Universe Infinite Canteen

Yu Yitong conducted the interview while not forgetting to take photos.

Aside from taking dozens of close-up shots of the freshly cooked stir-fried noodles, she also captured candid pictures of Ma Lu and Old Wang at work, as well as the satisfied expressions of customers as they tasted the noodles.

Yu Yitong could tell that their smiles were genuine, the kind that only emerge when truly savoring delicious food.

She pressed the shutter, capturing this joy.

When there were only 20 servings of stir-fried noodles left, Ma Lu counted the number of people in line and put out a "Sold Out" sign made from a cardboard box at the end of the queue.

By then, Yu Yitong had completed her interview and photography, put the lens cap back on, and stowed her recorder and notebook in the backpack behind her.

"Are you leaving?" asked Ma Lu.

"Yeah," Yu Yitong nodded, "Thank you for agreeing to the interview. There's a lot of information to sort through, I'll need to organize it carefully when I get back. I'll also send you a copy of the finished article."

"No problem, we're just cooperating with each other," Ma Lu thought for a moment, then had Old Wang make another serving of stir-fried noodles, packed it up, and handed it to Yu Yitong.

"It's mealtime now. This is for you to take back and eat."

"No, no need, thank you. I've been on a diet recently and don't eat much carbs in the evening," Yu Yitong quickly declined with a wave of her hand.

Ma Lu didn't take it back, "Since you're planning to write about my snack stall and you took so many photos this afternoon, don't you want to try the taste for yourself?"

"Uh... I've tried your braised large intestines before, have you forgotten? The taste was... very good," Yu Yitong said, "Yeah, it was delicious."

"Really, delicious in what way? Tell me about it," Ma Lu raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a food critic? You should be able to describe it in more detail."

"Well, our department mainly deals with content... As for the food observers you mentioned, they're in a different department," Yu Yitong vaguely explained.

"Oh, is that so."

"That's the situation. In a big company, positions are finely divided to facilitate KPI evaluations. Everyone only does a part of the work."

Yu Yitong didn't know what she was explaining, but afterwards, she still took the stir-fried noodles.

"But you're right, I haven't tried your new stir-fried noodles yet. They look very appetizing."

The last sentence was truly heartfelt from Yu Yitong; although she hadn't tasted The Universe's Number One Snack Stall's stir-fried noodles, over the past hour, she had seen many people wearing radiant smiles after eating the noodles, indicating the flavor must be excellent.

"Our stir-fried noodles are the best in the universe," Ma Lu stated with undeniable certainty.

Although Yu Yitong did not agree with this statement, perhaps because Ma Lu was willing to compromise and accept the interview, she unprecedentedly didn't argue with him.

"Anyway, thank you for the stir-fried noodles."

Yu Yitong said goodbye to Ma Lu, then also greeted Old Wang.

"Isn't your boyfriend coming to pick you up?" Ma Lu asked as he saw her put on her backpack.

"He... he's quite busy with work today. I'll just take the subway back," Yu Yitong replied, her gaze unintentionally sweeping over He Xiaoqian not far away, "Then, I won't disturb you any longer."

Although she said so, after leaving Aerospace University, Yu Yitong didn't head to the subway station. She had reported a field assignment at her company and didn't need to go back to clock in, but it seemed a bit early to go home now.

The main thing was that Yu Yitong didn't know what to do once she got back.

So she just wandered aimlessly along the road, occasionally lifting her camera to capture interesting moments.

She had always enjoyed wandering aimlessly through the city like this during her school days, and after she got into a relationship, it became the two of them hanging out together.

It was a poor college student's cheap joy.

Yu Yitong especially liked those little alleys. They twisted and turned, much like small labyrinths, isolating those within from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

It was like a worldly wander that let one temporarily forget the troubles of real life.

In spring, one could see the branches of crabapple and lilac trees stretching out from the courtyard, and with a bit of luck, encounter peach and apricot trees by the roadside.

At such times, Yu Yitong would stop in her tracks, fiddle with her old camera, and look for the perfect angle to take a photo, while Ma Lu would excitedly tell her about the latest urban legends he had heard.

Due to the absurd nature of these stories, Yu Yitong sometimes doubted whether they were simply concocted by someone's wild imagination.

And sometimes, when Yu Yitong was so focused on taking pictures that when she turned around, the source of the constant noise that had been ringing in her ears would be gone.

But all she had to do was walk a few more steps forward and she would find that familiar figure squatting at the next corner, playing with a stray kitten or puppy that had appeared out of nowhere.

Yu Yitong had counted before, ten steps… at most ten steps, and she would always see him.

That feeling... it was probably what one would call reassurance.

But now, when Yu Yitong walked into the alley again, no one was waiting for her anymore.

As the sun was about to set, Yu Yitong felt tired from walking and her stomach was growling.

So she found an empty stone bench to sit down on, packed away her camera, and took out the fried noodles she had bought.

Because they had been sitting for a while, the plastic container had cooled down, but the color of the fried noodles inside was still very tempting.

Yu Yitong stirred the noodles with a disposable chopstick and discovered onions, green bean sprouts, shredded carrots, other greens, and egg.

It looked much like the fried noodles from other street stalls, but those vegetarian noodle dishes normally cost only 10, maybe 12 yuan per portion, and the quantity was much more than what was offered at The Universe's Number One Snack Stall.

Just by appearance, it was hard to understand why these fried noodles could be sold for 36 yuan per portion.

It could only mean there were still too many rich people in the city.

Yu Yitong picked up a strand of noodle with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, and then her expression changed instantly.

Such a rich meaty flavor! Was it made with meat juice?!

No, that wasn't right, simple meat juice couldn't achieve such a savory taste, and not even the hand-pulled noodles from Shanxi could produce such firm and springy texture.

Almost fooled, this was not even noodles, but meat! Noodles made of meat!!!

There might have been some cornstarch mixed in, but only a small amount, just to help it hold shape, the bulk of it was meat.

This was essentially a meat stir-fry in the guise of vegetarian noodles.

Yu Yitong remembered a specialty food called "fish noodles" from her hometown.

It involved skinning and deboning fresh fish, scraping out the flesh, mixing it with starch and salt to form a dough, and then shaping it into noodles, resulting in an incredibly delicate taste.

But fish noodles usually have a slight fishy taste. In contrast, The Universe's Number One Snack Stall's fried noodles had only freshness, and even though they had cooled down somewhat, Yu Yitong couldn't detect any off-flavors.

With just one bite, her taste buds were dominated by an assertive freshness as the strands of noodles seemed to transform into massive pythons, mercilessly attacking her, coiling tightly around her body.

Yu Yitong unconsciously tensed her calves, but that wasn't the end of it; as she picked up a mouthful of bean sprouts and bit down, the fresh taste between her lips and teeth became even more intense!

Impossible, how could vegetables also be soaked with freshness?!

Yu Yitong felt there was no escape.

She tried hard to recall, and finally she remembered a gesture Old Wang had made while frying the noodles—he seemed to have scooped something from a jar into the wok.

Yu Yitong had initially thought it was just ordinary water, but now, it was clear that it was not.

It was broth, most likely made from roasted bones, which would explain the intense meaty flavor.

Yu Yitong closed her eyes, and involuntarily, the words that man had once said echoed in her ears again.

"Our fried noodles are the best in this universe."

Although she didn't want to admit it, Yu Yitong realized that what he said might actually be true.