Chapter 674: Chapter 658: Self-Discipline Is No Match for Delicious Food
The downtown under the night sky looked even more brilliant and colorful under the glow of multicolored neon lights.
6:30 p.m., at the entrance to the running track in Lake Heart Park.
While doing his warm-up exercises, Jiang Linwei patiently waited for the buddies from the running group to arrive.
Waiting time is always torture.
On top of that, thinking about the food in Delicious Restaurant was making him itch with anticipation, and his little "five-organ temple" was actually starting to feel a bit hungry too.
That made him grumble out loud, "Sigh, we agreed to meet here at six-thirty, and they’re still not here. These guys seriously have no sense of time at all..."
Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao shows up!
The buddies from the running group came jogging toward him one after another, waving at him as they ran. "Wei, sorry, it’s hard to find parking over here, delayed us a bit. Have you been waiting long?"
"It’s fine."
Jiang Linwei smiled like it was no big deal, then volunteered, "Let me lead the run this time!"
He was an old-timer in the running group!
Whenever newbies joined the group and came out for a run, he would act as the pacer, helping them control their speed.
Three newcomers had joined tonight, so with his proposal, the others naturally had no objections.
"Okay."
"Then let’s get started!"
Jiang Linwei set off along the track, and the buddies from the running group quickly followed behind him.
On the lawn by the track, stumps, wheat ears, and other nature-themed elements were worked into playful lighting, turning the riverside under the night sky into what looked like a forest. Ten-centimeter-wide strips of self-luminous stones were laid along the track; the fluorescent green bands were like dancing ribbons, or like exquisite brocade, guiding these night runners forward into the breeze.
The lake water was clear with bits of duckweed floating on top, and birdsong echoed in their ears as Jiang Linwei and the others kept running at a steady, unhurried pace.
But half an hour later...
Jiang Linwei’s strides grew faster and faster, and he gradually drifted away from the track...
The other buddies in the running group behind him only then sensed that something felt off.
The old hand of the group, Gong Riqing, felt puzzled and couldn’t help asking, "Wei, where are we going? I don’t remember us ever running this route before..."
Yao Yuhua also looked confused. "Yeah, why’d we suddenly change routes and skip the nice Lake Heart Park track?"
With his little scheme in mind, there was no way Jiang Linwei was going to come clean. He simply smiled and explained, "I ran this way last night. The scenery’s really nice, hardly any cars, not many pedestrians either. It’s great for running."
No one suspected anything and didn’t think too much about it.
After all, Jiang Linwei was an old-timer, pretty respected among them, and he’d run more roads than they’d eaten salt. So they didn’t doubt him and just kept jogging along behind him.
A quarter of an hour later...
"You have run ten kilometers."
The voice prompt made Jiang Linwei slow down. He ran a few hundred more meters before dropping to a normal walking pace.
Which meant tonight’s night run had wrapped up perfectly.
"Hoo..."
Wiping the sweat off his face, Yao Yuhua laughed and said, "That run felt so damn good! I feel totally refreshed..."
Gong Riqing nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Jiang Linwei with a big grin. "Wei, weren’t we going to feast tonight? Have you decided where we’re eating?"
"What’s there to think about! Didn’t we settle it in the group last night?"
Still thinking about his barbecue, Yao Yuhua spoke up right away, "Come on, come on, let’s go get barbecue."
"Nice, barbecue and beer!"
The others chimed in and immediately started moving.
Seeing that the direction they were heading was exactly toward Huang Tao’s new place, Jiang Linwei kept quiet.
When they were almost there, he finally said, "That new place looks pretty good. How about we go check it out?"
"Didn’t we just say we were going for barbecue?"
Yao Yuhua froze for a second, a bit confused.
Jiang Linwei didn’t answer that directly. He just smiled and said, "Look, it’s this late and there are still so many people eating in there. The food must be pretty good. Why don’t we go in and take a look?"
And he didn’t forget to add, "We don’t often all get together like this. How about this—tonight’s on me, I’ll treat everyone. Let’s go, eat well and drink well tonight."
As soon as he said that, the other buddies had no more objections.
If someone’s treating, you really can’t be too picky.
Looking up at the sign above the entrance, a few people felt the three characters for "So Delicious" looked familiar.
But before they could think about it more, the others dragged them into the place.
The moment they saw what the diners inside were eating, they were stunned!
Eating Yellow Croaker Noodles late at night? Eating braised-meat rice? Eating Lotus Leaf Steamed Ribs?
What the hell kind of immortal-level late-night snacks are these?
The key was...
All those diners were really going to town on their food!
By now, Jiang Linwei had already started scanning the QR code to order, but at this hour, only braised pig trotter rice was left.
So he ordered 10 servings of braised pig trotter rice.
After placing the order, seeing that Yao Yuhua and the other running buddies were still standing around looking left and right, he couldn’t help saying, "Don’t just stand there, sit down already. After we finish the braised pig trotter rice, we’ll go get some barbecue and beer, okay?"
Even though the few of them were still muttering in their hearts, they didn’t say anything.
It’s just that, you know!
Having braised pig trotter rice so late at night was way off from their original plan.
But since Jiang Linwei had put it like that, they couldn’t really say anything more, and even less could they turn down his good intentions.
A moment later.
The ten portions of braised pig trotter rice were brought over by Li Chengzhan and Lin Qiuyu, and set one by one on their table. "Your ten braised pig trotter rice bowls are all here, please enjoy."
"Thanks!"
Jiang Linwei thanked them, and was just about to call the running buddies to start eating when he heard Gong Riqing exclaim, "Huh, this braised pig trotter rice smells amazing..."
The others smelled the aroma too.
It really smelled insanely good!
And then...
All that was left was the sound of them chomping on braised pig trotter rice.
After a bowl of braised pig trotter rice went down, everyone suddenly realized that without noticing it, they had already finished everything.
Not even a single grain of rice left.
Only the bit of braising sauce clinging to the sides of the bowl clearly told them they really were done.
Holy crap~
How is this braised rice this good?
"Don’t laugh at me, but in all my life, I’ve never eaten braised pig trotter rice this delicious!"
"Listen to you, like anyone else has ever had it either."
"We’ve got our Wei to thank for this amazing braised pig trotter rice. If he hadn’t suggested it and insisted on treating us, we would’ve totally missed out..."
Well, well!
Now they remember how great he is!
Jiang Linwei chuckled and said, "Everyone done? Then shall we head out for barbecue?"
Gong Riqing immediately declared, "With braised rice this good right here, who needs barbecue! I want another bowl!"
Right now, Yao Yuhua also changed his mind. "Yeah, yeah, I don’t want barbecue anymore either, I want another bowl too."
The others grinned. "Wei, not gonna lie, I’m still not full!"
One of the girls, though, was a bit torn. "But if I eat too much braised pig trotter rice at night, I’ll pack on the pounds so easily..."
Yao Yuhua comforted her, "You need to be full first if you want the strength to lose weight!"
That made so much sense she couldn’t refute it.
Besides, the other girls were all eating too; it wasn’t just her.
Thinking of it that way.
The little bit of guilt in her heart vanished completely.
And so...
Everyone ordered another bowl of braised rice, with different flavors this time.
Watching what his running buddies were doing, Jiang Linwei thought, I’m guilty, but I...
really just can’t hold back...
In the end, he went with the flow and ordered another bowl himself.
Then, once the food arrived, they all happily dug in again.
It wasn’t until forty minutes later...
That the group was supporting themselves against the wall, slowly making their way toward the door, sighing as they walked:
"I never imagined that one day I’d eat three bowls of braised rice in one sitting. And mind you, I’d already had dinner before I came..."
"Same here! But I feel like that’s not even my limit. Next time I’m going to challenge four bowls of braised rice."
"This place has other dishes too! I bet they taste just as good! How about... how about we come back after tomorrow’s run?"
"But if we keep eating like this, we’ll gain weight so easily..."
"Pig trotters are mainly collagen, not much fat, so eating a lot won’t make you gain weight. Instead, you’ll be full of collagen and your skin will be amazing!"
"Really? But I heard eating too many pig trotters will make you fat!"
"For real, I grew up eating pig feet, do I look fat to you? And let me tell you, pig trotters have tons of benefits. They’re rich in gelatin, which not only strengthens your tendons and bones but also soothes your stomach. Eating more makes your skin delicate and glowing, and it can even help with, you know, a fuller chest."
"Is that so! Okay then..."
So-called self-discipline was completely crushed in the face of Delicious Restaurant’s food...
