My Restaurant's Guests are All Abnormal

Chapter 299: Chapter 159: The Other Shore

Those who have never starved may never be able to comprehend the agony of not eating for several days.

First comes the endless hunger, then the stomach begins to revolt with acidity, followed by an urge to find anything edible to cram into one’s mouth.

One becomes weak all over, every cell in the body, every thought, cries out, begging for the comfort of food.

Which is why some ascetic monks use starvation to train their willpower, as it essentially amounts to battling one’s own survival instincts.

Yui Natsukawa agonizingly clutched her stomach, the congee she had just eaten smelled really good, and despite the painful experience of eating it, weirdly enough, she felt as if there was indeed something more in her stomach now. freewёbnoνel.com

But the hunger still tortured her, her mouth kept secreting saliva, yet the thought of the excruciating pain withheld her from taking another bite.

"This dish is for you, please enjoy it at your leisure." Chen Ze placed the Calming Congee in front of Yui Natsukawa, thinking it was a seafood congee at first.

Yui Natsukawa hesitated, it really did smell good, but the thought of her recent ordeal made her lack the courage to eat the congee.

"Please eat with confidence, this is specially made for you," Chen Ze said, noting Yui Natsukawa’s apprehension and clarifying just for her.

After all, if it had been him who had just eaten a poisonous dish, and then was presented with another, he too would have hesitated; there was nothing strange about that.

Yui Natsukawa’s stomach grumbled again, the visible and the aroma tantalized her instincts.

Chen Ze then returned to the kitchen, watching as Yui Natsukawa picked up the spoon and scooped up some congee.

"Gulp~" a loud sound.

Ultimately unable to resist her body’s craving for food, Yui Natsukawa brought the spoon to her mouth, sucking down the contents with effort.

A small amount of the warm congee slid down her throat, and she braced herself for the expected scalding breakdown.

But nothing of the sort happened; the gentle congee was slowly swallowed, tasting fragrant, warm, and comforting.

"Mmm~" Yui Natsukawa let out a sound of satisfaction, then continued to suck down the congee with renewed fervor.

Chen Ze smiled and didn’t further concern himself with this poor soul, instead, he continued with his preparation work.

Elizabeth, this strong spirit, Chen Ze planned to limit its sale, lest he have another incident like with Miss Rose if drunk straight.

Just the thought of Rose gave Chen Ze a stomachache. The previous night, he really wanted to kick out the still drunken Miss Rose, but considering the safety of his client, Chen Ze gave up on the tempting idea.

After some thought, Chen Ze decided to test his Magic Circle, and to his surprise, it worked wonders, effortlessly transforming the dead-drunk Miss Rose into a woozy state.

Then Chen Ze collected the meal’s payment for a glass of the spirit: fifty Gold Coins.

Even though he had the Magic Circle to help with sobering, Chen Ze felt it was still best to sell the potent Elizabeth cautiously.

Chen Ze leisurely sliced the eel, then looked helplessly at the Peking duck; there were still two ducks left, yet unsold in a short time, which meant he needed to come up with a way to sell them quickly.

"By the way, what’s the date today?" Chen Ze took out his phone to check; he remembered that he had booked a plane ticket for this week, the day before.

"May 20th, huh..." Chen Ze put down his phone, paused, and mused. May 20th?

May 20th is a rather special day, for it has been designated as Lovers’ Day, an occasion that Chen Ze finds utterly frivolous.

Western Valentine’s Day, along with whatever White Valentine’s Day is, followed by Christmas and Qixi Festival...

Merchants have really put their minds to profiting from lovers, leading countless men to the brink of tears, unable to cry.

Now there’s another 5.20 Valentine’s Day, someone tell me how you’re supposed to withstand that.

Chen Ze suddenly remembered a humorous screenshot, which described a female friend’s divine statement on her social circle.

It said that on May 20, romantic Westerners would gift their partners lipstick or jewelry, while men of Huaxia make do with roses and teddy bears—and that it was official data.

Someone later debunked this, pointing out that 5.20 is a Chinese pun, not spoken by foreigners, so there’s no way they celebrate a "love you" day.

If foreigners had to say it... May 20th?

Laughing at this, Chen Ze almost sliced his own hand off and quickly shook his head to dismiss these ridiculous thoughts, focusing instead on the pork cutlet before him.

"So delicious..." Yui Natsukawa patted her belly contentedly, having finished all the congee. Her stomach was no longer hungry, and she felt utterly comfortable.

"Eh? I can... I can speak now?!" Yui Natsukawa touched her mouth in surprise and discovered that its size had returned to normal.

And in that moment, Yui Natsukawa realized what her obsession had been—it was all for a full belly...

"Um... Mr. Manager..." Yui Natsukawa spoke up.

"Dear guest, have you finished?" Chen Ze came out smiling, then was astonished to see that Yui Natsukawa’s mouth had grown again.

So what exactly was going on?

"I’m so sorry! Really, really sorry!" Yui Natsukawa immediately prostrated herself, bowing deeply to the ground.

"Eh?" Chen Ze was a bit confused. Just from eating a bowl of congee, there was no need for such grand gestures, right?

"Um... um... I’m about to become a Buddha... I... I don’t have money to pay the bill..." Yui Natsukawa’s voice was full of shame, leaving Chen Ze stunned.

Become a Buddha? What did she mean by that? Then he suddenly noticed that Yui Natsukawa’s body was starting to become ethereal and transparent.

Chen Ze could even see his own floor through her body.

In this moment, Chen Ze understood that the person before him was clearly a spirit, and for some reason, after eating a bowl of congee, she was able to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

"It’s okay, I hope to see you again in the future." Chen Ze sighed; this would probably be the second guest he had sent off.

"Really, thank you so much!" Yui Natsukawa, full of gratitude, stood up, her body becoming even more transparent.

Then Chen Ze watched as Yui Natsukawa pushed open the door, walked out, and completely dissipated into the air.

But she left behind a flower, a Red Spider Lily.

Chen Ze picked up the flower and, after a moment of silence, placed it in his cabinet.

"Hmm... on 5.20 I sent off another guest... Eh? Wait! Today... today... is it Lafra’s birthday?!"