth, Old An brought over two glasses of ice water and a menu, placing them on the table.

“Take a look first. Call me when you’ve decided what to order.”

After saying that, he didn’t wait for Zuo Yao and Lin Hao to reply before hurriedly going back inside.

Lin Hao looked at the menu, while the corner of his eye glanced toward Zuo Yao. He saw that she looked gloomy and kept looking toward the room.

He secretly shook his head.

This little girl really had an overflowing sense of justice.

He turned his attention back to the menu and carefully read it. Unexpectedly, this restaurant was actually a French-style western restaurant.

There were dishes like bouillabaisse, tuna pies, red wine chicken, foie gras steak, saffron chicken, onion soup, steamed egg meat rolls, French braised potatoes, and so on.

Just as Lin Hao was thinking about what he should eat, a quarrel suddenly came from inside the room.

Immediately afterward, he heard a loud—

“Slap!”

Someone must have been hit.

Before he could react, Zuo Yao suddenly “whoosh” rushed inside.

Lin Hao sighed.

Zuo Yao—causing trouble, acting mischievously. It really wasn’t a wrong name for her. This girl truly was not someone who could stay out of trouble.

Afraid that this little girl would suffer, he put down the menu and quickly chased after her…